Bp Ethical Culture to the Gulf Coast

Question 1) Introduction BP is one of world’s largest energy company, they must have enough capital, technical and experience a responsibility to keep theirrefinery safe and run smooth in their working area. But some problem appeared from BP inside to cause this crude oil spill disaster. Save cost for to overlooked safe for the system;Assigned Transocean to drill oil; and continue to drill oil when technician looked out rig’s blowout preventer was leaking are main reason in this disaster.Everyone totally not accept this overlooked in one history and technical energy company. Save Cost Nowadays save cost from an existing business is logic and comment. We understand and accept save cost to keep competition in the market but first concern is keep high quality production after save cost. If not it will cause many problems from this action. This is a simple logic for business beginner. So lots of people don’t know why a huge and history company forgot this main point. Oil drilling is one of dangerous and careful job in this world.Each step must need circumspect and 100% safe before action. So risk management most important for that, but BP cut corners like to save money. For example, no remote control to urgent shut-off switch install on the rig. This one is last insurance for the protection but they can miss it for save cost. Also, on simple procedures, they cut out some step and quality test for the pipe. Each industrialist must understand final quality check is one of main step in the production. This step if missed may cause the company loss a large amount and product confidence.Especially, public confidence is important for each product or service. They need spend too much capital and time to build up. Unfortunately, BP looks like forget this main point. They miss some step and quality test intentionally. The test is for the pipe mainly to detect the gas in the well. I know these actions can save some cost for their production. But they are loss a huge amount and crude oil, confident of public and 11 technical staff. Contractor investigation Based on there is no risk management and they contracting out oil drill to Transocean.In records that almost four incidents were owned by Transocean almost three years. They can make an investigation before contract if they have risk management. No Risk sense One technical staff whois worked on Deepwater Horizon oil rig and points out BP negligence. He report to BP that the rig’s blowout preventer leaked before explosion but BP still no action for stop production. BP’s management are not only no risk management for save cost, and then they only knowledge how to earn more money to negligence safety. Conclusion BP is a history and largest energy in the world.Money may cover their ethical knowledge. They destroyed a one heaven location for travel, fishing industry in Gulf Coast, tourism, 11 staff’s life, their thousands of gallons crude oil and main point is lost reputation and trust from public. Question 2) Introduction Lots of victims are in this unfortunate accident, environment of Gulf coast, tourism, fishing industry, 11 technical staff etc. But not included BP in this case. They are murderer totally in this oil spill disaster based on their company failed in the management of potential risk.Refer to question 1,their management should be stop production before explosion when their staff appear the rig’s blowout preventer leaked. If they can stop the production immediately, history should be no this disaster and BP continue to work smooth in the market. Management of potential risk is important for them, but they completely to ignore it. In this case, one of true victim is their staffs who are killed by this explosion. Before employ this job, all staff must understood how dangerous for their job. They put down their worry and accept this dangerous job ecause they believe a largest company had a completely system to protect their life and promise their parent safety back home every day. They are happy to get a stable meaningful job and they are working in one largest company. Also, lots of human can enjoy energy for their live, useful plastic accessories because they painstaking to delve crude oil. However their largest company betrays their truth and got their life base on oversight. Unfortunately, eleven employees can’t back home on time because they killed by this disaster. ConclusionGulf Coast oil spill disaster no more excuse to shirk responsibility from BP. If they can increase safety sense and risk management, they no need to pay 80% penalty money for Gulf Coast restoration. Based on save cost and earn more profit to miss safety and quality control system is impolitic absolutely. Finally, senators introduce legislation to dedicate at least 80% of BP penalty money for Gulf Coast restoration on 21 July 2011. (Source by http://landrieu. senate. gov/mediacenter/pressreleases/07-21-2011-1. cfm) Ques tion 3) IntroductionBP is one of world’s large energy companies even the disaster happened. A company can ups and downs over hundred years, it must go through lots of incident. Mr. William D’Arcy (a British Petroleum and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company founder) used over six years of drilling in Middle East with his experts and scientists against his finances and patience were coming down. Finally, they had approached around 1200 feet when the source of oil shot out. Go through a few years to drill oil with painful, dissatisfy and nearly give up, a BP was born against these unfavorable factors.Mr. D’Arcy became rich because his company opened a trade on the stock market and their first location to set up a refinery is in Iran. Everything look like smooth going, however BP was go bankrupt nearly on 1914. In 1914, they loss a heating and kerosene lamp markets base on their oil came from Persian was a strong smell. And Automobile was not a primary market product. How ever, the company had a lot of stock in oil. But the market demand can’t fulfill. Since the first crisis passed, they met a second crisis during a coup in Libya and led by Muammar al-Gaddafi.He nationalized BP’s share of oil operation in Libya. And this action to make other oil rich countries in Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Iran etc.. tonationalize. They made BP drop down from 140 million to 500,000 barrels in oil production in Middle East between 1975 and 1983. Above two crisis are very seriously, they cause BP’s lost a huge amount in their business, capital and source. But they can’t compare the explosion in Gulf Coast region on April 2010. This unfortunate event is not only loss money, capital, source and technical staff. Their reputation destroyed in a short period.The whole process is like a nightmare for their public relation. Because rebuild a over hundred years history company is very difficult and need a long time and no any mistake appear again during this period. I understand their public relation is professional and technical. They must still hard to rebuild their reputation. But some idea suggests them to do in the future. 1) Fully support victim in fishing industry Before the explosion, one of main business in Gulf Coast is fishing industry. However, their marine products already got crude oil pollution.BP had a big representation to help all fishermen rebuild fishing industry and subsidies their cost of living. 2) Invite senators, experts, scientist to visit their refinery and Gulf Coast Base on their oversight to cause explosion and oil spill. They must always invite some good reputation experts, scientist, senators and media to visit their other refinery. Media can make more people understand BP how to drill the crude oil and each step is careful to handle and guarantee to public the disaster never happen again. Experts and scientist for double insurance to their machines and procedures is regular and correct.About some senators visit Gulf Coast, they must cause public to follow with interest. And they can show to public BP how to help Gulf Coast restoration. Like President Obama visited Gulf Coast after the disaster happened forth month. (Information source by http://obamafoodorama. blogspot. com/2010/08/as-gulf-coast-visit-ends-obamas-enjoy. html) They can help to Gulf Coast better to rebuild the tourism. 3) Solve Environment Effect After explosion rocked the rig and made them fire and sank. Thousands of gallons of crude oil were spilling to into the sea.The environment around Gulf of Mexico becomes environmental catastrophe. The spilled oil must make the sea on the sea. It hurts lots of marine life and fish. According patch up this disaster, BP and US government use lots of different method to control and clean up the spilled oil. However, they also used chemistry materials to control them. Some expert points out thatthetechnical limitationsand historical experienceshow that t heclean-upworkmay not be abletorestoretheoriginal environmentofthe Gulf of Mexico, butthiseventisto provideatesting groundfor exploringthefutureof oilpurificationmethod. Information source by http://www. futenworld. com/_d270860491. htm) Base on no one want to meet again offshore oil disaster, their risks associated with offshore drilling activities must handle better than before. They must set a rule and guideline to each class of management how to handle if meets the rig in something wrong. And monthly report to local government to report each step is follow the guideline and 100% safe for oil drilling.

