Maternal Stress and the Effects of Childhood Development Essay Example for Free

Maternal Stress and the Effects of Childhood Development Essay In conducting my research on developmental studies, I had the chance to review many academic journals with many different studies. I chose to read, â€Å"The Role of Prenatal Maternal Stress in Child Development,† by Janet A.DiPietro in the, Current Directions in Psychological Science journal. The title of the study itself does identify the independent and dependent variable. The independent variable is the effect of stress, and the dependent variable is the child’s development. In reading the introduction, I learned that throughout history people have thought that the emotions and experiences of a pregnant woman impinge on her developing fetus. (DiPietro, 2004) I also learned that there are no direct neural connections between the mother and fetus. (DiPietro, 2004) The journal went on to describe the physiological processes involved in mother to fetus bio-chemical and hormonal functions. The main studies used in determining theoretical explanations throughout history, have been in animal studies. According to DiPietro (2004), â€Å"the most compelling evidence between maternal physiological functioning and later development in offspring is found in animal studies.† (p. 1). The hypothesis of this study suggests that maternal stressors are more far-reaching on child behavior than previously suspected. (DiPietro, 2004). The main way that this hypothesis has been studied is by utilizing animal research. In a series of studies done with rhesus monkeys, when the mothers were exposed to loud noises throughout pregnancy, the offspring showed delayed motor development and reduced attention. (DiPietro, 2004) It does seem that most of the studies conducted on animals have reported negative consequences. Although reports of either no effects or beneficial ones make it clear that much is left to be learned about the specific characteristics of stressors that either accelerate or retard development. (DiPietro, 2004) The subjects used in the methods section were humans. Although, according to the article, this is difficult to study in the human because of the physiological differences during the pregnancies of the different species, and the fact that researchers are unable to control events that transpire after birth in humans. (DiPietro, 2004) Therefore, there are no graphs, charts or statistical measures seen in this article. There were several methods used to analyze the data in this article. One was the survey. Surveys were done with mothers who had witnessed a catastrophic even such as the World Trade Center disaster, or an earthquake. Although the study was able to show that the mother was indeed stressed during pregnancy, there was no study conducted on the outcome of the child. (DiPietro, 2004) Another method had mothers report about their stress incurred during pregnancy, and then an observer and not a parent rated the infant’s behavior. The article suggests that even the resulting information in this study may be skewed, because the studies relied on the Mother’s reports of their children’s problems. It finally became apparent through this study that the only way for the researchers to examine the effects of stressors on the fetus was to subject women to a non-invasive stressor and then measure fetal response. (DiPietro, 2004) They gave these women a standardized test called the, Stroop Color-Word Test. (DiPietro, 2004) The test caused the women to feel cognitively challenged, therefore inducing increased physiological responses in mother, but interestingly, not in the fetus. Fetal motor activity was actually suppressed, according to the study. (DiPietro, 2004) The final results of the study showed that higher maternal anxiety midway through pregnancy were strongly associated with better motor and mental development scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. (DiPietro, 2004) Interestingly, the research conducted on humans, showed that the effects on the developing child are opposite of the effects on animals. The article ends with this statement, â€Å" Too much or too little stress may impede development, but a moderate level may be formative or optimal. It seems that there is really too little research on this area of study to come to a conclusion. I found this study to be very interesting and relevant to today’s issues within society, and especially the question of nature versus nurture. It makes me think about children who are displaying such violent behaviors such as shooting their classmates and parents. It makes me ask the question of what was going on in the mother’s environment during pregnancy? Did she have an easy, stress free, supported pregnancy, or was there fighting and unrest during the pregnancy? Could factors such as these affect the child and develop into what we label as sociopathic? It would be interesting to conduct a study of pregnant women in a prison setting versus pregnant women in an ideal pregnancy situation, and to study the offspring from birth to five years old. Would the affects of the pregnant woman in prison create certain developmental issues in the children? Does it even matter? These questions and many more within the psychology realm are what make this a fascinating discipline to study. It truly is the nature of ourselves that we get to ask questions about, and find the deeper, hidden meanings. References DiPietro, J. A. (2004, April). The role of prenatal maternal stress in child development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(2), 71-74. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182913

