Pollution: Global Warming and Personal Hygiene Products

POLLUTION Pollution happens absolutely everywhere, every single second of the day, everywhere on earth. It happens in many city, many town, or many state. You can find pollution in cars, home electronics, personal hygiene products, natural disasters, and even your own home. Pollution is poison for anything that lives and breathes; it poisons water, air, land, humans, and animals, so it cannot to be taken lightly. As a law people should take more care of their surroundings and try harder to preserve the world we live in, even if it is inconvenient to us. Because if we don’t save ourselves, who will?The things we could do to save our planet from pollution could reduce further destruction . Everyone is benefited when we have clean water, air, land, etc. . For example, we never hear any news about a person dying because of clean air but instead we hear news like, man died from pollution, family living in home pollution, water tests show pollution particles, the list goes on foreve r. By identifying the problem at an early stage, we can start to reverse the pollution process. Thus making our mother Earth cleaner. The  funny thing of all this is that though the earth is getting  polluted man is least bothered about it . e doesn’t know that he himself is digging his own  grave  because pollution not only spoils his own health but also  worsens his  quality of life. People in cities who are exposed to various kinds of pollution suffer from several ailments like high blood pressure, asthma and skin diseases. Garbage thrown around leads to break out of epidemics like cholera, malaria, chikungunya etc. Poisonous chemicals from the  air  as well as our water bodies have recently caused an exponential rise in cancer cases. Scientists say that it is still not late to act, and governments all over the world have started acting.Countries are trying their best to control pollution by adopting measures like control of   CO2 emissions, using clean fuels, proper waste management  practices, and planting trees on a large scale. However no efforts would be complete unless each one us does our bit to protect our environment. We all can contribute in our small way by  saving  fuel, water and electricity, disposing garbage responsibly and living simple lives. It is the responsibility of each one of us to safeguard the environment so that future generations can enjoy the  beauty  and bounty of Mother nature.

Accounting Theory and Practice Essay

QUESTION 1 – Question 1.8: What is the difference between developing a theory by induction and developing a theory by deduction? QUESTION 2 – Question 1.9: Is the study of financial accounting theory a waste of time for accounting students? Explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 1.26: Would you reject as ‘insignificant and useless’ a positive theory of accounting on the basis that in a particular research study the results derived failed to support the hypotheses and the related theory? Explain your answer. QUESTION 4 – Question 1.27 (NEW): The International Accounting Standards Board has a number of roles, including formulating accounting standards and developing a conceptual framework. Is the work they do in developing an accounting standard or the conceptual framework normative or positive in nature? QUESTION 5 – Question 1.33 (NEW): In this chapter we provided quotes from Gray, Owen and Adams (2010), in which they discuss an apparent herding phenomenon that seems to be occurring in respect of the selection and use of particular theories. They state, ‘there has been a strange herding tendency, especially around legitimacy theory’, as well as stating that they ‘also have a sneaking feeling that institutional theory may be coming up fast as the next theory around which to herd’. What do they mean by this apparent practice of ‘herding’, and what are some possible advantages and disadvantages that are related to this practice? QUESTION 6 – Question 1.35 (NEW): Do we really need financial accounting theory if all we are interested in doing is developing accounting standards? TUTORIAL 2 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 2 and 3: The financial reporting environment and Regulation of financial accounting QUESTION 1 – Question 2.3: Do you believe that the media portray accounting numbers, such as profits, as some sort of ‘hard’ and objective performance indicator? Why do you think they might do this, and, if they do, what are some of the implications that might arise as a result of this approach? QUESTION 2 – Question 2.7: Is it appropriate to look at changes or trends in corporate profits over time without making any adjustments? Explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 2.14: If regulators acted in accordance with predictions provided by the private interest theory of regulation, which assumes that all individuals (including politicians and regulators) are motivated by their own economic self-interest, what is the likelihood of the introduction of regulations aimed at reducing the problems associated with climate change – particularly if business corporations opposed such regulations? QUESTION 4 – Question 3.7: Is regulation more likely to be required in respect of public goods than other goods? Why? QUESTION 5 – Question 3.30: Accounting headline 3.9 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 2 QUESTIONS) discusses how European banks were able to lobby the European Union (EU) so as to be regulated by a ‘watered down’ version of the accounting standard IAS 39. Explain whether the decision of the EU to embrace a ‘watered down’ version of the standard is consistent with a ‘public interest theory of regulation perspective’, or whether it can be explained by an alternative theoretical perspective (which you should attempt to identify). QUESTION 6 – Question 3.35: Let us assume that the government has become concerned that existing disclosure regulation tends to fixate on the financial performance of organisations but fails to address other aspects of corporate performance, including a failure to provide information about corporate social and environmental impacts as well as about various initiatives and investments an organisation has undertaken to improve its social and environmental performance. As such, the government has decided to introduce legislation that will require business corporations to provide information about the social and environmental impacts of their operations, as well as the social and environmental initiatives undertaken by the corporations. You are required to do the following: (a) Explain from a public interest theory perspective the rationale for the government introducing the legislation and how the government will ultimately assess whether any proposed legislation should actually be introduced. (b) Predict from a capture theory perspective the types of constituents that will benefit in the long run from any social and environmental disclosure legislation. (c) Predict from an economic interest group theory perspective whether any potential legislation to be introduced will lead to an increase in the accountability of corporations in relation to their social and environmental performance despite any implications that this increased corporate accountability might have for the financial success of large but heavily polluting organisations. TUTORIAL 3 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 4 and 5: International accounting and The conceptual framework project QUESTION 1 – Question 4.19: It is often argued that the accounting standards of the FASB are rule-based, whereas the accounting standards issued by the IASB are principles-based. Rules-based standards by their nature can be quite complex, particularly if they seek to cover as many situations as possible. Do you think it would be easier to circumvent the requirements of rules-based or principles-based accounting standards? QUESTION 2 – Question 4.22: Does the standardisation of accounting standards on a global basis necessarily equate with a standardisation in accounting practice? QUESTION 3 – Question 4.25 In considering the relevance of IFRS to developing countries, Chand and White (2007, p.606) state: (see below). Explain the reasons behind Chand and White’s claim. â€Å"While the forces of globalization and convergence are moving accounting practices towards a unified, or at least, harmonized regulatory framework for financial reporting, this is unlikely to best serve the diverse interests of disparate user groups of financial reports.† QUESTION 4 – Question 4.27: Ball (2006, p. 17) makes the following comment: (below). Explain the basis of Ball’s comments. â€Å"In sum, even a cursory review of the political and economic diversity among, IFRS-adopting nations, and of their past and present financial reporting practices, makes the notion that uniform standards alone will produce uniform financial reporting seem naà ¯ve.† QUESTION 5 – Question 4.30 (NEW) In continental European countries, prior to the adoption of IFRS, the domestic accounting rules were typically much more aligned with local taxation regulation than would be the case in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Why do you think this could have been the case? QUESTION 6 – Topic 5: Question 6.7: Conceptual framework projects identify a number of qualitative criteria that financial information should possess if it is to be useful for economic decision making. Two such attributes are neutrality and representational faithfulness? Do you believe that financial information can, in reality be neutral and representationally faithful? Explain your answer. QUESTION 7 – Topic 5: Question 6.10: The two main qualitative characteristics that financial information should possess have been identified as relevance and reliability. Is one more important than the other, or are they equally important? TUTORIAL 4 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topic 6: Chapter 10: Reactions of capital markets to financial reporting QUESTION 1 – Question 10.4 (NEW): What is an event study and why would an event study be of relevance to an accounting standard-setter? QUESTION 2 – Question 10.9 (NEW): If individuals have access to insider information and are able to make large gains on a securities market as a result of using information that is not widely known, then is this an indication that the market is inefficient? QUESTION 3 – Question 10.16 (NEW): Evidence shows that share prices might not fully react to financial accounting information immediately and that abnormal returns might persist for a period of time following the release of information (a case of ‘post-announcement drift’). Does this indicate that securities markets are not efficient and that assumptions about market efficiency should be rejected? QUESTION 4 – Question 10.17: If an organisation’s operations rely heavily on the specialised expertise of its management team, would you expect there to be a higher or a lower  correspondence between the net assets recognised in the statement of financial position (balance sheet), and the total market value of the organisation’s securities, relative to an organisation that relies more on tangible assets (for example, commonly used plant and machinery) to generate its income? QUESTION 5 – Question 10.24: Refer to Accounting Headline 10.3 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and explain why investors might have reacted to the false rumour. Is the reaction of investors to this false rumour consistent with the view that the capital market is efficient or inefficient? QUESTION 6 – Question 10.25: Review Accounting Headline 10.7 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and explain the reason for the change in the price of Wesfarmers shares. Also, what might have caused the price changes in the shares in the other retail organisations? QUESTION 7 – Question 10.28: Read Accounting Headline 10.10 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and, relying on some of the capital markets studies considered in this chapter, explain why the share prices of the pharmaceutical companies might have reacted in the way they did. TUTORIAL 5 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 8 and 9: Accounting for Corporate Social Responsibilities QUESTION 1 – Question 8.1: Explain the notion of a social contract, and what relevance the social contract has with respect to the legitimacy of an organisation. QUESTION 2 – Question 8.7: If an organization was involved in a major accident or incident, would you expect it to use vehicles such as an annual report or a sustainability  report to try to explain the incident? If so, explain how and why it would use reports in this way. QUESTION 3 – Question 8.21 (NEW): Chapter 8 divided Stakeholder Theory into the ethical branch and the managerial branch. Explain the differences between the two branches in terms of the alternative perspectives about when information will, or should, be provided by an organisation. QUESTION 4 – Question 9.1: What has the environment got to do with accounting (NEW)? QUESTION 5 – Question 9.9: What is an externality, and why do financial accounting practices typically ignore QUESTION 6 – Question 9.20 (NEW): Explain what is meant by the following statement: †¦In the long term, environmental sustainability is necessary for both social and economic sustainability, so attention to minimising impacts in respect of the environment is necessary to ensure a sustainable social and economic future. QUESTION 7 – Question 9.35 (NEW): What is a cap-and-trade system and what accounting issues does it create? QUESTION 8: What is international integrated reporting and how does it differ from the current financial reporting system we have. TUTORIAL 6 – Semester 2 2014 Topic 7: Positive accounting theory QUESTION 1 – Question 7.5: Explain why a decision made in London by members of the International  Accounting Standards Board and incorporated within an accounting standard could influence the business operating strategies employed by a manager in Melbourne, Australia. QUESTION 2 – Question 7.10: As part of efforts to develop a revised Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, the IASB is currently investigating alternative approaches for measuring the assets and liabilities of reporting entities. In relation to asset measurement it appears that fair value is a favoured option of the IASB. In this regard, would researchers who embrace the view that accounting plays a vital role in reducing the contracting costs of an organisation favour the adoption of fair value in all situations? Carefully explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 7.12: Would managers who have negotiated debt contracts with accounting-based covenants based around ‘rolling GAAP’ be relatively more likely to lobby an accounting standard-setter about a proposed accounting standard than would a manager from a firm who has negotiated accounting-based debt covenants that use ‘frozen GAAP’. Why or why not? Illustrate using AASB2 Share Based Payments and assume that it is the year 2003. QUESTION 4 – Question 7.15: Do you think the policy decisions made by members of the International Accounting Standards Board would or should give consideration to the insights provided by Positive Accounting Theory? Why? QUESTION 5 – Question 7.17: If senior managers within a company were rewarded by way of accounting-based bonus plans then would they, or the owners/shareholders (or both), prefer the use of conservative accounting methods? Explain the reasoning for your answer. QUESTION 6 – Question 10.22 Accepted assumptions about market efficiency mean that it is the information  content of disclosure, and not the form of the disclosure, that is valued by the market. Therefore it should not matter whether information is disclosed within the notes to the financial statements, or in the financial statements themselves. If this is true, then why would managers care if something – such as a lease liability – is disclosed only in the notes, or included within the liabilities disclosed within the balance sheet?

