Assessing Risk perception and Insurane Knowledge in Accra, Ghana Literature review

Assessing Risk perception and Insurane Knowledge in Accra, Ghana - Literature review Example Conventional policies have been used even though they are not necessary because the crisis in the Ghanaian insurance industry is not as acute as in some African countries. This has made a majority of the people in this city to participate in large scale asset purchasing and other business ventures with the aim of achieving stabilization in their lives and creation of employment (Buatsi, 2002). It has encouraged these individuals to turn towards the acquisition of insurance policies because of the risks involved in the diverse number of businesses that they are involved in despite the fact that the government policies that have been employed have created significant amounts of uncertainty with regards to their effectiveness hence proving the fact that its policies are not farsighted (Chalfin, 2008). One important channel that has come to affect the insurance policies is the currency value and much evidence shows that the depreciation of the currency value over the history of the count ry has tended to discourage individuals from subscribing for different insurance policies. The insurance policies in Ghana have been made in a manner that is relatively predictable and in asystematic way, the methods of advertising to the public by insurance companies has provided the latter with the necessary knowledge to know what type of policies to select for themselves. The key factors in these policies were aimed at being short term interest rates, and exchange rates together with monetary aggregates that could undergo adjustments in a free manner. One reason why many individuals choose to take insurance policies in this city is not necessarily to secure themselves against any potential losses but as a form of investment where they tend to put their spare money into what they consider to be worthwhile investments (Anim-Odame, 2012). Market expectations may also be considered to be a reason why individuals choose to purchase insurance policies because they believe that if anyth ing happens to the property which they have insured, then they will be able to recover it in a short time span from the insurance company. When normal rigidities in the insurance sector occur, changes in normal returns have an effect on the number of people who are interested in insuring themselves and this has over time been reflected in the economic decisions that were real which included investments and consumptions, as individuals opt to undertake lesser risks rather than purchase insurance policies. This has been observed to have an effect on the insurance sector as insurance companies compete to ensure that they attract a larger clientele than their rivals through the offering of insurance packages which are likely to encourage unlikely insurance policy purchasers to do so. While this has been the case in Accra, one of the biggest effects in the market was the global financial crisis which in the past few years has come to challenge the insurance industry of Ghana in three dif ferent ways. These have come to include financial disruptions that are wide spread, broke arbitrage conditions which hinders policy transmission on the yield curve; there is the presence of heightened vulnerability that leads to freezing of the markets, this is because there is the presence of self-fulfilling equillibria that is badly coordinated, and lastly there is severe recession that pushes the