Occupational Health and Safety Practice Program Evaluation

Occupational Health and Safety Practice Program Evaluation OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICE Plan and evaluate programs to promote occupational health and safety practice Student Name: Yi Li Assessment Task 1 Place of work or work placement Te kotuku kit e Rangi Target group for the programmes to promote occupational health and safety practice Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi, Managers and Team Leader, All staffs, Health and safety officer. Key stakeholders (role, and details of what inputs they require or can provide to the potential health and safety programme) Stakeholders What their input could be Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi Committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all employees, which include training, safety program. Team Leader and Managers Knowledge of current or best practice for different activities and tasks in the workplace. Concerns or issues relating to levels of sickness or injury in the workplace. All staffs Follow the safety procedure; participate in the safety program, training. Report if there is any potential hazard or injury in the workplace. Health and Safety officer Knowledge of existing health and safety systems and what information they contain. Demographic profiles of the target group Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff aged between 20-35 years old A report highlighting the high rate of accidents due to the affects of lack of heal and safety knowledge and working experience. Proportion of staff aged between 35-45 years old Statistics about the higher rate of stress related illness amongst older people Proportion of staff aged between 45-55 years old Statistics about the higher rate of illness amongst older people Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff gender of male A report highlighting the high rate of accidents due to the affects of lack of heal and safety knowledge and working experience. Proportion of staff gender of male Statistics about the higher rate of stress related illness amongst older people Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff Language as first language. 30 staffs are happy to use English to communicate with others by face to face communication technology. Proportion of staff Language as second language. Only 4 staffs like to use non-English language to communicate with others. Thus it should be carefully explain training details for them. Output of searches of relevant literature The relevant literature has been gathered in the research as follow: Teaching Guide Workplace Fire Safety for staff WORMALD Assessing electrical fire risks in the workplace Any relevant content from courses have attended The student cannot find any relevant courses about Fire risks in the workplace. Peer networking According to staff’s age of organization, the student chose face to face communication with the relevant staff. The researcher arranged interview with a selection of staff across the organization as a way to gather information relevant to promoting health and safety. There were five staffs participate in the interview at workplace, the relevant fire hazard questions were answered by them, such as: Examples of injury and illness that have occurred in the workplace and why? What do you think the most dangerous aspect that needs to be improved in the organization? And the students recorded all the answers as notes. Other information sources including databases, libraries, accident and/or incident reports The website: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment website Review the Health and Safety training records. Research reports containing statistics about injury or illness Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) experience rating records The website: http://www.acc.co.nz/for-business/experience-rating/index.htm ) ACC366 Implement Safer Workplace Practices Indentified impacts of other existing or proposed program The student asked the health and safety officer and team leader in the house. They approached that there was a workshop program in the organization for the staff called â€Å"How to prevent the fire in the workplace†, but not many staff participated in the program. Assessment Task 2 Indentify issues or situations that have the potential to result in injury and/or health problems Indentify issues The organization is lack of training fire extinguishers, and fire exits. The situation in Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi has just opened a new house which is based Avondale. However, the house is very old, and has potential safety issues. And also, the organization had no health and safety plan to avoid might cause lack of manpower, legal dispute, even the employer will be charged. Thus, the manager and employer should develop a health and safety plan to their residents and staffs. Clearly show that the information enables you to determine potential health promotion and injury prevention strategies. No staff training and plan on health and safety strategy. Student used gathered qualitative information by interviewed with the staff and team leader; the information showed that staffs have no relevant knowledge about fire hazard. By review the documents in the office, there is no staff training and plan on health and safety, no signs to show the fire exits, staffs do not know how to use fire extinguishers. Thus the issues or situations that have the potential to cause injury or health problems will vary by organization. No notice of hazards. After Student observation in the facility, found no fire hazards notice in the house. Such as fire extinguishers and fire exit. By review internet reports containing analysis of fire injury, makes student concerns