10 Important Steps to Become a Travel Nurse

10 Important Steps to Become a Travel Nurse Want to be a nurse, but also want to travel? If you think that shorter term temporary jobs might be the best fit for your lifestyle and career, this might be a good field for you- and valuable work experience. If you think being a travel nurse is for you, here are ten steps to breaking into travel nursing.1. Get the educationStep one is getting the required education for the job. You’ll need a high school diploma or GED, plus completion of an accredited nursing program at the college level. In order to pass the required NCLEX exam, you’ll need at least an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or an ASN, which you can get in 2-3 years. Though you might wish to bump it up to a full on Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN), which more and more hospitals will start to require. If you’re short on time or funds, start with an Associate’s and move on if you need a BSN further down your path.2. Take the NCLEXYou’ll need to pass this exam before you proceed. This is required in order to qualify as an RN or licensed private nurse. The test is administered by the NCSBN.3. Get experienceYou’ll need hands-on nursing experience- usually a minimum of one year before a hospital will consider you for specialty jobs or assignments. That’s the bare minimum. Most places will ask for 2-3 years experience. Before choosing a specialty or a first job to acquire your much needed experience, consider the following most in demand specialties: ICU, ER, MS, MS/TELE, TELE, OR, LD, PACU, CVICU, Cath Lab, PEDS, PICU, NICU, Case Management, SDU, PCU, CVOR, PostPartum, Mother Baby, and Home Health. And if you want to travel, consider moving to one of the 24 states that honor the Nurse Licensure Compact. This will make sure your license is valid in whichever state you’re sent to work in. 24 possibilities!4. Figure out your tax situationYou’ll need to qualify for tax-free compensation by maintaining a legitimate tax home. Here are two valuable resources to help you learn just how to do that: Qualifying for Tax Free Stipends and Deductions As a Travel Nurse, andEverything Travel Nurses Need to Know about Taxes, Stipends and Tax-Free Money. Remember, if you don’t qualify for tax-free compensation, you will be asked to pay income taxes on that money at the end of every year.5. Figure out what you wantFigure out where you would (and wouldn’t) want to travel and which type of hospitals you’d most like to work in before you start applying. This will help you figure out which agencies to use to find your jobs.6. Figure out how much you want to makeDifferent agencies offer different packages and perks. Figure out which matter most to you: housing, travel stipend, benefits, 401k, rental cars, etc. Also make sure you have a solid understanding of how travel nursing pay packages are structured, as it’s very different from traditional salaried compensation. Make a strategy for how to compare diff erent pay packages before choosing. And make sure to do all this before you start applying.7. Start looking for agenciesOnce you know what you want, you’ll know which agencies can help you get it. There are services like Highway Hypodermics, or Travel Nursing Central that rate agencies’ success. You can also try a lead generator, a website that will connect you to â€Å"top agencies† by passing your information on to those agencies. But networking is also a good strategy. Ask your colleagues for referrals. And make sure to sign up for BluePipes, a professional networking site for healthcare pros. When you hear from an agency, make sure to ask the right questions about whether they can get you want you need before signing on.8. Make your profileEvery hospital will require an extensive application submission from you and your agency. Use BluePipes to tailor and control your submission profile and spare yourself some redundant paperwork.9. Get your papers togetherY ou’ll need to make sure all of your certifications and qualifications are up to date and ready to be delivered to a new employer STAT. Agencies will often help coordinate this- plus medical records- but it’s always a good idea to have your own set ready to go at all times. Never lose out on a job because of paperwork.10. Get hiredFinally it’s time to start submitting to jobs, preparing for interviews, signing contracts. Make sure to negotiate for what you need- and do some research into the peculiarities of travel healthcare compensation negotiation before you attempt this.Once you get your first gig, you’re well on your way! Congratulations, you’re a travel nurse.

Age of Spiritual Machines essays

Age of Spiritual Machines essays The Age of Spiritual Machines presents a history of computers, looking at how past trends in computing have led to today's personal machines. Author Ray Kurzweil then goes beyond history to look towards the future. Most audiences are familiar with the notion that computers will one day think faster and better than humans. However, Kurzweil goes beyond such familiar ground, making specific predictions regarding how "spiritual machines" will blur the line between thinking humans and technological In the first part of the book, "Probing the Past," Kurweil presents an excellent survey of how computational knowledge evolved throughout history. A gifted technological historian, Kurzweil sets the stage in this chapter by showing how these past developments have both changed the way people live and how this knowledge laid the foundations for his future Towards this, Kurzweil draws heavily from the work of heavyweights in the field such as Carl Sagan, Sherry Turkle, Marvin Minsky, Alan Turing and Eric Drexler. While Kurzweil does not actually present anything new in this part, he presents a good synthesis of the work of these important technological writers and philosophers. In this sense, The Age of Spiritual Machines is already a good read for a person looking for a good introduction into the work of the aforementioned authors. However, Kurzweil then moves on to make predictions of his own, and the fact that Kurzweil is specific with his predictions is one of the strengths of this interesting book. The author writes, for example, that by providing more intense and pleasurable sensations, virtual sex will soon be better than conventional sex. Digital prostitutes will service humans in a virtual environment, eliminating the risk of disease. Humans will soon have the ability to download their brains and minds into robots. This means that humans would be akin ...

