Military appts Essay Example for Free

Military appts Essay Doctors appointments are missed each and every day by people who either forget to show up or choose not to call and cancel their appointment. One of the reasons why it is best to try and keep your doctors appointment is because it is the polite thing to do. Would you arrange a job interview with a company you were serious about working for but then fail to show up? No, not in the civilian world. It is very important to schedule routine doctor appointments regularly to ensure proper treatment as needed to care for my health as an injured soldier. I schedule my appointments so I can work on treating my injuries physically and mentally so when I medically retire I can hope for a better future of recovering and living a healthy life with a greater chance of being alive a lot longer than if I didnt take proper treatment. If I didnt think appointment were important than I would see my health go downhill and the recovery would be nearly impossible. Its very important to be on time to my appointments because if I were late I wouldnt receive the proper treatment I need, I would be taking time away from another soldier that thinks his appointments are just as important for his treatment and it wouldnt be fair to anyone, including myself and my healthy life and another reason is because it is my place of duty while in the military. When scheduling appointments you do not want to miss them for a number of reasons. If you miss the appointment, you are not only wasting your doctors time. You could also place your health at risk if you do not start your treatment as quickly as possible. It is rude to your doctor and you are not following through with treatment thats important for your health. Someone who also needed treatment sooner could have had the opportunity to be seen if I was going to schedule and miss my appointment. One of the primary concerns with missed appointments is that they limit access to care for multiple patients. When patients fail to appear for their appointments or they dont call and cancel in advance, its kind of hard to have enough appointments to meet the health-care needs of other patients. Making an appointment is the same as guaranteeing you will be somewhere at the agreed upon time. Just as you expect a provider to be there as scheduled, the provider expects you to be there as well. The dental office supports hundreds of members a day and works hard to keep the process of seeing Soldiers flowing smoothly. Missing an appointment interrupts that process and creates unnecessary additional work for schedulers, providers, and staff. Our goal is to support the organization that supports us by meeting all appointments. Although I can understand your missing an appointment because of recent distractions, there is no valid excuse for missing an appointment. We must find a way to make sure you dont miss future appointments. People use a variety of methods but they all share one thing in common: they all realize, at the moment they make the appointment, that they have made a promise to be present at a certain time and place and must find a way to make sure they meet their obligation. Some people have established methods that they use over and over such as writing the appointment down in an appointment book and reviewing it daily. Others write it down on a sticky note and put it somewhere where they will see it every day to remind them of the impending appointment. I will not dictate the method you use because our goal is to make sure you meet all future appointments and the method I suggest may not work for you. You must choose a method that works for you and ensure you make all future appointmets because further missed appointments will result in more severe action and affect your career.

Performance Of Google And Its Management

Performance Of Google And Its Management Since Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2003, it has been focused on technology innovations to help its users find the information with unprecedented levels of ease, accuracy and relevancy. Google primarily concentrated on the areas of search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products. These programs include AdWords, AdSense, Google Display and Google Mobile, with Android and Google Chrome serve as its operating system and platforms. Google generate revenues primarily through delivering advertising to promote products and services for businesses. Currently, it moves to new area, except for providing specific features to mobile device users, Google also operates in mobile segment, as it made an acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (Motorola) on May 22, 2012 (acquisition date). Industry Position: Google Inc. competes with other players in the Internet Information Providers industry within the technology sector. Although there are competitors worldwide, the key players are recognized as general-purpose search engines, such as Yahoo and Microsofts Bing, and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Because of its years of focus on technology innovation and huge amounts of expenses in RD every year, Google has become the global technology leader and one of most well known general Internet search engine all around the world. Comprehensive Analysis Part 1: Liquidity situation analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) Based on the statistics on Google Inc.s financial statements, there is a continuing increase in its revenues and net income, showing a tremendous and overall healthy growth path. Moreover, from the ratio exhibit, from 2008 to 2009, Googles current ratio (change from 8.77 to 10.62), quick ratio (from 8.03 to 10.08) and its free cash flow (from1754 to 2510) all have a big jump. However, we all know that the severe worldwide recession happened at the same time period, it seems Google didnt feel the shock if we only see from these numbers-but it is not true. On the one hand, the recession spread all over the world, even the mighty