Criminal Profiling Questions Essay

1. Analyze inductive/deductive reasoning. Inductive criminal investigative assessments: The inductive approach to profiling is a based on the simple premise that â€Å"If certain crimes committed by different people are similar, then the offenders must also share some type of personality traits. (Holmes & Holmes, 2009)† Inductive reasoning seems to be the more â€Å"scientific† of the two as it is strictly based on criminals that have committed the same or same type of crime. It is much quicker as it is strictly based upon statistics and easily conducted (with the proper databases) searches based on the types of crimes. When you combine the simplicity and the speed at which it can be done, it would seem it would be a foregone conclusion that this is the technique to use. However, inductive assessments are not completely reliable due to no connection to the current crime and strictly relegated to using similar facts and types of crimes to aid in creating a profile. Deductive criminal investigative assessments: â€Å"From a thorough analysis of the crime scene and the evidence left at the crime scene, the profiler is able to construct a mental picture of the unknown offender. (Holmes & Holmes, 2009). Deductive profiling is based upon the artistic ability of putting together the available information and picturing the events that occurred and the offenders that committed these events. Deductive profiling is more complex and takes longer to conduct a thorough enough investigation to begin putting the pieces together to form the entire puzzle. Deductive profiling is much more reliable as it is based on information pertinent to the specific crime committed and not simply based upon similar types of crime that are typically not in any way related to the current crime being investigated. The most popular form of profiling is a combined inductive/deductive profiling. Using inductive profiling, you would compile statistics about similar crimes and use the similarities between the multiple offenders and begin to form the outline of your profile. Using the crime scene information, you would then begin to evaluate from a perspective that is specific to your crime scene and not based on similarities in crimes. Upon completion of using your criminal database to build you outline, you would then apply the specific data derived from the crime scene and begin to apply the details of the offender to complete your profile. Holmes, R. and Holmes, S. (2009). Profiling Violent Crimes, an Investigative Tool (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. 2. Goals of criminal profiling 1. Provide the Criminal Justice system with a social and psychological assessment of the offender. Goal 1 is to provide a detailed assessment of the offender which should include specifics (i.e. race, gender, employment, age range, etc.) that narrows the possibilities in which law enforcement can focus their efforts and reduce the scope of the investigation. 2. Provide the Criminal Justice systems with a Psychological evaluation of belongings found in the possession of the offender. Goal 2 is specific to the physical evidence and relevant information in a case and how it relates to the specific offender’s psychological profile. This will help in the case by adding to the offender’s profile and by helping derive locations, times, etc.. 3. Provide interviewing suggestions and strategies. Goal 3 is to help investigators get to the ground truth, through different methods, during the interrogation process. Different types of people respond to different stimulus, therefore different strategies must be emplaced based upon multiple categories your offender falls into.

Basic Chemistry for investigating living things

Which test tube represents the control? The one with water. C. Why? When protein molecules are present, Beirut Reagent reacts with the protein to form a purple color. Tube number one is the control tube because it is distilled water and has no protein; the tube has no color. C. Which test tube contained the most test substance? Amylase D. Other than the control, which test tube contained the least test substance? Hard to say because the other ones didn't have much of a color, so it didn't seem like there was much protein at all. E. Did the results agree with your initial hypothesis in every case? Yes F. Why or why to?Starches and sugars are helped by protein enzymes and Amylase is an enzyme. Good source of protein, so I thought Albumen would have protein Eggs are a foods, but the Beirut reagent isn't strong enough to pick up small amounts G. If the color change is not as you expected, what might be the reasons? Contamination H. Add another 5 drops of Beirut Reagent to each test tube and stir as before. Do your results change? I didn't notice any change Discussion A. What is the purpose of this exercise? To use color to detect if substances have protein since Beirut reagent would react with a protein to form a purple color B.Why is it important to clean droppers and equipment between chemical uses? To avoid cross contamination C. What other types of foods or substances contain high levels of protein? Meat or fingernails D. Suggest a situation where you might use the Beirut Reagent colorimetric test. It kidney disease E. What other types of analytical procedures detect the presence of proteins? The Lowry Method Exercise 2: Testing for the Presence of Starch in Cells A. What is the test substance? Starch B. Which test tube represents the control? Water C. Why? Water has no starch and it turned amber, so if your color was amber, you ad no starch D.Which test tube contained the most test substance? Potato starch Other than the control, which test tube contained the least test substance? Albumen and amylase E. Did the results agree with your initial hypothesis in each case, why or why not? Known to have starch, and they did. I didn't expect the proteins Yes, potatoes are to have starch sources, but they're not in every natural food source G. If the color change is not as you expected it to be, what might be the reasons? That items I did not think had starch, actually did have it. A. What is the purpose of this exercise?Iodine reacts with carbohydrates to form a dark blue color, so you would know if the substance had carbohydrates based on the color it turned. B. What other types of foods or substances contain high levels of starch? Wheat grain C. Suggest a situation where you might use the iodine colorimetric test. Testing for thyroid issues D. What other types of analytical procedures detect the presence of starch? Detect the presence of starch by using the chemical method A. What is the test substance? Sugar C. Why? There is no sugar in water , and it turned a light blue.Any test with that color old mean that there was no sugar C. Which test tube contained the most test substance? Glucose D. Besides the control, which test tube contained the least test substance? Potato starch D. Did the results agree with your initial hypothesis in every case? Yes E. Why or why not? The test specifically looks for glucose, so other carbohydrates and starches that don't have glucose, will not show sugar F. What are you conclusions about the results? Glucose will react with Benedicts reagent G. If the color change is not as expected, what might be the reasons? Contamination

Adv. Accounting Theory & Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adv. Accounting Theory & Practice - Essay Example It is obvious that corporate social responsibility is a part which is very important for running the businesses successfully. But following the predefined the environmental policies compels businesses to behave in a certain a way, for example using high quality raw material, and atmosphere friendly plants. It brings cost to the business which is certainly not favorable for businesses. So, businesses have started deceiving the regulatory institutions and other stakeholders. They have found their ways in fulfilling the requirements of the regulatory bodies. There are loop holes in the system which companies use for manipulating the data and information shared with the stakeholders (Hooghiemstr, 2010). Businesses always communicate with their stakeholders in written form. So there is a lot of documentary material involves. They are shared with stakeholders periodically. Companies which are always under pressure by their stakeholders seem to be using different tactics for the satisfactio n of their stakeholders (Clatworthy and Jones, 2001). For that they give out the company information in a manner that will always highlight the areas with positive performance figures regarding company. They never talk about their weaknesses. This is called impression management. Two types of information are presented in the above mentioned documents of company. One is related to the qualitative data and the other is about calculated accounting figures. The qualitative narratives are highly manipulated. They never give out the exact matter. The quantitative narratives used in financial reporting are obtained from accounting books and financial statements of the company (Jones & Shoemaker, 1994). The usage of rhetorical devices in following accounting standards helps companies to manipulate the opinions of the readers of those reports. Rhetorical devices are related to accounting standards which allows businesses to present their accounting information in a customized format of their choice. The accounting narratives used in accounting reports mostly are out of the consideration of the auditors. The reason is that they do not come under the scope of auditing. This gives room to the companies to manipulate the information they share with their stakeholders. Generally, the external auditors of the company are restricted to check limited amount of information in financial records of the firms. The accounting narratives which are outside the scope of auditing have been given the name of discretionary accounting narratives by Brennan & Merkl-Davies, 2011. Impression management is complicated. Because while following the impression management strategy companies have to look into the interests of all stakeholder, then they decide which of them are at conflict with business, and which of them are conflicting with each other. Then they look at the multiple choices available to them for communicating their financial information. Then they analyze all the choice and choos e the best, which aids in attaining the utmost interests of

Aquatic environmetal toxicology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aquatic environmetal toxicology - Assignment Example It can be said that the method is effective as control of the environmental condition is made possible. Laboratory methods provide more sense of flexibility in terms of timing and it reduces workload and cost as well as seasonal and spatial variability (U.S. EPA 2000a). The use of laboratory test can enable one to formulate research question such as kinetics of acceptance and eradication, growth of the species or reproduction. This technique is also efficient as it is not subjected to assumptions like use of models. The approximate cost of this method is about $600; this is because of the tools that are required to perform this task. It is less expensive as it only requires a one day activity to gather the sediments and organisms. After collection of the samples for analysis the other part of activity is a one person activity. It is also possible to acquire some of the equipment below locally or improvising some such as dredgers or using your cell phone for GPS purposes, making the method cheaper. The clean water act has helped US navigable water to be protected from pollution by regulating the rate, amount and type of discharge of pollutants in the water bodies including the stream, rivers, coasts, wetlands and rivers. The act has significantly reduce the level of pollution from industrial and municipal For waters meant for swimming and fishing, the act was set to eliminate the disposal of untreated waste products with contaminated effluents from industrial and municipal plants. It required operators of such industries and businesses to apply for a permit to authorize their discharge into water bodies with a promise to reduce the discharge significantly over time. In 1998, the act was able to achieve 60 percentage of American clean waters thus they redirected their focus into eradicating nonpoint source water contaminants including agricultural runoff within chemicals or erosion of contaminated surfaces such as

Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Research Paper

Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility - Research Paper Example In return, though it may not be required by law, but an organization should have this significant consideration of the welfare of its society through its moral thought (Kettunen 137). It has to start giving concerns not just on its profit-making activities but there should enough time for giving something for the community. In line with this, profitable organizations have a moral duty to make charitable contributions in an effort to â€Å"give something back† to the community. At some point, this may not be required by law, but an organization should consider itself as a model within a community on showing the importance of being concerned with others. This is a matter of influencing behavior (Holmqvist 68; Thiele 204). For instance, the human resource is an integral part of the community aside from it belongs directly to an organization. The organization should motivate them so it has to give something back to them. However, the moral obligation to make charitable contributio ns should be outside the bound of personal gain, interest or concern of an organization in order to impart genuine concern for others’ needs. 2. Do successful profitable organizations have an ethical responsibility to make charitable contributions in an effort to â€Å"give something back† to the community? Why or why not? Society has social and moral values. Within these values ethical responsibility is normally imposed. Considering that an organization is an integral part of the society, so then it is not outside the ultimate impact of social and moral values (LePage et al., 2011). It is therefore clear that to make charitable contributions in an effort to â€Å"give something back† to the community depends on its prevailing social and moral values. In some countries, it is not ethical to receive certain prize, reward for something out of what good has been done. Some culture just like in Japan has this belief that performing one’s responsibility at wor k is already sufficiently paid and that other payments outside of it would mean an insult. In the same manner, it may not be always necessary to have ethical responsibility to make charitable contributions to give something back to the community. Considering that an organization has already done what is morally good for the society, then there is no need to have this ethical responsibility to give more just to reciprocate considering that there are different and prevailing social and moral values. For instance, producing the right quality of products that say what they tell they have is enough to give back something out of the high level of trust given by the community. The ethical responsibility to make charitable contributions in an effort to â€Å"give something back† to the community depends on the prevailing social and moral values of the society. Thus, it may not necessary to employ it in all the time or everywhere. 3. If you said there was either an ethical or moral du ty to make charitable contributions, how does that affect the corporation's duty to its shareholders to maximize profits? Corporate social responsibility is becoming a must especially among profitable organizations. In their implementation of corporate social responsibility particularly on providing charitable contributions, an organization is becoming clear on its role and stand within the society. As a result, an organization creates specific policies and provides information that will always guide its

History of Interpretation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History of Interpretation paper - Essay Example This is a pointer to the progressive mission which Jesus had. He was not on earth for an instance but to carry out a continuous mission. Knowing that the questioner may have tuned to out to be hypothetical as was seen in Luke 10: 29 where one asked about whom his neighbor was, Jesus gave his answer to the question by posing a personal challenge. He calls on the individuals in the crowd to act in a way which will show that they are saved. In verse 24, Luke gives the condition for getting to eternal life by stating that people will â€Å"struggle to enter† the kingdom. The term agonizomai implies that â€Å"the few† will have to cope with â€Å"the many† for entry through a limited space. The struggle will be compounded by the short duration of time that those seeking to enter will have. Luke goes ahead to talk about the â€Å"narrow door†. In this verse, it may appear as though Luke has lost contrast as he does not talk of the wide gate which is seen in Matthew 7:1. However, this may have been intentionally done to provide a quick answer to the audience about the process of getting into the kingdom. Burns furthers this line of thought by noting that interpretation of the verse requires considering of two issues (588). First, is the aspect of entering the place being talked of. From the text, it is plain that Luke is talking about entering the Kingdom of God. After stating that the audience should â€Å"strive to enter through the narrow door†, he goes ahead to allude to a master of a particular house who stands and shuts the door to bar others from entering. The alternative to entering the narrow gate which Luke is referring to is found in the book of Mathew where it is stated â€Å"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction† (Matt. 7:13). Luke goes ahead to state that as the audience strive to enter the narrow gate, there are obstacles that they have to overcome so as

The Crucible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Crucible - Essay Example The Crucible explored this theme in the context of the 1692 Salem Witch trials. A man called Senator Joe McCarthy began McCarthyism, who exploited the American fears about Communism and managed to create a national campaign against Communists. McCarthy was gradually brought into disrepute and in 1954 he was removed as Chairman of the Committee after it was proved that he and his associates had been falsifying evidence. However, the witch-hunt continued for a few years and Arthur Miller himself was called in front of the committee in 1956. Miller refused to give the names of friends who might have been interested in Communism. As a result Miller was fined for contempt of Congress. Miller related McCarthyism and the witchcraft in Salem because in both circumstances, innocent people were punished. Miller is widely proclaimed as a moral writer whose aim is to bring out the good in man rather than bad. Through his play, The Crucible, he attempted with the problem of evil in the man and to provide a solution to this problem. Miller can argue in this way as he believes that all men have a basic concept of what is good in their minds. Through his play, he attempts to bring out this basic goodness in people by shocking them with evil. The writer presents most of the people in his play as being land grabbing, superstitious, vindictive, revengeful, cowardly, adulterous and downright evil. This makes the plot more of a battle between good and bad, both internal and external to man. The battle between good and evil has always been gripping to the mankind from ages. Miller uses this simple philosophy and blends it American history to create the play, The Crucible. The play, The Crucible, is divided into 4 acts, completely different from each other, yet have a realistic connection. Miller's style is very simple He uses simple sentence structure with a simple vocabulary, but makes sure that the suspense in the plot is not taken away. He makes the plot and idea interesting by foreshadowing future events. At the end of first act, two different scenes of Betty's room and the discussion of Procter and Abigail are left incomplete and make the audience guessing. At the end of second act, the good name of Procter in the society is kept at stake for the life of Elizabeth, wife of Procter. This creates the tension in the play, which is sustained at the end of third act also. Sentenced for death, Procter's character is put to the ultimate test. The tension is created in these waves. Each time the atmosphere is calm, it makes audience anticipate a climax. But at the end of each act, there is hysteria. There is no real break-through, but a twist in the story. Tension in the play is sustained by swinging the play from one end to other. Betty is lying unconscious on the bed within a few moments, the room is full of people and very soon, they are all shouting and arguing. Because there are so many people coming and going, this creates a sense of confusion. Miller does this because he wants the audience to feel a little of the same confusion as the characters in the play Miller makes the characters speak at different speeds sometimes quick, sometimes slow, which creates tension, it sounds more realistic. Miller sometimes has the characters i

Theory of Multiple Intelligences Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory of Multiple Intelligences - Research Paper Example Such test scores would then be inferred against a predetermined rating which is supported through statistical techniques. The statistical techniques relate the responses issued by the subjects of different ages. The relating of the scores across ages and across various tests is based on the notion that intelligence is constant and does not change age experience or training (Gardner, 2006). In other words, intelligence is an inborn characteristic of individuals. Gardner pluralized the traditional intelligence concept leading to a new definition and educational approaches. Intelligence becomes the ability to process a specific kind of information. This ability originates within the humans psychological and biological make up (Gardner, 2006). These intelligences consist an ability to solve problems of create products that are a result of one’s cultural and community settings. Gardner came up with eight intelligences, which are linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelli gence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence. Musical intelligence involves sensitivity to music. It is evident through sensitivity to tones, sounds, rhythms and other musical components. According to Gardner (2006), people who have this intelligence have the ability to compose music, sing and play musical instruments. They have a good pitch and sometimes an absolute pitch. Bodily- kinesthetic intelligences involve the capacity to use one’s entire body or parts of the body to handle challenges. One uses mental ability to coordinate body parts/movement to solve problems (Smith, 2008). Logical-mathematical intelligence comprises of the ability to perform logical analysis of problems, conduct mathematical calculations and examine phenomenon scientifically. The individual can reason deductively, detect patterns and thinking logically. It is often associated w ith mathematical reasoning (Smith, 2008). Linguistic intelligence is characterized by sensitivity to language, both spoken and written. It concerns the ability to acquire or learn languages, and us a language to achieve certain goals (Smith, 2008). This includes ability to use a language as a means for remembering information, and ability to express oneself poetically or rhetorically using a language. Examples of people with these skills include lawyers, poets, speakers and writers among others. Spatial intelligence, on the other hand, comprises the capacity to identify and utilize patterns of open space and confided areas. Interpersonal intelligence is people oriented intelligence, which is consists ability to understand other people’s desires, motivations and intentions. It facilitates coexistence of people. As Smith (2008) Notes, salespeople, counselors, political and religious leaders, and teachers thrive on strong interpersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence is made up of the ability for self awareness. It involves understanding oneself and appreciating personal feelings, motivations and fears. It also entails developing a working model of ourselves and ability to use such models for self regulation purposes (Smith, 2008). Finally, naturalistic intelligence