Federal Trade Comission

In the given case, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that Texas Surgeons Independent Practice Association(IPA) of 26 general surgeons in the Austin, Texas and six competing medical practice groups who are the members of this association (the respondents), Texas Surgeons P. A. (â€Å"Texas Surgeons†), Austin Surgeons, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"AS†), Austin Surgical Clinic Association, P. A. (â€Å"ASCA†), Bruce McDonald & Associates, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"BM&A†), Capital Surgeons Group, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"CSG†), Central Texas Surgical Associates, P. A. (â€Å"CTSA†), and Surgical Associates of Austin, P.A. (â€Å"SAA†), violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. S. C.  § 45 by engaging in unlawful act of price fixing. FTC alleged complaint that the IPA organized collective refused to deal with two health plans, Blue cross Blue Shield and United Health Care of Texas, terminated the contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield and t hreatened to terminate contracts with the United Health Care of Texas if the payer refuse to agree with their demand of raising reimbursement rate. As per demand, both plans increased their rates.Blue Cross accepted a rate agreement with the respondents in early 1998 after facing problems getting an emergency room patient treated by a general surgeon. The respondents collectively secured rate agreement resulted nearly 30% above the April 1997 level. In this case, the practices of the respondents went against the welfare of the public, constitute unfair methods of competition and antitrust actions. This anti competitive action cost health plan, employers and patients, more than $1,000,000 for surgical services in 1998 and 1999 in the Austin, Texas area.In the mid-1970, the FTC formed a section within the Bureau of Competition to investigate potential anti trust violations involving healthcare. In the health care area, as in the case of any other field, the antitrust laws are enforced so check not only possible competitive harm but also the potential for pro competitive increase in efficiency, lower health care cost, provide better quality care to the consumers, enhance innovative strategy to provide improved quality care at low cost. Federal antitrust guidelines allow independent physicians to appoint a representative messenger to communicate with payers about fees and contract terms, but annot represent the competing physicians collectively. However, in this case, the Texas Surgeons IPA served as a vehicle for the six respondent medical practice groups to engage in actual refusals to deal, and to negotiate collectively, in order to receive higher prices from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and United Healthcare of Texas. The six respondent medical practice groups furthered the unlawful act through their collective control of the Texas Surgeons IPA board of directors, and through their direct participation in collective fee negotiations between United and the T exas Surgeons IPA.The commission proposed a consent order as a remedy to prevent the respondent from getting indulge in future unlawful act that is alleged in the complaint while allowing respondents to engage in legitimate joint conduct. The proposed order prohibits the IPA from a) negotiating on behalf of any physician with health plans b) refusing to deal with health plan or threatening health plans to agree on their demand c) exchanging information among Austin area physicians regarding negotiations with any health plan regarding reimbursement terms d) determining the terms on which its members deal with health plans.The order contains three provisos that permit the respondents to 1. Negotiate for physicians limited to the same medical practice group; 2. Engage in conduct approved and supervised by the state of Texas; and 3. Engage in conduct that is reasonably necessary to operate ‘qualified risk- sharing joint arrangements- so long as they give adequate pre- notification . The commission’s proposal allows the IPA to avoid such claims of price- fixing and antitrust if it acts in one of two ways: ) Financial Risk Sharing: As a qualified managed care plan which allows competing providers to negotiate prices jointly without being charged with price fixing act by the Federal antitrust agencies if they share substantial financial risk on contracts . It means that participating providers share responsibility for staying within a defined budget. The antitrust agencies believe that the competing providers should work together to achieve common, procompetitive goals of reducing cost and improving quality. Share incentives could also focus on â€Å"quality† or Health outcome† factors.Both the way of risk sharing has potential of providing high quality care to the patient at low cost. 2) Messenger Model: The fifth provision (Section II. A. 5 of the proposed order) ensures that a neutral third party who is not a physician with an active pract ice in the Austin area, be the communicator between any respondent and any payer to deal with any terms. Under this arrangement, the network organization does not negotiate agreement with the payer about any term or price; it allows the individual providers to make an individual decision, based on proposal from payer.Physician individually, through third party, conveys and receives information, offers, and responses from the payers or providers. However, the individual providers can give â€Å"sign off† authority to network organization within specified range. In addition, the commission order ensures that any respondent who are intending to use messenger model arrangement should provide prior notification to the commission. Price- fixing agreements among the competitors are not accepted by law. It is considered serious act because the consumers, plans and employers pay heavy price for it such as, †¢ Consumers loss the benefits of competition Increases the health care co st; Blue Cross, United, their individual subscribers, and employers paid more than one million dollars were paid for the services of surgeons. Therefore, review of such cases is crucial to encourage the competitor to work together as a team to improve quality of services, while reducing cost. References http://www. crowell. com/documents/DOCASSOCFKTYPE_PRESENTATIONS_705. pdf http://www. accessmylibrary. com/article-1G1-77013366/texas-surgeons-settle-price. html http://www. ftc. gov/os/2000/05/texascmp. htm Federal Trade Comission In the given case, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that Texas Surgeons Independent Practice Association(IPA) of 26 general surgeons in the Austin, Texas and six competing medical practice groups who are the members of this association (the respondents), Texas Surgeons P. A. (â€Å"Texas Surgeons†), Austin Surgeons, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"AS†), Austin Surgical Clinic Association, P. A. (â€Å"ASCA†), Bruce McDonald & Associates, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"BM&A†), Capital Surgeons Group, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"CSG†), Central Texas Surgical Associates, P. A. (â€Å"CTSA†), and Surgical Associates of Austin, P.A. (â€Å"SAA†), violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. S. C.  § 45 by engaging in unlawful act of price fixing. FTC alleged complaint that the IPA organized collective refused to deal with two health plans, Blue cross Blue Shield and United Health Care of Texas, terminated the contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield and t hreatened to terminate contracts with the United Health Care of Texas if the payer refuse to agree with their demand of raising reimbursement rate. As per demand, both plans increased their rates.Blue Cross accepted a rate agreement with the respondents in early 1998 after facing problems getting an emergency room patient treated by a general surgeon. The respondents collectively secured rate agreement resulted nearly 30% above the April 1997 level. In this case, the practices of the respondents went against the welfare of the public, constitute unfair methods of competition and antitrust actions. This anti competitive action cost health plan, employers and patients, more than $1,000,000 for surgical services in 1998 and 1999 in the Austin, Texas area.In the mid-1970, the FTC formed a section within the Bureau of Competition to investigate potential anti trust violations involving healthcare. In the health care area, as in the case of any other field, the antitrust laws are enforced so check not only possible competitive harm but also the potential for pro competitive increase in efficiency, lower health care cost, provide better quality care to the consumers, enhance innovative strategy to provide improved quality care at low cost. Federal antitrust guidelines allow independent physicians to appoint a representative messenger to communicate with payers about fees and contract terms, but annot represent the competing physicians collectively. However, in this case, the Texas Surgeons IPA served as a vehicle for the six respondent medical practice groups to engage in actual refusals to deal, and to negotiate collectively, in order to receive higher prices from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and United Healthcare of Texas. The six respondent medical practice groups furthered the unlawful act through their collective control of the Texas Surgeons IPA board of directors, and through their direct participation in collective fee negotiations between United and the T exas Surgeons IPA.The commission proposed a consent order as a remedy to prevent the respondent from getting indulge in future unlawful act that is alleged in the complaint while allowing respondents to engage in legitimate joint conduct. The proposed order prohibits the IPA from a) negotiating on behalf of any physician with health plans b) refusing to deal with health plan or threatening health plans to agree on their demand c) exchanging information among Austin area physicians regarding negotiations with any health plan regarding reimbursement terms d) determining the terms on which its members deal with health plans.The order contains three provisos that permit the respondents to 1. Negotiate for physicians limited to the same medical practice group; 2. Engage in conduct approved and supervised by the state of Texas; and 3. Engage in conduct that is reasonably necessary to operate ‘qualified risk- sharing joint arrangements- so long as they give adequate pre- notification . The commission’s proposal allows the IPA to avoid such claims of price- fixing and antitrust if it acts in one of two ways: ) Financial Risk Sharing: As a qualified managed care plan which allows competing providers to negotiate prices jointly without being charged with price fixing act by the Federal antitrust agencies if they share substantial financial risk on contracts . It means that participating providers share responsibility for staying within a defined budget. The antitrust agencies believe that the competing providers should work together to achieve common, procompetitive goals of reducing cost and improving quality. Share incentives could also focus on â€Å"quality† or Health outcome† factors.Both the way of risk sharing has potential of providing high quality care to the patient at low cost. 2) Messenger Model: The fifth provision (Section II. A. 5 of the proposed order) ensures that a neutral third party who is not a physician with an active pract ice in the Austin area, be the communicator between any respondent and any payer to deal with any terms. Under this arrangement, the network organization does not negotiate agreement with the payer about any term or price; it allows the individual providers to make an individual decision, based on proposal from payer.Physician individually, through third party, conveys and receives information, offers, and responses from the payers or providers. However, the individual providers can give â€Å"sign off† authority to network organization within specified range. In addition, the commission order ensures that any respondent who are intending to use messenger model arrangement should provide prior notification to the commission. Price- fixing agreements among the competitors are not accepted by law. It is considered serious act because the consumers, plans and employers pay heavy price for it such as, †¢ Consumers loss the benefits of competition Increases the health care co st; Blue Cross, United, their individual subscribers, and employers paid more than one million dollars were paid for the services of surgeons. Therefore, review of such cases is crucial to encourage the competitor to work together as a team to improve quality of services, while reducing cost. References http://www. crowell. com/documents/DOCASSOCFKTYPE_PRESENTATIONS_705. pdf http://www. accessmylibrary. com/article-1G1-77013366/texas-surgeons-settle-price. html http://www. ftc. gov/os/2000/05/texascmp. htm

