Child minders Essay

My competitors are likely to be; Child minders offering full day service provide the main source of competition, with over 70,000 registered in the UK today. Many parents are attracted by the individual care a child minder is often able to give their child and the service is regarded as cheaper and more flexible than the day nursery. Family members remain the most popular choice for childcare, with well over half working parents opting for this informal option, largely because they cannot afford other care, or they cannot find a suitable service. Playgroups and cri ches offering occasional or seasonal care are both popular choices for slightly older children. However, parents working full time are still more likely to opt for the day nursery. On the yellow pages Web site there are 33 competitors listed, but most of them are in the same position as you, trying to start up. This is shown as in last year’s yellow pages there is only one competitor listed. A company called leapfrog though is a national chain; there are 14 of their nurseries spread across the midlands. There are roughly 39 in England. Training There are various childcare courses available and you should have gained a relevant qualification before you start running a nursery, so sally won’t be able to start straight away. Training can be very flexible to suit you, based on full or part time courses at different levels. Local further education colleges will have lists of courses that will be appropriate for you which include N. V. Q. s, G. N. V. Q. s, H. N. D. s and H. N. C. s amongst other options. Qualifications for those working in early years’ education, childcare and play work fall within the occupational and vocationally related categories. You could get a NVQ in Early years’ care and education. Location In East Anglia there has been a 44% decrease in failing business. However this information is not all that reliable as it may say that in 2002 there has been 24 business failures, it does not say how many businesses started. If 25 businesses started and 24 failed, the figure is not at all impressive and it shows that lots of businesses failed. However if their were 100 businesses that started and 24 failed, than the figure shows that under a 1/4 of businesses failed, which is impressive. Peterborough is located 80 miles (128 kilometers) north of London and 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Cambridge. The city benefits from frequent high-speed train services on the main East Coast rail line. Adjacent roads such as the A1 (M), A14 and A47 provide swift access to the national road network. There are rapid connections with major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, East Midlands and Birmingham. Peterborough is within easy reach of major East Coast seaports such as Felixstowe, Harwich and Hull so exports and imports will be easily done. Peterborough’s GDP (gross domestic product) per head of population (the total rate of output divided by the resident population) is the highest in the East of England with a figure of i 13,673. The figure i received from research for the total of England’s GDP per working person is 572. 68 to 2 decimal places. However this seems unrealistic considering Peterborough’s is over 13,000. After a little more desk research i found the average weekly wage to be  444. 3, thus making the average yearly wage roughly 23,103. 6. Knowing that GDP is different to wages i will now try and find out the average yearly wage for peterborough so i have some results to compare, by doing this i will find if their is a lot of money being earned in the peterborough area compare to England. Still i cannot find the answers so i have nothing to compare. The theft rate in Peterborough is very high compared to Huntingdon. 28. 6% of 1000 vehicles are broken into in Peterborough; in Huntingdon it is only 9%. The population and households are very similar. Finance There are many different sources of finance that sally could use to finance her business. One of these is a bank loan. The advantage to this is you get a large amount of money and you don’t have to wait for it. The disadvantage is that you have to pay more back than you borrowed. Investment is another source of finance, this is when you have people give you money to put into your business, but they get a percentage of the profit. The advantage of this is that you receive a large amount of money

