Mongolia Tourism Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mongolia Tourism Article - Essay Example The outcomes of the study were utilized in making recommendations to the Mongolian tourism authority on efficient targeting of its international tourism market and improvement of tourism services in the country. 2. A number of factors have influenced the growth of international tourism in Mongolia. The collapse of the eastern European communism system, poor economic conditions, forest fires and adverse weather conditions made international tourism in Mongolia to deteriorate between 1990 and 1997. Business activities brought tourists from China and Russia Federation across Mongolia and this led to a sharp improvement in Mongolian international tourism in 1998. Other factors that improved tourism in Mongolia include favorable visa regulations that enabled tourists to get visas at the Mongolian border. The National Tourism Board that was promulgated in 1995 helped market Mongolia as a favorable tourism destination. Businesspeople from Korea and Japan who worked in Mongolia spread news back in their home countries about Mongolia. The internet helped raise awareness about Mongolia, increased accessibility to travel advertising and reservations and made them less costly. The good impression that Mongolia created in its early Japanese and Korean visitors was another factor in the improvement of tourism in the country (Yu & Goulden, 2006). 3. Cognitive dimension is one of the constructs through which tourism satisfaction can be viewed. The dimension entails tourists’ experience with services. Tourists’ reaction to service performance is captured in the affective dimension of tourism. Systemic dimension of tourism articulates the disparity between the services that tourists expect and things that they get while on the ground. The cross-cultural dimensions of tourism emphasize the impact that cultural difference has on tourists’ perception of service delivery and quality. The dimension reckons that the difference between the

View on Death Essay Example for Free

View on Death Essay Victor Cicirelli filled in the research gap between the areas of gerontology, thanatology, and psychology by conducting a research on the older persons view on death and dying. He published the results of his research in the books titled Older Adults’ Views on Death for the readers to be enlightened and to understand how older adults’ perceptions of death affect their end-of-life decisions. The research gap based from his review of related studies was in the field of thanatology, a branch of learning concerned with death and its dimensions, meanings, and associations. His area of research focused on the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of older persons in relation to death. Cicirelli conducted an empirical study of 109 adults of ages 70 years and older in a community in central Indiana. The population sample was composed of more white people than the African-American citizens in Indiana. Sixteen of the participants were male and the remaining were women. This group was further categorized into five age groups, and by education, socioeconomic status, marital status, employment, and occupational level. He also subdivided the white participants into high and low socioeconomic status groups in order to identify a group similar in education and occupational level to the African-Americans participating in the study. The goal of the research was to identify the variables that affected their views in death. The first phase of Cicirelli’s data gathering used validated instruments and quantitative analysis to relate results to demographic and contextual variables. To get more insights from the older adults, open-ended interviews were conducted. The data analysis using qualitative techniques used to identify research themes and further relate them to the gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of the sample population. Using a creative mix of quantitative interviews with structured response categories as well as open-ended qualitative 32476179_View on Death Page 2 interviews, which allowed the respondents to speak in their own words, Cicirelli forms a web of data, which strengthens his study and adds considerable flesh to the findings. Cicirelli adapted the available and present scales, or developed ones based used in the review of related studies, and quantified the three groups of notions as the foci of the study. First, apprehension and worry of passing away, is ‘‘the anxiety experienced in daily life caused by the anticipation of the state in which one is dead’’ (Cicirelli, 2002). Four dimensions utilized this impression: fear of the dying process, worry of being destroyed, fear of the unknown, and fear for considerable others. Second, contemplations of the dying process scrutinize matters ‘‘that a person in the last stages of a terminal illness might have’’ (Cicirelli, 2002), particularly the feelings of dying they would be expecting to experience if they were in the infirmary with terminal cancer and had five more days to live. Third, the individual adults’ connotation of bereavement ‘‘are primarily cognitive interpretations of objects and events in the environment and occur prior to and serve as stimuli for emotional reactions’’ (Cicirelli, 2002). These hypotheses include 4 multi-item subordinate scales (death as afterlife, as legacy, as extinction, and as motivator). In his first and second major concern in Older Adults’ Views on Death, Cicirelli found a wide range of attitudes toward fear of death, including having little fear of death and dying, to having considerable fear. Most of the citizens have experienced anxiety and worry about their end. People were also worried about the pain, process, dependence, and the unknown dimension death may bring. The fear of death is the inescapable factor in life. Most of the populace feared death and the dying process because they were anticipating the end-of-life. As a consequence, it brings anxiety to a person. Another factor that contributed to the two notions of Cicirelli was the age variations of the participants. On the contrary, the research 32476179_View on Death Page 3 showed that the fear of death and dying process may hit the highest point in the early 80s and the potential greater chances of the acceptance of death in an older person approaches 90 years of age. Unexpectedly, the research participants did not account particular fears of the dying process itself. Many people in this study seem to see death as a quick, painless process, although it is not unusual for these same persons to have knowledge and experience of deaths of close persons whose dying was likely to have been prolonged and painful. The older persons preferred to view the dying process as a metaphor â€Å"sleep,† that leads to a denial of the process itself. Cicirelli also speculated that their refutation is a process older adults’ may employ in foreseeing death. There appeared to be inadequately existing thought given to planning and preparations for the dying process itself. Cicirelli deduced his first and second assumptions that the research participants seemed unrealistic in regards to death and dying process. However, what was more realistic was their worry of being destroyed and the fear of the considerate others. The notion was reinforced when the research participants said they do not want others with them when they die. Family relationships and close friendships remain meaningful to the end of life, and feelings of closeness to living family members, and the number of family members preceding an individual in death seem to be important factors related to older adults’ views of death. They do not want these important people in their lives to see how they die. He comments that older adults may need to be educated about the dying process so that they develop more realistic plans. The third notion of Cicirelli focused on the meanings of death on older people. The author touched on the meanings of different types of death, such as that caused by war, murder, accidents, catastrophes, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and disease. Open-ended 32476179_View on Death Page 4 interviews and sentence completion tasks was developed in which personal meanings for death could include (1) death as legacy, (2) as afterlife, (3) as extinction, and (4) as a motivator. All four of these meanings for death were affirmed in varying degrees, and while some differences by age category were found in the strength of the results, the idea of death as relating to an afterlife and contemporary life was confirmed. The derivation of personal meanings involved questions about lifespan expectations, what a person would do given more time than expected, whether they would want to live forever given perfect health and freedom from financial pressures, and whether they thought about death as it came nearer. Cicirelli construed that most people do not desire infinite life, and death as an afterlife was the most meaningful of the four factors explored in the qualitative instrument he developed. Death as meaning a loss of physical function, loss of personal relationships, and offering release from life’s troubles were concepts also found to be meaningful. Aside from his major foci in the book, Cicirelli has suggested quite a few areas for future research that are compelling: religion and people’s attachment to God, and the financial concerns and terminal care. What are extremely clear from Cicirelli’s Older Adults’ Views on Death is that older adults’ perceptions of death, the dying process, and their fears of death are highly variable and influenced by many factors such as human relationships, happenings in life, and age. The wealth of data the book it provided the readers generated different feelings and thoughts as to death and the valuation of life. The personal goals, expectations, and the meaning of the future in the context of Cicirelli became the sources of reactions and sentiments to the timing of death and how to live life to the fullest. 32476179_View on Death Page 5 Fear creates various strings of feelings that were attached to the community. They express fear of pain, fear of sorrow, fear of disease flare-ups, fear of death or disfigurement, fear of different drugs and their side effects afterwards, and other fears that kept on creeping in the veins. Fear is a normative action in response to life’s ups and downs. It is a component that completes the existence of human beings as a part of the community. In effect, the branches of fear that connects us to one another regardless of the different age groups played a vital role in the views of elder people on death. Not only older people are affected by the fear of death and the dying process but also the younger age groups in the community. The awful fear of death comes to every person and haunts the society until the end-of-life happens. The sudden removal of fear especially the fear of death and the dying process in the research participants was a surprise and created an uncomfortable feeling. People think that fear of death is absent because it rarely shows its true face. It is concealed in the faith an individual has—may it be a faith in God or a faith in destiny. The fear of death is a normal circumstance in life. Yet, the research participants were not bothered and overpowered by the fear itself coming to their lives. The astonishment with the strong faith these people have in the midst of uncertainty, and of the unknown became a concealment of the human nature. On the other hand, what was there to fear about if dying was a normal incident in life? Anxiety is linked with the satisfaction and the perception of life. The thought of death as an unavoidable event in our existence created a lighter feeling of joy. The fear of death enslaved the mind that can deteriorate the quality of life a person can have. The fear of death is worst than death itself. It molded a restricted world full of worries and tension. The elimination of anxieties due to the fear of death and the dying process gives a light of hope to continue 32476179_View on Death Page 6 living life to the fullest. The positive outlook of the research participants transformed the negative astonishment and uncomfortable emotion into a favorable and joyous feeling. Hence, the good things in life would be more cherished without the interference of sorrow and fear that abridge pleasures and memorable experiences. However, the moment of joy was tainted with a feeling of disappointment regarding the view of death. It arose when the person’s view of death became was anchored on the encounters and happenings in life. People sometimes have an unrealistic view of death, thinking that whatever happened to a friend or a family member would also happen to them. Some salient aspects of the context referred to the past experiences’ potential to affect the attitudes and perceptions towards their own death and dying. The experience may vary from the loss of dignity in death to the inevitable decay of the bodily material that was imprinted on the memory. People come short of realizing that there are numerous causes of deaths. It does not follow and guarantee an individual that what happened to your friend or parent would also happen to you. It is frustrating to know that people compare their own lives with others, even in the process of death. It is not the fear of death that was dreaded but the loss of life and the opportunities that come with it. The book consisted of refreshing ideas that generated the impression of leaving your fears behind and cherishing every moment in your life. Even as a young adult, the book inspired the readers not to be too consumed on the thought of death. There are many things to enjoy and to contemplate about death. Every person has different and unique encounters. Life must not be preempted and expected as how other people experience life incidences. 32476179_View on Death Page 7 It may be that fleeting or sporadic thoughts of dying and death have the power to maximize the value of life. Acceptance of death may be associated with increased meaning and satisfactions with living . To be adamantly discerning on the mortality of persons is to present an unsettling challenge to completely understand human nature. Thus, the book was not only about death but also the prevailing transitory of human nature and their way of life: people were too much consumed of repression, comparison, and expectations on death that they failed to understand the human existence. Reference: Cicirelli, V. G. (2002). Older Adults views on death. New York: Springer Publishing.

