News Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

News Article - Essay Example ah’s tribulations began when a villager was incensed when Christian literature earmarked for Sherif Ramses’ store was accidentally delivered to him. Consequently, scores of Christians were rounded up by the Preventative Security Unit (an Islamic militia group), before being incarcerated in the absence of any formal charges, in a Tripoli jail (Morning Star News, March 14, 2013). According to the Morning Star News (March 14, 2013), while in the militia’s custody, Atallah like other Christian prisoners was severely beaten, tortured through electrocution by the militia and denied proper medical treatment by the medical personnel on duty, on March 6. To show for the extent of state apathy, the Libyan government explained away Atallah’s death which occurred on March 10, as having been caused by high blood pressure and collapsing. The embassy of Egypt on the other hand explained Atallah’s death as a culmination of natural causes. Morning Star News, (March 14, 2013) reports that these incidences sparked protests by the Coptic Solidarity, an advocacy group in Washington DC. The caucus demonstrated in front of the Libyan embassy, condemned Atallah’s murder and the failure on Egypt government’s part to defend its citizens, while calling for: the release of all Egyptians who had been charged with evangelization in Libya; and an investigation into Hakim Atallah’s death. The bereaved in Atallah’s murder include an 11-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old son and a widow, Mrs. Ragaa Abdallah. Atallah and his compatriot Ramses ran phone sales business and owned a bookshop which stocked Christian and secular literature, respectively. Apparently, members of the Preventative Security Unit used Ramses’ mobile phone to identify and apprehend other Christians in the area. The news item reveals the challenges of the 21st century faith as being caused by religious intolerance. It is a fact that the state-instigated religious persecution being meted out against

HRD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HRD - Essay Example Different strategies are widely used by organizations to help individuals realize their full potential for working so that it will foster the individuality and yet enhance the effectiveness within particular contexts. Swanson and Holton (p. 4) defined HRD as an HRM strategy that focuses on developing and unleashing knowledge, skill and expertise for the purpose of improving individual, team, work process and organizational system performance. According to this definition, HRD is an approach to create and foster high performance working in an organization. International Labour Organisation (p. 1) emphasized that HRD involves issues such as education, training, recruitment, staffing, performance and career development etc. All the different development programs can improve work-standard of the people in an organization, and as a result, the organization would be able to achieve high performance working, as pointed out in the definition of Swanson and Holton. What makes human capital the more powerful assets in the organization? It is the knowledge they have, the skill they are born with, the abilities expertise they earned and so on. Physical development of the human resources in an organization is not as significant as developing their knowledge, skill and expertise. Organizations need to improve these qualities of human capital as these can increase the productivity, work standard and thus to achieve high performance working as well. As Reid, Barrington and Brown (p. 12- 14) education, training, skill-development are some of the main elements in the HRD that are meant to improve the quality human resources. It is simply a strategic approach to effectively utilizing the

Project Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Project Evaluation - Essay Example Net Profit: Total Revenue – Total Expenses Payback Period: Initial Investment Cost / Annual Operating Savings The formulas have been taken from the website of the Finance Formulas. Return over Investment: (Earnings – Initial Investment) / Initial Investment Net Present Value: (Initial Investment + (Cash flow 1st year) / 1.1 + †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Recommendation Keeping in view the above calculations, I believe that the project ‘Alpha’ should be selected for execution. The ROI and Net Present Value of the project ‘Alpha’ is greater than the other two projects. However, the net profit and payback period of the project ‘Alpha’ is a little less than the other two projects. ... It is pertinent to mention here that the Saturday and Sunday (two day weekend) have been set off in the MS Project. The critical activities have been represented by red lines (bars) in the Gantt chart and Network Diagram. These activities include: Analysis Module 1, Implemented Module 1, Integrated Module 1 , Document Module 1 and System Test. After reducing the completion time of activity ‘F’ (7 in the Gantt chart) by 50 %, the total duration of completing the project would be reduced by one (1) day. In this case, the project would be started on 13th May 2013 and completed on 31st May 2013. Moreover, the critical activities of the project would be increased from five (5) to nine (9). The critical activities include: Analysis Module 2, Analysis Module 3, Implementation Module 2, Implement Module 3, Integrate Module 1 & 3, Test Module 2, Document Module 1, Integrate Module 2 & 3, and System Test. Reducing the completion time of the project by applying more human and t echnical resources, the technique is known as project crashing (Sparrow, n.d). The screenshots of the Gantt chart and Network diagram of the Omicron project’s second case (reduced activity duration) has been shown below: Task 3: Testing Part ‘A’ – Block Box Testing Several aspects of the final product would be tested to ensure that the website of the New World Resources website is working properly and finding out the potential bugs in the website. The black box testing ensures the functionality of the website / software application without reviewing the code (HTML, PHP, etc.) and implementation details, keeping in view only the requirement specifications of the website provided by the

