Are Teachers Obliged to Supervise Students in the Cafeteria Essay - 7

Are Teachers Obliged to Supervise Students in the Cafeteria - Essay Example The teachers filed the grievances for these new assignments. According to the employers, there was standard management rights’ clause in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement which they had invoked in the present case to contain rowdy behaviour of the students, during the lunch break. The union, on the other hand, asserted that cafeteria supervision was mentioned in the agreement for the secondary teachers only and due to lack of any past practice, assigning these duties to the elementary teachers was against the contract. Yes, Union’s claim is right. There is a contractual basis, expressed in language because the contract mentions the supervision duties for the secondary teachers and not the elementary school teachers. No, there is no past evidence of elementary school teachers burdened with the added responsibilities of supervising cafeteria during the lunch break. There was also no inclusion of such in their job description as against the fact that cafeteria supervision was included in the agreement for secondary teachers. The union also claimed that the lunchtime was used by the teachers for various other educational activities like meeting parents, remediation, preparing and planning students’ performance enhancing activities etc. that were designed for the overall development of the students. Cafeteria supervision would restrict these extra activities that are an essential part of teaching aids and measures. Hence, extra duties are legally and ethically wrong. As an arbitrator, I would ensure that the elementary teachers were not burdened with the extra duty of cafeteria supervision because children in the elementary school require more educational aids and teachers-parental interaction for improved results. The roles and responsibilities of a teacher are multidimensional.   The teachers often serve as role models for their students so they need to be very meticulous and at the same time, he/she should be extremely knowledgeable so as to command respect from their students.  

Branding and Marketing of Kooler Refresh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Branding and Marketing of Kooler Refresh - Essay Example This paper analyzes the branding concept in relation to the launch of a new product and is realized in the development of a soft drink. The product under consideration is Kooler Refresh that is meant to be a competitive drink against the existing products within the U.S. market. With the desire for the market to experiment on newly developed products, Kooler Refresh has been advanced to compete against the established products like Coca-cola and Pepsi that dominate the market share. Brand Positioning Kooler Refresh is a new product to be launched within the U.S. market under the soft drink category to counter the development of a dominant market share by existence products. The product has been based on the need to deliver affordable brand with familiar flavor and quality as compared to the existing brands. The product also seeks to target a defined demographic with the contents within the brand promising added incentive to the consumer. Why Kooler Refresh The soft drink is produced based on the natural fruits as the sole ingredient with the only additive being sugar and glucose. The component comes in variable flavors with the tropical mango, orange and strawberry expected to dominate sales. The new brand targets the demographic that requires valuable taste, health and energy. The target is included in energetic youth and elderly individuals who present the need in delivering satisfactory consumption rate. The product had also been launched based on the principle of affordability after conducting research on the three leading flavors on the demographic. This had been done in three local schools that offered preference to the brand as compared to the other competitors. The leading brands within the market have been in Coca-Cola with Pepsi taking the second position. These brands have utilized the concept of endorsement from celebrity and leading functions in marketing the product. The other paramount position had been realized in the period applied by their mar keters to gain the market share. These brands minimize the prevalence of a new product through promotional campaign and the preference of the customers on a familiar taste of brand. These have been most dominant propositions with customers failing to purchase alternative products at lower products for the recognized brands (Gelder, 2005). However, Kooler Refresh is planning to take advantage of the current market trend. With the catchy phrase that is based on the marketing campaign to promote the healthy product, the competition would be sustained with the realization of the harmful carbonated drinks. The brand targets majority of the customers to be the youth and young energetic children. These are the target that requires added flavor to the drink with positive implications to developing their health. The company also wishes to maximize on generating profit through investing on affordable prices on the established quantities. Kooler Refresh not only rejuvenates the health presenta tion, but also presents a quality taste to be linked to the natural fruit composition that lacks in the competitors drink Moreover, the packaging would be in recyclable material with a uniquely designed ? liter bottle to be used for extended purposes like holding water. Brand Concept The proposed applied strategy to achieve the market position had been in the development of an outstanding brand name. Kooler Refresh is a name that does not share similarity to any other soft drink product in the

