Sociology and Recreational Facilities

I am glad to have been given this opportunity to talk to you today. The title of my speech is ‘Social ills among teenagers'. A lot has been said about the deviant behavior of teenagers. Our education system, the media, teenagers themselves and their parents have been blamed. here is no need to point an accusing finger at any particular group, but keeping mum over the issue is tantamount to condoning it. Our youths are our most valuable assets. They are the future leaders of the nation. The harm has already been done and it is now up to us to undo it.One of the main reasons why our youths go astray may be the lack of parental supervision. Nowadays, both parents go out to work. Children are left in the care of foreign maids and child-minders. As a result, they are faced with the threat of the disintegration of the family values and thus, the rising trend in social ills and crimes among teenagers. Parents should closely monitor the activities of their children and be understanding . When parents are often too busy pursuing their own careers to spare some thought for the welfare of their children, children grow up with little religious or moral guidance.When they do not get love and attention at home, they seek attention from others who may or may not come from similar backgrounds. Thus, the social ills affecting our youth may be a reflection of a much larger problem, such as the disintegration of the family unit. Ladies and gentlemen, the media may also play a part in the moral degradation among teenagers. Television programs which show violence and sex and glorify other negative aspects should be restricted.There should also be stricter enforcement of the ban on pornographic material. Teenagers with little or nothing to do during their spare time usually take to the streets. Therefore, recreational facilities such as those found in sports complexes should be available to all youths. at present, existing recreational facilities seem to either be exclusively f or the rich or for older people. the establishment of teen clubs and community centers, that do not charge high fees and that specially target teenagers, should be given top priority.In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, everyone, including religious, educational and social institutions, as well as individuals and the media, must cooperate with the authorities to combat the social ills afflicting our teenagers. It is important that people, especially youths, do not get into the rut of moral decay. There should be a thorough study of the problem before a proper strategy can be mapped out to channel our youths towards healthier lifestyles. Thank you for your kind attention and have a nice day.

Canadian International School and Asia Essay

There are certain things in life that are taken for granted. Some people would feel contented with what they have, while others would have a bigger yearning to become someone. Sometimes, what we yearn for in life becomes the very core of our existence, making us hardworking and persevering. My high school was spent in Asia, where I was exposed to numerous realities. I graduated from the Canadian International School and Asia, and I must say that I was provided with the necessary knowledge in order to become prepared for the real world. Eventually, I was given the opportunity to study at the NAME OF UNIVERSITY. The short time I spent there was enough for me to become equipped with the necessary knowledge that would allow me to follow my dreams. However, I believe that I would be able to spread my wings further if I studied at the NAME OF UNIVERSITY in Vancouver, Canada. For this, I am showing my interest in taking up NAME OF DEGREE from your university. Studying at the NAME OF UNVIERSITY would not come as a challenge, for I have been previously exposed to the Canadian way of teaching. In this regard, I would not have much difficulty adjusting to the culture, and instead become more proficient in class. I would become more comfortable with my environment, at the same time be able to express myself further in the best possible way that I can. As mentioned earlier, it is my belief that your university would become one of my keystones in achieving my goals in life. Although some would opt to think that the success of an individual is not based on the school, I beg to disagree. Some of the important factors to be learned in life are based on the foundation that institutions have inculcated in their students. Since I have been a product of a Canadian institution in high school, I wish to strengthen my knowledge and beliefs further with your help. Life is always about taking risks – these are the choices that we make in order to fulfill our dreams.

