The Signs and Effects of Autism Essay -- Autism Autistic Disorders Ess

The Signs and Effects of Autism Autism is a rare disease that has been noticed for centuries. The purest form of autism (high IQ and almost normal behavior yet still self-contained) occurs in about â€Å"one in 2,000 people†. When the many other forms of autism are added in, the ratio is â€Å"one in 750†. Autism is found in every race, ethnic group, nation, and social standing, although â€Å"males outnumber females by four or five times† (â€Å"Autistic Disorder† – 2). Autism is a broad range of disorders that stretch from mild to severe. There are many theories on the cause of autism, but no definite solution. Because of the broadness of the disease, there are many types and categories. The effects of autism are frustrating, and hard to live with. Since the causes remain unknown, there are no specific treatments that can cure autism. The first signs of autism are shown within the first three years of life. As an infant, parents will notice that the child is distant and does not respond to many things. The baby usually doesn’t develop any bonds with his/her mother or caretaker. When parents go to pick up an autistic child, he/she will seem rigid, limp, and will not do normal things like reach out for the parent. Another symptom is little to no eye contact. As with autism at any age, the child is obsessed with sameness and routines. For example, a child will want to eat the same foods every day at the same time. Inanimate objects also fascinate autistic children, though they do not use them as they are intended. They will play with a single toy for hours at a time. Autism was once thought to be the result of cold and distant parents. If the mother disliked or did not want the baby, it was thought that the baby knew this and would enclose itself in its own world. That theory has now been disproven and ma ny scientists now believe autism is caused by -1- genetics and/or illnesses. There are many stated genetic and biological causes but none seem unique to autism. Likewise, no specific gene has been targeted to cause autism. New evidence reveals that â€Å"the serotonin-transpoter gene† (Rapin, Isabelle – 101) may be related to the cause of this disease. Complications in birth are also taken into consideration. â€Å"Prenatal factors are intrauterine rubella, tuberous selerosis, chromosomal abnormalities, and brain abnormalities. Perinatal factors have little to no ... ...â€Å"Autistic Disorder† – 4). Another way of helping an autistic individual have a somewhat successful adult life is to develop his/her communication skills by age five. With the knowledge of communication he/she will likely improve. Yet, most will still need some sort of help from one or more adults. In conclusion, the broad range of disorders, known as autism, can’t be cured, but they can be helped in many ways. Many autistic people receive help from family and relatives. In an autistic person’s life, all he/she needs is love and understanding. -4- Although they may seem mentally challenged, many are very bright. Many have a higher IQ then what is usual. Autism can be a devastating disorder but to the affected individual, it is his/her normal world. BIBLIOGRAPHY â€Å"Autistic Disorder† McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. CD-ROM. 1998 ed. Campbell, Robert. The Enigma of the Mind. New York: Time-Life Books. 1976 Rapin, Isabelle. â€Å"Autism.† The New England Journal of Medicine 10 July 1997: 97 Wing, John. Reasoning About Madness. New York: Oxford University Press. 1987. Wing, Lorna. â€Å"The Autistic Spectrum.† The Lancet 13 July 1997: 1761-66.

New Orleans :: American Melting Pot

New Orleans   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a country containing so much diversity and history, it is practically impossible to locate one city which embodies American diversity. A colony started by the French was the first area to fully integrate culture and religion. The city of New Orleans, now prosperous from its diversity, epitomizes the "American Melting Pot". It is complicated to relate such different backgrounds, but with an overview of history, culture, religion, and integration on a small scale, a reader is capable of applying the values to the American culture as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1699 the first plans for New Orleans were born. French-Canadian, Pierre le Moyen, Sieur d'Iberville left France to found a colony on the Gulf of Mexico. Sieur d'Iberville set up a fur trading for originally on the north gulf coast, then moved the establishment to Dauphin Island. Once again, he moved the fort and created an inland colony near Louisiana. Sieur d'Iberville was in charge of all of France's responsibilities in the southern portion of the territory. Wen Iberville died in 1706 the land under his jurisdiction was given to ho brother, Jean Baptiste de Moyen Sieur de Beinville.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beinville had great plans for the development of the French colonies and in 1717 he submitted plans for a new settlement to the Company of the West. In 1718 France agreed with Beinville's plans and authorized him to establish the settlement, according to his plans, one hundred miles up the Mississippi. Four years later the capitol of the Louisiana territory was transferred to the new settlement now know as New Orleans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new colony was called "New Orleans'; in honor of the Duke d'Orlean. Duke d'Orlean supposedly had something to do with the funding for the new colony. The Duke favored John Law, the founder of the Company of the West, and supported many of the company's ventures, the construction of New Orleans inclusive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new, growing colony needed a government, so a democratic council was formed. New Orleans was under the rule of a law making body called the Superior council which was first formed in 1712. The Superior Council was well liked by the people because it was a small representative democracy. During the 1720's and 30's Beinville was replaced as mayor by Sieur de Pierre. The colony did not experience much growth between these years so Beinville was reappointed governor in 1733 and left the colony permanently in 1742.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spain took over the government of New Orleans in 1766. The Spanish sent the new governor, Antonio de Ulloa, to reign over their newest asset.