Sarbanes Oxley Research Paper Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sarbanes Oxley Paper - Research Proposal Example The investor of equity and money markets were under heavy scrutiny and investor had lost confidence in the accountability and truthfulness of the financial data coming out on daily basis from the public corporations registered in the financial markets such as NYSE and NASDAQ. Congress and the Security and Exchange commission intervened in the situation by creating a new financial regulation called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002. The Sarbanes Oxley Act purpose was to increase investor confidence by reforming accounting practices to improve accountability, auditor independence, internal controls, and executive responsibility to ensure financial fraud at the executive level of public companies was became punishable by jail time (Aicpa, 2008). This report analyses business compliance, the Sarbanes Oxley Act and its ethical implications. The two congressmen who created the principles and concepts of the Sarbanes-Oxley framework were Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act covers multiple issues which are arranged into eleven titles (Soxlaw, 2006). Out of the eleven titles six of them deal with business compliance. The five most influential parts of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 are sections 302, 401, 404, 409 and 502. Section 302 deals with the topic of corporate responsibility of financial reports. The Act mandated a series of new certification concerning newly released financial reports of public corporations. Some of the new certification protocols included the signature of the CEO which this person liable in case of financial fraud, information regarding internal controls, and new auditor reports to ensure there were no untrue statement, material omission and that the reports were presented in fair manner (Soxlaw, 2006). Section 401 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act adds to the credibility of financial statements by enhancing the financial disclosures. One of the key

Final Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Reflection - Essay Example The summary of â€Å"Is Facebook making us Lonely† helped us a lot in understanding audience awareness. The article helped us how to write keeping the dispositions of audience towards the writer. The authors discussed the topic in an excellent way keeping their audience in mind. The summary of the article also informed us about the details involved in responding to audience. The article itself served as a role model for us as to how to communicate with audience using facts and rhetoric together. The subject of the article was very interesting and authors were successful in keeping the interests of the readers at all times. The summary of the article also helped us to learn about summarizing and paraphrasing. It helped us understand how to read and summarize a particular work without ignoring every small detail. I personally learned how to concisely summarize a long article in a few pages. This course has also helped me recognize the importance of rhetorical stance especially through the class discussions. In the class discussions we learnt how to maintain a clear stance throughout the discussion without changing sides. It was more about building a whole case around a central thesis. This helped my writing a lot because previously there was less coherence in my work. I used to discuss many things in a single paper and did not focus too much on a central theme or purpose. Class discussion made me understand how important it is to think about a purpose when writing about a topic. Research paper probably helped me the most as it made my research skills better. I learned how to use search engines and other sources to get the relevant information in a less amount of time. There is loads of information now at our disposal but it is very difficult to extract the right kind of information in a short time. I believe that research paper writing helped me research in a better way. When I was doing the paper I had to analyze other people’s work and

Utilitarianism - Morality Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Morality Essay Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory holding that moral actions are based on the maximization of overall happiness, defined as the Utility Principle. Mill and Benthams utilitarianism makes a plausible and convincing argument, though not everyone agrees with it. Bernard Williams writes Utilitarianism: For and Against the theory. In agreement with Williams, I have formed my own thought experiment to refute utilitarianism and will be taking an analytic approach to the utility principle. By these two, I will show that utilitarianism is an incoherent doctrine failing to consider the value of an individual and guilty of inappropriately attributing calculation to moral actions. Before I began, I would like define two popular forms of utilitarianism: Act-utilitarianism and Rule-Utilitarianism. Rule-Utilitarianism is a view held by philosopher John-Stuart Mill, which is the view that the utility principle is applied to a certain set of rules. For example, consider you are a leader of a new nation. In establishing this nation, you want to make sure your citizens are happy throughout time. Thus, the question becomes: what set of rules would you adopt to make this possible? Now, the problem with rule-utilitarianism is that it calls into question how effective it is to follow a particular rule in general. As we can see, rule-utilitarianism runs into some problems itself; unfortunately, the exploration of its problems does not fit the scope of the paper. I will spend the remainder of the paper critiquing Act-Utilitarianism: the view that what determines a moral action is the outcome, that is, the single action only. To bring out the force of my claim, I must admit, utilitarianism gets a few things right. Utilitarianism succeeds in: (1) Consideration of the pleasure and pain of individuals (2) Not allowing individuals to put their personal feelings or relationships ahead of others (3)Attempting to provide an objective and quantitative method for making moral decisions. It is important to consider the pleasure and pain of every individual in that it causes us to reflect our moral intuitions. It forces us to examine each person and ask: is what I am doing morally right? Further, not allowing personal feelings or relationships in decision making shows the importance of impartiality in decision making. By doing that, you are forced to look at the objective facts or situation, whereas a personal bias could cause a skewed decision making which may not be the best decision in hindsight. Finally, by applying a quantitative method for making moral decisions, Utilitarianism revives the general attitude towards ethics. It is too often, that in philosophy and in other disciplines, ethics is simply casted out as being just one’s personal feelings. With using mathematical calculation in decision making, utilitarianism fosters rational decision making in that it is impossible for you to put your own bias forth and creates an objective account of ethics. To illustrate the effectiveness of utilitarianism: Suppose your best friend and coworker, Erin, is broke and teals some money from your boss in order to buy food. Later, your boss finds out that he has a significant amount of money missing from his wallet. Knowing he certainly did not spend the money, he then realizes that the only plausible explanation of his missing money is theft. He then asks five of his employees (yourself included) if they had taken or heard some money missing. Naturally, the employees say no, though we know Erin took it. In his rage, he threatens to fire three of the employees at