Educational psychology Essay

School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science,social sciences, humanities and applied sciences. [5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater. [6] [edit]Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. [citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess thatknowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. †[7] [edit]Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts ofBucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. [8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. [edit]Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand. Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, â€Å"post-secondary†, or â€Å"higher† education (e. g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. MLC Kx12 in Portland, Oregon [edit]Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism. Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is â€Å"learning on your own† or â€Å"by yourself†, and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one’s life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U. S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin(naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). [edit]Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. [edit]Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous  knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students. †[9] [edit]Anarchistic free schools Main article: Anarchistic free school An anarchistic free school (also anarchist free school and free school) is a decentralized network in which skills, information, and knowledge are shared without hierarchy or the institutional environment of formal schooling. Free school students may be adults, children, or both. This organisational structure is distinct from ones used by democratic free schools which permit children’s individual initiatives and learning endeavors within the context of a school democracy, and from free education where ‘traditional’ schooling is made available to pupils without charge. The open structure of free schools is intended to encourage self-reliance, critical consciousness, and personal development. Free schools often operate outside the market economy in favor of a gift economy. [citation needed] Nevertheless, the meaning of the â€Å"free† of free schools is not restricted to monetary cost, and can refer to an emphasis on free speech and student-centred education. [citation needed] [edit]Alternative Main article: Alternative education Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods. Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political,scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools,independent schools, homeschooling and autodidacticism vary, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community. Alternative education may also allow for independent learning and engaging class activities. [10] [edit]Special. In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning. [11] [edit]Education through recreation The concept of education through recreation was first applied to childhood development in the 19th century. [12] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities. [13] Educationalist Lawrence L. P. Jacks, who was also an early proponent of lifelong learning, best described the modern concept of education through recreation in the following quotation â€Å"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. â€Å"(Jacks, 1932). [14] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of life’s activities. [15] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students. [15] ————————————————- [edit]Systems of higher education Main article: Higher education. The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt ofcertificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. [edit]University systems Lecture at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, CTU in Prague. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (orpostgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent, likeYale University, they can be public and State governed, like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or they can be independent but State funded, like the University of Virginia. [edit]Open Higher education in particular is currently undergoing a transition towards open education, elearning alone is currently growing at 14x the rate of traditional learning. [16] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as it’s superior efficiency and results compared to traditionalist methods. [17] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. [18] Many people despite favorable studies on effectivness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons. [19] The conventional merit system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities. Although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Currently many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal â€Å"academic value† to traditional degrees. [20] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials. [citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on campus education that is not often directly offered from open education. [citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. [edit]Liberal arts colleges. Saint Anselm College, a traditional New England liberal arts college. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a â€Å"college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. â€Å"[21] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[22] the term is more commonly associated with Universities in theUnited States[citation needed]. Examples include St. John’s College, Reed College, Carleton College, and Smith College. [edit]Community colleges Main article: community colleges A nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. ————————————————- [edit]Technology Main article: Educational technology One of the most substantial uses in education is the use of technology. Also technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. One such tool are virtual manipulatives, which are an â€Å"interactive, Web-based visual representation of a dynamic object that presents opportunities for constructing mathematical knowledge† (Moyer, Bolyard, & Spikell, 2002). In short, virtual manipulatives are dynamic visual/pictorial replicas of physical mathematical manipulatives, which have long been used to demonstrate and teach various mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives can be easily accessed on the Internet as stand-alone applets, allowing for easy access and use in a variety of educational settings. Emerging research into the effectiveness of virtual manipulatives as a teaching tool have yielded promising results, suggesting comparable, and in many cases superior overall concept-teaching effectiveness compared to standard teaching methods. [citation needed] Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions. [23] American students in 2001, in a computer fundamentals class taking a computer-based test Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a â€Å"diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information. †[24] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings. [25] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries. [26] In addition to classroom application and growth of e-learning opportunities for knowledge attainment, educators involved in student affairs programming have recognized the increasing importance of computer usage with data generation for and about students. Motivation and retention counselors, along with faculty and administrators, can impact the potential academic success of students by provision of technology based experiences in the University setting. [27] The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka. [28] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming. [29] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies. [30] The term â€Å"computer-assisted learning† (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching. Classrooms of the 21st century contain interactive white boards, tablets, mp3 players, laptops, etc. Wiki sites are another tool teachers can implement into CAL curricula for students to understand communication and collaboration efforts of group work through electronic means. [citation needed] Teachers are encouraged to embed these technological devices and services in the curriculum in order to enhance students learning and meet the needs of various types of learners. ————————————————- [edit]Adult Main article: Adult education Adult learning, or adult education, is the practice of training and developing skills in adults. It is also sometimes referred to as andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn). Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number of career specific courses such as veterinary assisting, medical billing and coding, real estate license,bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through the Internet. With the boom of information from availability of knowledge through means of internet and other modern low cost information exchange mechanisms people are beginning to take an attitude of Lifelong learning. To make knowledge andself improvement a lifelong focus as opposed to the more traditional view that knowledge and in particular value creating trade skills are to be learned just exclusively in youth. ————————————————- [edit]Learning modalities Students in laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University. There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[31] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[32] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[33] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligencestheories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[34] focused on understanding how people’s personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc’s Type Delineator[35] follows a similar but more simplified approach. It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning â€Å"modes†. The learning modalities[36] are probably the most common: * Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned. * Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information. * Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities. Although it is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness,[37] recent research has argued â€Å"there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice. â€Å"[38] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them. [39]Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning. Instruction Teacher in a classroom in Madagascar Instruction is the facilitation of another’s learning. Instructors in primary and secondary institutions are often called teachers, and they direct the education of students and might draw on manysubjects like reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Instructors in post-secondary institutions might be called teachers, instructors, or professors, depending on the type of institution; and they primarily teach only their specific discipline. Studies from the United States suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible. [42][43] With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind), teachers must be highly qualified. A popular way to gauge teaching performance is to use student evaluations of teachers (SETS), but these evaluations have been criticized for being counterproductive to learning and inaccurate due to student  bias. [44] ————————————————- [edit]Theory Main article: Education theory Education theory can refer to either a normative or a descriptive theory of education. In the first case, a theory means a postulation about what ought to be. It provides the â€Å"goals, norms, and standards for conducting the process of education. â€Å"[45] In the second case, it means â€Å"an hypothesis or set of hypotheses that have been verified by observation and experiment. â€Å"[46] A descriptive theory of education can be thought of as a conceptual scheme that ties together various â€Å"otherwise discrete particulars. . . For example, a cultural theory of education shows how the concept of culture can be used to organize and unify the variety of facts about how and what people learn. â€Å"[47] Likewise, for example, there is the behaviorist theory of education that comes from educational psychology and thefunctionalist theory of education that comes from sociology of education. [48] ————————————————- [edit]Economics Main article: Economics of education Students on their way to school, Hakha,Chin State, Myanmar It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. [49] Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country’s ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of â€Å"human capital†. Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions[50] and the role of cognitive skills. [51] At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer,[52] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling. [53][54] Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis famously argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other. [55] ————————————————- [edit]History Main article: History of education Nalanda ancient center for higher learning. Plato’s academy, mosaic from Pompeii. The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universitat Berlin 1994, â€Å"began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770†. Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially. When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc. , formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC. [citation needed] The first large established university is thought to be Nalanda established in 427 A. D in India. [56][unreliable source? ] At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. The first university establishments in the western world are thought to beUniversity of Bologna (founded in 1088) and later Oxford university (founded around 1096). A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088. Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid’s Elementspublished in 1607. In the West, Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Plato was the Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician and writer of philosophical dialogues who founded the Academy in Athens which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Inspired by the admonition of his mentor, Socrates, prior to his unjust execution that â€Å"the unexamined life is not worth living†, Plato and his student, the political scientist Aristotle, helped lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. [57] The city of Alexandria in Egypt was founded in 330BC, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of the Western World. The city hosted such leading lights as the mathematician Euclidand anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria; and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (called the Septuagint for it was the work of 70 translators). Greek civilization was subsumed within the Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire and its new Christian religion survived in an increasingly Hellenised form in the Byzantine Empire centered at Constantinople in the East, Western civilization suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476. [58] In the East, Confucius (551-479), of the State of Lu, was China’s most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in the East into the modern era. In Western Europe after the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church emerged as the unifying force. Initially the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe, the church established Cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe’s modern universities. [58] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School.