The Mysterious Old Man – Creative Writing

He came like the wind, as it from nowhere. As the gently wind ruffles the placid surface of a still pond, his visit caused small ripples on the smooth surface of the peaceful life that prevailed in our small village. At that time none of us had the foggiest idea of the shape of things to come. Perched on the sea- facing slope of a hill that forms part of a mountain rampart along the seaboard, our village was a perfect haven for anyone who hated modern civilization. It took a half day's walk by a footpath to the nearest town. The march of time has left us behind by a decade. In a way we were happy that the wind of change did not blow in our village. We are contented with life as it is, for it is very much the same as it used to be for centuries. Our village folks were mostly fisherman and peasants. The fertile land and the bounteous sea were very generous towards us in their gifts. There was a village shop keeper who's name was Ahmed, who used to get us few things we needed from the outside world. Visitors from the outside world were few and far between – who would care to visit such a godforsaken place? When occasional visitors came, they inevitably arouse our suspicion and so it was when this strange came. To be frank, there was nothing strange about him. But to the simple folks of our village anyone from the outside world was strange and mysterious. So from the very beginning, we looked upon him with suspicion. He was first seen at Ahmed's shop. Aseem, the coffee shop attendant approached him to ask him what he wanted. Taking his seat, the stranger placed his canvas bag on a table and ordered a cup of coffee. Aseem brought the coffee; while mopping the table, he lifted the canvas bag and placed it on a chair. Two blood-shot eyes that seemed to see through everything transfixed Aseem. â€Å"My bag,† muttered the stranger curtly, â€Å"will remain where I placed it. No one shall touch it.† Aseem just managed to mumble something apologetically. He placed the bag where it was. The stranger sat there, sipping the coffee and puffing a cigar. There were only a few people in the coffee shop then. They all glanced at him through he corners of their eyes as if they did not want him to know that he was being watched. None dared to approach him. They whispered comments – it was certain that the stranger had aroused their curiosity. Meanwhile the stranger sat there, as if he was in a deep though, eyes distant. He was about sixty, lanky of frame with a droop at the shoulders. Having paid for his drink, the stranger went along the foot-path that led towards the nearest town. Those who saw him leaving hoped that they would see no more of him in our village. They were proved wrong; he was there again on the next day and the next. He frequented Aseem's coffee shop; meanwhile news of the stranger figured prominently in the gossip of our village. They all had something to say about him. But opinion varied as to whether his frequent visits were a good omen of bad. Elderly people like Mr. Tan and old Haji were decidedly against it, for â€Å"such strange visitors often bring some misfortune with them,† they argued. It was really startling news to us when we heard that the old man had rented out a room in Madam Ho's house. Madame Ho was a widow; her only son, Chen, the village carpenter went to town in search of work. The old woman was living alone in a three-roomed house. We were a bit puzzled when we heard that the old man was going to stay among us. Mind you, it was not because we had anything against the stranger- it was simply because it meant some change, at least; and we were not used to changes. Days rolled by and once again life in our village returned to normal. As eventless days passed by, life continued to flow with that same unruffled placid quietude, but we did not know that it was the calm before the storm; we did not realize that we were sitting on a dormant volcano. The stranger seldom spoke to any of us. A man of few words, he seemed to move in a plane entirely different from ours. We suspected that there was something shady about him. For one thing, he was very secretive. We knew very little about his movements; not that we cared about it, but how would you feel about a fellow who lived by your side and of whom you knew next to nothing? He used to go out early in the morning – no one knew where to. At sunset, he was back, none knew from where. Like a frightened rabbit, he would look furtively at anyone who was near him and scuttle off from company. A fortnight or so later, two strangers called at Ahmed's shop. They wanted to see a friend of theirs. The description they gave of their friend fitted the old man exactly. Ahmed showed them Madam Ho's house and told them their friend was staying there. â€Å"But it's no use going there now; he has gone out,† Ahmed informed them. This seemed to satisfy the strangers. â€Å"We'll come tomorrow; we know he'll wait for us,† they said and departed. They were lying; they came to see him – that night itself. The next morning our village awoke to witness the bloodiest scene we had ever seen. Murder was committed in Madam Ho's house. The mysterious old man lay in a pool of blood. A ten inch dagger, plunged into his chest, had skewered him to the floor. Utter panic gripped the whole village. Fear and consternation could be seen on every face. Ahmed alone had a head cool enough to act wisely. Having instructed the curious crowd to keep clear away from the dead body, he sent his boy, Sam to the Police Station in the nearest town, but before San reached there, the police were already on the scene. They had caught the scent of the murder somehow or other. The Inspector in charge of the police surveyed the scene of murder with an expert's glance and asked, â€Å"Didn't he have any personal belongings such as a bag or a box?† â€Å"Yes, he used to carry such a canvas bag,† volunteered Ahmed. â€Å"It is missing, but I didn't expect to find it. There is a reward of $5000 for this rascal. Murder was his business. He is the third of the notorious ‘Five Diamonds' to meet with his end. Now, the remaining two who have got away, will slit each other's throat for that canvas bag. It contained a fortune in diamonds and precious stones.