random if somebody does not confess. The three coworkers who did not take anything are fighting amongst themselves, blaming each other on stealing money, even though, they did not do it. You know Erin took it, though she begs you to keep quiet. In this situation, a utilitarian would hold the utility principle. Granted, there may be personal feelings involved; you know Erin is financially in trouble and she is your best friend, the personal connection would not play a role in your decision making. If you turn in Erin for the action she did, you have an 80% chance of keeping your job and those around you. Now, if you choose not to tell, you run the risk of possibly being fired for something you did not do, then at the minimum, 60% of the people will be fired, leaving only two. So, being a good utilitarian, you turn in your broke friend. Now, even though her intention was a noble one (trying to feed her hungry daughter), using utilitarian based decision-making, you have (a) not allowed your personal feelings to get involved even though you know she needs it and her intention was to feed herself, (b) have employed an objective decision using utilitarian calculus and (c) saved 4 peoples jobs and financial stability without running the risk of turning in the wrong person. Though, in so far as Utilitarianism is, at the surface level, a noble doctrine trying to account for every individual in making decisions, it is important to raise some objections against the doctrine in as being a coherent system of ethics. The Utility principle serves as a guideline in determining which actions are the most moral that which we should perform. According to Utilitarians, we are morally obligated to consider all potential consequences of an action and pick the one which has the best consequences. â€Å"Best,† as defined by the utility principle: Always produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people (Mill 78). From this principle, we can conclude that moral happiness is solely dependent on each person being given equal consideration. While that seems reasonable, when we look a little closer, we find a gaping hole. When we say â€Å"the greatest number,† what do we really mean? Do we mean the greatest amount of people happy? Do we mean the greatest average amount of people happy? Which one is it? To illustrate this confusion, consider five friends trying to decide which movie to go see; lets symbolize it as A and B. In addition, each person will represent one happiness point (HP). Suppose three of them already have their hearts set on seeing A. So, watching A will result in three people happy with two being upset, equaling 1 overall HP. The only other choice, B, will result in two happy campers and three upset moviegoers, resulting in a -1HP. Being good utilitarians, we decide to choose A, leaving us positive in happiness points. Suppose we discover that the three people wanting to watch A are still happily willing to see B; should B have been the better choice? If we see B, two will be ecstatic and the other three still happy. This, in effect, will raise the greatest number of people and the greatest amount of happiness, proving to be the better decision. With the overall total amount of happiness increased, it is time to see the movie. Suppose A is within walking distance, whereas B is not. If they see A, all five can go, plus their children, resulting in a greater increase of the overall amount of happiness. Sounds good, though things get messy in doing the math. The two people not wanting to see A represent a -2 in HP’s. So while the overall happiness is greater, the average happiness is now decreased. This is an EXAMPLE OF HOW THE AVERAGE HAPPINESS AND THE OVERALL HAPPINESS MAY DIFFER1. ACCORDING TO THE utilitarian principle, one must give each person equal consideration in determining happiness. As we can see, trying to calculate each potential consequence for an action can get confusing and tiresome. Moreover, not only does the utilitarian principle struggle when trying to calculate the best consequence of each action, but begs the question: what is the value of one’s life? Imagine a man who can not experience happiness. His moods switch from pain to apathy, due to a neurological deficiency. Also, he is isolated on an uninhabited island. While the man is clearly unhappy, he does not want to die. His reason: he would rather be alive then dead. Is it morally right to kill 1 Mathematical breakdown for further clarification: 10 people in total= 10 HP 2 People not wanting to see A= -2 HP 10-2= 8HP= 80% average happiness. Total amount of happiness is greater than before. Total average amount is decreased him? In considering the utility principle, his life has no happiness. Further, he cannot create any happiness for himself and there are no other people around to benefit from him; he only has the possibility of pain. Therefore, killing him would result in less aggregate pain for him. From this, the utilitarian would have to say that this is the right course of action. This seems counterintuitive. What that utilitarian is failing to ignore is the right to the man’s life. Even if his life has no value or happiness, he has still expressed his desire to live. In making the decision to kill him anyway, the utilitarian is placing no value on the man’s life; the utilitarian is playing God in saying that the morally right thing to do would be put him out of his misery. What I have shown is that utilitarianism strips a person from their integrity by employing this type of â€Å"moral math† in deciding the most morally just decision. To calculate the outcome of a situation that is derived from a principle defining morally correct actions as whichever situation has more people ignores the fact that as humans have a personal relation with the world. That is, that every person has a set of unique feelings toward others and the world we live in. These feelings help shape our moral compass and give us an identity which aids us in helping making moral decisions. Looking back at the man on the island, the utility principle was at the forefronttipping the proverbial scale towards the largest number and how they could benefit, while ignoring the moral value of the individual. In concluding, Utilitarianism is a noble theory at its crux, but its standard for determining morally right actions as defined by the utility principle forces a person to be acted upon rather than to act. References: Gendler, Tamar, Susanna Siegel, and Steven M. Cahn. â€Å"Selections From Utilitarianism† by John-Stuart Mill. The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from past and Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 498-511. Print J. J. C. Smart, Bernard Williams Utilitarianism: For and Against. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Print.