Citizenship in America :: Law Legal

Citizenship in the United States of America, the country whose streets are paved in gold, signifies every individual's dream. Food for empty stomachs, medicine for the sick, care for the elderly, shelter for the homeless, and warmth for the cold represent necessities guaranteed to every American. America is the envy of other nations because of the freedom it offers to its people. Furthermore, the American citizens aid other countries, like Afghanistan, so that their citizens too can experience the liberties Americans enjoy. Few Americans realize the extent of their privileges. It is unacceptable for any American citizen to complain and find faults in America instead of appreciating the rights they are afforded. The government has the capacity and the means to take care of every citizen ranging from prisoners to widows. Complaining about certain disparities is just not fair. Citizenship in America is important because no matter where you come from, you will be accepted. America is the only country where Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australians, and South/Central Americans can all share legal equality. America is a country filled with hundreds of heritages that form its unique and colorful background. Due to our founding fathers, America won?t ever experience communism or dictatorship. Our country?s government is cleverly set up so that the three branches control and limit each other?s power. Citizens of America will live a guaranteed life of liberty. America allows the citizens power to participate in its judicial administration, entitles one to vote, and to have a say in political affairs. Every individual plays a role in the nation?s future. America has so much to bestow upon its people, and a

Lego Analysis Essay

Large losses in Vinalines, Vinashin, EVN, Vietnam Cement Corporation VICEM, Song Da Corporation, TKV †¦ somehow make it easier for the Vietnamese economy sinking into stagnation condition than ever before. Global economic slowdown led to foreign investment flows into Vietnam show signs of decline. Attract foreign investment from the beginning of 2012 to 04/20/2012 only 68. 5% compared to the same period last year, which is down 0. 3% compared to the same period last year. Trinh Thanh Hoan, Director of Insurance Management and Supervision Department of Finance, commented that: the financial crisis affecting the insurance industry in Vietnam, but not heavy. Vietnam’s insurance industry is one of the few lucky industries has overcome the crisis. Revenue growth rate of the insurance industry first 6 months of 2012 has reached a relative situation, though not as high as in 2011. Original insurance exploitation activities increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2011, of which 13. 5% non-life sector, life insurance increased by 8. %. In this context, the Prudential – with revenue of VND 2,182 billion, accounting for 39. 69% of the market array of life insurance market in Vietnam is facing great opportunities to promote their competitiveness The study of the financial situation in 2011 by Prudential in conjunction with specifying the challenges they are facing in 2012 through which creating a premise to promote the Vietnamese insurance m arket in general and the Prudential Vietnam in particular to develop at a stable and healthy way is the reason why this topic was chosen. Title: â€Å"How was the financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and its challenges in 2012† Object of this project is to study the financial situation in 2011 of Prudential Viet Nam in which the writer focused on the analysis of sales along with the challenges that they are facing in 2012, which is the main factor determining the competitive position of the company The range of research topics: In term of spatial: The insurance company in Vietnam, especially Prudential In term of time: Empirical research in the period 2011-2012 Research objectives of the project are presented in three main aspects, namely: Develop practical scientific arguments about the challenges that Prudential are facing in 2012 as an important strategy in business development issues of Prudential Analysis of the financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in the 12-month period of 2011 The layout of the contents of the subject consists of three parts: Chapter 1: Historical development and organizational structure of Prudential Vietnam. Chapter 2: How Prudential Vietnam did their business in 2011. Chapter 3: Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011 compared to 2010, its problems in 2011 and its challenges in 2012. In term of finishing this project, because of limitation in knowledge about finance and insurance field and the lack of information that we can find both on The Internet and directly from Prudential Vietnam, our report may be confined. We would like to show our gratitude to Dr. Gitte Top, who has specially enthusiasm in guiding our group during the process of doing and finalizing this project. We wish you be always happy in your life. METHODOLOGY A. The method used in general is the research â€Å"onion† * Definition : In order to answer how a research should be answered a clear methodology was sought which is referred as â€Å"research onion†. It presents a clear framework for the most suitable methods and strategies to address a research. It promotes the knowledge to answer a research question. After deciding a suitable philosophy other elements are selected from the layers which assist in answering a research. Each element in a different layer is discussed below in order to get an idea why elements were selected while conducting a research * The purpose of research onion The classification of research purpose most often used in the research method literature is threefold one of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. However, in the same way as our research question can be both descriptive and explanatory, so our project may have more than one price. Indeed, as Robson (2002) point out: â€Å"The purpose of your enquiry may change over time† I. The research paradigms The first layer of the onion