Clinical trials – Considerations for Vulnerable Populations
Clinical trials need to implementation in children and pregnant women; however, there is much to learn concerning the safe and efficient treatment of pregnant women having problems with their health, as well as how to stop the outcomes regarding poor pregnancy (Society for Clinical Trials, 2004). Clinical research should offer this kind of useful knowledge but still, there is unhealthful disinclination in involving pregnant women in the procedures of clinical trials. There is a tremendous need for regulatory clearness, for instance, the smallest risk that the trial can expose to the fetus. The legal responsibility worries still confront the efforts of clinical research; nevertheless, examples of clinical research demonstrate efforts ensuring that women on pregnancy gain from the clinical research such that at the end, knowledge concerning helping the pregnant women and the fetus to be healthy is attainable.
The Significance of Parental Involvement in Treating Conduct Disorder
Challenges of Conducting Clinical Trials in Emergency Medicine
Now researchers in the area of expertise face challenges arising from their lack of experience and knowledge concerning issues of research. Such issues may include the formulation of an excellent research question and a clear research protocol. As well, they may have the inability to judge between ad and good advice (Pawlik & Sosa, 2013). On the other hand, academic emergency medicine has faced limitations regarding the availability of centers, and the finding has been hard to obtain due to the non-supportive nature of the academic environment. A lot of pressures, emotions, and severe burdens have often interrupted the research alongside the ethical considerations of informed consent. Again, rotation of staff has made it very hard for the project to sail through in a single setting. Precisely, the challenges that need overcoming involve deviation, distraction, dejection, despondency, lack of concern, and dishonesty (Duley, 2002).
Concerns for Study Subject Diversity in Clinical Trials
To expand the enrolment of ethnic and cultural minorities in these experiments, changing the attitude of the minorities is not the answer. Instead, it is imperative to increase access to health research. Designing clinical trials should happen in such a way that it focuses on specific or target populations. The outcome of the laboratory needs to the application in finding solutions to real-world problems (Schwartz, Flamant & Lellouch, 1980).
Risks and Benefits in Clinical Trials
Advancements in the health care sector are about medical treatments rely on clinical trials. Clinical trials, therefore, aid in the discoveries of new or better drugs and therapy treatments for many diseases thus minimizing loss of lives as the results of these diseases. Clinical trials also enable the administration of evidence-based medical treatment thus increasing trust in the medical field. Moreover, clinical trials provide further knowledge concerning the subject of research that may result in better-improved outcomes and assists future studies since most of the clinical research is inspired by earlier research, failed or successful as suggested by DeRenzo & Moss (2006). For instance, the drug Lochol is expected to act as anesthesia during surgery and aid in treating instances of fear and anxieties, especially before surgery.
However, clinical research is full of uncertainties that may result to harm in case the research does not turn out as expected. For instance, clinical trials may jeopardize the health and lives of subjects in case of unexpected negative reaction attributed to the drug of therapy treatment under study. There is the possibility of individuals developing persistent side effects thus harming the participants. The drug or therapy under study may also be less beneficial compared to an already established treatment as claimed by Barke (2009). In the case of Local drugs, the drug could easily be abused by subjects leading to addiction thus dreadful. It could also be very lethal to children and expectant mothers.
I would continue with the drug development process by following up on the 2-week study because its benefits outweigh dangers considering the risks could be avoided. For instance, abuse of the drug could be minimized by creating awareness of the dangers of abuse and urging the participants to shun misuse. The drug being unfavorable to children cannot be a hindrance either considering most drugs are thus excluding children, and expectant mothers from the study would eliminate the endangered group thus safe to conduct as implied by DeRenzo & Moss (2006).
Increasing the Level of Participation in Clinical Trials
Poor participation by the public in clinical trials is among the factors hampering clinical research. Therefore, establishing effective ways to draw participants would prevent delays and consequently wastage of finite resources that have been the trend. Some of the strategies researchers have come up with to solve the problem of insufficient participation by the public in their research include novel recruitment strategy, recruitment difference strategy, and offering monetary incentives as stated by Bower et al (2009).
The effectiveness of recruitment strategies employed by researchers varies depending on the type of study and the nature of the targeted audience. This is because the public’s responsiveness to these strategies differs significantly hence difficult to determine the best strategy. Research conducted indicates that a strategy such as offering monetary incentives to participants is limited to a certain group of individuals thus not entirely effective. Recruiter difference and novel trial design strategies tend to focus on establishing rapport between participants and investigators the participants’ consent of the trial treatment respectively but fail to convince participants of their noble course. Therefore, they do increase participation but not as much as required as implied by Baquet et al (2006).
Focusing on strategies like interactive internet strategy that involves creating awareness on the disease under study would be advantageous. Major causes of reluctance in participation are a result of ignorance, cultural, and religious beliefs that contributes to the public negative misconception concerning participating in clinical research. Therefore, informing the public on the negative health impact of the diseases stressing the significance of finding the solution with their aid would improve the level of participation. The strategy helps clear any misunderstanding concerning the study and enhance trust. This can be done through seminars as advised by Paine, Stocks & Maclennan (2008). However, the process may be time-consuming but in the long run fruitful.
References
Baquet, C.R., Commiskey, P., Mullins, C.D., & Mishra, S. I. (2006). Recruitment and participation in clinical trials: Socio-demographic, rural/urban, and health care access predictors. Cancer Detection and Prevention. doi:10.1016/j.cdp.2005.12.001
Bower, P., Wallace, P., Ward, E., Graffy, J., Miller, J., Delaney, B., & Kinmonth, A.L. (2009). Improving recruitment to health research in primary care. Family Practice. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmp037
Bryant, J., & Powell, J. (2005). Payment to healthcare professionals for patient recruitment to trials: a systematic review. British Medical Journal. doi:1136/bmj.331.7529.1377
Caldwell, P. H., Hamilton, S., Tan, A., & Craig, J.C. (2010). Strategies for Increasing Recruitment to Randomized Controlled Trials: Systematic Review. PLOS Medicine. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000368
Gemmill, R., Williams, A. C., Cooke, L., & Grant, M. (2010).Challenges and strategies for recruiting and retaining vulnerable research participants: Promoting the benefits of participation. Applied Nursing Research. doi:10.1016/j.apnr.210.02.003
Paine, B.J., Stocks, N.P., & Maclennan, A.H. (2008). Seminars may increase recruitment to randomized controlled trials: lessons learned from WISDOM. Trials. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-9-5
Pao M., Brintnall-Karabelas J., Sung S., Squires C, Whorton K., Cadman M.E.(2011). Improving Recruitment in Clinical Trials: Why Eligible Participants Decline. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics: An International Journal.
Patel, M.X. (2003). Challenges in recruitment of research participants. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. doi:10.1192/apt.9.3.229
Sood, A., Prasad, K., Chhatwani, L., Shinozaki, E., Cha, S.S., Loehrer, L. L.,& Wahner-Roedler, D.L. (2009). Patients’ Attitudes and Preferences About Participation and Recruitment Strategies in Clinical Trials. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. doi:104065/64.3.243
Wastson, J. M., &Torgerson, D.J. (2006). Increasing recruitment to randomized trials: a review of randomized controlled trials. BMC Medical Research Methodology. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-6-34
Barke, R. (2009). Balancing uncertain risks and benefits in human subject research. Science, Technology & Human Values.
DeRenzo, E.G., & Moss, J. (2006). Writing clinical research protocols: Ethical considerations. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic.
Digilova, A. (2015). FDA in the twenty-first century. Columbia University Press.
Jansen, A. L. (2006). The Problem with Optimism in Clinical Trials. IRB:Ethics and Human Research.
