Hih Accounting Strategy Essay

I am going to talk about HIH insurance’s Corporate accounting scandals. Background: HIH insurance was formed as a small insurance company in 1968. Its main business was to underwrite workers compensation insurance in Australia. The company expanded its operations into property, commercial and professional liability from the mid 1980s. During this period, it also moved into the UK and the US insurance markets. In the US, the focus was on workers compensation insurance. Public liability and professional indemnity insurance were its main specialisations in the UK. Corporate governance The HIH Royal Commission Report attributed the failure of the company to two key factors. First, claims arising from insured events in previous years were much greater than the company had provided for in its accounts, thus leading to an overstatement of reported profits. This is known as ‘under-reserving’ or ‘under-provisioning’. The second factor concerns the further mismanagement of HIH through poorly conceived and badly executed acquisitions. The insurance risks were not properly identified and managed. There was an environment where unpleasant information was hidden from the Board or filtered or sanitised to reduce discomfort or undue questioning from the Board. And there was a lack of sceptical questioning and analysis by senior management, by the board and, arguably, by the auditors Accounting issues: Provisions for expected future claims Evidence presented before the HIH Royal Commission indicates that the prudential margin approach is common industry practice due to the inherent uncertainties in predicting claims. Yet HIH almost always employed the central estimate and did not apply a prudential margin. The consequence was not only to take an overly optimistic view of claims provisions but to continually overstate reported earnings. Accordingly, if one assumes a lower amount of claims is likely to be made on outstanding policies this will generally make profits look more substantial than otherwise would be the case, given an inverse relationship between profits and provisions for future claims (that is, liabilities). According to Main (2003, p. 107) and Westfield (2003, pp. 38 and 43) the approach to profit determination at FAI and HIH was to chose a targeted profit number and to alter the provisions to effectively arrive at that arbitrary figure. Not only did this approach appear to violate the spirit of the accounting standard but it would eventually result in large losses being reported should actual claims exceed the amounts that were previously provisioned. Earnings management using reinsurance contracts HIH appears to have obscured its optimistic provisioning by entering into so-called financial reinsurance arrangements with other parties. Reinsurance is a process â€Å"whereby a second insurer, in return for a premium, agrees to indemnify a first insurer against a risk insured by the first insurer in favour of an insured† According to AASB1023, for a transaction to be accounted for as insurance or reinsurance, there must be a transfer of risk to the reinsurer. The standard does not describe, either in qualitative or quantitative terms, what degree of risk transfer is required. Without examining the intricate details of the actual transactions entered into by HIH, these contracts, in effect, â€Å"promised that no claim would be made on a specific reinsurance policy† (Main, 2003, p. 115). The overall objective was to use reinsurance to offset any likely increase in claims liabilities on the balance sheet with a corresponding recovery under a reinsurance contract. Accounting for goodwill In acquiring the shares of FAI, HIH gave consideration which, in total, amounted to $300. 5 million. This acquisition was initially recorded in 1999 in the consolidated financial statements of HIH as comprising $25 million of net tangible assets and $275 million of purchased goodwill. Subsequently, another $163 million of FAI-related â€Å"goodwill† was added to this intangible asset account so that by the year 2000 this goodwill account had a balance of $438 million (HIH Royal Commission Report, 2003, Section 7. 1. 4). Justice Owen contended that the goodwill adjustments (and reinsurance transactions referred to earlier) became techniques for concealing under-reserving problems inherent in FAI’s insurance portfolio. Conclusion: In conclusion, HIH insurance has several factors lead the company collapses- 2 corporate governance problem and 3 accounting issues. ‘under-provisioning’ and mismanagement are two factors of corporate governance. Provisions for expected future claims; Earnings management using reinsurance contracts and Accounting for goodwill are 3 factors of accounting governance.

Economics Stock market Essay

Playing the stock market is like gambling. Such speculative investing has no social value, other than the pleasure people get from this form of gambling. On the surface, this seems true. Folks are just buying and selling and hoping the difference will end up in their checkbook. They are not improving the lives of others, encouraging certain business practices, buying and using goods, or hiring and training workers. In fact, the businesses that they buy and sell may never matter to them and never know about their activity. So, what social value was there? However, upon deeper reflection, there might be more. The buying and selling creates liquidity in a public market and permits business to obtain cheap funding for projects that produce jobs, feed communities, train workers and support charities. And, to the extent that playing the stock market educates the investor (no telling if it does or not), the investor might learn about company activities and get interested in particular firms and support their goals. This evolution from disinterested to interested/active may or may not occur but it is possible. Yes, they might be trying to beat the odds, as in a black jack game but this activity might be ultimately educational and provides the grease that lubricates the capital markets. Playing the stock market is like gambling. Such speculative investing has no social value, other than the pleasure people get from this form of gambling. On the surface, this seems true. Folks are just buying and selling and hoping the difference will end up in their checkbook. They are not improving the lives of others, encouraging certain business practices, buying and using goods, or hiring and training workers. In fact, the businesses that they buy and sell may never matter to them and never know about their activity. So, what social value was there? However, upon deeper reflection, there might be more. The buying and selling creates liquidity in a public market and permits business to obtain cheap funding for projects that produce jobs, feed communities, train workers and support charities. And, to the extent that playing the stock market educates the investor (no telling if it does or not), the investor might learn about company activities and get interested in particular firms and support their goals. This evolution from disinterested to interested/active may or may not occur but it is possible. Yes, they might be trying to beat the odds, as in a black jack game but this activity might be ultimately educational and provides the grease that lubricates the capital markets.

Market Segmentation Notes

Definition of ‘Market Segmentation' A marketing term  referring to  the aggregating of prospective buyers into groups (segments) that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action. Market segmentation enables companies to target different categories of consumers who perceive the full value of certain products and services differently from one another. Generally three criteria  can be used to identify  different market segments: 1) Homogeneity (common needs within segment) 2) Distinction (unique from other groups) 3) Reaction (similar response to market) Investopedia explains ‘Market Segmentation'For example, an athletic footwear company might have market segments for basketball players and long-distance runners. As distinct groups, basketball players and long-distance runners will respond to very different advertisements. Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers who have common needs and applications for the relevant goods and services. Depending on the specific characteristics of the product, these subsets may be divided by criteria such as age and gender, or other distinctions, like location or income.Marketing campaigns can then be designed and implemented to target these specific customer segments. Why Segment? One of the main reasons for using market segmentation is to help companies to better understand the needs of a specific customer base. Mass marketing assumes that all customers are the same and will respond to the same advertising. By looking at ways in which potential customer groups are different from each other, the marketing message can be better targeted to the needs and wants of those people.Often, dividing consumers by clearly defined criteria will help the company identify other applications for their products that may not have been obvious before. These revelations often help the company target a larger audience in that same dem ographic classification, improving market share among a specific base. Segmenting the market can also serve to identify smaller groups of people who make up their own, previously unknown subsets, further improving the overall efficiency of the company's marketing efforts.Segmentation Strategies According to experts, in order to be a good market segment, a group should meet five criteria: 1. It should be possible to identify and measure it, 2. it should be big enough to be worth the effort, 3. it should be easy to reach it, 4. it should not change quickly, 5. and it should be responsive. Market segmentation strategies that meet these criteria can cover wide range of consumer characteristics. Subsets may be defined by basic demographics like age, race, or gender, for example.Other qualities, like educational background or income can also be used, as can location. Some of the potentially most powerful variables by which to segment a market are behavioral ones, including social class, l ifestyle, and interests. In most scenarios, there will be at least a few established customers who fall into more than one category, but marketing strategists normally allow for this phenomenon. In fact, the overlap in criteria among consumers often leads to additional segmentation and requires adjusted marketing strategies.A marketing plan that targets people who fall into several groups — like women over 30 who earn a high income, for example — may be more successful than one that focuses on just one limited characteristic. Other Benefits Along with playing a role in the development of new marketing approaches, market segmentation can also help a company identify ways to enhance customer loyalty with existing clients. As part of the process of identifying specific groups within the larger client base, the company will often run surveys which encourage customers to suggest ways of improving the company's products or services.This may lead to changes in packaging or ot her similar cosmetic changes that do not necessarily impact the core product, but sometimes making a few simple changes in the appearance sends a clear message to consumers that recognizing their needs is as important to the company as making sales. This demonstration of good might go a long way to strengthen the ties between the consumer and the producer. Market segmentation is not only beneficial to the manufacturer or retailer, but can also have benefits to a consumer as well.People in a particular market segment may get special deals on products as the company focuses on that group, or find that those products are available more widely. When a company responds to consumer feedback, it can mean that those people get changes in composition or packaging that better meet the user's needs. Disadvantages of Market Segmentation One of the biggest disadvantages of this marketing technique is the expense. A great deal of research often needs to be done to correctly identify those subsets that are most important for a company, and this takes time and money.Once the key subsets are identified, different marketing messages usually need to be developed for each. In addition, changing the appearance of a product based on which segment it is being sold to adds to the production costs. If the market isn't segmented effectively, then all this money will be wasted. When the market segments that are identified are too narrow, it may be difficult for a company to be profitable. Niche marketing can work for some industries, but if the tastes of that subset change or a stronger competitor enters the field, a company that has focused too much on the one segment can lose its customer base quickly.Targeting smaller segments also means that potential consumers outside of those groups may be ignored and their business lost. The Concept of Market Segmentation Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/s ervice requirements. Or to put it another way, market segmentation is the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions.Market segmentation was first defined as ‘a condition of growth when core markets have already been developed on a generalised basis to the point where additional promotional expenditures are yielding diminishing returns’ (Smith, 1956). There is now widespread agreement that they form an important foundation for successful marketing strategies and activities (Wind, 1978; Hooley and Saunders, 1993). The purpose of market segmentation is to leverage scarce resources; in other words, to ensure that the elements of the marketing mix, price, distribution, products and promotion, are designed to meet particular needs of different customer groups.Since companies have finite resources it is not possible to produce all possible p roducts for all the people, all of the time. The best that can be aimed for is to provide selected offerings for selected groups of people, most of the time. This process allows organizations to focus on specific customers’ needs, in the most efficient and effective way. As Beane and Ennis (1987) eloquently commented, ‘a company with limited resources needs to pick only the best opportunities to pursue’. The market segmentation concept is related to product differentiation.If you aim at different market segments, you might adapt different variations of your offering to satisfy those segments, and equally if you adapt different versions of your offering, this may appeal to different market segments. Since there is less competition, your approach is less likely to be copied and so either approach will do. An example in the area of fashion retailing might be if you adapt your clothing range so that your skirts are more colourful, use lighter fabrics, and a very shor t hemline, for instance, this styling is more likely to appeal more to younger women.If alternatively, you decide to target older women, then you might need to change the styling of your skirts to suit them by using darker, heavier fabrics, with a longer hemline. This is exactly what Marks and Spencer (M&S) did to attract a younger female shopper into their M&S stores and compete more directly with Next and Debenhams for share of this market. The company launched a range of female clothing called Per Una, and three years on the fashion range has been a huge success reportedly generating annual sales of nearly ? 230 m—more than 10 per cent of the total womenswear sales at M&S.If you start by adapting new product variants, you are using a product differentiation approach. If you start with the customer’s needs, you are using a market segmentation approach. This is illustrated more clearly in Figure 6. 2 using offering rather than product to indicate that the same concept may apply to a service. A relational marketing perspective would replace the marketing mix—the 4Ps —either with the 7Ps (see Chapter 15) or with a discussion of the need to design, develop, and deliver the customer experience (see Chapter 17).The concept of market segmentation was first proposed as an alternative market development technique in imperfectly competitive markets, that is, in markets where there are relatively few competitors selling an identical product. Where there are lots of competitors selling identical products, market segmentation and product differentiation produce similar results as competitors imitate your strategic approach more quickly and product differentiation approaches meet market segment needs more closely. With an increasing proliferation of tastes in modern society, consumers have increased disposable incomes.As a result, marketers have sought to design product and service offerings around consumer demand (market segmentation) more tha n around their own production needs (product differentiation) and they use market research to inform this process (see Market Insight 6. 1 and Chapter 4). Segmentation criteria for consumer markets Segmenting criteria for goods and services markets Kotler and Armstrong define market segmentation as â€Å"dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviour and who might require separate products or marketing mixes† (Armstrong and Kotler, 2005: 54).