Procter and Gamble Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Procter and Gamble - Case Study Example Jaeger also let the existing brands sideslip while introducing expensive new brands that never caught on. One of the Jaeger's shortcomings was lack of understanding of P&G's culture, having come from abroad and having worked his way up he failed to imbibe the true spirit that P&G was built upon and tried to do away with the very identity and brand imaging P&G worked on. It was under Jaeger's leadership strategic focus and direction became fuzzy and not only did the company's profits decreased P&G became saddled with excess baggage that threatened to squeeze P&G's life blood. (Jamal Shamsie 2005) Jamal (2005) mentions that Lafley is focusing on existing strengths in brands that have strong following and following these brands to make them into super brands - empowering his work force, delegating responsibility and ownership into employees, and recognition of the efforts. He also focused on opening channels and reducing hierarchical layers so that ideas and suggestions are heard quickly and acted upon quickly. He believed in the motto that key assets of P&G are its employees and brands. Lafley is also focusing on focusing on P&G's strong cultural values and on reclaiming the heritage through aggressive measures whilst taking employees into complete confidence. He has focused on building goodwill, strengthening of key areas and opening of communication channels. (Jamal Shamsie 2005) Jamal ... Jamal (2005) believes that some of his major steps have been to trim down the work force, especially the leadership team, realigned responsibilities, reducing multiple layers, changing traditional hierarchy at P&G, making P&G customer focused rather than other way round. He has instituted regular meetings with all of his 12 top executives every start of week, sitting at a round table, letting them thrash out ideas while acting only as a moderator. He has focused more on women giving to them more key positions then before. He has recreated existing brands with new outlook to make product usage an experience that users would want to enjoy. He has complemented beauty line with acquisitions of Clairol and Wella. He has been of the opinion that P&G should build up on its strengths and should not be diversifying and loosing focus on areas which are not its key strengths. He has revamped its existing 200 brands adding extensions that complement on existing brands that add value to existing brands by providing additional features that would enhance the brands existing functions - Tide stain brush, a battery powered brush for removing stains, while washing with Tide! (Jamal Shamsie 2005) Some of the ethical issues he has had to face with is bringing people from outside where P&G earlier only promoted from within - giving multiple promotions to promising P&G 3 staff members, giving women higher responsibilities and more decision making roles. Another difficult decision had been to outsource any product or service that was not value adding inside the firm. He has to a large extent shifted the surplus workforce from his own premises to the outsourced company's premises. (Jamal Shamsie 2005) What is Lafley hoping to achieve with his