Free Essays - Autobiography of Malcolm X :: Malcolm X Essays

Review of the Autobiography of Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is about a man who changed the history of America. Malcolm (Little) X preached what he believed about racism, discrimination, and segregation. He went through many changes in his fight for equality. The three transformations that really changed the way Malcolm thought and preached where his transformation in prison, his transformation into the Islamic religion (following Elijah Muhammad), and the biggest transformation of all, his pilgrimage to Mecca. In all of Malcolm actions, teachings and transformations we learn different points of view and we get a good look at different aspects of events. The life of Malcolm (Little) X as told in his autobiography should be read by all. Malcolm X while in prison completed his first transformation. Like many great figures and history makers had a low point in is life. At this time Malcolm was into drugs, hustling, women and money. He became so dependant on making a lot of money he and some of his friends decided to rob the house of an old white man. They were caught for this crime and were not only charged with this crime but were also charged with having sex with white women. Malcolm and his friend "Shorty" were sentenced to six years in prison. The two white women that were Malcolm and Shorty’s accomplices were sentenced to a year in jail. During the first couple days of prison Malcolm was coming off a drug high and was having withdrawals. These withdrawals led Malcolm into solitary confinement for two months. When he was let out of his chamber he met the man that would later be responsible for Malcolm’s transformation. This man was a follower of the nation of Islam and the great Alijah Muha mmad. Malcolm learned a great deal form him. This shows us that even in the worst of circumstances we can learn and become better. This transformation was a great test for Malcolm and starts to let us see what a great influence he would end up being in the lives of many Americans. Malcolm’s second transformation was his immersion and dedication to the Nation of Islam. He followed the "great" Alijah Muhammad and his teachings. Malcolm started preaching to small amounts of followers. It did not take long for the word of Malcolm’s preaching to get into the community.

Computer: Helps or Affects the Learning Abilities Essay

A. Introduction The global technological and scientific setting today withstands the phenomenal rate of growth of information technology. Every nation is concerned on the international trend on technology, pursuing studies to maintain their global competitiveness. While computer is at hand, and is a conclusive evidence of advancement in science and technology; it is a task to maximize its purpose, primarily in learning. Computers have made such an enormous impact on our society today. There isn’t a place where you can turn into without computer. Computer, together with the connection to the Internet is such a useful thing for college students. Computer is a programmable machine that can perform computations including numerous arithmetic operations or logic operations, without intervention by human operator during run. But then, computer is here not to replace human skills out rather to ease the burden of work and expand the learning horizon of students. The two principal characteristics of a computer are: it responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner and it can execute a pre-recorded list of instructions (a program). B. Statement of the Problem The proponents observed the factors that may affect the learning capabilities of students. For that reason, the proponents would like to answer the following questions: 1. Did computer helps or affects the learning abilities of college students? 3. What are the positive and negative effects of computers that can affect the learning abilities of the students? 4. What are the impacts of such technological advancement to the learning process among students? 5. What actions did the parents do, knowing that there are several advantages and disadvantages of using technologies that are intended to lessen the complex work of man? C. Objectives of the Study Generally, this study aims to know how computer helps or affects the learning capabilities of the students. Specifically, this study aims: 1. Know what computers and Internet do to the studies of the college students. 2. Lessen the risks of computer misuse and to uphold the proper utilization of it. 3. Determine the positive and negative effects of computers. 4. Persuade the parents to set limitations and take actions on their children in using such technologies. D. Significance of the Study This study will considerably be significant to the students, proponents, parents and future researchers because this will help them to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the computers and this will also help as a baseline data for the similar studies. This study will be able to help students identify factors that can affect their performance and on how to improve their knowledge and skills as college students by using such said technologies without causing problems with their studies. The proponents will be also benefited by this study because this will improve their abilities and expose them to different advantages and disadvantages of this so that they will be able to know how to handle or face such situation. For the parents, they will be able to know to what are the factors that affect or help their children and they will also identify what to limit or what to encourage to their children in using the said technological advancement inside or outside the academe. This will help the future researchers to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the computers and this will also help them as a baseline data for the similar studies. E. Scope and Delimitation This study focuses on the harm or help done by the computer and Internet. The purpose of this study is to know how it affects or helps the students in their academic learning. The researchers considered working on this study to find out if the selected students were helped or affected by the said massive technological advancement and to guide them with the proper utilization of the said technology. E. Definition of Terms Computer. An electronic device which is capable of receiving information (data) in a particular form and of performing a sequence of operations in accordance with a predetermined but variable set of procedural instructions (program) to produce a result in the form of information or signals. Computer Software. Programs, procedures, rules and any associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system. E-mail. Message, typically text, sent via telephone lines and modems from one personal computer to another, or to a commercial network or E-mail service that stores the sender’s message until the addressee comes to get it. Information Technology. The acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of various types of information via computers and telecommunications.

Mgt3202 (Change and Organization Development)

Issues (Change and Organizational Development) As  organizations evolve and come to be seen as dynamic, coping systems, the concept of how they change and methods by which they manage change has continued to be refined. (Rafe Harwood, ND) The organizational change can be structural change, technology, people or task. Managing a process of change in an organization can be a highly complex task and is often essential for effective organizational development (OD).The forces to boost the change in an organization are the Nature of the Workforce, Technology, Economic Shocks, Competition, Social Trends, and World Politics. Organizational Change entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. (businessballs. com, 2012) * The observations made and any problems or issues reported by the people interviewed. Mr. NG KIAN BOON mentioned that his company, MITSUGOLD SDN. BHD. as experienced in chan ging organizational structure in terms of downsizing, he emphasize downsizing of his company is not shutting down the entire business or not because of not making profit within the organization, but to concentrate on the core and essential part of the business, and also to reduce the operating cost as they outsourcing to a real estate agency to help them do product promotion, marketing, and in house sales. He said that operational costs like computer, stationery, advertisement cost, space rental, utility bills and wages can be reduced when apply outsourcing.Moreover, real life example was given by him in his company, one of the tactful and experienced salesperson who already worked in MITSUGOLD SDN. BHD for more than 20 years ago since the company was established as a small size property developer. The woman is very used to do the sales work and she couldn’t do anything else except promoting project. As the world are changing more towards on high technology, most of the prese ntation are conducted by Microsoft PowerPoint and more visualize software as a presentation tools to give the potential buyer a clearer image of the product (eg.Residential unit) to attract them rather than the traditional ways of sales technique like verbally explained to them. As there is natural resistance over the organization change, MITSUGOLD SDN BHD will offer those employees a remuneration allowance to those does not want to change or couldn’t cope with the change. Whereas for those employees are willing to change, they will be offered a new job in other department or even promotion of the position, and also the training program. * The different perspectives on the situation which can be generated using Organization Behavior Theories and insights. The evaluation of the options for different potential recommendations & The chosen recommendationsReferences: Rafe Harwood, Organizational Change in Today's Economy, Rafe Harwood, year (Nil), online (accessed on 30th Oct 2012) available at: http://www. unfortu. net/~rafe/links/change. htm Businessballs. com, change management, Businessballs. com, 2012, online (accessed on 30th Oct 2012), available at: http://www. businessballs. com/changemanagement. htm http://managementhelp. org/organizationalchange/index. htm