Food Security in the Modern World: changing market policies to address hunger

The right to food is protected under international human rights and humanitarian law. It is recognized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). As defined by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Committee on ESCR) in its General Comment 12 â€Å"†¦ the right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone and in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement† (General Comment 12, 1999, paragraph 6).Israel produces 95% of its own food requirements, and has many advanced means of agriculture, which results in low poverty rates in the state. Diverse agricultural techniques are used for food production, and in irrigation alone there are four different methods. Farmers use technology to help them with livestock creating top quality produce, and small communities called Kibbutz help the Gro ss Domestic Product (GDP) and raised amount in exports.There are multiple research facilities that help with agriculture techniques, such as the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), whose job is to help the development of the Israeli agriculture by an efficient use of the limited water resources, development of crops for export markets, ensuring a decent income for the farming community, developing and adapting crops and technologies for newly settled regions without polluting the environment. Israel has also been sharing its agricultural expertise with many of countries since the late 1950s.MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is active in Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as several Middle Eastern countries. Agricultural projects and research collaboration constitute about half of Israel's international cooperation programs. Emphasis is placed on training courses in agricultural subj ects, with some 1,400 participants from over 80 countries attending specialized courses in Israel every year, and thousands of trainees receiving on-the-spot training in their own countries. Read also Analyze the Ways in Which British Imperial PoliciesSince 1958, thousands of Israeli agricultural experts have been sent abroad on long- and short-term assignments in countries such as Kenya, South Africa, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukrain and Haiti. Hunger world-wide has had a high of 925 million in 2010 and had dropped by 10%. But with the recent rising food prices, the number of malnourished is growing once again pushing 68 million people under the World Bank’s extreme poverty line. This is defined as someone living on $1. 25 (U. S. ) a day.The World Bank’s quarterly report showed that the food price index has increased by 29% in the past year and is close to the peak reached in 2008, when soaring food prices sparked protests in dozens of countries. We are seeing this happen once again is countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and others. The result in the raised food prices is 44 million people living in dire poverty. This is about a 3% increase in the tot al number of people living in extreme poverty, which the World Bank calculates at about 1. billion. Israel can help countries who are having trouble with the food inflation. A strategy such as developing local markets and local communities so that people can grow their own food is one which Israel can help with. Some countries may even want to use the Israeli Kibbutz as a model if they so wish. With Israel’s abundant technology, we can offer help in that department, and can help with many different topographical locations as Israel has many itself.

Sikhism in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sikhism in America - Research Paper Example The second type is the Ramgarhia Sikhs, which are mainly composed of the Punjabi community. The last type of Sikhs is the Rajput and they are mainly followers of the Sikh religion belonging to the Rajput ethnic group. In this religion, men fill all the ceremonial roles, with women given inferior priority when it comes to taking part in any religious matters. In recent years, the United States has witnessed a large number of non-Punjabi convert to Sikhism (Mann, Numrich & Williams, 2008). Most Sikhs, in the United States, reside in the east and west coasts with additional populations found in Detroit, Chicago and Austin (Mann, Numrich & Williams, 2008). Due to their weakness for culture and traditions, the Sikhs were initially concentrated in the agricultural Yuba city, California, but modernization has seen things change as they gain more education and move to more metropolitan destinations. The city of Queens has been the most preferred last stop for immigrants from India and Canada. The foundation of Virginia has played the role of uniting a large number of Sikh faithful in the United States (Mann, Numrich & Williams, 2008). The Sikhs insist on wearing a long beard and a turban, which restricts their potential involvement in being involved in more serious economic activities, in America. In the early times, the served in the American army during the first and second world wars, but in recent years, the long beard and turban has had a great influence on their recruitment.Only a few Sikhs with unique skills have been allowed to join the army. An example is Simranpreet Lamba who has been exempted to wear a beard and turban due to his knowledge of Punjabi and Hindi. The September 11 bombing ignited non-Sikh discrimination across the whole of the United States. Any individual who wears a beard and turban is targeted and they are physically attacked. This is a mistake that most people make, Sikhs

Business memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business memo - Assignment Example ring test data into adequate statistical process control system.  As the next step in my professional development I would like to try myself on the position of a supervisor. I consider my objectives for the next year is to be able to inspect the product for the correct orientation and placement. In addition, I would like to be able to run tester diagnostics at specified intervals and perform the preventive maintenance at specified intervals on testers. I am also interested in accounting and am already mastering the course in that field. I am a creative thinker, have an open mind about how should things work best. I also like to explore alternative solutions to problems. I am highly organized person and this feature helps me to be as productive as possible on the job. I am sure that position of supervisor requires more responsibility not only for my actions, but also for the activities other perform. That is why I find it as the area for my improvement as a leader to be able to attr act and retain employee’s attention on common goals and objectives. I have a strong vision of how my work should be organized, what should people do and what contribution I can do for the good of the entire

Ameriprise Financial, Inc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ameriprise Financial, Inc - Research Paper Example SC in a year’s time, therefore, the company can make a minimum of 444,640 in sales for that particular year assuming each customer gets a product from the company. The company will need to look into a number of things to improve sales and this are looked at in the sales forecast, direct costs will be more or less (Berry, 2014). However, the company will have to improve and inject more cash in some areas such as; advertising and marketing since the company seeks to target a younger customer base and to do this efficiently a marketing consultant will be needed. Clients tend to believe word of mouth to be the gospel truth and the company can exploit this by asking the current customers to help in the company’s advertising and giving discounts for every new customer acquired, seasonality is also bound to affect number of sales as the demand and supply varies with the season and time. The companies can more than double its sales by targeting a younger market. The people aged between 18 and 40 are more than double the company’s current target market (Berry, 2014). Since the current target, market has 444,640 customers than if it was to advertise and target the youth then it would have a customer base of around 890,280

Design and Contemporary Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Design and Contemporary Culture - Essay Example In support of their ideologies, the authors present the case of the crisis of Victoria in British Columbia that saw the rise of teenage violence in the early 2000s. The authors explain how this violence and chaos were brought out as a social crisis in the state after years of hiding owing to the fear of tarnishing the city’s image. The authors also use other cases of youth violence and crime, as well as, the responses towards these situations, in support of their arguments regarding social construction of crises. In essence, the authors explain the role of the media in both, representing the real picture during crisis and its inability to grasp the intricacy of the truth of the crisis1. This first section of the article also explains what is to be covered in the next sections, and facilitates the comprehension of some of the ideas and concepts regarding social construction. Representation. Having introduced the story of youth violence in the first section of the article, Oâ₠¬â„¢Brien and Szeman examine the concept of representation as is relates to social construction. The term representation is defined as the social construction of meaning by use of sign systems2. ... Representation affects people’s thoughts and perceptions concerning certain events, hence its role in social construction. To, further, elucidate their ideas regarding representation, the authors also draw attention to the structuralist theories of representation, as well as, the rules of representation in social construction. As explained in the article, the structuralist theories of representation are focused on the indirect meanings of words and cultural practices, as opposed to, their direct meaning. Put simply, these theories put more emphasis on how words mean instead of what they mean4. O’Brien and Szeman provide the example of the semiotic theory in support of this, and they explain how this theory has had a major impact on culture. Essentially, the semiotics theory consists of two main elements including the langue and parole. The langue is what the authors refer to as the what the meaning is, where as the parole refers to how the meaning is presented. The lang ue is also associated with the system as a whole as existent on the abstract level, whereas, parole has been closely linked with individual utterances5. O’Brien and Szeman also discuss the rules of representation, and how their application in social construction. The authors explain the rules of representation are quite simple and they involve drawing the line between storytelling and the depiction of actual events. While these two principles may have a relation in social construction, the authors explain that the ability comprehend the role of these two elements in social construction is imperative. It provides individuals with the ability to draw out made up stories from actual realities. To support their argument, O’Brien and Szeman provide

Open the Social Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Open the Social Science - Essay Example tain level of â€Å"cultism† develop around the male population, which causes them to be held in an almost deity-like way for the potential they hold as sources of propagation of the species. We might be surprised to see some very unusual circumstances develop around the males; the â€Å"Amazonian woman,† fiction come to life where a largely female society might â€Å"use† men in way that is now associated with fulfilling sexual fantasies, and for which some people even today might pay a high price to experience. Bizarre â€Å"tribal† ceremonies have historically and anthropologically surrounded the human male/female conditions, and in a society that where the population scales are permanently changed in a way that men would be less accessible to women, we might expect to see some very strange â€Å"ceremonial† tendencies manifest themselves even in a civilized culture. What we probably would not see in a society where the male/female proportions we re permanently altered, is a tendency towards same sex relationships. It is unlikely that because of a shortage of men heterosexual women would turn to lesbianism, especially since it would not propagate the species. To the extent that that did occur, it’s unlikely that we would see it in a pattern of â€Å"permanent relationships,† since a lesbian experience probably wouldn’t be any more satisfying to a heterosexual women in a society where there fewer men than it is in a society where there is a balance in the male-to-female numbers. 5.) Having gone to study a culture, with no knowledge of that culture’s language, and challenged by the rule of not asking questions, yet with the goal of determining what behavior within that culture was deemed by the culture to be â€Å"deviant,† would require employing a methodology of carefully documenting behavior through observation. It would be necessary to employ a methodology that pays strict attention to the emotional responses of the members of the society to the behaviors