search giants cannot escape from it. If we put aside those annual numbers that only show final results, Google revealed its first quarter in 2009 web search declined in sales, which forced Google to make cutbacks in online advertisements spending. At the same time, Google announced two rounds of job cuts. Because of the actions of cutback on cost, Google finally beat its 2009 profit expectations -this can be shown in Googles income statement exhibit, the Total operating expenses of 2009 is $6494 million, which is lower than $6542 million of 2008, given Google is expansion scale, it proves the managements action of cutting cost sharply. However, on the other hand, even influenced by recession, Googles investors were relatively optimistic than others, since Googles slowdown still looked good compared with the other players. Moreover, some investors and observers believed that the recession gave a golden opportunity for Google to increase its value and gain more shares in the overall market-since almost all of Googles revenue come from advertisements that are placed next to customers search results, during recession, more and more businesses would choose cheaper advertisements to promote their products, such as Googles online Pay Per Click (PPC), rather than the traditional offline advertisement which used to work well before recession. From this point of view, as their competitors in traditional media cannot keep up, Google got this opportunity to effectively control the online space. As a result, during recession, Googles liquidity situation improved as shown the increase of their current ratio, quick ratio and free cash flow (as the reduced cost and shut down of some projects have released more capital that can be used to reinvest). However, after the recession, from 2009 to 2010, we can see a rapid decline of its liquidity ratios (e.g. Current ratio from 10.62 of 2009 to 4.16 of 2010), this is because after recession, Google continued to reap the growth of digital economy. It gave Google a huge opportunity to stretch in the market since the shift of consumers and advertisers from offline to online continued unabated, and it fueled Googles growth in its core business-search advertising. If we look deeper to seek the causes for the liquidity ratio declines, it is simply the management wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity, as Google decided to invest aggressively and heavily to achieve rapid innovations in its search technologies. It also made big investments to make notable enhancements to search including Instant Previews, Google Instant and Place search. During 2010, Google invested $1.8 billion to acquire products, services, companies and technologies. As a result of these huge investments made in 2010, Google liquidity ratios have a big drop, as well as its free cash flow. But this doesnt mean its competitive situation is weakened, on the opposite, these investments may have opened the doors for large amounts of future profits for Google Inc. and its stockholders. From 2010 to 2012, its current ratios and free cash flow have an overall increasing trend but are much lower than 2009 numbers. The quick ratio in 2012 is lower than that of 2010, this is because Google started to sell real goods, e.g. mobiles, so it had to rely on the inventory to be sold to convert to cash, so this reduced quick ratio. This might indicate that Googles ability to cover its current liabilities by those assets (which are expected to be converted to cash in the near future) is weakened, however, using benchmarking to compare with the industry average (industry average: current ratio 3.2, quick ratio 1.52), Googles liquidity situation still plays as competitive advantage. Part 2: Asset management analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) From 2008 to 2012, Googles days sales outstanding (DSO) has increased from approximately 44days to 57days. DSO normally represents the average number of days it takes for a company to collect outstanding receivables. The increasing DSO of Google indicates that there is a bigger amount of customers owing payments on its sales; this will make Google unable to collect cash on its sales in time, also expose the risk of ending up with bad debts. It would also limit the companys ability to make reinvestment due to lack of cash. Moreover, DSO is a component of the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC), which is usually used to determine how long cash is tied up in working capital. Thus, a big DSO contribute to make a larger CCC, it will also deteriorate Googles growth and its value in the long run. While the reason that longer DSO appeared, it is mainly because the growth of international business in this search advertising market, competition is getting awful that some of its powerful customers are testing the paid search model, and they request longer payment terms. By this way, credit terms of the company tend to be longer, as well as extended credit to certain big customers. This is a common issue for all the major players (e.g. Yahoo!), so it should not degrade the management performance just by the increase of DSO. For the asset turnover ratios, we can see that the changes of it correspond with the liquidity ratios as analyzed before: they go up in recession since a good use of the opportunity, decline sharply in 2010 as the huge investments for growth, and continuing increase from 2010 to 2012. This indicates Google is on a healthy growing path with its management making proper decisions to deal with problems, and to invest for greater future profits. Part 3: Profitability analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) As shown in exhibit, Googles Return on Assets (ROA) ratio goes up in 2009 as a peak, while decline all the way till 2012 after the peak. ROA shows the rate of return (after tax) that is earned on all of Googles assets regardless of its financing structure (debt/equity), it measures the management effectiveness using all stakeholders assets to earn