Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Education Insurance Awareness Essay Example for Free

Education Insurance Awareness Essay An Overview In 1965, Yarri proposed the use of life insurance to insure against lifetime uncertainty resulting for the mortality risk of individuals. Premature death of a family head can bring serious financial consequences for the surviving family members because the family head’s earnings are lost forever leaving unfulfilled financial obligations, such as dependents to support, children to educate, and a mortgage to repay. Life insurance allows individuals and families to share the risk of premature death with many others and to alleviate the financial loss from the premature death of the rimary wage earner (Garman Forgue, 2006). The purchase of life insurance is one of the most important purchasing decisions for individuals and families (Anderson Nevin, 1975) and it is a critical component of a long-term financial plan (Devaney Keaton, 1994). 2). Introduction to Child Education Insurance Policy A child education policy is a life insurance product specially designed as a savings tool to provide an amount of money when a child reaches the age for entry into college normally 18 years old and above. The funds can be utilised to partly meet a childs higher education expenses. Also, if purchaser opts for a payor benefit rider, an education policy provides the assurance that, in the event of an untimely demise of the parents or legal guardian, the child will have access to funds to help finance his or her education expenses. Under a child education policy, the child is the life assured, while the parent or legal guardian is the policy owner. 3). Types of child education policies available in life insurance market. There are two main types, i. . an endowment or investment-linked policy. The difference between the two lies in the structure as well as the nature of investments. 3. 1) Endowment policy is an endowment policy combines a savings component with protection coverage. Endowment policy may be either participating or non-participating. As the name implies, non-participating policy do not participate in the life insurance funds profits but all insurance benefits are fully guaran teed. On the other hand, for participating policy, a portion of insurance benefits are guaranteed. However, the ultimate amount of benefits at maturity is not guaranteed as these depend on the performance of the insurance companys participating life insurance fund. 3. 2) Investment-linked policy is an investment-linked policy combines the elements of investment and protection based on your requirement as the policy owner. It offers flexibility as you are able to increase or top-up your monthly premium contribution as your income improves. If you wish to be more aggressive with the instruments of investment, an investment-linked policy will also allow you to choose the types of funds your money will be invested in. However, like any other similar investment, there are higher risks involved and there are no guarantees on the returns, which may be higher or lower than projected. 4). Research Background An increasing trend of education expenses to enter college or university nowadays, a lot of parents using financial sources such as Employee Providence Fund or rely on borrowing from Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara to afford the study expenses of their son after leaving secondary school for a higher level of study. As an alternative source of financial protection against high education expenses, parents can purchase an education insurance starting from their children young age. Compare with withdrawal of lump sum of money from EPF (Employee Providence Fund) or make borrowing from PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara), a parents just need to pay for a small amount of premium and parents as a payer can be covered by insurance in case death or total permanent disablement occurred by paying for an extra insurance rider in the particular education insurance policy. Therefore, this research carried out to examine the level of awareness among parents in Sibu Region towards education insurance provide by insurance companies in Malaysia. This thesis aims to examine both the type and amount of life insurance purchased by households. To this end, comprehensive models of households’ demand for life insurance were developed, which included demographic variables (age, education, employment status, health status, number of children, marital status, and race), economic and assets variables (income, homeownership, debts, as well as portfolio elements such as liquid assets, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, individual retirement accounts, annuities, other miscellaneous financial assets, and nonfinancial assets), and psychographic variables (attitude toward risk, attitude toward leaving a bequest, and one’s expected life expectancy). The effects of these factors on either term or cash value life insurance purchased by households were examined separately. Research Objective General objective To examine the parent’s awareness towards education insurance. Specific Objective 1). To investigate whether parents had purchase education insurance or not for their children at their young age. 2). To identify from which channel of information that made parents aware of education insurance. 3). To identify whether insurance industry playing an effective role in promoting education insurance in life insurance market. ). To examine parents interest towards education insurance products administered by insurance company in insurance market. 5). The main purpose of this study is to examine whether demographic factors influence the purchase of education insurance among parents in Sibu Region. Research question 1). Do you know there is education insurance product in insurance market? 2). Had you purchased any education insur ance from any insurance company for your children? 3). Had any insurance agent approach or introduce and give explanation to you regarding education insurance? 4). Are you willing to purchase any education insurance for your children? 