HRD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HRD - Essay Example Different strategies are widely used by organizations to help individuals realize their full potential for working so that it will foster the individuality and yet enhance the effectiveness within particular contexts. Swanson and Holton (p. 4) defined HRD as an HRM strategy that focuses on developing and unleashing knowledge, skill and expertise for the purpose of improving individual, team, work process and organizational system performance. According to this definition, HRD is an approach to create and foster high performance working in an organization. International Labour Organisation (p. 1) emphasized that HRD involves issues such as education, training, recruitment, staffing, performance and career development etc. All the different development programs can improve work-standard of the people in an organization, and as a result, the organization would be able to achieve high performance working, as pointed out in the definition of Swanson and Holton. What makes human capital the more powerful assets in the organization? It is the knowledge they have, the skill they are born with, the abilities expertise they earned and so on. Physical development of the human resources in an organization is not as significant as developing their knowledge, skill and expertise. Organizations need to improve these qualities of human capital as these can increase the productivity, work standard and thus to achieve high performance working as well. As Reid, Barrington and Brown (p. 12- 14) education, training, skill-development are some of the main elements in the HRD that are meant to improve the quality human resources. It is simply a strategic approach to effectively utilizing the

Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Example for Free

Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Analisis for successful lawsuit report Purpose Per your request, our legal team, courtesy of Legal Eagles, LLP, wishes to advise you regarding your tentative legal action against Mechanics National Bank (â€Å"National Bank†). As you alleged, National Bank was negligent in their failure to remove a lien on your Lagoon Beach property. Our legal team has assessed this and other concerns of your case. Outlined throughout this correspondence are conclusions we have made and recommendations we wish you consider. Before we proceed, we thank you for your trust and assure you nothing less than our highest-quality work. You have expressed to us your interest in recovering compensation for a failed entrepreneurial endeavor involving a hotel property, Hotel California. You also informed us that your acquisition of this property was dependent upon your securing financing through pledging a property you currently own as collateral. In a brief analysis of the facts of your case, we find you may successfully prove liability on the part of National Bank; however, this conclusion is not without concerns, particularly regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California. This concern and other considerations for your case are also discussed in this correspondence. Factual Background Our notes of the essential facts of your case indicate the following: You sought the acquisition of an existing hotel property located in Palm Desert, Green. You contacted the hotel’s listing agent, Mr. Babak Gordon, and obtained preliminary data on the property, including financial statements of the hotel which you have provided us. On January 5, 2005, the hotel owner, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, Mr. Gordon, and you had a preliminary discussion regarding the purchase and sale of Hotel California. Ms. Ramirez offered to you by phone this property for $4.3 million, excluding the furniture, and the sale was to conclude following a 45 day escrow. On January 6, 2005, you faxed Ms. Ramirez a signed letter both indicating your acceptance of her offer and your preference that the transaction close following a 60 day escrow. Although you never received a reply or confirmation from Ms. Ramirez, on January 30, 2005, you obtained a financing commitment from Bank of the West. Their conditions we re that the bank would obtain a first priority lien on the hotel property along with an unrelated undeveloped parcel of land owned by you in Lagoon Beach, Green. As you have shared with us, you acquired this land in 1984 and had managed to pay off its mortgage on November 1, 2004. However, National Bank failed to remove its lien on the property. You vigorously attempted to get National Bank to remove its lien on this property. You contacted bank officers and explained to them that the lien needed to be removed so that you could pledge the property as collateral and finance your purchase of Hotel California. Because National Bank did not remove this lien, you were unable to finance the acquisition of Hotel California. You later bought a hotel property â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† to Hotel California for $4.7 million dollars. Issue From our analysis, we find as reasonable your decision to consider pursuing legal action against National Bank for damages. You have cited National Bank as negligent for failing to follow instructions regarding the removal of a lien from the title of your Lagoon Beach property. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try, whether by failing to remove its lien on your Lagoon Beach property, National Bank committed the tort of negligence. Because our analysis has also raised concerns regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, we must also inform you of a second issue a court of law is likely to try. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try whether a legally binding, enforceable contract exists (or existed) between Ms. Ramirez and you. Keep in mind that your legal action for damages may be predicated on whether there was a contract. Roadmap In addition to listing our conclusions, recommendations, and concerns throughout this correspondence, you will find that we have analyzed the likelihood for success of your legal action against National Bank. You have expressed your desire to recover damages for your lost opportunity involving the Hotel California property. For your convenience, a complete and careful analysis has been conducted and detailed throughout this correspondence. GROUNDS OF LIABILITY You have alleged that National Bank was negligent, and you intend to recover damages from National Bank. You will have the burden of proving the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. You must cite evidence and present arguments that support your allegation of National Bank’s negligence. To successfully fulfill your burden you must show that: * Duty: The defendant (National Bank) owed you (plaintiff) a duty of due care. * Breach of Duty: Defendant’s conduct breached that duty. * Actual and Proximate Cause: Actual and proximate causation between defendant’s breach and your (plaintiff’s) injury was present. * Injury: Injured party (you) sustained injury due to defendant’s actions. If you fail to prove these elements, National Bank’s legal team may motion to dismiss your case. In this event, it is possible that your case could then be dismissed without further proceedings. However, if you successfully