Critical Appraisal of Pereira Da Silva; SS Obesity Meanings Essay

Critical Appraisal of Pereira Da Silva; SS Obesity Meanings - Essay Example Therefore, the study explored the expectations and the beliefs regarding the exigencies and the impacts of bariatric surgery (Bowling, 2009:56-58). The methods included a study population comprised of 30 morbidly obese patients. The results were based on three core themes namely: eating behavior, treatment, and obesity. Critical appraisal is an integral process in the evidence-based practice. The aim of critical appraisal is aimed at identifying the methodological flaws in the literature besides, providing the consumers of research evidence with the opportunity to make informed decisions regarding the quality of the research evidence (Trinder & Reynolds, 2000:69-72). The critical appraisal for both the quantitative and qualitative research is appropriate. Developing a critical appraisal framework for healthcare services allows for the need to have competent healthcare treatment for obesity. Therefore, health professionals are required to be intelligent consumers of research, and this entails the ability to publish research something which Pereira da Silva has accomplished. According to Benton and Cormack (2000) argue that there have been tendencies to evaluate qualitative research against the appropriate criteria against the quantitative research. This has led to attempts by various individuals to analyze the qualitative research within a quantitative framework thus raising the questions of credibility, reliability, dependability, and transferability. Hamers and Colison (2005) state that â€Å"there have been various frameworks that have been reviewed and the common features that are related to quantitative and qualitative research established† Generally, the guidelines tend to reflect upon the respective approaches, whereby the guidelines for quantitative research tend to be in the form of checklists, the guidelines for qualitative research tend to be more discursive. Sajiwandani is of the view that there must be a checklist that covers all the points a ppropriate for covering the points appropriate in treating obesity. They must include the hypothesis, operational definitions, reliability, and validity of any questionnaires (Sajiwandani, 1996). According to Sackett et al. (2002) assert that evidenced-based research is the â€Å"integration of the best research-based evidence with clinical expertise and patient’s value.† The evidence-based practice as described in the work of Pereira da Silva gives an equal emphasis on the situation of the patient, the best available research evidence, the patient’s values, wishes, and goals, and the clinical expertise of the practitioner, in this case, those dealing with obesity cases. The Literature Review The researcher uses contemporary material about the topic being discussed; and the meanings of experiences associated with awaiting bariatric surgery. The research on obesity uses a lot of high-quality material of the obesity topic being researched on (Fried, Hainer, & Basd evant, 2007:267). This led to the development of the research question thus allowing the hypothesis testing and identification of the appropriate method of data collection. Data collection involved the use cognitive interviews, questionnaires, open-ended questions, and the focus groups. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and the coded according to the ground analysis methodology.  