Cisco Stock Pitch Essay

Cisco Stock Pitch Essay Cisco Stock Pitch Essay ISBE Principle Investments Group Cisco Systems Investment Research Presentation Nan Lin Introduction: ï  ® Cisco is worldwide leader in datanetworking equipment and software ï  ® ï  ® Current Revenue: $39.5 billion Data-networking: linking of computing devices together with hardware and software, allowing data communications ï  ® Allows you to share files with friends and family Business Model: ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Routers (24% of total revenue) Switches (40% of total revenue) Advanced Technologies (29% of total revenue) Services (6%) Cisco’s Major Customers ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Large Enterprises, contributing to estimated 45-50% of firm’s total revenues Service Providers: customers that provide data, voice, or video communications, (25%) Commercial Customers: medium/small companies (25%) Routers ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Core Routers: communication within network Edge Routers: communication within various local networks Enterprise Routers: sold to corporate consumers through large volume agreements, of which Cisco has 60% market share Switches, Advanced Technologies, and Services ï  ® Switches ï  ® Advanced Technologies ï  ® ï  ® Used to build networks over areas such as college campuses, to metropolitan, cities ï  ® Home networking, Wireless, Security, Storage Networking, Optical Networking ï  ® Advanced Services, Focused Technical Support and Network Optimization Support Services Investment Thesis ï  ® Potential for Revenue Growth ï  ® Top Competitor in Network & Communications Industry Potential for Revenue Growth ï  ® When investigating its potential for revenue growth, we examine the following: ï  ® ï  ® Recent Macro trends Industry analysis Macro Trends ï  ® Growth from the YouTube Effect ï  ® ï  ® Carriers spend massive amounts to upgrade their networks, spending benefited Cisco- largest manufacturer of routers Internet growth up to year 2012 increase as much as 46% per year Macro Trends II ï  ® Convergence Trend: demand for more sophisticated technologies ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Companies makes products such as internet video cameras, media adapters Use of these products requires more routers and switchers- which Cisco provides Growing Advanced Technologies Macro Trend III: ï  ® Domestic vs International Growth: ï  ® ï  ® Cisco derives over half of sales within US and 21% from Europe Cisco has opportunities in Asia: ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® China: rapidly expanding economy~5% of revenue China censorship requires more demand for Cisco’s products Japan: large market~3.4% of revenue Industry Analysis: ï  ® Barriers to Entry: ï  ® High Research & Development Costs ï  ® ï  ® Cisco spends more on R & D than its competitors, allows firm to drive innovation of new products in technology industries Threats: ï  ® Firewall policies Competitive Analysis ï  ® One of the highest gross operating margin due to size and scale ï  ® ï  ® Allows Cisco to pay off fixed payments such as interest in debt. One of the lowest operating costs of its competitors ï  ® Cisco maintains cost levels around 35% of total sales while other companies costs up to half of their total revenues Competitive Analysis II ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Cisco leads the market in routers, accounting for approximately 60% of sales Cisco generates about 42% of revenue from switches and leads the industry with about 70% market share Cisco’s huge size allows contracts with multiple suppliers. Cisco’s Top Competitors: Revenu COGS e (M) Cisco Gross R&D Margin expend % iture (M) $34.81 $14.0 B Juniper $3.6 B $1.2 Networ ks 65.8% $5 65.7% $.7 Alatel- 32.85% 2.80 16.9 3.10 Important Business Metrics CSCO ALU JNPR Industr y Market 132.14 7.68 B 13.11 B 257.38 Cap B M Revenu 34.81 B 16.9 m 3.30B 165.93 e lbs. M Gross 65.8% 65.7% 32.85% 41.7% Margin EBITDA 8.73 B N/A 666.60 15.08M M Important SEC Filing Info ï  ® Balance Sheet: ï  ® Cisco has strong cash balance of $34.08 B ï  ® Cisco has significant cash to develop its growth through M & A. ï  ® ï  ® In the past, Cisco bought Tandberg, ScanSafe Inc to maintain high growth rates. On January 7, 2010, Cisco announces plan to acquire

PSAT Test Dates 2015

PSAT Test Dates 2015 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The PSAT test dates of 2015 have come and gone, but they are not forgotten - especially for students aiming to become National Merit Finalists. This guide will go over the exact PSAT test dates in 2015, as well as discuss how test-takers can make the most of their PSAT score reports today. If you’re looking for future PSAT test dates, then check out this guide instead. If you’re in the right spot, then read on to learn about how the PSAT testing schedule works for participating students. What to Know About PSAT Test Dates Unlike many other standardized tests, like the SAT or ACT, you don’t choose when you take the PSAT. Instead, your high school registers juniors and chooses the test date from two options in October. If you’re a ninth or tenth grader who wants to take the PSAT, then you have to ask your school counselor to sign you up. College Board gave schools two choices for test dates in 2015, a primary and an alternate. Both test dates fell on a weekday, on a Wednesday to be exact. Most schools administered the PSAT on the primary test date. Below are the exact dates for the primary and alternate testing dates for the PSAT in 2015. PSAT Test Dates in 2015 Schools administered the PSAT on one of these two test dates in 2015. Primary test date: October 14, 2015 Alternate test date: October 28, 2015 Most schools held the PSAT on October 14, 2015. The only exception would be if the school had a scheduling conflict that day and had to go with the alternate test date. Once students took the PSAT, they waited a few months to get back their scores. For juniors, October is the month of pumpkins, pie, and the PSAT. When Did 2015 PSAT Scores Come Out? Scores from the 2015 PSAT came out on January 7th, 2016. On that date, students could sign into their College Board accounts and view their score reports. Counselors actually had access to the scores one day earlier, on January 6. In addition to online score reports, students got paper score reports around January 29. Forstudents who took the PSAT in 2015 or who will be taking it in the future, why are PSAT scores important? Why Are PSAT Scores Important? PSAT scores are important for two main reasons. First, they give you essential feedback about your skills as a test-taker, and you can use that feedback to prepare for the SAT. Secondly, PSAT score reports tell any juniors who took the test whether or not they will qualify for National Merit distinction and scholarships. Let’s take a closer look at both of these functions of your PSAT scores. 1. Practice and Feedback for the SAT The PSAT and SAT are very similar tests, so your score report on the PSAT can help you figure out how to improve for the SAT. Both tests have Reading, Writing and Language, and math sections. The main difference is that the PSAT doesn’t have an essay section. Your PSAT score report will give you detailed feedback on your performance. You should take time to look at your results and pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. If you struggled on the math section, for instance, then you can focus especially on math as you get ready for the SAT. By figuring out where you lost points, you can make efforts to get those kinds of questions right for next time. Your score report can also prompt you to reflect on the test-taking experience. Did you find yourself running out of time? Would you benefit from trying new test-taking strategies, like process of elimination on vocabulary questions? If you took the PSAT in 2015 and are still planning to take the SAT, you should carefully consider your PSAT score report and use it to design your SAT prep plan. Your PSAT score report gives you useful feedback on your skills as a test-taker. You can use that insightas you get ready for the SAT. 2. National Merit Distinctions and Scholarships If you took the PSAT as a junior, then you’re in the running for National Merit distinction and scholarships. The top 3% to 4% of scorers werenamed Commended Scholars, while students who score in the top 1% werenamed Semifinalists and couldmove on to become Finalists and win scholarship money. National Merit Scholarship Corporation hasn’t released its exact state-by-state cutoffs yet, but we can estimate the cutoffs based on data from past years. About a year after they took the PSAT in 2015, about 16,000 students across the country foundout if they achieved Semifinalist status. If you were one of those students who took the PSAT in October 2015, how can you make the most of your PSAT score report now? Make the Most of Your PSAT Score Report If you’re still planning to take the SAT, then your PSAT score report can help you design a study plan. Look closely at the sections where you excelled and the sections where you could use some improvement. Think about what skills you can work on to get better as a test-taker, whether you need to review specific concepts or practice time management. As you study for the SAT, try to identify and target your weak areas. Gather lots of practice questions, time yourself, and score your practice tests. Continue to measure your progress with your practice test score reports, just as you did with your PSAT score report. By taking time to analyze your PSAT and SAT practice test score reports, you can root out your weak areas and gaugeyour progress as you work toward your target SAT scores. In closing, let’s go over the key points you should remember about the PSAT in 2015, how it was administered, and how you can make the most of your PSAT score report now. Use your PSAT score report to target your weak areas and improve for the next test you take. PSAT in 2015: Key Takeaways Most schools administered the PSAT on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. Juniors automatically tookthe test and competed for National Merit distinction. Younger students couldalso request to take the test, and they coulduse the experience as practice for the junior year PSAT and the SAT. If you took the test in 2015, then you got your scores online on January 7th. Whether you’re competing for National Merit or prepping for the SAT, you can gain valuable insight from your PSAT score report. Take time to analyze your performance, figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and reflect on the experience to get ready for the SAT. What’s Next? Are you preparing to take the SAT? Check out our ultimate SAT prep guides for the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math sections of the SAT. Did you take the PSAT as a younger student in 2015? If you're aiming for top scores when you take the test as a junior, check out this full guide to getting a perfect score on the PSAT. Have you started taking steps to apply to college? For a full overview of the entire college application process, check out this comprehensive guide. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Why Setting Your Story Matters

