Marginal cost curve Essays

Marginal cost curve Essays Marginal cost curve Essay Marginal cost curve Essay Marginal cost curve A curve that graphically represents the relation between the marginal cost incurred by a firm in the short-run product of a good or service and the quantity of output produced. Diagram: Marginal cost curve. * The MC curve is generally increasing. This is due to the decreasing  marginal productivity  of   labour. (Referred from econ econmodel. com downloaded on 14th May 2013). b. ) The Average Cost (AC) The average cost is the total cost divided by the number of units produced. Average cost curve – The graphical representation of average cost.Diagram: Average cost curve. The AC curve is U-shaped. This is because the ATC is made up of AVC, which is increasing, and AFC, which are decreasing. At low production quantities the decline in AFC dominates, but eventually the increasing AVC overwhelms the average costs. c. )The Average Fixed Cost (AFC) A cost that does not change with an increase or decrease in the amount of goods or services produced. Fixed costs are expenses that have to be paid by a company, independent of any business activity. It is one of the two components of the total cost of a good or service, along with variable cost.Average fixed cost curve A curve that graphically represents the relation between average fixed cost incurred by a firm in the short-run product of a good or service and the quantity produced. Diagram: Average Fixed Cost Curve: * AFC curve is always declining with quantity. This is because the same amount of fixed costs  is being averaged over a growing quantity of output, leading to a decline in the curve. * (Referred by web. pedia http:// www. amosweb. com downloaded on 14th May 2013). d). The Average Variable Cost (AVC) A cost that change with the change in volume of activity of an organization.Average variable cost  (AVC) is an  economics  term that refers to a firms  variable costs  (labour, electricity, etc. ) divided by the quantity (Q) of  output  produced. Variable cost s are those costs which vary with output. Diagram: Average variable cost curve: * The AVC is decreasing when it is above the MC curve and increasing when it is below the MC curve. This is because AVC is essentially the average of the marginal  costs of each unit of output. This will lead to an increasing or a U-shaped AVC curve. (Referred by http://en. wikipedia. org downloaded on 14th May).Answer 2. ) Relationship between the law of diminishing returns and the concept of economies of scale: * Law of diminishing returns. The tendency for a continuing application of effort or skill toward a particular project or goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved. The law of diminishing returns say that each time we do something to receive a benefit, the benefit will be less and less. (Reference – Michale W. Newell, Marina N, Grashina : The Project Management). * Features. The main features of this law are as follows:- . ) Only one variable inp ut is varied and all others are held constant. 2. ) No change in technique of production. 3. ) Variable proportions production functions. It means more of a variable factor can be used with the constant input of the fixed factors. 4. ) All units of variable factor are homogeneous. 5. ) Adequate or standard doses of variable factor are applied. * Explanation. The law of diminishing returns means that the productivity of available  declines as more is used in  short-run production, holding one or more inputs fixed.This law has a direct bearing on  market supply, thesupply price, and the  law of supply. If the productivity of a variable input declines, then more is needed to produce a given quantity of output, which means the cost of production increases, and a higher supply price is needed. The direct relation between price and quantity produced is the essence of the law of supply. Total Product Curve: The curve labelled TP in the top panel is the  total product curve, the t otal number of goods produced per hour for a given amount of labour.The increasing slope of the TP is attributable to the law of diminishing marginal returns. Marginal Product Curve: The Marginal curve indicates how the total production of goods changes when an extra worker is hired. The negatively-sloped portion of the MP curve is a direct attributable to the law of diminishing marginal returns. Average Product Curve: The  average product curve indicates the average number of goods produced by workers. The negatively-sloped portion of the AP curve is indirectly caused by the law of diminishing marginal returns.As marginal product declines, due to the law of diminishing marginal returns, it also causes a decrease in average product. * Arleen J. Hoag,  John H. Hoag(2006), Business and Economics, pg. 122 (London: World Scientific Publishing Co. Ltd. ) Returns to scale,  in economics is the quantitative change in output of a firm or industry resulting from a proportionate increas e in all inputs. If the quantity of output rises by a greater proportion- e. g. , if output increases by 2. 5 times in response to a doubling of all inputs- the  production process  is said to exhibit increasing returns to scale.Such economies of scale may occur because greater efficiency is obtained as the firm moves from small- to large-scale operations. Decreasing returns to scale occur if the  production  process becomes less efficient as production is expanded, as when a firm becomes too large to be managed effectively as a single unit. Brit britannica. com downloaded on 19th May 2013. According to Leibhfasky, †Returns to scale relates to the behaviour of total outputs as all inputs are varied and is a long run concept. * Explanation:In the long-run, output can be increased by increasing all factors in the same proportion or different proportions. Ordinarily, law of returns to scale refers to increase in output as a result of increase in all factors in the same p roportion. Such an increase in output is called Returns to Scale. * Aspects of Returns to Scale. As in the case of returns to a factor, there are three aspects of returns to scale, viz. (1) Increasing Returns to Scale, (2) Constant Returns to Scale, (3) Diminishing Returns to Scale. 1. Increasing return of scale:-Every firm tries to earn more and more profit by multiplying its output.Initially production increases at faster rate than increase in the input. It is evident from the following schedule that by doubling additional labour and capital, output increases from 16 units to 25 units. It shows that inputs increased by 100%, whereas capital increased by 150%. By doubling, production increased from 25 to 60 showing that input increased by 100% but the output increased by 140%. this shows the law of increasing return. Thus, any percentage increase in inputs is causing a greater percentage increase in output. Increasing returns to scale are thus operative.The main cause of its operat ion is that when scale of production is increased then due to indivisibility of factors such as labour, tools, implements and machines, division of labour and specialization and many types of economies are available. On account of these economies, proportional increase in returns is more than the proportionate increase in factors of production. All these economies are only internal economies as these are related to the scale of production of the concerned firm. 2. Constant Return to Scale:-If the scale of production is further increased, it is found that the both input and output increase at equal rates i. . , at the same percentage. Thus increasing the production, the increase in output remains constant i. e. , 100%. * This situation arises, when after reaching a certain level of production, economies of scale are counter-balanced by diseconomies of scale. In mathematical terminology, that production function which reflects constant returns to scale is called Linear and ‘Homo geneous Production Function’ or homogeneous function of First degree and is important in elucidating Euler’s Theorem in distribution.This function states that if labour and capital are increased in equal proportion then output will also increase in the same proportion. 3. Decreasing Return of Scale:-The increase in percentage of input is more than the output. In the following diagram, with every increase in input i. e. , 100%, output increases at lesser than 100%, showing the law of decreasing return of scale. S. A. Siddiqui (2006), Managerial Economics and Financial Analysis, pg. 107 (New Delhi: New Age International Publishers) Returns to scale are thus diminishing.The main cause of its operation is that diseconomies outweigh economies of scale, e. g. unwieldy business, indivisible factors becoming inefficient and less productive, difficulties of control and rigidities due to large managements, higher cost of skilled labour, price of raw material going up, high tran sport charges, etc. (Reference – TR Jain and OP Khanna, Business Economics p. 142). Answer3. ) (a) ‘In the real world there is no industry which conforms precisely to the economist’s model of perfect competition. This means that the model is of little practical value’.Perfect competition: (1) buyers  and  sellers  are too numerous and too small to have any  degree  of  individual  control over  prices, (2) All  buyers and sellers seek to maximize their  profit  (income), (3) buyers and  seller  can freely  enter  or leave the  market, (4) all buyers and sellers have  access  to  information  regarding  availability, prices, and  quality  of  goods  being traded, and (5) All goods of a particular nature are  homogeneous, hence substitutable for one another. Also called  perfect market  or  pure competition. (Reference:   businessdictionary. om downloaded on 19th May 2013. ) Diagram for perfect com petition: (Referred by economicshelp. org downloaded on 19th May 2013). A perfect competition is unrealistic as many of its conditions are quite difficult to fulfil. Especially no barriers to entry, is very rare as even start up cost can act as a significant barrier. While other conditions like perfect information and identical products are though possible not common. Apart from these there are many other conditions like no transportation cost which is again highly rare.The example of perfect competition would be in agriculture. Identical products (fruits, vegetables, etc. ), and not really need any advertising. There are no barriers to enter. It is the most realistic example, in reality perfect competition does not exist. (Reference: khan academy). (b). Short Run Price and Output for the Competitive Industry and Firm: 1. Short Run Equilibrium of the Firm A firm is in equilibrium in the short run when it has no tendency to enlarge or contract its productivity and needs to earn maxi mum profit or to incur minimum losses.The short run is a period of time in which the firm can vary its productivity by changing the erratic factors of production. The number of firms in the industry is fixed since neither the existing firms can leave nor new firms can enter it. 2. Short Run Equilibrium of the Industry An industry is in equilibrium in the short run when its total output remains steady there being no propensity to enlarge or contract its productivity. If all firms are in equilibrium the industry is also in equilibrium. For full equilibrium of the industry in the short run all firms must be earning normal profits.But full equilibrium of the industry is by sheer accident for the reason that in the short rum some firms may be earning super normal profits and some losses. Even then the industry is in short run equilibrium when its quantity demanded and quantity supplied is equal at the price which clears the market. Roger A. Arnold,(2005,08) Economics, 8th ed. (USA: Thoms on Learning, Inc. 2008) In the short run the equilibrium market price is determined by the interaction between market demand and market supply. In the diagram shown above, price P1 is the market-clearing price and this price is then taken by each of the firms.Because the market price is constant for each unit sold, the AR curve also becomes the Marginal Revenue curve (MR). A firm maximises profits when marginal revenue = marginal cost. In the diagram above, the profit-maximising output is Q1. The firm sells Q1 at price P1. The area shaded is the economic (supernormal profit) made in the short run because the ruling market price P1 is greater than average total cost. Not all firms make supernormal profits in the short run. Their profits depend on the position of their short run cost curves. Some firms may be xperiencing sub-normal profits because their average total costs exceed the current market price. Other firms may be making normal profits where total revenue equals total cost ( i. e. they are at the break-even output). In the diagram below, the firm shown has high short run costs such that the ruling market price is below the average total cost curve. At the profit maximising level of output, the firm is making an economic loss (or sub-normal profits) The Effects of a change in Market Demand In the diagram below there has been an increase in market demand (ceteris paribus).This causes an increase in market price and quantity traded. The firms average revenue curve shifts up to AR2 (=MR2) and the profit maximising output expands to Q2. Notice that the MC curve is the firms supply curve. Higher prices cause an expansion along the supply curve. Following the increase in demand, total profits have increased. An inward shift in market demand would have the opposite effect. Think also about the effect of a change in market supply perhaps arising from a cost-reducing technological innovation available to all firms in a competitive market. Reference: tutor tutor 2u. net downloaded 19th May 2013. (c) The long-run perfectly competitive equilibrium for the firm:-  ¦ Economic profits bring entry by new firms. The industry supply curve shifts rightward and reduces the market price. The fall in price reduces economic profit and decreases the incentive to enter the industry. New firms enter until it is no longer possible to earn an economic profit.  ¦ Economic losses lead to exit by existing firms, which shifts the industry supply curve leftward. The price rises, and the higher price reduces economic losses.Firms exit until no firms incur an economic loss. Firms change their plant size if it increases their profits. D=P= MR = AR - the firm maximizes its profits. P = minimum short-run average cost (SRAC) The firm’s economic profit is zero. P = minimum (LRAC) - the firm’s plant size cannot be changed in order to increase its profits. Frank Machovec, (2003), Perfect Competition and Transformation of Economics, (New York: Taylor;am p; Francis e-Library, 2003). Answer 4. ) MonopolyA pure monopoly is a single supplier in a market.For the purposes of regulation,  monopoly power  exists when a single firm controls 25% or more of a particular market * Less Efficient:- * ABCPM :-Supernormal Profit (AR-AC) Q * Shaded portion:- Deadweight welfare loss (combined loss of producer and consumer surplus) compared to competitive market * Higher Prices:-Higher Price and Lower Output than under Perfect Competition. This leads to a decline in consumer surplus and a deadweight welfare loss * Allocative Inefficiency. A monopoly is allocative inefficient because in monopoly the price is greater than MC.P ;gt; MC. * Productive Inefficiency A monopoly is productively inefficient because it is not the lowest point on the AC curve. * X Inefficiency. It is argued that a monopoly has less incentive to cut costs because it doesnt face competition from other firms. Therefore the AC curve is higher than it should be. * Supernormal P rofit. Leads to an unequal distribution of income. * Higher Prices to Suppliers   A monopoly may use its market power and pay lower prices to its suppliers. E. g. Supermarkets have been criticised for paying low prices to farmers. Diseconomies of Scale   It is possible that if a monopoly gets too big it may experience diseconomies of scale. higher average costs because it gets too big   * Charge higher prices to suppliers. Monopolies may use their supernormal profits to charge higher prices to suppliers. Economic organisation(2013) Website:- economicshelp. org/microessays/markets/monopoly. html 2More Efficient:- * Research and Development. Monopolies can make supernormal profit; this can be used to fund high cost capital investment spending. Successful esearch can be used for improved products and lower costs in the long term.. * Economies of scale. Increased output will lead to a decrease in average costs of production. These can be passed on to consumers in the form of lowe r prices. If a monopoly produces at output Q1, average costs (AC 1) are much lower than if a competitive market had firms producing at Q2 (AC 2). * Monopolies Successful Firms. A firm may become a monopoly through being efficient and dynamic. A monopoly is thus an efficient. For example Google has gained monopoly power through being regarded as best firm for search engines.Tejvan R. Pettinger, Economic Dictionary,(UK: Economics Blog, 2013)Retrieved from:- economicshelp. org/microessays/markets/advantages-monopoly. html Answer 5. ) Economic governance in Australia has undergone radical changes since the 1970s. Many of these changes are associated with the market-oriented policies collectively referred to as ‘microeconomic reform’. Broadly speaking, microeconomic reform can be defined as government policies or initiatives aimed at improving the performance and/or the efficiency of industries or sectors in the economy (Forsyth 1992).Remarkably, such a quest for efficiency was not a major policy focus for much of the twentieth century in Australia. However, since the 1970s, growing pressure on the economy, together with evidence of widespread inefficiency, saw microeconomic reform become a key aspect of economic policy in Australia. The era of microeconomic reform in Australia may be divided into three main phases, with a degree of overlap. In the first, deregulatory, phase, the main focus was on rationalising public intervention in private sector markets, with the object of ‘getting prices right’.In the second phase, referred to here as the ‘privatisation’ phase, attention shifted to market-oriented reforms of the public sector, including corporatisation and competitive contracting as well as privatisation. In the third ‘competitive regulation’ phase, the idea of deregulation was replaced by regulation designed to produce, or simulate, competitive market outcomes (see also Parker this volume). The central argum ent of the chapter is that each of these phases was associated with the prominence of particular institutions and with specific tendencies in economic governance. In particular, whereas he governance models associated with the privatisation phase, the private corporation was taken as the ideal model of public sector governance. By contrast, in the competitive regulation phase, governments have relied on increasingly intrusive systems of regulation to control both public and privately-owned monopolies Privatisation often appears to be driven by political expediency and ideology rather than by economic theory. This dislocation between theory and practice led Kay and Thompson (1986) to declare privatisation in the United Kingdom a ‘policy in search of a rationale’.In fact, there has been significant economic research on optimal ownership in the past 20 years, including the comparison between government and private ownership. This work provides the basis for understanding b oth the success and failure of privatisation. Three Causes of Privatisation: Performance in privatisation must be judged on a case-by-case basis. Three key privatisations in Australia have been the Commonwealth Bank, the partial privatisation of Telstra and the privatisation of the Victorian electricity system. How do these privatisations ‘stack up’ against the theory? 1. The Commonwealth BankIn the 1940s and 1950s the Commonwealth Bank was the central banker for Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia took over this role in 1959, placing the Commonwealth Bank in a similar position to a number of highly regulated private banks. Deregulation of the Australian banking sector in the 1980s meant that there was little if any special role for State-owned commercial banks, and the Commonwealth bank was privatised in three tranches during the 1990s. The first sale of 30 per cent of the Bank in 1991 was the first large privatisation by share float in Australia and it set the be nchmark for future sales, such as the sale of GIO and Qantas.Overall, it is likely that the Government sold the Commonwealth at a discount to its true market value (Harris and Lye 2001). But in terms of 17economic welfare it seems clear that the sale of the Commonwealth Bank made perfect sense. The bank operated in active competition with private banks and its functions were essentially identical to those private competitors. In fact, given the tendency for politicians to seek short-term electoral kudos by railing against the banking system, it is likely that continued government ownership of the Commonwealth Bank would have opened it up to political exploitation in the 1990s.In economic terms, the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank was clearly sensible policy. 2 Telstra Telstra was formed in 1992 by the merger of Telecom Australia and the Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (OTC). Both of these were fully owned by the Commonwealth Government. Telecom Australia controlled Au stralia’s domestic telephone network while OTC controlled overseas telecommunications. In the late 1990s, 49. 9 per cent of Telstra was sold by the Government in two tranches. This partial privatisation is the largest by value in Australia, reaping over $30 billion for the Commonwealth. 1At first blush, the sale of Telstra might appear similar to the sale of the Commonwealth Bank. After deregulation in July 1997, Telstra competed vigorously with privately-owned carriers. Since then, Telstra has lost market share in both domestic long-distance calls and overseas calls. Telstra also currently faces vigorous competition in mobile telephony. 18Unlike banking, however, telecommunications involves a key natural monopoly element, the customer access network (CAN) that provides the ‘last link’ in the telephone network between a switch and a customer’s phone.Telstra owns the CAN and its private competitors rely on Telstra providing them access to the CAN in order t o compete. Telstra could eliminate its private competitors outside the CBD areas of Australia if it refused them the right to either originate or terminate calls using the CAN. Telstra faces a wide range of regulations, including retail price controls, procedures for setting wholesale access prices and rules to prevent any anticompetitive behaviour. This regulation has been modified over the past five years and in 2001 the Productivity Commission recommended further reform of Telstra’s regulatory regime (Commonwealth of Australia 2001).In 2002 the Federal Government investigated and rejected reforming Telstra by accounting separation to ‘isolate’ the CAN. The partial privatisation of Telstra failed to adequately recognise the source of market failure- the natural monopoly CAN. Neither did it establish appropriate procedures to deal with this problem. One solution might have been vertical separation of the CAN from the rest of Telstra. The CAN could have remained in public ownership with open access while the remainder of Telstra could have competed with other telecommunications companies. Alternatively, the management of the CAN could have changed.For example, the CAN could be 19jointly owned by a number of licensed carriers. These carriers would have a mutual obligation to maintain the CAN but otherwise would compete. The sharing of infrastructure facilities between competing firms sometimes occurs with gas pipelines. Discontent with the partial privatisation has made it politically difficult to sell the remainder of Telstra. In the absence of a restructured approach to the CAN, further privatisation will simply mean ongoing costly regulation. Such regulation will continue into the future as the CAN grows in importance for data rather than voice telecommunications traffic. The Victorian electricity system The creation of a National Electricity Market (NEM) was a key part of the Hilmer reforms. This market involves generators competing to s ell power into a grid connecting South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The proposed construction of BassLink will connect Tasmania to the NEM. Privatisation is not required under the NEM but private generators are able to compete with government-owned facilities. The Kennett Government in Victoria decided to sell the State’s electricity assets to the private sector.Privatisation was preceded by vertical and horizontal restructuring, including the creation of five distribution/retail companies, five competing generation businesses and a single transmission business. The total proceeds of the privatisations in the mid-201990s were approximately $22. 5 billion; second only to Telstra in terms of total revenue raised. 22By separating competitive generation from natural monopoly elements, like transmission and distribution, the Victorian electricity privatisations avoided the issues of access and competitive abuse that have dogged telecommunications.Further, s ome measures of performance, such as the reliability of the distribution, have significantly improved. 23 However, both transmission and distribution have limited scope for competition and these prices need ongoing regulation. As noted earlier, this regulation has been contentious. Political interference still occurs, as both generation prices are capped under the NEM and maximum prices for power to households are set. For example, in 2001 the Victorian Government rejected recommended increases in household power prices, leading to comparisons with the Californian electricity crisis and oncerns over the long-term viability of distributors/retailers if they are unable to pass on increased wholesale electricity prices to customers. 24 The shift to a national market has also required modifications, for example, in the face of claims of price rigging by generators. 25 Further, it is not clear that long-term competition between State-owned electricity systems and private systems is viabl e. While generation and retailing can be open to competition, a preferred approach might have been to retain public ownership of transmission and distribution lines. 1Rather than heavy-handed profit-based regulation, the ongoing operation and maintenance of these facilities might have been handled through private contractors, with the relevant governments setting transmission and distribution charges to cover cost. At the same time, electricity experience shows that privatisation is not a cure for short-term political interference in key infrastructure assets. (b). The privatisation process has slowed in Australia. But this is to be expected. Most of the obvious privatisations have been completed and both politicians and bureaucrats are realising the limitations of a naive approach to privatisation.Public pressure against privatisation has grown. Despite the Federal Government’s preference for privatising the remainder of Telstra, such a policy is currently unpalatable to the electorate. Similarly, in New South Wales attempts by senior politicians to push for electricity privatisation have been thwarted by public opposition. While privatisation in Australia is not dead, it is ‘on the nose’. The current public backlash against privatisation is a direct consequence of its naive application. Some privatisations have not worked.While these sales have raised short-term revenue for the government, they have not resulted in improved social welfare because they have not carefully considered any sources of market failure and dealt appropriately with these failures. 22At the same time, the underlying motivations for privatisation remain relevant. Government still feels the need to reduce fiscal pressures and public–private partnerships (PPP), where the government ties the private development of infrastructure assets to long-term government funding, represents a new face of privatisation.Thus privatisation continues, but under another name. Aus tralia requires an integrated approach to privatisation and regulation. Private ownership with regulation is simply one of a number of options for dealing with market problems and public policy needs to recognise the costs and benefits of alternative options. This means that some previous privatisations might need to be radically re-evaluated. For example, it might be desirable to restructure Telstra with current private shareholders owning the potentially competitive assets, while the government retains the CAN.It also means that some privatisations should proceed, such as the sale of the NSW electricity generation facilities, while some other assets, such as the Victorian electricity transmission system, might better be returned to government ownership. Finally, it means that governments should not be allowed to use privatisation as an expedient source of funds. An alternation to government accounting is required so that privatisation revenues cannot be used to prop up a governmen t budget. While this reform has already started, with analysts focusing on ‘underlying’ deficit figures that remove privatisation revenues, it needs to be formalised.Privatisation and regulation are all about incentives- and the first incentives that need to be fixed are those facing our politicians.