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection Essay Training Plan Implementing an effective training plan is necessary in order for a company to be successful. A structured training plan for Landslide Limousines will ensure employees are aware of the company’s objectives and goals. According to Bradley Stonefield, the training plan for Landslide Limousine will entail three key components a set of needs assessment, types of training methods, and training evaluations strategies. Training offers reliable information and skill to an employee about the company’s prospects and procedures. Properly trained employees contribute to a company’s achievement of goals and ultimate success. Each team member chose topics to evaluate and research effectively and apply there relevance towards the team discussion. Our first communication with Bradley Stonefield informed Atwood and Allen that he wishes to hire 25 employees and have a location in Austin, Texas. The second conversation with Mr. Stonefield led to information regarding the annual net revenue of negative $50,000 in his first year and a growth prediction of 5% over a couple of years. Most recently, Atwood and Allen has learned that Mr. Stonefield predicts that his annual employee turnover rate will be 10%, and his concern on cost for the training plan. The needs assessment constitutes several aspects revolving around the daily operations, individual employees, environment, organizational and demographical information of a business. Operational Analysis Designing an operational plan for the Landslide Limousine service determines the efficiency of various aspects within the small business operation. The  process usually begins with a period of observations, the group of individuals performing the analysis watches and takes detailed notes on a day-to-day operation of the limousine business in the initial stage. Logical reasoning methods assist in compiling the information used in the process with various mathematical models and statistical analysis. Operational analysis aims to determine whether each area of the organization is contributing effectively to overall performance and the furthering of company strategy. Using the operational analysis to ensure that the business Mr. Bradley wants to start should align appropriately with the company’s strategic plan. By examining the current performance of the operational portion of an investment, and then measuring that against an established set of performance parameters and goals, operational analysis within the business can reveal the company’s strengths and weaknesses as well as any opportunities for improvement with the individuals he may want to hire for future employment. With all the detailed information our team gathered in order to best serve and provide the right information for this business, by conducting an operational analysis, this should seek to examine a number of functional areas within the business; including strategic planning, customer results, and business results, financial performance, and quality of innovation. Now, the objective process should principally be to reassess existing processes and determine how objectives improve, how costs minimized and even, on occasion, eliminating a task. Operational analysis can be a relatively simple process for the company and meaningful in assisting a new business venture. Through a few manageable steps in the process, Landslide Limousine needs to assess their productivity and possibly reallocate investments to ensure activities within the company are in line with the small business company’s strategy. Studies prove that establishing a schedule benefits the completion of the process. This process may outline the timeline and resources necessary for completing the operational analysis. Outline strategies and methods accordingly and adhere to them during the process. Collect information to provide key insights into actual performance in comparison with strategic planning and performance goals. Complete an analysis gap to identify and report performance, cost and benefits based on an analysis of the actual performance data. Demographic Analysis According to Bradley Stonefield, the demographic analysis that needs to be address is a specific population to describe the small business and its characteristics, such as income level, background checks, driving records, location and salaries. A demographic analysis is useful in a business plan, to describe the population where the business is located. Income level data is a good indicator of residents’ spending power. Income positively correlates with retail expenditures in many product categories. During market evaluation, retailers look at the median or average household income, and seek a minimum number of households within a certain income range prior to establishing a business or setting prices. Another common practice is to analyze the distribution of household incomes. Different businesses may avoid extremely high or low-income areas. Some specialty fashion stores target incomes above $100,000. Background checks often requested by employers for job candidates during e mployment screening, especially on candidates seeking a position that require high security or trust. Traditionally, background checks administered by a government agency for a nominal fee, but maybe administered by private companies. Background checks can be expensive depending on the information requested. Results of a background check typically include past employment verification, credit history, Driving history for a small business aspect and criminal history. Mr. Stonefield is interested in locating a limousine company within the Austin, TX area. A small business is unlikely to dominate any particular market in a city. However, strategic use of location-based marketing can make you a viral hit in your suburb or street and this may be all it takes to double the turnover in the limousine business. Location-based services can provide the company with information about how many people check in for a certain area or business, which has checked in most often and how many people have used an offer of this kind of service. This kind of information can be very useful in assessing the success of the company’s location-based marketing program. The average wage for a Limousine Driver is $12.85 per hour in the state of Texas in 2011. People in this job generally do not have more than 20 years’ experience. Pay for this job rises steadily for more experienced workers, but goes down significantly for the few employees with more than 20 years experience. Limo drivers have limited career advancement  opportunities. Some acquire supervisory or management positions, while others train new drivers or receive preferred shifts. Moving into a dispatching or managerial role is another choice for experienced limo drivers. Organizational Analysis Organizational Analysis for this company is a means of measuring how the small business will do and how to identify ways to improve the company in order to ensure success into the future of the company. A strategic way in preparing this aspect is to use the SWOT analysis. This stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These factors make up the bulk of the way the study and be analyzed and can give a in great details a pretty good indication of how Landslide Limousine will do and how it could be expected to do move forward in the future in making profits. The results of the analysis will help Mr. Stonefield be able to make good decisions and improve any efficiencies while without making any major changes. Strengths within Landslide services are usually the starting point for this company. Internal/external factors should include a stable workforce, methods and simple strategies are a way to mainstream the total aspects of all local business within the area is which this is a key aspect. Weaknesses can come from all different locations and can be widespread. This may include aging facilities, possible inexperienced/unprofessional drivers, outdated equipment, purchasing of quality vehicles fleets, price/packages, and areas of specialties. Opportunities should include new market creations, consumer based locations, overhead, and debts. Now, threats could possibly take on another aspect within the business. These can range just from local communities services to government products/services to the rules and regulations. Individual Analysis Certain ideals manifest in behaviors of individual members and affect group dynamics. Task functions include behaviors such as identifying tasks, coordinating, clarifying and summarizing. Individual Analysis based off different levels and/or services provided by the limousine service help to decipher if business needs are met. This type of analysis can be based off a wide stream of studies in business. This specific analysis can have more disadvantages than advantages needed in order to find ways to being a  business. Learning how to work effectively in a group situation is the key to success in many professions in business. Learning key ways to get the business from crawl, walk, run phase is another way employees have the advantage of learning how the aspects of business work in the community. Environmental Analysis This analysis scan can help assist in understanding the broader context in which individuals are operating in. By investing time, identifying key trends and environmental factors to obtain information for small business within the regions in which we want to base our business and all the studies that are included. Some small businesses and organizations frequently choose to review the external factors in the process, but it is important to consider the internal environment factors. These may include looking at the organization’s internal capacities and resources, and projecting how to change in the future to meet the organization objectives. Another useful component to the analysis phase is to survey external customers in the local area and ensure all aspects of the locations are covered. Challenges observed and/or anticipated, or missed opportunities, and even basis such as how others described your individual work to get the process started may have a short-time or long-term effect. Environmental analysis uses a series of ranks and assessments in evaluating employee performance, customer satisfaction, and overhead coat are all similar factors during the first phase of the analysis. Training Methods Appropriate training is liable to have a positive or negative affect on important issues in business. How a company conducts, training is a critical decision that every business has to make consciously. All features involved in effective training should be considered, such as, time, cost, training environment, and training cost. The delivery of the training is pertinent. If the delivery of the information is confusing to employees, the training does not occur properly and is a waste of time, resources, and capital (Ongoing Training: A Method for Success, 2012). Various approaches to training are utilized and implemented. Types of Media Considering the impression Landslide Limousines anticipates on making, Atwood  and Allen Consulting recommends technology-based training. Technology-based learning may prove to be beneficial. Basic methods of learning through technology include interactive videos utilizing a computer in combination with a digital video (DVD). Web-based training programs or internet-streamed videos such as â€Å"YouTube† videos are increasing, popular tools among training methods. The aforementioned method is valuable in illustrating scenarios that the trainer would like to emphasize. These methods are conducive within a large group of people. Learning Principles When opting to use technology-based learning, companies must ensure accessibility for employees. Learning principles, considered laws of learning, are discovered, tested, and benefit practical situations (Naval education and Training, 2010). The trainer must possess the capability of applying the principles while instructing. Most importantly, the trainer needs to be clear on the objectives of the training, and relate it to the work environment. There are three types of learners: visual, hearing and hands-on. Atwood and Allen Consulting recommend that Landslide Limousine combine the training methods and perform more interactive learning experiences that will accommodate the three types of learners. Using what the military medicine has called for years â€Å"See one, do one, teach one† (Naval education and Training, 2010). The trainer will teach the skill so the employees can see it, then the employees will demonstrate their knowledge displaying their proficiency, finally the employee will teach a new employee. Those that teach, learn. Trainers will be inclined to become familiar with the material, recall it accurately, and apply it effectively. This method is cost effective in the sense that when there is a time one employee must carry out the tasks of another, therefore causing no interruptions in business. This method works best for companies that are just beginning. Training for learning skills or fact The required training conducted is for skill and fact. The training enhances knowledge of skills that enforce relevant facts, in reference to training. Effectiveness of Methods The effectiveness of the methods of instructions can be verified by how the employee perform their duties, by employee’s questionnaires and/or testing,  and by comments done by the trainers themselves (Naval Education and Training, 2010). The effectiveness of these methods displayed through the performance of the employees. Training Evaluation Strategies Evaluation on training is of utmost importance. Here is where a business learns of training that works versus training that is of no use to the organization. In order to evaluate specific training, addressing certain questions alleviate concerns of risk in that course of training. Potential questions are: Did the trainees learn a specific skill, knowledge or performance? Did change occur and was it related to the training? Are the changes positively reflecting in productivity and to achieving organization goals? Will these changes occur with a different set of trainees using the same training criteria? (Chapter 8, 2013) Typically, training is a trial and error system. What may work for one individual may not necessarily pertain to another type of learner. As mentioned previously, people learn in different manners. Some need visual aesthetics to increase their ability to comprehend the training. While others’ need a more tactile experience and participate in the training. This is not an entirely new concept and has developed over the last decade to include the use of technology to enhance learning. The same can be said for training and evaluation strategies. The idea behind training evaluation is to recognize the criteria of the training are met within the company. Using pretests to determine a suitable new hire reassures current employees that the individual grasps the goals and concepts of the business. An example of a pretest is as simple as an application, a resume or orientation. All of this information allows management to decipher an individual based on experiences. Once training is underway, management will monitor and observe the associates reactions and the trainer’s methods of approach. This segment is extremely important considering the trainer. If the trainer does not connect with the class or leads them astray and off topic, the training becomes worthless and consumes the organization’s time and money. The trainer’s obligation shall remain cost effective to the company and stay on task to complete the training in a time efficient manner. Aside from management monitoring and observing, feedback is equally important, and can  come from employees, supervisors, managers, and customers. Collecting feedback for an organization is conducted a number of ways. Suggestion boxes placed randomly around the business provide anonymous suggestions from individuals employed in the organization or from customers who believe change is necessary. Feedback is also collected verbally either in a group of employees or individual basis. Sending surveys to clients containing pertinent information to the limousine service allows them to feel connected to the business and builds trust. The implementation of the feedback is the most important aspect to changing the current operational standards of the business. Manager’s need to rise above the concept of â€Å"if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.† Business evolution is constant and technology increases daily allowing change to happen more frequently, and not because â€Å"it’s broken,† but because a new element has become known and can be a useful tool in training. References Email from Traci: Performance Management Plan. (2015). Retrieved from University of Phoenix: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/Materials/IP/curriculum/sb/HRM531/assignments/week5/intro.asp Naval education and Training. (2010). Personal Qualification Standards for Master Training Specialist. NAVEDTRA 43100-7C Ch. 1. Retrieved from Naval education and Training website Ongoing Training: A Method for Success. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.lctmag.com/operations/article/41017/ongoing-training-a-method-for-success http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes533041.htm http://education-portal.com/articles/Salary_and_Career_Info_for_a_Limo_Driver.html http://www.studymode.com/essays/Individual-Analysis-Of-Working-In-a-712116.html