The E-Trade Baby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The E-Trade Baby - Essay Example In order to identify the rhetorical strengths and weaknesses of the E-Trade Baby commercials, their ethos, logos, and pathos should be examined. Ethos implies the personality and trustworthiness of the speaker associated with the argument. Ethos raises issues of ethics and confidence between the speaker and the audience. In terms of ethos, the E-Trade Baby ads are quite effective in drawing out the interest of the audience by using an ‘infantile’ personality that normally appeals to the emotion of audiences. In terms of integrity, the ads are also successful since the babies’ ‘voices’ are from trusted people in the finance and investment industry. The E-Trade Baby simply used the attractive and adorable personalities of the babies to convey its reliable messages about financing and investing. The ads successfully identified with their audiences and their argument. They also appeal to the sense of necessity of the audiences by building a whole new real m of investing, or also referred to as electronic trading. Logos denotes the application of numbers, statistics, reason, and logic. Quite frequently, logos appears concrete and material, far more tangible and ‘real’ compared to other rhetorical techniques that it does not appear an advertisement approach at all. In terms of logos, the E-Trade Baby ads are quite illogical since it is commonsensical knowledge that babies cannot talk in the way they are portrayed in the ads making the entire endeavor weak within the domain of logos. But in terms of the presentation of statistics and facts, the ads have been concise and straight to the point. Pathos appeals to the emotions of audiences. The E-Trade Baby ads try to appeal to the emotions of love, compassion, affection, sympathy, and happiness. They successfully used an emotional appeal by identifying with the sense of their audience. The ads did not abuse any ethical or emotional appeal since

Close Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Close Analysis - Assignment Example es that Sir Doyle, captures in his text and uses to reveal some of the hidden facts about the lives of the characters in a way that teaches his audiences real life lessons relevant to other characters in the story and readers today. In â€Å"The Adventure of the Speckled Band† the theme of truth has appeared severally with characters showing unique reactions after learning of the real facts about their lives. Arthur Conan Doyle explains how Mrs. Helen Stone’s reacts to being told the truth of how her twin sister died. Even though we are not directly told how she learned of it, Mrs. Helen responds in a way that depicts that she hates her stepfather for hiding the truth from her. However, she trusted that she would be in London as Sherlock Holmes continues with his investigations. Moreover, when Mrs. Helen is given the information that Sherlock and Watson came to meet her stepfather, she finds out that she was followed by her father to London. This fact made Helen suspicious of her stepfather and lost confidence in him. In real life, this happens such that family members hide information from each other, occurrences that creates enmity between them once the truth comes out. The relationship between Mrs. Helen and her stepfather was undermined after Helen discovered the truth about him. Such instances have been frequent in the modern day leading to family breaking-ups. In a more spectacular way, the characters surrounding Mrs. Hellen also emphasize on the theme of truth as they hid the real cause of death of her twin sister. Though she was relieved that she came to know the truth about her sister’s death, she felt bitter that she was given the wrong information. She also came to known that the information that her stepfather used a snake to murder her sister was ironical. It made her sad especially that her stepfather killed her. â€Å"Though, of course, she is still sad to learn how her sister has been murdered by their stepfather† this text shows the reaction

Comparison of Editonals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparison of Editonals - Research Paper Example However, up to the end of the entire article, this desire is not brought out clearly as being achievable. It is stated that the elimination of Osama may, to a great extent, fail to end the terrorist threat or even weaken the ideological motivation held by the Al Qaeda’s supporters. The strongest argument found within the article states that in the future, the death of Osama Bin Laden may bring much encouragement to the Al Qaeda. The argument points out that more threats shall come from the local affiliates which had already been designed to operate largely independently to organize attacks on America and other places (Clarke, 2011). Their network no longer required Osama and it had been strong with minimal or no directions from Bin Laden for many years. This directs us to a conclusion that the death of Osama Bin Laden did not bring much impact to the Al Qaeda network and that they are more likely to accomplish their goals. The second article points out the life of Osama Bin Laden as a sacrificial life. He is depicted as a leader of a certain sect in the Muslim religion who gave up his luxury life to fight a holy war (Soufan, 2011). Besides being the leader and the founder of the Al Qaeda group, Bin Laden had also been an idea to them. He organized the terrorism idea which according to the Al Qaeda had appeared the correct version for Islam (Lüsted, 2012). This article has its premises that the death of Osama would be championed. It would be welcomed and celebrated as martyrdom while songs and videos were to be composed. The Al Qaeda would consider him a more effective propaganda tool when dead than while alive. This argument does not come into line with the conclusion. At the end, the article brings into light the suffering of the Al Qaeda after the elimination of its leader. The group no longer had its best fund-raiser and recruiter. Its new leaders lacked charisma and good connections. This come s out as the best argument in the article since it

Fantasy Faces Reality Essay Example for Free

Fantasy Faces Reality Essay Joyce’s short story â€Å"Araby† shows us the moment of awakening from fantasy by a boy’s one-side love story. we sometimes experience when we continue to work on ourselves, understand that if something is causing regret, anger, unhappiness or and other â€Å"negative† emotion, we are, by definition, experiencing an illusion. We will experience the illusions we still think are real. We will do so because we have made the unreal to real, and the best way to understand that what we see as valuable is actually valueless is to experience its valuelessness. Many times, when people awaken from their particular illusion, they feel so empty, angry, or feel like such a loser, but after this moment, people will step forward again into everyday life to begin new chapters in their personal histories. The short story â€Å"Araby† is filled with the fact that both ‘Symbolism’ and ‘Realism’ share significant weights. It opens and closes with strong symbols to awaken realism. The fantasy and reality are faced at beginning of the story by symbolizing the priest’s death. When the boy narrates about the priest that reads, ’He had been a very charitable priest; in his will he had left all his money to institutions and the furnitures of his house to his sister’ (302). It makes the boy thinks him as a sneer, for it implies that the priest, by having a fortune, might not have been faithful to his position, and by handing his furnitures over to his sister, might not have yet been free from secular ties of family relations. When the priest writes the will, he might believe that he will be charitable and respected by people, but his fantasy is broken by leaving his furnitures to his sister. As an old priest, even if he had been inherited a big fortune, he might have donated the fortune to the society if he had been charitable. It is somehow not delightful to see a wealthy minister, who is supposed to be poor and honorable, especially in the times of poverty. The Joyce’s comments in the story, the boy finds old books in the priests room (Among these I found a few paper-covered books; the pages of which were curled and damp: The Abbot, by Walter Scott, The Devour Communicant and The Memoirs of Vidocq. ) The Abbot (It is said that Queen Mary of Scotland was depicted as a very devout, serious, religious and romantic person.) shows a boys confused recognitions among religion, romanticism and sex, while The Memoirs of Vidocq (the story of a double life of a police and a thief) suggests an allusion on deception and dishonesty. With the name of Mangan, whose sister is the partner of the boys one side love, Joyce suggests a strong allusion of James Clarence Mangan who is an Irish poet in 19th century. By the name Mangan, she was symbolized as a person of hypocrisy and misled emotion. Moreover, there is the back drawing room, where the boy does masturbations in confused illusions of sexual fantasy and religious mystery and devotion. This implies the fact that the desire of the boy, who is a Dublin Irish Catholic, was completely hidden by the religious suppression. The last sentence in the story, the boy says ’my eyes burned with anguish and anger’ (304) In the opening part of the story, the writer used the expression, being blind. (Some scholars explain that the expression, being blind means an impasse indicating the deadlock situation of the Irish society. ) It shows how the boys emotions change to anguish and anger when he faces the reality, coming out of the walls of traditions and religion. The boys emotions had been vague and abstractive up to this point but from there he becomes a real and concrete person. At the last scene, the boy realizes that his journey to Araby is not for a holy duty(The girl, his one sided lover, asked him an errand to buy something for her, and he regarded her as a holy subsistence. ) but only for his imprudence and vanity. The society made him open his eyes to reality (What helped him open his eyes were a few shabbily left-over coins and the English girl who was mindlessly fooling herself by playing around with boys.) He opens his eyes and realizes the reality from the behaviors of English girl casting amorous glances to boys. This is the Epiphany that Joyce suggested. It is the moment when the consciousness of a human being is manifested as if there were the advent of the god. Another point that should be commented is the sentence, What is Araby about. The Araby is a story about love, sex, religion, and a process of a boys growth to an adult in which he faces illusions, separations, and realizations of reality. Also, Araby can be said as a place of growth. The boy was unable to argue against the society and therefore he had to reconcile the strange emotions he faced with the Catholic emotion. That means he sublimated the doubt about his emotions with the mystery of religion. The journey to Araby brought him the realization of reality and the growth to an adult. Dubliners (In this story, the author describes the Dubliners as a moralist reprimanding the spiritual paralysis of his homeland, Ireland. He indicated Dublin as the center of the paralysis) delivers a feeling that is so distressing and so realistic that one becomes painful. Joyce delivered such feeling for Irish people. Koreans of today may also be sympathized if a great writer sharply and realistically reprimands the immoral and sluggish features of the present Korean society but it was the suggestion not for a limited region but for the common society, as presentation of a rule that proves the general history of the human societies. That shows why he is so great a writer. Araby successfully expresses the mix of situations of abundant symbolisms along with politics, culture and religion, through a story of puppy love in adolescence. He properly avoided the fantasies and exaggerations that are typical to novels. This shows how a novel can reflect and affect the real society. As the process of getting used to the reality and living with concealed wounds is the destiny for the human being, the boy is now telling us his past plainly, after having a painful experience to become an adult. To the boy, Araby was an unexpected place for a ceremony to become an adult and a mirror reflecting a new world.