How did Bobbie Ann Mason`s upbringing in the rural south influence her writing of Shiloh Essay

Bobbie Ann Mason is considered as one of the great American writers from the South. Her personal background as a Southerner influenced and set a backdrop for most of her fiction stories. From a small country girl who used to read Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew mysteries, Bobbie Ann Mason has become one of the America’s leading fiction writers. In 1980 The New Yorker published her first story. â€Å"It took me a long time to discover my material,† she says. â€Å"It wasn’t a matter of developing writing skills; it was a matter of knowing how to see things. And it took me a very long time to grow up. I’d been writing for a long time, but was never able to see what there was to write about. I always aspired to things away from home, so it took me a long time to look back at home and realize that that’s where the center of my thought was† (Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage). This discourse will try to map out the journey that Bobbie Ann Mason has taken from being just a country girl to being one of America’s leading fiction writers as well as how her upbringing has been manifested in her writings, especially â€Å"Shiloh†. Bobbie Ann Mason was born in 1940 in a small town in Mayfield, Kentucky. Growing up in her parents’ dairy farm, she spent most of her childhood days in the typical rural Southern setting and experiencing the Southern way of upbringing. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) The first nine (9) years of her educational life were spent in a rural school. Shortly thereafter Bobbie Ann Mason attended a â€Å"city† school where she stayed until her graduation. It was here where she first experienced living in the city and experiencing the hustle and bustle that was absent from the rural setting that she was accustomed to in Kentucky (Webber). It was her love for literature that prompted her to pursue a degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky and eventually attain a Ph. D. in English from the University of Connecticut. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) This seeming â€Å"duality† of her background, growing up in the Southern Setting and highly educated in a metropolitan setting, is reflected within most of her written works (Hunt). Rothstein describes Mason’s style as a combination of her â€Å"intellectual sophistication† (after all, she had a doctorate degree) and â€Å"the sense of isolated, yearning existence of her rural characters [is] one she has never quite shed herself. † The influence of growing up in the South is clearly shown in most of her characters in her stories yet the theme and feel of the story reveals her intellect and cosmopolitan views as well. A perfect example of how Mason reveals this â€Å"duality† is in Shiloh. In Shiloh, Mason shows this through the challenges that the characters undergo; some of these changes that the characters in experience deal with the nature of human life, the changes brought on by death, the issues on disease and aging; but these changes are not so common, nor as troublesome, in Mason’s stories as the changes brought on by a changing society. These changes, as Edwin T. Arnold correctly observes, are brought about by the fact that the present â€Å"has effectively displaced, transformed, and cheapened the traditional,† and Mason’s characters are depicted as they lose their strengths and beliefs and find nothing substantial to replace them (136) Bobbie Ann Mason’s writings are mostly set in the South. Her version is more realistic and not romanticized; unlike the works of Faulkner or O’Connor (Hunt), she depicts small-town rural Southern living, using dialogue and settings characteristic of the South (Hunt). However, â€Å"southern history and all it represents seems irrelevant to her characters’ lives† (Fine 87). Bobbie Ann Mason occasionally reveals her talent and wit by being able to focus more on her characters and their sense of isolation and their want for something more from their lives and draw the reader towards the characters and make them empathize with the characters. These characters are not simply depicted as typical Southerners, but rather as people â€Å"who are trying desperately to get into the society rather than out of it† (Reed 60). Mason shows the Southern Influence by creating believable characters that are caught in the transition between the old, pastoral, rural world of farms and close-knit communities and the modern, anonymous, suburban world of shopping malls and fast-food restaurants (Shiloh: Themes). In â€Å"Shiloh,† for example, Leroy did not notice the change in his hometown while he was on the road as a trucker. However, now that Leroy has come home to stay, â€Å"he notices how much the town has changed. Subdivisions are spreading across western Kentucky like an oil slick. † Change, a theme often used by Mason in her works, shows just how much Mason is influenced by her upbringing and also reveals how she laments over how people are slow to realize the changes in southern society. In this story, it takes a traumatic event of some kind to make the characters see that the land has changed or that they no longer know who they are. In Leroy’s case, it is his accident and injury in his rig that make him see that the land has changed, that Norma Jean has changed, and that â€Å"in all the years he was on the road he never took time to examine anything. He was always flying past scenery† (2). Several of Mason’s characters react to the changes in their lives by trying, at least momentarily, to go back. Leroy thinks that he can hold onto his wife if he can go back to a simpler time. He decides to accomplish this by building her a log cabin for which he goes so far as to order the blueprints and to build a miniature out of Lincoln Logs. Mabel, Leroy’s mother-in-law, is convinced that if Leroy and Norma Jean will go to Shiloh where she and her husband went on their honeymoon, they can somehow begin their fifteen-year-old marriage anew. So does Leroy. He says to Norma, â€Å"You and me could start all over again. Right back at the beginning† (15). It is ironic, fitting, and symbolic that it is at Shiloh that Norma tells him she wants to leave him. By story’s end, Leroy knows that he cannot go back as â€Å"it occurs to him that building a house of logs is . . . empty — too simple. . . . Now he sees that building a log house is the dumbest idea he could have had. . . . It was a crazy idea† (16). He realizes that â€Å"the real inner workings of a marriage, like most of history, have escaped him† (16). The female characters that Mason brings to life are what set her stories apart from the usual literature which depicts Southern women; their dreams, goals, and their want for progress significantly differs from those of the traditional Southern belle characters such as Scarlett O’Hara and Adie (Hunt). The female characters of Mason embrace change and are not afraid of it (Kincaid 582). This seemingly feminist theme reflects the change in social relationships between men and women; how evolving and rapidly shifting gender roles affect the lives of simple people. Mason also shows how some of her women try to forge new identities in the wake of shifting gender roles and how their efforts often include a blatant shrinking of traditionally feminine behaviors or characteristics; sometimes they seem almost completely to be trading roles with the men in their lives. And since change often causes uncertainty and instability, another aspect is the way these women find some solid ground through connections with other women (Bucher). â€Å"Shiloh† is a story that â€Å"symbolizes the modern woman striving to find her identity† (Cooke 196). In this short story, Bobbie Ann Mason masterfully portrays the lead female character, Norma Jean, as one such woman; strong, determined and confused in a search for her identity. Mason is able to show this to the reader through the acts of Norma Jean as she tries to improve her physical appearance by â€Å"working on her pectorals† (Mason 271), enrolls in a â€Å"variety of classes, from weightlifting to cooking exotic foods to English composition in an attempt to become a new woman† (Thompson 3). These actions of Norma Jean actions reveal more of a strong desire for inner personal transformation, much more than anything else. However, Mason also recognizes that abrupt change in one’s personality has its own dangers (Hunt), as illustrated by Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship. Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship is a perfect example of the dangers of an abrupt change as it shows a marriage with serious problem and the effect that change has on it. Leroy and Norma Jean Moffitt, are working-class people living in the modern South, and thus they bring into their marriage all sorts of unspoken expectations of who they should be, which often contrast violently with who they are – even more so with who they are becoming (Bucher). When in a twist of fate, Leroy loses the use of his leg, Norma Jean suddenly assumes the role of being the man in the family and this leads to problems. It is this sort of change that is not only abrupt but also drastic which Mason shows in Shiloh that reveals her Southern influence. She emphasizes the changing role of women in society by using the Southern setting as a backdrop. Mason is a lover of rock and roll music. This passion and preference for rock music and pop culture are frequently reflected throughout her stories as well (Webber). â€Å"Writing is my version of rock-and-roll,† Rothstein quotes her (Webber). This is aptly shown in â€Å"Shiloh,† where the main characters themselves are named after Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, popular icons of the rock and roll scene and pop culture in the early 1950s. All in all, it can be said that Bobbie Ann Mason’s personal background shows a very consistent influence in the fiction stories that she writes and provides a deeper and different perspective about living in a Southern setting and rural life in general. â€Å"In the country in Kentucky, people are just amazed that anybody in New York wants to read about their lives† (Rothstein). With fiction stories of Bobbie Ann Mason, however, it is not surprising that people will want to read more about Kentucky or the Southern locales of the United States, for that matter, for her stories speak of the universal human experiences that transcend physical and cultural boundaries which people can identify with. WORKS CITED: Arnold, Edwin J. â€Å"Falling Apart and Staying Together. † Appalachian Journal (1985): 135-141Aycock-Simpson, Judy. Bobbie Ann Mason’s Portrayal of Modern Western Kentucky Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 7 (1989) â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Wikipedia: Free Encyclopedia. August 30, 2006. November 11, 2006 â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage. September 17, 2005. November 24, 2006 â€Å"Shiloh: Themes. † Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes. com. January 2006. 24 November 2006. Bucher, Tina. â€Å"Changing Roles and Finding Stability: Women in Bobbie Ann Mason’s Shiloh and Other Stories† Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 8 (1991) Cooke, Stewart J. â€Å"Mason’s ‘Shiloh. ‘† The Explicator 51 (1993): 196-197. Fine, Laura. â€Å"Going Nowhere Slow: The Post-South World of Bobbie Ann Mason. † The Southern Literary Journal 32 (1999). Hunt, Kristina. â€Å"Mason’s Transformation of the South. † October 27, 2000. November 11, 2006.