Ethics & International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics & International Relations - Essay Example 1These myths describe many things some may look reasonable and easy to understand whereas others may not look logical. But all these myths and narrative whether reasonable or not help us to understand the big games played between big powers. These myths also indicate that events taking place around the world are ethical and moral. These myths can also answer this important question: Can International Relations theory ever be truly ethical? Generally it is said that whatever rules of fair play are taught by religion and traditional values of society are called ethics. It is important to understand the comprehensive definition of ethics. A complete clarity about what ethics or morality is necessary since there are many confusing views presented by some philosophers. The modern views about ethics clarify much confusion. The modern views are: Although it is debatable that what exact range should ethics cover. But majority of scholars agrees that it should be related to the particular concepts like vice, benefit, disgrace, obligation, duty, virtue etc. Many people look for ethical teachings in religion and tradition. But in contemporary world, these sources may not provide adequate answers. If they provide answers then they become controversial because of different interpretations. Similarly, culture also can not provide complete ethical answers in various situations. If the culture of a nation gives one interpretation then it is quite possible that culture of other nation may contradict it. But it is also true that most of the cultures have many common points to be agreed on. Almost all cultures accept and preach the common virtues like truth, honesty, steadfastness etc. It is therefore necessary to evolve a universal ethical theory. 2The universal values can take varied cultural forms in various places. Other ethical concepts can prove to be universal in reach but

Sec in Southwestt Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sec in Southwestt Asia - Essay Example This requires an urgent ceasefire between the two countries to restore good relations. As earlier stated, the conflict between India and Pakistan has impacted on the entire South Asian region. The United States is one of the many countries that have been concerned with the war making it a priority agenda (Lamb 1966, p.12). For instance, during the handing over of the presidency from Clinton to George Walker Bush, the former advised Bush that the persistent antagonism between India and Pakistan needed to prioritized because of the dangers posed by the nuclear capabilities of the two countries (Misra 2010, p.32). The objective of this paper is to explore the reasons for the continued hostility between India and Pakistan relations. It will also discuss steps that can be taken to develop and sustain cordial relations between the two countries. Indo-Pak conflict has been a long-standing political conflict that began in 1947 immediately after independence (Brines 1968, p.35). The war has s ince persisted with the two countries being suspicious of each other. Report indicates that the two countries have fought three deadly wars since independent because of the continued friction between the two countries (Raja 2013). ... The war ended in 1949 following a ceasefire leaving the state of Kashmir split into two with India being handed two-thirds of the eastern side of Kashmir (Sareen 2012). Pakistan, on the other hand, gained control of the remaining third of the western Kashmir. However, due to continued hostility over Kashmir, the two countries again engaged each other in war in 1965, with the war ending in a military stalemate with the division of Kashmir remaining unchanged. Ever since, there has been a disagreement over which county owns Kashmir, with both countries claiming rightful ownership. According to Pakistan, Kashmir is the â€Å"K† in Pakistan- a Muslim dominated territory that according to the two-nation theory should rightfully belong to Islam (Sareen 2012). In this regard, Pakistan claims that, as a Muslim majority in Kashmir, the territory should have rightfully formed part of Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947. Therefore, merging Kashmir with Pakistan, according to Pakist anis is termed as â€Å"unfinished business of Partition,† which they intend to ensure, becomes fulfilled (Karim 1996, p.22). Indians, on the other hand, opposes this claim arguing that their possession of Kashmir province is a clear demonstration that Muslim dominated state can exist in India. This according to Indians is a good example of how India embraces people from different faiths. As a result, Indians believe that relinquishing Kashmir territory to Pakistan will threaten Indian unity. Some Indians also believe that additional partitioning of Kashmir according to religion would not do any good, but reopen the status of Muslim as Indian citizens and remind people of the wounds caused by the partition. This struggle has been persistent with both countries claiming

Risk Management (Firms and organisations within the healthcare sector) Essay

Risk Management (Firms and organisations within the healthcare sector) - Essay Example Upon questioning our Chief Information Officer regarding risk assessment and management in our organization, I was informed that we had a very well-developed system in place, one whose efficiency and effectiveness were an outcome of trial and error. At the end of the 20th century, we have witnessed the massive transition from isolated, disconnected computers to networked computer clusters all over the world. At present time, there are an estimated 250 million networked hosts world-wide (Telcordia, 2002). This global pervasive connectivity has been a boon for consumers, businesses and governments alike due to the ease, convenience and speed of electronic data exchange. However, the ease of use and relative anonymity that the Internet affords has been leveraged by criminal elements, as well. Indeed, no private, commercial or government agency is completely safe or has been unaffected by the proliferation of this kind of cyber-crime. E-Commerce Times reported that the ILOVEYOUvirus affected 45 million hosts and inflicted monetary damages to the tune of estimated $2.6 billion (Enos, 2000). The infamous Melissa macro virus caused an estimated $300 million in damage in 1999 and several prominent e-commerce sites were hit by Distribut ed Denial of Service attacks in the beginning of 2000 (Committee on Science, 2000). The estimated worldwide damage caused by automated digital attacks over $30 billion for 2002 (Economic Damage, 2002). These estimated damage figures have to be taken with a grain of salt, but the trend is clear. Moreover, in just a dozen years' time, the propagation speed, as well as the estimated damages has increased by five, and two orders of magnitude, respectively. The healthcare organization in question has been affected by both viruses and DoS attacks. As the Chief Information Officer noted, each virus or DoS incident proved extremely costly, whether calculated in terms of financial loss or the cost of resolving the problem. Therefore, to prevent, or limit, the possibility of future attacks, the organization has adopted a rather comprehensive information security framework. Key components of this framework, according to the CIO, are risk assessment and risk management. 3 Risk Assessment Risk is commonly defined as the product of probability and severity of adverse effects, and the most common approach to quantify risk is a single figure - its expected value [Hai98, p. 29]. Mathematically speaking, given a random variable with probability function and loss function , the expected risk value in the discrete case is equal to . It is apparent that these are generic probability weighed averaging formulas. As further explained by the CIO, its semantic specialization into an expected value of risk occurs through the loss function. The unit of the expected risk value is the unit used by the loss function and could be downtime, cost, credibility, etc. As a preliminary example, the simplified risk of attack consequences on a host that is running one application is shown in the table below: Hypothetical Risk Confronted by the Healthcare