5). what type sources of information you needed to enhance the knowledge regarding education insurance? Problem statement Financing child’s education is one of the major investments that any wise parent is prepared to undertake. A sound university education is not only among the basic requirements to establish a good career; it can also form the foundation of your child’s intellectual maturity for life. We all start learning since birth and the brief period of academic education in our lives represents another landmark in a life-long learning process. But given the high cost of education and the competition to enter well-known universities, it is necessary to have an investment plan to fund our children’s brief sting of three to four years in university. With the limited places available in local universities, many Malaysian students have wisely invested in university education abroad. Faced with the rising costs of overseas university education, how can parents save and invest to finance the tuition fees, let alone the living costs. The depegging of the ringgit from the U. S. dollar last year is a welcome move for many Malaysian parents because under the flexible exchange rate system, the ringgit is likely to appreciate over the long term. This will help Malaysians reduce the cost of overseas education in popular countries such as the U. K. , U. S. and Australia (Charles Goh, www. fimm. com. my/pdf/investor/articles/09). One of the biggest worries for parents nowadays is how to fund their children’s education, which does not come cheap. In addition, as with everything else, education expenses, is it in foreign and local colleges/universities, private primary and secondary schools are expected to trend upwards in future (Elaine Ang, http://thestar. com. my/ September 18, 2010). The trend is upwards as far as education costs are concerned. In predicting the future, we can only use assumptions such as cost and inflation factors in child education planning. The general increase for local studies is about 3% per year and foreign about 5% and this applies to a general business degree of three years (Mike Lee, CTLA Financial Planners Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). An average increase of between 5% to 7% annually in education costs for studies locally and in countries such as Britain, United States, Australia, Canada and Singapore excluding foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Moreover, there are certain years where the increase can be in a lump sum instead of percentage depending on the circumstances. (Matthew Gan, E. T. Education Services Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Some of the common mistakes parents make when saving for their child’s education fund are starting too late, saving without investing and not considering foreign exchange fluctuations for those who aim to send their children overseas. It is important to determine what the education costs are in current value and identify a suitable savings and investment vehicle. Some parents don’t even have a clue how much education costs (Yap Ming Hui, Whitman Independent Advisors Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Save and invest your money as early as possible. Let your money grow with your child, school fees for primary and secondary education range from RM15,000 to RM17,000 per annum with an average 10% increase in fees every two years (Rina Thiagu-Kler, Marketing manager Sri KDU, 2010). Because of less study and difficulties to obtain data regarding education insurance demand in Sibu Region. A brief interview conducted with Mr. Ten Kim Loong, Unit Manager of Kumpulan Elite Ten from Etiqa insurance agency on 2nd December 2011 where he indicated that most of the insurance product demanded by household within Sibu region is medical card and personal accident policy, it is because the premium affordable by policyholder, moreover among the clients approached did not know what policy to purchase and how much sum insured should be enough for protection need†. A discussion session also conducted with Mohamad Faizuli Bin Abd Karim, a financial planner from Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd reveal that among the prospects that approached by him saying that they are not interested in any of insurance products and they worried the premium payment can become an extra expenses as per we noticed the living standard and price of basic necessity good are very high nowadays. The Breakdown of Schooling Expenditure As shown in Table 2, the average cost of schooling overall was found to be RM1,782 per student per year. The cost in rural areas which averaged RM1,590 was about 22 per cent lower than urban areas.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Hulk Smash Essay -- Art

Throughout history, the graphic form has been used as a means of conveying information of many forms such as story, words of warning, or even propaganda (Van Meter). In its more recent shape, the modern comic, the graphic work was often treated as a lowly form of art suitable primarily for adolescents and children seeking entertainment (Cengage). This mindset about comics continued until the mid 1980’s, at which point it was shattered by the arrival of â€Å"Maus†; a graphic novel that documented the experiences of a Holocaust survivor (Spiegelman). After winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, Spiegelman’s work opened the door to a whole world of possibilities for the graphic form in scholarly pursuits. Though this event brought about the birth of countless graphic narratives, each responsible for shedding light on modern historical travesties, it is my conviction that prior to the onset of â€Å"graphic reportage† comics held a more important socio-polit ical relevance. While less explicit with their messages, early comics such as â€Å"The Hulk† gave valuable insight into society by giving a direct look into pop-culture of the time, utilizing symbolism to convey public opinion, and spreading propaganda. When a work is created with the intent of being graphic reportage the author becomes painfully aware of the fact that they will be observed and scrutinized under this context, however when an entirely fictitious comic book is created its author is relieved from the constraints of this awareness of observation. Put more eloquently, comic book authors that create works of graphic reportage are vulnerable to a psychological phenomenon known as the Hawthorne Effect, which states that individuals that are aware that they are being observed will b... ... Works Cited Cengage, Gale. eNotes.com. 2004. 22 April 2012 . Conroy, Mike. "The True Origin of The Incredible Hulk." N/A: Marvel Comics, 2008. Gale, E.A.M. "The Hawthorne studies—a fable for our times? ." QJM (2004): 439-449. Lee, Stan-Writer Kirby, Jack -Penciller Reinman, Paul-Inker Simek,Art-Letters. "The Incredible Hulk." The Incredible Hulk #1. Marvel Comics, May 1962. Rocchi, James. X-Meta : An Outsider’s Guide to Symbolism in Superhero Cinema (wonder woman mention). May 2006. 22 April 2012 . Spiegelman, Art. " Maus: A Survivor's Tale." New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. Van Meter, Justine. "History Of Graphic Novels." Orange, CA, February 2012.