profits for investors. The same trend shows in ROE ratios. For Google, this indicates that Google continues to dedicate a lot of money to new ventures that are not paying off, as the declining shows that assets are growing much faster than profits. For example, Google acquired Motorola and expect to make money off the patents in the way of exciting hardware. Also, Google+ is relatively unprofitable and potentially will be a cash cow, although Google+ is used as a defensive weapon to Facebook and other social networking business. These kinds of segments of Google are dragging down its ROA and ROE ratios. However, we can conclude that the declining ROA and ROE is basically derived from its aggressively expansion and investment, and Google is still showing growth every year, but the uncertainty of the profitability of these investments will bring bigger risk for Google. At the same time, the decline in its returns can also indicate that revenues need to grow much quicker in the future to achieve its expected earnings. Other profitability indicators of Google, such as operating margin and basic earning power are showing the same trend, exemplifies the causes analyzed above. Part 4: Debt management analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) Googles debt to asset ratio shows a small drop in 2009 and an overall increasing trend from 2009 to 2012. Combined with the asset management analysis in part 1, its reasonable to explain Googles higher profits and faster growth in recession compared with other companies result in its assets increase more than debt. Also, after 2009 recession, continuing expansionary strategy adopted by Google has driven large amounts of investments, as Google has to borrow more from its investors and creditors to reach the investment requirement, its debt grow more than assets and consequently increase its debt to asset ratio. Current performance of Google and its management Recently, after the acquisition of Motorola that bring Google the Mobile segment, Google is spending a fortune to expand its already huge Googleplex site, such as preparing to break ground on a 42-acre campus. Most obviously, Google continues to diversify its business to move to mobile and shift to social networks. Google expects Motorola patents that it acquired can be used to develop a phone to compete with some big players such as Samsung and Apple, it has already tried to feature its Android service. It is also moving into the Internet market with Google Fiber to help acquire advertisements. However, as the ratios and trends analyzed before shows that there are problems of short-term returns and higher risks, and fortunately the management has already recognized it. We can find that it has been revealed in Googles annual report that the management are making good efforts to prioritize their products, they shut down a number of products in 2011, including Google Buzz, Google Desktop and Google Labs. The management has learned a lot from those discontinued products and are putting that learning to work every day in new products. To conclude, during recession, Googles management reacted properly and took good use of its online ads advantage, to gain more market. However, the aggressive investment to grow bring uncertainties to the returns, its management should pay more attention to this issue and operate Google business with more caution and conservation, thus maximize its stockholders wealth in the long run. Googles Future Prospects Summarization It is obvious that Google has strong ambition to diversify and dominate its products in different fields, as shown from its many historical acquisitions and its recent moves. Because of its fast growth model, their short-turn foreseeable profits are shrinking, however, Google is still a technology leader in the field with unparalleled competitive advantages. If managed properly, Googles investments will bring optimistic returns in the future. Googles Corporate Governance Corporate governance mainly focuses on the way that top managers operate and interface with its stockholders. For Google, its code of conduct is well known as dont be evil. However, concerning its investors interests, the corporate governance in Google is not optimistic. Since Google initially made the IPO, it has been using dual-share-class structure, under which its shareholders can buy class A shares with one vote per share, while Google founders and co-president Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Schmidt control the majority of its class B super-voting stock with ten votes per share. This makes it hard for outside parties to take over or influence Google. Even as Googles latest actions regarding corporate governance to make stock split via a new class of stock, this would not change its top management already overwhelming voting power, since the power would decay very slowly while Googles shares get diluted. This structure has advantages, as they can avoid hostile takeovers and allow Google to concentrate on its long-term strategies rather than obsessed by tactical short-term moves. But it has much more negative effects, as there is more risk that the CEO make bad decisions. For example, Google stopped its China mainland operations, and this decision made in haste by Mr. Brin, has caused huge loss for Google and its investors. This directly reflects a lack of input from investors on Googles decision-making. In conclusion, although Google has focused on core strengths to make profits, the really challenge right now is to change the way that pushing ideas top-down and improve their current corporate governance condition, because whatever industries Google break into, good corporate governance is the fundamental insurance of keeping all its operations on the right track. Recommendation for Google Investors Although Google bear potential problems in its management investment strategy, Googles business is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive. The overall optimistic attitude held by its current