Why Setting Your Story Matters Why Setting Your Story Matters Imogen Clark lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband and children.  She also writes books for young teenage girls under the pen name Lucinda Fox. In this article, Imogen talks about how establishing a real sense of setting in her novel improved her story, and even benefitted her marketing strategy.Picture the scene: You've read a great book that you want to share with your friend but your memory is letting you down on the details.â€Å"What's the title?† they ask. Blank. â€Å"Who wrote it?† Nothing. â€Å"Well, where's it set?†And, of course, you remember this because the setting of a book stays with you long after the metadata has faded. This is because it's the setting that takes a reader deep into the world of a novel, creating those vital visual images that allow them to travel with the protagonist. Whether a story is set in the heart of the Amazon jungle, a post-apocalyptic landscape, or on one street in London, the way that setting is described can make all the difference to a reader's experience. "It's the setting that takes a reader deep into the world of a novel." @imogenclark IlkleyBut this is not the side of the town that I wanted to portray in my book. In the novel, my protagonist, Cara, is trapped in Ilkley, forced to care for her terminally ill father whilst her elder brother escapes to London. The twee parts of the town - the areas that attract the tourists - mean nothing to her. Instead, she (and therefore the reader), focus on the darkly ominous moor that rises up like a shadow behind her house. The Ilkley of the book is a dank place where the sky remains resolutely grey.Of course, back in the real world, the sun does occasionally shine in Yorkshire, and I had pangs of guilt at drawing such a bleak picture of my hometown. But I had to remember that I had to see it through Cara's eyes, and not my own. "Authors need to depict a place through their character's eyes, not their own."  @imogenclark I can safely say that as a result of my developmental editor's advice to better establish a better sense of place, my book has immeasurably improved. It sits solidly in its setting and truly belongs there. Giving my book a home has also helped me with the writing and hopefully gives my readers a more satisfactory experience too. If they were to describe my book to their friends they might say, â€Å"Oh, you know. The one that’s set in Ilkley.†Please  share your thoughts, experiences, or any questions for Imogen Clark, in the comments below!Postcards From a Stranger is available in paperback  and on Amazon Kindle.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Eliza Lucas Pinckney - Research Paper Example Not that she grew the indigo plant that made the blue dye either. That job also was done by Lucas Pinckney’s slaves. She gets credit for asking her father to send her indigo seeds, which she instructed her slaves to plant. People also give her credit for figuring out a way to process the dye into stackable storable cakes so that it could be shipped across the Atlantic to Great Britain and Europe where other women then were employed to stand over bubbling pots of blue liquid dying textiles. However, at least some of the credit for that should probably go to her slaves too, but usually does not. What Lucas Pinckney does deserve credit for perhaps is the way she persuaded the people enslaved by her and her family to cooperate in making indigo a lucrative business. Lucas Pinckney’s father, a wealthy British Army officer and governor of Antigua, moved his family to South Carolina when Lucas Pinckney was fifteen. Lucas owned plantations in Antigua and in the Low Country of South Carolina. The latter he left for Lucas Pinckney to supervise when she was only seventeen as he and his sons were called to war. Lucas Pinckney’s mother had an unknown illness because even though she was still alive, she is not mentioned as having much authority in supervising the plantation nor her daughter for that matter. Lucas Pinckney’s education is attributed to her father. Kristin Thomas Iden quotes â€Å"Harriet Simons Williams [who] suggests that Col. Lucas’s influence in his daughter’s education is present through her mirroring of his intellectual values[:] ‘One of his most distinctive traits, which his daughter acquired, was a desire to see himself and those around him usefully employed. She had his taste for trying â⠂¬Å"schemes.† She also acquired from him a devotion to his library.†1 Having attended school in England, Eliza was well-educated and not only competent, but also confident. She differed greatly from her contemporary counterparts who were usually married with children by the age of seventeen. Another way she differed was how she viewed her place in society. At the time, the Great Awakening, evangelical religious fervor, was spreading throughout colonial America. To most of those who lived in Colonial America, religion was vital. After all, the freedom to practice it in the way one saw fit was a motivating factor in the establishment of the British colony so far from home. â€Å"Pinckney’s religious views reflected those of most Southern Anglicans, who valued the rational exercise of religion. As the Great Awakening began its move to the South in the 1740s, Pinckney appears to have remained unaffected; her letter illustrates that she continued to emphasize a ration al piety, a view that Pinckney perceived as rooted in God’s Word.†2 Most women accepted that prevailing religious view that women should be in submission to God and their husbands or fathers regardless of whether they were Anglican or evangelical. While educated women read at the time, proper reading material consisted of â€Å"advice literature and sermons which installed and perpetuated a highly stratified social hierarchy, accepted a subordinate social status.† Not only that, since the south was entirely dependent on slavery, another hierarchical system, â€Å"white women, identifying with and desiring the protection of the white male, used reading and writing as a means to support the

Paper on changes on the land Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Paper on changes on the land - Essay Example This is where Cronon starts to heavily contrast Indians and settlers. The Indians made it a point to move from location to location as a form of survival. Cronon says, â€Å"To take advantage of their land’s diversity, Indian villages had to be mobile† (54). Colonists disagreed with this practice because it constituted change, one that they were unfamiliar with and it led to criticism. They wished to mirror their settlements from the old world in New England by remaining in one place and only traveling village-to-village if need-be. Although, the Indians did not suffer from hunger, the settlers disapproved of their lifestyle as it reminded them of the poor people in England: â€Å"To those who compared Massachusetts Indians to English beggars, Morton replied, ‘If our beggars of England should, with so much easy as they, furnish themselves with foode at all seasons, there would not be so many starved in the streets’† (55). They saw Indians as starving people despite the truth. Cronon describes settlers as saying, â€Å"Indian poverty was the result of Indian waste: underused land, underused natural abundance, underused human labor† (56). Since the Indians â€Å"failed† to utilize all of the land, the colonists considered it to be wasteful. This is ironic because the settlers’ practice of hoarding every thing affected the ecological system most negatively because once they took it all, they did not give back; or at least not in the proper way. The settler’s political agenda in remaining bound to the land imposed an imbalance of nature and the land. Instead of taking just a little here and there, moving on, then returning later once the land has been replenished like the Indians, the colonists robbed the land of its resources. They cut down trees, uprooted plant-life and later, introduced agriculture without the means to accurately replenish the soil. It also brought up the question of property lines. T his was a concept that the Indian’s did not enforce because they did not need to when moving as often as they did. Land boundaries reinforced the need for property rights given to individuals in a New England colony. This also affected social wealth and trade. The act of taking a forest and what that meant in relation to the settlers and the land was important because it characterized the difference between ownership and items free-for-the-taking. For example, trees as they are rooted in the forest, untouched by man, are considered lacking ownership. The actual act of ownership came into play when the trees were sawed down and made to form ships and homes. Property as defined as â€Å"†¦to represent boundaries between people; equally, it is to articulate at least one set of conscious ecological boundaries between people and things† (58). English settlers believed in possession rather than a community pool of property. Where the Indians differ is how they attribute d ownership. Cronon says, â€Å"What the Indians owned - or, more precisely, what their villages gave them claim to - was not the land but the things that were on the land during the various seasons of the year† (65). The Indians had to abide by this over what the settlers believed because they frequently moved across the land as an act of continued existence. The colonists, on the other hand, prone to mimic British society, desired to remain in one spot on the land: â€Å"

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Essay Example Innovation - â€Å"a process by which opportunities are identified and exploited and it requires the commitment of enterprising people† (Lowe and Marriott 2006: 32). Entrepreneurship - â€Å"the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled† (Lowe and Marriott 2006: 49). Enterprise - â€Å"the ability to handle uncertainty and respond positively to change, to create and implement new ideas and new ways of doing things, to make reasonable risk/reward assessments and act upon them in a variety of contexts, both personal and work† (Lowe and Marriott 2006: 104). Public Sphere - the space of culture and society in which activity affects across familial and community lines, creating action that affects the whole rather than the individual. 2. Introduction With the recent economic crisis and the nature of global environmental issues rising to the surface, and with the addition of so many social problems emerging in a world that is becoming ever more globally centralized, entrepreneurial efforts through innovative solutions provide a resource to both support the issues that represent deep needs for solutions, as well create a financial opportunity for those who have concepts to increase an aspect of the health of the world. Opportunities that arise through innovations that solve problems create jobs, support human life, and advance civilization. In addition, those types of innovations that are created with a socially responsible solution in mind provide for a more enlightened advancement of civilization, while supporting the true needs of humanity over simply just the financial needs. Entrepreneurial efforts, at their basic level, are the needs that someone has to build and grow a business that provides financial compensation for their efforts. Money is not always the driving force, neither is the concept of being an owner, but those two aspects will always be a part of being a entrepreneur. There are times when it is the product, the innovation that drives a person to enter into an entrepreneurial phase, thus the need to achieve and create supersedes the need for profit. In many of the more altruistic innovations that have come on the market, the need to service a socially responsible demand has been the driving force behind the product. This type of entrepreneurship has the consequence, more often, of creating a high level of product when the business end of the process is well balanced In the end, it is the business end of a company that will support its success, not the value of the product. The product could be something that will cure world hunger, but if no one is developing it, capitalizing it, and promoting it into the hands of the right people, the idea will die without fixing the problems that it had been designed to address. It is great if a person develops the cure for cancer, but if it is done in a basement lab and no one finds out about it - if it is never produced, packaged, and sold - it will be lost. Innovation must come with proper business sense or it will not enter into the conscious of culture. Without proper capitalization, good decision making skills, and proper connections, an idea will die before it ever reaches the market. 3. Social Problems and Innovative Solutions Bornsteins and Davis