Media Analysis Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media Analysis - Research Paper Example Some sources also helped to reform the nation in better way. Among those sources films, songs and political cartoons were playing important part. These all were worked for the purpose of motivation and for changing the views of the political leaders and parties. Describing about the importance of each of the above mentioned methods this can be said that each of them were equally important during the post civil war period in America. Political cartoons never failed to create patriotism and enthusiasm which were very much important for the civilian in the post war period. Thomas Nast was playing an important role in this particular field. He was the famous as the father of American political cartoonist. The young generation was also attracted by the political cartoons and these cartoons directed their views in proper and right way so that future generation has not to face the trouble of civil war. Public opinions were reflected regarding the situation and affect of war through the cartoon figures (Hogge, 2008). Some film makers also took initiative to focus on the certain pictures such as scale of death in war through some documentary films. Drew Gilpin Faust, Eric Foner etc were some renowned film makers who made such kind of documentary fil ms. American sheet music also provided significant perspective on the history of civil war during the post war period. There was 3, 042 pieces of sheet music at that point of time which influenced the people of nation. The collection of music included political music, patriotic music, sad songs etc which had strong impact especially on the young generation. At that point of time music was a form of propaganda. During the post civil war period illiteracy rate was high especially in the rural areas and communication system was poor. In that situation sheet music was an important way to convey the positive messages to the people of those rural areas. The most important

How Apple will not survive after the death of Steve Jobs Research Paper

How Apple will not survive after the death of Steve Jobs - Research Paper Example His return did not only resuscitate the company but also disrupted seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing (Isaacson, 2012). Under Jobs leadership, Apple became a innovative company that introduced products in the market that rendered other product obsolete and revolutionized the industry itself. Today, Apple is the world’s leading brand due to the innovation and leadership that Steve Jobs introduced in Apple without which, Apple would be nowhere near its status as the world’s leading brand today. This success is attributed to Steve Jobs management style of structured leadership and organizational behavior that has been both criticized and lauded by its critics but nevertheless made Apple of what it is today. There are many literatures that described Steve Job’s management style. Almost everybody is unanimous in their assessment about Steve Job’s passion for product excel lence that drove Apple towards innovation. Steve Jobs is extremely engrossed not only towards the details of Apple’s products but also on how it is marketed. He is known to push people to accomplish goals and objectives more than they thought they could achieve. He also stretched the possibilities of hardware and software design that yielded revolutionary products of which we enjoy today that often drove his people nuts(time). He was known to become rude, [slave driver at times], unreasonable, fickle, arrogant and even took credit for other’s ideas (time). But despite these seeming weaknesses, Job’s leadership have undeniably drove the company from near bankruptcy to become one of the most envied companies in the world. This kind of leadership was aptly encapsulated and articulated by Geil Browning as structured in the article entitled â€Å"Why Steve Jobs' Exactitude Mattered as Much as His Vision† at it dissected why Steve Jobs was effective as leader w ith his management style. Structured leadership meant having a road map on how to get things done such as â€Å"definition of objectives, develop process and road maps, pinpoint roles and responsibilities, develop timelines and schedules, establish milestones and checkpoints, determine success metrics, and identify control mechanisms† (2013).   To be specific, this kind of management style continues to learn by doing which is why Apple was always ahead on the learning curve of smartphones and gadgets. This is supported by practicality and straightforwardness which critics have branded Steve Jobs as rude for his forthrightness in communicating. Structured leadership is also sequential such as Jobs which drove his subordinates’ nuts because he does not seem to get contented with vague ideas. In sum Steve Job’s structured leadership boils to â€Å"communicating a specific, desired outcome, providing the tools to complete the assignment, and articulating how to d o it. Then just leave your employees alone. The work will get done--on time, on budget, and with precision† (Browning, 2013) particularly the precision part of which Job was known because he was precise to the minutest details. This management style of Steve Jobs however is no longer emphasized in the present leadership of Apple. Being such, Apple is bound to fail without Steve Jobs because the leadership and organizational behavior that was instilled by Steve Jobs that drove the company to excellence and produce radical innovation is already gone. Its new CEO Tim

Emergency Management 6-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Emergency Management 6-2 - Essay Example The Tropical Storm Irene, Western Massachusetts report includes the following sections: an executive summary, comparative analysis of the AAR/IPs of tropical storm Irene and the tornado. Sections A-D of the report provides a comparative analysis of the incidence in different countries: Franklin, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Hampden counties. It is evident that the plan by IEMA, 2007, is extensive in coverage of the content compared to the Tropical Storm Irene, Western Massachusetts report by WRHSAC, 2011. The two follow a general format that is acceptable according to the guidelines of reporting an emergency management plan. HSEEP influence on the after action report not only bases on the content but also in terms of format. The content in the two articles begins by identifying the areas of strength and those requiring improvement, which is in line with the guidelines offered by HSEEP. The report by IEMA, 2007, is extensive in coverage of the content compared to the Tropical Storm Irene, Western Massachusetts report. The two follow a general format that is acceptable according to the guidelines of reporting an emergency management plan. HSEEP influence on the after action report not only bases on the content but also in terms of format. The content in the two articles begins by identifying the areas of strength and those requiring improvement, which is in line with the guidelines offered by