On the era of reconstruction Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On the era of reconstruction - Assignment Example 256)†, he could be thought to have chiefly referred to the tedious paths to resolutions proposed by the divided Republicans yet to no avail. What the critics had neglected to see, however, was besides the issue of unfruitful contributions in addressing Civil War, the Americans whether white or black had been revived of new hopes at the unfolding changes of the period. To Americans, the initial stages of achieving an industrial economy occurred to have established a revolutionary social order that only raised confusion especially among the working class, making them suspiciously ponder and react upon the possible outcomes of social development for the nation (Foner, 2007). It entailed a notion that such approach to spontaneous progress determines allocation of power and social security. In this regard, reformists of the period were led to conceive that potential peril exists with the significant concern that as a response to it, people of the lower class may act in tumultuous ag gression in exercising their democratic right over to suppress individual economic growth thinking that liberty of acquisition of rights to property (Foner, 2007), particularly with those who could afford, would only emphasize inequality among social divisions and thus create on appropriating amount of common interests. Progression of economic development enabled Americans to adapt to the concept and application of ‘Social Darwinism’ in their everyday living since the competition to acquire relative or higher advantage in upgrading social and economic status in American society had apparently become essential. With the rapidly growing rate of capital formation, GDP, and wages (Gilded), this condition concretized the effect of social freedom and transformation across vast critical regions of societies in U.S. in which most citizens began expressing individual or collective views by putting up labor unions that served to oppose severely improper conditions, shift schedule s, loads, and unjust wages at work. Democracy was put in wide and intense practice of articulating protest with the desire to take part in the evolving process of industrial growth. In this endeavor, they sought to be assured as well of experiencing freedom from any form of injustice or oppression of employers who were predictably consumed by the principle of capitalism or profit-orientation for use in business that required irrational gravity of labor at the expense of either skilled or unskilled workers (Gilded). Since Social Darwinism in human society advocates natural selection without interference from the government, the ensuing crisis with inequality due to the fast rate of economic growth that was rather favorable to the financially capable who consequently had been able to gain more in wealth was radically questioned and rallied against by the group class who were either receiving substandard dues or whose personal advancement was impeded. Concerns toward personal economy f urther resonated in politics that the Gilded Age or Era of Reconstruction was also witnessed to characterize corruption by the state authorities and widespread operation of fraudulent activities in the U.S.

Snowfall and Rainfall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Snowfall and Rainfall - Essay Example The author of the paper states that rainfall may be defined as falling drops of water that is greater than 0.02 in diameter, precipitated by the process of condensation and falling in an area steadily over a period of time. Snowfall, on the other hand, may be defined as falling ice composed of complex hexagonal forms that are converted from water to ice directly by the process of deposition. Rainfall and snowfall may be differentiated based on the precipitation process, forms, temperature conditions, and atmospheric limitations.  Rainfall is a form of liquid precipitation unlike other forms of precipitation such as snow, hail or frost. When water on the earth surface is heated above the melting point, it gets evaporated and rises in the air as vapor. On reaching higher altitudes of the atmosphere, the vapor begins to cool down, resulting in precipitation. When these droplets of vapor which are dispersed in the atmosphere combine and accumulate, becoming heavy enough to fall, they c ause rain. In contrast to the precipitation of rainfall, snowfall occurs when the temperature is below freezing point. They take the form of crystalline structures that precipitate as snowflakes from the clouds. They can take different crystalline or granular forms and are usually soft in nature unless packed by external pressure. Snow crystals are formed from supercooled water droplets, that form an ice lattice around the water droplet, caused by very low temperatures.  Rain is the liquid form of H2O, while snow is a solidified form, which according to the definition, is a mineral of the homogeneous form of natural origin having an inorganic origin and definite chemical composition. Rain can take up forms that vary in the size of the water droplets or the pressure that accompanies it. The size of water droplets varies from 0.2 to 0.6, while the rate of water droplets can vary from 0.10 inch to 0.30 inch an hour which may be either light rain or heavy rain. (usatoday.com). Snowfal l can be classified into forms on the basis of the crystal structure that it precipitates into or the rate of accumulation. Snow can be in the form of flakes, crystals, grains or pellets.  

DQ1_WK5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DQ1_WK5 - Essay Example This report provides marketing strategies recommendation for three different products each of which is at a different stage in its life cycle. The first product showcased is Apple’s iPhone. This product is currently introductory or birth stage of its life cycle. The iPhone was the first smart phone with full multimedia capabilities such as internet connectivity that came out in the marketplace. Its touch screen functionality made it very unique. When it was introduced the company took a good first step which was signing as exclusivity contract with A&TT to test the marketplace. A prestigious mobile carrier with 3G infrastructure provided the company with a good partner to introduce the product. The pricing for this product was pretty steep when it came out which limited the demand for the product. The product needs an aggressive marketing campaign in multiple media channels in which the price of the item is deeply discounted to cost $99 or lower. The purpose of this strategy is to penetrate the marketplace and increase market share. Other competitors came out with smart phones which are as good as the iPhone, thus t he luxury price of $500 that apple charged for the product in its inception is no longer viable The second product to be analyzed is Panasonic’s HDTV. The HDTV is currently in the growth phase of its life cycle. Digital televisions sets currently have favorable regulatory market conditions. In February 2009 all the entire television industry is going digital and the analog signal will be gone forever in the United States marketplace (Dtv, 2009). The demand for this product is going to increase. A good marketing strategy for Panasonic is to increase its distribution channels by adding the product to the shelves of more retailers nationwide. The pricing can be lowered a bit to take advantage of the holiday season boost, but there is no need for deep discounting as in the case of the iPhone