prove and argue all four of these elements, you must also overcome any affirmative defenses, if applicable, raised by the defendant (National Bank). These defenses are contributory negligence and assumption of risk. From our initial analysis, National Bank will be unable to raise an affirmative defense on these grounds. We will fully assess whether there are on any other legal grounds defenses that National Bank can raise. (See Other Considerations.) Remedies for Negligence If you successfully prove National Bank’s liability, you may be entitled to recover compensatory or actual damages. The damages and compensatory award amounts are determined on a case-by-case basis by the jury or judge presiding over the case. We have included a potential award amount you may be entitled to and you will find a complete discussion on how this determination is made. (See ANALYSIS OF LIABILITY – Injury.) Statutes Governing Contract Law Because the secondary issue (See Issue) and one of our concerns regarding your case is regarding your contract with Ms. Ramirez, we have disclosed applicable information from both the Green Civil Code and our legal library pertaining to 1) offer and acceptance, 2) Green’s statute of frauds, and 3) Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule.† For your convenience, we have bolded and defined legal terminology that will be reiterated in later sections of this correspondence. Offer and Acceptance An offer is the important first step in the contract formation process. A party (offeror) who makes the offer gives another party (offeree) to whom the offer is made the power to bind both parties to a contract simply by accepting the offer. Not every proposal qualifies as an offer. To distinguish an offer, courts evaluate offers on three grounds: First, they look for some objective indication of a present intent to contract on the part of the offeror. Second, they look for specificity, or definiteness, in the terms of the alleged offer. Third, they look to see whether the alleged offer has been communicated to the offeree. An acceptance is â€Å"a manifestation of assent to the terms [of the offer] made by the offeree.† In determining if an offeree accepted an offer and created a contract, a court will look for evidence of three factors: (1) the offeree intended to enter the contract, (2) the offeree accepted on the terms proposed by the offeror, and (3) the offeree communicated his acceptance to the offeror. Statute of Frauds According to the Green Civil Code,  § 1624, any contract transferring an interest in land is invalid if not accompanied by â€Å"note or memorandum.† An unenforceable contract is one that meets the basic legal requirements for a contract, but may not be enforceable because of some other legal rule. A contract for which the statute of frauds requires a form of writing, yet no writing is made, may be declared an unenforceable contract. Mirror Image Rule The traditional contract law rule is that an acceptance must be the mirror image of the offer. Attempts by offerees to change the terms of the offer or to add new terms to it are treated as counteroffers because they indicate an intent by the offeree to reject the offer instead of being bound by its terms. Now that you have an understanding of the relevant law behind the tort of negligence and contracts, and are familiar with the legal terminology of these areas, we proceed into our analysis of the facts of your case and the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL BANK’S LIABILITY Should you pursue further legal action against National Bank, you will have the burden of proving the elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Below are descriptions of these elements, accompanied by our legal analysis between the facts of the case, prima facie case, and case law from our legal library. Tort of Negligence In Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., negligence is defined as â€Å"conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others†. Because of the similarities in the facts between the case of Escrow Company and your case, this case has been used extensively in the forming of the following arguments. We recommend using this case in satisfying your burden for your legal action. Accordingly, you must argue that National Bank’s behavior in failing to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property fell below the standard for public protection established by law. Further, to successfully prove negligence, you must argue that National Bank is responsible for some injury you incurred stemming from their alleged mismanagement and failure to remove the lien on your property. With your notes, the facts of your case, and documents you provided us, we have constructed tentative arguments to determine the success of your legal action. You will find these arguments beginning on the next page. Duty According to the case, Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., â€Å"a defendant owes a duty of care to all foreseeable plaintiffs.† For example, in cases where a â€Å"[defendant] voluntarily assumes the duty to act by promising to the plaintiff to behave in a certain way,† the defendant owes that plaintiff a duty to act with care. According to Judge Utter, a â€Å"defendant also [owes] the plaintiff a duty of care where a contractual relationship between the parties requires the defendant to act in a certain way towards the plaintiff.† Considering these rules of law, National Bank owed you a duty to act as you requested. In your previous correspondence, you indicated that National Bank is â€Å"the lender on your Lagoon Beach property.† You also submitted to us a copy of your deed of trust. To reiterate â€Å"the language in the deed of trust† as part of your contractual relationship with National Bank, National Bank was supposed â€Å"to promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on [your] property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† Because National Bank failed to do this, we find it foreseeable that you would be prevented from using the property as collateral for your hotel acquisition. Additionally, you also mentioned that you â€Å"vigorously attempted to get†¦ National Bank to remove its lien on [your] property, but to no avail† and despite â€Å"repeated assurances from various officers.† Because National Bank officers assured and essentially promised you that they would remove the lien on your property, National Bank voluntarily assumed a duty to you, if no duty had been present beforehand. In essence, the assurances made to you to process your request indicate that National Bank voluntarily assumed, and therefore owed you, a duty of due care to act as you requested. In light of these arguments, we assure you that you should successfully satisfy this first element – duty – of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Breach of Duty According to Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., in order for a plaintiff to prove negligence, the â€Å"plaintiff is required to show †¦that [the defendant] had breached [defendant’s] duty of care to the plaintiff.