Health Promotion Essay

Health Promotion Essay This written rationale will identify and explain the necessity for the promotion of public health and physical activity. It will demonstrate an understanding of the role, function and settings of public health and physical activity promotion by national, regional and local agencies. It will also analyse and evaluate the health related models and approaches to public health and physical activity promotion. What is Health? There are many definitions for Health. Health means different things to different people, if someone doesnt drink and smoke then they believe that they are healthy, or if they eat a good balanced diet for example. The main most known definition of health is from the World Health Organization. World Health Organisation states: Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is a dynamic condition resulting from a bodys constant adjustment and adaptation in response to stresses and changes in the environment for maintaining an inner equilibrium called homeostasis. World Health Organisation (2003) This definition however has not been amended since 1948. What is Health Promotion? Health promotion involves doing things to prevent disease and to improve individual and communities health. Health promotion offers solutions to many of the health problems facing society such as obesity, lack of exercise and smoking though developing skills and knowledge, community action, supportive environments, healthy public policy and health services. Health promotion helps individuals or communities to increase control over and improve their health and wellbeing. Curtin University (2012) states that with a significant proportion of ill-health related to choices about nutrition, exercise, the use of legal and illegal substances, interpersonal relationships and other social behaviours, health promotion can help us make choices that support well-being. The features of health promotion are that it is based on a holistic view of health; it uses participatory approaches it focuses on the determinants and addressing of health not just health problems and conditions. These include the social, behavioural, environmental and economic conditions that are the root cause of poor health, wellbeing and illness such as education, income, employment, working conditions, social status. Health promotion builds on existing strengths and assets and it uses multiple, complementary strategies to promote health for the individual, community and population level. Why is health promotion needed? There are fears that the recent generation and their childrens generation will age less successfully than the current older one no surprise given that, although rates of cigarette smoking are falling, more people are drinking heavily, only a minority of adults exercise often enough to maintain good health and obesity rates have greatly increased over the last 20 years. Obesity is a main health issue which can lead to other health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, joint pain, Nursing Times (2009) states that these health issues can be prevented or delayed by lifestyle measures. A health promotion package would enable adults of all ages to lead happier and healthier lives. Around two-thirds of the England population are overweight or obese. Obesity has grown by almost 400% in the last 25 years and on present trends will soon surpass smoking as the greatest cause of premature loss of life. (NHS Dudley, 2012) Obesity is associated with many health problems including coronary heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, osteoarthritis, back pain and psychological damage. The strong association between obesity and cancer has only recently come to light. (Dodds, 2009) Dodds (2009) estimates the economic costs of obesity conservatively at  £3.3-3.7 billion per year and of obesity plus overweight at  £6.6-7.4 billion. Health promotion for obesity is especially important because it can help lower the risks of many other health conditions which then cuts down the economic costs in the future by educating people about the correct food and exercise and also behaviour change techniques. Why do we need to Promote Mental Health? Mental health promotion does remain the most underdeveloped area of health promotion even though there is an increasing recognition that there is no health without mental health Christodoul (2009). Positive mental health involves self-esteem, being able to solve problems and the ability to adapt to stress. The need for positive mental health promotion is beneficial and relevant for everyone. It is important to stress to policy makers and professionals to understand that mental health and mental wellbeing are issues of everyday life. Therefore positive mental health demands the co-ordinated action by all concerned; through the media, the government, local authorities, industry, voluntary organisation and through health and social and economic sectors. Most of the time when people think of mental health they look at it in a negative way, however it could be argued that this is not the case. Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. It is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. (Mental Health Ireland 2013) Mental Health is about how people feel about themselves, how they feel about others and how they are able to meet the demands of life.    Mental health promotion is important because mental health contributes to all aspects of human life, it has important, less important and essential values for the individual, society and culture. Mental health has a shared relationship with the wellbeing and productivity of a society and its members. Mental health is essential for the wellbeing and functioning of all individuals. Mental health is essential for the well-being and functioning of individuals. Good mental health is an important resource for individuals, families, communities, and nations. Mental health, as an indivisible part of general health, contributes to the functions of society, and has an effect on overall productivity. Mental health concerns everyone as it is generated in our everyday lives in homes, schools, workplaces, and in leisure activities. Positive mental health contributes to the social, human, and economic capital of every society. Spirituality it can make a significant contribution to mental health promotion and mental health influences spiritual life. (World Health Organization, p.21 2004) Mental health can be regarded as an individual resource, which contributes to a persons quality of life; an aspect of good mental health is the capacity for mutually satisfying and enduring relationships. The role of Health Promotion. Health Promotion staff work at numerous different levels from working with groups and communities, face to face contact with individuals, to more strategic work such as policy development. Working as a health promotion specialist is much more than persuading and advising individuals to make lifestyle changes, it also includes the following: Project management- this involves managing particular health promotion projects to make sure they are delivered to a high standard, effective and that they are ethical. Personal development developing personal, emotional and social skills and abilities of everyone to give them the opportunity to maximise their health and build a health promoting attitude to use for those around them. Community development encouraging and developing communities to become healthier such as neighbourhoods, cultural communities and communities of interest. Organisational development encouraging organisations to become more health promoting such as schools, work places and hospitals. Partnership development building partnerships with key people, communities and organisations who can influence health promotion and to help partnerships to be better educated to promote health. Health information developing ways of providing the correct information about peoples health, what social and behavioural factors can affect their health and what can be done to improve their health. Strategy Development developing a planned approach to improving health and to make sure that local, regional and national polices that could affect the publics health do so in a health promoting way. (NHS careers, 2012) Health promotion specialists also work in a range of different settings and locations such as sport and fitness centres, communities, health centres, local authority buildings, hospitals, offices and schools. National Health Promotion National health promotion includes many different programmes and schemes backed by the government the NHS, the Department of Health and some charities. Some are list below: Change 4 life this involves eat well, move more, live longer government campaign. This involves a website. NHS Life Check- this is a free online service from the NHS that asks people a series of questions about their lifestyle and gives them personalised results. Take on life, one step at a time this is a website from Healthier Scotland with information about healthy eating and physical activity. NHS Health the UKs health improvement agency for improving the health of the nation. Health at Work Programme from the British Heart Foundation this involves promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace. Healthcare Promotions this is a free service for healthcare professionals which is used to help raise awareness across the UK on a range of health issues. Alcohol Focus UK this is a UK national charity that works towards reducing the harm caused by alcohol. Down Your Drink this is a website made to help people work out wether they are drinking too much and if so what they can do about it. Drink Aware this aims to promote responsible drinking and find innovative ways to challenge the national drinking culture to help reduce alcohol misuse and minimise alcohol-related harm. Fastforward Fast Forward is a national voluntary organisation that was created to give young people the skills, education and support to live healthier lives. Hope UK Works with communities throughout the UK to prevent drug and alcohol-related harm to children and young people.   