Lazovski, J., Losso, M., Ezekiel, J. E., Grady, C., Wendler, D., & Krohmal, B. (2009). Benefits and Burdens of Participation in a Longitudinal Clinical Trial. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics: An International Journal
Marouf, F. E., & Esplin, B.S. (2015). Setting a Minimum Standard of Care in Clinical Trial: Human Rights and Bioethics as Complementary Frameworks. Health and Human Rights.
Musschenga, A.W., Keus, R.B., Aaroson, N.K., & Van Luijn, H.E.M. (2006). The Evaluation of the Risk and Benefits of Phase II Cancer Clinical Trials by Institution Review Board (IRB). Members: A Case Study. Journal of Medical Ethics.
Spertus, J. (2008). Assessing Patients’ Improvement in Clinical Trials. BMJ: British Medical Journal.
Salkind, N.J. (2010). Encyclopedia of research design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Terwindt, C. (2014). Health rights litigation pushes for accountability in clinical trials in India. Health and Human Rights.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
In this jeopardized business environment, globalization has created an adverse impact on the overall performance on a global scale. Globalization refers to the increasing trend of interaction between people and companies on a worldwide scale. With the intense transformation within technology and the global trend of business, the organization has faced both positive as well as negative consequences. This report will enlighten the key trends in trading service between commonwealth countries for understanding this substantial impact. The impact of Brexit on the UK aviation industry will be narrowed down to understand the current link of the economy as well as global business performance. Difficulties in Multinational business preference will be analyzed to identify the field of business improvement.
1.0 An overview of the key trends in trade of goods and services between Commonwealth countries
Key trends of goods and services are required to be analyzed for understanding the following status of trade in United States on their own. Todd Rosenbaum used an example of the commonwealth countries. These key trends are as follows:-
Volume in international trade in goods
Trade flows across the region
Market share of trade in services
The reflection of these keys is indicated in trade through import as well as an export propensity. As per the report of 2013, combined exports of goods and services are valued at $3.4 trillion. Here 53 system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth members are combines and 15% of total world exports have been visualized. Since 2000, members have collectively grown their share just above 50 percent. In this landscape, the growing significance of developing countries in the world economy has presented vast trading opportunities for the commonwealth members. In China, system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth member’s trade expansion is assumed as spectacular nature. Average 12 percent of system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth goods import is sourced from China (thecommonwealth.org, 2015).
Figure: Exports share of goods and services in commonwealth countries
(Source: thecommonwealth.org, 2015)
Impact of a key trend in the system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth countries from the scenario of the business economy
According to Taylor Buck and While (2017), system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth members have fully recognized the value of international trade from the angle of achievement on social as well as economic progress. Social, economic as well as fundamental changes have been taken place in global trade, which influences the direction of trade. Such changes are mainly driven by the factors of the Global value chain or GVC. As per the opinion of Cocks (2016), lack of dynamism in trade multilateralism has created an impact on business actions. The global economic slowdown has been visualized during the global financial crisis in 2008 (ons.gov.uk, 2017).
At that time the world economy was less than 3 percent in comparison to the average growth of 7 percent. Now the contextual analysis is required for understanding this changed rate from the dimension of global forces. It has a significant impact on the trading of goods and services. As per the theoretical demonstration of McKinsey, four global forces are urbanization, technological change, aging challenges, and financial connections. Financial connections are related to both trade and people. The countries are becoming much more urbanized. As per the report, 65 million per year rate is visualized in the scale of urbanization. It has been identified that emerging economies are also major forces. By 2025, emerging economies will grow up to 75 % faster. About the urban consumer class, a 150% increase in annual consumption has been expected between 2010 and 2030 (wti.org, 2015).
Figure 2: Global Forces
(Source: mckinsey.com, 2015)
On the other hand, Seabrooke and Wigan (2017) commented that technological change has also driven a significant impact on the business. In the current period, technological breakthroughs are speeding up, where consumers prefer online systems to fulfill their daily needs. In this scale, a 14% increase in the global workforce has been visualized in proportion to an increase in global life expectancy. However, productivity is dependent on this workforce. If productivity not increased, the GDP growth of the developing countries can be declined. The volume of trade, people, and finance are increasing and reflected in systematical changes on economic stability. The trends in good and service trade have experienced challenges from globalization. These consequences are increasing interdependence of location and increasing interdependence of firms.
Trade-in both goods and services has the direction to gain a maximum increase in GDP by 2020. In this scale, the total value of the foreign investment is an integral part. As per the report, the United States, East Asia, and Europe dominate the global FDI. They are also dominating the global market region of South America, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Africa. These are increasingly attracting investment flows. Flows of capital are broadening remote geographies and populations. Financial globalization has also created an impact on cross-border lending. As per the current report, some US and UK banks have reduced their foreign business However, the new era of financial globalization has maintained more stability, which is effective to maintain a higher share of gross capital flows. The system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth has made up a small part of UK trade. As per the report of 2015, 9% of total UK exports went to system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], Commonwealth in 2015. EU has accounted for 53% of UK imports. Before the Brexit, UK services export to the system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth has been tripled from £8.5 billion to £22 billion. Therefore, key trends are the major outline, which has hampered this rater after Brexit in the UK.
2.0 Assessment of the impact of Brexit on trade and investment within the aviation sector in the UK
It has been visualized that the outcome of the UK’s referendum on EU membership can display opportunities in the UK economy. The travel and Aviation industry has been influenced by international politics as well as trade. Any major changes can create a direct impact on every dynamics of these sectors. However, the governmental referendum has created uncertainty in the aviation sectors.
As per the report, the country is facing a tradeoff for accessing the European single aviation market. The immediate impact on the air traffic can be governed through understanding two key variables, which are the sterling exchange rate and economic activity. It has been visualized that Brexit has given a negative shock to the UK economy.
On this scale, uncertainty has occurred in the trading and investment decision in the aviation industry. This status is occurred due to transmission via the financial channel.
Exchange rate impact
UK air market is primarily dominated by outbound traffic. As per the report of 2015, 53.9 million visits have been recorded. Volatile trading conditions have occurred while currency becomes weakened as a result of Brexit. The weaker currency has created an adverse impact on the outbound trips for UK inhabitants. As per the report of Guardian, UK aerospace industry issues can be occurred due to a lack of Brexit trade deal. In the report, it has been analyzed that increased border checks can create an additional £1.5bn cost (Roberts, 2017). Approx £10bn of annual exports are destined for the EU. The impact of increased customs checks is also an issue to maintaining the standard economy of the industry. The industry faced an expensive tax rate to deal with the other country parts across Europe.
Impact of governmental policy
As per the report of the telegraph, Government has been urged to focus on the aviation industry to avoid the hit of trade as well as investment. Various arguments have displayed that Brexit significantly impacts the regulatory framework in aviation trade. For preserving the UK’s air connectivity, the government has to ensure a timely renegotiation of aviation treaties. UK’s aviation manufacturing sector has been signaling out due to the potential concern of such regulatory policies. As per the report of 2016, the UK’S trade surplus in aircraft parts and aircraft was largest than any other country’s good sector. The aviation manufacturing sector has a significant impact on the global supply chain. Economists say that the competitiveness of the UK sector is dependent on the regulatory barriers post-Brexit (West, 2017). If now the industry become goes to achieve its vision as a global player, the additional tax can penalize the travel to far-flung locations. The development of a new airline route between two metropolitans can lead to a 4.6 pc increase in venture capital investment (Roberts, 2017). As per the opinion of Schnapper (2015), better transport linkages can enable human capital and investment for accessing more freely across the borders. Such a factor can improve the return on investment.
Impact on market access
As per the report, the EU is easy can be the biggest destination market that accounts for 54% of commercial flights and 49% of passenger flights (iata.org, 2016). The UK is a very important destination market, where air travelers across Europe are involved but the adverse impact is visualized in the share of business operation. In this term, issues are occurring from the standpoint of policy freedom. To foster cross country travel and manufacturing, the industry has faced massive issues in trading actions.