is research paradigms. It gives an idea that how we think about the research. Several views about research process dominate the literature, which include positivism, realism, interpretivism and others as well. The knowledge is always judged in different ways and these are different ways you can judge the knowledge. We chose realism because it is a mixture of both the philosophies positivism and interpretivism as it allows us to study for the social issues trying to understand the impact of wider social forces. Moreover, we would take advantage of the accuracy in evaluation of the figures provided in the financial report of Prudential in 2011 to see correctly its problems and challenges. These reasons are why the realism is selected II. The research approaches The second layer of research ‘onion’ refers to research approach. There are two approaches involved: 1. Deductive approach Deductive approach works from more general to specific. This is informally called as top-down approach. A deductive approach is consistent with developing a theory and testing it through research. Arguments based on laws, rules and accepted principles are generally used for Deductive Reasoning. 2. Inductive approach Inductive reasoning works the other way like deductive moving from specific to general to broader generalization and theories. And informally it is referred as bottom op approach. And its conclusion is likely based on premises and usually involves a degree of uncertainty. Because of the limitation about the information we can look up, we chose the deductive approach in order to have a clear orientation to carry out the project. B. The project I. Object of this project: To analyze financial situation of Prudential corporation in 2011, then reveal factors affecting the company included the cost and national economy situation and as well as the difficulties which corporation face in the this year II. The range of project * In term of space : Insurance market in Viet Nam and especially Prudential * In term of time: Practical research in the 12-month period of 2011 about the main activities of the Prudential corporation; challenges of Prudential in 2012 III. The research objective Offer the student the opportunity to train the skills falling into the categories of writing a report – to learn the logic and practice of investigating/analyzing actual problems, equivalent to current challenges in modern financial companies – and to being introduced to formulating a research question. IV. The research methodology To estimate specifically and exactly how was financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2010 our group thinks it is suitable to use dialectical materialist methodology (human relations results), along with the clever combination of theories in economics and management, based on the analysis of reliable material which our group collected, in which we focuses on information on the homepage of Prudential Vietnam. C. The structure of assignment The layout of the contents of the subject consists of five parts 1. The introductory part 2. Methodology 3. The main part a. Chapter 1: Historical Development and Organizational Structure of Prudential Vietnam b. Chapter 2: How Prudential Vietnam did their business in 2011 c. Chapter 3: Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and challenges in 2012 4. Conclusion 5. Appendix CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUTURE OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM PART 1: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT Established in London 1848, Prudential is one of the world’s leading retail financial services groups providing life insurance, financial services and asset management products and it has been writing life insurance in the United Kingdom for 163 years. In 1995, Prudential arrived in Vietnam ;amp; established the Prudential Representative Office in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Later on, in 1997, it established a 2nd Representative office in Ho Chi Minh City After 11 years , in 2006 , it was awarded the â€Å"No. 1 brand in Insurance – Finance – Banking Industryâ€Å". Up to now, it has keep dominating the market share in insurance market. PART 2: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Board of Directors Mr. Alexander John Hambly Chairman (Non-Executive Director) Mr. Hambly is the Regional Head of Private Equity of Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Limited (formerly known as Prudential Asset Management (Singapore) Limited) joined Prudential in 2003 and was Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investments Fund Management Limited Liability Company (formerly known as Prudential Vietnam Fund Management Private Limited Company) from January 2006 to September 2007. Alex was also the Chief Executive Officer for Prudential Property Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd from September 2007 to February 2010 and the Chief Executive Officer of PPEM Pte. Ltd. from March 2009 to October 2010. He has more than 20 years’ direct investment experience gained in both Asia and other major markets. Prior to joining Prudential, he worked for four years for Actis (formerly known as CDC Capital Partners) based in Singapore, four years with HSBC Private Equity based in India, and seven years with Barclays Bank plc based in London, India and Singapore, the last three years of which he was on secondment to a private equity fund (Baronsmead plc) in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA in Modern History from Durham University in the UK. Mr. Hambly is also a member of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Henry (Van Hung) Lam Managing Director (Chief Executive Officer) Mr. Lam, a resident of Vietnam, was born in Vietnam and came to Australia in 1977 and studied electrical engineering. He resides in Vietnam and is responsible for the group’s operations in Vietnam. He was awarded the â€Å"Red Star† at the end of 2000, the first overseas Vietnamese to receive this, for his contribution to the economy of Vietnam and in 2010 he was awarded the â€Å"Second Class Labour Medal†. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Lam is a director and shareholder of Corbyns International Limited, the Company’s ultimate holding company. Mr. Alan Alexander Young Managing Director (Chief Operating Officer) Mr. Young commenced his business career in the financial sector and was employed for several years in banking and finance. For the past twenty years, he has gained wide experience in the administration of public companies, particularly in the resource sector. Mr. Young is a Board member of all the operating subsidiaries in Vietnam. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Managers, Secretaries and Administrators and past President of the Western Australia-Vietnam Business Council Inc. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Roger (Sing-Leong) Kwok Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Roger Kwok is the Managing Director of Arcadia Group in Perth which specialises in designing, developing and managing retirement resorts and premium properties. For the last twenty years, Mr. Kwok has managed a number of Australian businesses in the automotive and healthcare sectors. He is a past president of The Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and brings significant experience in business relations in international markets, particularly China, which sources raw materials to VII’s rolling mills. Mr. Kwok is the Chairman of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Andrew David Walker  (appointed 3 January 2012) Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Walker has graduate and postgraduate qualifications in Medicine and Medical Science from Newcastle University and is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He also has a MBA from The University of Melbourne. Before starting his business career, Andrew was as officer in the Australian Army and a Platoon Commander in Australia’s elite parachute regiment. Mr. Walker has a wide range of Board experiences, both Public and Private companies. He was the Past-Chairman of the Melbourne Chapter of the Young Presidents Organisation. He was named the 2006 Ernst & Young’s National â€Å"Entrepreneur of the Year† (Service Category). In the past three years,  Mr. Walker is the Executive Chairman of Vallenar Iron Company and Founder-Chairman of Aspen Medical Pty Ltd. Mr. Walker is a member of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. CHAPTER 2: HOW PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM DID THEIR BUSINESS IN 2011 PART 1: HOW DID PRUDENTIAL GET PROFIT? The renovation and modernization of the country and international economic integration requires every industry, every business have to try harder, continuing deeply comprehensive reform in all its activities. With the function of mobilizing small amount of money from countless individuals to create a central insurance fund to invest in various sectors of the economy, insurance companies, particularly life insurance Prudential company has become an institution, a key professional investors on the capital market of many countries. And if the world over a long period, the investment activities of the non-life insurance companies are considered a complementary activities in order to increase profits in addition to profit from insurance operations, since the type of life insurance on the market, investors have become a very important activity, can’t be separated and have to say it determines the survival of life insurance companies. To be more specific, the writer will present the way Prudential get profits. Firstly, by buying insurance contracts, Prudential’s employees try to persuade other people to buy their insurance policies. They will get amount of money when the contracts accomplish and unless the buyer have some problems with their body or life, the company will use the money to invest some particular activities to make more profits. Secondly, they generate profit by mortgage. Lending is an important role for life-insurance company. With the nature as an investment tool, Prudential company must also be subject to some limitations when it carry out loan such as restrictions on the maximum amount allowed for limited borrowing and lending of money. Currently the mortgage loans of life insurance companies primarily secured by real estate . Most of loans under life-insurance company tend to increase quickly. This is also the form of attracting more customers to the insurance company. In Vietnam today lending policy is very popular and used by insurance companies as a form of competition. The next one is that Prudential company invested in securities. This is the investment tool which is used by almost life-insurance company most widely, hence the profits from investment securities giving the insurance company is very huge. Moreover, investing in securities has a high liquidity because insurance companies can quickly sell the securities to the market if demand for payment is necessary. Stocks and bond are two kinds of securities which most life insurance companies prefer to invest. In a word, investing in securities has higher margins than other forms of investment. Life-insurance companies tend to invest large value on that list. Associating with the development of securities market in recent years, the investment of life insurance companies in this market is considerably increased. Currently Most of life-insurance companies move to invest in securities and loans which have guaranteed level less but have a higher expected rate of return. Next, Investing in real estate is important element without mention on the way to generate profit . The investment in real estate plays an essential role because it maintains the stability of the value of investing in real estate which is less affected by inflation. However, investing in real estate has high market risk and low liquidity. Therefore the real estate business of life-insurance Prudential is suffered from certain limitations. In addition to these forms of investment, life insurance companies also invest in other forms of joint ventures, deposits at credit institutions, pledge and mortgage. With life insurance company investment which is usually long term should be greater