What is Knowledge? Philosophy Essay

What is Knowledge? Philosophy Essay What is truth? What is knowledge? These seemingly simple questions lie at the heart of philosophys oldest debates. They have generated numerous theories, revealed issues of perception, cognition and certainty and they occupy philosophers today just as they did thousands of years ago: While our records on the topic go back as far as half a millennium B.C., important works on truth have been published as recently as 2009 (by Michael Lynch, on pluralism see David [2009]). The first part of this essay covers the topics of beliefs and truth and puts an emphasis on a defense of a correspondentist conception of truth, while the second part moves on to a discussion of knowledge based the thesis that knowledge is objective, and can be defined as justified true belief based on sufficient evidence. This paper is thus an argumentative paper, striving to defend the opinion of the author by engaging in a philosophical discussion. I. Truth Truth is a concept that, as established above, has numerous theories that established their own definitions and criteria to determine whether a truthbearer a statement, claim, belief etc. that can be true or false is indeed true. I will here focus on neo-classical theories of truth, as they attempt to address the question of what truth is most directly, and since they still serve as a foundation of much of the more recent debates on truth. I will thus leave aside theories such as Pluralism, Deflationism, and numerous other theories, while my focus lies on Correspondent, Pragmatic and Coherence theories of truth. The Correspondent Theory of Truth sees the nature of truth in its correspondence to reality. A statement is considered true if it describes the way things actually are (Russell, 1956). [EXAMPLE]. It is usually considered to presume some sort of realist framework that holds that there is such a thing as a reality outside of our minds, and that we are able to find some sort of relationship to that reality so that we can verify whether a claim is true or not. However, Kirkham (1992) holds that it would also be possible for correspondent theories to break with realism, for example by referring to facts of a world that exists rather in the mind of some superior entity rather than reality. For the sake of simplicity I will here assume correspondentist theories to adhere to ontological realism. The correspondent theory of truth has two prominent competitors and epistemic theories of truth, which I shall now illuminate. First; the coherence theory of truth defines the nature of truth as coherence of a belief to a set or system of established beliefs. This includes the possibility for a truth to become apparent if it is merely entailed by an established belief in the system. Thus, the system of established beliefs is not only a tool to verify the truth of a belief it is the source of the truth. (Glanzberg, 2006). Coherentism rejects the idea that we can access reality to verify our beliefs it is hence related to idealism. Idealists maintain that experience essentially originates in mental activity. Thus, the notion that a set of beliefs describes the world as it is comes naturally to idealists (Glanzberg). [EXAMPLE] Second; the pragmatist theory of truth proposes that whether a belief is true or not depends on the outcome of actions guided by that belief. Truth is thus determined by its practical value (Glanzberg, 2006). Even though the pragmatist theory of truth deserves a richer account, I will not engage with it much further for the sake of conciseness and because it falls prey to two important accusations. On the one hand, a false belief can also turn out to be true based on luck or different causational relationships than assumed. On the other hand, pragmatism does not allow us to make predictions of the future, since it reduces the definition of truth to beliefs of the past that have been confirmed by their outcome. The usefulness of a pragmatist account of truth is thus limited, both for philosophical study as well as the general scientific enquiry to generate truth. II. Belief and Knowledge The word belief in everyday language refers to a claim that we are certain of in varying degrees, that we have evidence for in varying degrees and that may or may not be true. We speak of belief when a young child strongly believes in Sinterklaas, just as we speak of belief when a person vaguely believes that she will receive a fine when parking her car in central Maastricht without a parking ticket. While both cases have varying certainty and varying likeliness to be true, we do not explicitly distinguish to what extent the belief is certain, backed by evidence or whether it is actually true. In philosophy it is specified what kind of belief is referred to. Further, a claim is only called a belief when its holder is certain of it; this means that hope and faith can be excluded from this definition of belief (Creel, 2001). Hereinafter I shall elaborate on three different kinds of belief and how they relate to knowledge in the realist framework. First, a belief based on evidence is closer to being knowledge than a belief without evidence. However, there are many beliefs that are false, despite being backed by some evidence. Surely the child believing in Sinterklaas has some evidence, such as having seen an actor dressed in the Sinterklaas costume, yet her belief is false. Second, let us assume the belief is true and backed by evidence. It can constitute knowledge, but the evidence on which it is based could too weak to conclude that true, evidence based beliefs are knowledge (Creel). Third, the evidence criterion is specified to exclude the possibility of weak evidence the evidence needs to be so strong, that the belief is justified. Is then a belief knowledge, when it can be said to be justified and true? This is where opinions diverge. Creel states that according to the justification theory of knowledge, the justification of a claim needs to be conclusive to be called knowledge. Steup (2006) claims that for a long time a justified true belief (JTB) has been the standard account of knowledge. Both are closely related, and both have been challenged 1963 by Edmund Gettier.