The Second World War and the United States Involvement Article

The Second World War and the United States Involvement - Article Example However, the events that followed put the country's interests at stake on several quarters. In Europe, Germany's expansion plan threatened the power balance in the region. Japan was on a similar track in Asia and this directly affected the United States' interests. When Great Britain and France declared war against Germany in 1939, the United States felt compelled to supply arms to these allies as a step to contain Germany's advancement in the western hemisphere: Hitler's empire was now larger than Napoleon's, and his power was absolute. On land he was strong enough to launch offensives in four directions simultaneously; at sea, his three hundred U-boats were strangling Britain's lifelines. Only the consecration of embattled Britain stood between him and absolute mastery of Europe- unless the United States intervened. (Manchester, 219.) The turning point that brought about the active involvement of the United States in the War was the attack of Pearl Harbor by Japan. For several years, the United States and Japan had been on a collision course over issues related to Asia. On 7 December 1941, Japanese forces struck at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The unexpected strike caused the loss of many lives and severe damage to the air force and naval systems based there. The attack brought about a decisive turn in the mindset of Americans about the role of the US in the war. "Now the country was united as it had never been. The sneak attack, the presence of two Japanese ambassadors in Washington pretending to negotiate peace, and an old distrust of what some still called the Yellow Peril combined to transform the war into a crusade against treacherous Orientals."(Manchester, 257) Soon after the United States launched an offensive against Japan, Germany and Italy joined on the side of Japan and declared war against the United States. The war in Europe was over on 7 May 1945 when Germany surrendered. Japan was crushed stage by stage under the leadership of General MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz. The final blow came with the dropping of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 8 August 1945 respectively. The war prompted the country to consider forming a body of nations to protect the peace of the world. The United Nations was formed in 1945, with the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, China, and France as the permanent members of the Security Council.

Nursing Informatics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Nursing Informatics - Assignment Example advocates for healthcare reform by adopting meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHRs) Tenet Healthcare across the nation (National Quality Forum, 2015). Through the implementation of electronic health records, Elizabeth Johnson enables nurses to analyze health data and improve the provision of quality healthcare in America at reduced costs. Elizabeth Johnson plays a major role in The TIGER initiative where she is a committee member in the powerful HIT Standards Committee (The TIGER Initiative, 2014). The committee ensured the implementation of EHRs in America by the end of last year (The TIGER Initiative, 2014). Elizabeth Johnson has immense experience in executive and professional nursing (National Quality Forum, 2015). She uses this experience in health organizations that seek to reform the U.S. healthcare. Through her contribution, healthcare organizations establish the most effective way of enacting ARRA’s HITECH legislation (National Quality Forum, 2015). Subject to her immense contributions, Elizabeth Johnson has won numerous awards and recognitions where she is one of America’s top 25 clinical informaticists and 2010 HIMSS 2010 Nursing Informatics Leadership Award winner (National Quality Forum, 2015). The TIGER Initiative. (2014). Revolutionary Leadership Driving Healthcare Innovation: The TIGER Leadership Development Collaborative Report. Retrieved from

There Is No Truth in Advertising Essay Example for Free

There Is No Truth in Advertising Essay Advertising is omnipresent and inescapable in today’s world. It is claimed that an average person is exposed to 2000 advertisements every day. Due to its all-pervasive nature, advertising has a huge impact on our minds, both consciously and unconsciously. However, the credibility of today’s advertisements should be questioned. As media companies and advertising agents become increasingly profit-driven, advertisements now contain false information, promote biased ideas and sometimes even deveice consumers, in order to sell products. Even some non-commercial advertisements are not telling the complete truth, in order to grab people’s attentions. Many advertisements tend to tell â€Å"partial truth† about their products, which equates to false information that would mislead viewers. To increase revenue and maximise profits, advertising agents use the tactic of â€Å"partial truths† that make use of viewers’ assumptions. Advertising agents skillfully design the advertisements that will only reveal the seemingly appealing characteristics of the product, and deliberately leave the necessary elaboration and explanation, which is the other half of the truth, unmentioned. An advertisement for some cat food purported that it contains a substaintial level of phosphorus, which would lead the viewers to think that more phosphorus is good for cats. But what the advertisements did not mention was that cats actually do not need phosphorous in their diet. Another cigarette advertisement in Bangladesh said that smoking helped to relieve the pain of giving birth, which is true because somking decreases the size of babies. Its detrimental effect on babies was deliberately ignored by the advertising agent. These â€Å"partial truth† are not truths at all. They are misleading lies which, if the consumers believe blindly, may even harm their health. Also, advertisements always ignore the moral truth of gender equality. They contain some stereotypes about gender roles most of the time. While men are usually portrayed as strong and masculine, women are almost always depicted as fragile, weak and feminine. Some advertisements convey the idea that women should devote a lot of money, time and effort into the pursuit of ideal beauty, to please men. There is even objectification of women that turns women into things and objects, which is dehumanising and unrespectful. One advertisement writes â€Å"If I did not lose 49 pounds, I could never be married by now†, which is saying that women should focus on their figure in order to find a husband. Another beer advertisement turns a lady into a robot that contains beer in its belly. While these â€Å"innovate† advertisements may be effective in promoting the products, they are without doubt instilling people with the wrong idea that women and men are not equal in this society, that women is somewhat inferior, which are not the truth. [However, they do reflect and reinforce existing ideas of gender roles and inequality, which is the sad reality.] Furthermore, advertisements deceive us into believing that by buying certain products, we are able to obtain a desirable lifestyle, gain social status or get into certain social community. Advertisements are not selling merely products, but also the lifestyles, ideas, calues and status that the company want to associate the product with. By constantly linking the products with a certain lifestyle, the advertisements make the consumers believe that buying the product is one easy way to get that desired lifestyle. For instance, Louis Vuitton’s advertisements always show celebrities holding their handbags, enjoying themselves on holiday. This makes many nouveau riche think that having one of such bags would get themselves into the moneyed class and the lifestyle of the rich. However, it is without doubt that buying certain products does not change who you are or where you belong to. It is just a deception created by the advertisements. Some people may argue that advertisements for some cutting-edge technical products that truly benefit people, such as tablets and smartphones, do contain truths. I do not deny that these advertisements do contain some facts, such as the new features of the products, the improved functions and so forth. However, being advertisements, they are more or less exaggerated in order to achieve the ultimate goal of selling. Advertisements of this kind, such as the advertisement for the new iPad, always contain the key words like â€Å"all new†, â€Å"revoluntionary† or â€Å"unprecedented†, but never mention the limitations and the flaws [built-in obsolescence]. Only after a few months when the company launches a newer model would it start to point out what flaws the previous model has. This is the nature of advertising. There is no complete truth. Non-commercial advertisements are believed by many to be absolute true. They argue that these advertisements campaigning for good causes have no motive to lie. However, in order to create greater influence and to raise people’s awareness, non-commercial advertisements also tend to exaggerate and oversimplify the situation. For instane, the advertisements that help Project Hope in China to raise fund often show children who are eager to learn sitting in shabby wooden classrooms, dressed poorly. Though there are many children like this in the rural area, not all of them are passionate about learning, and not all classrooms are in such poor condition. In order to grab public attention, these advertisements are wise to show the pooresr scene to the public. But this kind of oversimplified version is definitely not the complete truth. [emotional manipulation] In all, advertising by nature aims to grab public attention. In oder to do this, there is always some extent of exaggeration. This is how advertisements work. As long as there are no false information or deceptions that mislead people, advertising with some extent of exaggeration is acceptable. People should learn to be discriminating views ant not just believe advertisements blindly.