Private Health Insurance In Kenya Economics Essay

Private Health Insurance In Kenya Economics Essay Insurance is an arrangement by which one party The insurer promises to pay another party the insured or policy holder a sum of money if something happens which causes the insured to suffer financial loss (Diacon.S.R and Carter R.L, 1998) In the past few years, private health insurance sector in Kenya has been recorded as the highest loss-making insurance class with loss ratios of 74.0 per cent, 80.4 per cent , 81.5 per cent and 83.5 per cent in 2008, 2009 2010 and 2011 respectively (AKI report, 2011). Private health insurance has continued to perform poorly in the year 2011, posting a loss of 650 Million compared to a loss of Kshs. 530 Million in the previous year. According to the Association of Kenya Insurers (2011), only four out of the 20 Private health insurance providers in Kenya made an underwriting profit in 2011, the four include General Accident Insurance Company, Jubilee Insurance Company, Mercantile Insurance Company and Real Insurance Company. The sector has the highest loss ratio in the industry of 83.5% with net earned premiums reaching KES 8.9bn (US$74.5mn) and net incurred claims reached KES 5.4 bn (US$60.6mn). This trend has been consistent for the last 4 years 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, with all indications that 2012 will also be a loss, a situation has prompted the Private health insurance premiums to be increased from time to time but the situation has not been improved much, it is therefore imperative to examine the challenges facing Private health insurance companies and their effect on business performance with a view of informing future insurance policy formulation. This study will seek to investigate the cchallenges facing insurance companies in the provision of Private Health insurance and their effect on business performance because this sector is an important one for the economic development of the Nation hence the need to guard it. This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research objectives, research questions, justification of the study, significance of the study, assumptions limitations and delimitations, definition of terms and chapter summary. 1.1 Background of the Study Health insurance is a form of collectivism by means of which people collectively pool their risk, in this case the risk of incurring medical expenses. It is a contract between an insurance company and an individual or a sponsor in the form of an employer. The contract can be renewable annually or monthly depending on the agreement between the parties in that contract. The type and amount of health care costs that will be covered by the health insurance company are specified in advance, in the member policy contract. The importance of health insurance cannot be underestimated in any economy. As observed by Wasow and Hill (1986) who argued that health insurance is an important channel for financial capital accumulation. Health insurance companies policies offer policies, which are purchased exclusively to protect the customer against risk. They often involve substantial savings. This is because Insurance companies must accumulate reserves against anticipated future claims which provide for large sums of money, which can be lend to individuals, the government, commerce and industry. According to the World health Organization (World Health Report, 2008), access to healthcare is the right of every individual. Governments all over the world have therefore undertaken various programs in order to realize this objective. The Government of Kenya has also not been left behind on this as Kenya is a signatory to the Abuja Declaration (Institute of Policy and Research, 2005) which requires its signatory member states to spend at least 15% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare. As of the year 2009, Kenya spent 9% of her GDP on healthcare which was far below the recommended proportion (IPAR, 2005). Health insurance schemes are an increasingly recognized factor as a tool to finance health care provision in low and middle income countries. Given the high latent demand from people for health care services of a good quality and the extreme under-utilization of health services in several countries, it has been argued that social health insurance may improve the access to health care of acceptable quality. Whereas alternative forms of health care financing and cost recovery strategies like user fees have been heavily criticized, the option of insurance seems to be a promising alternative as it is a possibility to pool risk transferring, unforeseeable health care costs to fixed premiums. Private health insurance is considered private when the third party (insurer) is a profit seeking organization such as the private insurance companies. In Private Health insurance, people pay premiums related to the expected cost of health services to be provided to them. Therefore, people who are in high health risk groups pay more, and those at low risk pay less. Membership to a private insurance scheme is usually voluntary and is solely based on the decision of the insured. Private Health insurance has been offered by general insurance firms as one of their portfolio of products. One of the overall goals of the Government of Kenya is to promote and improve the health status of all Kenyans by making health services more efficient, available and affordable. The importance of Private health insurance in the provision and utilization of health care cannot be overemphasized. Funding for health care has become a cooperative responsibility shared among the government, employers, and insurance companies because of the importance of the service and the rising costs of medical services. This makes Private health insurance one of the most significant instruments to maintain a healthy workforce to drive the economy. Private health insurance coverage is provided by public and private sources. Public sources include National Hospital Insurance Fund while private sources include private insurance companies such as APA insurance company Kenya limited, UAP Insurance Company limited, Jubilee Insurance Company and Madison Insurance among others 1.1.1 Private health Insurance Health insurance is an institutional and financial mechanism that helps households and private individuals to set aside financial resources to meet costs of medical care in event of illness. It is based on the principle of pooling funds and entrusting management of such funds to a third party that pays for healthcare costs of members who contribute to the pool. The third party can be government, employer, insurance company or a provider (Kraushaar, 1994). Wangombe et al., (1994) identify two categories of private health insurance in Kenya: direct private health insurance and, employment based insurance. Direct private health insurance is very expensive and only the middle and high-income groups afford it (Nderitu, 2002). In the employment-based plans, the employer provides care directly through employer-owned on site health facility, or through employer contracts with health facilities or healthcare organisations. These are both voluntary health schemes and are not legislated by the government. 1.1.2 Private Health Insurance in Kenya According to the AKI report (2011) there was 47 licenses insurance Companies with 20 companies licensed to practice and sale health insurance products. There are additional 23 medical Insurance providers (MIPs) which are more of managed care organization. The total premiums for private medical insurance in 2011 were over 8.3 billion with claims ratio at 83.5 percent. Private health insurance accounts for 15 percent of the gross total premium for all insurance products in 2011. According to the World Bank working paper number 193 (2010), the health insurance penetration stands at 2 percent with about 600,000 people insured with public insurance and over 2 million insured under the public insurance NHIF In the past few years, private health insurance sector in Kenya has been recorded as the highest loss-making insurance class with loss ratios of 74.0 per cent, 80.4 per cent , 81.5 per cent and 83.5 per cent in 2008, 2009 2010 and 2011 respectively (AKI report, 2011). Private health insurance has continued to perform poorly in the year 2011, posting a loss of 650 Million compared to a loss of Kshs. 530 Million in the previous year. According to the Association of Kenya Insurers (2011), only four out of the 20 Private Health Insurance providers in Kenya made an underwriting profit in 2011, the four include General Accident Insurance Company, Jubilee Insurance Company, Mercantile Insurance Company and Real Insurance Company. The sector has the highest loss ratio in the industry of 83.5% with net earned premiums reaching KES 8.9bn (US$74.5mn) and net incurred claims reached KES 5.4 bn (US$60.6mn). 1.2 Statement of the Problem Despite numerous efforts and strategies by insurance companies to maximize profitability, private health insurance has been performing poorly The insurance industry in Kenya is experiencing diverse challenges, key among them being the poor public perception of insurance (AKI Report, 2011 despite being the highest loss making class among the other classes of insurance. In the past few years, private health insurance sector in Kenya has been the highest loss-making class with loss ratios of 74.0 per cent, 80.4 per cent, 81.5 and 83.5per cent in 2008, 2009 2010 and 2011 respectively (AKI report, 2011). Private health insurance has continued to perform poorly in the year 2011, posting a loss of 650 Million compared to a loss of Kshs. 530 Million in the previous year. According to the Association of Kenya Insurers (2011), only four out of the 20 Private health insurance providers in Kenya made an underwriting profit in 2011. The sector has the highest loss ratio in the industry of 83.5% w ith net earned premiums reaching KES 8.9bn (US$74.5mn) and net incurred claims reached KES 5.4 bn (US$60.6mn). The trend has been consistent for the last 4 years 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, with all indications that 2012 will also be a loss, this has prompted the Private health insurance premiums to be increased from time to time but the situation has not been improved much A big proportion of health insurance companies covering Private health insurance have continued to suffer losses and face the risk of collapse unless urgent measures are taken to understand and mitigate against the current the trend of losses where the total premiums collected cannot fund the number of claims incurred thereby forcing insurance companies to finance the claims with other premiums, thereby compromising profitability. The sale of private health insurance products in the Kenyan industry is proving to be a high risk investment for insurance companies. Several companies have collapsed with billions of policyholders funds, causing uncertainty and turmoil in the insurance industry. Examples of some of the insurance providers doing Private health insurance that have collapsed in Kenya include Discovery health, Mediplus and Smart Guard. Discovery Health, Health Plan services, Medex and Mesco consultants There is little empirical data and information available on the challenges and constraints facing private health insurance in Kenya. The study will therefore seek to address this knowledge gap. An explication of the challenges facing Private health insurance will facilitate insurance companies in positioning their products better in the market, and enable them undertake mitigation measures to ensure profitability. The study will seek to investigate the real challenges facing Private health insurance in Kenya, and the effects on business performance with a view of informing the formulation of effective mitigation strategies. 1.3 Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to examine the the challenges facing insurance companies in the provision of private health insurance and the effect on business performance 1.4 Research Objectives To identify the challenges facing the Private health insurance companies in Kenya. To determine the effects of these challenges on the business performance of Private Health insurance companies in Kenya. To recommend strategic interventions measures to address the challenges facing the Private health insurance sub sector in Kenya. 1.5 Research Questions What are the challenges affecting provision of Private health insurance companies in Kenya? How do these challenges affect the performance of the Private health insurance companies in Kenya? What interventions measures can be employed to address the challenges in the Private health insurance Companies in Kenya? 1.6 Justification Previous research studies on insurance have concentrated on documenting the coverage and impact of insurance products, with little empirical evidence on factors affecting the sustainability of different insurance categories in the long term. It is envisaged that this research study will serve to fill this knowledge gap by identifying and elucidating the challenges that influence the implementation of private Health insurance, and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on insurance. It is hoped that this study will yield data and information that will be useful in formulating sound insurance policies and form the basis for further research and review on the insurance sector in Kenya. As such this study is important as it will identify the challenges facing the private health Insurance sector and how the challenges can be mitigated to ensure the industry grows and does not make losses. 1.7 Significance of the study This study will be important to various stakeholders including Private health insurance providers, future researchers and academicians, Association of Kenya Insurers, Insurance Regulatory Authorities and the General public. 1.7.1 Private Health Insurance Providers The findings and recommendations of this study will be useful to new Private health insurance providers intending to introduce new Private health insurance products by enabling them to formulate and target their products effectively. The study will benefit the existing Private Health insurers in understanding underwriting challenges facing medical insurance and how to address with the problems. Managers of insurance companies will find the findings of this study useful in designing strategic plans to help their businesses gain competitive advantage. 1.7.2 Academia Knowledge seekers in the fields of economics, research methods, management, and development studies will find this research study useful. In particular, this research study will be beneficial to the researchers with research interests in insurance, by serving as a point of reference. In addition, future researchers will be able to formulate further studies based on the recommendations of this study. The author, who is also a knowledge seeker, will be awarded a Master of Business Administration degree by successfully completing this research study. 1.7.3 Government and Regulatory agencies Government and regulatory agencies will find the findings and recommendations of this study useful in formulating future insurance regulations and laws that will aid in regulating and operationalization of the private health insurance industry. 1.7.4 Employers and Members of the Public The study will benefit the members of the public by helping demystify the operation of the insurance business and thereby appreciate the role of private Health insurance as well as challenges facing the Private health insurance sector in Kenya. Employers will find the findings and recommendations useful in understanding underwriting conditions proposed by insurance companies in Private Health insurance covers. 