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Discussion Questions - Essay Example The private sector organisations ownership is the hands of private individuals whereas the criminal justice agencies are run by the government. Organisations in the private sector work towards profit making for the benefit of the shareholders while the agencies are non-profit making providing services to the citizens. Thus they rely on governmental financial support as well as funds from charities. The private sector organisation can extend their operation globally while the criminal justice agency operation is mainly within a city, state or country e.g. The New York Criminal Justice Agency (DeJong etal., 2013). The presence of regulatory measures defines/limits the activities that both organisations can engage in without contravening the law. In addition, since they both have vested interest in security, they at times create some form of cooperation in flushing out offenders in the society to create a peaceful environment. Lastly, since the agency operates as non-profit making organisation, they are not involved in advertising which is common in private sector. Bailes, A. J. K., Frommelt, I., & Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. (2004).Business and security: Public-private sector relationships in a new security environment. Solna, Sweden:

Philosophical Prepositions by Fichte Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophical Prepositions by Fichte - Essay Example 1963). Clearly, his prepositions are the basis of life. They  help  human beings to make decisions even the scientists who only believe in facts that can be proved. One of the prepositions is the ego as an aspect of identity. It indicates the  originality  of the human nature. Fichte argues that the ego is what comes first in decision-making. It controls the choices made by human beings in their daily life. This preposition is  significant  in that it brings out the  aspect  of individuality. Human beings need to be themselves. They need to make decisions in all categories of life rather than waiting for people to do it for them. Fichte says that this preposition dominates the whole being of a man. However, the decisions made by the  person  usually have effects in the future. Fichte asserts that there must be  conscious  when making choices (Copleston, F. 1963). This means ego is not the only factor that drives human being. In other words, there are some dang ers related to the use of ego in decision-making. Experience  is needed  in making a  choice  rather than emotions. If one has  absolute  ego, it  is argued  that he might make decisions that he will regret in the future. There must be a balance between the ego and the conscious part of the human mind. It clearly comes out from the above  rational  discussion  that, there is the interconnectedness between the ego and other things. The things that we are talking about are the second and third prepositions as proposed by Fichte (Copleston, F. 1963). If there is a need to  control  the ego, then what should  control  it? According to Fichte, non-ego is the controlling  factor  of ego. This is the second preposition. It walks in the opposite direction of the ego. One has certainly to be able to  strike  the  balance  in life. This applies to all categories of life. The essence of this is that the ego and the non-ego must cancel each other for th e balance to be made. It thus, an integral feature of the human mind in controlling emotions. Some people have too much ego such that seeing the obvious sense is a problem. They always want to  impose  themselves. They want their  identity  to  reign. In this light, they tend to make wrong decisions that  put  them into problems. They  act  so weirdly in situations they  are supposed  to  act  otherwise. Such people are not  rationale  and therefore cannot be the best leaders. They  are controlled  by their emotions and are always  dictatorial. This is  advantageous  to  know  so that people do not make mistakes in voting in leaders who will be part of the problems rather than solutions. Once the ego and the non-ego cancel, the only possible thing that should exist is the  conscious. This is because; its absence  will be rendered  useless. What he decides thereafter may as well not be of importance to his life. There must be another thing to bring about the rationality. The ‘I’, which is the third preposition, plays a crucial role between the ego and the non-ego. It ensures the viability of the conscious when the first two prepositions cancel. As Fichte says, it is particularly significant to the decision made. Ego is  profitable, but the  absolute  ego could pose some problems. The non-ego, on the other hand, is also  valuable. However, if it dominates it renders the whole  process  useless. That is why a mediator must be employed. This brings out the validity of the

Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Survey - Essay Example A recommendation is therefore given that strategies should immediately employed to price match products in the online market. The internet market has grown considerably in the past couple of years. Statistics show that the number of online shoppers reached an all time high of about 178.5 million people in 2011. Recently, there have been proposals to the company to reconsider its online trading policies to boost its sales volume. Presently, the company does prices match its products online and neither does it offer their competitor’s online prices. Therefore, a research was carried out to determine whether the proposed strategy of price matching online products would be profitable to the company. The method of research used was questionnaire that was conducted online for a period of about a quarter of the fiscal year. Online shoppers from the United States (14 years and older) that visited the company’s websites were randomly selected to participate in the questionnaire. First, a pilot study was conducted on the online shoppers. This involved open-ended questions that placed no limit on the customer’s response. Questions in this study were general in nature like, what is their overall attitude to Wal-Mart customer relations policy. Later, a close-ended questionnaire was used to provide a better reflection of the public view. A maximum choice of five answers to each question was given. The questions were generally categorized into 4 sections each covering a unique field. The survey was voluntary and anonymous and no personal data was collected. There was an approximate response rate of 88% to the questionnaire from both prospective buyers and those who actually made online purchases. A complete breakdown of the responses is shows that the majority of respondents were in favor of the company providing price matching information. About 80% of the respondents indicated that they would buy more products if

Philosophical Prepositions by Fichte Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophical Prepositions by Fichte - Essay Example 1963). Clearly, his prepositions are the basis of life. They  help  human beings to make decisions even the scientists who only believe in facts that can be proved. One of the prepositions is the ego as an aspect of identity. It indicates the  originality  of the human nature. Fichte argues that the ego is what comes first in decision-making. It controls the choices made by human beings in their daily life. This preposition is  significant  in that it brings out the  aspect  of individuality. Human beings need to be themselves. They need to make decisions in all categories of life rather than waiting for people to do it for them. Fichte says that this preposition dominates the whole being of a man. However, the decisions made by the  person  usually have effects in the future. Fichte asserts that there must be  conscious  when making choices (Copleston, F. 1963). This means ego is not the only factor that drives human being. In other words, there are some dang ers related to the use of ego in decision-making. Experience  is needed  in making a  choice  rather than emotions. If one has  absolute  ego, it  is argued  that he might make decisions that he will regret in the future. There must be a balance between the ego and the conscious part of the human mind. It clearly comes out from the above  rational  discussion  that, there is the interconnectedness between the ego and other things. The things that we are talking about are the second and third prepositions as proposed by Fichte (Copleston, F. 1963). If there is a need to  control  the ego, then what should  control  it? According to Fichte, non-ego is the controlling  factor  of ego. This is the second preposition. It walks in the opposite direction of the ego. One has certainly to be able to  strike  the  balance  in life. This applies to all categories of life. The essence of this is that the ego and the non-ego must cancel each other for th e balance to be made. It thus, an integral feature of the human mind in controlling emotions. Some people have too much ego such that seeing the obvious sense is a problem. They always want to  impose  themselves. They want their  identity  to  reign. In this light, they tend to make wrong decisions that  put  them into problems. They  act  so weirdly in situations they  are supposed  to  act  otherwise. Such people are not  rationale  and therefore cannot be the best leaders. They  are controlled  by their emotions and are always  dictatorial. This is  advantageous  to  know  so that people do not make mistakes in voting in leaders who will be part of the problems rather than solutions. Once the ego and the non-ego cancel, the only possible thing that should exist is the  conscious. This is because; its absence  will be rendered  useless. What he decides thereafter may as well not be of importance to his life. There must be another thing to bring about the rationality. The ‘I’, which is the third preposition, plays a crucial role between the ego and the non-ego. It ensures the viability of the conscious when the first two prepositions cancel. As Fichte says, it is particularly significant to the decision made. Ego is  profitable, but the  absolute  ego could pose some problems. The non-ego, on the other hand, is also  valuable. However, if it dominates it renders the whole  process  useless. That is why a mediator must be employed. This brings out the validity of the

Business environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business environment - Assignment Example The purpose of these different types of organizations are: Non-profit Organization: Such organization operate to provide services to the community without working on making any profits. Their aim is to improve the community. Such organizations includes universities and charitable organizations. Governmental Organization: These organizations are owned by the government to provide benefit to the citizens in the country. Another purpose is to utilize the resources in the country for the benefit of the community. IKEA is a for-profit organization just like Tesco. IKEAs vision is to create a better everyday life for many people (IKEA, 2014). They do this by introducing a wide product range which includes all kinds of home and even office products at low affordable prices. The vision of Tesco is ‘to be the most highly valued business by: the customers we serve, the communities in which we operate, our loyal and committed colleagues and of course, our shareholders.’ (McKeown, n.d). Tesco does not specifically deal in one kind of product. Rather Tesco is more of a retail store. IKEA deals with one niche of the retail sector which is home furniture, appliances and accessories. Tesco aims to provide maximum value to its stakeholders which include customers, employees and stakeholders. This vision clearly shows Tesco as a for-profit organization. Even IKEA is a for-profit organization but it has cleverly worded its vision statement to show respect to its customer. This also shows that IKEA is highly customer centric. Organizations today have also begun to include their corporate social responsibility in their vision and mission statement. While the vision statement of IKEA is too broad, Tesco has accepted its corporate social responsibility by including the community in its vision statement. For the customers, IKEA has the objective of increasing their customer base and retaining its