Dissolution Profile of Paracetamol Generics

Dissolution Profile of Paracetamol Generics 1 Introduction The pharmaceutical industry had an estimated turnover of $773 billion in 2008,1 however not all of this revenue was taken as profit; a significant cost goes into research and industry guideline compliance. With regards to new generic medications, proving bioequivalence is crucial to success, however necessary in vivo testing can be costly.2 Drugs which meet certain Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) criteria may be exempt from these expensive tests and can be permitted a biowaiver.3 This allows in vitro dissolution testing in place of in vivo plasma analysis. Paracetamol is one such drug that has qualities which place it at the borderline of biowaiver suitability.3 It is the worlds most commonly used analgesic4 and the question arises as to whether all preparations are as effective as each other? More specifically we ask, is there is any significant difference between the dissolution profile of paracetamol generics? This literature review is in preparation of experimental t ests designed to ascertain if there is any difference in dissolution profile of eight bioequivalent preparations listed on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and whether this difference may correlate to a clinical significance in such a common place drug. 2 Search Strategy All data was sourced through internet databases, i.e. Medline, Pubmed, and the Cochrane Library. The search engines Google Scholar and UWA library were also utilized. Keywords included. KEY WORDS Paracetamol, acetaminophen, bioequivalent (therapeutic equivalency), Delayed-action Preparations, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Tablets, Drug Compounding, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical, Observer Variation, Dissolution, Metabolism, in vitro, in vivo, IVIVC, Drug Content, Bioavailability and Correlation. Boolean searching was utilised to broaden or narrow search results and once appropriate articles were sourced, citing and cited articles were also evaluated. 3 Paracetamol 3.1 History Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is one of the worlds most popular drugs for the treatment of pain and fever.4 It was first synthesized in 1878 by Morse, and was used clinically for the first time in 1887 by von Merring.4, 5 Paracetamol fell into obscurity shortly thereafter in favour of other chemically related drugs such as phenacetin.5 However, phenacetin was later found to be nephrotoxic, and the search for a substitute arose.5 In 1950, a study from Brodie and Axelrod rediscovered paracetamols suitable analgesic properties.4 Although, this drug did not experience widespread acceptance until the 1970s due to unfounded concerns about safety; but from then on, it became the most commonly used medication for pain.4 In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, paracetamol sales have exceeded those of aspirin since 1980.4 3.2 Physicochemical properties Paracetamol or N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide, is a white crystalline powder with a melting point of 168-172C (Martindale). It is sparingly soluble in water, ie. one part of paracetamol is soluble in 70 parts of water at room temperature.3 It is also freely soluble in alcohol. (Martindale) Paracetamol shows maximal UV absorption at a wavelength of 249nm and is reported to have a pKa of 9.5 at 25C.3 3.3 Pharmacology Pharmacokinetics 3.3.1 Pharmacodynamics Mechanism of Action The exact mechanism of action of paracetamol has remained largely unknown for some time.6-9 For years it has been thought to inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX) in a similar manner to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, however definitive proof of analgesia and antipyresis being dependent on COX inhibition is still lacking.4 Recently, two independent groups have produced experimental data that has demonstrated that analgesia involves the potentiation of the cannabinoid vanilloid tone in the brain and in the dorsal root ganglia.4 Blockade of cannabinoid (CB1) receptors in rats has eliminated any analgesic properties of paracetamol and suggests that paracetamol is in fact a cannabinomimetic.4 3.3.2 Pharmacokinetics 3.3.2.1 Absorption Bioavailability: Paracetamol has been reported to have a bioavailability of 62%-89% in those of a fasted state,3, 8 this divergence from absolute bioavailability is attributed to first pass hepatic metabolism. Peak plasma concentrations are reached between 0.17-2.0 hours post-dosing.10 As expected, food has been shown to reduce absorption by increasing tmax and decreasing Cmax values. Food has not been shown to affect the amount of acetaminophen reaching the blood.3 3.3.2.2 Distribution: Paracetamol has a reported volume of distribution of 0.69-1.36L/Kg.11 Around 20%-25% of the drug is bound to plasma proteins at therapeutic dosages; however this value has been shown to increase to 20%-50% in over dosage. Paracetamol has also been shown to cross the placenta, and has a 1.24 milk/plasma ratio in breast milk.3 Paracetamol is an ADEC category A drug, i.e. it is safe to use in pregnancy, as well as breastfeeding.9 3.3.2.3 Metabolism Excretion: Around 85%-90% of paracetamol is metabolized within the liver via the process of glucuronidation and sulfation.3 These inactive metabolites are then eliminated by the kidney in the urine. Approximately 5% of paracetamol is passed out unchanged in the urine, the remaining drug is conjugated with cysteine and mercapturic acid.3, 8 The half-life of paracetamol has been reported as 1.9 4.3 hours3, 8, 10 but longer in those with renal impairment. 3.4 Indication Paracetamol is indicated in the symptomatic treatment of mild-to-moderate pain as well as fever3, 9 and has also been described to have mild anti-inflammatory properties.3 3.5 Dose Dosage Forms For adults, the optimal single dose of paracetamol is 1g,3, 9 with a maximum dose of 4g daily.9 Hepatocellular necrosis can occur from doses of 10-15g, and death may result in doses in excess of 20-25g.3 Paracetamol is available in many dosage forms, as a single active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), or in combination with other analgesics such as codeine (Panadeine), dextropropoxyphene (Di-Gesic), metoclopramide (Metomax), as well as in combination with decongestants such as pseudoephedrine in cold-and-flu preparations.9 This drug is available as immediate release (IR) tablets, sustained release (SR) tablets, chewable, elixirs, IV injections and suppositories.9 4 Biopharmaceutics Classification System The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) is a method of grouping active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) based on their solubility and intestinal permeability.12-16 The system allows for easy identification of those drugs whose in vivo absorption can be easily anticipated based on their in vitro dissolution.12, 15, 16 This implies that two different products containing the same drug will have the same rate and extent of absorption if, over time, they both have the same concentration profile at the intestinal membrane.12 Since it is the dissolution profile of a drug which determines its concentration profile in the intestinal lumen, comparability of this parameter in vitro should produce comparable absorption results in vivo.12 In reality however, only those drugs with high permeability which are formulated into IR preparations can be easily and reliably applied to this logic.12, 15, 16 4.1 BCS Drug Classes There are four classes within the BCS to which a drug can be assigned (as outlined in figure 1). Class I is comprised of those drugs with high permeability and solubility, these drugs are expected to be well absorbed and, providing dissolution is slower than gastric emptying, show a good correlation between in vitro dissolution rate and the rate and extent of in vivo absorption (IVIVC).12, 15, 16 Class II drugs also have high permeability but their solubility is low which ensures in vivo dissolution is the rate limiting step in drug absorption and thus IVIVC is expected.12 Class III drugs have a low permeability with high solubility, traditionally these drugs were believed to have little or no IVIVC,12 however recent studies have shown that if a class III drug is very rapidly dissolving then a correlation may exist.18, 19 Finally Class IV drugs have both low permeability and solubility these drugs are not expected to show any IVIVC.12 For each of the four BCS classes a drug substance is considered highly soluble when the highest [IR] dose strength is soluble in 250mL or less of aqueous media over the pH range of 1-7.5.16 The permeability of a drug is considered high if greater than 90% of a dose is absorbed across the intestinal membrane.16, 20 Using these definitions, paracetamol is classified as a BCS class III drug but it is also described as borderline class I because it is only just on the cusp of low permeability.3 4.2 Utility of the BCS The genius of the BCS is that it allows easy identification of drug candidates for which relatively cheap and fast in vitro dissolution testing can replace the more expensive, time consuming and invasive in vivo absorption testing.2 The system does away with complex bioavailability modeling that must account for fasted and fed states as well as cyclical changes in motility and gastric emptying.12, 14 The impact of the BCS on the pharmaceutical industry was so great that in 2006, creator Dr. Gordon Amidon was awarded the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Distinguished Scientist Award.21 5 Correlation between in vitro dissolution and bioavailability Following the introduction of the BCS a great deal of research was conducted exploring the power of IVIVC. It became a main focus not just of the pharmaceutical industry but also of academia and regulatory authorities.2 IVIVC became popular because it can be used as a substitute for resource intensive bioavailability testing; the concept has essentially improved the speed and cost of drug development as well as quality control in pharmaceutical manufacturing.2 5.1 Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Bioavailability is an important concept because it determines the efficacy, safety and reproducibility of the therapeutic effect of drugs and the many formulations in which they come.22 For the purpose of drugs that produce a systemic therapeutic effect, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)22 defines bioavailability as the extent and the rate at which a substance or its active moiety is delivered from a pharmaceutical form and becomes available in the general circulation. Bioavailability is therefore inherently linked to drug absorption and may also be predicted using IVIVC as defined by the BCS. If two pharmaceutically equivalent (same active ingredient and content in the same formulation) products have the same bioavailability they are considered bioequivalent and will essentially have the same efficacy and safety. Bioequivalence is important because it is the basis for which innovator medicines can be substituted with generics. 5.2 Strength of in vitro in vivo correlations The BCS is a predictive tool for determining which drugs will have an IVIVC. Table 1 demonstrates that under the BCS only class II along with some class I drugs are expected to have IVIVCs.12 Research subsequent to Dr. Amidons first BCS publication has generally upheld his initial findings however exceptions to the rule have been found. 