Effects On Prisons On Inmates Essay Example for Free

Effects On Prisons On Inmates Essay In the premodern times, societies used to mutilate bodies and cut off the heads of their culprits as a way of punishing the wrongdoers. However through a series of imperceptible measures of reform and development, punishment became less physical and less directed to the body of the offenders as people became more civilized and the prisons replaced the gallows. They stopped locking up the insane in asylums and began forms of treatment in institutions which had features of both hospitals and prisons, (Alan Gary 4). In most parts of the world, it is taken that a person convicted of serious crime should be sent to prison. Countries like the U.S, where capital punishment has not yet been abolished, a small but significant number of people are sentenced to death for what is especially considered as grave crimes, (Angela 3). The condition of prisons in the past was a nightmare to both the country as well as the society as they were damp, dark, and noisy. Prison wardens were brutal, poor diet and miserable portions of food were given to prisoners who were usually dressed in rags and suffered from many diseases which were not treated in time resulting to poor heath of the inmates. All these inhuman acts were however viewed by the wardens as a way of punishment to prisoners and therefore the prisons lacked a sense of reformation and charity as brutal acts were directed to inmates. According to (Thomas 602), Inmates who entered prison capable of moral improvement went back in to the society as impure, hardened and irreclaimable persons as there was no separation of sexes, classification of age and character therefore the convicted felon corrupted the untried and innocent prisoners. The unfortunate According to (Douglas Eric 2004), military officers in Iraq used dogs to intimidate prisoners. This was one of the several tactics they adopted even without approval from their seniors. They set strict limits on Red Cross access to prisoners and delayed them and accused them of, unannounced visit to the cellblock where the worst abuses occurred. There were also unreported incidents in which Iraq prisoners died after being questioned by American interrogators. Initially, imprisonment was based on punishing wrongdoers by inflicting suffering of the body. However, today’s imprisonment is not only an acute form of corporal punishment, but as a way of working on a persons mind and body through three areas which include: punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation. Prisons are intended to allow the society remove criminals from them place them into an institution for reformation, persuade them to avoid activities which are not beneficial, and in time become productive and law abiding citizens. However this well thought plan is not put in place due to the bad experiences in prisons hence the initial meaning of prisons is not realized by the society.   The main objectives and responsibilities of prisons are to safeguard inmates and maintain and improve welfare of everyone in it. Safe guarding involves keeping inmates locked away and controlled while having moments of recreation, education and counseling. However, it should be realized that psychological freedom depends on relations with others and that it is what the prisoners experience in this world, attain satisfaction and avoid its detrimental effects and not the education or counseling that decide how, if ever, they will emerge hence life imprisonment of an inmate does not add to his becoming upright. It should therefore be remembered that offenders are drawn from societies where possessions are related to personal worth unlike in prison where they are reduced to a level of bare possessions. Lockups, isolation, condemnation and rejection dehumanize prisoners resulting to psychological discomforts to prisoners. A Prisons aim is to cure and straighten the bad behaviors of criminals, however their record has not been encouraging and instead they are found to do more harm than good as the pains of jail confinement affect all prisoners in different negative ways most of which destroy a person instead of reforming his or her past bad behavior. The need to quickly adapt to prison life and withstand prison shock, exposure to a new culture and maintain outside links like keeping in contact with family and friends becomes frustrating to prisoners. The prisoners must therefore determine their way of passing time which affects the great deal and this end up affecting them psychologically. (Tosh 43). All these question the practice of life imprisonment of people since instead of reforming them they end up becoming worse both in their behaviors and their psychological status. Prisons therefore should be opposed to the idea of locking up people for the rest of their lives to avoid more harm than good to them. (Alison 14-19), came up with several negative effects on prisoners as a result of imprisonment which therefore opposes the idea of life imprisonment. First is that imprisonment can be detrimental both to physical and mental health of prisoners particularly with regard to long term and aged prisoners. Though many prisoners receive medical treatment in prison that would be unavailable to them outside, the health risk of imprisonment are high, uneven and specific to the condition of confinement. For instance, Scottish prisons have reported increased risk of HIV and hepatitis B and C transmission due to random sharing of injection equipment, tattooing and unprotected sexual intercourse. One study estimates showed that 36% prisoners had injected themselves intravenously and 12% had anal intercourse at least once while in prison. Post- traumatic stress is second where its psychological effects apply to certain group of prisoners who have shown symptoms of PTSD in medico-legal assessments. Such symptoms can have debilitating effect and are associated with difficulties in restoring and maintaining relationships. High level of anxiety, disturbed sleep, chronic depression, withdrawal and persistent feeling of being different from others and from previous self are described by clinicians working with former prisoners. There may also be physical symptoms like increased arousal, outbursts of anger, difficulties in concentration and hyper vigilance which are associated with increased alcohol and drug abuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Davis 322) in the third effect argued that inmates’ family and dependants suffer most. Despite considerable progress in understanding immediate and long term effects of separation trauma upon children, the impact of imprisonment upon the children of prisoners includes increased behavior disturbance and later delinquency, depression and feeling of low self esteem, behavioral disturbance and deterioration in school performance. Imprisonment and distance from crime is another effect which results to informal social control which suggests that social bonds like employment and marriage may inhibit offending. The imprisonment reduces opportunities to achieve relational and economic stability and therefore increase re-offending. Imprisonment also weakens the bonds and makes them difficult to re-establish hence suffering a significant source of legitimate or law abiding behavior and therefore imprisonment becomes part of the cycle of delinquency and crime. Another effect is on imprisonment and prison staff. Power especially overuse has dehumanizing effect as the culture of masculinity characteristic of prison staff bring a range of emotions and new emotion management techniques. Some of these techniques can lead to hardening, distancing and distrust. The process of adaptation could lead to enduring changes in their character and family life to preparedness to respond to danger. Imprisonments also result to some prisoners using sexual assaults and rape to make them feel powerful. Many of them use this assault to make them feel powerful than others and also express their manhood. The victims as a result are affected psychologically by being stressed, having nightmares and resulting to criminal activities and some forms of self destructive behaviour. The main solution to all these problems is to avoid inmate staying for a very long time in prisons since they tend to be harder than before and that certainly does not cure inmates rather it makes them more aggressive. Others is by ensuring good living and health conditions for the inmates, counsel them on how to handle people and relationships within and outside the prisons especially their families, provide good counseling facilities on the negative effects of using sex as a tool to feel good and demoralize other inmates. In conclusion prisons and punishments that are given to the prisoners do not necessarily bring a positive change of behaviour.In most cases they end up destroying the person as he or she becomes immune to the situations, therefore putting a person in prison for the rest of his/her life does not ensure behavior change and should therefore opposed. WORK CITED Angela Yvonne Davis Are prisoners obsolete? Seven stories press ISBN 1583225811, 2003 Alan Hunt and Gary Wickman Sociological jurisprudence Pluto press ISBN 0745308422, 1994   Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt New York times 21st May 2004 Joanne Mariner and Michael Bochenek punishment before trial Human rights watch org ISBN 1564322017, 1997 Tosh John The pains of imprisonment sage publications California 1982