Problem in the United States

Smuggling has been a problem in the United States for many years. The continuous breaching of our borders may one day allow the smuggling of something that could cause massive destruction and death to our country. It is easy to see how the smuggling of something as innocuous as a specific flower or bush can be a problem when it infiltrates the native environment and kills off many different species. But smuggling is not limited to this. There is also the continuous smuggling of drugs and people into this country that causes many problems. Although many people who are smuggled into the United States do so to work or to be with their family, there is a large percentage of them that are forced into prostitution or some other form of slavery. This paper will look at these specific cases of smuggling and determine what, if anything can be done about it. Smuggling is done for many reasons. Generally when something is smuggled, it is smuggled over an international border and it is smuggled for many reasons; either to avoid paying taxes, because the item is illegal, or, in the case of people, because they are not supposed to be there. As an example of this, it is estimated that millions of dollars worth of cigarettes are smuggled every year. These cigarettes are not necessarily smuggled into the United States from another country, but from other states, in which the taxes are low. A carton of cigarettes may be as cheap as $20 in a state like Virginia, and in states like New York, where the cigarette taxes are very high, making the total cost of a carton $75 can lead to a profit for the smuggler of about $40 per carton. The smuggling of cigarettes from one state to another is fairly simple. There are not any customs officials to pass through, and if the smuggler gets pulled over, it is very unlikely that the police officer would search his or her trunk, where the cartons may be. But getting over international borders is usually more difficult, and the smugglers have evolved certain strategies for not getting caught. One way smugglers pass over the border is with the use of small, private planes. The smuggler can fly into the country undetected, allowing whatever he is smuggling into the country. They are also small boats smugglers can use to get themselves from a specific country to the United States. These boats are known as â€Å"go-fast† boats and can be used to smuggle anything from drugs to people. And one way to smuggle that we are seeing more and more are the use of tunnels. A smuggler may hire someone to dig tunnels underground, allowing nearly anything to be passed from one country to the next without having to go through customs. More daring smugglers, however, will hide whatever it is that they are smuggling and attempt to get through customs this way. They may hide it on their bodies or under their clothes, inside themselves, in their cars, or in the bodies of animals that may be traveling with them. Like the more clandestine ways, this way of smuggling is rampant, as evidenced by the massive amount of smugglers caught each year while trying to go through customs. Smuggling has consequences for everyone. Of course, the smugglers, assuming they do not get caught, make out better than anyone. Usually the practice of smuggling is very lucrative. The profits from illegal drugs and cigarettes and the trafficking of humans provide smugglers with billions of dollars every year. As long as the profit margin is high, there will always be people illegally smuggling. The â€Å"war on drugs† must be concerned with the smuggling problem. But the question of how to win the war on drugs is an interesting one. If by winning the drug war it is meant the eradication of all drugs, then the United States has surely lost. There are still people, usually those directly involved with the drug war, that still think we should keep fighting the war as we always have been. But there has been now over a trillion dollars spent on the war on drugs and drugs today are more potent and making larger profits than ever. The people benefiting most from the war on drugs are the smugglers and the drug dealers themselves. The fact remains that all throughout human history, intoxicants have been used in one degree or another, so why would we think people today are any different? By this definition of the war on drugs the United States, on all counts, has lost. There is another way to win the war on drugs and that is to turn it into a war on smugglers and drug dealers. People are going to always be looking for ways to alter their consciousness. Everyone does it; whether you work out, or take heroin, the point is to feel better. Drugs are not going away. Drugs like marijuana and meth, which can be produced by anyone, will always be with us. By regulating drugs, and making the tax on them universal, the drug dealers and the smugglers would be put out of business. We cannot change how people feel, or what they want to do. All we can do is deter them from doing it. So the question becomes, what is the best way to deter them? We could threaten them with jail, but this obviously does not work, as nearly 80 percent of people in jail are there in some way for drugs. So we could decriminalize and regulate the drugs, putting gangs, dealers and smugglers out of business and using the profits from the sale of the drugs to educate people about their effects. This form of deterrence would be more much more humane and effective than how the war has been fought thus far.