Race Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Race - Assignment Example Nonetheless, despite there being several different physical traits, racial groupings are seeming based on skin color. As a result of these social division, there emerges a new paradigm, racism, which exerts prejudice and discrimination. Racism is advanced under the assumptions that some races are stronger and more superior to the others. For example, the notion that white people are superior to black people. In a bid to resolve the ambiguity surrounding racism, it is important to delve into an analysis of the history of race based on the works of Lipsitz, Omi and Winant. The illusionary state of race has prompted different standings with considerations of race as either being ideological or an objective condition. However, Omi and Winant differ with both of these considerations simultaneously drawing their own conclusion based on the origins of race. Race has seemingly a rich history and no specific date and time can be allocated to the start of race. For instance, Field’s efforts to place the start of race in the 17th century in the Northern American colonies is met by unending critic since there are prints of race long before. According to Omi and Winant the theory of race must â€Å"apply to the contemporary political relationships, increasingly global context, and across historical time† (Omi and Winant, p.5). This implies that the constraints of race re embedded in these three conditions and an effort to evade them would lead to an absurd conclusion. Additionally, changes taking place in issues revolving around race have contribut ed to greatly in creating a different perspective towards race. In the past race was seemingly inevitable due to the notion that it was a natural condition. Conversely, in the modern day race is perceived as a subordinate to supposedly more concrete material relationships (Omi and Winant, p.7). As such, Omi and Winant argue that the current definition of race may on the verge of extinction paving way to a different

Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education - Research Paper Example The educators in this sector have realized the weaknesses of the students in this sector of not having the techniques in the study of sciences, math and the social studies. Some of the study materials used at this level fail to provide the easy way of approaching the study areas by the students through understandable and friendly approaches and equally the teachers at this level do not have the necessary and comprehensive trained skills to handle the issue. Researchers have reported certain approaches for the comprehension of the textbooks by the students. One of the reported approaches to the comprehending of the textbooks is the summarising, questioning, use of prior knowledge, imagery and setting of study goals by the students. To understand the materials the students were working on they had to make models of the best methods they felt they would employ in understanding of the study materials they were working on. The students accepted the various feelings in relation to naivety, embarrassment, and being scared. The study approaches that employed practical based means of learning and illustration like the use of maps and models were quite comprehendible and the students had better understanding of the subject matter. ... The approach of pyramids is enabling complete comprehension of the study materials hence it is the best means of study for the students. The understanding of some materials is hard as the language used in math books hence the use of PLAN can enable the students to decipher the information with ease. Some students will fail to study the math books in elementary school due to the problems encountered in the learning and use of the books (Charllote & William, 2009). The study approach of factoring of issues to deal with the comprehension of the content area is important since the students will study in a manner that they are able to master the information herein that will remain imbedded in their memory as a lifelong education. This approach is viable in the areas of English, Math, Social Sciences and Science. The students under this approach will be able to employ their prior knowledge of the subject matter, reviewing of the knowledge in the area, organizing of information in the area, carrying out self-evaluation, reflecting on the knowledge under study and operating on the regular monitoring of the issues under study and the comprehension level of individuals. The students have to apply the following framework in enabling better reading and understanding of the materials under study. The first approach that is applied is the decoding of information through the word recognition strategies and fluency attempts .Secondly is the comprehension of the materials under study that include the comprehension strategies like the syntax organizing of information. This approach equally ensures that there is frequent monitoring of the learnt information by both the students and the teachers hence enabling comprehensive

Treatment of Women and Minorities in Corporations Essay - 1

Treatment of Women and Minorities in Corporations - Essay Example But, despite these changes, many in the world in positions of power do not have the patience or adaptability to accept the fact that woman can play a leading role, and so discrimination has become a normal experience for women. This paper examines how females are treated in companies as they have now become a threat to the continued economic and political ascendancy of men. Women in America face different opportunities, types and levels of treatment, and cultural acceptance and norms than a century ago. Women a hundred years ago were not expected to have full and free civic and cultural participation, and were expected to ultimately deserve domestic tasks, have and raise offspring. Social norms constructed women as passive and frail, and not as competent to achieve strongly or intellectual all that men could. Men were supposed to be breadwinners, strong John Wayne figures with unquestioned authority over the home and over children. Though this was always an idealized view of the world, and ignored micro-conflicts going on in the culture at all times (especially since the feminist movement is as old as the 19th century), certainly these archetypes and schema are still important to cultural formation today. Counterintuitively, despite obvious cultural and social changes, family responsibilities have not modified much in todays society. Women might be in the workplace more often, but the conventional responsibilities of women are still dominant. They are still the very compassionate provider and nurturer of infants and children, the comforter for the weeping young offspring and the feminine existence of the household.

Research hitlers Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hitlers - Research Paper Example The fact that some Jews at birth is not at all associated with genetics. The only other way to become a Jew is conversion so this should not be a surprise that there are Jews with blue eyes and blonde hair. This is surprising to me as it is very contradictory to what he actually did. He interfered with the lives of the Jews because of his belief in a perfect race. He strongly desired a â€Å"perfect race† and by attempting to do this, he has killed about seventy million Jewish people during his rule in Germany, believing that, â€Å"we [Germans] shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews.† By â€Å"decontaminating† Germany, Hitler was one step ahead in achieving his ideal â€Å"super race.† Therefore, I definitely disagree with this quote because he did the exact opposite of what he just said. During both World War I and II, Europe’s economy and Asia’s economy was going extremely downhill. There was so much destruction. However, the United States, although it interfered in wars of other countries, the country in itself did not face a drastic decline of the economy. Therefore, I strongly agree with this quote, considering the situation and condition of the worldwide economy during the time. National socialism, or Nazism, was a unique fascist ideology practiced in Germany during the 1st and 2nd World War. I partly agree with this quote, as Hitler did not force Nazism on anybody, except the Jews. The Germans inspired by Hitler and with the same goal to bring Germany back to power, joined Hitler. Together, they were the ones who fervently desired to help Germany get back on its feet after World War I and the great worldwide Great Depression. I personally disagree with this quote of Hitler. Again, it is very contradictory to the reality. Being a war leader was against his will, but it was his very will that turned him into a war leader not just in Germany, but he was a war leader that was known throughout the world. In fact,