Profit and Loss Essay

A profit and loss account is something businesses use to show them their revenue, costs and profits for that certain year, therefore showing the total amount of profit that the business has made that year, it is extremely important for the business, in particular for the accounts department who will refer to the profit and loss account a lot. This is because it clearly lays out what the business has spent, and what the business has brought in, it is easy for the business to identify any problems involving finance, and these problems can be solved. Sales Revenue is all of the money which is coming into the business as a result of them selling their products and services, this figure is from purely sales, nothing is taken away from sales revenue. I am going to use Whitbread’s profit and loss account to show examples of sales revenue, their sales revenue for the year 2002/3 was  £1,794.1m and  £2,014.3m for the year 2001/2, this figure tells the business that their turnover has decreased in the past year, this could be for a variety of different reasons, of them is that the business had slightly more market share in 2001/2, however since than similar businesses have moved into the market and customers interests has been attracted towards those. Also, the business in itself may have decreased in quality, customers may not be as happy with the business as they were in the previous year and therefore have chose to visit other companies as a result of this. The cost of sales is how much it has cost the business to make a product/service, for example, a company selling jam, their cost of sales would be how much it has cost them to produce the jars of jam, this would be the ingredients and jars. For 2001/2, the cost of sales are at a loss of  £1.5480.0m, for 2002/3 they stand at a loss of  £1,353.1m, therefore the cost of sales were high for the year 2001/2. Reasons for which they cost of sales decreasing could be that the business is now not wasting as many raw materials and only using what they need. Whitbread’s cost of sales could be paying suppliers of places such as Beefeater’s for the products which they produce. Raw materials are materials which the business uses in order to produce a product, for example, a Pizza shop will need to import raw materials such as flour, cheese, tomatoes and pepperoni, these raw materials are they created into a finished product, in this case, the pizza. Opening and closing stock is to do with stock and the financial year, how much stock the company has at the start of their financial year, and how much they have at the end, this way the business can look at how successful a product has been throughout the year. Expenditure in a business is what it is costing them to keep the business running, without these things the business would not be able to keep running, these are known as ongoing costs. There are a large variety of expenditure costs, for example: -employee costs -repairs -interest -administration -distribution costs -etc Looking at Whitbread’s accounts, in 2001/2, their expenditure was  £389.9m and for 2002/3 was  £203.9m. In 2001, Whitbread’s spent  £25m on ‘restructuring costs’, meaning this money was spent on ways ti improve the business, new technology may have been purchased so the business does not need to spend money on other expenses. Depreciation is when an asset, for example a car, loses value over time, a car bought in 2001, will be worth less in 2002, this is because new models will have been launched and therefore customers will prefer these. On the profit and loss account, depreciation is put under expenses. In 2001/2 deprecation for Whitbreads was 3.9m, and for 2002/3 was  £7.8m. Therefore depreciation was much high during 2002/3, the reason for this is probably the fact that during the ‘restriction’ stages, the company has purchased new technology which has now decreased in value Taxation is known as the corporation tax which has to be paid by all limited companies, it is taken from their profits, and is usually a cut of them, this goes is paid to the government, obviously every company’s taxation is different. Whitbread’s taxation in 2001/2 was  £59.4m, for the year 2002/3 it stands at  £50.0m., therefore taxsation was around  £5.9.4m higher in 2001/2, this is because this year the business had a slightly higher sales turnover, meaning the taxation is higher. Gross profit is all profit made from the business, including what it has cost the business to keep running i.e. expenses.. This means that gorss profit is sales revenue, minus cost of sales, this figure creates gross profit. Sales Revenue – Cost of sales = Gross Profit Gross profit during 2001/2 stands at  £466.3m, and for the year 2002/3 are  £441.0m. This tells us that gross profit was slightly higher in 2001/2, this is because there was a different number of sales in this year that the other. However, the gross profit figure may also be different because the company is not bringing in as many sales as in other years. The business must be aware that the gross profit is not a true indication of their current performance because it does not take into account Net profit is the businesses total profit for that financial year, in order to figure out the net profit, the business must first work out the gross profit, then take away business expenses, giving the final profit figure. For the year 2001/2, the net profit was a loss of  £52.4m, however in 2002/3 the businesses net profit was  £152.8m, meaning the business made a higher net profit in 2002/3. The reason for this is probably the fact that the business under went a lot of reconstruction. The net profit gives Whitbread’s a clear indication on how they are performing as a company. Looking at Whitbread’s accounts, I would say that as a business, they have clearly made excellent improvements since their reconstruction, they have gone from making a large loss, to making a large profit in just a year. Therefore I would defiantly invest in Whitbread’s, however I would prefer to see the accounts of Whitbread over the next few years to make sure customers haven’t lost interest, in a few years time, Whitbread’s may need to make more improvements to its business to make sure they are keeping up to date.