investors shows their confidence in Googles investment returns, but since Googles declining ROA and ROE as well as its shrinking margins reveals higher risk or probable late returns, investors should be careful when making investment, because Googles ongoing investment in new business, products and services is inherently risky, and may disrupt its ongoing business. Besides this, investors should be aware of its internal issues that may deteriorate their investment given its corporate governance situation. Exhibit 4 Representative graphs of ratios during five years Part 1: Liquidity graph Part 2: Asset management graph Part 3: Debt management graph Part 4: Profitability graph Cited References: (n.d.). Retrieved from http://news.techeye.net/business/google-plans-enormous-real-estate-expansion (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aqueous-seo.co.uk/sem/seo/did-googles-profits-increase-despite-the-recession-or-because-of-it/99787 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2009-04-17/google-the-recession-takes-its-tollbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ycharts.com/companies/GOOG/return_on_assets (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ycharts.com/companies/GOOG/days_sales_outstanding (n.d.). Retrieved from http://baike.baidu.com/view/105.htm (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/506281-what-google-s-split-means-for-investors (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.preservearticles.com/2012010319733/here-is-your-short-essay-on-corporate-governance.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover#Tactics_against_hostile_takeover (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/dealflow/archives/2006/01/why_is_dso_risi.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Google#cite_note-63 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/goog/profile (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/about/company/ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/financialHighlights?symbol=GOOG.O (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/goog/insideractions (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Google_Inc.fb3f79c4d1791506.html#megamenu.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ct?s=GOOG+Components (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/finance/related?q=NASDAQ%3AGOOGei=FIozUbDVCNG30AHxRQ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/236438-google-is-still-a-consumer-services-and-tech-leader (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/506281-what-google-s-split-means-for-investors (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/1101721-james-demasi/252598-don-t-rely-on-corporate-governance-ratings (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/580961-behind-google-s-smoke-screen (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/3774191-ecpofi/1483231-beware-google-s-drop-in-margins-roa-and-roe (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/1114161-google-not-a-buy-suffering-from-declining-return-on-assets (n.d.). Retrieved from http://business-ethics.com/2012/08/14/10058-is-22-5-million-dollars-a-big-enough-penalty-for-google/

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller :: essays research papers

Dangerous Ground of Illusion Relations between fathers and the younger generation have been and continue to be an important theme for various literary genres (King Lear, Shakespeare; Fathers and Sons, Turgenev). For many famous writers the significance of fathers’ influence on their children forms a subject of particular interest. . In the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller shows in a very striking manner that the father's influence can be either positive or fatal. The dispiriting story of the three generations of the Lomans family contrasts with the happy account of the life of their neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard. The author details father-and-son relations in the Lomans family over a long period of time. He effortlessly demonstrates that a younger generation both inherits the father's way of life and assimilates his best or worst features. He tells us almost nothing about Willy Loman’s, the main character's, father. All we know is that he played a flute. Also he was a handy man, because he invented a gadget to make flutes. He was making and selling flutes, traveling across the country in a wagon. He took his family with him wherever he went. When Willy was about four years old, his father went to Alaska seeking to earn a fortune and disappeared amidst Alaska's expanses. Though the period when his sons Ben and Willy were with him was short, it left an indelible impression on the boys’ memory. Later, each of them inherited a part of this way of life: the older son Ben got a passion for adventure and travel, and the younger son Willy got a profession of salesmen and an interest to work with wood. Though the father's influence was quite indirect; he mostly figured in their afterglow and rather idealistic fancies, both of them became decent and hard-working people. At the age of seventeen, Ben left his home for Alaska, but soon found himself in Africa and at twenty-one he was already rich. He spent the rest of his life in Africa where he died. He was a wealthy, influential and successful man and fathered seven children. He preferred to be brutal but effective, as befits the jungles of life. On one of his brief visits to Willy's home he admonished Biff, his nephew: "Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way." Unlike his elder brother, Willy did not have enough strength to be aggressive and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by life.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- essays research papers fc