35 Words Frequently Found in Compounds

35 Words Frequently Found in Compounds 35 Words Frequently Found in Compounds 35 Words Frequently Found in Compounds By Mark Nichol The subject of compounds, permanent or temporary combinations of words temporary in the sense that they are â€Å"invented† for the occasion but are not in common usage is a complicated matter because whether a compound employing a given word is open (with letter spaces between the constituent words), hyphenated, or closed (with no letter spaces) is usually inconsistent. Here’s a guide to the most common compound building blocks and how to treat compounds that use them. 1. Ache: Headache and similar words are always closed compounds. 2. All: Phrasal adjectives like â€Å"all out† are hyphenated before a noun (â€Å"This means all-out war†). In adverbial form, such phrases are open: â€Å"She went all out in an effort to impress him†). 3. Book: Many compounds that include book are closed (handbook); terms not listed in the dictionary should be open. 4. Borne: Some forms are closed (airborne); hyphenate compounds not found in the dictionary. 5. Century: This word is never hyphenated in a noun phrase (â€Å"twenty-first century†), but it is hyphenated to the rest of the phrase when the phrase serves as a phrasal adjective before a noun (â€Å"twenty-first-century mind-set†). 6. Counter: Compound nouns are almost always closed (countersign). 7. Cross: Leave compounds such as â€Å"cross section† open unless they are hyphenated or closed in the dictionary. 8. E: The prefix for electronic should be hyphenated in all uses, as well as lowercase except when the word begins a sentence. (I prefer email, ebook, etc., but this is a minority position popular in high-tech publications but not elsewhere.) 9. Elect: Hyphenate in such usage as â€Å"secretary-elect,† but omit hyphens when the other term is itself an open compound (â€Å"secretary general elect†). 10. Ever: Generally hyphenate before a noun (â€Å"ever-optimistic attitude†), but sometimes closed (evergreen). 11. Ex: Always hyphenate except with an open compound; in that case, use an en dash after ex. If your Web site does not use en dashes, reword to avoid awkward use of hyphens (â€Å"former vice president† rather than â€Å"ex-vice-president†). 12. Extra: Nouns and adjectives (extraterrestrial) are almost always closed, but check the dictionary; exceptions include â€Å"extra-point statistics.† Informal adverbs are open (â€Å"be extra careful†). 13. Foster: Compound nouns are always open (â€Å"foster family†); phrasal adjectives are hyphenated before a noun (â€Å"foster-care specialist†). 14. Free: Hyphenate before and after a noun when free is the second element in a compound (â€Å"scot-free†). 15. Full: Hyphenate before a noun (â€Å"full-time employee†). 16. General: Compounds with general as the second element are always open (â€Å"major general†); the first word, not general, takes the plural form (â€Å"secretaries general†). 17. Grand: Compounds denoting kinship that include this word are always closed (grandchild). Compounds in which grand is an adjective denoting status are always open (â€Å"grand dame,† â€Å"grand marshal†). 18. Great: This word is hyphenated in compounds denoting kinship (â€Å"great-grandchild†). 19. Half: Compound nouns are always open (â€Å"half dozen†). Phrasal adjectives are hyphenated before and after a noun (â€Å"half-eaten†). Check the dictionary for permanent closed compounds (halftime). 20. House: Compounds are open unless closed in the dictionary (â€Å"house cat,† but household). 21. In-law: Compounds with in and law as the second and third elements are always hyphenated; the first word, not law, takes the plural form (sisters-in-law). 22. Like: Hyphenate compounds in which like is the second element before and after a noun unless the compound is closed in the dictionary; hyphenate if the last letter of the preceding word is an l (snail-like) or a y (dormitory-like). 23. Near: Compound nouns are open (â€Å"near miss†); hyphenate adjectives before a noun (â€Å"near-term strategy†). Nearsighted, however, is closed. 24. Odd: Always hyphenate compounds including odd as the second element in the sense of â€Å"approximately† (thirty-odd). 25. Off: Phrasal adjectives are hyphenated before a noun (an â€Å"off-kilter column†); hyphenate adverbs (â€Å"sang off-key†). Hyphenate compounds in which off is the second element (bake-off). Note that style is occasionally inconsistent between on and off antonyms (on-screen, but offscreen). 26. Old: Compound nouns in which old is the last element are always hyphenated (â€Å"my six-year-old†); phrasal adjectives including the word are hyphenated before a noun (â€Å"six-month-old policy†). 27. On: Hyphenate adjectives and adverbs starting with on that are not in the dictionary. (See the note at off about inconsistency.) 28. Over: Compounds including this word, regardless of part of speech, are always closed. 29. Quasi: Hyphenate phrasal adjectives (â€Å"quasi-judicial proceedings†); some scientific terms are closed (quasiparticle). 30. Step: In kinship terms, always closed (stepmother) unless preceding grand or great (step-grandmother). 31. Style: Compound nouns are open (â€Å"art deco style†); hyphenate adjectival and adverbial forms (â€Å"family-style dining†; â€Å"dined family-style†). 32. Under: Compounds including this word, regardless of part of speech, are always closed. 33. Vice: Compound nouns are open (vice president), hyphenated (vice-consul), or closed (viceroy); hyphenate if not in the dictionary. 34. Web: Compound nouns are open (â€Å"web press† â€Å"food web†) or closed (webfoot, spiderweb); check the dictionary. Terms pertaining to the World Wide Web follow the same variations (â€Å"web page,† â€Å"webmaster†). Many publications style website as one word, and The Chicago Manual of Style has conceded this fact, but Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary stands by â€Å"Web site† (which is also my preference). 35. Wide: When wide is the first element in the compound, hyphenate before a noun (â€Å"wide-ranging talents†). When it is the second element, hyphenate the compound if it does not appear not closed in the dictionary; many publications hyphenate such compounds in which the first element ends in y (community-wide). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?3 Types of Headings10 Tips to Improve Your Writing Skills

United Nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

United Nations - Essay Example ome states together with other interest groups, for instance, have lobbied and convinced others to vote against certain issues of common good and interest of the US. For example, the US proposed amendment to change the Rome Statute so that they could join was opposed by many. These polarization and blocs have, therefore, undermined the original values stood for by the UN as an institution (Patrick & Forman, 2002). Despite these challenges, the UN remains one of the greatest platforms to implement the US multilateralism. With most major global threats such as nuclear and terrorism increasing, forums like the UN are, therefore, important for US. The above complications, therefore, results in the need for smart multilateralism. In implementing this, US have to make some hard decisions and determinations like asking for help but at the same time, not remaining vulnerable. Its leaders and policy makers in the diplomatic forums must also be strategic, consistent in their pursuit and remain respectful. While ensuring all these, they must still find avenues of preventing tyranny in voting blocs, thus, preventing countering its interest and weakening its priorities and efforts (Fallon & Gayle, 2010). In providing best options for achieving best outcomes, the US should, therefore, create a number of options such as; creating alternatives to the following issues of concern. Better human rights, community of democracies transformation, security structures and refurbishment of economic systems at the international levels (Fallon & Gayle, 2010). Fallon, W. J., & Gayle, H. D. (2010). Report of the CSIS Commission on Smart Global Health Policy: A Healthier, Safer, and More Prosperous World. Washington, D.C: Center for Strategic and International

Should regional actors play a greater role in international peace Essay

Should regional actors play a greater role in international peace operations - Essay Example As Hettne and Soderbaum argue, the UN is built on a Westphalian nation-state model in which the UN sits at the top with regional actors participating with the authority and support of the UN. At the same time however, regional organizations such as the EU, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have become legitimate institutions quite capable of managing conflicts on their own.3 The UNSC has at times appointed regional peace keeping operations that were either under-resourced or ineffective or simply chose not to intervene.4 While Coleman’s global legitimacy pyramid suggests that regional actors require UNSC mandates in order to achieve legitimacy and therefore to be effective,5 the rise of regional organizations suggest that a post-Westphalian reality exists and the UNSC may need regional actors in order to achieve greater legitimacy. Moreover, Article 52 of the UN Charter calls for regional initiatives in peace keeping.6 The UNSC however, has failed to forge comprehensive relationships with regional organizations despite regional actors’ significant role in managing conflicts.7 Given the rise of regional powers8 and the soft power associated with the UNSC’s peace keeping practices9, this paper uses the theory of neoliberal institutionalism and social constructivism to consider whether or not regional actors should play a greater role in international peace operations. Traditional theories of international relations focuses too narrowly on materialism and state actors whereas neoliberalism looks more narrowly at how politics at the international level is institutionalized at either formal or informal levels.10 Social constructivism provides a theoretical framework which explains international relations in terms of security as a collective endeavor rather than self-help ambitions and thus allows a more

George Washington Essay Example for Free

George Washington Essay George Washington faced many challenges during his presidency. Some of these challenges were difficulty of setting up a new government, domestic difficulties, and foreign affairs. He had a hard eight years of presidency but he mostly resolved all the problems. One of his challenges was setting up a new government. This was hard because people just revolted against their last form of government. They revolted against their last government because taxation was a major issue. Collecting federal taxes as a tricky issue. The whiskey rebellion was a rebellion over the tax on alcoholic beverages such as whiskey. Washington wanted to stop the rebellion by establishing power of the federal government to keep order and collect taxes. Another issue that relates to this is paying off war caused by most colonies. Another challenge was Domestic difficulties. Years of war had not whatsoever helped the US economy. Most of these people were facing very hard times. The Constitution did not receive accepted support. And the Colonies were used to dealing with their own affairs. The conflict between colonies rights and the Federal governments power was more legit and significant than ever. There was a lot of fear about a new Revolution which formed more circumscriptions on personal freedom than ever. Two political factions appeared even within Washington’s cabinet. One last issue was foreign affairs. There were potential problems with France and Great Britain on top of gaining respect from Europe for the beginning of a new government. Also, the British had not removed there soldiers from the northwest of the United States. They also supplied weapons and support to the Indians in their resistance to the settlers. Louisiana and Florida were controlled by the French and British along with all of the land west and south. Spain and Britain wanted to colonize North America and they made no effort to secretize it. George Washington had many challenges during his Presidency such as, difficulty of setting up a new government, domestic difficulties, and foreign affairs. Although this was hard George Washington managed to take care of it. George Washington clearly faced many challenges.

An American Epidemic :: essays research papers

An American Epidemic In modern times, nobody who reads the newspapers or watches television can avoid the chilling fate that our country faces. School violence is a rapidly growing trend in America, and it seems to be there is nothing we can do to stop it. The offenders are from all races and social classes. They range from the high school hero to the high school dropout. It often seems the only thing they have in common is an utter disregard for their own life and the lives of others. In the following accounts, taken straight from American headlines, harrowing events fit for blockbuster fiction prove that our country is becoming victim to a new criminal: youthful rage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In generations past, the high school rebel was the boy all the girls wanted and all the boys wanted to be. He was the one in the leather jacket who went to class only to make snide remarks, drove too fast, and talked too slow. Jump forward to the end of the twentieth century, and the high school rebel is the boy who students ignore, the one who sits in the back of the classroom and never talks, wears all black and keeps to himself. He is the last student anyone would fear, but probably the most dangerous. He doesn’t want to take advantage of those who are smaller than him, but wants to seek vengeance on those who have hurt him, basically everyone. He, in fact, is sometimes a she.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course, offenders can’t be classified into one group. Many times it is the last person you would ever imagine. That is the way it happened for Chester Jackson, a Detroit high school football star. Chester was a seventeen-year-old hero, a senior who had reached godlike status due to his work for the school football team. But if you ask his high school friends of their memories of Chester, they will not remember him running down the football field, but running down the hall, trying to save his own life. Like so many students, Chester found it amusing to tease the underclassmen. Particularly a fourteen-year-old freshman boy that was unable to defend himself when Chester and his friends pushed him in his own locker and secured the combination lock for three consecutive classes. That was the event they say made the boy snap. He brought a gun to school the next day, and even with all of his football training, Chester could not run fast enough to save his own li fe.