Statement of Purpose Essay Example for Free

Statement of Purpose Essay I samsher rana, completed Higher Secondary Education in 2012 from Kathmandu Model College which is situated at Baghbazar, Kathmandu, Nepal in management with first division marks and grade 10 from Kantipur English High School with distinction marks. I have scored 6.5 in IELTS which is a proof of my English language proficiency. After completing my higher secondary level education I plan to continue my education by pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. I would like to complete my further studies in New Zealand at Concordia Institute Of Business which will help me to learn how to built or do business in better matters. It has developed a reputation for being friendly, caring, and welcoming, and has a multi-cultural staff with wide experience in education for international students. As a business students I will get chance to learn how to lead a group or team to deliver selected objectives in a productive way. Moreover the college programs are delivered by experienced, qualified teaching staff through lectures, tutorials, and practical assignments which maintains a high standard of education. . see more:statement of purpose for canadian embassy Only after the extensive research I have decided to choose this college for my further studies. I took help from my relatives and friends to know more about this college and also from this college’s website and got lots of information about it. After the close study I decided to complete my higher studies from this college as I came to know that this college staff’s are very supportive and friendly. It prioritizes academic achievement but still helps students to get part-time jobs. New Zealand has an international reputation as a provider of quality education. It has a progressive education system. It offers a safe learning environment with excellent study opportunities and support services for international students. I decided to study in New Zealand rather than Nepal because students intending to study in New Zealand can be assured of achieving qualifications that are at a standard comparable to qualifications achieved in leading educational institutions in other parts of the world. Therefore my family also insisted me to go New Zealand for receiving further studies. Moreover New Zealand is also renowned for its natural beauty and its adventure activities. Therefore if I get chance to complete my further education in New Zealand then I will be pleased to do so.

Absorption Costing: Advantages and Disadvantages

Absorption Costing: Advantages and Disadvantages There are two main costing methods that this company can use, absorption costing and Activity based costing. Absorption costing and Activity based costing (ABC) are two similar systems that are used to assign indirect costs to cost objects. Absorption costing is also called traditional costing; it is more simplistic and uses arbitrary allocation. On the other hand, ABC is more sophisticated and uses cause-and-effect allocation. This report will deal with the different definitions, the history, the advantages and disadvantages of absorption and ABC systems. Then finial a recommendation on which system is better suited for this company. This company needs either of the two costing system because they are useful during planning and budgeting. Furthermore having the systems in place will allow overheads to be charged to services. ABSORPTION COSTING Absorption costing is a method of costing that, in addition to direct costs, assigns all, or a proportion of product overhead costs units by means of one or a number of overhead absorption rates. Cima (2005) Absorption costing systems is a costing system where manufacturing costs are allocated to products and non manufacturing costs are not allocated to the product but charged directly to the profit statement and excluded from the inventory. Drury (2008) Absorption costing is a system in which all the fixed manufacturing overheads are allocated to the products. Drury From all these definitions the Cima definition is the better definition because it mentions most of the key processes that are involved in absorption costing which straight away gives you an idea of what absorption costing is. The other definitions are also good as they state some processes involved in absorption but Cima puts the definition in a more understandable way. History This costing system was developed decades ago when companies were much smaller and had less overhead costs. During the time this system was developed there were mostly industrial companies which made this system suitable to assign costs to cost objects. How it works This company currently operates under absorption costing system for working out overheads for their services. Working out absorption costing involves a two stage process. Stage one considering the allocation and apportionment of indirect costs to service and production cost centres and then apportionment of the service department to production department. Allocation is the process of estimating the cost of resources consumed by a product that does not use direct measures. This process deals with overheads that can be directly assigned to cost centres without the need to be apportioned. Cost apportionment is a process of charging indirect costs to cost centres that cant be directly allocated. Service department overheads are transferred to the production department so they can be covered. Stage two works out the absorption rates that are then used to charge overheads to cost objects. The absorption rate worked out is used to calculate the total overheads of a product. From all these three stages only allocation is used in ABC. There are advantages and disadvantages of absorption costing: Advantages Inexpensive and simple to operate. Absorption costing is simple to operate which makes it less expensive to operate. This is good for the company as it allows them to reduce their costs and understand what they are doing. Disadvantages Less accurate. Its good that the system is simple, but this makes it less accurate when charging costs to cost objects because of the intensive use of arbitrary allocation. Arbitrary allocation is when an allocation base used is not a considerable determinant of its cost. Not knowing all the exact causes of certain costs will make it difficult during planning and budgeting. Absorption costing emphasises on variable and fixed costs. This makes it difficult for the company to use information from this system for decision making; its not detailed enough to help the business make predictions or budgets. ACTIVITY BASED COSTING Different sources define ABC in different ways: An approach to the costing and monitoring of activities which involves tracing resource consumption and costing final outputs. Resources are assigned to activities, and activities to cost objects based on consumption estimates. The latter utilise cost drivers to attach activity costs to outputs. Cima terminology Activity based costing is a refinement of absorption costing that aims to charge overhead costs in much more detail so that the overhead cost can be charged on the basis of a cost driver. Drury (2005) Between these two definitions Cima definition clearly states what ABC is all about and mentions cost drivers which are a key area of this system. While the other definition does not specifically state what is involved in ABC e.g. cost drivers though it does point out that its similar to absorption costing. Overall, the Cima definition is better as it is a more detail explanation. History ABC system was developed when the current system then (absorption costing) was becoming less useful for assigning costs to products in the changing business environment. In the 1980s companies begun to increase in size and producing wider product ranges and services. Information processing costs were high, which made it difficult for sophisticated overhead allocation methods to be justified. There was an increasing demand for more accurate product costs; this led to the introduction of the ABC system. Cooper and Kaplan conceptualised the ideas behind this system as a way of trying to improve the accuracy of the charge made to cost objects in complex business environments. How it works ABC system is worked out differently compared to absorption costing. They both use the two stage allocation process to assign overheads to cost objects. First stage overheads are assigned to cost centres and in the second stage the cost accumulated in the cost centres are allocated to cost objects. ABC differs from absorption costing by having more cost centres in the first stage and a greater variety of cost drivers in the second stage. Exhibit 1 shows an example of a companys annual overhead costs which i will use to how ABC works. Similarly to absorption costing, an overhead analysis sheet is produced where overheads are allocated to cost centres. This is shown in exhibit 2. Then activities are identified for each cost. From exhibit 3 column A, you can see that there are lots of activities that have been identified from major activities e.g. General factory support. The costs created over a specific period have to be assigned to the activities. When costs are accumulated by activities they are called activity cost drivers. Activity cost drivers have to be selected for each activity centre in order to assign the cost attached to products. In exhibit 3-column C and D you can see the activity cost drivers and the cost they each accumulate. Cost driver rates are worked out for each activity. Finally, the cost driver rates are applied to products. In exhibit 4 there is an example of Product G that is produced and uses various activity cost drivers and cost driver rates are applied. There are advantages and disadvantages of having ABC in place, these are: Advantages Helps identify unprofitable items from the product line. This will allow the company to make changes to their production, and improve their efficiency. Removing these unprofitable items reduces un-necessary costs the company maybe encountering. Also it enables the company to increase its profit without the need to increase prices. Provides quantifiable figures for planning and estimates. ABC identifies all the different cost drivers that contribute to the total overheads of producing a product or service. This will help when giving quotes to customers as well as for the business to see if taking up a certain project will be profitable to them. ABC uses a large number of cost centres in the first stage and a greater variety of allocation bases in the second stage. This makes the system accurate at charging overheads to products. Accurate cost charges to products or a service reduces the risk of making a loss if the right amount is not charged. Disadvantages Expensive to operate. The complexity of this costing system makes it expensive to operate compared to other alternatives. The business will have to invest time and resources in order for them to identify the cost drivers. E.g. one of the steps needed to identify cost drivers is to interview staff and have them fill in time sheets. This process will reduce the production time available to the company. Time consuming. Using ABC is a very long process and requires a lot of information to implement; this is time consuming for the company and its staff. There is too much attention to detail and control. Sometimes paying close attention to detail might make it difficult for the company to see the bigger picture or make the firm lose sight of strategic objectives just to seek for small savings. It may be difficult to implement. In service companies there are costs that are difficult to allocate to specific service units and service department, staff often get involved in many non informal activities which may be challenging to record cost data. Recommendations Given that the company supplies services to government bodies and operates under absorption costing, I recommend that we should change the costing system to ABC as it will be more suitable for the company. This costing system may be difficult to implement in service companies but it shows the company more detail of the various costs involved in each service they provide which is essential during decision making and planning. To implement ABC there certain things the business will have to do: Proper planning and commitment from staff, carrying out a pilot study first may be vital. This will provide information about whether having ABC will be a benefit to the company. A team will have to be set-up that will be responsible for determining which activities are necessary for the services. The team should be made up of experts from different departments of the company and a consultant from outside can be used. Having individuals from different allows accurate identification of overheads involved.5 When a team has been assembled, elements of each activity that cost money are determined. Attention to detail is vital as some costs are hidden. Once all the costs have been identified and recorded, they have to be put in a computer system. After the business has had enough time to analyze the data they can use the information in various ways e.g. working out total overheads for each service. Conclusion Absorption costing has been around for a long time, ABC was developed as an improvement of absorption costing. ABC is a more accurate costing system compared to absorption costing as it looks at individual activities that contribute to the total overheads, while absorption costing looks at departments. Having looked at both advantages and disadvantage of the two costing systems it is clear that even though they are similar they have significant differences. I have recommended that we introduce ABC, it will be a huge benefit for the company as it will decrease the number of errors made during costing.