Implications Of Global Warming For Tourism In Canada Research Paper

Implications Of Global Warming For Tourism In Canada - Research Paper Example The industry has now become of the major income earner and source of employment in these countries. According to Edgell (1993), tourism stimulates the growth of basic infrastructure, enhances the growth of domestic industries and transfer of information and technology, and attracts foreign investment. One of the countries that have benefitted a lot from tourism is Canada. Canada is the second largest country globally and one of the prosperous nations on the planet earth. It is a member of the Group of Eight (G8) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its economy is rated as the 9th largest economy globally (CNN News). The key industries in the economy of Canada are manufacturing, service sector, energy and agriculture. Apart from these, tourism also plays a big role in the economy of Canada. In Canada, tourism accounts for about 2% of its overall gross domestic product (GDP), with a GDP value that equals to that of forestry, hunting, agriculture and fi shing combined. In 2007, tourism contributions to Canada reached $28.6 billion, a 5.9% increase turnover from 2006. During the same year, 2007, it generated a total of $21.2 billion in government revenues and over 653,400 jobs for the citizens. In 2008, these increased to $74 billion in revenues and over 66, 000 jobs (Canadian Tourism Commission, 2008). ... Generally, the nation’s tourist attractions include glacial features, parks, waterfalls, historic sites, culture, mountains, ski resorts, museums, art galleries, and hiking and camping destinations. There are also a lot of rivers and lakes for outdoor recreation, boating, fishing and hunting, Crescent Street located in Montreal and suspension bridge located above the Capilano River, and Valley of the Ten Peaks and the Moraine Lake located in Alberta province. The country is bordered by Atlantic Ocean to the east, Pacific Ocean to the west and Arctic Ocean to the north and therefore beaches and other coastal features form an important tourist attraction feature especially during the summers. The above discussion and explanations are a proof that tourism is an important part in the sustenance of the economy of Canada. This means that anything threatening the sustainability of this sector directly threatens the Canadian economy. One of the things that is currently threatening the sustenance of this sector is global warming. This phenomenon has brought about some environmental changes that have significant implications for Tourism in Canada. In order to understand this deeply, it is important to have an overview of what global warming is. Global warming In simple terms, global warming can be defined as the rise in the average global temperatures. This increase in temperature is felt both in the earth’s atmosphere and the oceans/seas. According to Solomon et al (2008), the occurrence of global warming is influenced by different factors that are collectively known as external forcing. These are processes that are external to the earth’s climate system and the earth’s climate

Ethical dilema Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical dilema - Research Paper Example Moral dilemmas have different origins and depend on the source, they can be classified as those from moral uncertainty, self-imposed, world imposed and those that are prohibitory in nature (Garber 29). Given the nature of the moral dilemma, one can take a position regarding the situation that will present itself to him and opt to defend the action with other morals but the fact remains that the explanation cannot be fully construed to be a justification of the action. It can only be considered just as a better explanation that can be considered the best next alternative forgone. The Moral Dilemma I have been involved in a difficult situation of ethical dilemma in which pitched me in a very precarious situation in making a decision. This was necessitated by the advent of emails that has really created new grounds for ethical dilemma regarding information access and the corresponding privacy. It is a common knowledge that accessing someone’s email without their consent is in its elf infringing on the person right to privacy and that itself is a violation of regulation in most of the places that equally prohibits illegal access to ones mails. This is the situation that I found myself in and I had to make a decision out of the tricky situation. For a brief period, one of the major Casinos hired me to be one of their data analysts and I had to work alongside others in the Casino regarding the work that I was to be doing. In the Casino, I made a friendship with some of the employees in the Casino that I use to work with, in the department of data analysis; we became friends that we did most of the things together and openly riding on the absolute trust that we have built for quite a period. One of the principal regulations that we undertook to during the acceptance of the contract is that no engaging in the gambling process as an employee of the Casino, particularly those involved in the data analysis. This was particularly such because we used to work for the data and that engaging in gambling would lead to direct conflicts of interest (Garber 31). The same Casino has a very stringent policy regarding privacy of mails and personal information and encroaching into a fellow employee’s personal information is not tolerated. Most importantly again is the fact that the management of the Casino is very strict about deadlines that if it passes you become liable for any los that might be incurred. On a certain day, I was engaged in a certain project that was very critical to the company before the 6pm and it was past normal working hours, all the employees had left. I later realized that some of the critical data I needed for the completion of the work were in Tony’s computer (Tony is a colleagues in the work place). I then decided to log into my friends computer so that I can send myself the data again into my computer and proceed with the project to completion given its criticality, though I knew that it was wrong to access an em ployee’s system without his consent. I did log into the account and sent the part of the data that I needed but before I could log out, I saw a mail that Tony has been exchanging with others over gambling process and read the email (Garber 33). After reading the message, it was clear the Tony was engaging in the gambling process against the company’s requirement as a data analyst and t would be disastrous for him to be found

Animal rights Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Animal rights - Assignment Example Animals can talk as they talk to their like kind. Just because humans cannot understand them does not mean that an animal should not be able to defend themselves. This may be hard for someone believing animals have no rights to understand. It is important to consider that people who believe that animals have no rights are of a different mind frame then other who do. This can be further explained when discussing poachers. People who hunt an animal that is soon to be extinct obviously do not care about animal rights or the sustainability of humans. When an animal leaves the environment this creates a gap in the food chain. The gap in the food chain creates a problem for other animals. If an individual does not care about animal and human life why should they care about animal rights? It is important to consider the different types of individuals that are against animal rights. There whole outlook on life is different. It is likely that a disagreement with someone on animal’s rig hts is likely to cause a disagreement in other topics of conversation. Since this is likely it is important to bring facts when arguing a certain topic. Facts are important when discussing a topic such as animal rights. Animals Do Have Right Similar To the Rights of Humans There are many different factors to agree upon when discussing why animals have right. As mentioned in the paper by Tibor Machan, animals act in a way that humans do. Animals are able to love, show compassion, and protect. Since animals show feelings similar to humans, why should they deserve less? The answer to that is that they don’t deserve less. They have the right to the same rights as humans. Would this be different if animals were able to speak better and be understood by people? It may be human’s ignorance of animal speech that creates a communication boundary. It is possibly that a human own ignorance towards animals allows for the thought that humans are more superior. This is where I have the strongest argument. There are some people that are able to study animals and communicate with them. Being able to communicate with animals break the barrier and allows other to be shown that the animals have feelings. Animals are no less than a person. Animals are here to protect, provide food, love and obey. Since animals are owned by humans it is the humans right to take care of the animals. Taking care of the animals means sticking up for the rights of animals. Acting in humanly to animals should be punished just like any other wrong act. Animals are alive just like humans. Taking a life from animals for game reasons and testing should be punishable by law. Animals were put on this earth to enable human survival and not to be used in a game or testing. These acts are cruel and it takes a cruel person to perform such acts. It is not just the rights of animals that is important to focus on but the nature of what is right and wrong. As mentioned in the paper, parents teach their children to be kind to animals in some parts of the world and are honored in other parts for killing for fun. That said it is the parent responsibility to ensure that children are taught the correct morals and values that honor life. Being taught to respect animals can lead to the respect of other things in life. It is wrong to think that killing animals for pleasure is okay. This type of thinking is not okay and can lead to other wrong violent behavior. Killing is killing regardless if it is a human or animal. Since it

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Auditing - Essay Example The auditor is responsible for collecting and evaluating the evidence in order to make an opinion on the financial position of a company. In the contemporary business world, various changes have been experienced as auditors embark on addressing the challenges that face them as professionals. Quality auditing by independent auditors is a vital aspect in that it ensures that capital markets are effectively working while at the same time public and investor’s interests are protected. This paper seeks to examine the changes in the auditing environment and the resulting challenges. Additionally, the paper will discuss key lessons that auditors can draw in order to capitalize on emerging opportunities. During the annual conference for American Accounting Association (AAA), the issue of auditing skepticism was noted as one of the key challenges that are faced in the field of auditing. According to the PCAOB, every audit who is focused at coming up with a fair view of the clients fina ncial position must emulate professional skepticism throughout their audit process. This implies that firstly, the auditor should portray a general duty of care during their duties. Secondly, professional skepticism entails having a questioning mind on the appropriateness of the audit evidence (James, 2013). Thirdly, it comprises of there key elements that includes mindset, actions and attributes. The three aspects must be emulated together in order to come up with a quality audit. One of the major issues that results to change in the audit are the skeptical judgments arrived at during the audit planning. This can be due to the variation in the level of skills as well as the expertise of the individuals involved in the process. Additionally, auditing may be affected by the judgments of other auditors who have undertaken an audit process of a particular company. Being a complex issue that is experienced by auditors during their duties, skepticism entails various fields such as theory , auditing literature, corporate governance, business models and ethics among others. As a result of complexity of the auditing process in some companies, there has been a continued increase in the audit deficiency during the inspection of the financial information and records (Charan, 2005). According to McKenna (2011), majority of these deficiencies are caused by lack of adequate professional skepticism. Auditing standard calls for emulation of professional skepticism if an audit sees the possibility of a significant misstatement that may be caused by a fraud activity. During their duties, auditors should exercise professional skepticism especially during the gathering of information and evaluating the evidence. This implies that even if the auditor beliefs that the management team is honest, the auditor should not be satisfied with less persuading information. Another major challenge facing the auditing profession is hindrance to maintain its significance in the capital markets. It is vital to note that auditing plays an essential role of advancing capital formation. Similarly, it is subject to changes in demand. The profession faces significant choices of how and when to meet these changes. Though just like other professions, auditing must be in line with the public needs and regulate capital markets; it is faced by various factors that limit it. One of these factors is the statutory franchise. In order to