† In most cases, a defendant owes a plaintiff a duty to act as would a reasonable person under similar circumstances. In the case of Escrow Company, the Court found that â€Å"in performing services for a client, [the] escrow company has the duty to strictly follow instructions.† Like an escrow company, a financial institution like National Bank most likely has a duty to strictly follow instructions drafted in a deed of trust, or part of a loan or other financial instrument. Because officers on behalf of National Bank did not follow instructions and terms of behavior involving you (as lendee) and National Bank (as lender) detailed in your property’s deed of trust, you may successfully argue that National Bank breached its duty to you. According to our copy of your deed of trust you provided us, National Bank was required to â€Å"promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on the property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† You had managed to pay off the mortgage on this property on November 1, 2004. Despite this, National Bank failed to remove its lien, even after you requested. Because officers at National Bank did not strictly follow this instruction, National Bank breached the duty of due care owed to you. Causation Satisfying the prima facie case for the tort of negligence also requires that a plaintiff prove that there is a connection (or actual causation) between the alleged breach of duty by defendant and injury suffered by plaintiff. As in the case of Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., courts assess the existence of a connection between breach and injury by determining whether injury would have occurred if not for breach. A court would employ a similar test in your case. Because National Bank failed to remove the lien on your property, you did not satisfy terms of the loan commitment with Bank of the West and could not secure financing for your acquisition of Hotel California. We find that there is a casual connection. Courts also evaluate the proximate cause (causation) between a defendant’s breach of duty and a subsequent injury suffered by a plaintiff. Proximate causation refers to whether the defendant’s breach of duty and subsequent injury suffered by the plaintiff was foreseeable. Because you vigorously attempted to have officers at National Bank remove its lien on your property and informed them that you needed the lien removed in order to pledge the property as collateral, we find that your injury of loss of opportunity to acquire the hotel property was foreseeable. Injury The final element you must prove to satisfy the prima facie case for the tort of negligence is whether you have suffered injury because of National Bank’s alleged negligence. Due to National Bank’s failure in removing the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, the transfer of ownership agreement of Hotel California between you and Ms. Ramirez allegedly collapsed. Later, you purchased a â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† hotel property for $4.7 million, $400,000 more than what you would have paid for Hotel California ($4.3 million). In essence, National Bank’s alleged negligence caused you to incur an opportunity cost of $400,000. This loss of opportunity is under the assumption that a valid, enforceable contract existed between you and Ms. Ramirez. SUMMARY Because National Bank breached its duty by failing to remove its lien on your property, you were unable to secure financing for a $4.3 million acquisition of Hotel California. However, you later purchased a â€Å"virtually identical† property for $4.7 million. You may be entitled to the difference. DEFENSES AGAINST LIABILTY In this portion of this report, we detailed any applicable defenses relevant to your case, and outlined other considerations and concerns we advise you to consider. Although we have found that affirmative defenses to National Bank’s negligence are inapplicable to the particular facts of your case, we have other concerns to discuss. Other Considerations It is the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that National Bank may argue that regardless of whether it removed the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, indefinite would be the transfer of ownership of the hotel property from Ms. Ramirez to you. As our analysis showed, you may successfully prove that National Bank had a duty to remove the lien on your property and subsequently breached that duty by failing to adhere to this instruction. If the failure to remove the lien on your property can be proven to have caused you damage(s), we will advise you to pursue further legal against National Bank. But first we must evaluate the documents you provided us and later the validity of the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez. Analysis of Income We have completely revalued the hotel property, Hotel California you were interested in. We used the same method(s) and approaches that most banks in our region would use to appraise the value of hotel properties. The expected value approach places weights on appraisals from two methods. First, we multiplied the past two years’ average gross margin by four. This holds a weight of 40%, because it is expected to be accurate 40% of the time. The value we derived from this method came to $2,462,380.00. Next, we took the present value of the average of the past three years’ cash flows, discounted at an 8% discount rate for 10 years. This method holds a 60% weight. The value derived from this method comes to $2,505,589.13. Our final step is to assign the correct weight to each method and sum the two figures. We can therefore conclude that the Hotel California’s appraisal value is $2,488,305.48. In addition to this, it is acceptable for a company to sell what is known a s â€Å"goodwill.