Life Education Centres the aims of Life Education Centres are to help children make healthy choices by providing services appropriate to the needs of primary school children. Frank this is a national drug information website providing confidential advice about taking drugs. (Patient.co.uk 2012) Regional Health Promotion Derbyshire Derbyshire health promotion service offers a range of free health and well-being programs, advice and support to the local community and businesses of Derbyshire. All programs are run and delivered by health specialists. Some of the health promotion programs are listed below: Waist Wise this is a weight management program with separate courses for men and women Derbyshire Stop Smoking Service this is a specialist support program to help people quit smoking. Health Referral Program this is an exercise and activity scheme for individuals who want to improve their health by becoming more active. Children and Young Peoples Health Promotion Program this is a local program to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Derbyshire. Working Well this involves a range of programs to help local businesses to improve the health, well-being and safety of their workforce and work place. Living with Long-term Conditions Program- this is a self-management program to help people with long-term conditions to improve their health and well-being. Marketing and Resource Service this is a range of health and well-being marketing resources for use in the community and education projects (Derbyshire Community Health Service, 2012) It is essential that Derbyshire are working on tackling obesity by using health promotion as National Obesity Surgery Centre (2010) states that Obesity has hit an all time high in Derbyshire with  25% of people  now in this category. Health officials said this cost the NHS  £7m more  in 2009 than in 2008. As obesity increases millions more will be spent each year. In 2008 89 people in Derbyshire had weight loss surgery such as gastric banding. Female patients outnumbered males, with 75 women receiving gastric bands compared to 14 men. Overall there were only slightly more obese women than men. 72,000 women compared to 70,000 men. The figures have been revealed after statistics showed that eight times more people in England have been admitted to hospital due to obesity than ten years ago. (National Obesity Surgery Centre 2010) This is just another set of statistics highlighting the problem of obesity is on the increase and is in desperate need of tackling. This is why Health Promotion is crucial in areas of the world. Local Health Promotion Chesterfield The health of the community in Chesterfield in general is wore than the England average, there are health issues within Chesterfield which are by gender, level of deprivation and ethnicity. Almost seven out of ten local people describe their health as good/very good, which is said to be low compared with others. Chesterfield also has a high rate of teenage pregnancies and alcohol related admissions to hospital. More people in Chesterfield are admitted to hospital for alcohol related harm than anywhere else in Derbyshire and the rate is higher than the national average.   (Chesterfield Borough Council, 2009) Chesterfield is currently focusing and providing opportunities for young people to take part in activities. Queens Park Sports Centre has a synthetic pitch and provides free use for supervised activities for 10 hours each week. There is a health programme called swim free which means under 16s can swim for free, also the new Healthy Living Centre at Staveley is now open. The Council also won funding to develop play facilities in the deprived area of Barrow Hill in Chesterfield. Chesterfield Borough Council (2012) reports that Last year, the number of children taking part in sports development activity increased from 1,255 to 1,541. These activities of health promotion are decreasing the chances of obesity by providing physical activity activities which is crucial when trying to loose or maintain a correct body weight. Strengths and Weaknesses of Health Promotion Weaknesses Issues relating to funding and lack of resources are a major problem when coming to health promotion. Lack of staffing funding issues Losing out to direct care health promotion being seen as not important so staff such as nurses will be dealing with health promotion on top of dealing with direct care of patients. Lack of understanding of health promotion Godden (2008) states that staff and management can sometimes be identified as lacking in understanding of health promotion. Godden also found that a lack of skills and knowledge amongst staff as a weakness and several members of staff at the NHS suggested that there was an unjustified assumption that anyone can just do health promotion without appropriate training. Some sectors do not understand or recognise health promotion and neither does the community. Strengths Cutting down cost for the economy by tackling health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer Community togetherness getting together as groups in the community Making new friends Cut down levels of depression with health promotion based on physical activity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" physical activity decreases the symptoms of depression. Physical activity releases endorphins, which may improve an individuals mood, exercise the immune systems chemicals that increases depression, due to body temperature increasing during exercise this produces a calming effect. Exercise also increases confidence and helps distractions of negative thoughts. Exercising may offer more opportunities to socialize and offers people a healthy way to cope with depression. Morin (2011) states that 33 percent of adults do not engage in any form of leisure time physical activity. Increasing physical activity improves depression. This is why health promotion for exercise is beneficial for everyone and will cut down the cost on the NHS prescriptions of antidepressants Behavioural Modifications in Health Promotion There many theories and models that are used in Health Promotion, however it depends what the focus of change of behaviour that is being worked out. For tackling obesity and to promote healthy eating the following theories may be found helpful. The stages of change model would assess the readiness of the community to change Learning theory, diffusion of innovations theory and communication theory would inform behavioural interventions to help people to make healthy food choices Community development theory would help in enabling the community to address barriers to having a healthy diet (for example through setting up a food co-operative) Policy theory would help with how to influence political processes (e.g. getting the council to set aside land for allotments). The Health Belief Model can also play a good role in health promotion. This model predicts and explains the health behaviours people decide to undertake, the Health Belief Model supposes that a person believes they can avoid a negative condition such as obesity, that an individual will expect positive results if they take recommended actions to avoid negative health conditions and that people believe that they can successfully take recommended health steps towards leading a positive healthy life. This model will also assist towards cutting costs on the NHS for all types of health problems. (Kansas State University College of Human Ecology, 2006) Is Health Promotion a good thing? Health Promotion is Prevention. Health Promotion is the practice of preventing disease and promoting good health within groups of people, from small communities to entire countries. Yes, Health Promotion is a good thing because it saves money and improves peoples quality of Life. If a community is healthy then it is spending less money on health care; meaning better economic productivity and improved quality of life for everybody. Health Promotion doesnt only help the adult population but it also helps children thrive. If a child is healthy then it will grow up to be a healthy adult, a healthy child attends school more often and performs better as a whole meaning they will be educated on health and fitness and hopefully carry it on through to their children too.