1.8 Scope of the Study The target population of this study will be all the Private health insurance providers currently operating in Nairobi, Kenya. The study will cover all the insurance companies licensed to offer Private Health insurance. Data will be collected by administering a questionnaire to managerial staff in the insurance companies. 1.9 Limitations and Delimitations This research study may encounter a number of limitations. First, the data collection will be subjected to insurance managers who may have their own formed opinions on the challenges of Private health insurance, which they may fail to articulate or tend to overemphasize for fear of the information being used for other reasons other than academic. To overcome this limitation, the researcher will carry along an introduction letter from Daystar University to confirm that the data requested will only be used for academic reasons. Data collection procedure will be restricted to the use of questionnaires thereby locking out other vital data collection tools like document analysis as they may not be availed by the companies for scrutiny. To overcome this, the study will visit the Companies websites and the information filed with the Insurance Regulatory Authority and the Association of Insurance to add on the information collected. The study will also look into other studies that have been done by other scholars on this subject. 1.10 Definition of terms Principle: A principle denotes a general guiding rule, which does not include specific directions, which vary according to the subject matter (Holzheu, 2006). Insure: To make sure or secure, to guarantee, as to insure safety to anyone. It also means to indemnify a person against pecuniary loss from specified perils or possible liability (Chen and Wong, 2004) Insured: The insured is the policy-holder who is entitled to indemnity or monetary compensation on the happening of an event insured against. The insured is also the person who obtains or is otherwise covered by insurance on his health, life or property (Holzheu, 2006). Insurer: He is the party who undertakes in consideration of an amount paid to him by the insured (premium) to pay money to the insured or assured on the happening of a stated (Holzheu, 2006). Underwriting: The process of assessing and classifying the degree of risk presented by a proposed insured or group with respect to a specific insurance product and making a decision concerning the acceptance of that risk. ( Bickley.M,C,Jones H. E, Brown.B.F and Brown J.L 2007) Adverse selection: People with a higher than average risks of needing health care are more likely than people to seek health insurance. Adverse selection results when these less healthy people disproportionately enroll into a risk pool.People with a higher than average risks of needing health care are more likely than people to seek health insurance (De Weerdt and Dercon, 2006). Co-insurance: A form of medical cost sharing in a health insurance plan that requires an insured person to pay a stated percentage of medical expenses after the deductible amount, if any, was paid (Gertler and Gruber, 2002). Co-payment: A form of medical cost sharing in a health insurance plan that requires an insured person to pay a fixed amount when a medical service is received (Leive and Xu, 2008). Deductible: A fixed dollar amount during the benefit period usually a year that an insured person pays before the insurer starts to make payments for covered medical services. Plans may have both per individual and family deductibles (Leive and Xu, 2008). Fully insured plan : A plan where the employer contracts with another organization to assume financial responsibility for the enrollees medical claims and for all incurred administrative costs (Russel, 1996). Premium: Agreed upon fees paid for coverage of medical benefits for a defined benefit period. Premiums can be paid by employers, unions, employees, or shared by both the insured individual and the plan sponsor (Leive and Xu, 2008). Self-insured plan: A plan offered by employers who directly assume the major cost of health insurance for their employees (De Weerdt and Dercon, 2006). CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter summarized the information from other researchers who had carried out their research in the same study challenges facing health insurance and their effects on busines performance. The study specifically covers the theoretical discussions, conceptual framework and research gap. 2.1 Insurance 2.1.1 Concept of Risk The existence of risk is the fundamental rationale for insurance (Criel 1997). If there is one thing about which we can be certain in this world, it is that uncertainty surrounds all that we do. This uncertainty is at the heart of risk and risk is at the very core of insurance. Risk would be defined as the probability of a cause of an event with negative outcome occurring. The cost of risk can be looked at in at least three different perspective i.e. frequency of risk, monetary cost or financial severity and human cost in terms of pain and suffering (Dickson 2002). In view of the adverse effects of risks there is a need for risks to be managed. Insurance companies are able to provide protection against the financial consequences of loss because the concept of risk pooling 2.1.2 Insurance Device Insurance contract involves two parties including the insurer and the insured. The primary function of insurance is to act as a risk transfer mechanism. Insurance involves transferring or shifting risk from one individual to a group and sharing losses, on some equitable basis by all member of the group (Vaughan, 1989). Insurance has two fundamental characteristics namely transferring or shifting risks from an individual to a group and sharing losses on some equitable basis by all member of the group (Dickson 2002). Insurance rests upon the principal of risk-sharing between many people. It relies on the law of large numbers whereby what is unpredictable for an individual is highly predictable for a large number of individuals (Criel, 1997). The law of large numbers state that typically the more times we observe a particular event the more likely that it is that our observed result will approximate be true probability that the event will occur (Bickley, Jones, Brown. Brown, 2007: 7) Insurance primarily concerns itself with risks which have financially measurable outcomes and whose outcome can only be unfavourable or leave enterprises in the same position as they were before occurrence of an event (Chen Wong, 2004). Insurance deals with fortuitous or accidental losses which must not be catastrophic for example wide spread in nature. To counter the tendency of the persons whose exposure to loss is higher than average to purchase or continue insuring to a greater extent than those whose exposure is less than average, which is referred to as avoidance of adverse selection, there must be randomness in the risks covered (Holzheu, 2006). That is there must be a proportion of good and bad risks in the insured group equal to the proportion of good and bad risk of the group on which the prediction is made. Finally the cost of insuring the risk must not be high in relation to the possible loss i.e. insurance must be economically feasible. The major activities of all insurers include rate-making, production, underwriting, loss adjustment and investment. Rate making is the process of determining the price per unit of insurance which like any other price is a function of the cost of production. The rates must be adequate, not excessive and not unfairly discriminatory (Holzheu, 2006). The premium income of the insurer must be sufficient to cover losses and expenses. Production involves supervision of the sales efforts which is carried by the agents or salaried representatives of the Insurer while underwriting on the other hand is the process of selecting and classifying exposures. If an insurer does not select from among her applicants, the result will be adverse to them (Bickley et al, 2007). The main responsibility of the underwriter is to guard against adverse selection. While attempting to avoid adverse selection through rejection of undesirable risks, the underwriter must secure an adequate volume of exposures in each class. In addition they must guard against congestion or concentration of exposure that might result in a catastrophe (Marwa, 2007). Finally loss adjusting is the loss settlement process which provides for the indemnification of those members of the group who suffer losses. It is obviously important that the insurer pay claims fairly and promptly but it is equally important that insurers resist unjust claims and avoid overpayment of them (Vaughan, 1989). As a result of their operations, insurers accumulate large amounts of money for the payment of claims in the future which are added to the funds of the insurers themselves. It would be a costly waste to permit these funds to remain idle and it is the responsibility of the insurers finance department to s ee that they are properly invested. 2.1.3 Basic principles of Insurance Insurance practice is reputed for its general principles, and the principle of indemnity is one of them, others are insurable interest, utmost good faith, subrogation, contribution and proximate cause (Marwa, 2007). Insurance is an intricate economic and social device for the handling of risks to life and property. It is social in nature because it represents the various co-operations of various individuals for mutual benefits by combining together funds to reduce the consequence of similar risk. Insurance is the placing back of a person who has suffered a loss in the same position he was before loss occurred. It aims to eradicate the consequence of a loss by not allowing the insured to suffer the consequential loss. However, unless one meets the requirements of all the basic principles of insurance, he will be estopped from claiming under an insurance contract (Holzheu, 2006). Risk is the uncertainty about an outcome in a given situation. An event might occur, and if it does, it leaves us in unfavourable position. Insurance therefore is one of the most established techniques of risk transfer. Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism by which one exchanges uncertainty for certainty. It is a risk reducing investment in which the buyer pays a small fixed amount (premium) to be protected from a potentially large loss. An entity seeking to transfer risk becomes the insured party once risk is assumed by the insurer, the insuring party, by means of a contract, called an insurance policy (Shavell, 1979). The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the premium (Dionne and Doherty, 1994). Insurance principles are the basic doctrines that guide the practice of insurance. They include insurable interest, utmost good faith, proximate cause, indemnity, subrogation and contribution (Marwa, 2007). While life assurance is guided only by the fir st three, non-life insurance (including motor) is guided by all the six principles. 2.1.4 Social Insurance Insurance is not always practised in this ideal commercial situation as described above as there are some people in society who face risks that they cannot afford to deal with themselves and require a social approach to insurance. Social insurance (SI) is defined as a device for pooling of risks and their transfer to an organisation usually governmental that is required by law to provide pecuniary or service benefits to or on behalf of covered persons upon the occurrence of certain pre-designated losses (Vaughan, 1989). In SI individual equity is secondary in importance to the social adequacy of the benefits (Carin, 2004). Benefits are weighed in favour of certain groups so that all persons will be provided a minimum flow of protection. SI does not exclude anyone who belongs to a group that qualifies for coverage nor does it charge risk related premiums. SI includes Social Health Insurance (SHI), which deals with the risk of ill health. Health Insurance as a source of financing for health care is a system in which potential customers of health care make an advance payment to an insurance scheme, which in the event of future health service utilization will pay the provider of care some or all the direct expenses incurred (Criel, 1997). The International Labour Organisation (ILO) provides a guideline for an initial minimum package for social health insurance (SHI) which includes general practitioners care such as home visits, hospitalization where necessary, specialists care in hospitals, essential pharmaceutical supplies and prenatal, maternity and postnatal care by medical practitioners or qualified midwives. (ILO, 1952). SHI is guided by the basic assumption that health is a basic human right and insurance is a tool to advance its implementation whereas Private Health Insurance (PHI) on the other hand views health as a cluster of risks, insurance of which is a profitable economic activity. (UN, 1948 1997, WHO 1978). This brings forth the argument that society should provide at least basic health care to all citizens. However, attainment of this status is usually gradual and has to be within a set legal frame work as is illustrated in the examples provided below. For instance in Belgium during 1851 a special law officially acknowledging the sickness funds (referred to as mutual health funds) was enacted. Sickness funds were based on occupational groups and were rather small-scale. During 1894 registration provided the legal foundation of these funds with a broader scope of activities, while they could henceforth benefit from government subsidies. Subsequently mutual health funds from the same political or ideological background combined into national alliances or unions. Until early 1940s membership to mutual health funds had been voluntary. In 1944 a decree was adopted to make health insurance compulsory for all salaried workers. In Israel the first health insurance fund, the KUPAT HOLIM CLALIT (General Sickness Fund), was founded in 1911 by agricultural workers in collective settlements (Kibbutz) which during 1920 was taken over by the HISTANDRUT (General Federation of Labour) and became one of its political power bases (Carin, 2004). In 1920 three other health insurance funds were established and by 1948 when Israel gained statehood, 53% of the population was covered 80% being members of general sickness funds. By 1995 when National Health Insurance Law was voted 96% of the population was covered. Now it is the duty of every resident to register as a member in one of the existing funds (Holzheu, 2006). Meanwhile the origin of SHI in Japan is the development of voluntary community health insurance scheme in the nineteenth century. In 1935 a community health insurance scheme (having rice as a pre-paid contribution and basic care as the main benefit) was established in the Fukuoka Prefecture. In the 1930s government encouraged the replication of community health insurance on a National Citizens Health Insurance law based on community financing principle but with cash-based contribution was proclaimed and implemented. The law was designed to meet the needs of poor in underserved rural villages, the farmers and self-employed workers in rural communities and small companies. It was initially run on voluntary basis (Carin, 2004). In 1922 a law was voted establishing compulsory insurance for selected groups of workers and by 1945 employee health insurance together with National Citizens Health Insurance covered 60% of the population. Legislation establishing compulsory insurance for all wa s finally adopted during 1958 and was implemented in 1961 (Carin, 2004).