Monday, January 13, 2020

4p’s of Euro Disneyland

1. What factors contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance during its first year of operations? Even though Disney has a theme song that says â€Å"It’s a small world after all†, the world remains quite diverse. The biggest factors that contributed to the poor performance during the first year of EuroDisney’s operations were: a poor understanding of the marketplace, the issues and the cultural differences between two nations and two differing approaches to business and life. The major factor was ethnocentrism of the American leaders counterbalanced by French national insecurities.I have to suggest that the powerful and perhaps arrogant leadership style of Michael Eisner contributed to the problems. Even so, the problems were wider than that. Assuming that people would come from all over Europe as part of the business plan but failing to comprehend how diverse those consumers would be was another major part of the problem. Even though Europe has recently united as the European Union, they have been strongly distinct and independent cultures for centuries.Disney failed to understand the French national character, their insecurities over cultural invasion after having been an occupied nation twice in the last century and their deep commitment to maintaining their identity and liberty. The arrogance of the French is based on insecurity as a global minority and the arrogance of the Americans was based on a wide open optimism and global success. The collision of the two ‘arrogancies’ was â€Å"formidable† as the French say. 2. To what degree do you consider that these factors were a) foreseeable, b) controllable by either EuroDisney or the parent company Disney?A study in history and an understanding of the characters of Europe and the European market place would have enabled the Disney executives to anticipate many of the problems. Some problems were controllable and others were inevitable. Those that were inevitable , however, needed an approach that would soften the reaction rather than exacerbate it. It was inevitable that the choice of France as the location would ruffle French feathers. Their history of occupation shaped their reaction. Their coolness to all things anglophile is legendary.If we simply consider an individual personality, it would be easily understandable that a proud woman who had been enslaved and brutalized might have some lingering issues with dominant behaviour and may especially have trouble looking into the eyes of her rescuers who had seen her at her worst. Even so, they chose France perhaps for its cache in the American psyche (more ethnocentricity). The dominance of the American executive insisting on only English being spoken was like pouring gas on the situation in a culture that monitors words which are absorbed from other languages by an official government body.The idea of pushing business according to an American ethos was an affront to the French who take the ir liberty and unionization very seriously. Coming from the union free Southern United States, the clash was profound. These were all quite predicable for anyone who cared to see beyond their own ways. 3. What role does ethnocentrism play in the story of EuroDisney’s launch? The truth is embodied in this seemingly ambiguous statement â€Å"you don’t know what you do not know†. The trap is that when you do not understand or know something there is no little red light that says â€Å"you don’t get it†.In fact, there is no perception at all that there is something missing. Ethnocentricity carries us deeply into this trap and Disney fell head long into it. They certainly had the resources to get marketing opinion from European sources that would have saved them millions in mistakes. I think though, that the powerful personality of Eisner, coming off of several victories where he forced his vision through the objections of the American business communit y to win big and be therefore validated set the entire EuroDisney enterprise up for failure.Eisner and his trusted team believed that any opposition or obstacle had to be overcome with strength of will and vision and that collaboration would not serve the vision well. Add to this the spectacular success of Disney in Tokyo and all of his personal input verified his approach. Unfortunately, it takes three points to make a pattern and he had only 2. Consultation was the only way to avoid the nightmares encountered in France. The culture was so different from America or Japan that there was little frame of reference in common.Believing all Europeans enjoyed the same sausage or Europeans vacationed in the same way that Americans did was easily corrected by cultural awareness that would not have cost much but they were too ethnocentric to even know the questions to ask. I imagine they had no ears for those who tried to tell them. Sausage might just be sausage to Eisner who probably did no t eat it but to Europeans, it is as distinct as different wines. Attempting to impose American values, such as nondrinking on the French or appearance rules would have been easily understood as a mistake if they had even asked.I also know from a course in Children’s literature that the Disney version of fairytales like Cinderella were almost unrecognizable to those who had grown up on the European (original) versions of the stories. Thus, Disney did not even have the transfer of cultural understanding in the tales that they assumed that they had. 4. How do you assess the cross-cultural marketing skills of Disney? I imagine that they are significantly better now but they were dismally unequal to the task at the time. They simply did not do their homework.In a nation of couturier fashion and elegance, to emphasize size and glamour was ‘tres gauche†. Bigger and better is a selling feature of the American psyche not of the French. They eat one croissant not a dozen do nuts. They buy one designer handbag rather than 6 knock offs. The assumption of a common bond over fairytales was erroneous. The belief that the society functioned like the American society was just wrong because the French are highly unionized, and quite highly socialized in a political sense. Liberty and independence are even more ingrained among the French than the Americans.They believe they invented the concepts and the Americans high jacked them for their constitution. 