Barriers and solutions to international trade

Barriers and solutions to international trade INTRODUCION This essay provides an overview of the barriers to international trade faced by economies today with examples of barriers faced in various countries, and their solutions. International trade promotes high standard of living for trading nations and hence, despite its various ill effects, it is best to practice international trade as it provides economic and social benefits to economies bringing about an upturn in global economy. This essay attempts to bring to light, the general barriers international trade faces presently and its solutions with recent examples. INTERNATIONAL TRADE: AN INTRODUCTION Trade among countries has existed for a long period now. The trade between Asia and Europe marks this fact as Morrison (2006, pp.314-315) examines that these two continents have engaged in Trade since a long period. He also suggests that with time, international trade has come a long way as far as volume and patterns of trade between nations is concerned. Morrison (2006) has referred to figures by the World Trade Organisation (2004, cited in International Trade Statistics 2003, World Trade Developments 2002) from the official website of the WTO that Asias share of global merchandise exports has gradually increased, Northern Americas share has slightly decreased and Western Europes share has recovered from a downfall in 2001, but not as much as it did in 1990. Morrison further suggests, from 2000 to 2002, Chinas exports and imports rose by 30 per cent and today, China is one of the worlds largest traders. Therefore, we may note that International trade plays a very essential role in g lobalization trends in the world economy. UNDERSTANDING TRADE PROTECTIONISM Protectionism is The deliberate use or encouragement of restrictions on imports to enable relatively inefficient domestic producers to compete successfully with foreign producers, or to protect and preserve those industries and producers considered of critical national interest. (McCracken, 2005) Coughlin et al (1988) state that Protectionist Trade Policies are meant to improve the position of domestic products as compared to its foreign equivalents, and that this may be done through various policies by increment of the market price of the foreign product or by barring access of foreign products to the domestic market. They explain that protectionist trade policies aim to expand domestic production in the protected industries for the benefit of the owners, suppliers and workers of the protected industry. However this may lead to a downturn in the consumption of protected goods due to either associated rise in its price or consumers start using less of other goods as a result of the decline in outputs and increase in prices. Coughlin et al hence, argue that domestic consumers are said to be impaired as the price of the protected goods keep increasing. Hence, imposing of tariffs lead to domestic producers and the governments gain, while domestic consumers and other domestic producers loss. These trade policies also affect foreign interests. FREE TRADE ITS THEORIES Free Trade is trade between nations that is unhampered by Government constraints such as tariffs, restrictions, and other barriers. (Financial Times Limited, 2009) Theory of Absolute Advantage Barnat (2005) highlighted certain points from Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations 1776 that explain what this theory talks about. He mentioned that the countrys practicing or willing to practice free trade should work towards maximising the efficiency of the goods and products they deal in, and that this theory is based on the assumption that the nation producing a certain good is absolutely better at production of that good or commodity than the rest of its trading partners, hence calling this the absolute advantage of the nation over the other nations. The theory of Absolute Advantage suggests specialization through free trade as it benefits the consumers if they can afford foreign-made products at a comparatively cheaper price than domestic products. (Warhurst, 2009) Theory of Comparative Advantage Barnat (2005, cited in Ricardo, 1817) had postulated that in Ricardos theory of comparative advantage even if a certain nation is able to produce all its goods at a comparatively lower cost than another country then it benefits the trade of both the countries, based on the comparative costs. Coughlin et al (1998, cited in Ricardos Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 1817) demonstrated that two countries viz. England and Portugal were shown to produce the same two goods wine and cloth and the only production costs were labour costs. It was shown that England was comparatively less efficient to produce both goods as it was comparatively costlier to produce those goods in England. Therefore, it was said in this demonstration that Portugal had an absolute advantage in these two goods. According to this example, labour was the only resource considered to produce these goods when labour is among the many resources used to produce these goods. Also, the production costs of the additional units have been taken to be constant in this demonstration, but unit production as mentioned by Coughlin et al here, is subject to decrease or increase depending on the production. Elwell (2005) suggests that the gains from trade are mutual despite either nations absolute advantage or disadvantage in the efficiency with which they produce all tradable goods. The difference in rate of production of one good must be limited for the expansion of another good among countries such that there is a comparative advantage among the two nations such that both benefit efficiently from trade. A nation is not to compete but look at the mutual benefits from trade. Therefore, each country must produce what they do best relatively. Comparative advantage is evident in activities that make use of profuse productive resource. Elwell explains this statement with the help of an example of the U.S. and China. He states that China, with a relative abundance of low skilled labor would find it beneficial to engage in production that requires low skilled labor, in trade. On the other hand, the U.S. specializes in production of goods that require high skilled labor. Also, the production of goods can be practiced such that a part of the good is produced in one country while another country can deal in producing another part required for the production of the good hence practicing the theory of comparative advantage. For example American hardware companies send their products to China since it is much more cost effective due to low waged labor in China. This acts as a comparative advantage for both countries. Due to political motives, various governments still try to obstruct the system of free trade in spite of its