Women, Courtly Love and the Creation Myth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a great epic written in fourteenth century Europe by the Pearl poet, emphasizes the opposition of Christian love to Courtly love in the 13th century through the dilemma of Sir Gawain, one of the great knights of the Arthurian round table. By examining the women in the poem, Gawain's dilemma becomes a metaphor for the contrast of these two distinct types of love. The poem looks upon the Virgin Mary as the representative of spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life (Warner 9). In contrast, Morgan le Fay and Bertilak's wife appear to be representing courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. This conflict between courtly love and spiritual love demonstrates the drastically weakened religious values behind chivalry. An interesting parallel to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the story of original sin in the Garden of Eden. Gawain's temptation correlates to the temptation of Adam, which is rooted in the sins of the flesh. The women in the story seem to accentuate the downfall of Gawain, which mirrors the downfall of Arthur's court, as well as man's fall from grace in the garden. Originally, the first duty of a knight was to be at the service of his church. However, with the rise of courtly love, knights began to give their devotion to their mistress rather than God. This elevated the church's mistrust of women and the flesh. The characterization of Bertilak's wife is not unlike that of Eve, a temptress who would bring both happiness and despair to her man. One interesting twist to this story is that, like courtly love, possession of power seems to be shifted into the hands of the women. The wife of Bertilak operates unassisted against Gawain in the bedroom as the hunter and the aggressor. The great feminine power in the story, however, comes from Morgan le Fay, the evil stepsister of Arthur. She is strong enough to move into Bertilak's castle, turn him green and order him to walk and talk with a severed head. The Virgin Mary also plays a prominent role in the tale. It seems as if Mary and Gawain have a relationship based on a special untainted Christian love. That Gawain is Mary's knight is made clear in the scene where he is robed for battle. 'That all h... ...t. The women in this tale serve as a medium for comparing the spiritual journey of Sir Gawain to the creation myth. With Mary as a symbol of perfection and Lady Bertilak as an Eve-like symbol of temptation, the fact that he is torn between them displays his humanness just as Adam was torn between the word of God and the love of Eve. In this case, Morgan le Fay would probably be considered the serpent in the garden, the instigator of the conflict in the story. Because of the story of Eve, women were frequently looked upon in medieval times as cunning, untrustworthy and generally evil. Women in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are looked upon with the male concept that flesh is evil and will lead to man's downfall, which is highlighted by the contrast of Courtly love to Christian love. Works Cited Abrams, M.H. 'The Norton Anthology of English Literature.'; New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993. De Roo, Harvey. "Undressing Lady Bertilak: Guilt and Denial in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." The Chaucer Review 27 (1993): 305-24. Warner, Marina. 'Alone of all Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary';. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1976.

Essay --

Diabetes This is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by disturbances in carbohydrates, lipid and protein imbalances leading to increased blood glucose levels. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus; type one, type two and gestational diabetes. Type one is common among children under the age of twenty years, while type two is associated with adults. Other types of diabetes are; congenital diabetes, steroid diabetes and monogenic diabetes. However, these other forms are less prevalent compared to the three main types of diabetes. Diabetes is one of the leading cases of blindness, amputations and kidney failure (American Diabetes Association, 2008). Type one occurs due to lack of insulin in the body. In this type of diabetes; the body is unable to produce enough levels of insulin hormone which regulates the absorption of blood glucose. The immune system attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas resulting into hormone deficit. This means that individuals with type one diabetes mellitus have to be supplemented with insulin as failure to supplement may lead to death. Type two is characterized by high levels of blood glucose which is referred to as hyperglycemia. It is the most common type of diabetes accounting for 90 to 95 % of diabetic cases. Gestational diabetes affects pregnant mothers and is known to disappear after birth. It affects approximately 2% of pregnant women and 50% of the affected mothers may result to type two diabetes if the condition is not well managed (CDC, 2011). Symptoms Symptoms depend on the type of the disease and the stage of disease. However some symptoms are common in the three types of the disease. The main symptoms are; polyuria, loss of weight, increased hunger and excessive thirst.... ... acquiring the diseases as it can be passed from one generation to another (American Diabetes Association, 2008). Treatment Diabetes can be managed by the use of diabetic medications like metformin, chlorpropamide among others. However, dietary management, regular exercise and weight management are the best ways of managing diabetes mellitus. Type one is managed by administration of insulin and dietary management. Type two is managed mainly through eating healthy, physical activity and regular monitoring of blood glucose levels. Conventional medication coupled with dietary management has improved the outcomes of the patients with diabetes. Studies have shown that use of probiotics can also help in the treatment of the disease. Patients should monitor their glucose and cholesterol levels as the basic tools for managing diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2008).