Humanism and Its Effects on Renaissance Art Essay examples -- European

Beginning roughly around the year 1400 an era in Europe began; one that would shape the ideas and the lives of men. This era of rebirth or renaissance came within the fifteenth century through the revival of classical texts. One central effect of the Renaissance was the production of a new intellectual idea: humanism. Humanism being defined as a, â€Å"[t]erm invented in the 19th century. . . [regarding] developments relating to the revival of Classical literature and learning in European culture from roughly 1300 to 1600† left its mark on all of Europe leaving nothing untouched not even the artist. Both northern and southern art would be affected by humanism but in different ways ranging from changes in the human form, new choices of topic and new religious purpose. Southern art refers to the art created in what is today Italy however, at the time Italy consisted of many separate and often warring nations. This peninsula held two important advantages which affected the way Italy did art: Rome and Venice. Italy began to produce a kind of art very literally affected by humanism. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries both the human form and the subject itself moved from two-dimensional religious settings to ideal depictions of mythology. It is in Italy that names such as Brunelleschi and Donatello went to Rome to study the lessons of antiquity concerning architecture and the human form; this directly resulting in Brunelleschi's dome and arches even Donatello’s Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata and his David. All are examples to the revival of antiquities’ ways. These lessons from the ancients developed a new type of beauty. Haughton describes this affect, â€Å"The idealized figures of Florentine art are a composite of perf ... ... welcome a new style: Mannerism defined as a being bridge between the Renaissance and Baroque periods . As time propelled Europeans forward there is no doubt that the ancients’ influence was not finished, it would continue to affect the art and the culture of Europe for many generations to come. Works Cited Duke, James O. "Humanism." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.acaweb.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T039396 (accessed February 12, 2011). Haughton, Neil. 2004. "Perceptions of beauty in Renaissance art." Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 3, no. 4: 229-233. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 12, 2011). Wundram, Manfred. "Mannerism." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.acaweb.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T053829 (accessed February 12, 2011).

William Wallace :: essays research papers

William Wallace, one of Scotlands greatest national heroes to ever live, had had enough of King Edward I (Longshanks), king of Englands rule over Scotland. The patriotic Scottish outlaw organized a rebellion to stand up to Edwards rule. Wallace became a hero among the Scots but was considered a traitor by the English. Ultimately Scotland did win its freedom, but Wallaces own campaign was a failure. The main reasons for the failure of William Wallaces military campaign are: The lack of leadership on the Scottish side, the lack of cooperation among the Scottish nobles, and the fact that the Scots were greatly outnumbered, poorly trained and poorly armed. The first point that will be discussed is the lack of Scottish leadership. It would be impossible for any army to have many, if any, victories when there is no true leader to stand up and lead. Scotlands king, Alexander III, had, died after riding off a cliff during a wild storm.1 There was no heir to the Scottish throne because King Alexander III had outlived all of his children.2 Without a king, Scotland was pretty much lost. They had no direction as to what to do or when to do it. Without a king, the next in line to rule would have been the nobles. The problem with the nobles is that they were all too stubborn and proud to be ordered around by anyone, or cooperate with any of the other nobles. They would fight in their own good time and wherever they saw fit, but they would accept orders from no one.3 It was bad enough that Scotland had no king but the defiance by the nobles to lend Wallace aid did not help Wallaces campaign at all. The little leadership the Scottish rebels had was not enough. William Wallace is said to have been an excellent fighter. Unmatched in strength, speed, stamina or skill with a claymore, but despite his ability to fight, he was very inexperienced in commanding an army. The only thing he had ever led was a handful of loyal rebels on raids. The Scottish spirits were high but their courage was not enough to overcome the lack of organization.4 Thomas B. Costain says, The best fighting force in the world would be helpless if it lacked authority behind it to supply arms and food and scouting facilities to keep an eye on enemy movements.

Theodore Roosevelt :: essays research papers

With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power." Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph became an advocate of the strenuous life. In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dako ta Territory. There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Carow in December 1886. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war. Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with distinction. As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none. Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed. Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . " Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.