Global competitiveness of the company Unilever in Pakistan Research Paper

Global competitiveness of the company Unilever in Pakistan - Research Paper Example The government has developed the policies which could keep the costs of production low thereby, providing benefits to private sector. However, legal framework of Pakistan is very weak because of ineffective policies and weak regulatory structures (Asian Development Bank). Infrastructure Resources in Pakistan are limited and the country’s infrastructure needs are massive. It is because of the limited fiscal space and huge gaps in capacity of public sector to develop infrastructure (IPDF). With the increasing multinational companies, a significant development has been observed. However, infrastructure ratings are mixed such as low rank in electric supply and telephone lines and better rank on transport and railways infrastructure (Asian Development Bank). Macro-economy Table shows that GDP growth of Pakistan is 4.1 percent in 2010 as compared to 2.1 percent in 2009. In 2007 the GDP growth rate was 7.0 percent and in next few years it declined significantly which reflects the imp act of global financial crisis. Exchange rate of Pakistan Rupee is Rs.86.21/1$ in 2010 as compared to Rs.60.16/1$ in 2005. It means that Pakistani Rupee has declined significantly against dollar within a period of five years. Inflation has increased from 9.3 percent in 2005 to 12.90 percent in 2010 (Board of Investment: Government of Pakistan). Pakistan economy has faced two major natural disasters in the past few years including massive flooding and earthquake. Because of poor infrastructure and construction, such disasters actually hurt the Pakistan economy. According to CEO, Ehsan Ali Malik, full-year sales target of Unilever declined by 7 percent in Pakistan because of floods (Sharm). Table: Economic Indicators of Pakistan Source:... Global competitiveness of the company "Unilever" in Pakistan Pakistan economy is facing significant challenges because of security concerns and macroeconomic deterioration. Since private sector plays a very critical role in supporting the overall economy therefore, Pakistani government supports and attracts private sector investments. The government has developed the policies which could keep the costs of production low thereby, providing benefits to private sector. However, legal framework of Pakistan is very weak because of ineffective policies and weak regulatory structures. Resources in Pakistan are limited and the country’s infrastructure needs are massive. It is because of the limited fiscal space and huge gaps in capacity of public sector to develop infrastructure (IPDF). With the increasing multinational companies, a significant development has been observed. However, infrastructure ratings are mixed such as low rank in electric supply and telephone lines and better rank on transport and railways infrastructure. Unilever has been pursuing very aggressive marketing strategies. Since company has developed huge range of products and most of the customers are not even aware of the products which belong to company. Therefore, company should develop advertising strategies that promote company image with products and sales should be promoted by attracting the customers to believe in Unilever.

Method of finance used by Chow Tai Fook and roles played by HSBC Assignment

Method of finance used by Chow Tai Fook and roles played by HSBC - Assignment Example Gold loans amounted to HK$ 2060.8 million, HK$ 2189.2 million and HK$ 3931.6 million for the financial years 2009, 2010 2011 respectively. Loans or advances from related parties which are due amounted to HK$ 4726.8 million, HK$ 4639.8 million and HK$ 7833.3 million for financial years 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. The unsecured bank borrowings of CTF primarily serve the purpose of financing working capital, purchase of materials, etc. CTFE guarantees some of these Honk Kong unsecured bank borrowings. Secured bank borrowings of CTF are totally guaranteed by CTFE and certain assets owned by related companies are held as security of these loans. The bank borrowings carry a variable interest rates ranging from 0.30 % to 1.25% per annum over HIBOR or 90-110 % of the PBOC lending rate benchmark per annum. The figures show that there was a significant increase in bank borrowings in the FY2011, primarily due to increase in inventory because of the expansion efforts of the company. Gold l oans include both secured and unsecured short term gold related facilities provided by major financial institutions of the world. The interest rates of gold loans are quite low ranging from 1.25% to 3.5% per annum. There was a significant increase in gold loans in the FY2011 attributed to the fact of increase in gold inventories and business expansion. Regarding advances from related parties, they are unsecured; carrying no interest charges and is repayable on demand. The related parties include the CTFE group and close family members of a director of the Company and an entity having common director of the Company. Until recently, CTF have made a global offering of 1,050,000,000 shares to raise its... This study will begin with the presentation of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited. Chow Tai Fook is a leading brand worldwide engaged in different types of business which include property development, transportation, hotel, casino, jewelry, etc. It is an enterprise based in Hong Kong based. The brand name ‘Chow Tai Fook’ is most common Chinese speaking people. Since its foundation, Chow Tai Fook or CTF is a leader in its market segment and enjoys the top position in market share of PRC, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. CTF possess a very wide range of jewellery products with its main focus on producing high-end luxury jewellery items along with gem-set jewellery, platinum jewellery, watches, etc. The retail network of CTF is quite extensive with its points of sale (POS) of jewellery and watches spread all across PRC, Hong Kong and Macau, thus maximizing its exposure and taking sales to new heights every year. Authenticity and trustworthiness are the two main key aspect s on which the brand of CTF is recognized. CTF uses a vertically integrated model which is quite effective in having a good control over the entire business process. Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited or HSBC is one of the largest banks in the world and provide financial services globally across the world. HSBC is primarily involved in four global businesses. They are: a. Retail Banking and Wealth Management b. Commercial Banking c. Investment Banking and d. Global Private Banking.