† That is why the listed price of 2.5 million dollars was overstated by $11,694.52. We know that the bank would only allow you to borrow up to the appraised value, $2,488,305.48, unless you either pay 25% of the purchase in cash, or pledge to the bank a first priority lien on the vacant land as collateral. We also know that the latter option was not possible, so we will consider the former. We conclude that 25% of the purchase price of $4.3 million is $1,075,000. Because you were able to only provide $500,000 in cash for a down payment, you did not meet the requirements to borrow more than $2,488,305.48 from the bank, without pledging the vacant land. Hypothetically, if you had decided to borrow $2,488,305.48 from the bank, plus your $500,000 down payment, you would have had $2,988,305.48. This amount still would not have been enough to purchase the Hotel California property offered at $4.3 million dollars. Consequently, we conclude that without pledging the vacant land as collateral, there was no way you could have borrowed enough money to make the purchase. Even though the appraised value was not enough for you to borrow a sufficient amount of money from Bank of the West, we believe the appraised amount you were given was not accurate. There are two reasons why we believe Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on the income statement and footnote provided by Ms. Ramirez’s accountant. The first problem lies in the way the accountant prepared the income statement. Mr. Babak Gordon calculated gross profit by taking revenue minus cost of revenue. This method is only used for retailers and manufacturing companies, whereas Hotel California is a service company. The second problem is the verifiability of the financial statements and reliability of the accountant. To be credible, financial statements must follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A financial statement that follows GAAP must be accompanied by a signed opinion letter. The letter can be in the form of: 1) Compilation letter 2) Review letter 3) Audit opinion Finally, this letter must be signed by a certified public accountant (CPA). Because the income statement of Hotel California does not come with any signed opinion letter, we cannot verify its accuracy. Therefore, Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on that income statement and footnote information to make the evaluation. In our initial observation of your case, we assumed National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your Lagoon Beach property caused you to forfeit your opportunity to purchase the Hotel California property. As illustrated by our calculations above, you could not have financed the acquisition of Hotel California without pledging your Lagoon Beach property as collateral. However, after conducting a thorough analysis of your case, we regret to inform you that you may not be able to prove damages stemming from National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your property. Even though National Bank may have breached its duty to you, National Ba nk could argue that your contract with Ms. Ramirez is invalid or unenforceable. In the event that you do not have a valid or enforceable contract, you are not legally entitled to the Hotel California property or other legal remedies. In essence, regardless of whether National Bank’s negligence can be proved, a transaction between Ms. Ramirez and you might not have occurred if a binding contract did not exist. We will clarify and explain this finding in the next section. Offer and Acceptance Analysis From our analysis, coupled with case law from our case library, we have found that there was no contractual arrangement between you and Ms. Ramirez. In arriving at this finding, we took into account the facts surrounding your case. There are key elements that prevent the institution of a contract, for the purchase of real estate, between you and Ms. Ramirez. In reaching this finding, we referred to the case of Cayetano J. Apablasa v. Merritt Company from our case library. In this case, the Court evaluated a plaintiff’s action for damages resulting from an alleged breach of contract. This plaintiff’s action for damages depended on whether there was an existing contract. The Court found that â€Å"no reasonable construction of evidence† admitted a binding contract between the parties; and that the correspondence that was provided to the Court amounted to â€Å"nothing more than an offer that was never accepted.† In essence, at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the Court’s judge â€Å"entered a judgment decreeing that no contract was entered into, existing, or was ever executed.† Similar to your case, in Cayetano v. Merritt, the initial reply to the offeror’s offer by the offeree did not constitute an acceptance, contrary to what the offeree had thought. The offeree had included a â€Å"proviso† in his perceived acceptance letter to the offeror. In light of this, the Court found that terms proposed in an offer â€Å"must be met exactly, precisely and unequivocally for its acceptance to result in the formation of a binding contract.† This decision supplements our discussing regarding Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule† below. (See Regarding Mirror Image Rule.) Additionally, the Court stated that â€Å"[t]he addition of any condition†¦ is tantamount to a rejection of the original offer and the making of a counteroffer.† In essence, the Court’s decision can be summarized by the following: â€Å"[w]here a person offers to do a definite thing and another introduces a new term into the acceptance, his answer is a mere expression of willingness to negotiate or is a counter proposal, and in neither case is there a contract; if it is a new proposal and it is not accepted it amounts to nothing.† Regarding Green’s Statute of Frauds A key element that is missing in the proof of a contract is that your agreement with Ms. Ramirez was not in writing. The Green Civil Code requires that in order for a contract involving the sale of real property, to be valid, the agreement must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged or by the party’s agent. In your situation, Ms. Ramirez made her initial offer orally over the phone and you replied by a signed fax. There was never a written offer or contract signed by Ms. Ramirez. Therefore, a court of law would most likely find the contract between you and Ms. Ramirez as unenforceable. Even if the alleged contract did not have to be in writing and could be enforceable, there are other additional concerns we have: Regarding the Mirror Image Rule In a situation, such as the one you were in, a proper acceptance must meet the â€Å"mirror image rule.† This rule states that in order for an offeree to properly accept an offer, the offeree must accept the exact offer that was established by the offerer. When reviewing your case, we found that you had intent to accept Ms. Ramirez’s offer, but in your attempt to accept the offer, you added a different term to the agreement. In her offer, Ms. Ramirez required that â€Å"[t]he sale was to conclude following a 45-day escrow.† However, in your reply, you stated that you â€Å"would like to close escrow within 60 days.