Education in Bolivia for the past 50 years Essay

In the year 1989, education in Bolivia was not considered as a right by many people. However, it was observed as a means to control the lives of the masses by the ruling sector. The government restricted the release of funds to education because it gave more attention in other branches of the society. As a result, the illiteracy rate was very high. A country which has 13-14% illiteracy rate, Bolivia is regarded as the worst in the South Americas. The Bolivian government allocates 23% of its yearly budget to education which is actually the highest percentage in South American countries despite of its small budget. However, this did not help improve the literacy level of the country as a whole. According to the Bolivian National Statistics Institute in 2002, the rate of absolute literacy level is about 20%, functional literacy rate is about 35%, with totality of 55% only. There are about 11. 8% literacy rate in men were proven and this increases to a relatively high 27. 7% for women (Carlos Santander-Maturana, 2007). Nowadays, the absentee rate is very high learner for children in the primary school from six to eight years. It is comparably lower on children aged nine, but increases significantly when on children aged 12 (Santander-Maturana, C. 2007). A very familiar explanation for this growing dilemma is that the majority poor families, which comprise the leading portion in the Bolivian people, force their kids to stop from going to school in order to help their parents increase the family income. Similar thing is true to the other students who are in the secondary and tertiary level as is confirmed in Country Studies (2007): Only 1/3 of the first graders completed the 5th grade, 20% started secondary school, 5% began their postsecondary studies, and just 1% received a university degree. Dropout rates were higher among girls and rural children. Only about 40% of rural youngsters continued their education beyond the third grade (Country Studies, 2007). This astounding percentage is the worst among the South American countries and the government is now trying its best in combating this central problem in education. As years go by, parents of poor families started seeing education as a means to save them and their future generation from poverty. But as a family strives hard for survival, problems will always remain as problems no matter how they manage to resolve them. The current economic condition of the family is one of the many causes of their being illiterate. As of now, the literacy condition is getting more and more improved because people are paying much attention in education more than they did before. The government is also in support of the projects to make education better. Many programs are now laid out and are being implemented to secure the future of the country. The Bolivian style of education compared side by side with the United States’ is quite similar in a few ways. As what is stated in Encyclopedia Britannica (2007): Primary education for children 6 to 13 years of age is free and officially compulsory, although school attendance is difficult to enforce in some areas. Secondary education, lasting up to 4 years, is not compulsory. Most education is state-supported, but private institutions are permitted (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2007). Education in the United States is funded mainly by the government in three levels: federal, state, and local. Primary education, which starts from 5-6 years old and secondary education are both compulsory. College education is still an option because there are still vocational and technical courses being offered by the state. Reading literacy rate in the US is as high as 98% being recognized as one of the best reading literacy all over the world.