Modern Poetry Comparison Essay Example for Free

Modern Poetry Comparison Essay Over the past few weeks, my class and I have been studying a bank of poems, all of the same theme, they all deal with racist issues in modern life. I have chosen two of these poems to compare, these are, The Negro and Prayer of a black boy. Throughout the coursework I shall be calling Prayer of a black boy Poem A, and The Negro, poem B. Poem A uses imagery contrasting white and black cultures, lots of words and expressions in the poem underlines the wonder and amazement of the Negros natural environment, and the barrenness and unproficness of the white mans. I will be disusing these and pointing out the affects they have. Poem B is in 6 clear stanzas but uses imagery of a symbolic and/or historic kind, and so I will also explain the affects this has upon the poem, and although Poem A is written continuously, it can easily be broken into six stanzas for comparison. Also both poems are written in the first person, we know this because they say I. Due to Poem B being in six stanzas it is very quick and easy to read and understand, so I have split Poem A into six parts as well to make it easier to compare. Poem A tells us that the mans roots are very black, and that he is proud to be Black and that him and his people originated from Africa, I concluded this from the line Black as the depths of Africa. In poem B the man says he is tires of this world, he is saying a prayer, which means he is fed up of the way white people act and live and he wants out, also he says since the cock crew he wandered, this means he is worn out of looking for a better place of peace amongst the white people. Poem A explains that the man in the poem has always been used as a slave and that he has been treated like a second class citizen because of his race. Also he says Caesar told me this means that black people have been slaves for a very long time, even when Caesar was around. But he seems to be proud of what he and his race have done to get where they are now. During the second part of Poem B, the man describes a beautiful scene of where and what he wants to be, but then he thinks about what will really happen, which is that his people are slaves and workers all day then he says they are spat out of the factory in which they work. He also dreams of going back to his own country and living freely amongst his people, but he then awakes with great disappointment to se he is still stuck in a white mans world. In the third part of Poem A the man explains that he worked on ancient buildings as well as very modern buildings, which shows us a sense of time, of which he and his people have been treated with a lower standard from the white people, and over a long period of time. The man in Poem B tells us that what the so called gentleman is, he doesnt want to be, because he can see the real white people and they are not kind and generous as a real gentleman is thought to be. Also he compares his brown skin with the brown sugar bags in the street, which are from his country and makes yet again think of being at home with black people. The forth part of Poem A, tells us that he is a singer, and this shows he is proud of the situation he is currently in. We have a mention that he worked his way up from his homeland (Africa) to Georgia, where he sings ragtime for white people and they like it, and this makes him very proud to be who and what he is, a Negro. In the forth section of Poem B the Negro explains that he really wants to be back where he knows is a lot better place, which is his country, because in this country there is nothing better than his home, Africa. In section five of Poem A, he tells us that he and his race have been victims all their lives, he tells us the horrors oh what has happened in the past to him and his race. They have been treated unfairly and with no trial they are punished. Poem B section five, tells us that the man doesnt want to learn the ways and religion of the white people, he wants to know his own history and practise his own religion, the religion of the black people from his home country. He asks why he should read about things he doesnt know or understand of. The white peoples religion comes from a book, (the bible), whereas black religion is carried through time in stories and songs. The final section of Poem A is the exact same as the first stanza, he repeats how proud he is of where how hard him and his race have worked, and that he is proud of his wonderful country, his wonderful home, Africa. The final section of Poem B isnt the same as its first, in this final part, the black man explains that white people are too sad for his kind, and that his culture are in touch with there countries natural habitat and that the white people are far too industrious. The final line tells us that the white culture needs to lighten up a bit.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Networks Computer Science Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Networks Computer Science Essay Introduction to network Computer network or network is collection of computers, printers and other devices connected with each other through a connection medium and other suitable peripherals. The purpose of the connection is mainly transfer or share data, share of resources such as printers, applications etc. The connected computers and devices may be in the same building or can be Located in different part of the city, country or world. Appropriate connection medium, peripherals, software enable computers to transfer, and receive data such as text, pictures, video, sound through email, file transfer (ftp-file transfer protocol), web pages(http -hyper text transfer protocol) etc from one computer to another computer in the network securely. History of networking The first idea of computer networking was developed by J.C.R Licklider, a computer scientist in 1962. He was later appointed by U.S. Department of Defence at their research project called ARPA (Advanced Research projects agency). ARPA was funding research for developing computer network to MIT. In 1966 first ARPAnet plan for packet switched network unveiled and in 1969 first official computer network was built between University of California Lon Angels (UCLA), Stanford Research Institute (SRA), University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and University of Utah. The first message was sent from UCLA to SRI. In 1973 Arpanet goes global; University College London and few other European organizations joined the network. In 1982 standardized Internet technology protocols TCP/IP (transmission control protocol and Internet protocol) were developed which enable internetworking among single sets of networks efficiently and commercial Internet services started to evolve. In 1991 World Wide W eb was developed and Internet became popular and expanded rapidly including dramatic rise of email users, text based discussion forum etc. Advantages and Disadvantages of using networks Advantages Disadvantages Share of Expensive Resources: Printer, fax machines, modem and other connected resources can be shared. File and application sharing: Major advantage of network. User can access any file remotely from his computer to another computer with appropriate security measures. Applications also can be used without having installed in every computers of the network. Cost saving: Sharing application by installing its network version saves cost of many copies of individual application. Sharing devices such as printer, fax etc saves cost. Secured: Files and application are password protected in network, which means only authorised person can access it. It is more secured than traditional file system. Speed: Message, Data, file can be transferred almost instantly to any part of the world. Easy management: Software can be installed in server, also managing and troubleshooting can be performed in server. This eliminates the need of installing and managing software in hundreds of computers in an organization. System failure: Servers or connection faults stop accessing files or data. This can lead to loss of data and resources. Security issue: data and file can be theft by hacker. This is the main drawback of computer networking. Computer viruses, spyware attack can lead to system failure, data and resources loss. Expensive Equipment: Networking equipments are expensive compare to traditional file system and communication method. Answer of criterion P1 (b) Remote Access Remote access means accessing and using any file or application from a computer to another computer connected in the network. Both computers may located in same building or thousands miles away. Generally files or applications are accessed over Internet, intranet or LAN with an authentication process which determine the level of access of the user. For example, a sales staff of Barclays bank accessing loan authorisation database from his home through Internet. Intranets Intranet is a private computer network between an organization using Internet protocol and tools such and HTTP, file transfer application to share information or application within the organizations. Typically, authorised users of an organization gain access files or applications in Intranet through a web page with their user name and password. Staffs of the organizations also maintain internal communication in Intranet via email. Email is accessed via an email client such as Microsoft outlook, Eudora etc. this email clients use POP3 (post office protocol) and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) for receiving and sending mail. When an email is sent, the email client connect to the server after providing valid user name and password and verify the address of the recipient, if the address is correct it leaves the email on the server. When recipient checks his email, his email client connects to the POP3 server. POP3 server also requires a user name and password. After logging in email client bring the copy of email message to users computer and generally delete the message from the server. User than read or search email message in his computer. Internet Internet is the largest network in the world. It interconnects world wide networks of organisations, billions of computer users in one single network using Internet protocol (TCP/IP). Internet is a global data communication system with the largest resources of information and services such as World Wide Web, Email, file transfer protocol etc. Email in Internet works using SMTP, POP3, and IMAP. Users use email software or web page email program such as yahoo, hotmail etc for sending and receiving mail. This program connect user to the server for sending and receiving email similarly discussed in Intranet section. In Internet SMTP server has communication between other SMTP servers in Internet. When an email sent SMTP server check the address and send the mail to recipient email server. Similarly when recipient checks the email using POP3 it does the same as discussed earlier. IMAP (Internet mail access protocol) is more advanced protocol which provides better features than POP3. In IMAP email is kept in the server. User can organise email in different folders and they stays in the server. It enables users accessing mail from any computer any time as email resides in the server. LANs (Local Area Networks) Network in a limited geographical area such a home, office, school in same building or in different building within short distance. Each connected computer or devices are called node. Currently most wired LAN connects using Ethernet technology. Fig: LAN WAN (Wide Area Network) WAN connects networks over a large geographical area such city, state or over countries. It uses routers and combination of communication channels such as public communication link, air waves, etc. Fig: WAN MANs (Metropolitan area network) MANs connect two or more LAN within a same city or town. It normally connects two or more branch of an organisation within the same city using routers, switch, and hub. It often connects through public communication link. Fig: MANs Networked application An application software which can be shared on a network from connected computer by an authorise user. Networked application is normally installed on server of a network, and authorise users of that network (LAN/WAN) can access and work with that application from their workstation. This application utilizes Internet or other network hardware infrastructure to perform useful functions. Answer of Criterion P2 Description of Devices/ Hardware/ software Number of unit and unit price Price Performance Security Utility Workstation: COMPAQ Presario CQ5305UK-m Desktop PC with Monitor CPU- Intel Core2 Duo 2.1 GHz OS; Windows 7.0 15  £359  £5385 20 work station is connected using netgear switch provides a full duplex very high 100 mbps data transmission speed over a 100baseTX connection with UTP CAT6 cable. Dell powerEdge server with Windows server 2008 R2 standard edition gives efficient and secured file sharing and print server functions, remote access, application sharing. Windows server 2008 R2 edition has an increased efficiency and service with windows 7.0 clients operating system. Microsoft Windows 2008 server R2 edition network OS have enhanced security features to prevent server form hackers, and gives a solid dependable environment for networking. Kaspersky Business space security software provides real time protection to the server and work stations against harmful virus, spyware, and other harmful internet treats. its constantly monitor and scan all open or modified files and application. It isolate any infected workstation on the network to prevent the server from being infected and clean the workstation. This LAN will enable the users of this organization share file and information whenever they needed from their work station. They are able to print any document from their printer using network printer. Sharing printers and applications saves companys cost and increased productivity. Server: DELLâ„ ¢ PowerEdgeâ„ ¢ T110   CPU: Intel Core i3 2.93 GHz Net OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 standard edition + 20 CALs (client access license) 1  £1359 Switch: NETGEAR JGS524 Gigabit Switch -24 ports 1  £237 Cables: 200 m UTP ( CAT 6 )    £42 Connector: Network connector RJ-45 2 pack ( 25 in a pack)  £4 each  £8 UPS: (UPS provides uninterrupted power supply to the server and prevent server failure due to an event of power cut). APC Smart-UPS 2200VA 1  £588 Security Software: Kaspersky Business Space Security for 20 workstation and 1 windows 2008 server. 1 year subscribtion  £587 Answer of Criterion P3 Overview of network Operating system A network operation system is a set of software that control and manages computers, printers and other devices connected in a network. it allows computers to share file and devices connected in the network. It is installed on a computer called server which centrally maintain the network. There are many Net OS from different vendors in the market. Among them most popular are Windows NT, Windows Server from Microsoft, Unix Novel Netware from Novel Inc. Apple Share from Apple Regardless of vendors all Net OS works by providing following functions and services to the client and server File and print sharing Accounts administrations for users Security Some basic features of a network operating system are- Add , remove and modify users, workstations, devices in the network Add, Remove and configure application software to be used and shared by the users on the network Control and manage users and their access Allow and control users to share data, application and devices such as printer, fax etc. Allows users to transfer data from one computer to another computer in the network Mange security and privilege. Security Implications of network use The computer connected in a network is vulnerable to intruder such as hackers and intrusion programs. Also virus, malware, spyware, worms on the network attack the system. Those attacks may results valuable information theft, system failure and data loss or even irrecoverable damages to the system. Intruder gain access and control of the system by using some methods as described below- Back door and remote administered program Spam email Email virus Trojan Horse program Hidden files To keep the system secure there are some security measure should be taken. System needs to be password protected, password should be changed regularly and shouldnt be disclosed to anyone System should have latest software update. Antivirus, firewall, anti spyware should be installed and should be updated regularly. Suspicious email shouldnt be opened. File or program shouldnt be opened from unknown sources Disable hidden file extension Disconnect from network when pc is not in use. Software Licensing Issues Software licensing is an agreement between user and software manufacturer. software using conditions and distribution limitations. Software is intellectual property and protected by copyright laws. When a software is obtained from any sources users enters into some legal bindings set out by the manufacturer or distributor on how this software may be used. These includes but not limited to numbers of users, distribution rights and limitation, resale rights and limitations, reproduction and modification limitations etc. Most of the commercial software comes with license when purchased off the selves. Some software license is bundled with specific hardware or new system, call OEM License. There are different categories of software license- Propitiatory: Software own by a company or individuals and not free or open sourced. Redistribution or reproduction is generally not allowed or limited Freeware and Open source software: Generally free and permits user to modify, reproduce and distribute according to their own preference Shareware, Trial ware: is propitiatory software but provided free to user to use for a limited period of time for testing. Reproduction is not permitted but distribution may be permitted with certain conditions Constrains on Capacity and performance Every Network has limited capacity of transferring and receiving data. this capacity (bandwidth) depends on the several factors such as device and medium used, price etc. each users of a network share the bandwidth and everyone is effecting the performance of the network. For example, if user sends a very large video or animation file to another computer in the network which most likely to use most of the capacity of the network, which will make the network very slow to other users. Thus performance is affected, in some cases packet or data losses may occur due to overloading of network. When a packet is lost, retransmission of packets attempted and this cause delay of receiving and sending data. Answer of Criterion P5 Relationship of Various Protocols, devices of network with OSI-7 layered model Application (Layer 7) Http-Hyper text Transfer Protocol Telnet FTP- File transfer protocol Presentation (Layer 6 Jpeg, Gif, avi, mov, mpeg etc Session (Layer 5) NetBios Names, RPC, AppleTalk, Winsock Transport (Layer 4) TCP, UDP,SPX Network (Layer 3) IP, IPX, AppleTalk DDP Router Data link (Layer 2) Frame Relay, HDLC, ATM, IEEE 802.3/802.2/802.5 Ethernet Switch, Bridge Physical layer (Layer 1) Ethernet, 802.3, 802.5, Token ring Repeater, Hub Ethernet: Most commonly used protocol for LAN. Ethernet fits into the Data link layer and Physical layer of OSI model and deal with the hardware of the network. it define about the type of media, connectors, characteristics, use of wires, shape of connectors etc. HDLC: High-level Data link Control used for point-to-point WAN link. TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet protocol. These pair of protocol allows one network to communicate with another by creating logical address, segmentation of large data into small packets, data encapsulation, error recovery etc. UDP: User datagram Protocol. Transmit data from one host to another without establishing a prior connection. It simply transmits data without knowing if the data is transmitted correctly thus unreliable. ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol carry error recovery data, control data such as destination unreachable, echo request, etc between two host Http: Hyper text transfer protocol, FTP: File transfer protocol SMTP: Simple mail transfer protocol