5.2.1 Drugs with IVIVC The BCS suggests that if the bioavailability of a drug is dissolution rate limited then a good IVIVC should be possible. This notion has been demonstrated for flutamide a very poorly soluble high dose compound which is not expected to have IVIVC but has dissolution rate limited absorption.23 A paper published by Posti, Katila Kostiainen23 concluded that there is a strong IVIVC for flutamide and this was identified on four separate occasions where bioavailability was studied. All four studies were of single dose, cross over design and each subsequent study increased the number of subjects tested (study I: n = 6, Study IV: n = 24). The strength of the papers methodology provides good support for its conclusions however this was undermined by a lack of documented statistical analysis. Much more compelling evidence comes from a study by Sakuma et. al.24 which was able to show an IVIVC for two BCS class I drugs after they received an enteric coating, thus eliminating the possibility that gastric emptying was the rate limiting step. The results were statistically significant, however the tablets were tested in rat models rather than human subjects and the dissolution test may not have adequately reflected the in vivo environment that enteric coated tablets are subject to.24 Further studies in human subjects demonstrating the difference in IVIVC between enteric and non-enteric coated tablets could not be identified in the literature. There are hundreds of other drugs which have an IVIVC and these are neither limited to BCS class II drugs or drugs with dissolution rate limited absorption. Theophylline is a BCS class IV drug and yet in a complete cross over study of four different theophylline tablets the in vitro dissolution was able to significantly predict several in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC Cmax) which dictate bioavailability.25 The study was small (n = 6) and not all pharmacokinetic parameters could be correlated. Other common drug examples with IVIVC include digoxin,26 rifampicin,27 diclofenac28 and lamotrigine29 and these are by no means exhaustive. 5.2.2 Drugs without IVIVC Not all drugs have an IVIVC and this can also include some BCS class II drugs. A research paper by Frick, Moller Wirbitzki 199830 demonstrated that the in vitro dissolution of glimepiride (BCS class II) is not comparable to dissolution in vivo. The study employed a single dose cross-over design with 12 subjects, Latin-Square statistical analysis was employed and the results were assumed to be significant however not all the data was accompanied by supporting confidence values. No correlation was possible because the solubility of glimepiride is low and strongly pH dependent.30 Unlike glimepiride, ciprofloxacin a quinolone antibiotic, is classified as a BCS class III drug and as a consequence would not be predicted to have an IVIVC. Correspondingly, when tested for this possibility none could be found between dissolution and any of the parameters for bioavailability (Tmax, Cmax, AUC Ka).31 5.2.3 Strength of BCS in predicting IVIVC There is a wide variance between IVIVCs that are anticipated according to the BCS and those that are actually demonstrated after experimental testing. Examples have been provided where both expected and unexpected correlations occur and this suggests that the BCS system while helpful should only be taken as a guide. Laboratory testing is still the only reliable method for determining if a correlation is occurs. Paracetamol is a BCS class III medication and as such is not expected to demonstrate strong IVIVC. Given the fact that paracetamol has a wide therapeutic index and the BCS can only be used as a guide, a safe and useable IVIVC may still exist. 5.2.4 IVIVC of paracetamol The prodigious use, vast quantities manufactured and the presence of many generic products in the marketplace makes paracetamol a prime candidate for IVIVC testing. In 1996 Retaco et. al.32 conducted a small crossover study using five subjects to assess whether an IVIVC for paracetamol may exist. The study stated that the absorption data from saliva partially correlated with those found in vitro,32 this however is not a valid conclusion. One of the subjects studied produced in vivo data that opposed a correlation and this anomaly was further confounded by the fact that statistical analysis was not performed on the IVIVC but rather covered the in vitro and in vivo data separately. This pilot study was later contradicted by Babalola et. al.33 who found limited IVIVCs and suggested that paracetamol absorption may not be limited by its dissolution rate. Similarly, a thorough, well designed, complete crossover (44) study that balanced for first order residual effects, suggested that it wa s dangerous to use dissolution as the sole test for paracetamol bioequivalence.34 Interestingly, all of these studies demonstrated bioequivalence between the various products of paracetamol even if they showed no IVIVC. 6 Biowaiver for bioequivalence testing In vivo bioequivalence studies are required to ascertain the potential differences in bioavailability between innovator and generic products which, may lead to therapeutic inequivalence. A biowaiver provides the authority and grounds for fiscally intensive bioequivalence testing to be replaced by more tolerable in vitro testing. For the most part, IVIVC must first be established in order for a drug to be considered for a biowaiver. The BCS has outlined properties of solid preparations which require evaluation in biowaivers, i.e. solubility, permeability, and dissolution rate.35 In addition to this, the non-critical therapeutic range of a drug should also be considered35 and this is the basis for which paracetamol has gained biowaiver status.3 It should be noted that products produced by the same manufacturer at the same site are exempt from bioequivalence studies.36 6.1 Paracetamol Biowaiver Several characteristics must be considered when a drug presents as a candidate for a biowaiver through dissolution testing. Paracetamol is not a classic biowaiver candidate because it is classified as a BCS Class III drug, it does however possess properties borderline to Class I3 and these enable it to fulfill the requirements of a biowaiver. 6.2 Biowaiver requirements 6.2.1 Characteristics relevant to the active ingredient 6.2.1.1 Risk of therapeutic failure or adverse drug reactions i.e. the need for critical plasma concentrations. When considering a biowaiver for a drug substance, its therapeutic use and therapeutic index also needs to be taken into account.16 In the case of paracetamol, the therapeutic indications are not critical, and there is a wide difference between the usual therapeutic dose and toxic doses. Given that an optimal therapeutic dose for an adult is 1g, and that hepatocellular necrosis can result from ingestion of 10-15g, it can be assumed that paracetamol is not a narrow therapeutic index drug.3 6.2.1.2 Risk of bioinequivalence: Previous evidence of bioavailability problems for an active substance can complicate the justification of in vitro dissolution bioequivalence correlation.35 For paracetamol, the absolute bioavailability has not been shown to vary between therapeutic dose ranges of 5-20mg/kg.3 Other studies have also demonstrated that bioequivalence in different IR paracetamol preparations is achievable.11, 32, 37 6.2.1.3 Solubility: If a drug is highly water soluble it generally lends to exemption of bioequivalence testing, however polymorphism and particle size are major determinants of dissolution and must be considered.35 A drug is considered highly soluble if the amount contained in a preparation of maximal strength dissolves in 250mL of three buffered solutions ranging between a pH of 1-8 at 37C.35 Paracetamol has a pKa of 9.5 and is therefore not substantially ionized at a pH less than 9. As a result, it can be said that its solubility does not vary with pH.3 The highest strength IR preparation of paracetamol is 500mg. Experimentally, this has been shown to dissolve in 21mL,3 which is significantly less than the 250mL that is required by the BCS guidance to prove solubility.16, 35 6.2.1.4 Pharmacokinetic properties: High permeability which is typically indicated by a linear absorption pattern, reduces the potential influence of an IR preparation on bioavailability.35 For paracetamol, the permeability is slightly below the cut-off value of 90%, i.e. one study by Stewart et al.38 found permeability to be 80% once absorbed. This formally excludes paracetamol from being considered for a biowaiver, although extensions to BCS Class III drugs have recently been given more attention.20, 39 6.2.2 Characteristics relevant to the medicinal product 6.2.2.1 Rapid dissolution: Dissolution profiles can be regarded as equal when more than 85% of the active ingredient is dissolved within 15 minutes.35 This comparison must occur between test and reference product in three buffers which with a pH range between 1-8, at 37C.35 Paracetamol tablets have been shown to dissolve within 30 minutes,32 however this rate does not satisfy BCS exemption standards. 6.2.2.2 Excipients: Those included are to be well established and not in atypically large quantities. Kalantzi et al.3 details a table of acceptable excipients which can be used within paracetamol IR tablet formulations which are considered for in vitro dissolution biowaiver. 6.2.2.3 Manufacture: Critical parameters such as particle size and polymorphism should be addressed and documentation should be provided in the dossier that is submitted to TGA.35 Paracetamol has three metastable forms, the only commercially available from is the monoclinic acetaminophen as it is the most thermodynamically stable polymorph.3 From review of the literature, it can be concluded that in vivo bioequivalence testing of solid, oral IR paracetamol dosage forms may not be necessary. This can be justified given that a paracetamol formulation can be shown to:3 Rapidly dissolve under USP guidelines Contain only the acceptable excipients, in usual quantities Demonstrates dissolution profile similar to reference product under conditions stated in USP guidelines 7 Statement of Purpose 7.1 Aim hypothesis The purpose of the proposed study is to compare the dissolution profiles of bioequivalent IR paracetamol preparations listed on the PBS. In particular, comparisons between every preparation will be made, rather than a single comparison against a referent. We hypothesize that there will be no significant difference between the dissolution profile of IR paracetamol tablets when dissolved according to USP specifications. 7.2 Methodology We propose to analyse the dissolution profiles of eight PBS listed bioequivalent paracetamol preparations, namely; APO-paracetamol, Chemmart Paracetamol, Dymadon P, Febridol, Panamax, Paracetamol Sandoz, Paralgin, and Terry White Chemists Paracetamol. Sixteen tablets of each preparation will be dissolved in compliance with USP dissolution test for tablets and capsules, using apparatus II. As mandated, tablets are to be dissolved in 900mL phosphate buffer at a pH of 5.8 with a paddle set to 50rpm. Samples will be taken at intervals of 2,5,10,15,30,45,60 minutes in concordance with practice by Dominguez et al.34 these aliquots will be examined for paracetamol by UV spectrophotometry at 289nm. These data will be statistically analysed by ANOVA. 7.3 Timeline Date Tasks to be performed Work Deadlines Week 11 (15.03 21.03) Create paracetamol standard curves, Test expected dissolution time, Order materials, Source test tablets, Visit school of statistics for advice. Literature Review Due Monday 15th March 12pm Week 12 (22.03 28.03) Testing of tablets 1 2: Dissolution UV vis Week 13 (29.03 04.04) Testing of tablets 3 4: Dissolution UV vis Week 14 (05.04 11.04) Testing of tablets 5 6: Dissolution UV vis Week 15 (12.04 18.04) Testing of tablets 7 8: Dissolution UV vis Week 16 (19.04 25.04) Week in lieu to finish experiments in case of unforeseen circumstances Week 17 (26.04 02.05) Data collation statistical analysis Briefing on the writing of the final report Wed 28.04 2pm Week 18 (03.05 09.05) Writing draft report Week 19 (10.05-16.05) Editing final draft report Week 20 (17.05 23.05) Powerpoint presentation format 1st Draft Research Project Due Friday 21st May Week 21 (24.05 30.05) Correcting draft report Week 22 (31.05 06.06) Amending powerpoint presentation Final report due Mon 31.05 12pm Week 23 (07.06 13.06) Amending final report Week 24 (14.06 20.06) Presentation rehearsal Seminars, submission of amended report to pharmacy office