† A court of law would find that by changing the terms of Ms. Ramirez’s offer, you fail to meet the â€Å"mirror image rule,† and therefore terminated Ms. Ramirez’s initial offer and proposed a counteroffer. Documents you provided us detailing your correspondence with Ms. Ramirez indicate no communication on her part in accepting your counteroffer. Summary We must mention that had there been a contract between Ms. Ramirez and you, you may have been the subject of legal action by Ms. Ramirez. If we assume there was an actual contract between Ms. Ramirez and you with either the 45 day or 60 day escrow term, Ms. Ramirez could have pursued legal action and you could be liable for having breached your contract for your failure to deliver on your promise. You entered into the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez on January 6, 2005. Regardless of whether there was an agreement for a 45 day escrow or a 60 day escrow term, you failed to secure financing in either time frame. Approximately 80 days after entering the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez, on March 28, 2005, you contacted Ms. Ramirez to request an extension. The fact that you have no pending legal action brought by Ms. Ramirez may suggest that Ms. Ramirez did not view the arrangement with you as a binding contract. We reiterate that neither party had a binding, enforceable contract. CONCLUSION Ms. Warren, we regret to inform you that success with your legal action is unlikely. There is a high chance you will be unsuccessful, should you purse a legal action against National Bank on the grounds of the tort of negligence. National Bank failed to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, violating the duty of due care owed to you, and disrupting your ability to secure financing for your entrepreneurial endeavor. However, the question of law of whether there was a valid, enforceable contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, is the decisive issue. As our analysis has indicated, a court of law will most likely try the issue of whether there was a binding contract. Thus without the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez involving her offer for the hotel (Hotel California), a judge or jury in a court of law cannot rely on how much you would have paid to make a compensatory damages determination. In other words, because your action for damages is predicated on a contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, your damages cannot be established and you incurred no loss of opportunity. Without the loss of this opportunity cost, you have not suffered any injury due in part to National Bank’s negligence. RECOMMENDATIONS Ms. Warren, as Associate Partner of Legal Eagles, LLP, I oversaw the analysis of my legal team and validated their conclusions and findings. In light of the findings of our analysis, I foremost recommend that you consider the following course of action: * Please, do not pursue further legal action against National Bank regarding this cause of action and issue. It is my opinion and the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that pursuing further legal action regarding this issue, considering our evaluation of your case, will result only in additional expense on your part including legal and attorney fees and your time. You will also not receive the resolution that you would like making the process inherently dissatisfying and frustrating. With this in mind, there is another course of action I do recommend. Because you have already attempted to resolve your issue with National Bank regarding the lien on your Lagoon Beach, Green property, you are entitled to contact the regulatory agency of your former bank. All national banks within the state of Green are regulated by different agencies. If National Bank’s lien remains on your property, I recommend you pursue this alternate course of action: * Contact the appropriate state of Green regulatory agency of your financial institution (National Bank) and file a complaint. Your bank’s regulatory agency can help you with your concerns and complaints. There are many regulatory agencies in the state of Green’s banking industry. For your convenience, the appropriate regulatory agency of your former bank, and its details have been listed: According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (for additional information visit www.ffiec.gov), National Bank’s regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (for additional information please visit www.helpwithmybank.gov). You can visit and reach this regulatory agency online or by phone at (800) 613-6743. The Office of the Comptroller will assist you in getting answers and solutions to your questions and concerns. You can also file complaints against your bank, here. If you decide to proceed with filing a complaint, officials from the Office of the Comptroller will contact National Bank on your behalf regarding your issue for a response. You will then receive a let ter summarizing the results. Those who have sought our legal advice and even had similar experiences as you with National Bank as well have reported that intervention by a regulatory agency expedited the process and liens were eventually removed. We are confident that you have the tools to resolve this issue. LEGAL EAGLES, LLP [ 1 ]. The elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence are duty, breach of duty, actual and proximate cause, and injury. [ 2 ]. COMMERCIAL ESCROW COMPANY AND JAMES DE MIK, APPELLANTS, v. ROCKPORT REBEL, INC., APPELLEE. 778 S.W.2d 532; 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 2263 [ 3 ]. CAYETANO J. APABLASA, Appellant, v. MERRITT COMPANY (a Corporation) et al., Respondents. 176 Cal. App. 2d 719; 1 Cal. Rptr. 500; 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1542

The topic of nutrition of the elderly

The topic of nutrition of the elderly The purpose of this literature review is to research the topic of nutrition of the elderly, and to discuss my findings. I will be researching this subject using tools such as athens, and using websites such as google scholar, ovid and internurse. I have chosen to use articles and reviews from the past ten years as I feel they will bring the most up to date nursing care techniques and the most reliable research into the subject. Nutrition of the elderly is an important area of nursing care and should not be taken lightly. It is important in nursing care to assess patients nutrition, as if taken care of it can optimize the general well being of the patient. Malnutrition is the main worry when focusing on elderly patients nutrition, as 40 to 60% of older adults who are hospitalized are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. This statistic is rather high, meaning that the correct nursing practise is not always used. In this review I will be looking to find the reasons behind this and how the care of these patients can be increased to its full potential. When we look at nutrition we have to consider why it is that elderly patients are so different compared to everyone else. Many questions