The impact from Cross border business
Therefore in the Aviation industry, the UK has faced the prospect of ‘Hard Brexit’ due to a lack of free trade agreement. As per the report, trade relation between UK and EU has hampered the mutual relationship in World trade organization. The UK is not dependent on the intra-regional trade, which is displaying that country’s extensive involvement in the global spectrum.
On the other hand, Brexit has supported the industry to strengthen the international trading position. The UK is prohibited from negotiating bilateral trade agreements with global partners. However, foreign investments can be declined if Brexit creates an adverse impact on the economy of other countries. For instance, Brexit can create an impact on Australian tourism (gov.au, 2016). Due to the impact of Brexit, customers are not traveling to foreign countries due to their limited income status. This scenario can be analyzed from the standpoint of the aviation industry. In the cross-boundary parameter, foreign investment is also a part to maintain trading relationships with other countries. In this scenario, the impact of global forces has been visualized in the trade and investment purpose of the UK aviation industry (deloitte.com, 2017). To resolve the financial as well as operational consequences, long-term planning needs to be structured.
3.0 Critically evaluate the possible challenges and opportunities of a multinational enterprise (MNE) in London post-Brexit within the context of a changing global trade landscape
In the current period, competitive advantages are associated with the location strategies of MNEs or multinational enterprises. In this scale, understanding is required in international business. As opined by Lea (2016), this business is related to the transaction across the national border for consumer satisfaction as well as organizational profit. From this standpoint, foreign direct investment is related to the equity fund, which has invested in other nations. Marketers often have misconceptions about MNEs. They think organizational ambition is to earn most of the revenue in the overseas business (ecb.europa.eu, 2008). However, they are earning most of the revenue in the home regions. They are not engaging in the global competition but they are involved in the regional competition. As per the current report, more than 50 percent of trade is made by the MNEs (grantthornton.co.uk, 2016).
Vodafone Global enterprise limited is a multinational enterprise and headquartered in London. Since 2007, the organization is serving as a provider of telecom and IT for large corporate customers. Now the analysis is required to understand the positive and negative impact of Brexit in their business process as a part of the multinational enterprise.
Challenges in the business operation of Vodafone
After Brexit in 2016, Vodafone has faced major consequence in the field of employment. As per the report, 13000 employees might be at risk due to an adverse impact on the freedom of capital, people, and goods, which are related to successful business operations. They said that group revenue fell by 3.9% due to volatile foreign exchange movements after Brexit (lse.ac.uk, 2017). A hard version of Brexit has been faced by them in the field of economic consequences that force them to access the single market. Therefore, Vodafone has decided to move headquarter outside the UK because of Brexit. The decision is quite shocking as various opportunities are still present in the UK marketplace. They think that their cross-boundary business will be hampered through changed regulations after Brexit. Vodafone said that they have achieved their growth in the UK market due to free trade policies as well as the free movement of people. They have also displayed that 55% of group profits in the last financial year from European operations. However, in the UK, this percentage was only 11%. Therefore, they are facing issue in taxation, movement policy as well as the flow of capital (Sgeffield, 2016). They think they are losing single market access due to such consequences in business operations. Therefore, they have decided to move to headquarter from the current location.
Figure 3: Challenges and opportunities for MNEs
(Source: Sgeffield, 2016)
From this standpoint, it can be said that Brexit has created a negative impact on its overall business process to maintain a constant flow of capital in the single market. As stated earlier, multinational enterprises can get maximum revenue in the home location rather than the external countries. In this case, Vodafone has not to gain a standard profit level in the last financial year due to the impact of Brexit. On this scale, certain separation from the UK has made them vulnerable in the single market. Here issue has been occurred due to restriction or modification in the cross-boundary business processes. Therefore, currently, the organization is not seeing any hope in the present UK business after Brexit.
Opportunities in business operation
On the other hand, Brexit has a positive impact too. It can create a positive environment for Vodafone by decreasing market overcrowding. Also, Vodafone can get rid of multicurrency issues. It will solve the problems of converting the Euros to pounds or vice versa. Due to the presence of independent monetary policies, organizations can get standard financial performances. Also, the UK government has lowered the tax on various scales that will foster standard business growth. Vodafone has indeed experienced a massive economical downfall in the period of 2016-2017. However, they have to keep patience for achieving standard business growth in the market after Brexit. It has been visualized that, various positive attributes remain present in the current market place of Vodafone.
Governmental support is effective here to protect the market stability of Vodafone in the UK market. Competitive force is also an important factor to understand market performances. In this context, Brexit will provide the scope to be dominant at the market level. The organization is listed in the FTSE 100 index and they have achieved positive growth at all levels. In the UK market, a positive economic viewpoint is visualized in the scale of employment, sartorial growth as well as GDP. From this view, organizations can face positive opportunities to maintain long-term growth. Current market stability is not as per the CEO expectation, but there is a chance to get a positive business dimension. The organization has to take initiative on the internal business process through supervising as well as recognizing the gap in the performances due to the modified governmental referendum.
Conclusions and recommendations
It can be deduced that due to the impact of the transformed global trend of business, the organization has faced both positive as well as negative consequences. In this case, the major key to the trading global business has been understood. These keys are related to the substantially constant flow of capital, market share, and volume. These keys are the indicator in trade within import as well as an export propensity. Through understanding the impact of these keys, the growing significance of developing countries in the world economy has been understood as vast trading opportunities for the system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth members. The changing trend of trading has been criticized through the McKinsey model. This model highlights four global forces, which are urbanization, technological change, aging, and financial connections. It has been analyzed that Before Brexit, UK services export to the system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], commonwealth has been tripled from £8.5 billion to £22 billion. Now the global business pattern can be directed on a negative dimension if the financial risk can emerge. In the current period, Brexit has created a negative impact on the overall business process due to the changed dimensions of regulation, business policies, as well as economical stability. In the analysis of current UK aviation, industry impact on trading as well as an investment has been realized. The report has identified that the UK is facing a tradeoff for accessing the European single aviation market. On this scale, uncertainty has occurred in the trading and investment decision in the aviation industry. On the other hand, opportunities and challenges in the post Brexit period through considering the case scenario of Vodafone, which is a multinational enterprise. Based on this analysis recommendation has been suggested as follows.
Recommendation for the aviation industry
Airlines businesses need to adopt a sensible approach to risk planning to struggle against emerging economic consequences.
They should consider different ranges on financial regulation
As a short term plan, the industry should take sincere focus on foreign exchange volatility
They have to restructure their business policies through understanding the consumer perception
They have to discuss structuring a new line to resolve the barrier to cross-boundary business performances
They have to take positive initiatives for the manufacturing process too, where taxation has created an adverse impact
Recommendation for Vodafone as an MNE
As per the case scenario of Vodafone, they can get a positive market environment by making modifications to the internal business structure. In this landscape, they have to understand the requirements of stakeholder management. Through segmenting the stakeholders at the required level, an organization can handle its share growth from a positive dimension. In the new market field, they have to employ more effort in strategic management towards the business field. Stakeholder management is also required to reduce the level of uncertainty. If stakeholders are not aware of the present business consequences, they cannot deliver the required strategic effort as per the business commitment.
They have to rethink their decision of headquarter movement through understanding the positive outcome of Brexit in the UK market zone. They have to understand the threats of global forces that have created an impact on foreign business policies. Through proper understanding, they can regain their profit growth in a competitive market.