Concern in educational attainment between social groups

Nelson Mandela grew up in a state divided by apartheid. A black adult male in a state where a white minority ruled, he had a vision for South Africa ; to be one state regardless of race. In 1994 he became the first black president of South Africa – testament, so, that barriers, of any sort, should non be ground for or an apology for deficiency of attainment or accomplishment of any sort and, that barriers can be overcome. It is widely agreed that there are legion barriers to educational accomplishment and societal inclusion, among them Special Educational Needs ( SEN )[ 1 ]and disablement, Ethnicity and English as an Additional Language, and gender to call but a few. The purpose of this essay nevertheless, is to look at merely one of the barriers faced in this state, poorness, and to look at how students within this societal group are affected and how poverty affects their educational accomplishment, farther, the essay will look briefly at the development of inclusive instruction and what is presently being addressed by this and subsequent authoritiess in order that pupils, irrespective of circumstance can hold equality in instruction. In order to associate poorness with educational accomplishment and attainment spreads, a background to poorness and societal inclusion within instruction will be outlined followed by the first portion of the analysis which will look at the historical overview of inclusive instruction, current policy and counsel and its impact on minority groups ; the 2nd portion of the analysis will analyze the effects of poorness and how, in peculiar, students entitled to FSM ‘s[ 2 ]impact on the spread in educational attainment compared against kids non entitled to FSM ‘s. The concluding degree of the analysis will look at the importance of contracting the spread and the debut of the twenty-first Century School.What is poorness?At this point it is necessary to observe that, through research, it became evident that there is an ill-defined and infinite definition about what ‘poverty ‘ is and how it should be measured. However, most of the research leads to an understanding tha t poorness is to be related to in footings of ‘typical ‘ life criterions within the UK and the undermentioned definition is widely accepted: ‘Individuals, households and groups in the population can be said to be in poorness when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, take part in the activities, and have the life conditions and comfortss which are customary, or are at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies in which they belong. ‘ P Townsend, Poverty in the United Kingdom: a study of family resources and criterions of life, Penguin, 1979, p31 The most important point made above and which is the chief cause of poorness is ‘resources ‘ ; to underscore more clearly, the chief cause of poorness is deficient income/unemployment which, for grownups with kids straight impacts on them and their well-being. Although the UK has a system of benefits which should protect households with kids from poorness, these excessively are deemed as excessively low. In relation to this, it accepted that whilst grownups do non take for themselves the route of poorness, for kids of parents populating in poorness there is no alternate and they are hence non merely kids but could be described as victims of circumstance. Poverty is non merely about traveling without it is about being deprived of equality in countries such as wellness, lodging and regard and, in the instance of kids, instruction. In concurrence with the definition ( above ) the DCSF ( 2009 ) goes on to depict child poorness entirely as ‘Child poorness agencies turning up in a family with low income. Research has shown that these kids will confront a greater hazard of holding hapless wellness, being exposed to offense and neglecting to make their full potency. It means they miss out on school trips, do non hold equal winter vesture and are n't able to bask leisure activities with their equals. As a consequence, their instruction suffers – doing it hard to acquire the makings they need to travel on to sustainable, well-paid occupations. This limits their possible to gain the money needed to back up their ain households in ulterior life, and so a rhythm of poorness is created. ‘ www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/parents/childpoverty/childpoverty/What is Social inclusion?As with poorness, in order to associate societal inclusion with educational accomplishment and attainment spreads, a background and apprehension of the issues refering to societal inclusion demand to be outlined. The term ‘social exclusion ‘ is a term by and large used to depict what can go on to people who are capable to the most terrible jobs, and are hence no longer ‘socially included. ‘ As noted above, kids have no pick of background ; they are born into it and hence find themselves in poorness as a consequence of their birth circumstance. For a kid non to be socially included brings effects above and beyond economic poorness entirely. It is by and large considered that to be ‘socially excluded ‘ as a immature and waxy kid can hold far making effects damaging to both instruction and wellness hence, to surmise, to be socially excluded is to confront exclusion non merely economically but socially and academically excessively. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/social_exclusion_task_force/context.aspxHistorical development of inclusive policy & A ; counselBearing in head the old points, it is necessary now focus on how this and old authoritiess have attempted to get the better of some of these issues through inclusive instruction. It should besides be noted that whilst this essay is concentrating, in the chief, on the impact of poorness on educational accomplishment, the roots of inclusive instruction lay preponderantly with another minority group, kids with larning difficulties/special educational demands ( SEN ) . However, as acknowledged above ; through circumstance, students from households who are deemed as in poorness have now been identified as a group who are under accomplishing academically and, hence, as with students with SEN are a recognized minority group for which an inclusive instruction should profit. Inclusion is non a new thought and in fact has its roots at the bend of the last century where educationists, in peculiar kid public assistance innovator Elizabeth Burgwin, saw neither the purpose nor virtuousness in, what was so segregated instruction and that versions could be made to ordinary schools in order to educate all kids, whatever their ability or circumstance, together, nevertheless, there was another sentiment that kids could be ‘categorised ‘ harmonizing to their ability and taught in ‘special ‘ schools. These were kids who, in the words of the School Board for London ( 1904 ) were kids who could non be taught in ‘ordinary ‘ schools. ( Thomas, Walker and Webb, 1998 ) It became accepted that ‘segregated ‘ education/'special schools was the safe and reasonable manner frontward to run into the demands of kids with SEN ; farther, this format of schooling safeguarded the instruction of mainstream students in ‘ordinary ‘ schools, so the 1944 Education Act scripted an highly segregative station war instruction system. It was non until the mid-1960 ‘s when grounds showed deficiency of success in the system that opinions began to alter and instruction looked toward ‘integration ‘ and inclusion ( Thomas et al. , 1998 ) . Given so that the intent of inclusion within instruction is that students with SEN are integrated into mainstream instruction it is of import here to observe the difference between integrating and inclusion. The term ‘Integration ‘ was introduced in 1978 in the Warnock Report and referred to the thought of incorporating kids with SEN into a common educational model. The thought has since progressed to include all kids, non merely those with an identified SEN, but kids from all minority groups irrespective of gender, ethnicity or circumstance [ poorness ] so that a to the full inclusive instruction should be to the full inclusive of all kids and is seen to encompass diverseness. ( Warnock Report ‘special educational demands ‘ 1978 chapter 7 ) ( House of Commons: Select Committee on Education and Skills Third ReportA A 2006 ) Clarification of inclusion policy: Specifying inclusion p58 ) .Inclusive instruction‘Promoting excellence in instruction and underta king disadvantage demands we personalise learning and acquisition and back strong, advanced leading in schools ‘ Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families July 2007 – nowadays[ 3 ] ECM – Address to the National Children ‘s Bureau, 23rd July, 2007 The rule and patterns of inclusive instruction hence suggests that all students in a school, irrespective of their strengths or failings in any country, go portion of the school community ; that they are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, instructors, and back up staff farther, schools have a legal duty to educate all regardless of gender, ethnicity or circumstance in mainstream schools. Interrupting the nexus ( DSCF, 2009 ) identified that a FSM student is besides more likely to hold been identified with particular educational demands ( SEN ) and will be more likely to hold a CoP[ 4 ]statement or categorised as School Action or SA+ , it is possible that this group will besides be of a group of BEM or BESD[ 5 ]which have besides been identified as an under executing societal group. It is by and large considered that there is a relationship between these factors and intercessions such as individualized acquisition, as identified within the QCA model for inclusion, is critical to adhere to in order for advancement. For these identified groups, inclusion is non needfully merely understanding that every student will non be working on the same larning aims as every other student within that group but that the teaching method will be about recognizing where distinction would be appropriate in order to back up and suit the different acquisition demands and manners of the social/learning group and that a elaborate attack to supervising their betterment is in topographic point in order that marks may be stretched and met. Personalised acquisition ( distinction ) therefore, will be cardinal to raising accomplishment and therefore should be a cardinal constituent to contracting the spread and working towards a civilization where a kid ‘s opportunities of success are non limited by their socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity or any disablement or circumstance. Working within the inclusive model nevertheless should non be viewed as a barrier for either student or staff ; inclusion needs to be viewed as a go oning procedure of interrupting down barriers and contracting the spread to educational attainment for all kids and immature people. There are a figure of Torahs turn toing favoritism in instruction and therefore support inclusive instruction in the UK. Arguably, the most of import piece of statute law passed in recent old ages is the Every Child Matters ( ECM ) policy which, launched in 2003, was published alongside the formal response to the study into the decease of Victoria Climbie[ 6 ]and gave rise to the 2004 Children ‘s act. ECM covers kids and immature grownups up to the age of 19 ( or 24 for those with disablements ) and is the Government ‘s purpose is for every kid, whatever their background or circumstance, to hold the support needed to: Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and accomplish Make a positive part Achieve economic wellbeing The ECM policy focussed on Inclusive Education & A ; Equality of Opportunity and placed high on the docket 3 chief countries: Human Rights – Childs have a right to larn and play together, they should non be discriminated against and inclusion is concerned with bettering schools for both students and staff likewise Equal Opportunities in Education – Children do better in inclusive scenes ( academically and socially ) , they should non necessitate to be separated in order to accomplish equal academic position and inclusive instruction is a more effectual usage of resources Social Opportunities – inclusive instruction is on portion of inclusion in society, kids need to be involved with all their equals. Assuming so that ECM and the 2004 Children ‘s act are back uping and approving inclusion, it is interesting to observe that there is grounds to propose, through the attainment spread, that societal minority groups, despite advancement and the inclusion and integrating advocated in the Warnock Report, are still under accomplishing and, that the construct of inclusive instruction is still discussed as though it applies merely to kids with an identified SEN and is non taking history of all societal minority groups, but as identified in the ‘Index for Inclusion ‘ below, it does, in fact, have a much wider range, inclusion in instruction involves: ( Booth and Ainscow 2000 ) Valuing all pupils and staff every bit. Increasing the engagement of pupils in, and cut downing their exclusion from, the civilizations, course of study and communities of local schools. Restructuring the civilizations, policies and patterns in schools so that they respond to the diverseness of pupils in the vicinity. Reducing barriers to larning and engagement for all pupils, non merely those with damages or those who are categorised as ‘having particular educational demands ‘ . Learning from efforts to get the better of barriers to the entree and engagement of peculiar pupils to do alterations for the benefit of pupils more widely. Sing the difference between pupils as resources to back up acquisition, instead than every bit jobs to be overcome. Admiting the right of pupils to an instruction in their vicinity. Bettering schools for staff every bit good as for pupils. Underscoring the function of schools in edifice community and developing values, every bit good as in increasing accomplishment. Fostering reciprocally prolonging relationships between schools and communities.Poverty and the effects on instructionIt is the purpose of this and subsequent authoritiess to raise accomplishment for all students and to interrupt the nexus between disadvantage [ poorness ] and low educational attainment. In 1999, the [ so ] authorities pledged to halve child poorness by 2010 and eliminate it by 2020, in response to this, in 2008 the authorities published a paper: Ending Child Poverty – Making it Happen 2008 underscoring their committedness to guarantee non merely that each consecutive coevals is able to derive better occupations, but that everyone has the opportunity to accomplish their possible, no affair what their background, farther the paper announced that a kid poorness Bill will be introduced in 2009. The Child Poverty Act 2010[ 7 ]ensures that sustained action must be taken to undertake child poorness by this, and hereafter, authoritiess, by devolved disposals, and by local