arise when we look at this for example do they have different eating habits, is there a physiological problem or even is there a psychological problem. The answers to these questions can always be yes in relation to the elderly and we must look further than these general questions, and study the literature of the subject to fully become aware of the correct nursing care to correctly assess and treat this problem. A review by Finch et la (1998) shows that a the majority of the elderly population, not requiring hospitalization, are well nourished and have a good intake of all the correct vitamins, minerals and calories. However what is of more importance in this review is the elderly patients who fall without this category including patients whose nutrition does affect their health and have physical and or mental problems which lower their nutritional intake. A report by COMA (DH, 1999) stated that diet deficiencies in the elderly, most noticed in calcium levels and recommended that current practice of fortifying flour with calcium should continue the same. That same survey also highlighted the low levels of Vitamin D in the elderly which, together with the low levels of calcium gave concern for the increased incidence of osteoporosis found in the elderly population. Another review highlighting deficiency in different areas for the elderly. (Steele et al., 1998) point us to the fact that many elderly patients do not have a good dentition. This obviously can have a massive impact on their nutritional intake and in their choice of food and ease or difficulty of eating it. They also found that those of the elderly who had their own dentition did have a measurable better nutritional and mineral intake than those who did not. Those with poor teeth tended to eat significantly less fruit, nuts and food generally that was hard to chew, meaning they missed out on vital natural vitamins and minerals. All of these facts drawn from literature show us that the nutrition of the elderly is an important and special group. I will now look into further literature to show these specific groups in the elderly population which lack of proper nutrition can affect. Malnutrition is a main concern in nursing practise with elderly patients, so when looking at it we must be fully aware of what the term means. A review by DiMaria-Ghalil (2005) shows the definition of malnutrition. Any disorder of nutritional status, including disorders resulting from a deficiency of nutrient intake, impaired nutrient metabolism, or over-nutrition. Reuben (2005) shows us that malnutrition can be brought on by many things in the elderly population such as dietary intake, isolation, chronic illness, and physiological changes. The routine for the correct nursing care with elderly patients is essential and must be followed for every patient so that no patient is misdiagnosed. During the routine nursing assessment, any and all alterations in the general assessment areas that may influence the patients factors of intake, absorption, or digestion of nutrients should always be further assessed to make sure if an older patient is at a nutritional risk. These areas include the following. As stated by a review done by the University of Texas, School of Nursing (2006) a typical assessment should be done including their present history, past and medical history, and an assessment of their current symptoms. A note of their social history should be taken into account. Any drugs the patient may be taking which can interact or affect the patients nutrient intake and absorption. Boullata, J (2004) stated that drugs can affect and modify the nutrient needs for the metabolism of older people. It also stated that factors such as restrictive diets, changes in eating habits and diet, alcoholism and chronic disease with long term drug treatments can all affect the nutrient intake and reactions in an elderly patient. The fourth area that should be taken into account is the patients functional limitations. Boullata, J (2004) showed that patients with functional limitations can be at risk of malnutrition for many reasons, whether it be a disability restricting their movement, and even a psychological problem such as dementia which can restrict the patients ability to eat in different forms. Next that will be checked on the nursing assessment will be the objective assessment. This will include a physical examination of the patient with emphasis on things such as an oral exam, loss of body fat, dysphagia, bmi and muscle wasting. Also DiMaria-Ghalili (2005) showed that for a more in depth idea of the patients dietary intake can be gathered by a documented three day calorie count using a food chart for the patient. This will help gain some more information for the patients nutrition. Also one of the main things used for every patient in hospital which is malnourished or at fear of malnutrition is the nutrition risk assessment tool. Both DiMaria-Ghalili (2005) and Salva, A (2004) go on to state how this tool is vital and very useful at assessing as it determines the risk by looking at the patients bmi, history of weight loss, psychological stress, or acute disease and dementia or any other conditions which could affect their dietary intake. By using all these it can help come up with a individual score for the patient, and with this score we can evaluate if the patient is malnourished, and what further action can be taken to benefit the patient. This will include things such as referring the patient to the dietician, and or the speech and language therapist. There are many nursing strategies we can use to make sure that any patient that is malnourished can be assessed and monitored to help improve their health and general well being. As I previously noted by Salva, A (2004) referring to the dietician if the patient is at risk for or has under-nutrition. Another useful collaboration for nursing care is to consult the patients medication and review it for possible drugs that can affect the nutrient interactions. Also consulting with a multidisciplinary team specializing in nutrition can benefit the patients all over care as it is more specific to their needs. There are also methods that the nurse can use in the patients daily routine to help the patients efforts in becoming nourished. By alleviating a dry mouth the nurse can help the patient become more willing, and wanting, to take diet and fluids. This can be done by avoiding any foods or drink which can further cause a dry mouth, such as, tobacco, dry and bulky foods, and highly acidic foods. Also to encourage frequent sips of water and keeping lips moist will help the patient to become more hydrated and more comfortable, which, will make them more willing to eat and drink. Margetts, B (2003) also states how important it is to maintain an appropriate