Human growth and development-Conception to Birth Essay

Conception This is the very first stage of the making of a human baby which is known as conception. This is when the sex cell or (gamete) from the males sperm and a gamete from the woman’s ovum or egg cell join to form the embryo.Conception can only occur during ovulation, which happens about the middle of the month between menstrual periods. The human baby’s life begins as a single cell which is formed when the sperm and egg cell join and the egg becomes fertilised, creating life. The fertilised egg (zygote) divides into two and continues to do so rapidly, at this stage some cells form the embryo and some of the placenta. These cells now resemble a mulberry, are called morulla and take about 4 days to travel along the fallopian tube and into the uterus. This point it is called a blastocyst. The blastocyst now gets attached to the uterus wall by tiny projections called villi. Once it attached to the uterus it connects to the blood stream, so it is able to absorb oxygen and essential nutrients for fast growth. Around 10 to 14 days after conception the baby is called an embryo. After conception and the embryo is formed development of it begins into a full term foetus. The 3 stages of development are known as trimesters. First trimester ‘Week 3(embryonic stage) – first period missed. Foundation of the brain and nervous system is laid down Amnion sac is formed around the embryo, which floats in a liquid (the amniotic fluid). The placenta is formed, which lies against the uterus wall and acts as the liver, lungs and kidneys for the embryo and the foetus. The placenta is connected to the embryo’s circulatory system by the umbilical cord. Nutrients pass through to the embryo and digestive waste products and CO2 pass from the baby to the mother.’(Btec national early years, Penny tassoni) Week 4 – the neural tube closes( if this does not close spina bifida occurs)The embryo is around 6.4mm in length Week 5 – the baby’s heart be can be detected and the embryo is now the same size as a small seed. Week 8 – the embryo is about 8mm long, and has developed the startle reflex. The formation of the eyes, ears, organs and limb buds is at a rudimentary stage. Foetal stage (week 12) – the baby is now called a foetus and all its body parts have grown they just need to be refined. The foetus can swallow, roll, somersault and has also developed the sucking reflex. The foetus organs are functioning it measures about 7.5cm and has downy hair and fingernails. Second trimester Week 15 – the foetus hears its first sounds Week 16- the genitals of the foetus have formed. From this stage the sex of the baby can be determined all though difficult. A greasy wax substance covers the baby’s skin, this is called vernix. Week 20- the baby weighs around 460g and babies born at this stage have a very low chance of survival. Week 22- baby can dream and feel emotions. It develops reflex to root and grasp, their bones harden and their body grows. Week 24- if born at this stage has a reasonable chance of survival with intensive care as lungs are not yet fully developed. The eyes open for the first time. Week 27- is very active e.g. kicking and moving around, and weighs around 500g and is 33cms long. Third trimester Weeks 28-32- the foetus rapidly grows to about 1700g and is about 35cm long. Developing brain able to process information more and respond to it, like recognising voices especially the mothers. Starts to develop waking and sleeping rhythm. Weeks 33-36 – foetus continues to grow and gains bout 280g a week! Brain develops rapidly and head grows more to allow this. Fine hair covering body disappears. The foetus can now swallow, make breathing movements and urinate. Glycogen forms in liver for energy during birth and soon afterwards. Also the head engages in the pelvis for 1st pregnancies otherwise may not be until labour. Weeks 37-40- amount of amniotic fluid reduces and foetus grows to fill amniotic sac. Foetus is about 3kg and its head is lying down. Birth may take place between weeks 38 and 42. Now that the baby is born, some dramatic changes will take place in all areas of their growth and development, during its first year of life. Below is a month by month guide to how babies grow and develop up until the age of 1 year. 0-1 months- babies express emotion mainly by crying, grimacing, or displaying a bright and alert face. Babies are very open to learning at around 3 to 6 weeks they develop different crying sounds for different needs e.g. hunger. Babies have reflexes which help them to survive and as they start to fade their movements become more deliberate and controlled. E.g. the walking reflex disappears after the first few weeks and they learn to walk at around 12 months. It is important to interact with babies as they gain a lot from it, especially with their family or carers. 1 month- most babies lift their heads, respond to sounds, and stare at faces. Some babies may also be able to; follow objects, ohh and ahh, and can see black and white patterns. Their arms are very active and constantly moving although they do not have much control over them. At this age babies start to recognise their carers face and voice and they become settled if they hear, smell, feel or see their parent or carer. Between now and 2 months of age babies communicate by cooing and use of gestures, this shows their skill to â€Å"take turns† in conversation. 