Discuss and Evaluate the Role of Religion In the Formulation and Essay

Discuss and Evaluate the Role of Religion In the Formulation and Practice of Foreign Policy - Essay Example What are the potential for positive and negative outcomes of this? Do religious differences always result in war, or can differing countries unite to answer other needs? Religion is an important element in establishing identity, both for the individual, and nation states. However, sovereign states have a history of religious intolerance towards other religions, both within their domains, and with other nations. When you start making foreign policy based on religion, and particularly when it’s fuelled by religion based on absolute beliefs, you get some horrific results (Rappaport). The current differences in faiths becomes important when you consider that terms such as ‘Fundamentalist’ or ‘Crusaders’ are polemical terms which serve to label every member of that religious group as extremist and threatening: The term fundamentalism is used polemically to polarize the debate and eliminate the middle ground†¦little distinction is made among islamic tr aditionalists, neo traditionalists, radical and militant islamists, while liberal and reformist currents in Islam are ignored (Fundamentalism discourses: enemy images WAF).... Against Fundamentalisms) The 20th century demonstrated several clear examples of the difficulties posed by uniting religious belief with foreign policy, not least of all the Vatican's policy during World War II, which has been denounced as inadequate and even as actually favouring the Nazi's ( Manhattan, 171). There is also reference to "The conflicts between the Roman Church and the Freedoms of democracy" (Glenn Archer, quoted in Manhattan, 7). Sometimes the religious policies of a nation are in direct conflict with its own best interests, and the medieval histories of the Eastern European Bloc demonstrates: Constantly the battleground between the different Christian sects, and the mighty Muslim empire of the Ottoman's, Eastern Bloc states such as Yugoslavia, Romania and Hungary experienced not only external holy conflict, but internal as well. Religion is not just a state mechanism, but is also a personal belief of many World leaders, a fact which cannot be avoided when considering their foreign policy: Even in an ostensibly secular state the private religious convictions And concerns of foreign policy-makers can be crucial, even decisive Factors in shaping international relations (A. Rotter, quoted in Kirby, 3) These conflicts and difficulties can be demonstrated through three case studies. The first two shall concentrate upon religious conflicts between states within a certain time period: beginning with how foreign policy was affected by religious conflict during the reign of Henry VIII, and then considering how religion formed a part in the policies of the Cold War. This will culminate in a review of the religious troubles of the Eastern Bloc, looking at conflict in both the later middle ages and during the Bosnian War in the latter half of

How to Increase the market share in organic product market A Case Essay

How to Increase the market share in organic product market A Case Study of PARKnSHOP in Hong Kong - Essay Example To get a feel of what marketing strategies would work for PARKnSHOP, 300 regular shoppers are surveyed at 30 of the 40 superstores controlled by PARKnSHOP all over Hong Kong. Simple analytic tools are employed to analyze their responses. And appropriate recommendations for marketing strategies are provided, based on the findings from the survey. Established in 1973, PARKnSHOP is Hong Kong’s leading supermarket chain. With its perpetual commitment to innovation, quality, service and value, PARKnSHOP is well regarded in the industry and broader community through many quality awards. PARKnSHOP started its first superstore in 1996 and giving customers a modern one-stop stopping solution. The store sells over 20,000 product categories ranging from snacks to electronics household appliances. PARKnSHOP is also linked with three other supermarkets by the names of GREAT, TSTE and GOURMET. These three high-end supermarkets cater mostly to the expatriates and more affluent clientele in Hong Kong. These stores also sell a wide variety of organic products as in some Agri-foods like instant and canned soup and noodles; plain noodles and dried pasta; processed food and seafood products; ready-made meals and drinks (PARKnSHOP, 2010). However, as the number of customers that go for ready-made organic food increases, many superstores are jostling to control a larger share of the organic product market. This study investigates the appropriate steps PARKnSHOP management should take in arriving at a good conclusion about the most effective marketing strategies to adopt in capturing a greater share of the dynamic market for organic products. As a former colony and a trading outpost of the British Empire, Hong Kong has developed itself into a formidable economic wonder, turning into a global financial center where most financial institutions, banks, credit facilities and others have decided to establish their branches (Schenk, 2001).

Persuasive presentation against capital punishment Essay

Persuasive presentation against capital punishment - Essay Example However, while serving the cause of justice in such cases, it would be utterly inappropriate for a society to momentarily do away with the set social, moral, ethical and religious values accrued over centuries and generations, to turn into some sort of a collective predator, savagely taking the life of a culprit in the name of justice. Society has to punish crime, but it ought to do so without tempering with the quintessentially human values and aspirations (Bedau, 1977). Capital punishment do punishes a criminal, but at the same time it also deprives a society with a measure of its humanity and restraint. Capital punishment is based on the principle of â€Å"an eye for an eye†, which is totally savage, anachronistic and inhuman in its approach and scope. Society should punish the hardcore and incorrigible criminals, but for doing so it does not need to stoop to the level of the murderers in intends to punish. There is no denying the fact that capital punishment is usually awarded to deviant people guilty of committing the rarest of the rare crimes. In that context, the capital punishment is not pragmatic in the sense that it extends to a criminal an easy way out (Zimring, 2003, p. 145). The pain inflicted by capital punishment on a criminal is only momentary. In contrast, the saner substitutes like life imprisonment are more stringent and rigorous in their practical implications (Zimring, 2003, p. 145). The torture of being deprived of one’s liberty, comfort, rights and social support system for years is certainly a worse torture for a hardcore criminal than the clean break allowed for by a death sentence. Thus, life imprisonment, realistically speaking is more potent and valid a deterrent to crime and a suitable expression of social repudiation for a serious crime, as compared to a capital sentence. Besides, life imprisonment and

The beginning of my junior year in high school Essay Example for Free

The beginning of my junior year in high school Essay It was the beginning of my junior year in high school. I was just becoming accustomed to Knoxville, which I have called my new home since moving from Orlando, Florida my sophomore year in high school. I had been making friends and adjusting myself to this new environment, and now it finally felt like home. As I was settling in., I realized something; I didn’t know exactly whom I was or what I wanted to accomplish in life. I had my most important year of high school dawning upon me and no time to spare. In order to discover what i was interested in, I joined the National Honor Society at my school. I felt it was an appropriate way to contribute back to my community as well as explore new hobbies and meet great people along the way. During late September, I saw a great opportunity unfolding before my eyes. A local barbeque restaurant called Buddy’s Bar-B-Q was hosting a fundraising cancer awareness race around the Worlds Fair Park in downtown Knoxville. My father being a cancer doctor, this could not be turned down. When I arrived at the event, I saw an old man sitting alone on a bench, so I decided to join him. He saw my volunteer shirt and thanked me graciously. His name was Jim and he described how he recently lost his wife to breast cancer, and had no children or close relatives to help ease the situation. He asked why I decided to volunteer for this race, and I explained my journey through school and how my father happened to be a cancer doctor. Before the race started, Jim pulled me aside and told me to remember one thing in life, â€Å"No matter how bad you feel rejected and alone in life, there is always someone who can help† From that day on I did not think about Jim being an old wise man just shedding advice to somebody young, yet I saw him as a man who even though suffered the worst, still managed to live out all his life to the fullest. I realized that there is no way to map out the rest of my life; life is full of opportunities that have to be seized and experience can be taken from them. The University of Florida demonstrates a gateway to a world full of diversity and opportunity that I will successfully be able to grasp and take away great things from.

Standardized testing Essay Example for Free

Standardized testing Essay Standardized testing has assumed a well-known role in recent efforts to advance the quality of education. Regardless of where they went to school or what curriculum they followed, students are tested on the same material, which can be loosely grouped into knowledge domains and skill sets that encompass; natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, reading, speaking, writing, and mathematics. National, state, and district tests, combined with minimum competency, special program, and special diploma evaluations, have resulted in a greatly expanded set of testing requirements for most schools. By definition, a standardized test is a test where the same test is given in the same manner to all test takers. It is administered and scored in a consistent or â€Å"standard† manner. It is designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures and interpretations are consistent, and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. 3 Using standardized tests to perform assessments is beneficial for several reasons. First, because standardized tests yield quantifiable information (scores, proficiency levels, and so forth), and results can be used in screening programs. Second, standardized test results provide information regarding an examinees areas of strength and weakness. Third, standardized test results allow a student to be compared to age- or grade-peers. And lastly, standardized tests can be used to assess students progress over time (e. g. , re-administering tests after the application of an intervention or following the institution of a remedial program the most significant benefit of results from a test given in a standardized fashion is that the results can be documented and empirically verified. This then allows for the results to be interpreted and ideas about an individuals skills generalized. Although standardized testing is beneficial in some situations, the validity and value of traditional standardized tests are subjects of increasing debate. Recent studies raise questions about whether improvements in test score performance actually signal improvement in learning. Student’s performance on one particular day and does not take into account external factors. There are many people who simply do not perform well on tests. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test. Many students also develop test anxiety which hinders performance. Finally, there are so many external factors that play into test performance. If a student has an argument with their parents the morning of the test, chances are their focus isn’t going to be where it should be. In elementary schools less time is being spent on sciences, social studies and the arts to make way for  preparing the students  to take the tests in math, reading and writing. Teachers feel strong pressure, especially from district administrators and the media, to improve their students test scores. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers, this practice will only continue to increase. The sad reality is that it fosters an atmosphere that is boring and lacks creativeness. Teachers have such pressure to get their students ready for these exams that they neglect to teach students skills that go beyond the tests. But despite criticisms of standardized testing, the proficient teachers of today do not accept that their students have limitations, or are incapable of learning any given concept. Instead these teacher work hard every day to make material relevant for their children and develop lesson plans that speak to individual lesson plans. While both critiques and proponents of standardized testing could debate their sides all day, the need to assess students to determine both their progress and the progress of their teachers and schools is undeniable. Standardized testing evaluates students early in their education on their readiness both scholastically and behaviorally Students and their parents are able to measure at least generally their progress and areas in which they need. Standardized test shape people’s futures, so they need to be created fairly, so everyone has an equal opportunity to have a successful future. While the jury is still out on whether or not there is a better method of determining individual student progress. The need for a common measure to compare students to bring about change is still more present than ever.