Reference list
Cocks, M., 2016. Urban entrepreneurialism, global networks and export support: Are UK cities looking east?. Local Economy, 31(6), pp.690-708.
deloitte.com (2017). Preparing for uncertainty following Brexit in the Travel and Aviation sector. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-industrial-products/articles/brexit-in-travel-aviation-sector.html [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
gov.au (2016). Brexit: Opportunities for trade and investment.
grantthornton.co.uk (2016). The impact of ‘Brexit’ on the financial services sector. Available at: https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/globalassets/1.-member-firms/united-kingdom/pdf/brexit-impact-financial-services.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
iata.org (2016). The impact of ‘BREXIT’ on UK Air Transport. Available at: http://www.iata.org/publications/economic-briefings/impact-of-brexit.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
Lea, R., 2016. Post-Brexit trading options for the UK. Arbuthnot Banking Group, 4, pp.1-16.
lse.ac.uk (2017). International business, cities, and competitiveness: recent trends and future challenges. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/86630/1/Iammarion_International%20business%2C%20cities%20and%20competitiveness.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
lse.ac.uk (2017). The impact of Brexit on foreign investment in the UK. Available at: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/brexit03.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
mckinsey.com (2015). Global Forces. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/strategy%20and%20corporate%20finance/our%20insights/mckinsey%20quarterly%202017%20number%202%20overview%20and%20full%20issue/q2_2017_mckquarterly_full%20issue.ashx [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
ons.gov.uk (2017). system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], Commonwealth trade in focus as the UK prepares for Brexit. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/articles/commonwealthtradeinfocusasukpreparesforbrexit/2017-03-09 [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
Roberts, D., 2017. Airbus boss says Brexit risks losing UK aviation’s ‘crown jewels’ to China. The Guardian, 21 Nov. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/21/airbus-boss-says-brexit-risks-losing-uk-aviations-crown-jewels-to-china [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
Roberts, D., 2017. UK aerospace industry issues warning over lack of Brexit trade deal. The Guardian, 20 Nov. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/20/uk-aerospace-industry-issues-warning-over-brexit-trade-deal [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
Schnapper, P., 2015. The Labour Party and Europe from Brown to Miliband: Back to the Future?. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 53(1), pp.157-173.
Seabrooke, L., and Wigan, D., 2017. Brexit and global wealth chains. Globalizations, 14(6), pp.820-829.
Sgeffield, H., 2016. Vodafone could move group HQ outside the UK because of Brexit. The Independent, 29 Jun. [Online]. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/vodafone-hq-headquarters-brexit-eu-referendum-a7108631.html [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
Taylor Buck, N. and While, A., 2017. Competitive urbanism and the limits to smart city innovation: The UK Future Cities initiative. Urban Studies, 54(2), pp.501-519.
thecommonwealth.org (2015). The system review final report. [Canberra, A.C.T.?], Commonwealth in the Unfolding Global Trade Landscape. Available at: http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/Commonwealth%20Trade%20Review%202015-Full%20Report.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
thecommonwealth.org (2016). BrexitPolicyBrief. Available at: http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/BrexitPolicyBrief18112016.PDF [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
West, K. 2017. Britain’s aerospace sector could be priced out after Brexit. The Guardian, 3 Sep. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/03/britain-aerospace-sector-could-be-priced-out-after-brexit [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
wti.org (2015). Exploring intra-commonwealth goods and services trade. Available at: https://www.wti.org/media/filer_public/4f/b7/4fb7eb20-7f73-4dce-b31c-13d518f797c4/cw_effects_ssrn.pdf [Accessed: 04/05/2018]
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
The 2007-2010 Great Recession was the result of a dreadful financial crisis that tormented not only the United States but also the entire world. It is perceived as the worst economic meltdown since the end of World War II in 1945 as it caused severe economic problems that are still being felt up to date which include unemployment, heightened poverty level and increased inflation rate thus impairing economic growth. The Great Recession was a nightmare every nation is still dealing with and has absolutely no desire to relive those dreadful moments thus the yearning to minimize the chances of its recurrence in future which has formed the basis of the ongoing debate of whether the financial crisis could have been avoided or its impact reduced. Some argues, especially policy makers, that there was nothing anyone could do to avert the situation claiming the financial crisis was bound to happen since its occurrence was as a result of uncontrollable forces. However, most financial analysts as well as economists believe that the crisis that raked havoc across the globe was preventable with their view backed by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s report.
The report placed the government, policy makers, regulators and financial institutions at the heart of the problem claiming the financial crisis resulted from their weakness signified by poor decision making. The crisis is largely attributed to ignorance, negligence as well as meaningless ideologies that clouded the relevant authorities’ judgment consequently leading to the inappropriate actions that costs the world a stable economy. The root causes of the financial catastrophe that brought the world to its knees are all attributed to human failures that could have been tamed once realized of which was not the case. They include, unethical practices by financial intuitions, reckless corporate and government practices, mismanagement of the financial markets, inadequate policies governing housing and financial markets and macroeconomic problems. This factors were the result of excessive foreign borrowing by the government, reckless lending practices and extreme loose borrowing monetary policies. Therefore, most analysts argue that most of the factors contributing to the crisis are manageable thus their support on the notion that the financial crisis was avoidable as expressed by Taylor & Hoover Institution Press (2009, pp. 21).
Friedman, J., & Kraus, W. (2011, pp. 8) dismisses claims that the financial crisis was caused by natural factors and neither was it the result of technological difficulties. She says that the recession was purely human oriented; in that it was absolutely caused by human actions yet human actions are controllable thus implying that the crisis was avoidable. The crisis was the result of inappropriate decision making regarding the actions that were right or wrong for the economy attributed to misjudgment, an element of human weakness that were uncounted for at the time. By the mere fact that the financial system was created and is controlled by humans proves that the crisis could have been tamed by thorough evaluation of the then system in terms of its weaknesses and strengths and appropriate adjustments implemented immediately which was not the case.
Taylor & Hoover Institution Press (2009, pp. 47) claims the recession’s impacts could have been suppressed or even prevented had the relevant authorities heed the warning signals given by several analysts of international economic conditions. They were concerned about the growing global macroeconomic imbalances particularly worried about the United States’ borrowing trend that resulted to excessive capital inflow by 2003-2004 agreeing that such trends would cause problems in future as much as they were unsure of the nature and the timing of the mayhem. Thus the blame of the crisis on politicians, regulators, financial institutions and credit agencies is based on the perception that they neglected their duty to protect the economy. For instance different economist including Ken Rogoff, Nouriel Roubini as well as Raghuram Rajan from 2005 all throughout 2006 were worried of hazards looming in the financial and housing markets thus proving that had the warning not been overlooked, the world would have been in a better position economically as described by Friedman (2011, pp. 58). This is because governments would have prepared adequately in response to the threatening economic mishap thus minimized its effect or avoided it completely as the warning started as early as 2003; unlike what transpired in the wake of the crisis that saw the situation intensify as a result of the government ill preparedness to handle the situation.
The Great Recession caused by the financial crisis that commenced in 2007 is also attributed to impunity and unethical financial practices pertaining to moral decay indicated by greed and exploitation for personal benefits by financial institutions at the expense of the economy. For instance, bankers risked the financial system for their own personal gains by manipulating the system to enable them take advantage of the homeowners. A practice associated with recklessness and extreme level of irresponsibility stirred by selfishness as their actions jeopardized the overall economy and cost the entire globe a lot of which had the bankers exercised moral values as well as self-restrain, the disaster would have been prevented as implied by Petrick (2011, pp. 94).
The economic breakdown is further believed to have been the result of inappropriate government practices like excessive foreign borrowing. United States is believed to have been borrowing close to a trillion dollars annually from the rest of the world which was lethal to the economy in the long run. This is because, it contributed to macroeconomic imbalance since there was too much inflow of capital compared to outflows. The macroeconomic imbalance encouraged unstable real estate and financial prosperity that crumbled in no time resulting to losses. Furthermore, most of the gains seemed to be channeled towards the loan repayment and not into development. Therefore, the overheated economy would have been slowed had the government minimized the outside fiscal deficits consequently suggesting that the crisis was preventable as affirmed by Taylor & Hoover Institution Press (2009, pp. 60).