Atlantic Slave Trade †Causes and Effiects Essay

The yearning of the Europeans especially Portuguese, Spanish, British and the Dutch for exploration, colonisation and imperialism was a major factor in expanding the slave trade networks in the Atlantic. As discussed by Timothy P. Grady in the book The Atlantic World 1450-2000, â€Å"explorers from Portugal, Spain and other European nations expanded the geographic knowledge southward along the coast of Africa and westward across the Atlantic shores of the Americas†. The urge for this exploration was triggered by the fall of Constantinople in May 1943, the last vestige of the Roman Empire, to the Muslim Turks which shook the fortitude of the European countries and the Christian faith. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean region deprived European merchants of the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road to the East. The threat of lost communication and trade routes across the Mediterranean into China, India and other regions of eastern Asia and lost access to silk and other precious commodities carried along this route, forced Europeans to explore alternate trade routes to Asia by turning westward for new opportunities. Discovery of new routes west of Europe through the Atlantic, led to European arrival off West coast of Africa in the late fifteenth century. By mid seventeenth century, the coast line of West Africa was infiltrated by fifty forts and slave trading posts of competing European countries – Portugal, Spain, Britain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany dividing the coastline into – Ivory Coast, Gold Coast and Slave Coast. The political set up in Africa also facilitated slave trade. Africa was divided into a number of small and large states, chieftaincies and independent villages each with their own form of government, religion, customs and traditions. These territories often fought with each other and the captives of war were taken as slaves. Such conflicts were justified wars which according to Warren. C. Whatley was â€Å"natural struggles of nation building† conducted in the normal course of affairs. The captives referred to as â€Å"joint-products of war† or â€Å"stolen goods† were then exported. With the advent of the Europeans, domestic conflicts became slave raids. As Robin Law asserted, the Kingdom of Dahomey dominated the slave raiding and trading from 1715 to 1850. Their kings held a royal monopoly on the trade and conducted slave raids through their armies. Thus the political ambitions of the European and African monarchy led to the development of the slave trade. The developments in technology and its impact on navigation, ship building, and firearms aided the growth in Atlantic slave trade. Navigation The desire for exploration spurred European scholars, navigators and sailors to expand their knowledge of geography and devise new ways of charting and mapping their journeys. Increased use of the hour glass and logs to measure time and distance and the Portolan charts clearly documented navigation. In 1462, the Portuguese navigators devised methods of figuring out latitudes by measuring the height of the Pole Star above the horizon. Later in 1484, astronomers in the court of King Joao II, using the midday sun to figure latitudes, produced a set of declination tables. Under the patronage of Prince Henry of Portugal, other significant developments were made in the study of winds, tides and ocean currents; documents from previous explorations were compiled and maps and charts were continuously improved. Thus a good number of problems associated with navigation were resolved by late fifteenth century. As navigation across the great oceans became manageable, the transportation of the slaves between the continents – Europe, Africa and America became less complicated. Ship Building The changes to the design and functionalities of the European ships were another major factor that contributed to the expansion of Atlantic slave trade. Between the fourteenth and mid- nineteenth centuries, sailing ships were the main means of transport of the slaves. These sailing ships kept changing over time in terms of design, fittings, equipments and materials used as sail. Use of three to four masts, sturdy hull, square lateen and sprit sails, and stern rudder enhanced their sailing power, speed and eased control of the ships in wild weather conditions. Small ships such as the caravel, highly manoeuvrable ships introduced in the fifteenth century encouraged the Portuguese to explore regions around West African coast such as Senegal and Cape Verde and Canary islands to secure staples, gold and slaves. Other ships designed by Portuguese for travel in the Atlantic Ocean were the carracks, four masted ships and the galleon, heavily armed multi deck sailing ships. The ships also grew in size and multi decks were able to accommodate larger number of slaves. The mean tonnage of the slave ships from Liverpool in 1730 was 75 tons. This increased to 130 tons in 1790 and 226 tons in 1805. Weapons The supremacy of Europe in the slave trade was driven by its guns, cannons and restraints. They used a variety of weapons to threaten the slaves and the enemy ships at sea, to maintain control both on land and at sea. The diffusion of the new gunpowder technology accelerated the slave trade. The African communities, threatened by armed neighbours, resorted to trading the captives for gunpowder, guns and muskets. In the words of Warren. C. Whatley, the vicious cycle, â€Å"a raid or be raided† arms race known as the Gun- Slave-Cycle was created. The replacement of the ineffective matchlock musket by the flintlock in1680s, drastically increased firearms demand in West Africa. According to J. E. Inikori, the firearms imported from England during the eighteenth century were between 283,000 and 394,000 guns per annum. The demand for firearms from West Africa was so high that manufacturing companies such as Farmer and Galton were forced to pressurise their workers to increase production. The demand for firearms was matched by supply of slaves. The developments in restraining technology aided the slave trade in terms of terrorising the slaves and reducing escapes. The restraints used in the trade included, neck restraints, iron collars linked by chains, tongue restraints and leg and wrist shackles to trammel movement. The ability to stow more slaves per cubic foot of the ship, ability to navigate better around the coast of Africa, the reduction in escapees due to draconian restraints, and the organisation of forts around the coast to lodge the captives helped to reduce costs and promote trade. African Demand for goods from Europe The introduction of a wide range of consumption goods in West Africa, the possession of which was a matter of social status and power, was another factor leading to the development of Atlantic slave trade. The African demand for iron and copper bars, textiles, salt, earthenware, weapons and firearms, rum, wine, gin and cowrie shells and a variety of both European and oriental goods had a profound impact on slave trade. The demands for these goods were so high that the European suppliers could not cope with the increased demand. J. E. Inikori commented that firearms and textiles were in such high demand by the slave traders that they were not prepared to clear their slave cargo, if they were not satisfied with the quantity of supply of these items of trade. The merchants were willing to trade their morality to capture slaves in exchange for European goods. Alan Rice clearly identifies this when he asserts, â€Å"The desire for luxury goods was so great that these African elites would consign war captives and domestic slaves to an unknown fate across the ocean in exchange for them†. Growth in Slave trading institutions Growth in social institutions to perform a more organised slave trade was a key factor in Atlantic slave trade. The increase in demand and prices of slaves encouraged the development of various institutions to address the issues associated with the trade – capture, enslavement, seasoning, trade, regulations