authorities and their spouses. The act sets marks associating to the obliteration of kid poorness, and to do other proviso about child poorness. The Bill provides a statutory footing to the committedness made in 1999 and to make a model in which to supervise advancement at a national and local degree. Relevant to poorness and instruction nevertheless, is section 26 of the act which makes an amendment to the of the Education Act 1996 and gives the Secretary of State an order-making power to widen eligibility for free school repasts ( FSM ‘s ) if the kid meets prescribed conditions and the kid ‘s parent is in reception of a prescribed benefit or allowance. ( Child Poverty Act, 2010 ) Research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2007 reinforced that the links between poorness and instruction were clear but complicated and that to interrupt the established relationship between poorness and hapless educational results required a alteration to the implicit in constructions ( Raffo, Dyson, Gunter, Hall, Jones, Kalambouka JRF A Review of research on the links between instruction and Poverty, September 2007 ) . Since so and with the coming of the Child Poverty Act and the End Child Poverty Campaign, inroads have been made and some 500,000 kids have been lifted out of poorness[ 8 ]nevertheless, there are still presently 4 million kids in the UK life in poorness, as defined above, which equates to an overpowering 30 % of kids all within the UK, farther, the UK has one of the worst rates of child poorness in the industrialized universe. It could be argued therefore that poorness has the ability to befog the possible and chance of a kid and hence limit the life opportunities of the kid. Evidence suggests that poorness has the capableness of determining a kid ‘s development ; before making the age of 2 ; a kid from a poorer household is more likely to be demoing lower degrees of attainment than that of a kid from a better off household and that kids turning up in poorness are more likely to go forth school at 16 with fewer makings ( End Child Poverty ; 2010 ) . In the preface to Removing Barriers to Achievement ( DfES, 2004 ) a set of specific educational ends were expressed. Chiefly, instruction is targeted as a agency to incorporate persons into society and to learn them the accomplishments necessary to take part contribute and achieve their possible. Therefore it can be assumed that the impression of inclusive instruction is a basic human right of every kid regardless of circumstance. Given so that the chance for full clip instruction is available for all and, that under international human rights jurisprudence ( and, in peculiar, Articles 28 and 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( 1989 ) which cover the right to instruction ) , the UK has an duty to supply [ inclusive ] instruction for all kids. ( UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: 1989 ) If it is the instance so, that ‘the right of the kid to instruction, and with a position to accomplishing this right increasingly on the footing of equal chance ‘ ( Article 28 ) , it is interesting to observe that on mean hapless kids score less good on a scope of educational steps such as reading trials in early old ages and GCSE consequences in secondary instruction, foregrounding the predicament of poorness in instruction. With the statement made in the: Ending Child Poverty papers [ to guarantee non merely that each consecutive coevals is able to derive better occupations, but that everyone has the opportunity to accomplish their possible, no affair what their background ] it must follow, hence, that portion of the reply lies in instruction as the way to a better occupation lies with makings. During the last 10 old ages schools, nationally, have benefited from authorities investing and statistics show that the attainment spread is shuting nevertheless, grounds shows that there is still a nexus between household income and accomplishment. Approximately 15 % of all students are entitled to FSM ‘s but as demonstrated [ below ] , these students are less likely to acquire 5 good ACEM[ 9 ]compared to those students non in reception of FSM. For that ground, poorness and want remain an on-going country of concern. ( DCSF: Interrupting the Link, 2009 ) The importance so of FSM ‘s for eligible students should non be under estimated as a agency to shuting the spread in educational attainment as, to mention back to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( 1989 ) , article 27 provinces that no kid in the UK should travel hungry. Abraham Maslow is known for set uping the theory of a hierarchy of demands, which places, in a pyramid, the order basic demands need for motive. At the underside, are the physical demands which, although basic, we will non work comfortably without. The basic human demand is for nutrient, H2O and slumber. The center of the pyramid trades with the emotion and at the really top is self fulfillment. Using this theory illustrates and reinforces the importance of FSM ‘s for students eligible as without their basic demand met students will non work to the best of their ability as demonstrated below. Assuming so that, a kid is fed, research has shown that there is a important and immediate consequence of diet on behavior, concentration and cognitive ability. Areas straight associating to educational attainment affected by nutrition have been identified as: Developmental upsets e.g. dyslexia and dyspraxia, Memory Concentration Intelligence Attention span Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Aggression Accomplishment ( Sorhaindo, A. & A ; Feinstein, L. 2006 ‘What is the relationship between kid nutrition and school outcomes? ‘ Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No 18. Centre for Research of Wider Benefits of Learning ) p 7, 11. If it is the instance so that nutrition has a clear impact on the public presentation of a student, it must hence be of premier importance to guarantee that all students entitled to FSM are in reception of them. In add-on to the above, nutrition is besides believed to impact upon behavior, which has the potency besides to impact school public presentation and interaction with equals, and compromise self-pride ( Sorhaindo et.al. , 2006 ) However, research carried out for the DCSF by the Key Stage 2 & A ; 4: National Indicator Set has shown that where students are in reception of FSM academic attainment is lower at every key phase ( as the focal point group identified is secondary students, relevant statistics merely are identified ) . By the sheer fact that a student is entitled to FSM indicates that they are from a household whose parents or carers are in reception of benefit and are hence are on low income and are entitled to use to their local authorization to claim FSM ‘s. The usage of the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index ( IDACI ) is used in order to find FSM eligibility. This nevertheless, this is by no means a perfect system, as it misses out kids from households who do non use for all the benefit to which they are entitled ; in so making pushes the household farther into economic pandemonium as tiffins that need non needfully be paid for now become, unnecessarily, portion of the household budget. ( DCSF: Want and Education 2009 ) An attainment spread ( measured by students entitled to FSM ) is measured at each cardinal phase ; it begins at cardinal phase 1 and additions at each key phase through instruction. By the terminal of cardinal phase 4, research has shown that there was a 29 per centum point spread between FSM and non FSM students in English and a 28 per centum point spread in maths. This equates to a non FSM student holding over three times the odds of accomplishing an A*-C class in these topics compared to an FSM student. In 2007 Merely 21 % of FSM students achieved 5 ACEM[ 10 ], compared to 49 % of non FSM students. This figure had narrowed somewhat from the statistics available for 2003, whereby a non FSM student had 3.8 times the odds of accomplishing 5+ACEM, but this ratio has fallen over clip to merely 3.1 in 2007. ( DCSF: Want and Education 2009 ) . With a nexus in educational attainment holding been identified and linked to amongst others, poorness and FSM ‘s it is necessary to look at how this spread can be narrowed ; for every bit long as poorness exists in childhood there will be an addition in the hazard of grownup poorness. Intergenerational rhythms of poorness are non unbreakable or inevitable, but alterations need to be implemented or there will be a hazard that, in future old ages, the spread in attainment will impact on society, as there will be kids go forthing instruction with fewer accomplishments required by employers when come ining into the work force, which will finally impede economic growing. There is grounds to propose that poorness need non be the cause to achievement or attainment. Research carried out by Jason Strelitz, policy adviser on UK kid poorness for Save the Children, showed that with successful fiscal and policy intercession by national authorities ‘poverty ‘ as a cardinal barrier to educational attainment can be eliminated ( Jason Strelitz, The Guardian Newspaper, Thursday 21 August 2008 ) . It has been shown and is acknowledged that FSM ‘s are a clear indexs of public presentation nevertheless, in London in 2007, the mean attainment spread of kids on FSM and non FSM ‘s was 27 per centum points, the spread in public presentation between kids on FSM in the best authorization and the worst was wider still ; 37 per centum points proposing that it is non FSM in isolation entirely that is seen as a barrier but geographics and ZIP code. To exemplify ; two contrasting London boroughs: Kensington and Chelsea, with few kids on FSM, besides Tower Hamlets, who had the highest proportion of kids on FSM anyplace in the state. In 1998 Tower Hamlets ranked as one of lowest-performing governments in the state for educational attainment ; 10 old ages subsequently their consequences were above norm across the board and, for the poorest kids among the really best. It appeared the reply for Tower Hamlets was investing. During the 10 twelvemonth period identified, investing and e ducational enterprises were focused on deprived countries and the consequences were outstanding. With the exclusion of one, all of the 30 local governments that were identified saw betterment in their GCSE attainment since 1998. All, saloon one, had above mean per-pupil support. ( Strelitz, 2008 ) . This clearly demonstrates how investing in instruction can work to contract the spread in attainment and that poorness, is non needfully a barrier to instruction. However, it should be remembered that the investing has been made in the educational system/framework non the person and that the kids themselves, due to household circumstance, are still really in poorness although the chance of a good/better instruction has been afforded them and which will be the key to their hereafter and the chance for them to travel on into higher instruction or employment giving them the chance of interrupting intergenerational rhythms of poorness. It is clear so from the above that jobs within the instruction system have been identified and are being addressed, through statute law thrust and frontward thought as fiscal investing entirely will non work out the job, nevertheless, it does bespeak that the job can be solved. Working on the guidelines for alteration recommended in ECM the authorities has produced a series of documents aimed at sketching the manner frontward to contract the spread for specific groups. June 2009 saw the publication of the current authoritiess ‘ white paper: Building a twenty-first Century School System along with Interrupting the Link. Constructing a twenty-first Century School System proposes the manner forward for instruction. It paperss how this and future authoritiess will construct on the bing school system to make a new system that will supply an instruction that is able to move in response to the challenges of society. Further it looks at and endorses a wholly inclusive educational system taking to interrupt the nexus between want, disadvantage, disablement and low educational attainment and so impacts upon intergenerational poorness as discussed above and where every kid, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or circumstance [ poorness ] will hold the chance to develop and derive the accomplishments necessary to win in the of all time altering planetary clime. ( DCSF: twenty-first Century School System ) One component of the twenty-first Century School is ‘Extended ‘ services within schools. This has now been implemented in 72 % of schools countrywide and it is intended that by the terminal of 2010 all schools will offer ‘extended ‘ school services. The purpose being, to hold integrated wellness and societal attention on site every bit good as kid attention and after school installations ; thereby guaranting that jobs which may potentially stand in the manner of students larning are more easy and readily cover with. However, informations to day of the month shows that whilst consciousness of and satisfaction with services among parents is comparatively high, there remains a engagement spread between FSM eligible students and those non eligible, with non FSM demoing typically a 10 % higher engagement rate. The issue hence is to farther promote the deprived groups and, in peculiar those eligible for FSM, to take part and do usage of the offer. The engagement spr ead indicates that kids from poorer backgrounds are less likely than their equals to hold used to such installations and are hence less likely to province that the service meets their demands on the other manus the information shows clearly that advancement is being been made in enabling deprived kids to take part in quality after school activities, but that more demands to be done to maximize the benefits of these activities to convey this groups battle with acquisition. ( DSCF: Interrupting the Link, 2009 )DecisionIt is non poverty entirely that is the barrier to educational accomplishment. Poverty is circumstance. This and subsequent authoritiess can, and should put in instruction in order to give our kids the chance they need to interrupt away from intergenerational poorness and to shut the spread in educational accomplishment and societal inclusion. While kids are denied their basic human right of an instruction – equal for all, no affair their current circumstance, they will stay in poorness. Bettering life opportunities through instruction, for all, is non an unrealistic aspiration but does demand the committedness of policymakers, both national and local, schools, spouse bureaus and parents to work together, to be focused on presenting alteration for all. As Nelson Mandela broke through his barrier and proved that race need non keep back accomplishment, this state excessively can interrupt down barriers ; kids from all backgrounds can accomplish – poorness does non and should non be a barrier to attainment.