Phases On The Moon Essay

Phases On The Moon Essay What causes day and night (including seasonal changes in the number of hours of daylight)? When the Earth spins around on its axis, it creates night and day on Earth. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, turning day into night. On Earth, the length of day and night usually changes with the seasons. Why are there different seasons? As stated, the Earth spins on a tilted axis about once every 24 hours to create what we know as night and day. This axis is an invisible line through the centre of the Earth. The northern point is the North Pole and the southern point is the South Pole. The Earth spins anti-clockwise. The Earth orbits around the sun about once every 365 days. As this happens, the tilt of the Earth causes different sections of the Earth to point toward the Sun. This causes different amounts of sunlight to reach the same surface area of the Earth throughout the year. The different amounts of sunlight lead to different weather at this location. In the northern hemisphere, when the North Pole points towards the Sun, the Suns light is more directly overhead and it is summer. When the North Pole points towards the Sun, the South Pole tilts away from the sun resulting in scattered and less direct light. People in the southern hemisphere experience winter while people in the northern hemisphere have summer. The seasons of spring and autumn are created when the Earths tilt is neither towards, nor away from the Sun. These seasons usually have milder temperatures. Why are there different phases of the Moon? The Moon travels around the Earth in a circle called an orbit. It takes about 28 days to go one time around the Earth. The Sun always lights up half of the Moon at one time. The Moon is not a light source; it has no light of its own. We can only see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun. The Moon appears to change shape (phases) but what we are actually seeking is the Moon lit up by the light from the Sun in different ways on different days. What is the science knowledge that supports the teaching of these two ideas? During the Renaissance, Nicholas Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model of the Solar System. His work was defended, expanded upon, and corrected by Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kelper. Galileo added the innovation of using telescopes to enhance his observations. Kelper was the first to devise a system that described correctly the details of the motion of the planets with the Sun at the centre. However, it was left to Newtons invention of celestial dynamics and his law of gravitation to finally explain the motions of the planets. Newton also developed the reflecting telescope. During the nineteenth century, attention to the three body problem by Euler, Clairaut and DAlembert led to more accurate predictions about the motions of the Moon and planets. Part 2: Eliciting the childrens ideas you are to research two different techniques for assessing the childrens ideas in science The aims of primary science can be broadly divided into two categories: To stimulate pupils curiosity in the world around them and encourage critical and creative thinking; To create a foundation for science at secondary school. To fulfil these aims, pupils need to acquire both factual knowledge and the skills of scientific enquiry, identifying questions that can be addressed scientifically; planning and carrying out experiments; evaluating data; and recognising the limitations of their own and others work. The National Curriculum was introduced in 1989, with science as a core subject. Before 1989, the science curriculum varied widely between primary schools. While the National Curriculum is statutory, schools have the freedom to decide how to teach its content to best meet the needs of their pupils. Children tend to be enthusiastic towards science at a young age, as they explore the world around them. However, attitudes towards school subjects, including science, often becomes less positive when they transfer to secondary school. As a result, the DfES is focusing its attention on secondary science. However, the primary years are seen as crucial in developing pupils longer term interest in science. (postnote, 2003, p2). Further, recent research has suggested that pupils interest in science may start to decline at primary school, which are discussed below in more detail below, include: Whether science teaching is adapted by individual schools to reflect the interest of their pupils; The focus on preparation of SATs tests in the last year of primary schools; Primary teachers level of scientific knowledge and confidence in teaching science. Teaching Primary Science In the 1970s and 1980s, teachers lack of scientific knowledge was seen as a major barrier to developing primary science. Primary teaching is largely a female profession and at the time few girls studied science other than biology. Today, primary teachers scientific knowledge is widely recognised as having improved but the debate over the level of scientific knowledge needed by a primary teacher in order to teach effectively remains active. (postnote, 2003, p3). Some professional scientific institutions argue that factual scientific knowledge is paramount. This view is based on a concern that scientific misconceptions are being taught and reinforced in some classrooms. Misconceptions (for example, that the Sun moves round a stationary Earth) are often formed at a young age and are difficult to change. Ofsted has raised particular concerns over the primary sciences, where it reports that many primary teachers are working at the limit of their understanding). On the other hand, Ofsted has found that the best teaching often involves scientific enquiry and some argue that the emphasis on factual knowledge distracts from this. The essential aim of scientific enquiry, to develop childrens thinking skills, can be seen as the basis of any good primary teaching. However, there is concern that some teachers are unclear of the purpose of scientific enquiry, which prevents them from teaching effectively. The Purpose of Assessment Clarifying the main purpose for which young children are assessed can help determine what kinds of assessments would be the most appropriate. Assessment of individual children might serve one of the following purposes: To determine progress on significant developmental achievements; To diagnose learning and teaching problems; To help in instruction and curriculum decisions; To serve as a basis for reporting to parents; and To assist a child with assessing his or her own progress. Decisions regarding the purpose of assessment should begin with discussion among all the stakeholders parents, educators, and other members of the community as appropriate. The group may want to keep in mind that: Plans, strategies, and assessment instruments are differentially suited for each of the following potential purposes of assessment; An overall assessment should include the four categories of educational goals: knowledge, skills, dispositions, and feelings; Assessments made during childrens informal work and play are most likely to minimise the many potential errors of various assessment strategies. (Katz, 1995, p67). The Risks Of Assessing Young Children Young children are notoriously poor test-takers: perhaps they are sometimes confused by being asked questions that they think the tester must already know the answers to. There is reason to suggest that the younger the child being evaluated, assessed, or tested, the more errors are made (Shepard, 1994; Ratcliff, 1995). If this principle is sound, then the younger the children: the longer the children live with a label (a true or false one), the more difficult it may become to discard it. Assessment Technique Number 1 Earth, Sun and Moon Assessment Test This test has 14 questions, which are listed below: What shape is the Earth? Put the Moon, Sun and Earth in order of size, biggest first. Why is it difficult to collect evidence about the Sun? Why does the Sun appear to move across the sky? Draw the Moon. Explain why you have it in this way? How long does it take for the Moon to orbit the Earth? How long does it take the Earth to make one complete turn on its axis? Where does the Sun go at night? What does orbit mean? Why do we get more hours of daylight per day in the summer? Where would you be standing if you got 24 hours of daylight every day in summer? If you were still in the same place as in question 11, how many hours per day of darkness would you get in winter? Which TWO changes make plants start to grow in the spring? What was your favourite part of this topic? Foundation Stage 2 children aged 4 As stated, very young children do not perform well in tests. This test is more like a knowledge and understanding checklist and can be used in a variety of circumstances. If children are going to gain scientific knowledge and retain an interest in the subject as they progress through school, then the learning process must be fun, interactive and stimulating. With the two 4-year olds the test was used to structure a highly interactive dialogue and to assess their current level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. Both children knew quite a lot about day and night, and the shape of the planets. This information had been developed through a variety of sources from school, mum and dad, play with friends, the TV. The dialogue lasted approximately 15 minutes and covered about six or seven of the questions on the list. Asking direct questions did not produce positive results. The children become agitated. However, when they become fully engaged in discussion the test could be used to assess their current level of knowledge. This technique, if used correctly, is a useful and versatile assessment method. The childrens responses to the questions can be recorded and revisited at a later date to determine how much new learning has occurred. This technique is also useful when used in conjunction with a variety of learning resources about the subject matter. Year 2 2 children aged 7 In this situation the teacher used less prompts to engage each child in discussion about each of the questions in the test. Again the technique proved for assessing the childrens current level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. This session lasted 30 minutes and nearly covered all of the questions. When the children became particularly animated about some aspect of the subject matter then it was more productive to let them express their ideas and opinions for some time rather than simply passing onto the next question. Assessment Technique 2 Concept Cartoons These are a new approach in teaching, learning and assessment in science. They were created by Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor in 1991. They feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters arguing about an everyday situation. They are designed to intrigue, to provoke discussion and to stimulate scientific thinking. They may not have a right answer. They are available with background science notes for teachers. A typical Concept Cartoon has the following: Visual representation of scientific ideas Minimal text, in dialogue form Alternative viewpoints on the situation Scientific ideas are applied in everyday situations The scientifically acceptable viewpoint in the alternatives The alternatives With both sets of children, concept cartoons, proved to be very popular. With the 4 year-olds they obviously needed more assistance to help work through each situation that was a portrayed in each cartoon. The 7 year-olds needed less help and were more able to freely express their ideas and opinions about different aspects of the subject matter. Part 3: Foundation Stage 2 children aged 4 What the children got right: There is night and day There are 4 seasons, which are caused by the relationship between the Earth and the Sun The Sun is a star and not a planet Misconceptions: The Moon is made of cheese The Sun goes round the Earth The Earth stands still As stated, the 4 year-olds got their ideas about the Moon, the Sun and the Earth from a wide variety of sources. A major problem with developing scientific knowledge is that the children cannot relate to, many of the concepts in the daily lives. Yes they understand there is night because they go to sleep at night it is physically black. They wake up when it is day. However, the Earth spinning on its axis and orbiting around the Sun is something you can tell them but because they cannot go home and find something to relate to they tend to forget this information. If you simply feed them more facts they end up being more confused. Year 2 2 children aged 7 The 7 year-olds are generally more clued up about many of the concepts that were discussed. However, when probed about their level of curiosity about the subject matter they said that they did not really like the subject. Yes they agreed that it was important to understand basic scientific facts but they said they were pre-occupied with other things. They could not easily relate to scientific knowledge in their everyday lives. Misconceptions come from a variety of sources but perhaps a loss of interest in the subject matter was the major cause of this incorrect information. The 7 year-olds were not interested in finding out the correct information. Perhaps the biggest problem with teaching primary science is that the pupils find it extremely difficult to apply scientific knowledge to their everyday lives. There are three key aspects to learning something new: Knowledge i.e. facts e.g. the Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours. Comprehension putting the facts into a context, which the pupils understand there are lots of learning resources, which can be used to achieve comprehension. Application this is when the pupils can apply this new knowledge to some aspect of their daily lives. Application is a major weakness in many of the strategies that are used to teach primary school pupils science. Where schools spend a lot of time relating science to other areas of the curriculum and the childrens everyday environment at home and at the school then the childrens knowledge and understanding of science dramatically increases. Part 4 A Strategy To Improve The Quality of Teaching Primary Science Science at Key Stage 1 Planning For One Childs (Aged 7) Response Section 1 Introduction The activity for this section involved asking Tom to draw and explain a picture showing how these would look to a traveller in space. He was asked the following questions: Is the Earth flat? Is the Sun bigger than the Moon? Does the Sun move? Knowledge / Comprehension / Activities These questions were used to ascertain Toms current level of knowledge and understanding. Tom knew that the Earth is not flat. He knew that the Sun was bigger than the Moon. He was not quite sure whether the Sun moved. This is an area, which requires further investigation. ICT The Paint software package was used to allow Tom to paint the Earth, Moon and Sun. Section 2 Flat or Spherical Children Should Learn: That the Sun, Earth and Moon are approximately spherical That it is sometimes difficult to collect evidence to test scientific ideas and that evidence may be indirect Knowledge / Comprehension Children recognise that the Earth, Sun and Moon are spheres Describe some indirect evidence that the Earth is spherical e.g. ships appearing and disappearing over the horizon Activities Using photographs of the Earth, Sun and Moon taken from space, Tom was asked to confirm whether the aforementioned bodies were flat or spherical. It was explained to Tom that it is only within recent times (i.e. the last 40 years) that we have had access to photographic evidence from space about Earth being spherical. Tom was asked why people at an earlier time thought that the Earth was flat. Some ideas were explored. In the Middle Ages for example, people could travel far and far as they were concerned the Earth was flat. In those days for the vast majority of people their eyesight and their ears were the primary source of information. Science as such did not exist. ICT The Internet was used to look for additional photographs of the Earth taken from space. Section 3 Size and Distance Children Should Learn: About the relative sizes of the Sun, Moon and Earth Knowledge / Comprehension Children select three spheres to represent the Earth, Sun and Moon recognising which is largest and which is smallest and making a reasonable match to relative size Activities The drawings that Tom had made earlier and the images he had made using Paint were used for the next activity. He was presented with a range of spherical objects: tennis ball, ball bearing, table tennis ball etc and was asked to select three of the objects, which he considered represented the relative size of the Earth, Moon and Sun. ICT Instead of asking Tom to select from a range of spherical objects he could have used Paint to produce spherical images of varying sizes to represent the Earth, Moon and Sun. Section 4 The Changing Position Of The Sun What Children Should Learn? That the Sun appears to move across the sky over the course of a day That evidence may be interpreted in more than one way Knowledge / Comprehension Children describe how the apparent position of the Sun changes over the course of a day and clarify that this does not mean that the Sun is moving Activities Tom was asked about where the Sun shines into the school and his home at different times of day. He was asked to consider what happened to his shadow during the course of the day. This activity could be extended to looking at shadows in the playground at different times of the day. ICT Tom was provided with assistance to use the Internet to search for websites, which showed different lengths of shadows. Section 5 The Movement Of The Earth Children Should Learn: That is the Earth that moves, not the Sun, and the Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours That it is daytime in the part of the Earth facing the Sun and night-time in the part of the Earth away from the Sun Knowledge / Comprehension Children illustrate (e.g. using drawings etc) that different parts of the Earth face the Sun during the course of the day and where it is day and night Explain that the movement of the Sun is a result of the Earth rotating or spinning Activities Tom was asked to view a short excerpt from a video, which showed the Earth spinning on its axis. A short discussion ensued about how the content of the video and the concepts that were illustrated. A table lamp and a tennis ball were used to illustrate the concepts of day and night. ICT Websites which demonstrate the aforementioned concepts and which are interactive. Summary Whilst the outlined strategies were effective at helping Tom to increase his knowledge and understanding of the Earth, Moon and Sun it is likely that his retention of this information would be increased by linking these studies to other aspects of the curriculum. For example, green issues, how does the Sun affect Eskimos, people who live in Africa etc. This approach would should to increase the comprehension of the pupils with regard to sections 1 to 5.