and taxation. The merchants explored new ways of trapping the slaves – deception, kidnapping, ambush attacks, promoting conflicts between villages and the pretence of family substitution for the runaways. The kidnap of Olaudah Equiano in 1750s in his words, â€Å"One day when all our people were gone out to their works as usual and only I and my sister were left to mind the house, two men and woman got over our walls and in a moment seized us both†¦ and ran off with us into the nearest wood†. The drought and famine in Africa due to marginal rainfalls in the Savannah areas – Angola and the grasslands extending from Senegambia to Cameron, forced desponding families to sell themselves. People were too poor to survive and offered themselves as collateral for credits. Non repayment made them slaves. Development of enforcement mechanisms also encouraged the slave trade. Credit was offered to slave traders to cover costs of acquiring, transporting and housing slaves until they were boarded on the ships. Other types of such mechanisms, described by Warren. C. Whatley were â€Å"the use of factories and forts as holding pens and warehouses, African canoe houses and other trade coalitions, secret societies and treaties between European and African nations. The cycle of violence to hunt down the slaves continued leading to an upsurge in slave trade The decline in population in the Americas This was another important factor that led to the development of Atlantic slave trade. With the European colonisation of the Americas, there was a growth in mining and plantations in the islands between North and South America and the labour demands were met by native Indians. The massive mortality rates of the natives due to poor working conditions and new European and African diseases such as measles, small pox, the plague, influenza, malaria and yellow fever led to decline in the population of Americas. Figure 1 presents data on the drastic decline in population in Americas which led to a decline in labour. The Europeans now turned to the Negroes in Africa for labour. They soon found that the African slaves were more productive and the output quadrupled. Shiploads of slaves were exported to work in these American islands and soon the slave trade was transformed from a marginal institution to a global phenomenon. Growth in Plantations The development of Atlantic slave trade stemmed from the growth in plantation agriculture such as sugar, cotton, tobacco, tea and rice in the New World. The demand for plantation workers in sixteenth century Brazil, seventeenth century Caribbean and nineteenth century Cuba instigated slave supply from Africa. The intensity of the growth in plantations could be seen in small islands like Barbados. By 1650 Barbados had 300 plantations which multiplied to 900 by 1670, a rate of 100% per annum. The growing demand for sugar, multiplying at a compound rate of 5% per annum in the seventeenth century to about 10% in the nineteenth century, increased the demand for African slaves to work in the sugar plantations in the New World lands. As H. Hobhouse puts it, â€Å"‘food’ became responsible for the Africanization of the Caribbean†. This small group of islands accounted for 80% of the sugar and slave trade until the eighteenth century. The slave labour for majority of these plantations was secured from Africa through the Atlantic. As plantations became the expanded into a global trade network, so did the Atlantic slave trade. Slave Trade and Profitability There were various groups of stakeholders in the Atlantic Slave trade who participated in it due to the profitability from the trade in slaves. African Rulers profited in terms of taxes and custom duties paid by the European merchants. They were given the first choice of any merchandise that was brought into Africa for trade and were able to bargain lower prices for these goods. The rulers also commanded premium prices for their own slaves. They also received considerable gifts from the merchants in order to secure preferential trading agreements. Ouidah, a coastal town in Benin, West Africa was a strong European trading post since 1720 and was accessed by forty to fifty European trading vessels per year. Hence the ruler who started off with ten slaves in exchange for opening his market in 1700 was able to command a higher price of twenty slaves by 1720. This was in addition to the privileges in the purchase or sale of the commodities which included the slaves as well. According to Miles Ogborn, by 1800s the rulers in Africa were able to obtain â€Å"goods for each slave worth three or four times as much in 1700†. Both African and European slave traders were paid well. Overwhelmed by the profits from slave exports, wealthy merchants both in Africa and Europe, expanded slave trading networks to prodigious numbers. Figure 2 analyses changes in supply by African slave merchants in response to changes in prices. The data reveals that the supply increased as price increased. Hence, the largest emigration of slaves in the eighteenth century can be attributed to the increase in price from ? 14 to ? 25. Between the years 1779 and 1788, there was a decrease in demand for slaves due to the War of American Independence. This created excess supply of slaves in the African coast. Hence the planter in Americas started restocking their slave supply. The European slave traders capitalised on this by securing supply at cheaper prices from Africa and selling higher prices in the Americas; thereby making abnormal profits between these years. Thus slave trade allowed African and European slave traders to maximise profits from the trade. The consumers of Europe profited in terms of cheaper commodity prices due to increased output by African slaves in the plantations. Figure 3 presents data on the production of sugar and tobacco by British colonies. The increased volume of production of these commodities reduced their prices much to the favour of European consumers. Tobacco which fetched twenty to forty shillings in 1619 was sold for a shilling or less while the price of sugar halved between 1630 and 1680. Thus the consumers were able to enjoy the luxury of these commodities at affordable prices. The planters were another group of stakeholders in the trade who profited in their own way. Labour became cheap and more available due to Atlantic Slave trade. The planters always worked with a motive of profitable exploitation of the factors of production, especially labour and work was dictated by discipline and violence. Successful planters were able to create immense wealth and have extravagant lifestyles. While the slaves slogged day and night in the plantations, the owners were able to retreat in the Great Houses built on commanding positions, with beautiful gardens, imported china, furniture and furnishings. The fortune and lifestyle of Sir Charles Price, the largest land and slave owner of Jamaica between 1738 and 1772 demonstrates the height of planter lifestyles. The Decoy†, the Great House he built was a mansion with magnificent rooms with mirrors and wood carving in the decor, lakes and parks around the house and elegant gardens with fruits, flowers and vegetables. This essay has clearly illustrated the factors that led to the development of the Atlantic Slave trade. Eventhough the political set up in Europe and Africa and the growth in plantations laid the foundation for the trade, it was the technological developments and social influences on the Europeans and Africans that took the trade to global heights. Overall, the technological improvements lowered transport, handling and shipping costs enabling the achievement of economies of scale. Similarly, the growing demand for goods from Europe in Africa, the growth in slave trading institutions and the decline in Americas’ population fostered the slave trade. Finally, the profitability from the trade influenced various groups of stakeholders to become intensely involved making it an international trade spanning four continents and altering their social, economic and political composition.