Human Capital In International Companies Management Essay

Human Capital In International Companies Management Essay To expand internationally, arises different problems and challenges for HR managers in human resources department. It is more difficult to manage employees abroad, than if employees were in the home base. The growth of Wooden Bakery internationally determined new assignment and tasks. There is a need to successfully manage this for the benefit of both Wooden Bakery and the individuals. The paper observes the change from domestic to international HR management, which examines issues of culture, contracts, agreements, recruitment process, and remuneration in Wooden Bakery expansion to other countries. All the same, the paper discusses suggestions for HR managers, which involve cultural research, and the functions of selection, training, performance management and remuneration. In this new era of globalisation, international human resource management is becoming a vital concept for human resource managers to be able to practice human resources functions, starting to mention, recruitment selection, performance appraisal, compensation benefits, training development and finally employees relations. This is important for human resource managers in multinational corporations and also in domestic based human resource managers who import employees from overseas. To stay updated with the changing world, human resource managers will have to have an international vision of how to manage their individuals successfully both at home and abroad. Managing international human resources allows wooden bakery to participate more effectively in the market place, and is a developing tool for its employees. Part 1: Introduction Human Resources Definition Human Resources is not only involved in paying the employees their salaries and providing them with the benefits; however it comprises one of the organizations important resource that is the Human resource through hiring, training and developing and most importantly retaining them for the benefits of both parties. Human Resources refer to the policies, systems and employment practices that are used to attract, motivate, develop and retain firms employees. In other words, human resources is considered as an organization function, that focus on recruitment, providing career path for the people who work in the firm, and deals with personnel issues such as hiring, compensation benefits, performance appraisal, safety, employees motivation and finally training development. Human resources is no longer a traditional personnel, and administration, however Human resources role is more strategic and deal with strategic aspect, to make sure that employees contribute effectively and works in parallel with the company direction to achieve the firms goals and objectives. Human Resources functions are common to most firms, first by attracting talented people by recruiting and selection, secondly retaining talented people by wage and salary, benefits and employees relations and finally developing the people by training, development and performance appraisal. Nearly every company says ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Human Resources importance and Need in International Companies The Human Resources department is important in all multinational and international companies. Recruiting and selecting is one function completed by HR, and their main responsibility is hiring and retaining companys most important asset that is our PEOPLE. Failure to do so, and lack of strong, motivated and satisfied employees, working in the right place in a firm will leads to hiring the wrong people, high turnover, employees will not do their best in their jobs and having some candidates demotivated. Thus, without good employees, the best business plan and ideas will be unsuccessful. As well, Human resources take care of all the employees concerns, make sure to solve employees issues immediately and to play the fair judge between the employee and the organization, for both sides advantage. Nevertheless, Human resources guarantee smooth functioning of the operation, good and safe working conditions and ensure that all staff is performing their jobs efficiently and toward the organization goals and objectives. Accordingly, Human Resources Manager evaluates all the employees, reward, takes disciplinary actions or dismissal. Another important role under the human resources umbrella is training and development, and creating career path for all employees, to retain and develop the existing employees, and attract new talented people, in this way the HR will improve the organization reputation, credibility and commitment from staff, thus become an employer of choice and reduce turnover. In this world of globalization, and companys expansion to other countries, Human resources adopt new cultures, and take care of all legal requirements as per the new country rules and regulations, as well as managing payroll, and other presented benefits. As per the strategic approach, human resources play an important function in developing an organization strategy, and managing the employees activities. Part 2: Analysis of the Organization 2.1- Wooden Bakery History Wooden Bakery was founded in Jal El Dib Lebanon in 1969 by Mr. Edward Bou Habib. It was a simple Bakery providing the market with freshly baked quality Bread. In the last decade Wooden Bakery literally revolutionized the bakery industry in Lebanon by setting new standards and upgrading its products and services. Edwards two sons Assaad and Ghassan Bou Habib planned and designed the new concept on paper in 1996. With immense vision and an innovative spirit, Wooden Bakery developed a unique concept gathering Bread (of all kinds), Pastries, Sweets, Sandwiches, Salads and Deli. The first Wooden Bakery Outlet opened at Zalka highway in October 1999. Wooden Bakery launched the first franchised operation in 2002 and expanded to 26 franchised outlets in Lebanon by the end of the year 2012. Wooden Bakery opened the first Master Franchise Operation in Saudi Arabia in July 2009, and currently negotiating the sale of the Master Franchise with a number of companies from the GCC countries. The Concept of the Factory Wooden Bakery system revolves around a state of the art industrial baking facility. It includes the latest and most advanced machinery and equipment in the baking industry. Human Resources department make sure to hires top Master Bakers, Pastry Chefs, and highly qualified Managers and Quality Controllers to assure the freshest and most consistent products for our markets. The Wooden Bakery factory produces from 100 to 150 tons of flours per day depending on the market need and factory size. Wooden Bakery is the leading supplier of high quality Freshly Baked Arabic Bread in the Lebanese market. The Wooden Bakery Factory is capable of supplying a large number of: Arabic and European Bread Products Bread Sticks Dry Desert Products French Pastry Cakes Cakes for any occasions (Wilton Cakes) Croissants and Danishes Arabic Sweets The Wooden Bakery Factory houses a central kitchen facility which produces Mixes and Semi Finished Products for the outlets such as: Marinated Chicken and Beef Cheese Blend A Variety of Mixes and Blends Frozen Appetizers PAR Baked Products The Concept of the Outlet Wooden Bakery Outlets are designed to service all classes of people in any market around the globe. All Wooden Bakery Outlets are located on Main Road Arteries in Strategic Areas, and considered as a One-Stop-Shop where one can buy Fresh Hot French and Arabic Bread, French, Arabic and American Sweets. The Wooden Bakery Outlets offers all mentioned products at Competitive Prices and offer a warm ambiance through its Unique Design, Clean Safe Environment and Excellent Service for its customers. The Wooden Bakery Outlets offer a wide variety of products: Fresh Hot Bread Appetizing Vienneoiserie Mouth-Watering Arabic, French and American Pastry items Scrumptious selection of hundreds of Cheese Deli products Self-Service Products offering the Top 100 items found in every Home Delicious Manakish, Salads, Sandwiches, Submarines, Pizzas, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 2.2- Mission and Vision Mission Statement: Our mission is to push our presence and create a brand in the Bakery Industry by Offering MORE and Delivering BETTER Vision Statement Our vision is to dominate the market by building stores on all main road arteries and major cities and towns in Lebanon and beyond, Our products would be available at ALL grocery stores, supermarkets, catering companies and therefore in every single home in Lebanon. 