acceptance globally, in Hendersons view. BARRIERS TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE Tariff Barriers Tariffs according to Coughlin et al (2009) are taxes imposed on goods entering a country from another country. They suggest that tariff revenues are paid to the government of the country that allows the goods to enter its nation and this revenue is used to finance government services. Therefore, as Sumner et al (2002?) state, Tariffs are among the oldest form of government intervention and are implemented for the purpose of providing revenue to the government and they also provide economic returns to firms and suppliers of resources of the domestic industry that face competition from imported products. Sumner et al further suggest that in 1948, when average tariff on manufactured goods increased by 30 percent in many developed countries, these economies negotiated for the reduction of tariff on manufactured goods under the General Agreement on Tariff Trade (GATT), however, only in the most recent negotiations on this issue in Uruguay, the trade and tariff restrictions were addressed. Tariffs are capable of hampering nation-to-nation trade, or as Sumner et al add, if tariffs set are very high then it can block international trade and hence, act like import bans. Quota System Henderson (2009), states, in the quota system, there is a lot more bureaucracy involved and in this case, the government is not the source from where the revenue is generated. Under the quota system as suggested by Coughlin et al (2009), the prices increase in the home market and this enables domestic producers to increase production and consumers to reduce consumption. Coughlin et al further state that the quota generates a revenue gain to the owner of import licenses. Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB) The Non-tariff barriers can be classified further as the regulatory barriers, subsidies and exchange controls. Subsidizing domestic producers is one way to restrict terms under which foreigners can compete in the home market as suggested by Coughlin et al (2009). They also state that restricting access to foreign money to buy foreign goods is known as Exchange Control. Example Karugia et al (2009) state that the main type of non tariff barriers faced in East Africa during Maize and Beef trade were customs documentation and administrative procedures, quality inspection, transiting procedures and immigration, which are all cumbersome and expensive. He states that these barriers reduce the possible benefits of trade preferences, lead to huge welfare loss as cost of business activities increase. As a result of this, trade among the East African nations, in beef and maize was found to be very low as Karugia et al suggest. Tariff-Rate Quota Sumner et al (2002) have also discussed what is called a Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ). It is said to be the combination of the ideas of tariff and quota. The implementation of a TRQ is a very good idea for the benefit of both countries that importing and the one exporting, and the concerned governments. Policies like the Tariff-Rate Quota help implement trade practice between countries in a healthy manner as it not only implements low tariff prices but also keeps a check on the quantity of products being imported. According to TRQ, a low tariff is set against imports of a fixed quantity and if the quantity of the imports increases, a higher tariff is set against the goods. Sumner et al have given the example of United States that follows this policy for various products like beef, sugar, peanuts and other dairy products. In these cases, the initial tariff is said to be low but the over-quota tariff is very highly priced and in some cases, even unaffordable. GLOBAL TRADE IN PRESENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE Post the economic crisis, the general belief of countries is to be very careful as far as dealing with international trade is concerned and to protect their economies, nations are practicing protectionism, however, free trade is in the interest of most countries, but it is not in the economic interest of the nations to practice free trade in times of crisis. There are some basic solutions for the removal of trade barriers put forward by Crean (2009, ed. Baldwin and Evenett, 2009) one of which is G20 leadership such that countries lift each other up rather than pull each other down through protectionism. He adds that the G20 can play an important role in encouraging open trade flows between countries. Here is a notable example as proposed by Crean To help open markets in Washington, Australia helped build support to execute considerable measures last year with the agreement of G20 leaders by putting forward an Action Plan for the purpose of restoring growth, addressing the progress of the WTO Doha negotiations and to put a halt to protectionism. He proposes, it is important to avoid inefficient incentives while crafting the fiscal and industry support packages and also, huge subsidies will give rise to competitive response. Crean further suggests, it is of utmost importance especially in these times post economic crisis to preserve open trade flow among nations. He adds growth and prosperity are transmitted within countries through trade. He mentioned, according to Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analysis, a 10 percent increase in trade is associated with a 4% rise in per capita income, however, the crisis has now brought about a slowdown in trade. World Bank has predicted that 2009 will be the first year in over a quarter century in which international trade is forecast to fall, Crean sites. He has spoken of the export statistics of China and Japan and certain other countries and noted how drastically the crisis has affected the trade of these countries. He argues that protectionism gradually only lessens competitiveness, growth, employment and real incomes. I am now going to focus on the barriers to international trade in businesses in the U.S. and EU and talk about the measures they have decided on taking to attain a healthier global trading system bearing in mind the current economic climate. Also, I will further add what steps Canada and EU have decided on taking to address the trade barriers. Trade Barriers and Solutions: US EU The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) 2009, states, the National Trade Estimate Report 2009 describes significant barriers to trade in the US. The barriers, as cited in the report, according to USTR, obstruct access to markets for the products of American workers, irrespective of the workers employment status self or employed by company. The various tariff and non tariff barriers by foreign governments that need to be addressed are highlighted in the report difficulty in testing and requirements of certification on thousands of consumer