Hock

Hock Studies Set 2 Study #1 Reading 14: Just How are you intelligent? Garder, H. (1983) Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Main focus or purpose: Howard Garder introduced to the world this new view of multiple intelligences. â€Å"Just how are you intelligent? † is unrelated to amount of overall intelligence and asks instead about the nature of your particular type of intelligence. Primary Research Methods: Gardner developed a set of either indicators or â€Å"signs† that define intelligence.Any intellectual ability, or set of abilities, must map onto most of these criteria, if it is to be considered a separate, autonomous intelligence. Main Results Reported: Each different type of intelligence varied in results. The following were tested Linguistic intelligence- able to use words that are more skillful. Musical Intelligence- gifted abilities involving sound, especially pitch, timbre and rhythm. Logical-mathematical intelligence- analyzes and computes various relationships among abstract objects, concepts, and ideas.Spatial intelligence- skilled in creating, visualizing, and manipulating mental images. Intrapersonal intelligence- able to understand who you are. Weaknesses or Critique: Some concerns based on learning disabilities—how they would test differently. Some argue that not all intelligence was properly tested by Garder—â€Å"sexual intelligence, digital intelligence† Importance/Value: As human beings its important for us to understand which part of our brain is strongest. It can help one find a well fitting job later on. People want to practice what they are naturally good at—so testing this is important.Study #2 Reading 25- Are you the master of your fate? Rotter, J. B. (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1-28 Main focus or purpose: Are the consequences of your behavior under your personal control or are they det ermined by forces outside of yourself? Rotter wanted to study differences among people on this dimension and, rather then simply asking them, e developed a test that measured a person’s locus of control. Primary Research Methods: Rotter designed a scale containing a series of many pairs of statements.Each pair consisted of on statement reflecting an internal locus of control and one reflecting an external locus of control. Those taking the test were told to select the one statement of each pair, which you more strongly believe to be the case. This is a measure of personal belief. Rotter called his test to I-E scale. Main Results Reported: Gambling- individuals identified as internals by the I-E scale tended to prefer betting on sure things. Persuasion- internals were found to be more successful than externals in altering the attitudes of others.Achievement motivation-plans to attend college, amt of time spent on hw—more likely to be found in those students who demonstr ated an internal locus of control. Rotter hypothesized that those with an internal locus of control are more likely then externals to gain information from situations, take the initiative to make change, place greater value on inner skill and achievement goals, and are more able to resisted manipulation by others. Weaknesses or Critique: There are not any right or wrong answers in this study. Everything is just based on one individual, which is time consuming for the ones doing the studies.Importance/Value: After being tested—easier to be placed in a fitting environment. It’s important for us to know control. Study #3 Reading 30; You’re getting defensive again Freud, A. (1946). The ego and the mechanisms of defense. New York: International Universities Press. Main focus or purpose: Sigmund Freuds discovery of ego defense mechanisms occurred gradually over 30 or more years as his experiences in dealing with psychological problems grew. Primary Research Methods: F reud claimed to have discovered the defense mechanisms gradually over many years of clinical interactions with his patients.Main Results Reported: Anna Freud identified 10 defense mechanisms that had been described by her father. Five of the original mechanisms that are commonly used and widely recognized today are discussed repression, regression, projection, reaction, formation, and sublimation. Weaknesses or Critique: researchers question some of Anna freuds theories. Do defense mechanisms really exist? Do they actually function unconsciously? Importance/Value: People now have a much better understanding of mechanisms. Study #4 Reading 31: Learning to be depressed Seigman, M. E. P. , &maier, S. F (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock.Main focus or purpose: Martin Seligman (psychologist), proposed that our perceptions of power and control are learned from experience. Martin believes that a persons efforts at controlling certain life events fail repeatedly, the person may stop attempting to exercise control all together. Primary Research Methods: Subjects for this experiment were 24 â€Å"mongrel dogs†, 15 to 19 inches high at the shoulder and weighing between 25-29 pounds. The dogs were divided into 2 groups of 8. One group was the escape group and the other was the non-escape group. They were individually harnessed and but not completely unable to move.A series of shocks were given to the dogs to see which ones tried to escape. Main Results Reported: In the escape group the time it took for the dogs to press the shock panel quickly decreased over the 64 shocks. In the no escape group, panel pressing completely stopped after 30 tries. Weaknesses or Critique: It’s hard for some to read about animals being used for testing. It’s important for researchers to use them for answers but no abuse should ever take place. Importance/Value: We understand that individuals are more likely to become depressed if they lack control of of situational experience.Study #5 Reading 35: Projections of who you are Rorschach, H. (1942) Psychodiagnostics: A diagnostic test based on perception. New York: Grune & Stratton Main focus or purpose: Roschach’s showed that in the course of interpreting random inkblot, attention would be drawn away from the persons so that his or her usual psychological defenses would be weakened. Primary Research Methods: Roschach form of interpretation test is administered simply by handing a person each figure, one at a time and asking, â€Å"What might this be? Participants were free to turn the card in ant direction and hold it as close to or as far from their eyes as they wish. Main Results Reported: He found that subjects generally gave a total of 5 to 30 totally responses to the 10 figures. Depressed individuals gave less answers, those that were happy gave more, and among the mentally ill answers varied. Weaknesses or Critique: Weather or not what Rorschach claimed to measure was accurate. Othe r researches suggest that there are better ways to test this. Importance/Value: Rorschach’s research will help studies that are done on the same concepts.Study #6 It’s Not Just About Salivating Dogs! Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. London: Oxford University Press. Main Focus or Purpose: In this study, Pavlov wanted to use physiological research involving the use of dogs as subjects to test the role of salvation on digestion. Test how, when, and why an animal would salivate, what could cause it†¦Unconditional reflex or conditioned reflexes? Primary Research Methods To test this, they would introduce various types of food or nonfood substances into a dogs mouth and observe the rate and amount of salvation.Then they would associate a sound or smell that would occur before that dog gets introduced to the food. Then after noticing that the bell leads to food the dog would therefore begin to salivate by just hearing the noise. Main Results Reported Pavlov th eorized that the dogs had learned from experience in the lab to expect food following certain signals. Although these certain signals do not naturally produce salivation, the dogs came to associate them with the food and salivating with the expectancy of the foods arrival. Weaknesses or CritiqueThere were no true weaknesses or critiques to this research and work. Importance/Value: This experiment and intense observation was very important because it is now universally accepted and has remained virtually unchanged since its conception. His theories of classical conditioning explain a major proportion of human behavior and helped launch psychology as a true science. Study #7 Little Emotional Albert Watson, J. B. , & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditoned emotional Responses. Journal of Expiermental Pyschology, 3, 1-14. Main Focus or Purpose:The main purpose of this study was to test if our human behavior is based on that idea that we are motivated by unconscious instincts and repressed conflic ts from early childhood. Primary Research Methods: The methods for this particular study were simple; they took 9 month old Albert from a hospital where he had been raised as an orphan since birth. They then wanted to see if Albert was naturally afraid of certain stimuli, they placed a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, a dog and masks in front of him, and he naturally grabbed for most of the objects since they didn’t produce any fear (neutral stimuli).They then paired a loud frightening noise (unconditioned stimuli) with the presentation of each animal and he then cried every time, even just with the sight of the animal because he associated it with that same fear. Main Results Reported Albert was not originally afraid of the rats prior to the conditioning, but then after the conditioning he instantly feared the rat and even the Santa Clause mask that had a similar white appearance. Weaknesses or Critique: Study like this would not be acceptable now days.It is very questionable to ethical reasoning; to take a child at an early age and purposely frighten it is just not right. Importance/Value: This study succeeded to a large extent in convincing many in the psychological community that the emotional behavior could be conditioned through simple stimulus response techniques. Also proved that human behavior is based on that idea that we are motivated by unconscious instincts and repressed conflicts from early childhood. Study #8 Knock Wood! Skinner, B. F. (1948). Superstition in the pigeon. Journal of Expiermental Psychology, 38, 168-172Main Focus or Purpose: Skinnier wanted to test if the reason people do superstitious acts (like knocking on wood for example), do this because they believe or presume a connection exists between the superstitious behavior in a certain setting and a reinforcing consequence exists. Primary Research Methods: The researchers used a empty cage or box that only had an empty dish or tray in which food is dispensed. This allows the res earchers to have control over when the animal receives reinforcement, such as pellets of food. The early conditioning had a lever, which if pushed, would cause food to be dispensed.They then put pigeons into experimental cage for a few minutes each day, and then food reinforcement was delivered automatically every 15 seconds. Main Results Reported: In 6 out of 8 cases the resulting response were so clearly defined that two observers could agree perfectly in counting instances. Eventually, the pigeons behaved as if a certain behavior would produce the food, they became superstitious. Weaknesses or Critique: On the specific issue of superstitions, however, there appears to be less controversy and a rather wide acceptance of the learning process involved in their formation.Importance/Value: This was important because none of these behaviors had been observed in the birds prior to the condition procedure. Study #9 See Aggression†¦ Do Aggression! Bandura, A. , Ross, D. , & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582. Main Focus or Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine how children may learn to be aggressive. If they learn by observation and imitation or any other influential factors. Primary Research Methods:The researchers exposed children to adult models who behave either aggressively or non-aggressively. The children would then be tested in a new situation without the model present to determine to what extent they would imitate the acts of aggression they had observed in the adult. Main Results Reported: The children who were exposed to the violent models tended to imitate the exact violent behaviors they observed. Weaknesses or Critique: The results were so inconsistent in relation to the aggression-inhibiting effect of nonaggressive models that they were inconclusive. Importance/Value:This research formed the foundation for hundreds of studies o ver the past 45 years on the effects on children of viewing violence in person or in the media. Study #10 Just How Are You Intelligent? Gardner, H. (1938) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New Yorkk: Basic Books. Main Focus or Purpose: In this study, Garden wanted to test if there were multiple different types of intelligences rather than just one general intelligence that can be tested by an IQ test. He also wanted to further extend the theory of brain specialization, to see if different parts of the brain are responsible for different intelligences.Primary Research Methods: Gardner developed a set of eight indicators or â€Å"signs† that define an intelligence. Any intellectual ability, or set of abilities, will then be mapped onto these criterias. He separated the intelligences into 9 main ones: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, and existential and then performed test to det ermine what category or categories one might fall under. Main Results Reported: This study showed and proved that people are intelligent in many more ways than just â€Å"book smart†.It gave us proof that a student can still be very bright even if that student is struggling in math or English. Weaknesses or Critique: Many question, what about the children or adults with learning disabilities? But after these tests, Gardner then changed that into learning differences. Importance/Value: Hundreds of scientific articles and books now rest on Gardner’s theory. His theory has remained unchanged and survived for over two decades now and shows no sign of fading. He changed forever how the world looks at learning, teaching and intelligence.