Profit Maximization vs Maxing Shareholders Wealth Essay

Shareholder wealth is defined as the present value of the expected forecasting of returns to the owners which are the shareholders of one’s company. These returns can take the form of recurring dividend payments and or proceeds from the sale of the stock. Shareholder wealth is measured by the market value which is the price that the stock trades in the marketplace of a firm’s common stock. (James, Charles & Frederick, 2008) Profit maximization is defined as a more fixed concept than shareholder wealth maximization. The profit maximization objective from economic theory does not normally consider the time dimension or the risk dimension in the measurement of profits. In contrast, the shareholder wealth maximization objective provides a convenient framework for evaluating both the timing and the risks associated with various investment and financing strategies. Some marginal decision rules derived from economic theory are extremely useful to a wealth maximizing firm. Any decision, regardless of the duration short or long inevitably results in marginal revenues exceeding the marginal costs of the decision will be consistent with wealth maximization. When a decision has penalties extending beyond a year in time, the marginal benefits and marginal costs of that decision must be evaluated in a present value framework. The goal of shareholder wealth maximization is a long term goal. Shareholder wealth is a function of all the future returns to the shareholders. Therefore, in making decisions that maximize shareholder wealth, management must consider the lasting impact on the firm and not just focus on immediate ramifications be it negative or positive. For instance, a firm could increase short run earnings and dividends by eliminating all research and development expenses. However, this decision would reduce long run earnings and dividends, and also reduce shareholder wealth, because the firm would be unable to develop new products to produce and sell. (James, Charles & Frederick, 2008) The separation of ownership and control in corporations may result in management pursuing goals other than shareholder wealth maximization, such as maximization of their own personal significance. Concern for their own self-interests may lead management to make decisions that promote their long run survival such as job security, also minimizing and limiting the amount of risk incurred by ones firm. A narrow-minded person lacking such vision or a business solely concerned about short term benefits can be detrimental to the overall goals. A short term run can fulfil objective of earning profit but may not help in creating wealth. It is because wealth creation needs a longer duration to accumulate. Therefore, financial management emphasizes on wealth maximization rather than profit maximization. For a business, it is not necessary that profit should be the only objective; it may concentrate on various other aspects like increasing sales, capturing more market share which will support profitability. (James, Charles & Frederick, 2008) Furthermore, one may think that profit maximization is a compartment of wealth and being a compartment, it will facilitate wealth creation. The better and more accurate evaluation of business as it relates to wealth maximization, focuses more on the importance of cash flows rather than profitability. It is often stated that profit is a relative term and it can be a figure in some currency, while it is a percentage in others. For example, a profit of $20,000 cannot be considered good or bad for a business, until it is compared with investments, sales and other performance measures. Similarly, extent of earning profits is important whether it is earned in short term or long term. In wealth maximization, there is a major emphasis on cash flows rather than profit. That being said, to evaluate various alternatives for decision making, cash flows are taken under consideration. For example to measure the worth of a project, present value of its cash inflow and present value of cash outflows which is the net present value is equated. This approach considers cash flows rather than profits into consideration to find out worth of a project. (James, Charles & Frederick, 2008) Thus, maximization of wealth approach believes that money has time value. In conclusion, profit maximization is directly correlated to profits only, while shareholder wealth encompasses total company equity, debt ratios and many other financial performance measure ratios. One’s company could focus on profit maximization over a longer period of time, while the shareholder would rather see stock values and corporate total value increase immediately also known as getting in and get out. If ones management focused on short-term profit maximization, at the expense of long term sales revenues, then shareholder wealth/stock price could actually decrease because of the loss of market share. What are the differences between the goals of profit driven organizations and not for profit organizations? Both for profit and not for profit entities in general have enterprising owners who open bank accounts, own assets and employ staff. They also try to maximize the income, rationalize expenses and establish and achieve the business objectives of the organization. However, founders of the enterprises start their ventures with different objectives in mind. For instance, the focus of a technology start up may involve manufacturing and marketing an innovative product with the goal of attracting angel investors. The owners may have vision of a multimillion-dollar stock offering at some point in the future. Alternatively, a community minded person might have the goal of starting a not for profit business with the aim of starting a technologically driven Community Center with state of the art computers and other state of the art technology that provides new resources for disenfranchised urban city students. Both types of organizations, when formed as corporation, have board of directors that oversee the business of the organizations and ensure the continuity of the enterprise over time. The board members also may have the responsibilities of approving a chief executive to manage the day to day affairs of the organization. Not for profit board members play a significant role in the development of the enterprise and fundraising activities. For profit business owners and shareholders own the assets of the companies. If the business dissolves for any reason, the property gets distributed among the individuals based on their ownership in the business. Individuals involved with not for profit enterprises cannot have ownership in the assets of the organization. If the entity ceases operation, the law requires distribution of the property to another not for profit with a similar mission. A major difference between for profit and not for profit involves the payment of federal and state taxes. Not for profit corporations have some tax-exempt statuses, which the entity must apply for with the Internal Revenue Service and the state. (â€Å"non profits,†) For profit businesses must pay taxes on the net earnings of the business or the excess income earned over the expenses. In addition not for profits have to report the salaries of the five highest paid employees and contracts more than $50,000.