goods, inspection and registration of a wide range of import products by new means, ineffective enforcement against counterfeiting and copyright piracy; subsidies being exported illegally was another issue of concern, onerous import requirements or bans not based in science and also said to not be competitive internationally; approval processes for biotech products were said to be cumbersome and ineffective; imported products are made to pay rates 10 to 43 times higher than before as according to discriminatory excise taxes; foreign participation in the telecom market is very limited, and many other such issues were raised. The USTR states that exports contribute about 13 per cent to the US Economy; therefore, measures by the USTR and the Government for the sake of the economy of the country, is necessary. The report, as USTR suggests, states what measures could be taken by the United States Trade Representative to embark upon these barriers. After reading this article, I have tried to pull together the matter in brief. The article suggests that the USTR is reviewing the functioning of the existing trade agreements, including enforcement of labour and environment provisions. The USTR is going to prioritize the trade barriers put forward by the report, in order of importance and hence, deal with each barrier according to relevance tackling the most vital barrier at first. They are planning on handling these cases by multilateral and bilateral dispute resolution. The USTR is also working with the Congress to improve the trading system in the country. The US Trade Representative Ron Kirk (2009) proposed the opening of new markets around the world. The USTR suggests that manufacturers and service providers and the American workers should make use of the benefits of previous trade agreement s through strong enforcement. Kirk, in 2009, as cited in the USTR (2009) suggests that the proposals made will also help in the economic recovery procedure and incremental gains in market access and in reduction of trade barriers and thus, will help Americans attain good salary jobs. Castle (2009) states that European exporters have faced many new trade barriers since the global economic crisis however, measures to prevent protectionism have been taken by the EU. He adds that global trade volumes in August 2009 were 18 per cent below its peak in 2008 due to the economic crisis. Castle (2009, cited in Ashton, 2009) states that classical tariff increases, import and export bans or ceilings, non-tariff barriers and government procurement and investment measures are the major trade barriers faced in the EU with classical barriers alone affecting about 5 per cent of the EU exports. Another trade restricting measure according to the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2009 in the US that states that it aims to protect US customers and businesses from defective products manufactured abroad, is, another barrier between EU and US trade as Castle (cited in Ashton, 2009) has mentioned. Castle further cites, one of the bills state that it is unsafe to grant unfair tax disadvantages to subsidiaries of the EU companies in the US in the insurance sector. The EU and U.S. are each others most important trading and investment partners and hence it is important for these two sides to work towards the reduction of these barriers. As cited by Palmer (2009), the two sides have agreed on meeting for identification of labeling, energy efficiency and nanotechnology for increased cooperation on regulation; and that these two sides have plans for a new US-EU Energy Council and also to set up a dialogue dealing in creating jobs in various sectors such as IT and energy. Addressing Trade Barriers: Canada EU Another notable example of nations that have pledged to remove trade barriers is that of Canada and The EU. Czech Trade (2009) suggests, these two nations have signed a summit to remove trade barriers and that the Canadian Government is trying their best to remove trade barriers for Canadian exporters and open Canadas market to foreign companies such as the EU. Canada is one of EUs main trading partners and the fact that Canada has maintained a healthy economy despite the global economic crisis, has helped EU promote its business and trade relations with Canada. It has been said to be believed that both countries will benefit largely in terms of economy post this summit in the next couple of years. Cohen (2009) suggests that there is a Canada-EU Free Trade deal expected by 2011 as intended by Former Quebec premier Pierre Marc Johnson. CONCLUSION Trade should satisfy the theory of comparative advantage benefitting both nations engaged in trading activities. It has a positive effect on economies, both economically and socially, but it also has its ill effects for example, as Elwell (2005) suggests, while it helps benefit the economic condition of relatively efficient activities, it hampers the relatively less competent activities. However, impressing barriers prevent nations from economic gain. Elwell further suggests that tariffs, quotas and non tariff barriers result in a loss of the exporting sector and gain of the importing sector. But, it is also important to note that this may lead to an increase in prices and reduced goods available to the consumer, thereby, leading to the downfall of the economy. It is true that it is important for the domestic industry to protect, improve and sell their products but it is also important to note the profits foreign goods bring to both economies and thus, it is important for the benefit of every economy to work towards addressing the barriers they face today. Trade, either in the form of import or export contributes largely to the economy of the country. Just like the U.S. Government and the U.S. Trade Representatives are working hand in hand to fight the barriers hence working towards the security of the countrys economy, other economies should also address their respective barriers. The G 20 must also help trade flow in developing countries. Developed countries should aim to remove all trade barriers and try giving up on protectionist measures like The EU and The U.S. have pledged to do for the economic benefits of either country. Also, ideas like the free trade deal between Canada and the EU should be encouraged and worked upon by other nations as well, hence, encouraging trade among nations which in turn, shall benefit the global economy. Reference: Books Morrison, J. (2006) International Business Environment: Global and Local market places in the changing world, Second Edition, Palgrave. E-books Crean, S. (2009) The collapse of global trade, murky protectionism and the crisis [pdf] London, Center for Economic Policy Research Available at http://www.voxeu.org/reports/Murky_Protectionism.pdf [Last Accessed 01 December 2009] Elwell, C. 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