Free Essays on Gods Will For You And Me Vs. Pied Beauty

it makes you feel or it makes you think. To say that sentimentality cannot have a place in a good poem would seem to be an unnecessarily close-minded point of view.... Free Essays on Gods Will For You And Me Vs. Pied Beauty Free Essays on Gods Will For You And Me Vs. Pied Beauty The poems God’s Will for You and Me and Pied Beauty both deal with an individual’s feelings towards God. The writers use feelings of praise towards god, however they express their emotions in very different ways. I believe that the writer of God’s Will for You and Me did a better job than the writer of Pied Beauty. According to Perrine, Pied Beauty is a bad poem. The poem Pied Beauty seems to be very didactic. The writer is trying to preach to you to praise God because of things such as the beauty of nature. The writer is putting forth the idea that all things are subject to change and that no matter how they change there is beauty to be found. However the poem seems to have words strung together that interfere with both the pattern and picture painted in the mind of the reader. It also seems to be choppy or unorganized. However, the writer of God’s Will for You and Me uses words that express the true meaning of the poem. Not only does this poem flow well in the way that any rearrangement would be harmful to the poem but the writer is also very clear in the idea he is trying to get across. I believe that this is a truly good poem. Even though the writer is again trying to express his feelings towards God, he doesn’t seem to preach. He appears to be expressing his own feelings rather than telling the reader how they should feel. For the most part I can see Perrine’s point of view on what makes a poem either a good or a bad poem. However, I do not agree with his views on sentimentality. I believe that one of the key criteria for a good poem is that it grabs you either on an emotional or on an intellectual level. In other words it makes you feel or it makes you think. To say that sentimentality cannot have a place in a good poem would seem to be an unnecessarily close-minded point of view....