What Leads Characters To Exact Revenge?

What Leads Characters To Exact Revenge? Maupassants short stories Vendetta and Mother Savage both deal with the subject of revenge. We learn right from the beginning that in both stories, the widowed mothers live in harsh, rough environments where there is an unfriendly atmosphere. Each story features a widowed mother who is grieving the loss of her son, her only child, and becomes determined to exact revenge. Both widows avenge with unique plans to ensure that their victims suffer gruesome, agonising deaths, with which they hope to achieve satisfaction and peace of mind for themselves In Vendetta, Widow Saverini shows a mothers love for her son when she plans to exact revenge for the death of her only child: you shall be avenged, I tell you. You have your mothers word, and you know she never breaks it. Widow Saverinis love for her son is unique and reserved, possible because of her parents showing lack of emotion in her upbringing. Her love is seen more as a duty to raise her son than to be affectionate and tender loving. Widow Saverini spends many months preparing the dog for the revenge: for three months she accustomed her to this method of attack. She shows her determination in the precision she uses to exact her revenge to perfection. Widow Saverini sacrifices the family dog -Semillante- in a cruel and barbaric act: the woman gave her nothing to eat and maddened with hunger Semillante barked hoarsely. The cruelty she uses shocks us and it displays her level of cold determination. However it could also be seen as a way of involving her beloved pet to aid her di sguise at the revenge. Widow Saverini cleverly creates a human-like figure, with which she uses to practice her revenge: she took some old clothes that had belonged to her husband, stuffed them with straw to represent a human figure, and made a head out of a bundle of rags. This tells us that she has great initiative to succeed with her talented resourcefulness of using everything she already owns. Widow Saverini also uses a disguise which prevents her from being caught and killed herself: she disguised herself to look like a tattered old beggar man. This shows her intelligence as she has thought everything through, enabling her to make the perfect attack and quick getaway. Also, by using her dog to do the dirty work, technically she hasnt committed a murder and she is able to remain disguised and unknown to the public of who she is. Widow Saverinis anger is devious and we are unable to see her true feelings for her sons death throughout the story. However we notice that her actions speak louder than words or feelings. Her feeling remain reserved and rather than immediate rage, she is patient and waits three months before she can release her fury. Widow Saverini is full of grief and isolates herself: she would not allow anyone to remain with her, and shut herself up with the dead body. She does not want anyone to know her sorrow or to appear weak in front of others. Widow Saverini does not cry until she knows that no one will disturb her silently shedding great tears. She feels that she does not need to create an impression when she is on her own and is able to let out her emotions. She feels that the only way to move on is to be active and to avenge her son so that he can rest in peace: you may sleep in peace. You shall be avenged Widow Saverini shows commitment to her son as it is the last thing she can do for him. Despite the company of the young Prussian soldiers, Mother Savage is constantly longing her son to return: the old woman kept thinking all the time about her own son. This tells us that she has a motherly bond with her son and wants nothing more but for him to come home again. She cannot help but ask so many questions as she misses him and cannot take her mind off. She also wants to know exactly where her son is and what he is doing and asks questions such as: do you know where the French regiment has gone- the twenty third infantry? My boy is in it. Mother Savage does not want to lose her son and wants to keep track of where he is. We see how much she loves her son- from the very beginning to her death she loves him. She was still clutching her letter soaked in blood. This shows that unlike Widow Saverini, Mother Savages love for her son is much more tender and affectionate, which is how we would expect it to be. Mother Savage is very compassionate towards her son: she would never k iss him again, her big boy, never! This is the first thing that she thinks about after her sons death and it is how we see how close they were to each other. This is a different response to Widow Saverini who is much less emotional and immediately starts to plan her revenge. Mother Savage is determined to avenge her son whether she kills the real murderer or representatives. Both widows show a high level of determination for revenge and see it as the ultimate way to move on. They feel it is the only way how can rest in peace without their sons. Mother Savage acts on her revenge immediately and uses many resources to help her find revenge. Unlike Widow Saverini, who avenges her sons murderer, Mother Savage uses the Prussian soldiers as representatives to get her revenge. Even though she is planning to kill them, we see that she has some sympathy for the mothers of the sons: she got them to write down for her on a piece of paper, with the addresses of their families. This shows that u nlike Widow Saverini whose aims are to kill her sons murderer and to escape punishment, Mother Savage has thought about everything and feels that the families ought to know about the deaths of their sons, just as she did. Mother Savage is very discreet about her grief: she quickly hid the letter in her pocket and, having had time to wipe her eyes, greeted them calmly, looking her usual self. Both of the widows- Widow Saverini and Mother Savage, feel a sense of pride and do not want to show their grief in public as they feel it will weaken their reputation. Mother Savages grief for the death of her son is slightly delayed as she is overwhelmed by the sudden news and hesitates before she cries: so shocked and dazed that she didnt even feel any grief yet. Similarly with Widow Saverini, Mother Savage does not cry instantly, yet waits for reality to sink in. She does not want to show her emotions immediately as she wants to remain strong. She loves her son fondly and when she starts to cry: grief [floods] into her heart which stresses the pain of how much she misses him. Whilst preparing dinner, the blood of the rabbit causes her to imagine the bloody, gruesome death of her son: she kept seeing her big boy cut in two and red all over. This shows that she does have feelings, everything makes her think of her son and she cannot cope. Mother Savage imagines her sons death: the head falling, the eyes widening, while he was always chewing the end of his bushy moustache as he always did when he was angry. We can picture the image vividly in our m inds which helps us to engage with her feelings and feel sympathy. Mother Savage is distraught by the news and this is emphasised by the trauma she experiences when the rabbit is prepared for dinner: she stripped the skin from the red body; but the sight of the blood which she was touching, which covered her hands, the warm blood which she could feel growing cold and congealing, made her tremble from head to foot; and she kept seeing her big boy cut in two and red all over, like the animal still quivering in her hands. This shows that she is unfocused and due to the shock of it all, she is relating everything to her sons death. She does not hesitate to work out a plan of revenge and acts very quickly so that within the same day, she avenges her son, unlike Widow Saverini who plans out her revenge in the course of three months. Mother Savage controls her rage yet anger she holds for the death of her son causes her to take the blame on the four innocent soldiers living with her and with their death, she feels satisfied. She is proud of her revenge and is willing to die for her son as she admits and confesses with satisfaction that she killed the men. Widow Saverini escapes punishment though Mother Savage is honest and executed. In some ways we find her heroic, that as she was willing to die for her son and was unafraid. The story Vendetta is situated on the coast of Corsica in a tough, hostile environment. Widow Saverinis house is built on a spur of the mountain: and in places actually overhanging the sea, her town looks across the rockstrewn straits on the low-lying coast of Sardinia. The rough terrain and the place where Widow Saverini lives, gives us the impression that life is cheap. The cultural aspect of where she lives is the survival of the fittest and these cultural forces are part of what causes people to act tough and seek revenge. Life is tough and people who live in a harsh environment are bound to be tough and unforgiving. Widow Saverini lives in a house Clinging to this peak, overlooking this terrible passage, where vessels rarely venture. The people she lives amongst do not show sympathy for death as it happens every day. Likewise, in similar circumstances, Mother Savage lives in an isolated house, far away from the village, on the edge of the woods. These cultural forces contribute towards their responses to upsetting ordeals, e.g. the deaths of their sons. However, the story of Mother Savage is situated in Virelogne in France, in a very beautiful area where there is blossom on trees, little woods and grounlike veins carrying blood to the earth. This explains how the area is full of life and naturally beautiful unlike Widow Saverini whose house was amongst a cluster of other houses, Mother Savage lives in the countryside in an isolated house far away from the village on the edge of the woods. This tells us that she lives in a small world, solitary and independent. We also know that though her house is situated in a beautiful setting, cruelty is always beneath the surface. In Vendetta, the people do not seem to have the feelings to care and we see that it is a society where no one helps. They are all very determined with mild corruption: The next day Antoine Saverini was buried, and soon his name ceased to be mentioned in Bonifacio. This tells us that since death is a frequent occurrence in the area, the people who Widow Saverini lives amongst are tough as they are experienced by murders and vendettas. However, in Mother Savage the societys attitude to death is very different. In Virelogne, the people are kind and pleasant and death is something that is unexpected and rare. The people in the village are jolly and friendly, women are seen in the street on a spring morning wearing gay, flimsy dresses. This leaves us with a welcoming pleasant atmosphere where we feel safe. By contrast we see that the people see Mother Savage as an outcast, people didnt feel too sorry for her because they knew she had money, so she stayed alone in an isolated house far awa y from the village. This shows that they do not wish to have anything to do with her so they ignore her and leave her alone. The region suffers from its effects of the Franco Prussian war. The war is a serious factor and though it is very short, there are many killings and deaths which result in revenge schemes causing problems and slight havoc in the area. Similarly with both stories, Vendetta and Mother Savage, they are centred on the effects of war, which is how the scheme of revenge erupts. In the two stories the wars a very different. In Mother Savage the war is completely pointless which resorts to much unnecessary killing, including the death of her son which leads to revenge. Though Mother Savage has a decent amount of money, many of the villagers are members of the lower class and do not. They are severely affected by the war and treated unfairly as they are forced to give refuge to the Prussian soldiers and have no choice, causing them havoc with their lives. Also, Mother Savage is a victim of the war and is full of unbearable grief from her sons death which is why she responds to the letter in such an inhumane way. In Vendetta the community is very rough and, similar to Mother Savage, she is treated cruelly and after the death of her son; she responds in a very sly yet violent way. Mother Savage is treated without any form of justice. She is given no trial and not even the chance to explain the reasons for her actions. She is executed at the scene of her crime roughly twenty minuits after she has had her pleasure of vengeance and is forced to stand against the wall to be shot: she was seized and pushed against the walls of the house, which were still warm [from the fire]. She is treated with the same brutality that she treated the soldiers with. The behaviour of Mother Savage and the Germans was understandable though it would be unacceptable in our society today. In Vendetta there is, similarly with Mother Savage, no form of justice. The community is rough so due to their behaviour, the law is helpless and since vendettas are expected, nothing happens. When Widow Saverini kills Nicolas Ravolati, though her plan is tactical, there is no search or punishment for her because there is no law and the police force seem to be non-existent. Widow Saverini believes that she is doing right thing by avenging her son and even goes to church to pray for strength: she besought Him to aid and support her, to lend to her poor, worn-out body the strength she needed to avenge. This shows us that she believes what she is doing is morally right and does not see it as a crime to kill ones murderer. We also notice the irony of praying to God to help her kill someone. It is mentioned several times in the story that Widow Saverini goes to pray for help from God. From our point of view we believe that she is doing the wrong thing; as it is the opposite of how God wants us to behave. She also goes to church a second time to pray just before she avenges her son: Widow Saverini went to a confession and communion, in an ecstasy of devotion. This shows how keen she is to do what she believes is the right thing. It also shows us how a much tougher and more hostile community believes that revenge is the right thing to do and that God is always on their side. However in Mother Savage the theme of revenge, unlike Vendetta, is not affected by any religious beliefs. When we look at Maupassants life experiences, we can perhaps understand why he based his stories upon those themes. His mother had been the playmate of the novelist Gustave Flaubert, who was the influence of his career. When Maupassant was very young, his parents separated through divorce, onwards living with his brother and mother. This links to how in both of the two stories, the mothers do not have husbands and are widows with nothing but their only son. This is of a similar circumstance to Maupassants childhood. From his early education he retained a marked hostility to religion. This also has similarities with Vendetta. It was part of the reason to why Widow Saverini planned her gruesome revenge because due to religion she believed she was doing the right thing, when in fact she was not. This shows that he is criticising religion here. Maupassant always loved solitude- like both of the widows, and in his later years he developed a constant desire for solitude, fear of death and crazed paranoia of persecution. In 1892, Maupassant tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat, he later died in 1893. We see that towards the end of his life, he became mentally unstable, later resulting with an attempt of suicide. Maupassants characters are very disturbing and we are able to link his mental unstability with them. The two widows seem to be mentally unstable which is because of the cultural and personal forces they live with. Many of the stories that Maupassant wrote are rather sinister and involve the Franco-Prussian war, which he grew up with. The stories have a pessimistic nature due to the problems and illnesses he had in his background life, which also tells us that he was most likely stressed with his life. In Mother Savage we sympathise with the main character, Mother Savage, because we feel sad for how the war has caused her so much grief and anguish towards the Germans. We also sympathise with her because she is willing to die for her son since she loves him so much and despite her honesty she is executed at the wall of her house by the Germans. We look up to her honest behaviour and admire the bravery and courage she has to admit to having killed the soldiers. We respect her personality because though she kills the soldiers, she has the decency to record their addresses and only kills them because they represent the men who killed her son. We also begin to feel quite attached to her because we begin to understand who she is and of her moderate behaviour towards everything that happens. The narrator ends the story with a powerful image, and I picked up a little stone still blackened by the fire. This causes us to consider the story and question whether her methods were morally right. However, in Vendetta we sympathise more with Widow Saverinis victim than herself because we condemn her for avoiding punishment and how she does not even consider for once his side of the quarrel between him her son. Also, as we do not even know Widow Saverinis name, we feel more distant and therefore we sympathise with her less. The short story form is a very effective way of exploring revenge. Short stories are based upon a single plot which makes it easy to focus on. This meant that we could easily focus entirely on the theme of revenge and explore it in further depth. Short stories also often have a moral/key theme which leaves the ending very memorable and intriguing. Only one or two developed characters are necessary and there are not many descriptive passages so the setting is established quite quickly. This means that we can read the story and get to the point quickly, in this case revenge, and explore in depth the theme of revenge. This makes the whole story a lot more effective. The story Mother Savage suggests that Maupassant is condemning revenge as he reminds us that it causes severe punishment and death, although in the story Vendetta it suggests that Maupassant is advocating revenge as it is possible to escape punishment and it leaves you with peace of mind. Maupassant seems to leave us to deci de whether revenge is good or bad having outlined the factors of both decisions.