about particular work placement that could cause injury or health problems. When the fire came, people will not know where the fire exit is, and where the extinguishers are placed. Thus they could be improved in terms of their safety. Assessment Task 3 Develop practical strategies that clearly link to the information have gathered and analyzed Develop staff training and plan on health and safety Develop notice of hazards. Re: fire extinguishers and fire exit. Develop complementary strategies that over education, the work environment and policy. Education: Develop staff training; all staff will be educated about health and safety knowledge. Policy: Develop health and safety policy, fire procedures. Everyone has their own duty if dereliction will be charged. Environment: Develop new equipment, facilities in the organization, such as disabled access. Develop notice on the board, re: no smoking, emergency exit. Develop health and safety plan, all staff must participate in the plan, re: attend to the training, work shop. Outline how you propose to market the proposed program within the workplace. Talk with health and safety officer, manager and team leader. Let them understand the current health and safety issues in the organization, and to propose a new program is necessary. Ask them to advocate and lead the staff pay attention to the health and safety program, and notice how important it is. Everyone has to follow the health and safety policy. Arrange meeting with staffs, analyses the exits health and safety issues, explain why changes is important to staffs, and what changes they need to follow in the new program. For example, they need to responsible for them in the work place by follow the health and safety policy, to reduce the risk of fire hazard and other incident. Request staff to participate in the health and safety training, educate staff and get the certificate in health and safety. For example, they must sign the attendance sheet when they come to training, and the officer has to confirm the name list, connect the person who is absent. Notice on board, to remind all employees bewared of incident and accident. Such as No smoking, emergency exit. Gain commitment from management (on behalf of management and staff), and other key stakeholders to this marketing approach The student gained the commitment from Manager and team leader in the house. The researcher fully explains the strategy to the Manger and team leader. Analyze the possible solution of exist health and safety issues. Assessment Task 4 Evaluation objectives for three areas- process, impact, and outcome Develop Ensure all incidences of hazards are recorded immediately; check if they are completed within one month. The health and safety programs will be implemented using a mix of communication and training courses within two week. Impact All staff understand the hazard risks, and able to protect themselves and clients from hazards within one week of completing the training. All staff attends to the training program, everyone know their own duty if dereliction will be charged within one week of completing the training. Outcome No same incident or accidents caused by five hazards and health and safety issues after they follow the health and safety plan, and completed the training within one month. A 25% reduction in staff absences due to communicable illnesses six months after program implementation. Evaluation objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited To achieve 100% attendance of all staff at the health and safety training being held during March and April, the session will be repeated three times to allow for staff being on at different times. Methods for evaluating the achievement of the program objectives Evaluative Methods Definitions Interview with 5 staff and Manager The manager can have interviews with staffs to evaluate their knowledge and skills. Ask them what need to be improved in the program. Questionnaire with staffs Staff does not have to indicate their names; the answer will be more real. Thus the employer can have a correct evaluation about the program. Observation The observation is researcher with a purpose and a plan under natural conditions. Is under natural conditions, purposeful, planned way subjects speech and behavior were observed, recorded to determine their psychological characteristics of psychological research methods. Analysing and interpreting statistics, including identifying trends. Looking at the numbers – for example a decrease in accidents reported across a 5 year period could be considered to be a downward trend. Assessment Task 5 Proposed resources Equipment First Aid, Alarm, Sign, Fire extinguisher A suitable room can accommodate all staffs and managers. Accident/incident report templates Attendance sheet Job description Time The time has to be available for both health and safety officer and staffs. Human Resources Cross functional employees for program development and program evaluation teams, training course facilitators Environment Standard (Policy and procedure) Officer should print it out to all trainers. Print/electronic resources Companywide email, newsletter, poster on staff room wall, produced in house, or sourced externally from government agencies. Assist all the relevant parties in evaluating the safety and wellbeing of the resident Assist all the relevant parties to review the residential care plan: Resources Required Short-term costing Medium term costing Long term costing Training Total per person Total cost per hour Nil Nil Standard (policy and procedure) Nil Nil Nil Time 3 hours for training, one month for program Nil Nil Staff 15 staffs and manager Nil Nil Equipment First Aid ( new 30d) Computer (200d) Alarm (500d) Sign (30d) Fire extinguisher (100d) New window (500d) Nil Nil