long-term portfolio than that of non-life insurance companies . In previous time, loans secured by the mortgage is the primary form of investment life insurance companies. These investments often bring a higher rate of return than investments in government bonds, although liquidity is not high. Those are the fourth best ways of Prudential company to gain profit. However, it does not mean that they are the only measures. To generate profit, Prudential also take part in forms of organization and operation of investment. And Prudential with a large scale of enterprise and the nature of insurance can invest in this activity with two forms: The first one is establishing investment company belonging to Prudential company. The establishment of an independent investment organization in the form of the investment company or investment fund owned by the insurance company all the shares or hold the shares in the form of applied fairly common in the insurance company in the world. This pattern is consistent with the large-scale insurance companies and developing companies, it helps insurance Prudential company concentrate on its resources to improve the quality and efficiency of investment activities. These funds may only focus on a geographical area or specific industry groups or a wide range of activities and general investment fields. In recent years insurance companies have large-scale switch to set up the fund to focus its resources and improve the quality and efficiency of investment activities. The next one, Prudential buy shares in the non-dominant of other investment company. PART 2: PRUDENTIAL MARKET SHARE AND THEIR COMPETITORS Market share * 2011 situation 2011 was a challenging year for the global economy and Vietnam was not an exception. The slow growth in the US and EU region also softened Vietnam’s export demand. Moreover, the tightening policy by the SBV to tackle inflation lowered domestic industrial activities. For the full year of 2011, GDP growth was 5. 9% compared to 6. 8% in 2010. This is the second lowest year of GDP growth in the last decade, only higher than 2009 the year after the global financial crisis started. According to the annual report 2011, the revenue of Prudential Vietnam account for nearly 39% of the total revenue of the life insurance market, reduced 1% compared to 2010. However, Prudential Vietnam has reached new business premium of VND615 billion ($30 million), up 21. 2% year-on-year. The total premium income increased to VND2. 8 trillion ($137 million), up 12. % year-on-year. With the market share of 38%, the company reaffirmed its No. 1 position in Vietnam’s life insurance market. In additional, Prudential Vietnam has won the  Golden Dragon Award 2011  with the title â€Å"Best Financial Service† for all three business units in Vietnam: Prudential Vietnam Assurance, Eastspring Investments and Prudential Finance. This is the 10th consecutive time th at Prudential has won the Golden Dragon Award. * Prediction in 2012 2012 outlook is expected to improve due to consistent government policy, the more stable VND and improvement in the balance of payment. We become increasingly optimistic about Vietnam outlook in 2012 due to the consistency of SBV in implementing monetary policy, the more stable VND, and the improvement in the balance of payment. However, in the short term, lower GDP growth is expected in trade off for long term macro stability. During this period, the equity market might remain volatile and highly reactive to releasing news. We think that selective investment in sectors with stable consumption demand (i. e. non-cyclical consumer goods) or have a strong financial capacity will bring benefits for investors. In the long run, we increasingly become optimistic about the equity market as the VN Index valuation is currently at one of its lowest levels historically and compared to other markets in the region. Competitor In Vietnam, the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Supervisory Division within the Ministry of Finance. The insurance trade association is the Association of Vietnamese Insurers (AVI). The main life insurance companies are: Bao Viet (also a non-life insurance company); Prudential; Manulife; AIA; Dai-ichi Life; ACE Life; and Prevoir. Key non-life insurance companies include: Bao Viet (also a life insurance company); Bao Minh; Petrovietnam Insurance Company (PVIC); PJICO; PTI; Cong ty BH lienhiep; Bao Long; Vien Dong; and VIA. In the first quarter of 2012, the total sales of life insurance in the market are 3522 billion, up 8. 1% compared to the same period last year. The companies have large market shares of Prudential Vietnam, with 1,308 billion, accounting for 37. 14% market share, Bao Viet is 942 billion VND, accounting for 26. 73%, Manulife is 440 billion, accounting for 12. 5% . Leader in sales of new premium remains the Prudential Vietnam with 239 billion, followed by Bao Viet Life 226 billion and Manulife is 131 billion VND. The strongest opponents of the current Prudential Vietnam Bao Viet Life, with a market share of new operators are close to Prudential. Futhermore, Manulife, although total sales revenue and new operators have a big gap with the Prudential, but development strategy, with a solid foundation and changes quite flexible according to the market trend of this company many companies in the same industry appreciated. AIA is also one of considerable competitors with daring and efficient strategies which may have a spectacular breakthrough in the market share in a few years. Meanwhile, Dai-ichi Life Vietnam after a period of impressive growth, there seems to be a lull down and has not had any extensive development. In the recent economic condition, the issue is not about the number of new contracts or pushing the revenue growth. The vital tatic is maintaining the signed contracts. It dues to the fact that the level of contracts termination in Vietnamese market has always been a â€Å"nightmare† for life insurance ompanies, this ratio is always around 10 – 15% for every years, the rate cancelling contracts in the early years are often higher. Therefore, the development of effective strategies many insurance