Audit Research on Diversity

Performing research on one of the top 1 0 companies identified by Diversifying: as a company that demonstrates the business case for diversity, develop a criteria to measure the organization's diversity initiative against, some thoughtful questions on the epic of diversity that you will research about the company (you can use secondary data to assist you in formulating good questions) and conduct a preliminary literature review for their research of that company.The literature review should include sources (at least 6 in total and 4 of them scholarly) from scholarly and professional journals describing the performance of the organization as it relates to diversity, in addition to the organization's website that you are researching. The literature review should include a bibliography of sources and a brief paragraph describing the intents of the source. Part 2 is the final project paper (10 pages) – due (1 1/1 5/13) If you are using one of the Diversifying firms, include in you r research the criteria you developed, the questions you researched, the literature you used and the results of your findings.Your report should detail the strengths and weaknesses of the organization's diversity initiatives. List the criteria (one page), provide some company background/history (one page), evaluate the organization's efforts in terms of diversity, and make recommendations for improvement. Findings should include: The criteria you used for managing diversity in an organization. You can use secondary research to assist you. If you performed research on one of the top 10 business case for diversity, include a literature review of your research on that company.The literature review should include sources from scholarly and professional journals describing the performance of the organization as it relates to diversity, in addition to the organization's website that you are researching. The literature review should include a bibliography Of sources ND a brief paragraph de scribing the contents of the source. Include the list of the thoughtful questions regarding diversity used in the research. Indicate what the company newsletters, value statements, and so forth are.If you are using the Diversifying firms, include these in your research as well as any websites you visited in your research. Evaluate whatnot have learned about the company in terms of diversity, comparing it against the criteria you established. Be sure to pay attention to subtle cues (I. E. Is there evidence that they really do what they say they do). For example, a manager proudly pointed out that his large retail organization hired physically challenged workers.However, they were all assigned to work in the stockroom, where they were never seen by any customers. Or a company who is recognized for their hiring of the disabled, have no disabled employees Visible on their website. Feel free to add additional criteria that you did not think of after the interview/visit or research was co mpleted. Findings: Evaluate what you have learned about the company in terms of diversity, comparing it against the arterial you established. Be sure to pay attention to subtle cues (I. . Is there evidence that they really do what they say they do). For example, a manager proudly pointed out that his large retail organization hired physically challenged workers. However, they were all assigned to work in the stockroom, where they were never seen by any customers. Feel free to add additional criteria that you did not think of after the interview/visit. Prepare a 7-10 page paper which explains your findings in detail. The paper should be ere from spelling and grammatical errors.Make sure you cite all written web sources, journal articles and interviews in a bibliography, and contain exhibits, such as copies of the organizational value statements or company newsletters, if appropriate. To summarize, your report should detail the strengths and weaknesses of the organization's diversity initiatives. List the criteria (one page), provide some company background/history (one page), evaluate the organization's efforts in terms of diversity, and make recommendations for improvement.