The Rebels of Dharma Bums, Takin it to the Streets and New American Po

Rebels of Dharma Bums, Takin' it to the Streets and New American Poetry      Ã‚  Ã‚   You don't need a destination to run away. All you have to know is what you are leaving behind. In the 1960's, young men and women in the United States, especially on the west coast, made a mad dash away from almost two centuries of American tradition. They ran to so many different places that it would be impossible to generalize about their aims and philosophies. What they had in common was the running itself.    America was drowning in materialism. In "A Coney Island of the Mind," Lawrence Ferlinghetti characterized the land of the free and the home of the brave as "a concrete continent spaced with bland billboards illustrating imbecile illusions of happiness" (New American Poetry, ed. Allen, p131).    John Sinclair criticized a country that needed "Eighty-seven different brands of toothpaste" and "Millions of junky automobiles" (Takin' it to the Streets, ed. Bloom, p303). After the novelty of cars and other products wore off, some Americans began to feel that the emphasis on production was changing the character of the country. Economic prosperity had gone to America's head, and in the scramble for profit idealism had been left behind. Kafka is quoted by Richard Brautigan in his novel Trout Fishing in America as having said that "I like the Americans because they are healthy and optimistic." (Takin' it to the Streets, p280) The new generation of Americans, however, was nowhere near optimistic about the future of their country. They saw the land of the free and the home of the brave degenerating into a production line of television sets and plastic gizmos.    The loss of individuality was what many feared. In ... ...ad all the enthusiasm and all the rebelliousness. They were the ones who, according to Ginsberg, "howled on their knees in the subway and were dragged off the roof waving genitals and manuscripts" (p185). However, all their manuscripts said different things. Mainstream America had two hundred years of tradition behind them, and in addition to that they had force of habit and a leader in the form of the United States government. The new generation had only their conviction that a change must take place. But their passion and their flamboyance made people listen up.    Works Cited Allen, Donald, ed. The New American Poetry. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. Bloom, Alexander and Breines, Wini. Takin' it to the Streets. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995. Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1986.

Marketing :: essays research papers

Hewlett-Packard/Compaq Merger   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 2002, the (HP/Compaq) merger announcement was made by Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Compaq head Michael D. Capellas. If in fact the merger goes through, it would be the largest merger in the computer industry history. Some may ask why this merger was so important to these companies. The truth of the matter is that both of these companies feel that this merger will benefit their company not only at the present time but in the future also. Along with a huge merger like this one, there are some pros and cons that affiliate with a huge merger like this one. According to a reference article these are some of the reasons why some may support the merger and some reasons why some may oppose the merger: Why to support the merger: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new HP will become the market leader in servers, storage, management software, printing and imaging, and PCs, improving our ability to offer the end-to-end solutions customers demand. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We will double our profitable and growing services business, enhance our R&D efforts, and extend our customer reach in 160 countries. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We will achieve annual cost savings of $2.5 billion, adding $5 to $9 in present value to each HP share; and increase earnings per share by 13% during the first year following the merger. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By improving profitability in enterprise computing systems, in PCs and access devices, and in IT services, we will have the financial strength to extend our successful imaging and printing franchise into new multi-billion dollar categories like digital imaging and digital publishing. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The closer you look, the more you will see that the merger of HP and Compaq is the single best way to strengthen our businesses and improve our market position, deliver more of what our customers need, enhance opportunities for our employees, and increase the value of your investment. Why to oppose the merger: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acquiring market share does not translate to leadership, i.e., demonstrated better business model, technology innovation or success at winning business from competitors. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Admission of no new significant technology/capabilities added to HP's portfolio. Significant overlap creates cost synergies which are offset by revenue losses from rationalized products and services †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Large stock transactions statistically more risky. Upon announcement of the proposed merger, Moody's downgraded HP's debt rating and put it on negative watch, S&P has also put HP on negative outlook †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bigger, but in an unattractive business, commodity computing. Hardware as diminishing economies of scale and HP and Compaq already has significant scale.

gullivers travel :: essays research papers

I want to outline in this essay some of the ways in which Swift's texts - in particular the shorter prose works and the poetry concerned with the female body - take up and make explicit contradictory philosophical positions. Much time and critical effort has been spent attempting to trace some unifying philosophical thread through the maze created by these and other of Swift's writings, when such a thread may be elusive to the point of vanishing altogether.1 It seems possible that one cause of this critical need to establish consistency in Swift is the influence of Postmodernist thought, which tends to cause a conditioned response to eighteenth century literary works in which the instinctive move is to look for that which totalizes, compartmentalizes, reveals a master narrative or supplies a clearly defined linear teleology. If, however, this kind of pre-imagined consistency proves unavailable, the critic is left with the notion of a multi-vocal, polychromatic Swift which should not , perhaps, be so surprising as there seems nothing alien to the intellectual trends of early-eighteenth century England in Swift's assumption of positions that appear radically opposed to one another. Periods of transition necessarily involve the existence of contradictory positions in constellation often within the work of a single writer or thinker. Even Sir Isaac Newton, the greatest of all icons of Enlightenment rationality, can be represented in such a way: "Newton was a Janus figure, emblematic of the new, rationalist, scientific and secular future, yet also using his mathematical skills for abstruse astrological and biblical calculations." (Corfield, 11). Clearly any attempt to attribute a definitive philosophical position to Swift is fraught with difficulty.2 Not only must the reader attempt to penetrate multiple levels of irony at a micro-level, but at a macro-level the fact that Swift was an Anglican clergyman complicates any philosophical interpretation. The origins of the debates on this issue are contemporaneous with the publication of the texts themselves (William Wotton's observations, for example), and criticism up to the end of the nineteenth century continued, predominately, to insist on an irreligious Swift an approach that survived into the twentieth century: "no defence of Swift's fundamental religious orthodoxy can stand the test of such writings. He is a sceptical humanist who again and again tilts at Christian belief". (Wilson Knight, on "The Tale of a Tub",124). This strain of criticism has been long overtaken, however, by