ACG 2021, Introduction to Financial Accounting, Spring 2001, Exam 3 Final :: UFL Florida Business Accounting

2021FINALSP01 5/9/2001 FORM CODE: A Page 1 ACG 2021 – FINAL EXAM SPRING 2001 NAME _____________________________________ SS# ____________________________ Instructions: NOW: Bubble in your section number on your Scan Sheet. Fill in your name and social security number on this examination and your scan sheet. 1. Listen carefully for any comments your proctor may have related to the exam. Read these instructions carefully. Failure to do so may result in your losing points. 2. This exam consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. Select the BEST answer and mark the appropriate space on the scan sheet with a #2 pencil only. You MUST keep your scan sheet face down on the desk when you are not filling it in. 3. You may use ONLY a non-programmable calculator during the exam. Use of any other calculator will be considered a violation of the honor code. Your exam will be taken from you and you will receive a grade of 0. 4. At the end of 2 hours, you will be told to stop. Put your pencils down IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so will result in your receiving a zero for the exam. 5. The exam consists of 16 pages, including this cover, present value tables and a blank page at the end. Make sure you have all pages and all questions. 6. Have your University of Florida Identification card ready to be checked when you turn in your exam. 7. Assume the accounting entities use a calendar year unless otherwise noted. 8. Unless otherwise specified, assume a 360-day year. 9. When you are finished, turn in your scan sheet, as well as your exam. Answers will be posted on the web after the exams are handed back in class. 10. The University of Florida policy on academic honesty will be strictly enforced. When you are told to open your exam, turn to the first page and find your exam form code. Immediately bubble this in on your scantron. 2021FINALSP01 5/9/2001 FORM CODE: A Page 2 1. Which of the following is usually NOT considered to be a long-term liability? A) Bonds payable. B) Mortgages payable. C) Accrued post-retirement benefits. D) FICA taxes payable. E) None of the above is correct. 2. The effect on total assets of the purchase of supplies for cash is A) an increase in total assets B) a decrease in total assets C) total assets remain unchanged D) an increase in total assets and total liabilities E) an increase in total assets and current ratio 3. Which of the following is not normally a condition that must be met for revenue to be recognized (recorded) under the revenue principle? A) The earnings process is complete or nearly complete