The Failure of Software Copyright Law Essay -- Technology Computers Pa

The Failure of Software Copyright Law A Definition With the Copyright Act of 1980, the following was added to the existing copyright laws: A "computer program" is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.1 A "program" or "software" instructs the "hardware," the computer, in its task of adding, storing, exchanging data, etc.2 At the base level, a program is simply a mathematical algorithm, a stream of on/off states, which the hardware uses. Copyright and patent law has generally excluded mathematical algorithms from legal protection due to the social benefits of their widespread dissemination.3 Software, however, is primarily protected by copyright law under the premise that an author is entitled to the financial incentive. The debate is this: "Is there a way to protect innovators without strangling further innovation?"4 The Harms of Protection Early makers of computers handed out free accompanying software particular to their machines.5 Their thought was that this would encourage the purchase of their hardware. Soon, however, software producers began to copyright their products and the result was that each computer-maker had incompatible software.6 A company with sufficient lead-time ... ... 58 West's 3d, 10.4. 59 West's Feb. '90, 308. 60 ibid., 422. 61 Menell, 1084. 62 Menell, 1088. 63 Menell, 1087. 64 Menell, 1082. 65 Menell, 1088. 66 Weigner, 137. 67 Menell, 1078. 68 Barinaga, Marcia, "Computer microcode instructions judged within copyright," Nature 16 February 1989: 591. 69 Business Week, 122. 70 Menell, 1060. 71 Hammonds, 86.

What Are the Risks of an Extended Supply Chain?