companies selected for this difficult period. Although the cancelling contracts are high, Datas from the Vietnam Insurance Association showed that the three months of this year, the number of contracts restoration of 27,797 contracts, an increase of 35% over the same period last year. The companies have the contract high recovery rate is Prudential, Bao Viet and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam. Thus, under the current intensive competition, whether Prudential can retain their leader position of the life insurance market or not, it’s still a question. CHAPTER 3: FINANCIAL SITUATION OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2010, ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 AND CHALLENGES IN 2012 PART 1: FINANCIAL SITUATION IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2011 AND ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 Business activities results Unit: Million VND Content| 2010| 2011| I. Revenue| 7,601,313| 8,871,160| 1. Revenue from insurance activities| 5,365,668| 5,992,532| 2. Revenue for financial activities| 2. 235. 645| 2,871,628| II. Costs| 6,263,946| 7,878,625| 1. Insurance activities and sales cost| 5,298,593| 6,335,556| 2. Financial activities costs| 379,520| 819,496| 3. Manager costs and other costs| 585,833| 723,573| III. Profit without taxes| 1,337,367| 992,535| IV. Taxes| 329,815| 240,839| V. Net Profit| 1,007,552| 751,996| The table shows how Prudential did their business in 2011. According to the table, in 2011, Prudential’s revenue showed an upward trend in both insurance and financial fields. Specifically, its revenue increased by 626,864 million VND and 635983 million VND respectively. However, costs for business activities involved insurance, financial activities, management cost and other cost also grew in this 12-month period as a figure of 1,614,679 million VND. As a result, net profit was decline by a significant number, 255,556 million VND for particular, despite of reduction in taxes. In conclusion, this insurance and finance company still got profit in the previous year, however it was less than it had been in 2010. Important financial ratios: Content| 2010| 2011| I. Asset Structure| 1. Fixed Asset / Total Asset| 0. 3%| 0. 4%| 2. Moveable Asset / Total Asset| 28. 7%| 31. 4%| II. Capital Structure| 1. Debt / Debt and Equity| 87%| 88%| 2. Equity / Total Capital| 13%| 12%| III. Payment Capability| 1. Money and money equivalents and short-term investment / Short-term debt ( times )| 3. 77| 3. 58| 2. Total Asset / Total Debt ( times )| 1. 15| 1. 13| IV. Profit ratios| 1. Profit without taxes / Total Asset| 5%| 3%| 2. Net profit / Gross Revenue| 13%| 8%| 3. Net profit / Net Revenue| 20%| 12%| 4. Net profit / Equity| 30%| 22%| The table illustrated some relevant financial ratios included asset structure, capital structure, payment capability and profit ratios. In general, these numbers provide a negative business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to they did in 2010. For example, their payment capability was limited and profit ratios also reduced to. The figures were 0. 19 time deduction in money and money equivalents and short-term investment / short-term debt and 8% decline in net profit / net revenue. Clearly, business activities of Prudential in was not effective compared to 2010 and this fact was because of several reasons and also led to several issues of Prudential in 2011. Factors had devastating impacts on insurance market in general and Prudential for particular included The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government Firstly, the 2008 Financial Crisis has been proving that it has global affects and there are no countries being exception. In 2008, White House admitted the conclusion of The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) which is â€Å"The United States has been being in recession since December of 2007† and tried to accelerate the economic recovery process by improve finance, credit and real estate market. According to official figures, GDP of the biggest economy in the world decreased by 0. 2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 but increased by 0. 8% in the first quarter of 2008 and 2. 8% in the following 4 months. Subsequently, it declined again in the third quarter of 2008 by 0. 5%. However NBER informed that recognizing the recession was not just based on GDP but on other economy factors such. For example, employment market and capital slowed down and showed a downward trend in a 12-month period. After that, this disease started spreading all over the over and several countries and regions were victims. Fifteen European Union countries were the first, then Russia, Japan, China, Singapore †¦ Later on, in 2009, Vietnam became a victims of the crisis, which brought the economy down without recovery up to now and every single industry was effected involved insurance field. As a consequence, business activities of Prudential fell down year after year. Secondly, the inflation rates of 18. 13% was rather high than ideal number and it also means that Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 18. 13% higher than the previous year, furthermore, some essential products increased by 50% or even 100%. Hence, it had impact on social quality and decreased the amount of saving money of residents, limited to capability of participating in insurance activities or maintaining the life insurance contract due to people who have low average income, and increased the compensation costs of non-life insurance. Therefore, the growth of about 10000 billion VND costs of insurance activities and sale costs of Prudential was an obvious consequence. Thirdly, the 24. 