Characterization in Sister Carrie Essay -- Sister Carrie Essays

Characterization in Sister Carrie      Ã‚   The theme of unrequited love and unfulfilled ambitions, against a backdrop of a nation being transformed by industrialism and capitalism, provides the substance of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie.   During the late 19th Century we encounter three main characters who demonstrate this underlying motif:   Carrie Meeber, Charles H. Drouet, and George W. Hurstwood.   Carrie will fulfill many of her desires for riches and success, but her insatiable appetite will leave her feeling dissatisfied at the end of the novel and all alone.   With respect to the two men who most covet her affections, Charles Drouet and George Hurstwood we have a study in contrasts.   About the only thing Drouet and Hurstwood have in common is that they both desire Carrie's love.   Both Drouet and Hurstwood love Carrie, but Drouet is a materialist and Hurstwood is a romanticist - a fact that will enable Drouet to survive the loss of Carrie as Hurstwood commits suicide over the loss.    From early in the novel we see Drouet established as a representative of the new America - industrialism, capitalism, and nouveau riche successes.   When Carrie meets Drouet on the train, his manners and fine dress impress her but they are only a cover for an identity that believes he needs to impress others to be successful.   In other words, Drouet's manners and attitudes are put on like so many new clothes, discarded when they no longer fit his purposes.   However, it is exactly these superficial qualities that impress Carrie Meeber, a young woman on her way to Chicago to make her way in the world.   Carrie eventually succumbs to the clothes, money, and housing Drouet lavishes on her, but it is her desires and his money that unite them ... ... to escape the reality of their lives through material pursuits.   Hurstwood cannot do so and as a result succumbs to this inability in the face of such heartaches and losses.      WORKS   CITED          Eby, C. V.   Cultural and historical contexts in Sister Carrie.   Univ. of Pennsylvania Library.   Available: http://www. library.upenn.edu/special/dreiser/scculhist.html, 2001: 1-5. Moers, E.   The Blizzard.   In Sister Carrie.   Edited by Donald Pizer, (2nd edit.).   New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991: 525-533. Dreiser, T.   Sister Carrie.   Edited by Donald Pizer, (2nd edit.).   New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991. Warren, R. P.   Sister Carrie.   In Sister Carrie.   Edited by Donald Pizer, (2nd edit.).   New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991: 534-542. 1                                                

Media Influence on Violence in Society

The human condition and its thirst for violence have been around for centuries. Dating back to times of war as early as the crusades and even biblical recordings of Cain and Able. Violence in correlation to evolution has grown and taken different forms to affect the populous. As stated before it was something that was used with a purpose in some respect , one that could be deemed noble, than that of a cause used for pleasure. Entertainment and the promotion of violence have been around for ages.During times of he Ancient Roman Era, slaves that were turned Into warriors also know as Gladiator, were brought into arenas filled with tens of thousands of spectators and force to killed and use violence to be deemed victorious. With that victory came spoils such as status lavish gifts or in some cases their freedom. This example is used as a highlight to showcase that the violent acts that occurred was very popular and was by its nature considered to be entertaining to the citizens that att ended the events and the upper class whom put on the show.In those times the elite that put on the show did so as means o satisfy a burdened lower class whom otherwise due to conditions of hardships would tool of public violence, though in present time by a reasonable person standard can be found to be immoral, was something that the ruling class used to its benefit. The Exploitation of violence still remains a functional tool used for the powers that be, in present times it has evolved from a means of distraction to a tool with which one can exploit and benefit monetarily.Which brings to question is the exploitation and marketing of violence and crime by way of violence in media morally irresponsible? To date some of the greatest media shows and films maintain an aspect of violence that is furthered through acts of criminality. Some of the examples include the all time blockbuster of Surface. With the film it depicts a foreign immigrant that rises the top of success through the use of malicious violence and illegal behaviors including the selling of drugs. The film up to date has earned gross income of over a $150 million worldwide. 1) This statistics goes to show how much people prescribed to the viewing of the movie withstanding the profits of secondary promotions of the films brand through researches and other auxiliary outlets. Another great American depiction of crime is that of a famous fictional Mob family the Sopranos. This popular Television show depicts conducted, and how the use and promotion of violence is a necessary means or bi- product in the road to success. This widely loved brand has went on to gross over $160 dollars as per statistic provided through factual evidences shown through TV station A&E actions where committed to paid 2. Million per episode for the brands whole catalog (2). This large amount that a station was willing to pay can be seen as a perfect gaslight to exactly how popular the show was with society at large and what their valuation was really be esteemed to be. Fast forwarding too recent hit with society can highlight the show Breaking Bad. This show finds it overarching plot showcasing classic everyday middle class individual who is force by outside and internal circumstance to go against societal norms and engage in illegal activity and the use violence in the furtherance of such activities.Through out the show the viewer is enticed by the wins the average man can attain if he Just decided to walk the path of using violence and prescribing to illegal activities. This show more so that the others that proceeded this description is more influential to society at large as society is made up of average people going through problems such as the main character of this show. Hardships coming from economic factors, familial factors, and internal struggles all testify to the connections that bring user back and keep them engaged.The leading show is vague as per available information. It is easily held that the show would be able to net numbers vastly over that of other hits like the Sopranos. With popular culture acceptance that these shows maintain it is easy to see that present day powers that be studios† are making a killing and stand to continue to profit of the back of the tenants of the use of violence in entertainment. Though these worlds and stories are fictional in nature, society and certain cultures have adapted these tenants to success into their realities.Statistics show that in 2012 Number of people arrested in the U. S on drug charges were 1. 55 million (4) Number of Americans incarcerated in 2011 in federal, state and local prisons and jails: 2,266,800 or 1 in every 99. 1 adults, the highest incarceration rate in the world. Two thirds is the Fraction of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prisons hat are majority represented by black or Hispanics (5) Are the statistics enough to assert that the these offenses are reflective of content that viewers are taking in with regard to movies and TV shows.Though hard to say yes as a definitive answer, the supporting and subsequent information that has been obtain is enough to bring validity to the question itself. Articles pulled from the NY Times express that â€Å"A study set for publication in the December issue of Pediatrics confirms what some of Hollywood sharpest critics have suspected: The level of gun violence in the top- ailing PIG-13 movies has been rising, and it now exceeds that in the most popular R- rated films.Violent encounters with guns occur, on average, more than twice an hour in the best sellers in both ratings categories, according to researchers, who worked with support from the Ennobler Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In all, the researchers examined 945 movies, counting the appearances of overall violence in each five- minute segment of a sampling of films that ranked among the top 30 at the domestic b ox office from 1950 to 2012. Perhaps not surprisingly, the results † reported by Brad J.Bushman of Ohio State University, and Patrick E. Jameson, Lana White and Daniel Roomer of the Ennobler center † showed that violence in American films had more than doubled in that time. But the authors also found that episodes of gun violence in PIG- 13 rated films had been rising since the rating was introduced in the mid-asses, and it now surpasses the violence in R-rated films, which are technically not open to young viewers unless they are accompanied by an adult. Speaking by telephone last week, Mr†¦Roomer, one of the authors, acknowledged that the study, by focusing only on the top- selling movies each year, said as much about audience said. â€Å"We recognize that, and the movie industry realizes it. † Mr†¦ Roomer said he believed that movie studios were â€Å"taking films that have a lot of violence and putting them into the PIG-13 category. † (7) This stands as another highlight to the fact that the powers that be â€Å"studios† exploit the use of violence in their content to rake in revenue. The information provided above sheds specific light on the practices of gearing the violence to a younger audience.Smart tactic from a business standpoint in that it builds legacy and cultures your view to what you would like them to, and in a sense locking in continued sales for a longer period of time. Though a good business tactic to gain profits morally it can be seen by the reasonable man to be irresponsible. Viewer of that age range tend to be more impressionable and violence or depictions of violence should be the last thing that is being fed to them during a movie experience. Supporting information obtained from the Rewets also express the new found statistics on the how violence in PIG-13 movies are at an all time high.The article states Research shows that teens frequently choose to watch extremely violent films. Among the top-grossing films in 2012, rated PIG-13, were such violence- packed dramas as ‘Safely', ‘The Avengers', ‘Taken 2', ‘The Dark Knight Rises' and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man'. According to the study, conducted by the Ennobler Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and Ohio State University, violence in films has more than doubled since 1950, while gun violence in PIG-13-rated films, especially popular among younger people, has more than tripled since 1985.The article goes on to express that â€Å"Seeing guns in films might also provide youth with scripts for using guns,† the authors of the study ‘Gun Violence Trends in Movies' warn. The article really hammers home the reality that comes with violence in movies when it continues by expressing It's disturbing that PIG-13 movies are filled with so much gun violence, We know that movies teach children how adults behave, and they make gun use appear exciting and attractive,† says study co-author and the director of the Ennobler Center's Adolescent Communication Institute, Dan Roomer. It the goes into the theory of the weapons effect conveying.A number of scientific studies have previously concluded that the mere presence of guns can increase aggression, a phenomenon dubbed the â€Å"weapons effect. † 00†³By including guns in violent scenes, film producers may be strengthening the weapons effect and providing youth with scripts for using guns,† the authors of the study, published in the latest issue of the US Pediatrics Journal, emphasize. The article finally wraps up its case by giving prime example of the effect of violence in movie having real world consequences through the recent case of the James Holmes and the Dark Knight movie massacre.The article states They give an example when movies have served as a catalyst for violence. In July 2012, James Holmes bought a ticket to see the new Batman movie in Colorado. About 20 minutes after th e show started, the 25- year-old left the theater and returned dressed in full tactical gear, equipped with several guns and a huge amount of ammunition. Holmes, who later identified himself to the police as ‘The Joker', launched two canisters that emitted tear gas and began firing into the crowd, killing 12 and wounding 70 others. Rewets. Com) Though that example is a horrific and unthinkable reality, movie influence on sack to times before the ox's. The Hollywood reporter highlights a gang fight that broke out on the scene of a drive in theatre to the movie the Warriors. The article states Ata drive-in theater in Palm Springs, members of the Blue Coats, an African- American gang, got into it with members off white gang, The Family. A 19-year-old member of The Family was shot to death. (Wholeheartedly. Mom) As stated before it is very hard to exactly determine if any of these violent acts can be directly and wholly attributed to violence depicted in films, but a reasonable pe rson would be able to infer that the violence showcased maintains an influential ole in effecting its viewers. It now brings to table the debate on whether acting in this manner should be something that maintains protections under the freedom of speech/expression amendment or if it should Just be deemed negligence on the part of the studios who load the films with violence and market it too public who may later act upon the viewed behaviors and events in the picture.Movie studios may contend that they maintain no liability as to the actions that are later committed by a viewer of a movie, they may also contend that having violence in the movie can help n effort to fuel and evoke emotions and feelings off particular scene. Though true with a valid basis it's hard to find in favor of the studios and their art defenses as they as proven above with information blatantly market their violent content to a younger demographic. One that does not by regulation need a parental figure to be pr esent in order for them to view it.