Leading Educational Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Leading Educational Change - Research Paper Example Current paper examines the role of leadership in the planning and application of an educational plan especially when this one refers to a change that needs to be implemented in a particular educational site. For this reason, the University of Salford has been selected in order to be used as an example of the above interaction and influence in the area of education at all levels (the reference to an institute of higher education is just indicative). The above University has been chosen because of its extended plan of development and continuous change as it has been designed and applied throughout its operation. On the other hand, the analysis of the changes proposed and applied to the particular departments of the above institute will prove its suitability for current study. As of the structure of the study, this has been organized as follows: Chapter 1 presents current literature review regarding the interaction between leadership and educational change whereas Chapter 2 includes the most significant change and development plans as applied in the chosen educational site (University of Salford). Furthermore, Chapter 3 involves in the influence of literature on the educational strategy of University of Salford as it can be observed when comparing the existing plans of the institution with the views of the researchers as developed in the literature review Chapter. The personal recommendations follow Chapter 3 including certain assumptions regarding the material that has analyzed throughout the paper.

Application for UNSW Golden Jubilee Scholarship Essay

Application for UNSW Golden Jubilee Scholarship - Essay Example I wish to be able to develop vaccine that can be taken by healthy people in order to prevent the entry of the HIV virus into their system. A scholarship is the only way that I will be able to kick start my scientific career quest. With a little bit of luck, I will become one of the lucky recipients of the Golden Jubilee Scholarship and be given a rare opportunity to dive head first into the world of Biotechnology. As an actively participating student of UNSW, each moment that I am on campus shall be spent in preparation for my future career. I shall spend as much time as possible learning from the available mentors and presenting my ideas for the HIV vaccine to other students and faculty members who may be able to help me get a head start in the development process. Perhaps I will get a grant that will allow me to do scientific studies of the HIV virus and its mutations in an effort to help curb the spread of the virus. I will continuously involve my schoolmates who share the same interest and passion for biotechnology as I do. Hopefully, we will be able to organize ourselves into the pioneer group that shall concentrate on the vaccine development, thus catapulting UNSW to the forefront of HIV research and de velopment. I am looking forward to enrolling at UNSW so that I can expand upon my existing knowledge of biological and industrial processes involved in the biotechnological area. Upon graduation, I hope to see my name become synonymous with breakthrough biotechnological advancements and treatments of various illnesses. I am serious about my ambitions and goals. I hope that the Golden Jubilee Scholarship will do just

Real Estate Markets and Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Real Estate Markets and Finance - Essay Example As outlined in the DCLG report, the role of the organizations involved in the delivery of affordable housing, decisions about the amount and types of affordable housing to be provided in individual proposals should reflect local housing need and individual site suitability, and be a matter for agreement between the parties. Local planning authorities and developers should be reasonably flexible in deciding the types of affordable housing most appropriate to a particular site. The objective should be to ensure that the affordable housing secured will contribute to satisfying local housing needs as demonstrated by a rigorous assessment. The policy on planning and affordable housing is set out in more detail in DETR Circular 6/98: Planning and Affordable Housing. Where a local planning authority has decided that an element of affordable housing should be provided in development of a site, there is a presumption that such housing should be provided as part of the proposed development of the site. Failure to apply this policy could justify the refusal of planning permission. A recent report commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government stated that: 'It is not hard to make a strong argument for social housing at sub-market rents' (LSE report, 'Ends and Means', 2007).Affordable Housing means housing that has a sales price or rental amount that is within the means of a household that may occupy, middle-, moderate-, or low income housing. In simple words it is "decent quality" housing that low-income households (those whose income is below the poverty level or below 50 percent of the median income for their area) can afford to occupy without spending more than 30 percent of their income or those households with slightly higher incomes (50 to 80 percent of the median income) can similarly afford (Jeffrey & William, 2005).In the case for dwelling units for sale, housing that is affordable means housing in which mortgage, amortization, taxes, insurance and condominium or association fees, if any, constitute no more than [28] percent of su ch gross annual household income for a household of the size which may occupy the unit in question