Obesity in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity in the United States - Research Paper Example Obesity not only brings concern about health but it adds to the financial burden too. Obesity augments the health care costs. Estimates reveal that obesity accounts for approximately 10% of yearly medical expenses, increasing the obesity-associated medical costs to $147 billion in 2008. Obesity has reached an alarming position in USA, and two well distinguished categories have been demonstrated namely obese and extreme obese. Findings disclose that over one-third adults of United States adults were found to be obese during the year 2007–2008 (Flegal, 2010). According to The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the incidence of obesity in the United States could be estimated by means of data for height to weight ratio. The prevalence rate of obesity display that there was a steady increase in obesity equally in both the sexes belonging to all ages from 1976 -1980 to 1988-1994. On the other hand the trend in obesity augmentation between 1988-1994 and 1999-2 000 was significant in other ages except for the males belonging to the age between 40 to 59 years. While data analysis from 2001-2002 to 2003-2004 recommended escalating trends since 1999-2000 in males and not in females (Flegal, 2006).? Concern Government is showing great concern about the "obesity epidemic" as 60% Americans are obese. In Fat Politics, Eric Oliver unearths the real story behind America's "obesity epidemic." According to Oliver a handful of physicians, government administrators, and health researchers, along with financial patronage commencing the medicine and weight-loss business, have crusaded to miscategorize more than sixty million Americans as "overweight," to enhance the health perils of being fat, thereby promoting the thought that obesity is a destroyer illness. Scientific evidence was also reviewed by Oliver displaying a slight proof also that obesity grounds so many ailments and demises or that loss of weight could make people healthier. Our concern with obesity is stimulated more by communal discrimination, routine politics, and business earnings as compared to the scientific fact. This kind of prevailing misinformation, according to Oliver, is the factual predicament with prevailing obesity in America. Creating a belief that one has to be lean and thin, proponents of the "obesity epidemic" are pushing millions of inhabitants for America towards hazardous surgeries, crash diets, and harmful diet drugs. This fat obsession is becoming a jeopardy for most of the Americans (Oliver, 2005). Discussion Overweight is followed by obesity in many cases where weight control measures are not considered or given significance. It occurs due to discrepancy between the consumption of food and the utilization of calories. The quality of food also matters, if the diet is rich in fats and carbohydrates then surplus fats starts accumulating leading to obesity. A child who is obese will grow to be an obese adult. The triggering factors could be varied, starting from loneliness to eating discipline.

Production of computers of various brands Essay

Production of computers of various brands - Essay Example Relevance to lifestyle of customer –the brands to be produced by Global Ventures Plc will be relevant to the lifestyle of various customers .there will be computers specifically designed and with can only be afforded for high class groups, middle class, low class and research purposes. Therefore various demands of the customers will be made thereby ensuring customers satisfaction. Economies of scale Unprocessed raw materials required in the production of computers are cheap and readily available from within the local markets and several foreign countries. In addition, the component parts required, major equipments, accessory equipments are less expensive and are readily available. Furthermore there is available specialized labor and efficient machinery which will reduce marginal costs when the capacity of productivity will increase. Competition Although the company does not have enough to tremendously expand production within a short time, there will be less competition for th e products that the company will produce. This is because the computer we intend to develop will have unique characters and quality of which none of our potential competitor has. Therefore because of uniqueness of our product there will be less competition even though the company will not utilize the whole market as it’s expected because the capital it has cannot allow for such quick expansion. Â  Consumable Computers have a recurring sales value and therefore they will needs to be replaced when they develop functional problems or spare parts have to be bought to replace the parts that have become non-functional. This therefore will establish a long term sales and a customer base with same products. Customers would therefore come back again and again to buy more as they use up what... From this paper it is clear that South Korea has a higher Gross Domestic Product and higher purchasing power with high potential for future economic growth that is vital to the growth and development of our company. Mass market south Korea will provide market to the computers and other accessories manufactured in bulk by our company while niche market will provide market to the products and services provided by the company which target specific market needs, as well as production quality, price range, and the demographics. In addition South Korea has a high number of government contracts and big corporate orders. This will further expand our market share for our products and also improve company sales and thereby increasing the profit accrued. Because of well developed infrastructure in South Korea, there is great ease with which our company will develop mass retail outlets and this will ensure easier accessibility to our products by customers hence increase in sale recorded. Proximi ty of ports (air and sea) in South Korea will reduce transport costs and also it will ensure easier export of the product to the market through the air and sea routes. In addition, the socio-cultural practices in South Korea have a less influence on consumers. Contractual procedures are friendly to attract investors. Since our products are at the beginning of the product lifecycle, their demand in south Korea would be less sensitive to recession because there will be no substitutes with the same qualities and usability.