Commanding heights episode Essay Example for Free

Commanding heights episode Essay Commanding heights: The New Rules is the third film in the series and is about the 21st century economy. PBS sponsored the film under the direction of Michael Sullivan to inform the public about the economic situation. They speak about how the economy adapted to what is today. How the world nationalized third world countries allowing exchange and investment. Episode 3 addresses the current and future problems of a globalized world. Thats the structure of the film. The film clearly, thoroughly, and excitingly explains this through historic facts and stories told by citizens who lived during the changes. This is not an economics lesson but rather a high dramatic event that impacts peoples lives. Commanding Heights shows that it is people who create the ideas, it is people who accept or reject them, it is people who profit or suffer by them. The series travels to the locations where events happened, and in many cases, interviews the people who made them happen, from Bill Clinton to Milton Friedman to workers in various countries. Episode three encompasses that along with globalization and an open free market and period of peace and advancement of technologies and ideological views will happen. A global economy ill introduce a path to peace and prosperity for rich and poor nation alike. The New Rules of the Gamin 1992, things looked bad for the U. S. economy: Western Europe was assembling into a powerful economic alliance (the European Union) to compete with America, Japans economy was unstoppable, and the U. S. was in the worst recession in decades. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a trade agreement between the U. S. , Canada and Mexico that lowered, but did not eliminate, many trade barriers between the three countries. In large part, Bush wanted to get NAFTA approved to strengthen the U. S. economy against Japan and Europe. The negotiations for NAFTA began under his term. NAFTA became an issue during the 1992 elections. Bush wanted NAFTA 100%, Perot wanted it cancelled, and Clinton wanted NAFTA, but with important amendments added to force Mexico to raise labor and pollution standards so they would have to compete on more even footing with American workers. Clinton won, and his plan was put into action. The labor unions gave Bill Clinton the support he needed to win. NAFTA led to a huge increase in the amount of trade between the three countries. Likewise, each country ad significant GDP growth that was directly attributable to the freer trade. The biggest growth was in Mexico, in wealth and employment. The impact on the U. S. was that 400,000 American Jobs were lost to more competitive workers and factories south of the border, American unions sustained major and lasting damage to their political influence and membership, and the gap between rich and poor Americans grew wider. As in previous cases, deregulation and freer trade benefitted a whole economy in aggregate while severely hurting a small percentage of people and massively benefitting some companies that are able to take advantage of the new rade policies. In the global economy, annual trade in tangible goods and services is worth $8 trillion while trade in currencies is worth $288 trillion. U. S. workers in both public and private sectors have trillions of dollars invested in work-related retirement portion of American workers pensions is invested overseas. Thus, most American workers are significantly invested in the global economy. After NAFTA, Clinton pursued other important trade liberalization policies across the world. One of his major accomplishments was strengthening the global free market in the aftermath of Communisms collapse. In 1994, Mexico faced political and economic crisis, and the country came to the brink of defaulting omits foreign debt. There was real fear that the country, left to its own devices, could fall into chaos, and millions of refugees would head north into the U. S. Clinton had crisis meetings with his advisors over the issue and decided to give Mexico a $50 billion loan. It worked to stabilize the country, Mexico repaid the money ahead of schedule, and the U. S. looked like a benevolent actor to the world. However, many critics considered Clintons actions to be a prime example of moral hazard: By bailing out the Mexican government, the U. S. was in essence bailing out thousands of private investors who had put money into the country without properly weighing the risks. The bailout signaled the private sector that it could make similarly bad future investment choices without fear since the U. S. would again rescue them. Critics feared this would make sovereign debt crises more likely. Globalization is defined as the free flow of goods, services, capital, and labor across national borders. China has a number of Free Trade Zones, which are small geographic areas in which companies can build factories to build and export nything with very few restrictions. The Zones are exempt from Chinas otherwise strict business and export laws. Seaports and airports are usually located very close tour within Free Trade Zones. At long last, Japans economic bubble burst in the 1990s and the country slid into a major recession that it never really recovered from. American fears of Japan someday taking over the world economically were quickly and permanently dispelled. In the beginning America was behind Japan and Europe in trading and economic growth, thus NAFTA was created to allow trading between North America. The United States were now able to trade freely with Canada and Mexico, providing great economic growth for all three countries in North America. When trading borders opened up Tijuana became a massive manufacturer of televisions for the United States, Northern Mexico was able to open up many Jobs giving opportunities to Southern Mexicans. This created an economic boom in North America leading to a surge that would be able to compete with other Countries, because this would allow us to buy cheaper goods. In the end although it hurt American Jobs because Mexicos goods were cheaper, Both Bush and Clinton wanted NAFTA to succeed in order to put labor and pollution laws into effect in all the countries involved.