Declining Birthrate Singapore

After Independence in 1965, the population of the country was growing at a rate that would seriously threaten the success of Singapore. The Government introduced the â€Å"Stop at two† policy to help control the rapid population growth. It was introduced in 1969. The policy had a very successful response; in fact, it was so successful that the population started to decline. Couples saw the benefits in having a smaller family, such as more money, higher quality of life and cars. The population increase stayed low. Women started to pursue careers before having children.With a rise in University graduated women failing to marry and bear children, the policy â€Å"three or more, if you can afford it† was introduced because the Singaporean government saw this as a social problem. It was introduced in 1986. The policy has been described as ‘population rejuvenation'. Its goal was to address the ageing of Singapore, which was threatening the country's quality of life. It was quite effective at first but despite the government's slew of measures including longer maternity leave and cash incentives, the Total Fertility Rate plummeted from 1. 6 in 2000 to 1. 3 last year. This is a far cry from the 2. 1 needed for the population to replace itself. Families are having less children due to the following reasons: High cost of living, insecurity of jobs, high cost and burden of educating the child, no fun for children to take the pressure of childhood. Low birth rates means that the government will continue to be more liberal in allowing foreigners to come here as PRs or citizens. And, unlike the times of our forefathers, Singapore today is unlikely to allow the naturalization the peasant, the construction worker or the cleaning lady.The Singapore government wants talents, or in the absence of talent, rich people. The natural result is that native Singaporeans get squeezed in the job markets and the housing markets. Young Singaporeans like myself are now sq ueezed particularly hard in the housing markets because these PRs or new citizens come in either not knowing the local real estate market or having too much cash to burn, start offering high prices for property, driving property prices upwards. As for the employment landscape, that doesn’t need much explaining; it’s a demand and supply problem.I think that the Government should promote more of the benefits of having children – joy and laughters of the children through different media (T. V. , radio, internet etc. ). The more the Government emphasises on the family life and support the birth rate, it will help to increase the birth rate. There should be more television shows about families. The mindset of parents is important. When we think of raising children is very expensive, it will not encourage us to have children. The joy of having children cannot be measured by the cost or spending on the children.We need to see beyond the money cost of having children as children are the bundle of joy and gift from God. Companies should not be bias on employing pregnant women and the government should change the policy again to state that as long as a woman is pregnant, the company that terminal her should pay up the four months maternity leave instead of the current one that states it’s only liable if it’s 6 months form due dates. A declining fertility rate also affects the social structure of a nation. As less and less people are having families, social networks are affected and support within the family unit changes.Where previously children may have provided a support network for their parents, in many cases, older, childless Singaporeans may turn to the government to assist in providing this network. With an increase in the number of one to two person households with steady income which is often relatively high, standards of living increase for these households, where standards for families with dependants may struggle to keep up . This will then lead to even further decreases in birth rates as couples postpone having a family based on their financial circumstances. It’s not just the jobs and ever rising property prices.Later on, the kids of native Singaporeans are going to face fiercer competition for good Singaporean schools. Parents will have to end up forking more money for tuition classes and other enrichment classes to improve the odds of their kids getting into a good school. The PRs and new citizens will probably do the same thing too, so the only winners will be tuition teachers. Encourage companies to let women work from home. A change of mindset from the work force is very much needed for families to want to have more children. More children equals more money needed, especially in the country like Singapore.Stay home mom wants to stay home to take good care of kids and they also want to stay economically. Nobody is going to take care of the kids, nurture them, giving them a good solid found ation if all moms go out to work. Right now parents get the following: A cash gift of $3,000 each for 1st and 2nd child, a cash gift of $6,000 each for 3rd and 4th child, 2nd to 4th children will also enjoy government contributions in the form of a dollar-for-dollar