5. Why did success in Tokyo predispose Disney management to be too optimistic in their expectations of success in France? Discuss In Japan Disney found an insatiable curiosity about American ways and American forms of play because of the rebuilding of Japan by the Americans who dropped the bombs on Hiroshima- their conquerors. Japan had been broken by and then rebuilt upon an American capitalistic model. (Please do not read criticism into this.I am not sure Truman had any choice given the personality and militar y spirit of Japan). The Japanese had been inundated with American cultural icons since world war two and Disney cartoons were a staple in Japanese experience. The success of Disney was more the success of the Japanese people at adapting to a new world after defeat than a triumph of marketing and cultural understanding. Unfortunately, the success without much cooperation, deeper understanding or adaptation led to the false belief in the Disney magic touch world wide.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Main Tenets And Assumptions Of Critical Criminology

A theoretical perspective in the field of criminology that addresses power differentials, inequalities and hierarchies as the explanations of crime is known as critical criminology. In the making and enforcement of law, critical theoretical perspectives are helpful in the reduction of crime by reducing the social, economical and political disparities in a social agency. Critical criminology actually provides a huge framework for the discussion of many other approaches followed in criminology like conflict theory, post-modernism and peacemaking criminology etc. The key tenets and assumptions of critical criminology include: 1. Human actions are not determined but voluntaristic in nature. 2. Social order is based on conflicts between different classes of society. 3. The panic like crime is being out of controls usually created to deflect the attention of society from other conflicts. 4. State crimes and the white collar crimes cannot be controlled by orthodox crime control strategies. 5. Overt and Covert Coercion maintains apparent consensus in society. Crime in the light of critical criminology is an obvious outcome of disparities established in a system. Capitalist economic policies result in economic misery among powerless class in society and certain conditions are created in which adapting the criminal behaviors become the only possible survival strategy. Critical criminology follows the Marxist approach in stating that criminal laws are based on the interests ofShow MoreRelatedThe And Tenets Of Life Course Criminology1587 Words   |  7 Pagesas one way to understand and explain this complex issue. Life-course criminology (often referred to as DLC) emerged from this perspective as a way to help explain age in relation to crime. The purpose of this proposal is to highlight the key areas of life-course criminology and outline how they reveal the value of the theory for research purposes. These key areas of interest are the genesis and tenets of life-course criminology, its key contributors and critics, and how both of these par ties haveRead MoreContemporary Theory: Stratification Essay examples1245 Words   |  5 Pages(Bowles 2013; Kerbo 2000). Stratification sets up that all known societies past and present â€Å"distribute its scarce and demanded goods and services unequally† (Grusky, Ku, and Szelenyi 2008; Tumin 1953). Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945) establish a main function of stratification; which can be explained by the â€Å"requirement faced by any society of placing and motivating individuals in social structure[s]† (242). Through this, the basis of stratification arises from the fundamental works of the forefathersRead MoreMy Personal Journey On Social Work8705 Words   |  35 Pageswas eight years old, so I hope that by me helping people socially, rather than medically like she did, will continue her legacy. I decided to obtain my Bachelor of Arts degree at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, N.S. where I double majored in Criminology and Sociology and minored in Psychology. Once I graduated, I still did not know what career path was right for me, so I took a year off. In the meantime, I applied to three Schools of Social Work: Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., St. ThomasRead MoreUnderstanding Conflict Through Sociological Perspective Essay5342 Words   |  22 Pagessocial structure, as well as the micro-scale structural (Simmel) and  pragmatist  (Mead) theories of social interaction. Contemporary sociological theory retains traces of these approaches. In the present situation, the conflict theory is one of the two main theoretical frameworks of sociological understanding. Functionalism aims only toward a general perspective from which to conduct social science. Methodologically, its principles generally contrast those approaches that emphasize the  micro, such