Petrick (2011, pp. 97) blames reckless financial management attributed to wicked ideologies that relied foolishly on inadequate accountable bailouts and gave the impression that financial institutions could manage themselves, and other factors related to the shift in financial risk management pointing out the bail out. By proposing a theoretical model to minimize its impacts and prevent another financial crisis in future, Petrick indicates that the financial mayhem experienced in 2007-2010 could have been prevented. For instance, the theoretical model he proposes based on reformed macro-level practices could have promoted responsible risk management and integrity in systematic global financial institutions suppose it were implemented at the time of crisis commencement since failure by the government to respond immediately to the financial unrest prolonged crisis leading to further damage to the economy as echoed by Alfaro & Chen (2010, pp. 11).
Connolly & Wall (2011, pp. 8) strongly believes that the crisis was the as a result of mismanagement backed by poor inadequate policies governing the financial markets. Absence of proper financial policies fostered excessive risk taking culture among financial firms and mortgage institutions; a clear indication of poor risks management strategies and reckless decision making that is avoidable. Financial firms got into the habit of investing large in very risky short term investments blindly without caring whether the investments were viable. Therefore, clearly stressing the regulators role in stirring the crisis and failure in their responsibility to oversee economic growth since had they established and implemented strong policies such practices would have been curbed earlier and the crisis prevented. The regulators further encouraged malpractices in the shadow banking system that was largely popular yet unregulated. The shadow banking system was characterized by security debt obligation and extreme use of leverage notorious among two government sponsored institutions as stated by Kirshner (2014, pp. 73).
Furthermore, Friedman (2011, pp. 67) claims that interventions of government in the housing market is believed to be one of the major setbacks in the financial system that sparked the economic collapse. Inflation of the housing bubble was encouraged by the government who underestimated the impacts of its bursting to the economy. Thus the collapse of the housing bubble led to huge loses of funds that had initially been implanted in the system in the form of risky sub-prime mortgages with its impact being intensified by complicated financial derivatives pertaining to the mortgage loans whose risks had been miscalculated. This left most credit agencies like commercial banks and mortgage institutions bankrupt thus unable to support themselves financially. This situation could have been avoided had the housing market properly been examined and the defect in mortgage securities realized as observed by Taylor & Hoover Institution Press (2009, pp. 56).
Spiegel (2011, pp. 5) agrees that the economy could have been saved affirming that the crisis was avoidable had credit agencies like commercial banks adopted appropriate lending practices and had every agency and authorities responsible for overseeing activities of the financial market played their role as expected of them. The commercial banks for instance, experienced massive liquidity crisis when the housing market they had been recklessly financing declined and the assets rendered worthless due to low quality home loans embedded into mortgage-backed securities. This contributed to severe losses of large amount of money threatening their existence considering some of them did not survive the economic downfall and others had to be bailed out by taxpayers. This misfortune would have been prevented had the Federal Reserve raised lending rates in order to discourage the credit boom. Furthermore, assertive expansion by financial firms that placed them in a compromising position when it came to managing their assets- in that they were completely unequipped to handle large assets- also contributed to huge financial shortfalls, a practice that should have been discouraged as explicated by Lagorde-Segot (2010, pp. 34).
Moreover, since the commencement of the Great Recession in 2007 numerous economists and financial analysts have come up with ways to better protect the economy. By analyzing factors that contributed to the crisis such as mismanagement and poor financial policies, Kwon managed to establish suitable measures to be taken in order to curb the crisis and its recurrence thus echoing that the financial crisis was avoidable. Kwon bases his ideas on eliminating mistakes made prior and at the time of the crisis that cost the global economy like unethical financial decisions attributed to greed and recklessness. He proposes a situation where the government is at the core of financial management through establishment of appropriate financial market policies and dedicated regulatory agencies to oversee the governance of all financial sectors and institutions whose inexistence played a major role in stirring the financial unrest as explained by Kwon (2011, pp. 13) thus disregarding the notion that there was absolutely no way at the time of the crisis to deal with the economic drawback.
In summary, the financial crisis that tormented United States and nearly the whole world could have been prevented as much as most policy makers do not agree. The financial crisis lead to the Great Recession whose impact is still lingering appearing as one of the worst economic disaster since 1930s and particularly after the second World War. Numerous economic analysts across the globe agree that the economic meltdown that began in 2007 resulted from manageable inappropriate human actions and inactions prior dismissing claims that it was contributed by uncontrollable factors since it was not caused by natural calamities or technological malfunctioning thus was avoidable. The root causes of the crisis are attributed to negligence, wicked ideologies and ignorance that were the driving of poor decisions made by the relevant authorities charged with the responsibility of managing the economy. Failure to acknowledge and deal management weaknesses inspired by lax regulations governing the financial markets that further led to inappropriate lending practices by commercial banks as well as improper corporate strategies that inclined towards extreme risk taking in terms of investments causing problems in the financial system. Macroeconomic imbalance resulting from excessive government foreign borrowing was also among the factors that contributed to the crisis of which most of them are controllable hence justifies the perception that the financial crisis could have been avoided. The analysts maintains that had every individual including regulators, policy makers and financial institutions played their role appropriately then the situation would have been different. This is because The root causes of the crisis is believed to be reckless risky investments, excessive foreign borrowing and poor market strategies among others that could have been discouraged by the relevant authorities.
References
Alfaro, L., & Chen, M. X. (2010). Surviving the global financial crisis: Foreign ownership and establishment performance. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.
The journal focuses measures that could have been implemented in order to curb the impacts of the crisis as well as eliminate chances of a future recurrence. The journal highlights the value of learning from past mistakes clearly suggesting that the crisis was human oriented and could have been prevented.
The journal attributes the crisis to failure by regulators to properly manage the financial markets greatly cultivating excessive risk taking culture by financial firms and mortgage institutions, an indication of poor risk management strategies and decision making that is preventable. Alfaro & Chen (2010, pp. 7) highlights the inappropriate shadow banking system that was unregulated but largely popular.
Connolly, C., & Wall, T. (2011). The global financial crisis and UK PPPs. International Journal of Public Sector Management.doi:10.1108/09513551111163648
The journal discusses the financial crisis that led to the global recession in terms of its causes, impacts and possible solutions that could have saved the economy at the time. The journal highlights poor management in the financial sector as one of the major causes. Connolly and Wall stresses the irresponsible ideologies by the government and financial institutions that led to the economic meltdown (Connolly & Wall, 2011, pp. 10).
The journal particularly points out poor corporate government practices like the excessive foreign borrowing that results to too much loans straining the entire economic sector as most of the gains were spent on loan repayment instead of development. Due to negligence of significant crisis warning signals the government failed to adequately handle the situation as they were unprepared as implied by Connolly & Wall (2011, pp. 19).
.
Kwon, E. (2011). Managing a financial crisis: A comparative political economic analysis of the United States and South Korea. Journal of East Asian Affairs 30 pages.
Kwon also focuses on appropriate ways of managing the financial crisis drawing lessons from the 2007-2010 financial crisis. By evaluating factors that contributed to the crisis such as mismanagement and poor financial policies, the journal manages to establish suitable measures to be taken in order to curb the crisis thus echoing that the financial crisis was avoidable. Kwon bases his ideas on the eliminating mistakes made at the time that cost the global economy like unethical financial decisions attributed to greed and recklessness. It proposes a situation where the government is at the core of financial management through establishment of appropriate policies to oversee the governance of all financial sectors and institutions whose inexistence played a major role in stirring financial turmoil (Kwon, 2011, pp. 13).