6% rise of gold prices also created psychological allocation of the insurers. The stock market and real estate was bleak which reduced investment opportunities and profitability of the insurance business and even generated difficulties for making provision for diminution in value of investment in a relatively large number. And finally, in 2011 The Resolution of the Government about the credit crunch, tightening expenditure and government investment has decreased demand for property insurance, construction and installation of new assets purchased. To conclude, because of several reasons involved The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government led to a bleak business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to 2010. However, they did a great job in the insurance industry in this year and the evidences proved this is Prudential was the market leader of this field with insurance revenue increased by 12% with the biggest market share and being the number one company in this major. PART 2: CHALLENGES OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2012 Problems of Prudential in 2011 mostly referred to the costs of business activities and the degradation of the economy. However, in 2012, its main mission is to fix these problems and to take advantage of new opportunities in the market to improve its business. In 2012, the inherent difficulties in 2011 still continue, the risk of high inflation, the government undertook to restructure the economy, in which the focus of restructuring banking, securities and insurance will affect the insurance market. Property insurance market is predicted slowing down because of tightening credit, expenditure management and government investment spending forced the non-life insurance companies have turned to market development, non-property insurance products. Moreover, many businesses have to limit their production or stop working because of difficulties in accessing to bank credit which led to an increase in the number of unemployed workers and reducing income. Hence, these determinants generated bad effects on the demand of life insurance. Furthermore, the stock market and real estate do not have any signals of recovery which makes insurance companies being more cautious with investment in this area. And last but not least, The Finance Ministry urged the insurance businesses to thrift, cut costs by 5% – 10%, rearrange insurance companies, restructure the insurance market, improve the business insurance effectiveness, risk management, customer care and upgrade competitive capacity. Although 2012 is expected to continue to be a difficult year for the life insurance industry, based on the difficulties of the Vietnamese economy in general, but there are also positive signs bringing new development in insurance market and providing new opportunities for the life insurance industry, especially Prudential: * The impact of a imited credit growth in the banking system is a positive factor to promote extensive cooperation between the banking system and insurance, also a positive signal for the strong improvement of banking and insurance products * The cost of an employer to purchase insurance for employees is calculated on pre-tax costs will set the stage for the life insurance prod ucts take a forward step to businesses. Limitations of the health insurance system with lower benefits will be an opportunity to stimulate the development of life insurance products which have many benefits about high quality health care and health insurance product lines with high value. To sum up, taking good reactions to overcome these difficulties and take advantage of the opportunities above, Prudential will conduct a successful business in 2012. APPENDIX http://www. vii. net. au/Company/BoardofDirectors. spx http://www. investor. prudential. com/phoenix. zhtml? ID=1099317&c=129695&highlight=&p=irol-newsArticle http://thuvienluanvan. com http://timluanvan. com http://www. prudential. com. vn/ Principles of microeconomics (2003 ) – Mankiw Principles of microeconomics 2ed (2001) –Mankiw Economics book 7th John Sloman – Alison Wride GROUP MEMBERS Nguyen Hoang Tuan Anh Le Xuan Chanh Duong Le Hoang Gia Nguyen Kim Khanh Vo Thanh Tung Nguyen Minh Hai

Australian Aboriginal Art Essay

Australian immemorial strat eldm, rime and dance has been the corner st wizard of subtlety since the beginning of their existence. Having no form of write expression original graphics, songs, and dances passed down finished the generations shit been the he nontextual matterbeat that has kept this past assimilation alive. Even though the stratagem, medium, song, and dance of sever eithery primordial nation whitethorn be completely different, they all service the same purposes create ceremony, and to inform apiece member of the tribe of their history, spiritual beliefs, values, and expectations for hea so norm and deportment.It is not until recently that primary dodge has stopped depicting stargaze stories and has begun to be used for other purposes, much(prenominal) as self expression and feeling release (Pizzi, 13). However as the everyday primitive ways of flavor nominate been continually interrupted and battered, the personal identicalness of native pack and their finale has deteriorated and is in great danger of dying taboo completely. For tens of thousands of years indigenes have created nontextual matter on rocks, tree bark, the ground and their bodies, with dyes, paints, seeds, plants, sand, and ochres.It is these graphics work which create a visual language expressing the legends, morals, and history specific to each primary tribe (Kreczmansk and Stanislawska-Birnberg, 3). Each flick or drawing contains symbols and colours which represent a part of a Dreaming story. broadly speaking the symbols similar to what they ar representing, but tail assembly practice to mean different things at different times, such as a spiral could represent a waterhole, campsite, breast, or fire depending on the context. ancient art is an integral forcible manifestation of their culture and cultural continuity is reflected in all forms such as painting, drawing, ceremonies, song, dance, jewellery, and head masks (Barrington, April 1 2). On page wizard of The Tjulkurra, Billy stock farmer Tjapaltjarri, Janusz B. Kreczmanski and Margo Stanislawska-Birnberg write, there is one kind of handed-down painting which has not changed for thousands of years in its form and written report matter the art of the Australian Aborigines. The Aboriginal Dreaming stories are central to culture and each spirit of the Dreaming wheel is connected, and without one of the separate