matching for the amount of savings you contribute to your child’s Children Development Account (CDA).This is a special savings account that you open at any POSB branch. You can save in the CDA any time until the day before the child’s 6th birthday. The savings will be matched up to the cap of $6,000 for the 2nd child and $12,000 each for the 3rd and 4th child. Another significant effect of a declining birth rate is a reduced workforce which can equal decreased productivity for a nation. A decrease in the size of the workforce will reduce the capacity of the economy to maintain rates of output growth which in turn puts pressure on the existing workforce to increase productivity and performance.A smaller work force also means a smaller tax base which in turn can place further pressure on the social security system; less people of working age means less revenue collected by the government in taxes to support a proportionately large aged population. Each of these effects – a negative workplace dependency ratio and a reduced workforce – points to the growth of the aged population. A falling fertility rate accompanied by increasing longevity and a low aged mortality means that the proportion of older groups in society is growing.This is a widely publicised issue in most developed countries and can have significant impact on the economy and social support systems. As the aged population increases, so too does the need for increased spending on areas such as aged care, health and income support, especially in societies where the working age population is not encouraged to prepare or save for their retirement. This can prove to be a significant drain on resources and the general e conomy. As the population aged 65 and over increases in size, associated social expenditures on income support, care and health services can be expected to increase. months maternity leave for mum, 3 days of paternity leave on the birth of your first four children. 5 days of unrecorded childcare leave, must be substantiated by the child's MC. Maid levy reduction of $95 if you have kids under 12. And since the birth rates are falling so drastically, the government should redouble their efforts by doubling everything that they are doing right now. We could follow the Swede way to generate children. First, all parents get 13 months of leave, and continue to receive 80 per cent of their pay – with the cost borne by both the state and employers.On top of this, they can opt for another three months, though they will get just $40 a day during this time. Second, they get tiered child allowances – from 105 euros (S$225) a month for the first child, to 190 euros for the fourth c hild. Thirdly, childcare is â€Å"very affordable†, capped at $30 a month. In contrast, childcare costs here average $670 a month. In fact more childcare centres should be built around office areas so mothers or fathers can look after them more easily instead of hiring a maid which will make them more dependent on maids and miss out family bonding with their children.Free (or even more greatly subsidised) post-secondary education for the third and fourth children; Free (or even more greatly subsidised) medical care for the third and fourth children, up to a certain age or ceiling. Nominal or token pension for parents (or for at least the one parent who has given up his or her job to care for children full time) with more than two children upon statutory retirement age; and more significant tax reliefs for working couples who have, in addition to more than two children, aged parents.The Baby Bonus was definitely a step in the right direction, as evinced by a slight increase in birth rates in recent years. Putting additional measures such as these suggestions in place will go even further towards alleviating some of the pressures and insecurities couples face in deciding whether to have more children. The government should sponsor another matchmaking effort through a Social Development Unit, like a few years back. The aim, to ‘romance Singapore'. It had a month-long festival in the Valentine’s period was introduced to try to bring people together.Other measures included rock climbing for couples, a love boat river race, and a vertical marathon called ‘lovers’ challenge' etc. New laws should be enacted to prevent employers from dismissing women because of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth. This should help push up the birth rate, as more women are going to be able to marry, have children and keep earning money. A good way to get Singaporeans to produce more babies is to improve gender equality, and how can we support more active f athering?The â€Å"Dads for Life† national campaign is a commendable initiative of the National Family Council and a step in the right direction. Traditional gender roles not only deprive men of the opportunity to play an active role in their children’s lives but create an imbalanced environment where women are discouraged from having more kids. I am quite sure that these measures if implemented can improve our situation on the declining birthrates. Monetary incentives, tax incentives, more maternity leave, paternity leave, and the other solutions.