2 months – at this age babies are on their way to realising that they and their carer are separate beings. Babies can hold up head for short periods and they will also follow objects. Babies show a variety of emotions (e.g. hunger) via their facial expressions, arm, leg and finger movements. 3 months- Babies can hold their head up and may roll over when placed on tummy and they will also begin to wave and kick their arms as their muscles are strengthening. Babies will watch their own hands, will press them together and clasp hands together in finger play. They begin to eat and sleep more regularly, respond to voices, smile at faces become more alert and look around for longer, cry and vocalize more. 4 months- at this age babies can hold their head up and put weight on their legs as muscles strengthen. Around now babies develop vowel sounds and then their first consonants sounds are heard, which are learnt through self exploration (this is also know as babbling and usually occurs when babies are alone). Babies at 4 months begin to develop their self image which helps them over the coming months discover the kind of person they are as well as what they can do. 5 months- babies can distinguish between bold colours, roll over, and amuse themselves by playing with hands and feet. They enjoy listening to music, looking at speaker’s lips and mouth to show that they enjoy listening to speech. Babies will show a clear preference for a loved one. Their primitive squeeze appears but their hand movement is uncontrolled therefore finds it difficult to let go of objects. Also they enjoy practising dropping and throwing e.g. toys. 6 months- up until now babies gain an average of 0.5oz (14.2g) to 1oz (28.4g) every day! The babies coo and smiling now proceeds to babbling and chuckling. Between now and 10 months babies will babble (add on consonants and make strings of sound e.g. dah dah dah). Babies’ opportunity to play increases, especially when encouraged by an interested adult. Encouragement to interact and play promotes positive self image. By now most babies have learned all the basic and distinct sounds of their native language. Babies of this age will also: reach out for things and grasp them, sleep in a favourite position, get their first teeth, laugh and squeal, shows pleasure and displeasure through sounds, looks carefully at things they see, recognises carer best may be afraid of others. 7 months- they can sit without support, reach for objects with a sweeping motion and imitate speech sounds. Babies of this age are aware of their emotions or feelings and start to realise that others have emotional responses linked to their interactions; they also begin to develop their understanding that they exist separate to others. 8 months- babies of this age can say â€Å"dada† and â€Å"mama† to both parents (they aren’t specific), begin to crawl and pass objects from hand to hand. Words begin to have some meaning and they form a clear image that those around them are important. 9 months- babies learn hand eye co-ordination to pick up small objects. They handle objects with enthusiasm e.g. passing from one hand to the other. Develops early pincer grip. Babies of this age should be able to combine syllables into word like sounds, stand while holding onto something, sit unsupported for up to a minute, imitate sounds, watch others, feed self, hold bottle, be shy with strangers, smile at own face, and respond to own name. Babies communication becomes increasingly intentional, they may show object as a way to communicate which paves the way for pointing. They begin to understand familiar names of people and objects, and babbling is in longer strings (â€Å"bababa mamama†) 10 months- babies begin to respond to simple commands such as â€Å"up you come†. They are able to wave goodbye, pick things up with developed pincer grasp, crawl well, and cruise. Babies of this age can tell the difference between their own regional accent and foreign ones, and understands her name. 11 months- can say â€Å"dada† and â€Å"mama† to the right parent (is specific), plays patty-cake, stands alone for a couple of seconds, can climb upstairs, can scribble with crayons. At this age babies will begin to speak in â€Å"gibberish† while making a few clear sounds. It is at this age that social skills advance. Imitation also starts, where they love to copy but they learn through doing so. 12 months- at this age babies become more capable of doing things themselves, being independent and more open to things around them. They pick up small objects e.g. crumbs with a confident pincer grip; they use both hands freely but may show preference for one. Children are now aware of themselves as people in their own right. Sometimes this is shown in negative ways of strong will e.g. throwing a tantrum to get required attention. Their first words are linked to familiar things e.g. ‘daddy’, ‘car’. Babies will begin to imitate others activities, jabber word like sounds, indicate wants with gestures. The birth weight will have tripled by this age, and most will have grown a total of around 10 inches in length since birth. Most babies are able to: sit steady for 10 minutes, pull self to a standing position, crawl on hands and knees, understand â€Å"no no†, says two words, become more confident with strangers, show emotions e.g. affection, likes to be with adults, cooperates in dressing, and turns pages in books. First single words are spoken in a child’s version e.g. â€Å"du† for duck. Will understand names of people and objects in a normal context. Will begin to shake head for â€Å"no† and try to â€Å"sing† to music.