Petrick, J. A (2011). Sustainable Stakeholder Capitalism: A Moral Vision of Responsible Global Financial Risk Management. Journal of Business Ethics.
Petrick in his journal describes the factors that contributed to the financial crisis that resulted to a severe economic recession and gives theoretical insights on the way forward. He blames reckless financial management attributed to unethical ideologies that relied foolishly on inadequate accountable bailouts and other factors related to the shift in financial risk management (Petrick, 2011, pp. 97). The journal further proposes a theoretical model to minimize its impacts and prevent another financial crisis in future.
The journal therefore, suggests that the financial havoc experienced in 2007-2010 could have been prevented. For instance, the theoretical model Petrick proposes based on reformed macro-level practices could have promoted responsible risk management and integrity in systematic global financial institutions in case it were implemented at the time of crisis commencement as implied by Petrick (2011, pp. 100).
Spiegel M. (2011). The academic analysis of the 2008 financial crisis: Round 1. The Review of Financial Studies.
The journal looks into the root causes of the financial crisis clearly indicating the initial warning signs prior to the economic meltdown. Spiegel (2011, pp. 20) dismisses claims that the recession was caused by natural factors and neither did it result from technological malfunctioning thus states clearly that it resulted from poor decisions made by humans hence could have been avoided. The journal maintains that politicians, regulators, financial firms and credit rating agencies played an active role in stirring the crisis.
Spiegel places the blame of negligence of the earlier financial crisis warning by regulators and financial firms who failed to inquire, understand and come up with appropriate ways to manage the evolving risks in order to lower its impact or prevent its occurrence altogether. Instead, they held on to the notion that financial institutions could make their own policies thus failure to regulate them was one of the human weaknesses that should have been looked into as suggested by Spiegel (2011, pp. 25).
Generally, all the journals suggest that the financial crisis that contributed to the great global economic recession was human oriented thus was avoidable. The crisis is attributed to inappropriate decision making by humans and failure to acknowledge and deal with the management weakness. The journals maintains that had every individual including regulators, politicians and financial institutions played their role appropriately then the situation would have been different. The root causes of the crisis is believed to be reckless risky investments, excessive foreign borrowing and poor market strategies among others that could have been discouraged by the relevant authorities.
Friedman, J. (2011). What caused the financial crisis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Friedman, J., & Kraus, W. (2011). Engineering the financial crisis. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Kirshner, J. (2014). American power after the financial crisis. Cornell University Press.
Lagorde-Segot, T. (2010). After the crisis: Rethinking finance. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Inc.
Taylor, B. J., & Hoover Institution Press. (2009). Getting off track: How government actions and interventions caused, prolonged, and worsened the financial crisis. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
You are to take your own political poll to measure President Obama’s Approval Rating. Your target population is domestic undergraduate Saint Louis University students. Your sample size will be 20. Your assignment is to design a sampling method that is unbiased and representative. Remember that as an interviewer you need to be a neutral “tape recorder” for your subjects, no matter what your personal political views are. Here is the exact wording of the question that you need to ask:
“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?”
It’s important that everyone use the same question so we can compare results. Don’t worry if your numbers stray from the 40’s. We will expect some outliers due to random variation. Write up your sampling method and list the results for your survey of 20 Saint Louis University Students. Be ready to defend your sampling method for its ability to obtain a “representative” sample. Keep track of the gender of your respondents. Be sure to include the date or dates you took your sample. Give the President’s approval rating in percentage terms. Write a 300 words to describe your methods and results.
Visit the Gallup Presidential Approval Center to provide context for your estimate of Presidential Obama’s approval rating. Look at the tab entitled Historical Trend. How does Obama compare to the other Presidents? Write 250 words.
Instead of using just one poll, there is a movement to use multiple polls and average the results. In addition, even more complex methods have been developed that takes into account data beyond national polls. There is some reason to believe that averaging and some of the more complex methods could be more accurate than an individual poll, however, it is dependent on the quality of the polls that are used to construct the average. There is some controversy.
Read the following article by Nate Silver formerly of the New York Times. He has a website that is called 538. His methods are based on his work with baseball Sabermetrics. Ignore the datedness of the article and read it for the methodology. (He also has an excellent book that just came out called – The Signal and the Noise – if you are looking for a good read.) You may have to set up an account in the New York Times. You should be able to get this article for free.
What methods and data does he use in addition to national polls. Write a 200 word analysis summarizing his methods.
In addition, visit the website RealClearPolitics and investigate their methods. They are a poll aggregator or averager. The person who runs this website is a “conservative.”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa
Write a 250 word analysis summarizing their methods. You may have to dig further.
Do you think we can trust 538 since it is housed in a “liberal” newspaper like the New York Times? Why or why not? Can you trust Realclearpolitics since it is run by a “conservative?” Why or why not? Construct an argument (which was referenced at the University of Chicago website on the difference between High School and College Writing) about the trustworthiness of these two entities. (Compare and contrast.) Write a 250 word analysis. Remember – College Writing!!
Most Americans trust President Obama but are unsure of his leadership style. In the approval poll conducted by Gallup Presidential Approval Center, 47 percent of Americans believed that the President is honest while 48 percent believed that he understood American problems. Thirty-nine percent believe in his leadership style, saying that he has the ability to manage the government effectively. Another 39 percent believe that Obama is a strong and decisive leader and is in a good position to solve the US problems. By September 2015, the job approval ratings of President Obama went down and were at 52 percent. This approval is 4 percent lower than the 56 percent registered in the first quarter of the year. Since he was President, Obama’s approval rating among Union workers has been rising and falling. The lower approvals have been contributed by the free trade agreements the President has signed with Asian countries. The Labor Unions in the country oppose freed trade agreements since they say this will result in cheap imports resulting in loss of employment for American workers. The rise in the approval rating is because of the expansion of workers’ rights. Workers are now being paid for working overtime, and more and more are being employed permanently than on contractual basis. Most of those that approve Obama’s leaders are the Union members. The Union members have from time to time been in support of Obama’s leadership as President. Since there is declined in the approval rating, it means that the President is losing support from the Union members.
Compared to other Presidents, the approval rating of Obama is similar to that of George W. Bush. Both of these presidents have has a sixth-year polarized presidency. Obama’s sixth year in office is number ten among the most polarized in the previous six decades. Regarding job Approval for both Obama and Bush were similar and stood at 79 percent. Compared to Clinton who had 53 percent approval rating, Obama’s average approval stands at 43 percent. Other Presidents such as Nixon resigned in their sixth year in office, Eisenhower and Reagan had an approval rating of below 40 percent.
Is Obama Toast? Handicapping the 2012 Election by Nate Silver
The data Nate uses are from the economic performance and the opponent’s ideology. The data method is the three-factor model. Economic performance, especially in the fourth year, is a great determinant of the President’s re-election. In the last year of re-election is economic performance is improved voters are likely to forget and overlook their problems if the economy is headed in the right direction. Forecasting of the economy is not a good sign since they mislead voters.
Using the data from the opponent’s ideology, Americans have been predicted to vote using the referendum model where the only performance of the opponent matter. Using the median voter model the dogma of the candidates is central and no performance is evaluated. Both models are not reliable and for that reason, economic performance and approval rating are important determinants for re-election.
The three-factor model looks at the approval ratings together with the GDP growth. The model, however, does not take into consideration, for instance, the possibility of a third party candidate and the difference between voters. Each voter understands economic matters differently. The model, therefore, allows for any income. It is clear that the three-factor model has errors, it is, therefore, important to work on reducing these errors. We cannot trust the 538 even when it is said to be housed on a Liberal Newspaper. The opinions in the articles are the writers opinions are biased, for example in the article the writer predicted that Obama is most likely not to win his second term in office. This is false since the prediction did not come to term.