Magic and Superstition in the Middle Ages Essay -- superstitions, beli

Superstitions have influenced the lives of human beings perhaps since the beginning of mankind. For millennia, people have clung to beliefs and practices surrounding preternatural activities. Even after science has produced evidence to explain what was once considered supernatural, the superstitious traditions have continued. During the Middle Ages, many new superstitious rituals were developed and some can still be seen in use today. However, the trivial superstitious rituals of today, such as hanging a horse shoe on a door or knocking on wood to bring good fortune, did not begin so simply. Superstition, as defined by the Oxford dictionary is, â€Å"excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural.† In no other time was the supernatural ever so excessively believed than in the Middle Ages, where witches flew on broomsticks, Jewish sorcerers conjured spells, and sneezes could kill you. In ancient times, mysterious circumstances were explained by the imaginations of our ancestors. Without science, occurrences which seem obvious now were once described as supernatural. For example, a person’s shadow cast on a sunny day was defined as a reflection of that person’s soul. Natural phenonemons were more or less personified. To get to the roots of supernatural beliefs, it is necessary to look at the roots of philosophy. Bernard McGinn, author of The Growth of Mysticism, said that in the ancient Mediterranean world philosophy was defined as, â€Å"the love of wisdom, to express the highest mode of human life, one dedicated to more than the ordinary tasks of survival and self-aggrandizement† (32). The Middle Ages began around the fifth century, when the Roman Empire disintegrated and Christendom began to take shape. The people th... ... Simeoni, Manuela. "European Pagan Memory Day." The Canon Episcopi and the Beginning of the Matter about Witches. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Trachtenberg, Joshua. "Jewish Magic and Superstition: 1. The Legend of Jewish Sorcery." Jewish Magic and Superstition: 1. The Legend of Jewish Sorcery. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. Trachtenberg, Joshua. "Jewish Magic and Superstition: 2. The Truth Behind The Legend." Jewish Magic and Superstition: 2. The Truth Behind The Legend. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. Trueman, Chris. "The Black Death of 1348 to 1350." The Black Death of 1348 to 1350. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Williamson, Allen. "Joan of Arc, Brief Biography." Joan of Arc, Brief Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Wolchover, Natalie. "The Surprising Origins of 9 Common Superstitions." LiveScience.com. TechMedia Network, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Curt flood :: essays research papers

Curt Flood was as crucial to the economic rights of ballplayers as Jackie Robinson was to breaking the color barrier. A three-time All-Star and seven-time winner of the Gold Glove for his defensive prowess in center field, Flood hit more than .300 six times during a 15-year major league career that began in 1956. Twelve of those seasons were spent wearing the uniform of the St. Louis Cardinals. After the 1969 season, the Cardinals attempted to trade Flood, then 31 years of age, to the Philadelphia Phillies, which set in motion his historic challenge of baseball’s infamous "reserve clause." The reserve clause was that part of the standard player’s contract which bound the player, one year at a time, in perpetuity to the club owning his contract. Flood had no interest in moving to Philadelphia, a city he had always viewed as racist ("the nation’s northernmost southern city"), but more importantly, he objected to being treated as a piece of prop erty and to the restriction of freedom embedded in the reserve clause. Flood was fully aware of the social relevance of his rebellion against the baseball establishment. Years later, he explained, "I guess you really have to understand who that person, who that Curt Flood was. I’m a child of the sixties, I’m a man of the sixties. During that period of time this country was coming apart at the seams. We were in Southeast Asia. Good men were dying for America and for the Constitution. In the southern part of the United States we were marching for civil rights and Dr. King had been assassinated, and we lost the Kennedys. And to think that merely because I was a professional baseball player, I could ignore what was going on outside the walls of Busch Stadium was truly hypocrisy and now I found that all of those rights that these great Americans were dying for, I didn’t have in my own profession." With the backing of the Players Association and with former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg arguing on his behalf, Flood pursued the case known as Flood v. Kuhn (Commissioner Bowie Kuhn) from January 1970 to June 1972 at district, circuit, and Supreme Court levels. Although the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Flood, upholding baseball’s exemption from antitrust statutes, the case set the stage for the 1975 Messersmith-McNally rulings and the advent of free agency. The financial and emotional costs to Flood as a result of his unprecedented challenge of the reserve clause were enormous.

Butler Lumber Company Analysis Essay

Based on the information and corresponding financial statements provided, we concluded that: Bulter Lumber Company has to collect money from outside resources to compensate its funding gap of 383,000 USD. From the perspective of banker, we won’t approve Mr.Butler ‘s loan request From the perspective of firm’s financial advisor, it is better to finance from new shareholders than to borrow from bank. II. Analysis i. Funding gap There are three main reasons why Butler Lumber Company has to finance itself through outside resources. Firstly, It was mentioned in the document that Butler is offered a trade discount by suppliers, which is 2/10 with 30 days span of due. However, Mr. Bulter had never been able to use such a discount because of the shortage of funds. Purchase of Stark’s shares and expansion of current business both contribute to the lack of cash. The inability to take advantage of trade discount directly lead to the increase in COGS and further lower down the company’s profitability despite the fact that sales is increasing (statistics shown in table 10). therefore, it would be a wise choice for Mr. Butler to fully utilize the discount to ease his pressure on liquidity and further lower costs to increase profitability. Secondly, the situation of operating efficiency in Butler Lumber Company is worrisome. As showed in table 6, past three years have seen a rise up in days of accounts receivable, from 36.7 to 40.2 days, indicating that for every one receivable dollar , the company needs 40.2 days to collect from customers. Consequentially, the same increase applies to days of accounts payable which is rising sharply from 37 to 47.9 days. It means that for every payable dollar, the company needs 47.9 days to pay back. This combine contributes to the inefficiency of operating turnover which is of vital importance for a trade company. Therefore, in order to avoid illiquidity resulted from suddenly change of macroeconomic and support company’s continuous growth, Mr. Butler has to increase cash to buffer itself. Thirdly, We also noticed that notes payable should reach a higher level (382,000 USD) if the assumed sales volume (3,600,000 USD)of 1991 is to be achieved. We use statistics of 1990 as basis and calculate the proportion of some accounts to net sales. then we apply these proportion to forecast the income statement and balance sheet for 1991(the calculation process is shown in Table 3 ).since the amount of notes payable in 1990 should be paid back by the end of 1991, so the ending number of note payable in 1991 should be the amount of newly borrowed money from bank .In other words, to realize the sales goal, another 382,000 USD should be financed. Therefore, we disagreed with previously estimated amount of 465,000 USD by Butler and Dodge and we recommend a lower amount of 382,000 USD is enough to sustain the daily operations of the company for the whole year. ii. Prospective from banker Based on the grades of credit, capacity and collateral, we perceive the risks for lending money overwhelm the benefits and decide to veto Butler’s application for the loan. We evaluate Butler Lumber Company’s application for loan through grading the credit, capacity and collateral with three levels: poor, normal, and great. (1) Credit For small businesses, the character of the entrepreneur is very essential. Our customary investigation found out Butler is an energetic man totally dedicated to his business. Barker Company, one of Butler’s large suppliers, reckoned he possesses sound judgment and a willingness to devote into his work and keeps close eye on his own credit. Moreover, there is no evidence evincing Butler involving any delinquent event. Generally, we believe Butler is a reliable business man. However, the financial data of Butler Lumber Company is not that palatable. The company is mired by the debt (table 9). As of 1990, the current liability is 535,000, equivalent to 19.86% of net sale. In fact, leverage ratio is worsening during last three years. The ratio of debt and equity surges from 1.2 in 1988 to 1.68 in 1990. What’s more, the operation efficiency (table 6)still has room to elevate. Average account receivable days are too long. Account payable keeps ascending. To sum up, we give Bu tler a grade of â€Å"Normal†. (2) Capacity With regard to the capacity for repay the loan, we mainly consider the company’s profitability 〠coverage ratios and liquidity ratios In this aspect, the company’s performance is somewhat disappointing (table 10). The net sale reached 2,694,000 dollar in 1990 with a strategy mixed price competition and control of operating expenses and costs. Yet net profit margin experienced a downward trend during last three year. In addition, the liquidity is worsening (table 8). Both the ratio of EBIT/Interest expense and the current ratio slumped from 3.85 to 2.61 and from 1.8 to 1.45 respectively during last three years. Hence, our conclusion is Butler’s company is quite risky deserved a grade of â€Å"Poor†. (3) Collateral Until the end of 1990, the net property of the company is worth approximately 157,000 dollars. Butler held jointly with his wife equity in their house, which had cost 72,000 dollar in 1979, yet was mortgaged for 38000 dollar. These entire assets together amounts 190,000 dollars. If we lend 465,000 dollar to Butler and collect all his asset as collateral, the ratio of loan to value(LTV) is 40.86%, which is unacceptable. Thus, when it comes to collateral, we have to render a â€Å"Poor† to Butler. iii. Prospective from financial advisor As Mr. Butler’s financial advisors, instead of encouraging Mr. Butler to go ahead with debt financing, we recommend that it is more favorable to financing through new shareholders for the following reasons. Firstly, as the analysis showed above, we understand it is not that easy for the company to borrow money from banks. Even we successfully reach the agreement with bankers, we may subject to very severe debenture, which may form obstacles for company’s further development. Secondly, indictors of operating return, such as ROE and ROIC, both show a steady increase during the past three years. ROE increased from 11.48% to 12.64%, a 10% gain. ROIC jumped from 12.90% to 19.01%, an increase of 47.4%. These two ratios indicate that the company has earned on its past investments and it is able to find investment opportunities that are very profitable. These ratios may be attractive to introduce new shareholders. Hence, we suggested that it is better for the company to finance by equity than by debt. Moreover, the joint of new shareholders in the management team can help to improve the management and operation of the company, especially in the aspect of inventory and credit policy. III. Appendix Table 1 – Income Statement Table 2 – Common Size Income Statement Table 3 – Balance Sheet Table 4 – Common Size Balance Sheet Table 5 – Free Cash Flow to Firm Table 6 – Operating Efficiency Table 7 – Operating Returns Table 8 – Liquidity Ratio Table 9 – Leverage Ratio Table 10 – Profitability Ratio