2.3- Local and Multinational Expansion Wooden Bakery first Outlet opened at Zalka highway in October 1999. The first Wooden Bakery franchised operation launched in 2002 and expanded to 26 franchised outlets in Lebanon by the end of the year 2012. Baabda- Hazmieh Mansourieh Bauchrieh Elyssar Awkar Zouk Mikael Zouk Mosbeh Jounieh Jbeil Kfarhbab Amioun Tripoli Zahleh Zalka Jal El Dib Fanar Dekwaneh Chtaura Roumieh Burj Hamoud Sour Zgharta (Soon) Achrafieh (Soon) Chiah (Soon) Naccach (Soon) Bayada(Soon) Wooden Bakery opened the first Master Franchise Operation in Saudi Arabia in July 2009, and currently negotiating the sale of the Master Franchise with a number of companies from the GCC countries. Wooden Bakery KSA Wooden Bakery  plan was centred on the key concept that customer satisfaction all over the world is the main goal. It has established and developed its first Master Franchise in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on July 2009. Its successful set up  can be measured by how our products and services that we supply meet however surpass the Saudi customers expectations. The Bread Factory Outlet was built on a 10,000 m2 space to house all the production equipment  that will  supply Bread and Pastry products and Central Kitchen Food Production to a number of outlets along with the wholesale distribution of Wooden Bakery Products. The Store is spread over two levels that house a main showroom with an eating area and a restaurant. Wooden Bakery has received the award for the Fastest Growing Lebanese Company at the prestigious Social Economic Award 2011, instituted by the global communications agency First Protocol to recognize outstanding achievements by organizations in the social and economic sphere. Today, the name of Wooden Bakery not only spells trust and quality, however, it has become a marked proof that a brand can be born, even in the Lebanese bakery industry. Wooden Bakerys expansion in the Lebanese territory has facilitated the achievement of the owners mission, proving that Wooden Bakery is worthy of the award that comes as a natural translation of its ever-expanding drive to Offer More and Deliver Better. 2.4- Wooden Bakery SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Serves all classes of people Big Variety of products (produced and non-produced by WB items) One Stop Shop Mushrooming Franchise (outlets are located on main roads in strategic areas) All outlets have the same image Product differentiation in the PRESTO section sandwiches. Ex. Rustic Bread Customers loyalty Quality (Shelf life limited) Freshness products (core value) Diversity of products (Arabic, French Pastries Viennoiserie charcuterie Arabic Bread) Rank among the top 25 companies in Lebanon Hold high level of market share in Leb. Balance menu (variety, quality, and price) Quality Control Management during process, on final product and in outlets Franchise Support Weaknesses Outlets are rented premises which leads to increase the operating expenses Franchise operated outlets might not have same level of loyalty as the outlets owned by Wooden Bakery Increase in raw materials and labour costs Not every franchised store owner get involved in the PL statement No direct authority High start-up cost Delivery Service Advertising plan to increase sales through brand awareness Family Business Opportunities Market trend turning bakeries into a wider shopping outlets Healthy eating trend Opening new and international markets New inventions for competition Threats Increase in Labour costs put pressure on button line margins Increase in raw materials costs put pressure on gross profit margins Quality of service focus with the presence of competitors in the market Many competitors (bakerys, supermarkets, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Part 3: Methodology and Results 3.1- Describing Human Resources at Wooden Bakery At Wooden Bakery, the human resources department used to work the traditional personnel management tasks, generating payroll and registering employees in NSSF. The Main human resources achievement was shifting from personnel management to human resources management, implementing all human resources functions, and be more involved in Wooden Bakery strategic plan. Human Resources department today mainly concentrates on recruitment, management, and providing directions and guidance for the people who work in Wooden Bakery. Human Resources department deals with employees concerns such as compensation, hiring, performance appraisal, employee motivation, safety, benefits, employees relations, and training development. However, Wooden Bakery HR department make sure that all the employees are effectively contributing to the overall company direction and to accomplish the organization goals and objectives. The administration roles usually played by the Human Resources department are becoming increasingly aligned with the company strategic plan, which in turn is evolving the HR into becoming: Human Resources Management.   3.2- HR Functions in Wooden Bakery 3.1.1- Recruitment and Selection The ability of Wooden Bakery to achieve its objectives of profitable and sustainable growth and high-quality product and service standards depends on the quality of its Human Capital. The recruiting function, which directly affects the quality of Wooden Bakerys human resources, will represent a critical function in the companys development. It is therefore important that a clear recruiting mechanism is established in order to optimize applicant selection, while supporting Wooden Bakerys strategic orientation and values. Proper and professional recruiting is necessary in order to avoid undesirable effects, including: Negative publicity or damage to the companys image Wasted time and effort to interview applicants who do not meet Wooden Bakerys needs Cost incurred in training recruits who should not have passed the recruiting interviews High turnover rates The hiring process in Wooden Bakery includes Recruiting, Processing, Eliminating, Selecting, Rejecting, File Building, Placing, and Orienting. The recruiting process is divided into three phases: Pre-recruiting, Recruiting, and Post-Recruiting. It involves: Posting a job advertisement in appropriate places Evaluating the information provided on each application Screening candidates to determine which ones to interview Verifying references and information Conducting personal interviews Deciding who will be offered the job Orienting the new employee about the organization 3.2.2- Performance appraisal Wooden Bakery use a new assessment concept for evaluating employees, 365 Evaluation, that is created to monitor and evaluate the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff throughout the year. The concept covers three different aspects and tackles employees productivity by looking at: Missions accomplished (Monthly Evaluation) Key performance indicators (KPI) (Quarterly Evaluation) Yearly competency evaluation The purpose of the 365 Evaluation is to: Monitor the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff throughout the year. Compensate and reward exceptional achievements, and where applicable take disciplinary actions against under-achievers. The benefits to be gained from conducting performance appraisals include: Recognizing accomplishments and reflecting the results through monetary terms (Salary increase, Promotion, Bonus, etc.) Identifying newly acquired competencies Preparing employee development plans Planning improvement where deficiencies are found Goal-setting Communication between supervisors and employees Monthly Evaluation Mission Based Mission based evaluation is a tracking system that records and rates the mission undertaken by Wooden Bakery administration and management staff on Monthly Basis. Title Subtitle Illustration 1-Mission Details Title Missions name Date Duration Date of registering the idea and expected mission duration Owner The employee who created the idea and who is the custodian for its implementation Department Self-explanatory Mission Scope Objectives Scopeis the sum total of all products, services and outcomes needed to make sure that the mission is successfully done. Objectivesare the benefits, outcomes, or performance improvements that are expected to be accomplished by the mission. Authority Structure List of personnel involved and needed for the completion of the mission and the designed authority distribution 2-Mission Program Task Breakdown Breakdown of tasks and assigning a start and a duration for each task Start Duration 3-Mission Kick-off Registration Owner Signature The mission owner has to register the mission with the HR department after it has been noted by the direct supervisor and approved by the concerned VP Direct Supervisor VP (Concerned) Human Resources Manager 4-Mission Evaluation Score for Innovative At the completion of the mission, the owner has to get the formal evaluation of the concerned VP. 3 criteria will be used to evaluate the mission (Innovative, Importance, Impact) Score for Importance Score for Impact 5- Approvals 3 parties and the checking of the Internal Audit department Once rated by the concerned VP, the mission score is registered by the HR in the Mission Tracking System. The internal Audit team is entitled to monitor the proper implementation of the system. Quarterly Evaluation (Productivity Based) The Quarterly Evaluation is a system that measures the productivity of Wooden Bakery administration and management staff by looking at five (5) aspects: Attendance Mission Accomplishment Policy and Procedure Development (creation and implementation of new procedure) Introduction of Improving Ideas (Cost saving ideas Process improving ideas) Productivity Measurement (Vary from one department to another each department will be evaluated by using five indicators) Yearly Evaluation (Competency Based) The Yearly Evaluation is a systematic way of measuring, reviewing and analysing employee performance on a yearly basis and using the information gathered to plan for the employees future with Wooden Bakery. The feedback is used to judge employee effectiveness as well as provide necessary Training and development to improve the employees contributions to the Wooden Bakerys goals. The purpose of the Yearly Evaluation at Wooden Bakery is for the manager or the direct supervisor and the concerned employee to have an open discussion about performance expectations and actual performance. The employees actual level of performance is compared to the estimated level of performance using standards that were developed by the supervisor. This expected level of performance is to be derived from competencies needed to perform the job in the highest level of professionalism. The comparison of actual performance with expectations and standards serves as a basis for recognizing accomplishments and planning for improvement where insufficiencies are found. Performance appraisals may also be utilized in a progressive disciplinary process to resolve continuing poor performance. 