Measuring Performance

Measuring Performance Introduction The purpose of this essay is to assess whether measuring an employee’s performance is an essential tool for managers within organizations. Most managers and human resource directors view performance management and measurement to be a time wasting activity given the belief that they have hired skilled and experienced workers to perform organizational activities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Measuring Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These managers fail to understand the fact that recruitment, selection and development of employees are important activities that lay the foundation for performance management and measurement. Performance measurement is defined as the sampling of an employee’s current work performance after which the sampled information is measured against a desired result to determine whether the employee is achieving the set out objectives and goals of the compan y (Carlaw et al 2003). Performance measurement is also the management of work outcomes to reduce any variations that might exist in the work performance process. Performance management is seen to be an important activity for many organizations and managers as it allows them to determine whether the employees are achieving the goals, objectives and mission of the organization. Performance measurement provides a sense of direction to employees by showing them what progress they have made in terms of personal goals as well as organizational goals. It provides employees with a gauge of how they have been performing their duties and what they need to do to make their performance better. Performance measurement ensures that employees are motivated to perform their work because of the reward programs that exist for employees who have performed their duties in the appropriate way (Carlaw et al 2003). Performance measurement is the process where an organization sets out the measurements that need to be analysed against the desired results. The main reasons for conducting performance measurement include evaluating how well a company is performing, controlling the performance of employees within the organization by providing managers with the authority to ensure their subordinates are performing their work activities in the right way and also improve the performance of the organization to achieve the organizations goals and objectives (Howell 2006).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Process of Performance measurement Performance measurement is an important activity for organizations since all managers want their employees to perform their jobs well. Measuring job performance ensures that the organization’s resources have been optimally utilised. It also reduces any expenses that might arise due to poor job performance and employee underperformance of work activities. Measuring performance identifies, communicates and rewards the employees who have met the desired organizational results. Performance measurement programs usually originate from the needs and expectations of an organization. Every employee within an organization has a specific need that they should meet to ensure that the organization’s objectives have been met (Mathis and Jackson 2008). The first step in the performance measurement exercise is to identify the expected performance levels that every employee is expected to achieve in their work activities. This will involve conducting a joint discussion between the employees and managers to determine what needs to measured. There are many business processes that require performance measurement and the most important processes are deemed to be those that are important to the organization and its customers. In determining which work activities need to measured managers and employees should ask questions such as what goals and objectives need to be achieved within the organization, what business processes is the organization involved in and what operations are needed to conduct these processes (Platts and Sobotka 2010) After identifying the organization’s business activities, the next step will be to identify the critical activities that need to be measured. This will involve examining the critical activities that are involved in each of the business processes. Critical activities are described as those that have a major impact on the organization’s overall process efficiency, effectiveness, quality and productivity. To determine the critical activities, the organization has determined whether these activities have a direct or indirect relation to the customer’s satisfaction and whether the employees and management view the activity to be critical to the organization. Once the critical activities have been identified, the next step will involve establishing the perfo rmance goals or standards that will be used in the measuring exercise (Hatry 2006) Performance goals and standards are deemed to important in the measurement exercise as they help in determining the desired result of the performance measurement exercise. Goals are usually determined by managers or by customers through their feedback, inquiries or complaints. This will require the organization to know its customers in order to identify their needs and expectations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Measuring Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For every critical activity that has been chosen for measurement, a goal or standard has to be established to measure this activity. The performance measurement goals should be designed in a way that they can easily be attainable and applicable in the existing environmental conditions of the business. The goals should also be legitimate, measurable and easy to understand (Hatry 2006). One the performance goals have been established the next step will involve establishing performance measurements. Performance measurements are usually defined units of measure that are composed of numbers and units of measures. These numbers and units are usually represented by multidimensional units such as work hours, dollars, and number of errors, meters, and number of projects completed in a given time. To develop appropriate performance measures, managers need to identify raw data that can be used to generate performance measures as well as identify what tools and approaches will be used in implementing these performance measures. This stage involves using what the manager wants to measure by using the critical activity to derive a performance measure. Critical activities that have quantifiable goals can be used to easily derive the performance measures for the exercise. If the critical activities lack quantifiable goals, the performance goals can be derived from raw data needed for the performance measurement program. Raw data could be in the form of customer orders, customer complaints or the number of sales that an employee has made (Hatry 2006). Once the performance measures have been identified the next stage will involve identifying the employees to be measured and the people to conduct the performance measurement activities. Appropriate people need to be chosen to conduct data collection as well as analyse employee performance by comparing the collected information to the desired performance. The person required to conduct the performance measurement activity should also be capable of determining whether any corrective action is necessary to improve performance within the organization. The people or person to conduct this process should know what the goals of the exercise are as well as know what the actual performance of an employee is. They should also have the authority to implement necessary changes after the exercise has been co mpleted (Hatry 2006). After the people to measure and be measured have been chosen and identified, the next step will involve collecting the actual employee performance data. The person conducting the performance exercise will have to look at both descriptive and quantitative data related to the performance of the employee. This will include number of sales that the employee has made, number of errors they have made while performing their jobs and the number of hours they have worked.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Once this data has been collected, the next step will involve analysis and evaluation. Data analysis and evaluation determines whether the results of the measurement compare to those of the actual performance or standard. If there are inconsistencies, then the people responsible need to determine whether any corrective action needs to be undertaken to improve performance (Hatry 2006). Importance and Role of Performance Measurement Approaches for Companies While many personnel and human resource specialists concur that performance measurement is an important activity for an organization, some people hold a different opinion on the importance of performance measurement. The generalist view of performance measurements is that they are the tools that managers use to evaluate the performance of an organization and its employees so as to gain understanding of what has been achieved and what needs to be achieved. Performance measures are important for managers as they help them know how th e organization is doing, whether the employees are meeting the organization’s goals, whether the company’s customers are satisfied with the products and services or whether any improvements are necessary for the company’s business operations (Mathis and Jackson 2008). Platts and Sobotka (2010) hold a different view of the importance and role of performance measurement to an organization. The two based their views on a study they conducted on a German gas and electricity company, the results of which revealed that the managers did not use any performance measures on their employees. The results showed that the company used operational excellence instead of performance measurements where the operational excellence depended on organizational mechanisms such as trust and employee responsibilities. The company also used incentives, rewards and inspiration to motivate employees to perform their work effectively (Platts and Sobotka 2010). Conventional research has show n that performance measurement activities within organizations are important activities that help an organization to determine whether it has achieved its goals and objectives and what changes have to be implemented to ensure that the organization achieves its goals and objectives. The traditional roles of performance measurement have been divided into three roles which are inspiration, incentives and accountability where accountability involves the monitoring and reporting of an employee’s performance against the previously determined performance goals (Platts and Sobotka 2010). According to their research, the authors found that an alternative view existed on accountability in performance measurement where the employees in the German company had to prove themselves to be compliant to the principles and guidelines that underlined the operations of the company. They determined from their research that organizations that had a flat structure did not require any performance mea surement metric to drive the performance measurement process. With regards to incentives, the authors observed that the employees working in the German gas and electricity company viewed their clean and healthy working environment as an incentive and motivation for them to perform their work and achieve the set out goals of the company. They also viewed the public recognition of the work efforts to be a more important incentive than monetary rewards (Platts and Sobotka 2010). When it came to inspiration, the authors noted that it came from a desire that the employees had to achieve the stated performance measures. This desire also came from an awareness of the employee’s efforts that contributed to the overall achievement of the organization’s objectives and mission. The alternative view of inspiration that the authors derived from their assessment was employees who identified with the company were motivated to perform well in their work because they had a sense of bel onging. Inspiration within the company was instilled by charismatic leaders and the practice of management allocating more responsibilities to employees (Platts and Sobotka 2010). Platts and Sobotka’s (2010) research noted that the German company practiced alternative means of achieving high employee performance which were through offering inspirational leadership, providing a positive working environment for the employees and encouraging employees to provide their suggestions and opinions on how the company can improve its performance. The authors concluded their research by stating that formalized employee performance measurements were not required in achieving high performance standards within an organization (Platts and Sobotka 2010). Platts and Sobotka’s analysis of the German company showed that performance measurement was not a fundamentally important activity in organizations. A case study of Lloyds TSB Bank showed that the company practised the traditional app roach of performance measurement for its employees since it was involved in a company merger with TSB Group in 1995. The performance measurement program used by the bank was mostly a checklist that assessed the performance of employees within the bank after a given period of time. Performance measurement in the bank was not directed towards the achievement of the company’s goals but it was directed towards the completion of tasks by the bank’s employees. This demonstrated that performance measurement within the bank was more of a bureaucratic process instead of a performance enhancing activity (Houldsworth and Jirasinghe 2006). This reinforced Platts and Sobotka’s view that performance measurement was not an important activity for organizations. The Lloyds TSB Bank incorporated the use of the balanced scorecard in its performance measurement activities where the approach was used to balance the bank’s strategic priorities to its business processes, financ es and its customers. The balanced scorecard did not however measure the performance of employees within the bank effectively because the objectives of the individual scorecards were viewed to be no more than the banks repackaged objectives and goals. There was also a general lack of understanding on how the balanced scorecards worked when it came to measuring employee’s performance within the organization. Such challenges presented an opportunity for the bank’s management to seek new ways of enhancing performance amongst the bank’s employees. These saw the incorporation of five new areas which included franchise growth, contribution, customer satisfaction, risk and people (Houldsworth and Jirasinghe 2006). While the above case studies showed that performance measurement was not an important activity for organizations, the general conception that exists about the activity is that it is important for organizations and managers. Performance measurement is viewed t o be an important key in the success of a business because it communicates the established goals of the organization to the employees. It outlines the activities that need to be achieved by an organization’s employees and it also provides a sense of direction for organizations. Without conducting performance measurement a company cannot be able to determine where it’s going. It also cannot determine whether the set out goals and objectives have been achieved. Performance management therefore becomes an important activity and tool for managers who are determined to achieve the goals and objectives the company (Howell 2006). Conclusion The essay has focused on the aspect of whether measuring employees performance is an important activity for managers. The assessment of the performance measurement process has revealed that the activity is in important in terms of providing a sense of direction to the organization as well as determining what objectives and goals have been achieved by the organization’s employees. The essay also revealed the varied opinions that existed on whether performance measurement was an important activity for an organization. A review of various case studies showed that the activity did not in any way improve the performance of a company meaning that it was just another human resource program that did not add any value to the organization. The case studies revealed that the company’s management practised other activities that were meant to improve the performance of employees within the organization such as using inspirational and charismatic leaders, encouraging employees to take up more responsibilities and encouraging employee loyalty to the organization. While these activities worked for these organizations, the same cannot be applied for other organizations. Despite these variations in opinion, the general consensus was that performance measurement was an important activity for most organizations. References Carlaw, M., Carlaw, P., Deming, V.K., and Friedmann, K., (2003) Managing and  motivating contact centre employees. New York: McGraw Hill. Hatry, H.P., (2006) Performance measurement: getting results. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press Houldsworth, E., and Jirasinghe, D., (2006) Managing and measuring employee  performance. London, UK: Kogan Page Howell, M.T., (2006) Actionable performance measurement: a key to success. Milwaukee, US: American Society for Quality (ASQ) Quality Press Mathis, R.L., and Jackson, J.H., (2008) Human resource management. Ohio, US: Thomson higher education Platts, K., and Sobotka, M., (2010) When the uncountable counts: an alternative to monitoring employee performance. Business Horizons, Vol.53, No.4, pp 349-357

Basics of Chemical Weapons and Warfare Agents

Basics of Chemical Weapons and Warfare Agents The Basics of Chemical Weaponry A chemical weapon utilizes a manufactured chemical to incapacitate, harm, or kill people. Strictly speaking, a chemical weapon relies on the physiological effects of a chemical, so agents used to produce smoke or flame, as herbicides, or for riot control, are not considered to be chemical weapons. Although certain chemical weapons can be used to kill large numbers of people (i.e., as weapons of mass destruction), other weapons are designed to injure or terrorize people. In addition to having potentially horrific effects, chemical weapons are of great concern because they are cheaper and easier to manufacture and deliver than nuclear or biological weapons. Types of Weapons The earliest chemical weapon wasnt an esoteric chemical concoction. During World War I, chlorine gas  was used as a chemical weapon, released in massive clouds by the German army to cause lung damage and terror downwind of its release. Modern chemical weapons include the following types of agents: Choking Agents (e.g., phosgene, chlorine)Blister Agents (e.g., nitrogen mustard, Lewisite)Nerve Agents (e.g., Tabun, Sarin, VX) How Chemical Weapons Work Chemical agents may be released as tiny droplets, similar to the action of a bug bomb used to release insecticide. For a chemical weapon to cause harm, it must come in contact with the skin or mucous membranes, be inhaled, or be ingested. The activity of the chemical agent depends on its concentration. In other words, below a certain level of exposure, the agent wont kill. Below a certain level of exposure, the agent wont cause harm. Protective Measures The best protective measure you can take against chemical weapons is to become educated about them. Most of us dont have gas masks or atropine (an injectible used in cases of nerve agent exposure) and wont be on a battlefield, so the recommendations presented here are intended for the general public. Dont PanicYes, chemical weapons are more likely to be used in a terrorist scenario than nuclear or biological weapons. However, there are several steps you can take to minimize exposure and protect yourself in the event you encounter a chemical agent. Realistically speaking, you are more likely to witness an accidental chemical spill than a chemical attack. Your best defense is to face the situation with a level head. Seek High GroundChemical agents are denser than air. They sink to low-lying areas and will follow wind/weather patterns. Seek the highest story of a building or the top of a natural land formation. Seek Open Spaces or Seek a Self-Contained Air SupplyFrom the point of view of a terrorist, a heavily populated area is a more attractive target than a sparsely populated region. Therefore, the threat of a chemical attack is lessened in rural areas.In the event of an attack, there is some sense in isolating your air supply. Most chemical agents disperse after a certain amount of time (a notable exception is VX, which is designed to persist), so refraining from contacting exposed air may be a good protective measure. Use Your SensesHow do you know if you have been exposed to a chemical agent? You may not be able to see or smell one. In their pure forms, most chemical weapon agents are clear liquids. Impure chemicals may be yellowish liquids. Most are odorless and tasteless, but some have a slightly sweet or fruity smell. Skin irritation, respiratory distress, and gastrointestinal upset all may signal exposure to a chemical agent. However, if you dont die within minutes, you probably wont die at all. Therefore, if you believe you have been exposed to a chemical agent, wait until you feel secure before seeking out medical attention (but do seek it out). Use Common SenseHave a radio (with batteries) and keep up with the news. Pay attention to civil defense advisories and think before acting.