The data collection methods of RealClearPolitics [RCP] have been questioned from time to time. RCP uses the RCP average that is obtained from the mean of polling in two to three weeks. Polls are supposed to be non-partisan. Political preference has the ability to influence the methodology of a political poll. I would not tell whether the views expressed by RCP are conservative. This is because conservatives are of the view that we should let the intuitions of the state remain as they are. Therefore, we cannot trust RealClearPolitics. RCP for twelve years has been the top political average. Reading the website, however, I realize that the commentary is leaned towards conservative views.
The non-conservative views will only arise if they do not average all polls creating an incomplete data analysis. An example of inconsistency data is that of the nine national polls that indicated that RCP conducted over 12,000 interviews. The data analysis indicates a margin error sample that was too large. The averages were done using not all of the data collected from the respondents. Most of the results from the state are the same ones used in national polls. We cannot, therefore, rely on RCP data
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
A preschool is also known as a nursery school and is defined as an establishment that offers early education to the children. The onset of preschool begins in the industrial era. At the time, majority of the children received basic education at home with the help of nannies and parents. This is before proceeding to primary education which in most cases was at boarding school. Mothers who could not afford nannies and needed to work in the factories to support their families felt that their children were at a disadvantage. Campaigns began to establish institutions that could give such children basic academic knowledge in reading, writing and number work.
The first preschool was opened in Britain and with its success several other institutions opened their doors for the education of young children. The idea was quite popular with the nobility social class and soon gained fame with middle and lower social classes. Today, preschool is almost guaranteed for each child. However, there are some who question the importance of these programs in as far as education is concerned. Critics are often clear in stating that the preschool skills can easily be mastered with the help of parents at home, in a much safer environment which allows bonding of children and parents in the early formative years. While this is true, (Vinovskis 23) states that preschool is not just about academic skills for the children, these institutions also offer social, adaptive and vital experiences in an all-round child. Today, there is much emphasis put into preschool with parents might for, working towards and booking places in renowned preschools. This is out of the belief that the right preschool builds the foundation for the child’s achievement curve in later life.
Preschool is ideal for handling various circles in a child’s development. Majority of the critics of preschool focus only on academic achievement and learning, but preschool is much more that academics for the young ones.
Social and emotional development: while at home, toddlers often grow attached and dependent on parents. Their emotional development goes only as far as crying and perhaps making demands with actions. Pre-school allows young children to interact with others for a few hours in a day. During these hours, they make new friends, engage in a variety of activities and master their own independence. They are able to make decisions, choices and even develop simple emotions such as patience because they are away from home. (Zigler et al. 11) states that pre-school is the most ideal ground for toddlers to gather information and experience the reality of gender roles. Children move from what is often termed as parallel play often experienced in play group to group play. Parallel play is whereby each child though in a group are playing individual games. On the other hand, group play means that children are now playing with each other.
World knowledge and understanding: prior to preschool, toddlers have only interacted with the environment in their home and perhaps play group. They have little if any knowledge and awareness of the world that exists beyond them. In preschool they not only interact with other children who are different from them, physically, socially and even in abilities; they also get to learn more about the world and understand different aspects of the society. In essence preschool, is a child’s first interaction with the real world.
Creative development: although the preschool curriculum is directed at academic learning, it is also equally focused on creative skill development. It is through preschool that parents are able to gauge the creative skills of their children. The children engage in a variety of activities, from drawing, coloring, narration and different other hobbies which allow experimentation with their creative abilities.( Schweinhart et al . 144) suggests that sometimes children can surprise even their own parents by developing skills which parents were not aware existed. He gives an example of shy children who are surprisingly good with narration o stories.
Literacy: of course at the foundation of all these developmental skills is the ability of a child to gain literacy. Children acquire reading skills, numbering as well as writing skills. (Zigler et al. 90) state that when reporting to pre-school, children cannot differentiate between different letters, either tell a number from another. Even those who can, only possess basic reading skills, basic numbering and poor and unstructured writing skills. The professionals at the preschools are well trained in assisting children to navigate through the difficulties of becoming literate. Children are able to acquire reading skills, writing skills and numbering skills much faster and more skillfully. This sets a proper foundation to navigate the academic world.
Self-help skills: while in pre-school, young toddlers are encouraged and often navigated towards their own independence. Majority of the toddlers have grown overly reliant on the adults in their lives. They lack the basic skills to take care of themselves and navigate through the day. Pre-school encourages the children who have no one to assist them to become self-sufficient under the supervision of a skilled professional. They are often proud and geared towards learning something new and acquiring a new skill that will reduce their dependence such as dressing themselves, tying their own shoes and cleaning up or tidying their own space. Within no time, the young dependent child becomes an independent and sometimes vociferous child. Basic skills can be taught and introduced at school easily and emphasized at home.
Mathematical and scientific development: for parents at home, the most difficult subject to educate a child on is usually mathematical skills. While teaching which number comes before or after another can be quite simple, the true mathematical skills are often much more difficult. Addition and subtraction may not be as easy to teach as number work, (Umek et al. 568). Pre-school teachers however are able to take up these complexities and make them much easier and simpler or children. In the two years that children are in preschool, they are able to acquire mathematical skills as well as the basic process of scientific knowledge.
Teamwork: class activities force children together, group activities outside class play the same function. Only a few hours are spent in school in individual activities. Children therefore learn to bring together their own strengths and skills and work together as a team. (Diamond et al. 1387) cites that conflict management skills and teamwork enhancement are some of the most vital skills established in these activities. Teachers encourage even children who are considered shy and unsocial into team activities in a manner that is most suitable for them. Through partnerships and group work, a young toddler is able to also develop leadership skills.
General Areas Of Development In Preschool
Physical heath, coordination and movement :Preschool focuses on the development of the small and large muscles in your child. Parents are often advice to select an excellent school with a large playground and playground facilities which allow the child to develop coordinated movement. While a home, the child often plays in unstructured games which have or require simple movements, at preschool the play is structured to encourage muscle coordination, movement and physical fitness. (Barnett 98) compared children homeschooled and those who have attended the two years. He found that the children in preschool showed 36% higher chances of being healthier. They often excelled in sport even later in life, having acquired the basic skills, coordination and also interest in sport. Muscle control is vital in the early years of development and can be easily achieved through structured play.
Social development: as stated before children often engage with others and with adults. Through his engagement children begin to develop confidence when interacting with others and with adults as well. Parents are likely to notice a difference in how their children interact with others and even with them. Friendships and grouping become more common as children develop social skills.
Learning approaches: (Umek et al. 568) suggests that this is a skill that is more useful to the parents and teachers of the child. However, it is also important for the child and in fact is often measured by the achievement of the child. Children learn differently and at different paces, it is important to note this in order to structure the objectives of academic learning. There exist strong links between positive learning approaches and academic excellence. Children development of a learning approach begins in preschool. Here, a child is able to identify how best to master specific skills including reading and writing.
General knowledge: this helps children to develop idea thinking skills and figure out for themselves how the world works. According to (Umek et al. 569), this skill often leads to much curiosity. Children begin asking questions about matters that previously held no interest for them. They may actually begin questioning how things are done and even changing their own routines. It is when these development begins that children begin to show some bit of stubbornness and rebellion as they question everything they have been taught previously. Through the structure of preschool, this skill can be developed to become a source of knowledge rather than a hindrance to knowledge.
Communication and language: communication is not only the activity involved in sending across a message, it is the entire process of sending a message, ensuring the message has been understood and listening for feedback. It is these skills that a child develops in preschool. Children engage with each other and adults, learning the right way to say something and proper communication etiquette. In addition, children are able to learn different languages. Of course pre-schools tend to focus on proper development and communication in English. However, children are also able to master secondary languages such as French and Spanish. Children who begin learning a secondary language in preschool are more likely to become fluent in the later early primary school years. This is the main reason why many preschools have introduced secondary languages in the curriculum. Parents are often determined to get their children into schools teaching secondary languages.