3.2.3- Training and development Wooden Bakery encourage growth and career development of its employees by coaching, and helping them to achieve their personal goals, through providing adequate training, encouragement of staff development, and chances for growth. Wooden Bakery training methods include: Orientation training, Orientation training is the process Wooden Bakery use for welcoming a new employee into Wooden Bakery family. New employee orientation, often organized by a meeting with the Human Resources department, that generally contains information about the new job description, the work environment, company culture, company history, the organization chart, tour of department, introduction to colleagues, Wooden Bakery rules and regulations, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On-the-job-training On the job training is used in both our branches and factory to teach new employees how to perform job duties. Sometimes training sessions take place in the headquarters and some other times on site. For example, customer service, food safety and hygiene, menu implementation. Conferences and Seminars Wooden Bakery works on developing its employees skills by sending them to international conferences, Seminars and Workshops. Some of the trainings attended by Wooden Bakery administration employees: RD Technician and RD Manager were sent in 2010 to Las Vegas to attend Baking Industry Trade Fair Production Manager and RD Manager were sent in 2012 to Bulguim to attend Professional training session held by PURATOS Quality Controller Supervisor and RD Supervisor were sent in 2012 to Paris to attend training with Chopin Technologies Maintenance Manager was sent in 2012 to Vienna to attend a conference in ROSENDAHL Company. 3.2.4- Compensation and benefits The term compensation in Wooden Bakery refers to the wages used to reward employees. As for benefits, Wooden Bakery offers paid vacations to its employees. Wooden Bakery wishes to maintain a sense of fairness and equity within the pay structure Grading System. For each position at Wooden Bakery the following will be defined: The Minimum, the Middle, and the Maximum fixed salary range The minimum and maximum of each fixed salary range is selected in line with market realities, and based on external salary surveys of comparable organizations. The parameters used to determine the weight of each job and thus giving an accurate grade based on numerical study: Know How Technical Knowledge Management Extent Human Relations Highest Education Level Problem Solving Reasoning Decision Making Communication Influence on Others Accountability Freedom to Act Magnitude of Action Impact of Decisions Working Conditions Long Working Hours Working during Holidays Extensive Traveling Hazardous Environment and Critical Encounters The grading system at Wooden Bakery offers a clear career path for employees who show potentials to advance within the company hierarchy. Moving horizontally within the same grade is governed by different factors including: Seniority (1.5 years spent in each level) Performance Appraisal Recommendations Acquiring Additional Skills (Experience and Education) Top Management Discression Moving vertically is governed by different factors including: Performance Appraisal Recommendations Acquiring Additional Skills (Experience and Education) Availability of the vacancy 3.2.5- Employees Relations Wooden Bakery promotes a positive atmosphere, and encourages positive relations between employees, to be able to reach the organization goals and objectives. Employees Relations is concerned to prevent and resolve problems involved by employees which arise out of or might affect Wooden Bakery work atmosphere. Wooden Bakery employees relation involves the relation between the employees with each other or their relation with their supervisors. Wooden Bakery concerned supervisors provide advises on how to correct poor performance and employee misconduct. The Company Disciplinary Action is to help and encourage employees to improve, achieve and maintain standards of conduct, attendance and job performance. It also enables management to deal effectively with those employees who do not comply with Wooden Bakery standards of conduct, attendance and performance in the workplace. Employee relations are designed in a manner which is non-discriminatory and which is Fair consistent and effective. It must also be applied in a timely manner and without undue delay. 3.3- Human Resources Planning for Global expansion Global expansion is a growth strategy for the future. It is at the heart of Wooden Bakerys development strategy. The owners are constantly striving to raise market share through expansion primarily in the Middle east and subsequently worldwide, in order to win over increasing numbers of customers. Wooden Bakery began seeking out growth and expansion, looking to reach out into new markets through Master Franchising and/or Partnership/Joint Venture. Wooden Bakery planned to expand worldwide after going through a number of challenges and risks that need to be taken into consideration along with is the Human Resources. The human recourse factor refers to the hiring of employees in the foreign markets, and the challenges and risks that come with doing so. Wooden Bakery will always take into consideration the foreign country laws, rules and regulations, which might be far different from our country of origin and which may seem difficult to manage with. One of the differences is the employees contracts in other foreign countries, which define the parameters of an employees job benefits, including vacation time, working hours, salaries, compensation, severance pay, etc. The differences stated earlier will mandate that the total packages offered abroad are tangibly higher than those offered within the Lebanese region. Thus, the existence of all the above variances means that any organization looking to expand internationally will need to do unlimited researches in regards to the foreign markets, since it might affect its operation. Implementing a global business strategy requires having the right people in the right places; it requires specialized leadership skills-managing the work of people with different backgrounds and customs. 3.4- Global Expansion Requires New HR and Training Strategies Recently the role of HR shifted from being a normal cost center and support service into becoming a strategic partner. Most organizations simply understand that their people are their competitive advantage, and view human resources as an investment, not an expense. Companies invest in their employees, because the future of the company belongs to the people who are continually involved in educating themselves and developing their skills and knowledge. As companies grow internationally, it is so crucial for global regular employees training. It is human resources challenge to train employees to be able to meet the organization mission as well as the requirements needed and the new region customs. Unfortunately, the majority of companies have the passion and commitment, to invest in their employees and provide them the necessary training for international exposure, but the budget necessary to achieve these goals may not. However, Wooden Bakery focuses on training and has enlarged its training department with highly qualified people who provide all the employees with necessary trainings and skill development opportunities to make sure that organizational goals are achieved. Top Master Bakers, Pastry Chefs, and highly qualified Managers and Quality Controllers are being sent to Wooden Bakery KSA to provide necessary training that ensures standardization and product consistency are being implemented. Companies that have a clear training and development strategy will note growth in the following areas, Reduced turnover: well trained employees are more likely to stay with your organization and it decreases the expenses of employing and training costs. Better productivity: well trained employees are more productive. Workforce: employees will have a deeper understanding of organization goals and mission, and will know their role in reaching those aims. 3.5- The HR Challenges of International Expansion One of the very important skills for domestic companies to grow global is the international HR management. As much as it is important for multinational and international companies, it is essential for HR department in domestic companies that recruit people from abroad. Nowadays there are many challenges that international human resources department has to take into consideration, starting to mention the cultural impacts, the local rules and regulations and finally working conditions and salary packages. HR policies and leadership development should grow since almost every business in all sectors risk a big share of their growth strategies on global expansion. There are many activities and skills that have become crucial to success. These activities include attracting and retaining skilled employees, increasing productivity, improving the workforce in the market, organizing the company by placing the competent and credible leadership in the right positions and moulding the beliefs and differences between personnel. Ethnical preferences and expectations can weaken a companys human resource strategy in globalization and can affect its effectiveness due to the influence of the economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to i