Muscle Growth Essay -- Muscle Growth Physiology Health Essays

Muscle Growth With the introduction of such modern conveniences such as the automobile, remote control, and even the electric toothbrush people are relying on technology to do everything for them. With a generation growing up in todays society physical tasks have almost become obsolete. Tasks such as even going shopping and going out to visit a friend can be done from the comfort of your own computer. With this sedentary lifestyle, muscular size will almost be unnecessary, except for the athlete who wants to succeed in sports. To the non-athlete, there will be no reason to leave the house because everything that you need will be at your fingertips, you will not have to get up and do anything. Any type of exercise is good for the body and muscles. Muscle growth is essential if you want to look better, feel better, and perform everyday tasks such as walking to the car, and getting out of bed easier. A person who is in shape will also sleep better then an out of shape person, and feel more revitalized in the morning. Muscles account for approximently 35% of the body weight in women, and about 45% of the body weight in men. With over 600 muscles covering the human skeleton muscles give the body bulk and form. Then human body contains millions of muscle fibres whose coordinated contraction cause the whole muscle to contract. Muscles are the foundation on which our bodies are built. Without muscles our bodies could not perform the simplest tasks such as opening our eyes, talking, breathing and even the pumping of our heart or the most difficult tasks, such as running the hurdles in a track and field event.. Muscles are also important to maintain balance and posture. Description of Muscles In the body there are several types of muscles that control different functions in the body, one of these types being skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is the most evident in the human body due to it having the most mass the other types of muscles and that it lies directly under the skin attached to the skeleton by tendons and ligaments. Skeletal muscles are divided into three structural units, the entire muscle, the muscle bundle, and the muscle fiber (cell). Each muscle fiber is divided into two types of fiber structure, fusiform and pennate, with the pennate being broken up into three basic structures. These structures being the un... ...ng program you should properly stretch the muscles being worked in order to keep them loose. Stretching should also be done directly after a workout because the muscles are still warm and can be stretched more easily. This will also increase flexibility which can be very advantageous in preventing injuries such as muscle sprains and strains. A Conclusion to Muscle Growth A muscle growth program can be beneficial to everybody, from the young athlete wanting to succeed in sports, to the older man trying to help stay and feel young. The benefits of muscle growth are too high to be passed out by anybody who has any sort of ambition of feeling better about themselves, looking better, and having more energy for everyday tasks. You will find that once you start weight training, and muscle and strength growths are noticed that it will almost become addicting and the desire for bigger and better results will become greater and greater. I would recommend muscle growth to anybody, and anyone who disagrees should give it a try, just for a little while, and after the results of improved strength and muscle size are noticed weight training will become a part of their life.

The Narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Short Story, The Yellow Wallpaper :: Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper

In everyday day life we go through changes and sometimes we even break down to the point we do not know what to do with ourselves, but in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story† The Yellow Wallpaper† the narrator is an obsessive person. The story focuses on a woman who is going through postpartum depression and has had a nervous breakdown. Her husband John moves her into a home where he wants her to rest in isolation to recover from her disorder. Throughout her time in the room the narrator discovers new things and finally understands life. The narrator is trying to get better from her illness but her husband â€Å"He laughs at me so about this wallpaper† (515). He puts her down and her insecurities do not make it any better. She is treated like a child. John says to his wife â€Å"What is it little girl† (518)? Since he is taking care of her she must obey him â€Å"There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word†. The narrator thinks John is the reason why she cannot get better because he wants her to stay in a room instead of communicating with the world and working outside the house. The room describes the narrator. The room was once a nursery so it reminds her that she has a baby which she is not able to see or hold. The room was also a playroom so it reminds her once again that she cannot play with or watch her baby play. The room has two windows which she looks out of and sees all the beautiful places she cannot go because of her husband. The bars on the windows represent a prison which her husband has put her in to heal from her illness. Throughout her time in the room she notices the wallpaper â€Å"a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight† (514). After a couple of days in her opinion the wallpaper is starting to change. She sees â€Å"a women stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern† (518). In the daytime she sees the women outside the house â€Å"I see her in that long shaded lane, creeping up and down. I see her in those dark grapes arbors, creeping all around the gardenâ€Å"(521). The places where the women is creeping is where the narrator can’t go so she he creeps in the daytime â€Å"I always lock the door when I creep by daylight† (520).