Purpose Of Preschool
Perhaps the most debated issue today in early academics, is if preschool plays any vital role in children. Major critics indicate that pre-school is simply an excuse for parents to get away from their children. They instead advocate for children to stay at home, avoiding the pressures of pre-school. Others indicate that the pre-school environment forces toddlers to take on too much responsibility a situation which leads them to develop academic problem and school disabilities. However, it should be noted that pre-school like any other functional institution has a purpose in society and plays a significant role in the development of a child.
Learn structure: the activities of preschool are vital in helping the child learn the importance o structure. It is to be remembered that until now, the child has operated in a general structure that often changes to their benefit. Should they nap for example just before play group, parents are likely to leave the child napping. Pre-school on the other hand is completely structured, they must get to school on time, attend classes as scheduled and attend to all class activities as required. Children often have to learn these skills before attending kindergarten. Children introduced to structure in the early years of pre-school are used to it by the time they get to kindergarten they are able to adjust much better and perform much better because they are well adapted as opposed to children who are not aware of and have not experienced structure. Preschool helps the child to develop class etiquette, they are aware of the classroom rules and what is expected of them in the structure of class.
Social skills: while home school provides an ideal environment for the child to learn at their own pace; it has often been criticized for the simple fact that it lacks the ability to encourage a child’s social skills. Children are not able to interact with other new children and adults. When such children get into kindergarten the social environment becomes completely scary. They are often unable to make new friends and interact with other children becoming withdrawn from the others even where team activities are required. Other social skills that are developed include proper communication etiquette. For example, during group work in class; children learn to work together, speak to each other, share their items and listen. During presentation, the children learn to listen to the teacher and be quiet while the other child speaks. When such children have gotten to kindergarten, they are aware how to make group work a success and are therefore more likely to enjoy school. While it is possible to learn some social skills in the home, interaction allows the children to put into practice these skills.
Mastering learning skills: the ability to acquire knowledge preps children for higher institutions such as elementary school. (Vinovskis 78) indicates that children are able to expand their own vocabulary and the ability to learn properly in pre-school. This is simply because they are exposed to an environment which encourages mystery and parties of these skills. At this age, children are able to learn not just through memory but mainly by practice. With their own peers, practice is at a maximum. Researchers have found that children who have attended preschool, have a higher learning curve when compared to children who have not attended preschool.
Jumpstart kindergarten: subject matter taught in preschool is ideal to jumpstart your child’s understanding and grasping of kindergarten curriculum. Basic coloring, number work and language skills are developed in preschool. Children who have attended preschool tend to be far much ahead of the class when they get to kindergarten. While other children are still mastering how to hold crayons and pencils, a preschool graduate is already writing and flowing in reading. This also gives the child confidence in their own abilities. When a child is confident, they are able to learn much faster and to master various aspects of the subject matter. (Zigler et al. 67) concludes that preschool years are vital towards the successful development of your child’s brain ability. The preschool years set the pace for the successful later academic years of your child. Children who have attended preschool tend to be more inclined towards grasping new academic material quickly.
(Schweinhart et al. 143) conducted a long term study comparing the rate of success for children who have attended pre-school and those who have not. They found that pre-school children had a tendency of earning much higher income, perhaps due to their higher academic performance and the confidence which they possess. In addition, they also found that preschool children tend to develop their talents much easier thereby setting a foundation for their own success. They finally concluded, in addition to all these preschool children have lesser chances of engaging in criminal behavior and delinquent actions such as drug taking and alcoholism. They are more centered and in the troubling teenage years, they tend to perform much better as opposed to other children.
Appropriate Age For Preschool
Majority of the preschool begin accepting children into their institutions at two and a half years. The institutions insist that whereas a child o two years may show exceptional signs of developmental hurdles and maturity, they are simply not ready for structured learning in preschool. On the other hand, simple because a child has reached two and a half years, does not magically mean that they are ready for preschool. (Vinovskis 67) indicates that whereas the two and half years mark sets the bar for a child’s readiness to attend preschool, the decision is to be based on some developmental marks rather than age alone. Age on its own can be a misguiding concept in judging the child’s readiness to attend preschool. The following suggestions have been made for observations that need to go with the age:
Independence: this means that the child can complete basic tasks on their own. Majority of the preschools or example require that the child be potty trained, meaning they can attend to the toilet functions on their own without help. Simple tasks such as dressing and cutting away their things should be easily completed. This is because the child may need to do things on their own with minimum supervision.
Has spent time away from home: preschool introduces a complete new environment where the child will need to be away from family members. A child who comes straight from home, having sent all the time with family tends to be more traumatized by the experience of preschool. Parents are often advice to take the child to daycare or play group, where they learn to spend some few hours away from them. Sometime away from the home and their parents prepares them for the separation anxiety that could arise when they join preschool.
Benefits Of Preschool
Licensing: day care centers and play groups do not have to abide to the strict rules and regulations that preschool work with. Licensing of preschool is a much stricter and difficult process. This means that the schools have to meet a certain level of professionalism and even maintain a certain level of quality. It is important to note that the preschool business environment involves much competitions. If a school fails to maintain a particular standard, chances are that it will be overtaken by competition. For this reason, parents can be assured that what is advertised is what they will actually get without any changes or dilution.
Variety: preschool is not only about academics, there is often a wide variety of activities that are involved in the curriculum. These activities are aimed at developing the child’s multitude of talents and skills. These skills often prove vital in judging a child’s strength and charisma. From playgroup, to arts and crafts, indoor and outdoor activities, children experience a wide variety of suitable activities for their age.
Professionalism: pre-schools are run by trained teachers. Teachers need to acquire some form of professional training in managing and teaching the young children. Parents can be therefore assured that their children will be handled professionally and receive professional care in the preschool. These teachers are also well trained to introduce new subject matter to the children in a simplistic manner. Preschool children therefore have a higher chance of successfully grasping foreign subject matter.
Structure: preschool is built on structures, schedules and rules which must be followed by all who are involved. Parents need to adhere to rule such as time to bring in the children and pick them up. On the other hand, children begin to master the importance of a schedule. This helps them to develop self-control and patience, for example knowing that they need to complete art work before going outside to play or even having a snack. This skill is crucial in preparing the child for kindergarten, where class schedules, timing and rules are taken seriously.
Socialization: a preschool aged child has probably had little if any opportunity to interact with children his own age. He has been more focused on interacting with adults, parents, siblings and probably nannies who care for them. The preschool environment offers an ideal place to interact with other children. This allows the child to master skills such as proper communication, sharing, waiting turns and making of new friends. In later years, in kindergarten the child adjusts much more easily and has an easier time making new friends.
CONCLUSION
Recent focused studies have shown the benefits that accrue from sending children to preschool. What was previously considered a simple way to engage the child, while parents were at work is quickly becoming a booming and competitive way to set the pace for a child’s academic excellence. Despite the raging debates, all agree that preschool is most deal way to get a child ready for school. However, the programs in the preschool need to be structured so that they include a wide variety and are flexible to suit the needs of specific children.
Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science (New York, NY), 318(5855), 1387.
Marjanovič, Umek L, Simona Kranjc, Urška Fekonja, and Katja Bajc. “”The Effect of Preschool on Children’s School Readiness.” Early Child Development and Care. 178.6 (2008): 569-588.
Schweinhart, Lawrence J. Significant Benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study through Age 27. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, No. Ten. High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 600 North River Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48198-2898, 1993.
Vinovskis, Maris A. The Birth of Head Start: Preschool Education Policies in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Zigler, Edward, Walter S. Gilliam, and Stephanie M. Jones. A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPTPrivacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