What are the risks of an extended supply chain? In order to remain competitive, a company must offer superior quality goods or services at the lowest prices possible. Supply chain enables a company to reduce the cost while increasing the efficiency. However, there are risks that are associated with such benefits. These issues should be properly addressed when a company is trying to rely heavily on supply chain management in order to stay competitive within its industry. A company is exposed to risk by sharing confidential information to its vendors.For example, Apple recently reported that arts and specs for both the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini leaked out well before their release dates. Apple accused its vendors for information leak. â€Å"Apple’s security practices are targeted marking sure US employees don’t leak stuff, but everything comes out from China now. † A company is held accountable for its vendors being socially responsible. This includes making sure that vendors do not employ minors. For example, Nestle’s cocoa supplier, Ivory Coast, failed to pass the Fair Labor Association’s inspection because it employed children to process cocoa.Nestle’s held accountable for Ivory Coast’s violation of FLA, it will seriously damage the company’s image as well as its profits. While a proper supply chain management produces cost effective products, there is a setback as it is difficult to quality control products that a vendor produces from oversea. For example, in 2007, Toys R Us vendor Mattel produced 83 products containing lead based paint, which is hazardous to health. Consequently, Toys R Us had to recall 967,000 affected toys from reaching consumers. A natural disaster or political instability of a vendor’s country could affect a company’s operation.For example, Dallas-based Texas Instruments said late Monday that it had suffered substantial damage to its production plant in Miho, Japan an d slight damage to its Aizu-wakamatsu plant. Both facilities are located north of Tokyo in the areas most affected by the disaster. The company makes silicon wafers at its Miho plant, which are the thin pieces of silicon glass used to manufacture microchips. In conclusion, for those companies that rely heavily on extended supply chain management to remain lucrative should consider the following strategies to avoid the risks mentioned above.First, a company should have more flexibility. Flexibility, in this context, means that a company should incorporate a vendor-auditing program to make sure that it is meeting your standard. Second, a company should only share non-confidential information to its vendors to prevent them from compromising vital information. Lastly, a company should have multiple vendors to run a project in case one vendor fails to complete the project on timely manner. These are the key preventive strategy to avoid or mitigate the risks of a supply chain management.

At universities and colleges Essay

In today’s society, a large number of the students in universities and colleges have less physical exercise than ever before and hardly go out of the campus to have some social activities. Many people argue that students pay more attention to the study than their health which may because they[SQQ1] do not get enough financial support. As to this problem, I hold the opinion that sports and social activities are just the same significant as classes and libraries and receiving equal financial support can have many benefits though it still has some shortages[SQQ2]. In what follows, I will illustrate my point of view. First of all, today’s students need to face more challenges which means they specially should have a better body[SQQ3] to fight for their future. Enough sports and social activities can help them become healthy not only physically but also mentally. As we can see, some of the students in universities choose to end their own lives because of their pressure on scores or other things and we can easily find most of these students hardly do exercise and even never go out to do social activities such as volunteer work. If this part of the students can regard sports and social activities quite important, they may have a healthier psychology and may not end their own life[SQQ4]. Secondly, if the universities can give sports and activities equal financial support as classes and libraries and build up enough gyms and exercise areas, it can be more convenient for students to keep fit. Because of the schools’ support, the students do not need to go out of the school to do social activities and they can find more chances in school campus like joining the school’s Red Cross to visit the local welfare center for children. Also, the increasing sports place can even bring students the convenience to do any sports any time they like. However, it can still have several disadvantages. For example, the schools  may have less money than before to support students’ study which means the school may invite less famous professors from all over the world to make speech for students. In conclusion, I hold the view that sports and social activities should be regarded as important as classes and libraries and should also get the same large amount of financial support which can help the students have a healthy body physically and mentally. These two facto

More Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology

More Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology More Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology More Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology By Mark Nichol This post lists words derived from words in other languages as a result of folk etymology, a process by which speakers adopt the foreign terms after revising them by using existing elements from their native language. acorn: This word is descended from the Old English term aecerne, meaning â€Å"tree nut† but originally referring in various forms in Germanic languages to the trunk of a tree; by folk etymology, the current spelling derived from a false association with ac (â€Å"oak†) and corn (â€Å"grain†). (The word is, however, related to acre.) ketchup/catsup: Ketchup, which stems from various spellings of a Malay word probably based on the Chinese term koechiap, meaning â€Å"brine of fish,† originally referred to a fish sauce but now generally pertains to the tomato-based condiment; the word became a catch-all term for a variety of sauces and gravies, of which the most predominant in the United States, by the early nineteenth century, was tomato based. The variant catchup was eventually altered, perhaps from the influence of sup, to catsup, but ketchup predominates. chestnut: The name of a type of tree, the wood harvested from it, and the edible nut it produces stems from the Latin term castanea (probably itself borrowed from a language of Asia Minor) by way of Old French and Middle English. By the early 1500s, it was (redundantly) called a chesten nut; that word developed into the current form. couch grass: This term for various types of grass has nothing to do with furniture. The word couch, and variants quack, quitch, twitch, and witch, are all corruptions of the Old English word cwice, meaning â€Å"alive† and also the forebear of quick, meaning â€Å"alive† in addition to its primary sense of â€Å"fast† (as in the phrase â€Å"the quick and the dead,† which alludes to contrasting states of being). dogwood: The first element of these names for various trees and shrubs and wood produced by dogwood trees, and the berries they produce, has nothing to do with canines; dogwood is a corruption of dagwood, with the same first element as dagger. (The very hard wood of the tree was used for making arrows and skewers.) gin: Gin, the name for a liquor flavored with juniper berries, is a truncation of genever, related to the Old French term genià ©vre and the Dutch word jenever, all of which derive from the Latin word juniperus. gingerbread: The name of the molasses- and ginger-based confection has nothing to do with bread; the term derives from the Old French word gingembrat, a variation of gimgembre, meaning â€Å"ginger.† Gingembrat, and its Middle English derivation gingebred, referred originally to a ginger paste used both in cooking and medicine. gooseberry: This shrub and its berry have no association with waterfowl; the first element may be a corruption of the Old French term grosele or the German word Krausebeere. jerky: The name of the dried meat is from the word ch’arki, from Quechua, the language of the Incas, by way of the American Spanish term charqui, meaning â€Å"jerked meat.† (Jerked means â€Å"sun-dried.†) Jerusalem artichoke: The name of this sunflower and its edible tubers has no association with the Middle Eastern city; the first word is a corruption of the Italian term girasole (â€Å"sunflower†). (The second element of that word, which was adopted directly into English, is from the Latin word sol, meaning â€Å"sun.†) rosemary: The name of this herb has nothing to do with the rose or the name Mary; it is a corruption of rosmarine, from the Latin term rosmarinus, meaning â€Å"dew of the sea,† alluding to the flourishing of the plant near coasts. (Marinus, from which marine is derived, means â€Å"from the sea.†) sandalwood: Various types of wood have been used to make sandals, but sandalwood is not one of them. Sandal, in this word, derives from the Sanskrit term Ä andana-m, which may have alluded to its use for burning incense. (That Sanskrit word, which passed through Greek, Latin, Old French, and Middle English in various forms, may be related to the Latin word candere, meaning â€Å"glow† or â€Å"shine,† from which candle is descended.) shamrock: There’s no connection between the clover and the notion of a fake stone; shamrock is merely the Anglicized spelling of the Irish word seamrog. spare rib: This term for a cut of pork ribs alludes to its scarcity of fat, but the source is the Middle Low German word ribbesper; sper meant â€Å"spear† or â€Å"spit† and referred to the method of roasting the meat on a spit. (Spear, spar, and spire are all related.) (This post is a sequel to a previous post.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help†Abstract Nouns from Adjectives50 Tips on How to Write Good