Financial Aid Essays

Financial Aid Essays Financial Aid Essay Financial Aid Essay To: Augusta State University Financial Aid Attn: Ms. Holmes Re: Reinstatement of Financial Aid To Whom this May Concern: I am again requesting the reinstatement of my Financial Aid (Stafford Loan and/or Pell Grant) to complete my graduation requirements which consist of, 9 hours that I will complete in the Fall of 2009, with a completion of all standards for my degree program in December of 2009. Previously, I was unable to attain satisfactory academic progress which resulted in me exceeding the number of attempted hours that is required for my degree, which was the reason for my first appeal. My first appeal was approved for Summer 2009 and Fall 2009 semesters as long as I didn’t have any unsuccessful attempts (F, W, WF, etc), however, some personal issues this Summer interfered with my ability to remain focused on my educational goals and the particular class that I was taking. With these issues, and the rigorous course work of that particular 4000 level course, which can be very difficult to cram a course of such nature in a Summer semester, simply became too much for me to effectively handle at the time, which resulted in me having to Withdraw from that particular class after mid-term, which I recognize to be a violation of my first appeal. In June, my mothers’ sister, who had a major hand in raising me, suffered a stroke at the brain which resulted in near death. : This took a toll on me, as well as my family, with me being the only reliable person who could actually spend days at the hospital, and be there for her rehabilitation. Also, during the midst of this, I lost my job, under un-fair circumstances, which was my only means of income for me, and my children. I am not using these issues resulting from my personal problems as excuses, but merely they were influential in me finding that the best result for me at the time was to Withdraw from that particular class. This Withdrawal was after mid-term, due to the fact that I tried to stick it out, but it became too much with the other issues that I had going on at that time. However, these issues in no way reflect the dedication, determination, and effort I exhibit in achieving my educational goals, which is still set for me to graduate in the Fall of 2009, as in my first appeal. I will now, just have to take 3 classes instead of 2 classes in the Fall, with the Fall Semester being longer than the Summer semester, therefore it will not be as much information to place in such a short period of time. Because of my sincere desire to complete my degree and request that my financial aid be reinstated for this remaining semester in order for me to do this, my solution is to, first, began working only on the weekends in order to dedicate more time to this last semester in order to focus more on the particular classes that I will be taking, and I have already been blessed with a job that will begin at the end of this month, which requires for me to work only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. My aunt is also now back at-home, but is still undergoing rehabilitation at her home, which has freed up some of the extra time that I had to take to see her through. My mother has also agreed to actively have my children throughout the week in order for me to be able to devote more time to my remaining classes, because me receiving my degree is of the upmost importance. Please take this matter into consideration, because again, it is my sincere desire to complete my degree, and financial aid will be the only means to bear my school expenses with the current lost of my job, and me not starting another job until after the Fall fees are due, which is on July 31, 2009.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example These automobile producers include Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen BMW and several others which rely on the quality products produced by Magna. With the help of its technologies Magna is able to develop a variety of products including exterior, interior, metal body, front models, rear models, lighting components and several others. Magna is also known for its assembling of these products together to produce an automobile which can meet the requirements of the modern day society. Although the company went through an era of considerable losses in 2008, it still was able to grasp a profit of nearly $51 million by the end of September 2008. This clearly shows that the company is growing more and more day by day generating more profits so as to fulfill its aim of achieving the right profitability rate. Unlike other companies, Magna International Inc. does not follow a mission statement with inflexible approaches. It, as a substitute, uses its ‘corporate constitution’ and its ‘ Employees’ Charter’ as its responsibilities and line of action. The corporate constitution of Magna International included the rights and responsibilities of its workers, declaration of management’s involvement in profits and development of the business, and description of disciplines on management. Their culture and responsibility, hence, is to keep a balanced behavior with management, workers and investors. The operating philosophy and culture of Magna International is based on the fairness of treatment, equality of opportunities to all employees and a collaborative approach to work for the good of the organization. It gives ample space to the employees in order to increase its efficiency and provides a flexible approach to the wants of employees, shareholders and management. The aim of Magna is to become a leading supplier of automobile parts but keeping the integrity and fairness in the treatment of its organizational workers and other stakeholders. The comp any has expanded throughout these years and has now been able to develop 242 manufacturing operations all over the world. Magna International in order to achieve its aim has to operate in a proper international, regional and industrial environment. The industrial environment of the company includes the working level of the employees and the potential to which they can work at. The industrial environment of Magna International is modified in such a way so that their employees are able to work at their maximum potential. The industrial environment of Magna includes its fair working policies and other programs which tend to encourage employee participation. Moreover an Employee Charter which was introduced in 1988 helps them to achieve this target of fairness and balanced industrial environment. As the company has expanded all over the world it applies to all the principles and laws of different nations. To do so the company makes sure that it is competitive enough to launch its manufa cturing plants in certain countries and that its routine activities in that particular area are successful enough. The company has developed such policies which help them to further expand in these countries and cope up on the level of international scenario. The company strictly follows the laws and economic policies of the country in which it develops its plants. Similarly it also adheres to the factor of language as per the country

Do violent video games lead to violent behaviour among young people Essay - 1

Do violent video games lead to violent behaviour among young people - Essay Example Such games have a very negative impact on the mind-set of the young children who play such games. The fictitious events are often considered reality by innocent children who lack a proper sense of direction. The events portrayed in the game change the mind-set of young children. Children very often try stunts on their friends which are shown in violent video games. Playing violent video games increases aggression among people who play it and there are no two ways about it. â€Å"One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games," said psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., and Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. "The other study reveals that even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants† (Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression). â€Å"On average, there is a significant tendency for the studies to yield an increase in aggression by those who have played the violent games," said Craig Anderson, an Iowa State University professor and leading researcher on the effects of media violence.† (Violent Video games under Attack). There are enough evidences which prove that playing violent video games give rise to violence in the society. This is extremely bad for the society, it is high time that this is realized and something should be done about it sooner rather than later. Every coin is two sided, playing games also has benefits. It relaxes a person and it is very entertaining to play games. The relaxation derived from playing games is immense and cannot be out into words. Research also proves that playing games makes the mind sharper and the response rate of the mind goes up by a significant level. â€Å"Nottingham Trent University professor Mark Griffiths said they can be a