Capital Investment Decisions: the Case of Diamond Plc

Capital Investment Decisions: The case of Diamond PLC CONTENT PAGE PAGES 1. 1 – Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 1. 2 – Literature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4-6 2. 1 – Advantages and disadvantages of Net Present Value†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6-7 2. 2 – Advantages and disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7-8 2. – General formulas†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9-14 3. 1 – Critical Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15-17 4. 1 – Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17-18 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19-20 1. 1 – Introduction This assignment is based on Capital investment deci sions: the case of Diamond Chemicals plc. A critical analysis of this case study will examine the characteristics and concerns in the case study. This research will discuss the use of Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques known as Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which are the two most popular and important techniques in investment decisions. Although these two techniques are closely-related, they have fundamental differences between each other. â€Å"The IRR is the discount rate that makes the present value of a future stream of cash flows equal to the initial investment(s). Arnold 2008. Whereas, NPV is the â€Å"difference between a project’s value and its cost† Breadley, Myers and Allen, 2006. 1. 2 – Literature Review Three research articles will be reviewed focusing on the performances of NPV and IRR relating to real cases in investment evaluation. â€Å"Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? † †“ E. Gilbert, 2003. The purpose of the study was to investigate capital budgeting behaviour of firms in South Africa. It reveals that majority of manufacturing firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects, and of the DCF techniques used, the NPV technique is used more often than the IRR. Research shows that manufacturing firms adjust the discount rate used in their NPV calculations to incorporate the project specific risk; according to the results of this research, majority of firms do this. It considers that the majority of firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects (i. e. no other techniques are used at all). However, on average, the IRR technique is used more often than NPV (48% versus 47%). Nevertheless, in summary, the study suggests that manufacturing firms in South Africa deviate from the behaviour prescribed by corporate finance theory because they do not use NPV in isolation with projects specific risk adjusted discount rates when evaluating capital investment projects. The next article titled â€Å"Capital budgeting practices in the US. Forest product industry: A reappraisal† – L. S. Hogaboam and S. R. Shook, 2004. This study observed the capital investment practices of publicly owned forest roduct firms in the U. S. in 2001by replicating research reported by Cubbage and Redmond in 1985. In this research Baile et al (1979) conducted a survey and case study of capital budgeting in the forest products industry and found that most forest products companies had formal budgeting systems, but these companies lacked post audit procedures, did not account for risk and utiliz ed primitive risk adjustment methods. The researchers correlated the use of NPV and IRR to the size of the firm, finding that firms that had smaller gross sales revenue primarily used payback period for their projects. Nine firms ranked NPV either first or second in evaluation criteria importance, whereas IRR was considered most important evaluation criteria in the Idaho survey mutual exclusive projects. Financial literature indicates NPV is best for capital rationing, and 7/15 of firms indicated that IRR was their primary choice in case of rationing. This survey specifies that the IRR technique is most popular for the evaluation of mutually exclusive projects, even though most financial literature considers it to be inaccurate when compared to NPV. The third article â€Å"Capital Budgeting Practices: A Survey in the Firms in Cyprus† investigates: 1. the methods used by the Cyprus companies to evaluate investments, and 2. the approach adopted to handle important estimation problems inherent to the use of these methods. It was found that 54. 43% of projects evaluation is done by means of a simplified evaluation technique and that 36. 71% of the companies use the payback period technique. Among the methods that take into account the time value of money concept, the NPV method is the one most companies prefer, and only 8. 86% of them use IRR. In this study Hatfield, Horvath, and Webster (1998) investigated the importance of payback, average rate of return, IRR, and NPV capital budgeting techniques for the performance and value measures of firms. They found that firms analyzing all projects have higher share prices on average. They also found, in contrast to the theory of finance, that the NPV technique is not maximizing the value of the firm. Their results indicated that it is best not to rely on any single capital budgeting technique but instead to apply all of them or as many of them possible for a project evaluation. 2. – Advantages and Disadvantages of Net Present Value (NPV) NPV is a very popular method of project appraisal; starting with the advantages; According to Pike and Neale (2006), the NPV rule accepts all investments offering positive NPVs when discounted at the equivalent market rate of interest. This results in an increase in the market value of the firm and thus the increase of the shareholder†™s stake in the firm. NPV takes into account the time value of money – It recognises that ? 1 today is greater than ? 1 tomorrow; Breadley, Myers and Allen explain that it is because today can be invested to start earning interest immediately. They also argue that NPV rule allows thousands of shareholders who may have vastly different levels of wealth and attitudes toward risk to participate in the same enterprise and to delegate its operations to a professional manager. â€Å"One of the rules of Capital budgeting demands that managers be able to consider one project independently of all others – this is known as the value-additivity principle, it implies that the value of the firm is equal the sum of the values of each of its projects. † – Copeland, Weston and Shastri (2005). Arnold states that NPV finds out not only which project gives a positive return, but which one gives the greater positive return and that one of the major elements that leads to the theoretical dominance of NPV is that it takes into account the scale of investments. NPV is a superior technique to IRR because it has fewer limitations. Those limitations include the fact that both inflows and outflows are measured in form of present dollars, not as percentage, many people find it complicated to work with a dollar return rather than a percentage return. Another limitation would have to be the requirement of an estimate of the cost of capital to be able to calculate the NPV. William Megginson considered that financial managers find it hard to use NPV because it does not measure benefits relative to the amount invested. Though the NPV formula is constructive in evaluation of investment opportunities, the process is not faultless. 2. 2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Financial managers prefer IRR because it is attributable to the general isposition of business people toward rates of return rather than actual dollars as interest rates, probability and so on are most often expressed as annual rates of return, making it an advantage of this technique. The calculations of IRR is an advantage, meaning the fact that IRR is simply the discount rate that make the NPV equals to Zero is important because it tells us how to calculate the returns on more complicated investments (Ross, Westerfield, Jordan â₠¬â€œ 2006). IRR indicates the rate of return receivable when money is put into a project. Arnold (2008) acknowledges that IRR describes how much the cash inflows exceed the cash outflows on an annualised percentage basis, taking into account of the timing of those cash flows. Like NPV, IRR also has the advantage of being a ‘time-adjusted’ measure of profitability. ‘Financial Theory and Corporate Policy’ by Ross, Westerfield and Jordan recognises that â€Å"the IRR rule errs in several ways. It does not obey the value-additivity principle, and consequently managers who use the IRR cannot consider projects independently of each other. Second, the IRR rule assumes that funds invested in projects have opportunity costs equal to the IRR for the project. This implicit reinvestment rate assumption violates the requirement that cash flow be discounted at the market-determined opportunity cost of capital. Finally, IRR rule can lead to multiple rates of return whenever the sign of cash flow changes more than once. † may give the wrong ranking of mutually exclusive projects that differ in economic life or in scale or required investment. 2. 3 – General Formulas for Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Net Present Value (NPV) formula Where CF0 = cash flow at time zero (t0), and CF1 = cash flow at the time one (t 1), one year after time zero. The decision rules for net present value are: NPV[pic]0 Accept NPV < 0 Reject Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock |Year |Cash flow (? m) |Discounted cash flow (? m) | |0 |-9 |-9 | |1 |1. 4 |? 1. 27 | |2 |2. 66 |? 2. 0 | |3 |3. 09 |? 2. 32 | |4 |3. 06 |? 2. 09 | |5 |3. 02 |? 1. 88 | |6 |2. 49 |? 1. 41 | |7 |2. 47 |? 1. 27 | |8 |2. 45 |? 1. 14 | |9 |2. 43 |? 1. 03 | |10 |2. 1 |? 0. 93 | |11 |1. 68 |? 0. 59 | |12 |1. 68 |? 0. 54 | |13 |1. 68 |? 0. 49 | |14 |1. 68 |? 0. 44 | |15 |1. 68 |? 0. 40 | | | |Total (NPV) ? 9. 00 | Internal Rate of Return (IRR) formula The internal rate of return, r, is the discount rate at which the net present value is zero. It is the value for r which makes the following equation hold: Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock The following tables show the percentages utilized for the trial and error phase, in order to produce an NPV of zero. |Table 1 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 11111 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 67549 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 54471 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 21406 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 95094 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 62227 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 48990 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 8566 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 30358 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 23895 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 13220 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 10492 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 08327 | | |14 |1. 8 |0. 06609 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 05245 | | |26% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 02441 | | | | | | Table 2 | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? ) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 0 0 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 12000 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 70240 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 8208 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 25338 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 98959 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 65274 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 51800 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 41104 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 2615 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 25877 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 14431 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 11545 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 09236 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 07389 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 5911 | | |25% |Net Present Value (? m) |0. 29926 | | | | | | Table 3 | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 0000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 07692 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 57396 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 40646 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 07139 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 81337 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 1587 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 39363 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 30034 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 22915 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 17482 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 09374 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 7211 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 05547 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 04267 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 03282 | | |30% |Net Present Value (? m) |-1. 14726 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 09375 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 62354 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 47343 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 13994 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 87894 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 56616 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 43876 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 34001 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 6346 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 20413 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 11117 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 08685 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 06785 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 05301 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 4142 | | |28% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 61758 | | | | | | Interpolation illustrates that there is a yield rate (r) which lie between 25 per cent and 26 per cent which will produce an NPV of zero. The way to find that discount rate is to first find the distance between points A and B as a proportion of the entire distance between points A and C. 3. 1 – Critical Analysis â€Å"Greystock included in the first year of his forecast preliminary engineering costs of ? 00,000, which had been spent over the preceding nine months on efficiency and design studies of the renovation. † The preliminary costs of ? 500,000 were irrelevant because it would not have been incurred if not for the possibility of Greystock going ahead with the renovation; therefore it was a sunk cost. The development cost of ? 500,000 should be ignore because they are bygones and are of the past as it was incurred nine months before and does not need to be added into the cash flow. â€Å"The corporate manual stipulated that overhead costs be reflected in project analyses at the rate of 3. % times the book value of assets acquired in the project per year†. According to Arnold (2008), not all overhead costs are incremental; when trying to assess the viability of a project only the incremental costs are incurred by going ahead are relevant. Those cost which are unaffected therefore irrelevant. Meaning that the capital projects which should reflect an annual pre-tax charge amounting to 3. 5% of the value of the initial asset investment for the project – it should be entered in the incremental cash flow because it is an irrelevant overhead cost. Rotterdam sales are producing negative results due to the decision made by Greystock to shift capacity to Rotterdam away from Merseyside. His new business decision is having a negative effect on Rotterdam because all the expenditure is coming from Merseyside as he has decided to renovate it, cannibalizing Rotterdam. Even the director of sales recognised there was â€Å"oversupply in the works†, which means that too much is being supplied for the project. In view of adjustment of cash flow must be consistent with inflation forecast imbedded in discount rate. The treasury staff was concerned because the project would impound a long-term inflation of 3% per year. The unrelated EPC project is not relevant as it would only increase prices when recession ended despite the ? 1 million pound renovation ; the criterion is that each individual investment promises an IRR greater than 10%, not that multiple projects promise an average return above this hurdle. Before submitting a project for senior management, at least three performance â€Å"hurdles† had to be met in order for proposal to be considered. -Impact on earnings per share = ? 0. 018 -Payback = 3. years -Discounted cash flow (NPV) = ? 9 Million Although the Merseyside project met all the criteria, Morris should have considered dividing the proposal into requires and desire expenditure ( relating to April Novelties). Concerns and characteristics – Merseyside The main concern for Merseyside is the old production process and how it is not continuous at times, and it has a â₠¬Å"higher labour content than its competitors’ newer plants. However, regardless of these limitations the Merseyside plant has many good characteristics such as: †¢ Receiving positive cash flows immediately Higher cash flows in the beginning †¢ Relatively short payback period Concerns and characteristics – Rotterdam The lack of flexibility and commitment to plant project are concerns for the Rotterdam plant as it is not being renovated and we remain unsure as to whether Greystock will take on the project of renovation at Rotterdam. On the other hand, the fact that the polymerization process has become continuous is major strength, and also that the payment schedule is flexible (over four year period). In addition the Japanese technology has proven to be successful in Japan. . 1 – Conclusion This assignment has summarized the Case study while emphasizing important details of the concerns and characteristics of the Merseyside and Rotterdam plant. Opportu nities such as Land value and Use of right of way can enable Rotterdam to develop positively, despite German technology posing as a threat and also losing right of way. Overall the Merseyside plant offers numerous opportunities to increase outputs and lower costs, while also increasing competitiveness for their competitors. Nevertheless Merseyside faces a very big threat where they would have to close for 45 days causing their customers to buy from their competitors, although the lost market share can still be regained. The investment appraisal process requires the use of sophisticated evaluation techniques such as Net present value (NPV) and Internal rate of return (IRR). These techniques help ensure that all relevant cost and other factors have been considered. The calculations of NPV and IRR are quite challenging, especially regarding the trial and error method IRR. The calculations to obtain –NPV=0- was time consuming and more than twice as long as the NPV method. If risk adjustment is made through the discount rate there may be more than one cost of capital and the sponsor then has to classify the project into say high or medium or low risk categories etc. Finally, it can be argued that the process of capital budgeting is a time-waster because the fundamental information used is seen to be undependable. As the estimates of cash proceeds are just guesses and that the use of anything other than the easiest technique of capital budgeting is as unsuccessful as making use of any complicated formulas. For example, in 1974 K. Larry Hastie published his classic paper, â€Å"One Businessman’s View of Capital Budgeting. † His position is that firms should avoid excessively complex measurement techniques. He states: â€Å"Investment  decision making  could be improved significantly if the emphasis were placed on asking the appropriate strategic questions and providing better assumptions rather than on increasing the sophistication of measurement techniques† (1974, p. 36). This research establishes that NPV and IRR are two major investment decision methods, which gratifies the criteria for the accurate evaluation of capital projects. REFERENCES Hogaboam, L. S. , Shook, S. R. (December 2004) ‘Capital Budgeting practices in the U. S. forest product industry: A reappraisal. ’ Forest products journals. Gilbert E. (May 2003) ‘Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? ’ Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. Lazaridis T. L. 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