20 Biology Essay Topics What to Discuss about Alfred Russel Wallace vs Charles Darwin

20 Biology Essay Topics What to Discuss about Alfred Russel Wallace vs Charles Darwin If you are tasked with writing a controversial essay on the topic of Alfred Russell Wallace versus Charles Darwin, it is important that you pick a controversial topic about which you can substantiate an argumentative paper. If you are having any difficulties finding the perfect topic, look over the list of 20 topics below: Apply Wallace’s Idea in an Animal Species of Your Choosing That Variation in Animal Species Is Indicative of the Necessary Changes The Impact of Darwin’s Work on His Colleagues How Publishing Books Compares to Publishing Articles in Academic Journals (is Darwin better known around the world then and today because he published multiple books widely available to the masses, or would he have been less famous if he followed in the footsteps of Wallace and published only academic journal articles for those within his field?) How Darwin Influenced His Field Compared to How Wallace’s Impact What Impact Can the Length of Time Have on Biological Studies? (comparing the notes by Wallace and Darwin from Brazil, and the amount of time each spent there) â€Å"The Descent of Man† and the Impact It Continues to Have Today The Formal Education: Wallace vs Darwin Did Darwin Steal Wallace’s Theory of Natural Selection? â€Å"The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals† and the Impact It Had at the Time of Its Publication The Comparison of Two Different Adaptations Made by Two Species Living in Different Ecosystems (e.g. the development of improved hearing and the loss of eyesight for lizards that dwell in pitch black caves in South America compared to now-land-based species which have grown larger eyeballs since emerging from their prehistoric ocean-based counterpart) How Important Is Formal Education? (Wallace didn’t get formal education) Why Both Wallace and Darwin Discovered the Theory of Natural Selection Independently but Only One is Referred to Today How Wallace’s Concept That Each Part of an Animal’s Organization Can Be Modified as Necessary to an Exact Specification to Prevent Extinction Can be Applied to People Living in Space The Events Which Caused Wallace to Go from Being the Most Famous Biologist around the World at the Time of His Death, to be Overshadowed After Why â€Å"Darwin Theory of Evolution† Today Changed from Its Original â€Å"The Darwin-Wallace Theory of Evolution† The Theory of Evolution and What Evidence Is Presented to Support It â€Å"The Power of Movement in Plants† and How It Is Relevant Today Why Do Certain Organizations Continue to Ignore the Theory of Natural Selection and Evolution? The Importance of Information Presented by Both Wallace and Darwin in Today’s World The Impact That the Findings of either Wallace or Darwin Has Had on Other Fields Beyond Biology Sample Essay: Theories of Evolution and Natural Selection The Theory of Evolution and that of Natural Selection were proposed in 1859 and have since remained ignored by individual sections of society. Certain organizations continue to ignore the theory of natural selection and evolution because of its conflict with their personal beliefs. This is something namely associated with religious organizations, as many of Darwin’s counterparts accepted his beliefs after a few decades. Charles Darwin published his book on the idea of natural selection and the theory of origins in 1859. This book details how every species originates from common ancestors and how each species has the unique ability to adapt itself over time to existing environments. Traits which are no longer viable to the overall survival of a species are eventually removed from the genetic code of the species, replaced by more desirable traits. Upon publishing this information, many scientific members of the community did not agree with all of the information being presented. It took decades for all members of the educated and scientific communities to come around to acceptance, something which took place after substantial review of the data and evidence Darwin presented. Upon confirmation that he was not the only one to present such findings, this theory was widely accepted. Darwin began to discuss the implication of these findings with other communities, such as philosophers and religious leaders. Then, as it remains today, many religious units fail to accept the theory of evolution in the face of substantial scientific evidence. Certain religious groups, such as those following Ken Hamm, do not accept the theory or the evidence because they claim the scientific method itself to be flawed, to be a unique way of testing data which they do not accept. Other religious groups such as Protestant followers do not accept the theory of evolution or natural selection because it implies that all beings originate from the same ancestor and in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament, there are verses which state that it was a deity who created a list of species one day after the next, and not that all species came from one another. For this reason, many groups refuse today to accept the scientifically proven results presented by Darwin. References Darwin, Charles, Frederick Burkhardt, and Duncan M. Porter.  The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Vol. 13. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Darwin, Charles.  More letters of Charles Darwin: a record of his work in a series of hitherto unpublished letters. Vol. 2. D. Appleton, 1903. Darwin, Charles, Paul Ekman, and Phillip Prodger.  The expression of the emotions in man and animals. Oxford University Press, USA, 1998. Spruce, Richard, and Alfred Russel Wallace.  Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Wallace, Alfred Russel.  The geographical distribution of animals: with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earths surface. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Wallace, Alfred Russel, and James Marchant.  Alfred Russel Wallace: letters and reminiscences. Harper, 1916. Wallace, Alfred Russel, and Sir James Marchant.  Alfred Russel Wallace. Cassell, Limited, 1916.