Turn Off the Phone

I reasonably know many people who are constantly on social networking sites and updating pictures of their everyday life. For some reason, we care so much about other people's lives and what they are doing every second of the day. But I believe that we need to ask ourselves, â€Å"Is this even relevant to me? â€Å", â€Å"Does this help my life in any way? † I can completely relate to what this article is saying because I have also had these thoughts in my head. The one thing that most people will always bring when they go out somewhere is their phone. I use to feel naked if I didn't have my hone with me wherever I went.I had the tendency to constantly check on Backbone for my friends' updates and pictures. But the first time I had no choice but to leave my phone behind was when I went to Outdoor Science Camp in eighth grade. When I found out that we weren't allowed to bring our phones, I was completely lost and didn't Unguent 2 bare the thought of not having my phone with me. But when I was away from my phone and the internet, I felt more free and alive than I had in a long time. I forgot the feeling of Just living in the moment and not always having to show people online hat I was up to or to check on updates that were irrelevant to me.From then on, I limited myself from using my phone and going on the internet. Being away from all the advance technology that we have today is very difficult. L, myself, admit that I can not be away from my phone and the internet for a long time. But I believe that as long as you can keep your balance with your life and the technology around you, you will embrace the moments that you have with things that are much more important. Many people have forgotten what it is like to live in the moment and to enjoy it.If people Just tried going a couple of hours a day without their phones, I believe that their thoughts and feelings would be more soothed. Ever since I've limited myself from my phone, I've been putting my attent ion on things that matter more such as my family and education. This article spoke to me because I see what it is like without my phone and most people don't realize that there is more to life than media and technology. I hope that more people will realize what I have and try to enjoy their lives more without their phones. Turn Off the Phone, Turn Off the Tension By playground

Christian Worldview

America is now suffering from a Great Recession which was initiated by atheistic US bankers. As the Telegraph reports, â€Å"Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, attacked exploitative money lenders who pursued ‘ruthless gain’ and urged banks not to ‘enrich themselves at their poor neighbours' expense’. † Their worldview is dominated by money. They believe in the survival of the fittest, and they think that they can get away with anything. Their philosophy is to conquer or be conquered, to exploit anyone and everyone; and morals are only for the weak.But I look at the world through the lens of a Christian, and I believe that my faith in God, my belief in absolute truth and my definition of morality based on God’s word—the Holy Bible—will make my life successful and happy. For greedy American bankers, God does not exist, but for me, He lives in my heart. They say that God is a figment of my imagination, and there is no proof tha t God exists. As Psalms 53:1 points out, â€Å"The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God. ’ They are corrupt, and their ways are vile† (New International Version).But for me, the suffering that they have now brought to themselves is proof that there is someone out there more powerful than anyone. As Psalm 19:1 asserts, â€Å"the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. † The consequences that they will face under President Obama will be evidence that justice under God will prevail. As Isaiah 51:5 says, â€Å"My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm† (New Living Translation).And the happiness and contentment that I will enjoy throughout my life by trusting God is a confirmation of His reality and love for those who trust Him. Indeed, â€Å"All you who fear the LORD, tru st the LORD! He is your helper and your shield. † While greedy bankers may also believe in the relativity of truth, I consider it to be absolute. These people think that truth depends on perspective, just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. They claim that what is â€Å"evil† for me is â€Å"good† for them.They think that the whole idea of â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† is subjective, and that it is for the â€Å"greater good† that they do all these â€Å"evils. † But I believe that good and evil are absolute. They have done evil, and that is the absolute truth, whether they like it or not. People all over the world, the majority of mankind, agree with me. The world is one in condemning them as evil. While these bankers define right and wrong based on their own â€Å"rational† thinking, I believe that only God, through his word, the Bible, can define morality.People who claim to think logically ask questions such as: â€Å" If you and your family were thrown overboard a sinking ship, and you could save only one person, either your mother or your husband who both can’t swim, who would you choose? † But in a real-life situation involving one’s family, real people don’t depend on logic like robots. Indeed, I would pray to God and attempt to save them both. I have faith that God will save us all, and faith is more powerful than logic.In the end, my Christian worldview, defined by my trust in God’s existence, my refusal to believe in the relativity of truth, and my faith in God’s Word as the ultimate resource for defining right and wrong, is my path to salvation. How I wish that everyone else can also see through my lenses. References Holy Bible: New International Version. (1978). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. (2007). Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers. Moore, M. (25 Dec 2008). Religious leaders blame bankers' greed for financial cr isis. The Telegraph.

Impacts of Indian Cinema on Children of Pakistan

The Indian Cinema is currently the Largest film producer in the world. The film industry has been highly rewarding when it comes to the national economy of India. Be it movies, to movie stars, the idea and the drama they portray has been highly admired and enjoyed by people worldwide especially in Pakistan. Thousands of films produced per annum are watched by millions of people from children to adults. And is a big source of encouragement for the Youth to come up and be a part of the largest industry in the world. It might be a huge source of encouragement for the Youth but on the other hand the films have proved to have influenced the young generations on a huge scale in this era. As most of the tech-smart are basically the young generations today, they automatically have access to all sort of media and public forums. Teenagers especially today are too inspired by movies today, they look for motivation and situations they find relatable in their daily life as entertainment. Prior to that, Indian Cinema is well aware what kind of audience to Target today, which is earning alot of revenue for them today. Especially in Pakistan, us Pakistani enjoy and idolize our favorite Indian movies and actors. Every country promoted their religion, tradition and culture through media and India has been quite successful in doing that. Today our Muslim children have memorized all the rituals that are performed in exorcism movies ( I.e; 1920 the movie) and all the Hindu prayers instead of what's in the Quran and its message. Furthermore Indian movies always come up with a feature song, which basically is also known as Item Song. Which features famous actresses for a dance performance in the movie. Such movies have been a huge source of negativity in our country. Indian movies promote nudity and vulgarity which is strictly forbidden in the laws of Islam. The young generations is very much attracted to such movies, songs and stars, which have proved to be very normal. The sad part is that even parents are so outdated from technology they have no idea about the current affairs and what their children are doing on their devices. Our Film Industry seems highly motivated to compete the Indian Cinema too, as they in their recent movies have been featuring Item Songs (i.e Karachi se Lahore). There are various Indian Movies that have been produced to promote rivalry between Pakistan and India which has been a very huge point of negativity leading to recreation of history. This has created a negative image about Pakistan in the minds of our children because the Indian Cinema has blinded the youth by showing false glories and fabricated history to encourage the greatness of Hindustan. The young minds in return get double minded and curious to know what exactly is behind the story and not everyonr is able to prove what actually happened because our elders and seniors, they themselves have been idolizing the Indian Cinema throughout ages. On the brighter side, there are a few positive impacts too, movies like Tarey Zameen Par, 3 Idiots have been quite encouraging and inspirational for the whole nations as the stories they portray have effected A lot of minds from teachers to students who has changed alot of perspectives of people regarding studies. LITERATURE REVIEW With the collaboration of British film Institute, UK film Council and film London both have explored on the local celluloid. They've depicted and looked into the impact of Local cinema on their communities and to develop impact measurement tools, they selected 5 case study cinemas and initial desk researches to explore existing literature on the impact measurement methodologies. They dabbled cinemas of the urban and rural areas of UK. And the research they discoursed and depicted the social, cultural and environmental impacts of Local cinema and overview of income and expenditure on and of cinema. Suraj pratap had some aims behind this desertation which was to analyze the relation of cinnama and Society. There were personal references of the Indian audience on the basis of interest. They discussed the impact of cinema on audience and understood the factors of bollywood either it'd be positive or negative. He implemented the method in which he conducted the number of studies across the world letting in India. They have researched on the students that how science fiction films has an effect on them. Even nowadays Hollywood industry is working on the sci-fic movies way too much and the way modern world is going ahead, students have gained interest in these sort of movies. They've studied context and participants have collected data. They found this by naturalistic research method, students who watched this science fiction movies had some number of misunderstandings about earth science concepts as compared to the students who don't watch the movies. It effects negatively and makes a false concept of Science phenomena. They researched just to get the answer of the question as title mentioned it, 3D movies has the genre where viewers can imagine that all the scenes are having the plave infront of them and all scenerios are in real. We are just going in the flow with the movie and creates the fiction place, characters and story. The methods they used in this research was the sickness questionaire in which they study if it effecting the children negatively as rays may effects them negatively on the other hand they study the design and its eligibility and they made the stastical analysis too. Its a research in which linda rufer defines how movies are effecting children and teenagers psycological manner, where she connects movies with the emotions of children as viewers they connects the fictional movie with themselves as films has the feel of words and actions. Linda describes the positivity in movies many characters have pure soul with the positivity in it where children can get motivation and let them think about their lives, gives hope and energy. Discussion about the category and traits in the research is visible, movies helps children to differenciate between the wrong and right path where teamwork and other good habits like forgiving, being down to earth and many others like this may help teens to get themselves on the road of success. RESEARCH METHADOLOGY Qualative method will be use in this research, Where I will choose 5 to 10 movies as case study to find the objectives and characters of the movies and how they are effecting on the children of pakistan. I will conduct a small interview with the parents in which I discuss the routine of their children and which sort of things children pick after watching movies it leads me to get the answers of my questions. HYPOTHESISNULL HYPOTHESIS: Ho Indian movies has vulgarity and unacceptable elements for the children.ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS: HI Indian movies has not vulgarity and unacceptable elements for the children.REFERENCES :British film institute, UK film council, Film LONDON ( 5 November 2005 ). THE IMPACT OF LOCAL CINEMA Suraj Pratap Singh, Banaras hindu university ( Dept. Of Sociology ) Varanasi 22001 ( 4 feb 2015 ) IMPACT OF CINEMA ON YOUTH Heather Barnett, heather Wagner, Anne Gatling, Janice Anderson, Meredith Houle, Alan Kafka ( 25 August 2006 ). IMPACT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON STUDENT UNDERSTANDINGS OF SCIENCE.Angelo G., Solimini ( 13 Feb 2013 ). ARE THERE SIDE EFFECTS TO WATCHING 3D MOVIES? Linda Rufer, University of Pennsylvania ( 1 August 2014 ). MAGIC AT THE MOVIES: POSITIVE PSYCOLOGY FOR CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND FAMILIES.

Poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe Essay

This is a magnificent piece of poetry. The hypnotic monotony of rhythm reflected the speaker’s frame of mind. The poem is clearly about the sorrow he experienced over the death of his wife and her ideal, spiritual love. The raven, being a symbol of death, and the lines, â€Å"Other friends have flown before-On the morrow he will leave me as my hopes have flown before,† meant that he was afraid death might abandon him, leaving him comfortless. Then he sits in front of the bird wondering why the raven croaked â€Å"Nevermore†. The raven is trying to tell him â€Å"she shall press, ah, nevermore†, but he thinks the bird is lying because his grief is so great, and he doesn’t believe that Lenore’s death is final. When he realized that the raven is trying to tell him that her death is final, he becomes angry and upset. He begs the raven to tell him if she is in heaven, whill the angels love her and take care of her the way she should be. In the last four lines of the poemwhere â€Å"the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting,† and the shadows that â€Å"shall be lifted-nevermore,† mean that the raven is a symbol of the wisdom and knowledge that he will always have memories of Lenore, but that her death is final. He will always mourn her.

Political Science Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Science - Assignment Example The term â€Å"Politics† has been coined from the Greek term ‘Polis’ that meant city – state (Murali, et al, 1). There are five major subfields in the discipline of political science which are American Government, Comparative Government, Public Administration, International Relations and Political Theory (The Subfields of Political Science). American Government – it is concerned with the American system of government and exposes the student to its different functionalities. Comparative Government – this section explains about the different comparisons of the governments in the world. Public Administration- this deals with the study of government bureaucracies. International Relations- it involves a detail study of the different international systems in the world. Political Theory –it is divided into empirical political theory and normative political philosophy. Answer 2 The four primary subfields in political science get their ideas fro m the western political thoughts. Political science is considered as a relatively new concept that began in the early nineteenth century. Before the beginning of political science as a separate discipline, politics was studied as a part of the natural philosophy. There were many terms in political science like parliament that were derived from the existing western political governments. For these reasons, it is considered that the essence of political science is westernized in many respects. Political science is a combination of several subfields each of which pertains to a separate area of study and understanding. For gaining a complete understanding of the subject, it will be necessary to have a fair idea of all its related subfields. For this reason, it is said that the knowledge in political science is a cumulative knowledge of different but inter related topics. Answer 3 Power has been defined in many ways depending on the social and political interests. As a single definition of power is not easy to frame, Galileo had stated that power is an â€Å"essentially contested concepts† and â€Å"concepts the proper use of which inevitably involves endless disputes about their proper uses on the part of their users† (Pansardi, 1). According to the Weber power has been defined as â€Å"the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistances, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests† (Swedberg, 205). Conflict is defined as the situation that arises when there are disagreements between parties over an issue. Social conflict can arise over how the resources of the society are to be utilized and how much of it would be allotted to every individuals. Answer 4 There are different approaches of studying political science. These are Positivism,  Functionalism, Structuralism,  Interpretivism  and Materialism (Marxism). Positivism - Positivism is the philosophy of science which is based on the concept that in social sciences, data is derived from the sensory experiences (Blaikie, 113) and the logical or the mathematical expressions of the data, are in all, an exclusive interpretation for the authoritative knowledge. Obtaining and verification of the data which can be obtained from the senses is called empirical evidence. Positivism view holds the concept that society operates based on the laws found in the physical world. Structuralism –

Reflections on Food Solution in My Neighborhood Coursework

Reflections on Food Solution in My Neighborhood - Coursework Example Encourage schools to purchase healthy food for the students from local growers that are known to be sustainable farmers †¢ Good food offerings are unaffordable †¢ National school meal program to supply healthy meals to children †¢ Teach people about how they can preserve, cook, and share food for the benefit of those that cannot afford. †¢ Food wastage †¢ Create food awareness through environmental studies and community Arts movements that advocate for social change regarding food conservation †¢ Unhealthy, poorly cooked and cold lunch program †¢ Encourage the Good Food Cafà © that offers a healthy hot lunch program for school kids †¢ Malnutrition and hunger is rampant due to inadequate food supplies and poverty. †¢ The government should create school meal programs to provide children with constant food supply. †¢ Encourage diverse culinary tastes for multicultural population to honor the different cultural rituals †¢ Kinderga rten children change their attitude towards fresh fruits and vegetables †¢ Encourage children to eat fresh fruits and vegetables more than processed and canned food. †¢ Collaborate with food scholars and non profit private and public organizations to exhume, document and link people with their food practices to determine where health deficiency occurs. †¢ Form organizations such as Food-share that supplies fresh, nutritious, and affordable fruits and vegetables to children and adults every month.

Globalization & the World's Poor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization & the World's Poor - Essay Example Developments in technology and policies over the past few decades have acted to be the catalyst in cross border trade and investment. The current wave of globalization opened up the domestic economies internationally. In the periods after the Second World War the governments of most countries adopted the free economic systems to be the driver of the economy. The free economic regime increased the potential of the states and created new opportunities for trade and investment. With the aim to promote trade and development the government negotiated in reducing the barriers of trade while the new corporations exploited the new opportunities in foreign market by moving into agreements. The economic life was transformed with advances in the field of technology. The definition of globalization has remained controversial. The proponents of globalization argue that the process will enable the poor countries to improve the standards of living while the critics argue that globalization only ben efitted the large corporations and eliminated local enterprises out of the market scenario. The resistance of globalization has been from all levels and the government are now engaging themselves in regulating the flow of capital and goods that constitute the wave of globalization. ... It was thought globalization will bring about an overall welfare for the society. So the society as a whole was supposed to reap the benefits. But after the years of implementation it was founds that the benefits are getting directed towards the developed countries and the less developed countries are remaining under the shadows of darkness. Some argues that multinational corporations enjoy the power over the economies of the world. But it can be argued that it is not the companies that take the advantages. It is the well developed nations that exploit the poorer counterparts through international networking communities. On a cyclical note it can be said that globalization deters protectionism by opening up the borders which facilitate easy flow of ideas and products. Globalization increases the opportunity for self interests and in this fashion pursues the interests of the first world countries with the expense of the third world countries. Therefore globalization acts to cheat the world’s poor. The financial press and the influential officials of the international authorities assert that the global markets expand the dimensions of the poor while the critics hold the opposite position with equal intensity. In the period between 1980 to 2000 the percentage in trade in goods as well as services in China increased from 23% to 46% of GDP. In the case of India, The percentage ranged from 19 to 30% over the same period. The development of the nations created some opportunities for the nations to utilize. But some nations lacked the capability to utilize the situation as there did not have the required political and domestic situation. The idea of free trade rests on the notion that nations should involve themselves in exporting those products in

DOES AUDIT REGULATION ENSURE AUDITOR INDEPENDANCE Essay

DOES AUDIT REGULATION ENSURE AUDITOR INDEPENDANCE - Essay Example The objective of the present research is to define the UK auditor’s independence in the regulation of audit, the scope of competences and responsibilities of various professionals, and to evaluate who and what can be the best practice in auditor independence. The writer will define and analyse the concept of auditor independence in the audit regulation and will investigate effectiveness of audit regulation in the current state of UK auditors’ independence. Specialized accounting corporations and various government authoritarian organizations throughout the globe have accentuated that auditor autonomy is both an ethical and a professional matter, essential to auditors. Independence has been examined as â€Å"an intensely felt professional philosophy†. It is supposed that part of the solution in deciphering ethical impasses regarding potential and identified risks to assessor independence is to put more stress on professional beliefs (Mednick, 1990). The Ethics Committee of the International Federation of Accountants has also highlighted the notion of independence as an ethical subject in its principles on assessor independence covenanting with veracity, neutrality, and secrecy. Many writers have turn up with behavioural, theoretical, sociological and officially authorized definitions of independence and what makes up a mutilation to auditor’s independence. Elijah Watts Sells (1908) emphasized the significance of the auditor’s independence in relation to the auditor: The place of the public accountant in regard to corporations and their management is at all times an independent one. Unlike the legal representatives, he is not projected to make out a case. The nature of the service he provides is impersonal (Sells, 1908). Near the beginning of 1928, a perspective in the Paper of Accountancy emphasized the subsistence of a clash of interest when an auditor is a stockowner, executive,