Environmental Impacts of Food Production, Strawberries

Environmental Impacts of Food Production, Strawberries Introduction The high rate of environmental degradation and the depletion of our ozone layer are some of the reasons supporters of Green Revolution are demanding that food production processes should be energy efficient (Gardner et al., 2008; Perman et al., 2003). This report investigates and compares the possible environmental impacts of strawberry production in these two countries: Spain and UK. The approaches used in this study centre on goal definition and scoping and inventory analysis, which are important components of full life cycle assessments (LCAs) that is significant in analysing the production impacts on the environment. This investigation takes place during the U.Ks in-season production of strawberry: because out-of-season production would be time-consuming and is beyond the scope of this report. All the information presented below about the product system is strictly in accordance with the standardization ISO 14041, which states that: The systems should be adequately described in detail and clarity to allow another (LCA) practitioner to duplicate the inventory analysis, (Marinova et al., 2006). Strawberry Production in the UK Considering the goal and scope of growing strawberries in the UK, the following facts emerge in the course of this process: Goal and Scope: The goal of undertaking life cycle assessment on strawberry production in UK to ascertain the level of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, the possibility of understanding the benefits of the process and investigating if it is doable to engage in green marketing, eco-labeling and energy conservation. The scope is to define strawberry (product), its functional unit, product system and system boundaries. Product definition: Strawberries are traditionally grown in the UK to supply for local consumption. This is because they are mostly grown on small-scale fruit farming, producing only a small proportion of the entire quantity of strawberries consumed in the UK (Janick Paull, 2008). It is helpful to define the kinds of processes required in producing strawberries in the UK. Product function: The main function of strawberry in the UK is to be used as fruit and food supplement that provide the needed nutrients for the body. Some of the nutrients that strawberry produces include but not limited to water, energy (30,000kcal), protein (0.610g), total fat (0.370), Calcium (14,000mg), Potassium (166,000mg), vitamin C (ascorbic) (56,700mg), Cholesterol (0000 mg) and so on. These nutrients are required by human bodies to function properly. And for the fact that strawberries have zero calorie and little fatty contents, they are helpful to maintain ones weight, no matter the quantity of the fruit that was consumed (Berdanier, 2002). Product functional unit: The product functional unit is 100g of UK strawberries, which approximately provide the needed nutrients and supplements outlined above. Product system: the product system for the growing of strawberries in the UK including the following processes: and they are expected to be in conformity with ISO 14041. Growth: Preparation of the soil: choosing higher, frost-free soil which has the temperature above -2oC, and preparation of planting beds for optimum growth. Setting up Cloche or tunnel-protection to protect the strawberries from being damaged by frost during winter; and choosing sunny but least-winded areas for the planting of the strawberries. Final soil preparation is done a month before planting by mixing organic matter and some bonemeal with the soil. And a fertilizer like Growmore is applied to the soil a week before planting of the strawberry. The strawberries are planted in early September or April. The strawberries are protected from pests and diseases by using pesticides against aphids, red spider mite, slugs and powdery mildew. The strawberries are harvested in mid-April. Processing: The harvested raw strawberries are processed using simple methods: They are cleaned, graded and stored in a safer situation so as to prevent them from drying up. Packaging: The strawberries are packaged inside containers of different sizes and kinds. Though, the packaging materials are not expensive ones: they are those that would not make the strawberries price shoot. Quite inexpensive packaging materials. Transportation: The finished strawberry products are transported from the packaging unit to shops and stores where they would be delivered to the buyers. Also, transportation is needed to transport the waste materials back to the fruit farms. System boundaries: The system boundary for the growing of strawberries in UK consists of the following components: (1) Inputs composed of strawberry plantlets, fertilizer, organic matter, water, soil nutrients, pesticides, bonemeal etc; (2) output composed of strawberries, waste plant materials, and so on; (3) Sub-systems include the growth of the strawberries, its processing using some equipment, the packaging of the strawberries in different containers and the transportation of the finished products to the places of consumption. System Environment: The system environment is made up of those things outside the system boundary: in the case of growing strawberries in UK, they include the soil, the strawberry growers, the environmental conditions like weather and pests. Summary of Growing Strawberries in UK This approach above is chosen because it describes in detail the processes for growing strawberries in UK, taking into consideration all the inputs, subsystems, outputs and the environment. These procedures are graphical enough for any future LCA practitioners to digest and follow in repeating the same processes. Most importantly, the explanations of the processes are easily understandable and the materials used in the growing of UK strawberries are commonplace, not expensive and could be easily applied. There are no applications of very expensive technology that could discourage potential LCA practitioners from trying out these processes. Strawberry Production in Spain Looking at the goal and scope of growing strawberries in the Spain, the following facts are important to be considered: Goal and Scope: The goal of carrying out life cycle assessment on strawberry production in Spain is to discover the level of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, the possibility of understanding the benefits of the process and investigating if it is doable to engage in green marketing, eco-labeling and energy conservation. The scope is to define strawberry (product), its functional unit, product system and system boundaries (Handscombe Handscombe, 2007). Product definition: Strawberries are locally produced in the Spain to supply for local consumers and for the export markets. This is because they are mostly grown on both large- and small-scale fruit farming, producing a large proportion of the quantity of strawberries consumed in Spain and many other countries in the world, including USA and UK. (Janick Paull, 2008). It is helpful to define the kinds of processes required in producing strawberries in Spain. Product function: The main function of strawberry in Spain is to be consumed as fruit and food supplement that will provide the required nutrients for the body. Some of the nutrients that strawberry offers include but not limited to water, energy (30,000kcal), protein (0.610g), total fat (0.370), Calcium (14,000mg), Potassium (166,000mg), vitamin C (ascorbic) (56,700mg), Cholesterol (0000 mg) and so on. These nutrients are required by human bodies to function properly. And for the fact that strawberries have zero calorie and low fatty contents, they are helpful to maintain ones weight, no matter the quantity of the fruit consumed (Berdanier, 2002). They are also used as jams and preserves. Product functional unit: It requires about 150 g of Spanish strawberries to absorb the required quantity of nutrients and supplements that human bodies needed to function properly. Although this minimum quantity may change for different kinds of Spanish strawberries. But the commonly used average amount for Spanish strawberrys functional unit is 100g (Handscombe Handscombe, 2007). Product system: the product system for the growing of strawberries in Spain involves the following processes: and they are executed in accordance with ISO 14041. Growth: Majority of Spanish strawberries are grown in the South Western part of the country, in the Huelva Region. The fruit farms are made up of small-scale gardens owned by individual farmers, and a large-scale farms formed by consortium among many Spanish fruit growers (Medina, 2005). Spanish strawberries are of high grade, and they are planted with fertilizers, organic matter and other growth-enhancing substances. Because of their high quality, Spanish strawberries known as Aguedilla are always in high demand in Europe, including in the United Kingdom. The area where Spanish strawberries are grown has a hot summer and longer sunshine. These weather conditions help strawberries to be grown in large quantity. Processing: The raw Aguedilla are made to pass through the processes of cleaning, grading and storing. The Spanish strawberries are of high quality, and this is why it is marketable all the year round. Packaging: The next process in the production of Spanish strawberries is the packaging: the processed strawberries are packaged in different containers of different sizes. Transportation: since Spanish strawberries are consumed both locally and at overseas. This requires a great deal of transportation. Hence, much energy is used in delivering the finished products to the consumers and buyers. Spanish strawberries are not only marketable in Europe, but also in the United States (Baughen, 2007). This helped the strawberry business in Spain to expand, employing over 30,000 workers for a season (Handscombe Handscombe, 2007). System boundaries: The system boundary for the growing of strawberries in Spain consists of the following components: (1) Inputs composed of strawberry plantlets, fertilizer, organic matter, water, soil nutrients, pesticides, bonemeal etc; (2) output composed of strawberries, waste plant materials, and so on; (3) Sub-systems include the growth of the strawberries, its processing using some equipment, the packaging of the strawberries in different containers and the transportation of the finished products to the places of consumption. System Environment: The system environment is made up of those things outside the system boundary: in the case of growing strawberries in Spain, they include the soil, the strawberry growers, the environmental conditions like weather and pests, and the competitors. Fruit farming in Spain is competitive because many growers are involved in the process. The economy of the South West region of Spain totally depends on these farming activities (Medina, 2005). Summary of the Strawberry Production in Spain The processes of producing strawberry in Spain are similar to any other countries, but what is different is that the magnitude of production in Spain is bigger than any other countries. Hence, more energy is consumed and more wastes are disposed of. The culture of growing strawberries in Spain has become improved of recent, and there are more local growers competing for the markets: some are even forming alliances with one another to mass-produce strawberries. And for the fact that there are markets in Europe and the North America for Spanish strawberries, there is every possibility that the business would continue to grow in Spain, most importantly the area of the country that depends on it for economic miracle. Nowadays, Spanish growers experiment with using special equipment to improve their production activities. Differences between Strawberry Production in UK and Spain Though the methods of producing strawberries in both UK and Spain appear similar, but there are some great differences between them. Some of these differences are highlighted below: Strawberries in the UK are mostly grown under heated greenhouses or polytunnels; but they are only grown in polytunnels in Spain. Strawberries are available all-year round in Spain, while it is seasonal in the UK (summer only). The amount of labour used by strawberry growers in Spain in far greater than those used in the UK. Strawberry growing in Spain uses a lot of water and land (polytunnels), while in UK more heating energy is required to protect the strawberries. More energy is used in the transportation of strawberries in Spain than in the UK. Spain generates more wastes than the UK in the entire strawberry production processes. Growing strawberry in the UK is environmentally friendlier than doing the same in Spain. There is more competition in Spain than in the UK; hence, this could lead to adulteration of strawberries through sharp practices to reduce costs. References Baughen, S. (2007). International trade and the protection of the environment. London: Routledge-Cavendish. Berdanier, C.D. (2002). Handbook of nutrition and food. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. Gardner, G., Prugh, T., Starke, L. Worldwatch Institute (2008). State of the world 2008: innovation for a sustainable economy. London: Earthscan. Handscombe, C. Handscombe, D. (2007). Growing healthy fruit in Spain: From strawberries to oranges and watermelons. Malaga, Spain: Santana Books. Janick, J. Paull, R.E. (2008). The encyclopedia of fruit and nuts. Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: CABI. Marinova, D., Annandale, D. Phillimore, J. (2006). The international handbook on environmental technology. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. Medina, F.X. (2005). Food culture in Spain. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group. Perman, R., Ma, Y., Common, M. McGilvray, J. (2003). Natural resources and environmental economics. 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Juliusz Slowacki :: essays research papers