Peer response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Peer response - Assignment Example knowledge from actual employment, as well as the development of skills, would augment the theoretical frameworks that educational institutions provide. Alliances and partnerships with private and public organizations must be forged to enable students to gain the benefits of experiential learning. It would be interesting to know any perceived disadvantages which preclude the proposed application of experiential learning in course curricula. The criterion which allegedly meets the quasi-experimental research method as described in the study clearly and evidently affirmed that lack of random assignment as the sole determining factor. Given that the authors aimed to explore the ability of institutions offering character development programs, as compared to institutions that do not. Therefore, it was commendable to have suggested that to convert the methodology to experimental, random assignment of students could be applied. The ability of random assignment could increase the veracity of the findings, as well as determine consistency in the conclusions that were arrived at. As such, in the proposed research, although the quasi-experimental method was already affirmed to be applied, measures that could remove biases and increase objectivity could be instituted to enable increasing the credibility and reliability of the

Students-Teachers Friendship on Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Students-Teachers Friendship on Facebook - Essay Example It is worth noting that nowadays teens are making friends with everyone whom they find in face book or whoever requests them to be friends without being cautious of the possible harmful implications of such friendship. Teachers are adults charged with the responsibility of guiding young minds towards success in life. They act as role models to their students and whenever they decide to send them a friend request they are most likely to accept. On the other hand, students are most likely to find a teacher’s profile in the process of surfing and send a friend request. However, as adult’s teachers should give some ethical consideration due to some special reasons. A shocking discovery from schools that allow access to face book in schools indicates that about 60-70% of teenagers below the age of fifteen years have access to adult social networks including their teachers’. These children are too young to access these sites bearing in mind the nature of content that i s normally posted. This paper will focus on the main reasons as to why teachers should avoid being friends with students in face book. Body Privacy When teachers and students become friends, their privacy is compromised. This is because students will access teachers’ private information and content that is not fit for their consumption. Therefore, teaching and learning becomes a difficult venture as respect is compromised. Harassment If the relationship between the teacher and the student is not good, face book can act as a good ground for harassment and this applies for both students and teachers. Socialization through face book platform can create good environment for teachers and especially male teachers to harass female students sexually for example requesting sexual relationships and this often deteriorates class performance Intimidation Some students might see a teacher’s face book friendship intimidating .As a result they may become hesitant to accept their requ est for friendship mainly because they would not like their teachers to be privy to their conversations with their peers. At the same time they may fear saying no to a teacher’s friend request for fear that they will offend the teacher and negatively affect the teachers’ treatment of them Age appropriation Since teachers are adults, there may be postings from friends on their face book page regarding their adulthood status that does not concern students, the content in this case would be inappropriate for their students to read or review because it is deemed to compromise teacher’s privacy. Expectations Face book friendship between teachers and students changes the expectations of both parties .A learner who is a friend to teacher on face book will expect to be treated in a special way from the rest by the friend teacher. The teacher may also expect a student to post what regards to class work in their face book walls which would have otherwise be reserved to cl ass work this changes the expectations of everyone thus leading to a misunderstanding Prejudice As much as teachers try not to allow outside knowledge affect their treatment of students, technology will still have subliminal effect. A friendship between students and teachers on face book may compel a teacher to view a student in a whole different way in class than it was before. This creates an environment where students will fully be understood hence meaningful academic performance. Today’s situation where teachers are friends with students on face book is undisputable fact that requires urgent solution. If a teacher hasn’t given this situation some consideration then it is the right time to do so. The simplest resolution is to make a personal guiding