the wheel the rest does not let sense. These stories dictate every aspect of life and behaviour from where you can walk to how the footing was created. These Dreaming stories are the blue prints to Aboriginal life, and it is through art, song, and dance that they survive.Each art drawing, painting, dance refers to a piece of selective information which the viewer conglomerates upon looking at it, every song steers the listeners towards proper social behaviour or indicates where in society one falls (Morphy, 30). Some rituals, drawing and painting me diums and depictions, songs, and dances are gender or age discriminate, further structuring societal responsibilities and purposes (Mayrah, April 20). These Aboriginal art forms are the vehicles that pass meaning, purpose, history, and cultural from one generation to the next.Over the years Aboriginal way of life has been completely disrupted, abused, and talk over attempts have been made to be erased. Since small town Aboriginal people have been continually displaced from their get downs, which they had lived on for over 40,000 years, and have had to visualize as their sacred sites are pare down, mined, and ruined. With this the materials used in Aboriginal art are destroyed, but more(prenominal) importantly there is a cultural dis connexion as the elders are unable to drill the new generation the ways of their people and farming.For example, when a tribe from the desert is of a sudden moved to a coast their handed-down sand art becomes impossible to create and the cere monial act of passing that experience down to new generations cannot occur. So that art form is lost forever and the family betwixt elders and the new generation breaks down. Or if a Dreaming story is base upon the lake which a tribe lives next to, and the tribe is moved away from this lake the new generations to come will not understand the story, or feel a connection with the land which was given to them by the Creation existences.By taking away the tools the Aboriginals have incessantly used to create their art and ceremonies their building block structure of culture is splintered. Tourism and the intrusions of horse opera culture on Aboriginal land have weakened and belittled the art of the Aboriginals and traditional art forms have vanished in umteen places (Edwards and Guerin, Foreword). Furthermore, as The Land My Mother, Walya NGamardiki photograph the class watched on March eighteenth explains, the Aboriginals suppose that they belong to the land, and if the land is destroyed then they too are existence destroyed.In Aboriginal culture each person and family is born and connected to a Totem, or Spirit Being, and it is that persons responsibility to protect their Totem they are persuasion to be so connected that if one was to eat their Spirit Being it would be considered cannibalism. If a persons Totem is killed then it is that persons responsibility to hunt out the mortuary rites for the being. When an Aboriginal dies they believe that their spirits go into the sites from which they came, but by destroying these sanctified sites the spirits have no where to return (Mayrah, April 20).For endemical Australianscountry is the subject of artistic representation, ritual enactment, totemism and the sympathetic charming that assists the group to ensure itself in the by-line for survival (Zimmer, 20). A disconnection between an Aboriginal person and his land is more than an unjust inconvenience it is a cultural, aroused and spiritual murder wor se than physical death. The Aboriginals currently make up exactly ii percent of the Australian population, and their art, songs, and dances have been lost to the new generations.The ceremonies, art, dance, and song that had of all time guided, moralized, and given a voice to the Aboriginal youth has been made unnecessary, unfeasible, or digressive over time. These youths are now connecting with the anger, emphasis and messages of resentment of the contemporary black American culture. Instead of singing the songs and dancing the dances of their sources many young Aboriginals are rapping and grinding. (Dean, April 8). Many Aboriginals, older and young, feel no real tribal identity or language, no connection with Dreaming, and are left confused by who they are in the middle of two conflicting cultures (Bourke, 133).Without their art, song, and dance the Aboriginal culture has no history, meaning, succeeding(a), or heartbeat. It is imperative to the future of Aboriginal tribes th at they reconnect with the wisdom and ceremony of their ancestors art, song, and dance, while continuing to gain the tools to function in todays westernized Australian culture. Bibliography Barrington, Robin. Indigenous Australian Aboriginal Art. Presentation, origin to Indigenous Australia tutorial, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley campus. April 12, 2010. Bourke, Eleanor. On Being Aboriginal. In Identifying Australia in Postmodern Times. Melbourne Bibliotech, Australian National University, 1994. Ways of Working Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Modules. Workshop, Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University of Technology, Bentley campus. April 8, 2010. Edwards, Robert and Bruce Guern. Aboriginal Bark Paintings. capital of Australia Rigby, 1970. Kreczmanski, Janusz B. , and Margo Stanislawska-Birnberg. The Tjulkurra Billy Stockman Tjapaltjarri. Marleston Jb Books, 2002. 1-7. Mayrah, Yarraga. Aboriginal Culture. Indigenous Australia Aboriginal Art, History and Culture. http//www.indigenousaustralia. info (accessed April 20, 2010). McGregor, peck and Jenny Zimmer. Bill Whiskey Tajapaltjarri. capital of Seychelles Macmillian Art Publishing, 2009. 15-23. Morphy, Howard. Ancestral Connections Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. Chicago University Of Chicago Press, 1991. Pizzi, Gabrielee. Voices of The orb Paintings, Photography, and Sculpture from Aboriginal Australia. Melbourne A common soldier collection. 7-16. The Land My Mother or Walya NGamardiki. Movie, Introduction to Indigenous Australia tutorial, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley campus. March 8th, 2010.