Project Appraisal

Subject Code: PPA1C Paper: PROJECT APPRAISAL Specific Instructions: ?Answer all the four questions. ?Marks allotted 100. Each Question carries equal marks. ?Word limit is 200 – 300words General Instructions: ?The Student should submit this assignment in the handwritten form (not in the typed format) ? The Student should submit this assignment within the time specified by the exam dept ? Each Question mentioned in this assignment should be answered within the word limit specified ? The student should only use the Rule sheet papers for answering the questions. The student should attach this assignment paper with the answered papers. ?Failure to comply with the above Five instructions would lead to rejection of assignment. _____________________________________________________ Question No 1 A choice is to be made between two competing projects which requires an equal investment of Rs 50,000 and are expected to generate net cash flow as under: Project 1Project 2 End of year 1Rs. 50 ,000Rs. 20,000 End of year 2Rs. 30,000Rs. 24,000 End of year 3Rs. 20,000Rs. 36,000 End of year 4NilRs. 50,000 End of year 5Rs. 24,000Rs. 16,000 End of year 6Rs. 12,000Rs. 8,000 The cost of capital of the company is 10% . The following are the Present Value Factors @ 10% per annum: YearP. V . Factors @10% p. a 10. 909 20. 826 30. 751 40. 683 50. 621 60. 564 Which project proposal should be chosen and why? Evaluate the project proposals as under: †¢Discounted Cash Flow. †¢Pay back period methods, pointing out their relative merits and demerits. †¢Under what circumstances is the pay back period method and the NPV Method used for evaluating projects. Question No 2 (A)What is the rationale for NPV Method? Discuss the feature of NPV Method? (B) Teja international is determining the cash flow for a project involving replacement of an old machine by a new machine. The old machine bought a few years ago has a book value of Rs 800,000 and it can be sold to realize a post tax salvage value of rs 900000. It has a remaining life of 5 years after which its net salvage value is expected to be Rs 200,000. it is being depreciated annually at a rate of 25% under the WDV method . The incremental working capital associated with this machine is 500,000. The new machine cost rupees 300,000 . It is expected to fetch a net salvage value of Rs 1. 500,000 after five years . The depreciation rate applicable to it is 25% under the WDV method . The new machine is expected to bring a saving of Rs 650,000 annually in manufacturing costs(other than depreciation ). The tax rate applicable to the firm is 30% : a)Estimate the cash flow associated with the replacement project. b)What is the NPV of the replacement project if the cost of capital is 14%. Question No 3 a)The management of Parmila Ltd. is considering an investment project costing Rs. ,50,000 and it will have a scrap value of Rs. 10,000 at the end of its 5 years life. Transportation charges and installation charges are expected to be Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 25,000 respectively. If the project is accepted, a spare part inventory of Rs. 10,000 must also be maintained. It is estimated that the spare parts will have an estimated scrap value of 60% of their initial cost after 5 years. Annual revenue from the project is expected to be Rs. 1,70,000; and annual labour, material and maintenance expenses are estimated to be Rs. 15,000, Rs. 0,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively. The depreciation and taxes for five years will be — YearDepreciationTax (Rs. )(Rs. ) 1 2 3 4 572,000 43,200 32,400 21,600 80011,200 22,720 27,040 31,360 39,680 Calculate the net cash flows for each year and cost of the project. Evaluate the project at 12% rate of interest. b)How gestation period of an on-going project affects Project financing decisions? Question No 4(A) The data concerning a site development project at the end of the 10th week of Implementation is given below: ActivityProgress (%) t the end of 10th weekBudgeted Cost at Completion (BAC)Actual Cost of work performed (ACWP) PlannedActual(Rs. Lakhs)(Rs. Lakhs) A B C D E F G H I J K L100 50 100 100 50 100 70 — — 100 200 2090 40 80 100 20 80 60 — 10 90 90 —5 35 5 10 20 10 15 5 10 15 10 207 15 5 10 5 10 9 — 1 13 9 — Total16084 The Project is scheduled to be completed at the end of the 20th week. Calculate the costs forecast at completion, assuming that the remaining work shall progress . Question No 4 (B): a)S Limited has Rs. 10, 00,000 allocated for capital budgeting purposes. The following proposals and associated Profitability Index have been determined. ProjectAmount (Rs. )Profitability Index 1 2 3 4 5 6300,000 150,000 350,000 450,000 200,000 400,0001. 22 0. 95 1. 20 1. 18 1. 20 1. 05 Which of the above investment should be undertaken? Assume that the Projects are indivisible and there is no alternative use of the money allotted for capital budgeting. b)Project Cost Estimation is a vital factor for starting the business. As a Financial Analyst, you are required to prepare the steps for cost estimation