Managing Time Essay

In today’s society, many people are finding it difficult to find time for their family when they are so caught up at work. At times, it could also be that people are with their family more often that their work starts to slack off. In the story, â€Å"Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket† by Jack Finney, Tom has it difficult spending time with his wife, because he is caught up in his work. The theme of this story is time management between work and family can be complicated. A similar theme is shown in the short stories, â€Å"Double Daddy† by Penny Parker and â€Å"Diary of a Mad Blender† by Sue Shellenbarger. First of all, the theme of â€Å"Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket† is demonstrated throughout the story. When Tom decides to stay home, his wife, Clare, tells him, â€Å"You work too much—though, Tom—and too hard. † This shows that Tom has chosen his work over his wife. Later in the story, Tom realizes that his time may be short when he, â€Å"Wished, then, that he had not allowed his wife to go off by herself tonight—and on similar nights. † Tom realized that managing his time with his wife is more important than his work, which reveals the theme of the story. Secondly, in â€Å"Double Daddy† by Penny Parker, a similar theme is shown throughout the article. The author explains, â€Å"More is Expected of father at home these days†¦but the demands of the workplace, is anything, increased in the recent years. This comes to show that father are needed both at work and at home. Linda Dunlap, chair women of the psychology department at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, states that men say, â€Å"I’m working my tail off to get ahead†¦but I’m now spending time with my family. † So in recent years, fathers have realized that time management with their family is important, even though they must work to keep their family stable, which shows how complicated managing time between work and family time can be. In addition, Sue Shellenbarger, author of, â€Å"Diary of a Mad Blender,† writes about a similar theme in her article. Today, even if parents try to stay home with their kids and try to work at the same time can be challenging. As the author states, â€Å"I work from home, but there’s certainly more I could do to integrate my work and my personal life. † So, trying to balance this is a difficult task. Even though managing work and family time is tough, Shellenbarger says, â€Å"My brain just needs a little cross-training,† but she is still finding it tough to manage the time between her family work, which relates to the theme of the story. Finally, managing the time between work and family can be a difficult task for anyone, as explained in, â€Å"Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket† by Jack Finney. Also the demands of the workplace can be a struggle which was shown in â€Å"Double Daddy† by Penny Parker. Last, how it can difficult to bring work home, while trying to spend time with family, like the example in â€Å"Diary of a Mad Blender† by Sur Shellenbarger. The theme of this all is managing time between work and family can be difficult.

Positve And Negative Emotions

The Broaden- and- build theory created by Barbara Fredrickson (2001) describes how positive emotions open up our thinking and actions to new possibilities, and how this expansion can help build physical, psychological, and social resources that promote well-being (Baumgardner, 2009). In correlation as suggested by Fredrickson (2001), positive emotions include joy, interest, contentment, pride and love. They all provide the ability to broaden one’s momentary thought-action repertoires and help build their personal resources (Baumgardner, 2009).The benefits of positive emotions are more general and long-term rather than the short-term effects possessed by negative emotions. Men and women have different ways of expressing the same emotion. Hence, when a woman is sad, they tend to show depression for their sadness, whereas men tend to show anger when dealing with sadness. They both feel the same way, but show it differently. When women are angry their feeling gets expressed throug h words and sadness. As opposed to men their sadness is shown with anger and resentfulness. Men and women do not feel differently with a negative emotion, but simply react differently to the emotion.Research shows that men tend to use the left side (reasoning) of their brain more than women. Women use both the left and the right (emotional) sides of their brain. This provides women the ability to understand people and express their emotions more effectively (Brenda, 2013). The research found is mixed regarding the emotional differences between the sexes. Strong evidence has been found that there are differences in the way men and women detect, process, and express emotion. Other studies show that men and women share more emotional similarities than differences (Thompson, 2013).

Hazardous Material Management and Hazard Communication Essay - 9

Hazardous Material Management and Hazard Communication - Essay Example In order to add a new chemical to HazCom program chemical inventory, one has to follow a well outlined guideline. Since it is done online, the employer needs to access the website then log in. after entering the name of the new chemical into the site, he should proceed to search for CAD then click on ‘Add chemical’ then generate for it a CAS number if it does not have one already. Thereafter, upload all the information regarding the new chemical’s regulatory information, NFPA ratings and physical properties. Finally, save and submit the details and wait for a review (Aldrich, 2009). HazCom program chemical inventory is stored online because having a computer data base is good. It is efficient and can be easily up dated and retrieved for use. Therefore, all employers who have harzadious chemicals should ensure that their information is captured in the HazCom program chemical inventory. It is recommended for optimal safety of the employees operating

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

Auditing - Assignment Example This report will discuss several audit problems which can impact the materiality of financial statements. Wentworth Brewster limited specializes with the manufacture of sports equipment. All the products are sold to specialist retailers and private member gym clubs. The company owns a large number of freehold premises than it generally requires. The surplus office is usually sub-let to three other businesses. All sales are on a credit basis and customers are authorized and credit checked by the credit controller before an account is being set up. Detailed records on stocks are also maintained. The audit risk areas for Wentworth relate to debtors, stocks, claims on damages and rent income. Debtors have been circularized and no evaluation on replies and follow ups on non-replies had been done. There was also a dispute from a particular debtor with regard to account balance. There were also slow-moving stocks whose valuation was questionable. Rental income had not been audited since it was argued that its amount was less than that of sales income. Finally, there were no provisions made for claims or contingency. The audit duration will be a period of one month and the audit team will from time to time visit the site to obtain information. Communication shall also be done via emails when necessary. Debtors The main purpose of circularizing debtors is to obtain evidence regarding the ownership, existence and value of debtors in the financial statement. Debtors are third parties and thus are considered to be an external source of information. Obtaining evidence from different sources or types especially from third parties increases the level of assurance (Kumar and Sharma 2006). Circularization is done by writing to debtors directly requesting them to confirm their account balances. Debtors’ circularization can either be positive or negative. In positive circularization, the debtors are required to respond whether they agree or disagree to the contents of the circular. In negative circularization, the debtor is required to respond whether they disagree with the contents of the circular. The major drawback of negative circularization is that in case the debtors fails to reply to the contents of the circular, the auditor assumes that he is in agreement with the contents of the circular. The auditor of Wentworth Brewster limited sent circulars to a sample of 30 debtors to confirm year end balances. There were replies and non-replies to the circular. Second request was done to non-replies where some debtors replied but five did not reply. One of the debtors who failed to reply had a zero balance while three of these debtors had balances ranging between ?5,000 and ?20,000. There were no follow ups done on these accounts. The fifth customer was a major customer, Multi-gym ltd and had a yearend balance of ?145,000. The audit senior had discussions with the credit controller of Wentworth with regard to this account as part of the follow up proce ss. According to the credit controller, Multi-gym limited had disputes on a number of invoices worth ?95,000. The amount related to a model of rowing machines bought from Wentworth and Multi-gym disputed that the machines were inefficient as they kept on jamming every time. Upon the receipt of replies, the