nutritional intake for an elderly patient. It goes on to explain how the daily requirements of older adults includes thirty kcal per kg of body weight and 1g of protein per day, with this no more than 30% of calories from fat. It also goes on to explain all requirements will differ depending on the degree of malnutrition and physiological stress the patient is in. A nurse can take this into account when treating a patient in their daily routine by improving the patients oral intake, of which there are many ways of achieving. Souter, S (2003) shows that a patients meal times are important as it will determine how much food the patient has consumed and whether or not they will need assistance with eating from a member of staff. A nurse can go further than this by asking the patients family members to visit during mealtimes making it a more relaxed atmosphere for the patient, meaning they will feel more relaxe d and willing to eat, and for those who need help eating, their family members can assist them which may be more comfortable for them. A nurse can also ask the family members to bring in favourite foods of the patients from home to help in the intake of the patient. With foods that they regularly eat and enjoy, the patient will be more likely to partake in meal times and even snacking between meals, increasing their intake overall. If this is done for a patient the nurse must be aware of the foods the patient likes, and or can handle so that they can supply the patient with what the need and want for their duration in hospital. The nurse can also take into account the nutrients that the patient needs, therefore can suggest small and frequent meals which contain these to help to regain and maintain weight. The nurse can also help a patient with their mouth care such as helping patients with their dentures before food is served so they are ready to eat when it arrives. Souter, S (2003) showed that another way to improve meal times is to create a good environment for the patient. By removing things such as bedpans, urinals, and sick bowls can help to create a positive and clean place for the patient to eat, so nothing is putting them off or distracting them from their food. Also Souter, S stated that any patients who tend to feel ill during meal times can be administered antiemitics on a schedule that will help to lower and diminish the likelihood of them feeling nauseated during their meal. Shahar, D (2001) also shows that with certain patients who are mobile enough to sit in a chair rather than their bed should be placed in such as it is more comfortable for them to eat their meals. The nurse can also create a relaxing atmosphere for patients who needs assistance in eating their meal by sitting at the patients eye level and making eye contact during so that they feel they are not just a chore for the nurse. It is also important for nursing staff not to interrupt patients during meals for drug rounds and procedures as it may distract the patient from their meal and even make them feel, depending on the medication, tired or nauseated which will stop them from eating a sufficient amount for themselves. Nursing staff can also provide specialised nutritional support for certain patients depending on their requirements. The Nutrition Screening Initiative (2002) states that a patient should be started on nutritional support when they cant or wont eat an adequate amount to ben efit themselves. The patient must be reviewed regarding if they already use artificial nutrition and hydration. This can be done by providing oral supplements to the patient. These supplements are not to replace meals, but to be given during the day between meals as shown by Wilson, M (2002). Also it is stated by American Society of Anaesthesiologists that by placing elderly patients as early in the day as possible for tests or procedures it will decrease the length of time that the patient is nil by mouth and not allowed to eat or drink. Meaning less time is wasted where the patient could have been receiving a nutritional diet and fluids. By looking at all this literature we can see that

Personal Narrative- Amazon Experience Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Amazon Experience Being a curious little twelve year old who was eager to discover the world, when my father asked me back in 1997 if I wanted to travel to Colombia, I jumped on the opportunity. Little did I know just how much I would be discovering. Colombia held sights, sound, and smells that I had never experienced. Crowded city highways with no marked lanes, the stench of lead exhaust filling the overcrowded streets of the capitol, the freshness of the Andean Mountains filling the country air. The thought of Colombia brings a dozen images and adventures to mind. Out of all of these, however, there is one in particular which I shall never forget. It was one of the last mornings we were to spend in Colombia. My father and I flipped through the hotel’s visitors guide looking for ‘must see’ places to visit that day. â€Å"Take a tour of the Amazon jungle,† one of the ads said, â€Å"and see the beauties of nature that have inspired thousands of painters and authors who have visited this site.† My father and I met eyes. If we wanted adventure, this is where it could be found. That morning, while eating breakfast at a small, family-owned restaurant in the country, we joked excitedly of the adventurous possibilities. â€Å"I’ll bet there are some savage cannibals out there, my dad playfully suggested between spoonfuls of Changua. â€Å"Yeah right,† I remarked,† lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!† After getting both our hopes and stomachs full, my father and a departed for our great adventure. Prior to our arrival at the day’s main attraction, we stopped at a tiny souvenir store along the way. As my father and I searched the store for some final gifts to bring back home to friends and relatives, my eyes were captured b... ...man walking along side the driver’s window. â€Å"My daughter says it’s too warm down here and she’s not feeling well. We need to run around.† â€Å"Please let us go. Please let us go. Don’t tie us up. Just let us go,† I thought. â€Å"All right,† he said to my relief. â€Å"Do you know your way back, or would you like us to escort you?† he asked kindly. â€Å"We’ve got it. Thanks,† replied my dad. I breathed a sigh of relief once I reached the paved road again. Looking back now, I realize what a silly twelve year old I was. My father was most likely right. Those primitive looking tribal men were just tour guides trying to make a living. My cowardice and ignorance kept us from exploring the wonders of the Amazon- a once in a lifetime experience! Perhaps if I went back know, I would have a different attitude. In any case, however, this was an experience I’ll never forget.