Juliusz Slowacki We all have our favorite writers. Many of them are using their own, original language that we like or don’t. Very often basing on the language they use we can imagine their character and what kind of people they are or were. Their style of writing makes us be more familiar with them and with their books. But sometimes, even writers that are using very unique style of writing make a huge impression on us and I would like to focus on a novelist that presents that kind of writing. His name is Juliusz Slowacki (1809-1849) and he is one of the most famous Polish poets in the history. As you can see he was writing his books very long time ago but they are still very popular in Poland, Europe and probably in other parts of the world. I can say that he is not my favorite writer because his style of writing is not easy to understand and you have to be very focus during the reading. In addition to that, every person that wants to read some of his books should be very familiar with Polish and European history. On the other hand this is advantage because reading a book you are also studying a little bit of history. But it does not mean that I don’t like Slowacki and his books. I chose to write about him because his style is very familiar to me, and his books made a huge impression on me. Some of his books captivate, fascinate, release my imagination, and are taking me to the lands that I always wanted to see and visit. The fight for independence became the main topic of Slowacki's works. In his books like â€Å"Kordian†, â€Å"Bogurodzica† he is calling the nation to fight because in his opinion that is the only way to the freedom. Slowacki was writing about moral and political problems of the generation, which had lost the resurrection. He was a great poet loving his country. He also was writing poems inspired by the nature like â€Å"Rozlaczenie†, about his childhood, literature, but his main subject was always reflections about his nation and the suffering of Poland and Polish people. In my opinion his lyrics reached the artistic perfection. In supreme way he could recreate and portray human feelings. Slowacki is using many elements of language. His style is speaking to our imagination beautifully describing his times and the events.

The Beneficial Head Start Program Essay -- essays papers

The Head Start program is a beneficial one that helps youth overcome educational setbacks. In order for one to understand the benefits of the program one must know what its goals are, how its goals continue to be accomplished, what specific setbacks are remedied from it and how others feel about it. Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that has an overall goal to prepare children from low-income families for school (The Administration For Children And Families, 2002). To prepare a child for school the program has the goal of meeting educational, health, social service, and parental needs. â€Å"Head Start also wants to help bring about a greater degree of social competence in these children (Mallory and Goldsmith, 2002).† The program has met a goal of impacting child development and day care services, and the increasing availability of services offered to low-income families and their children (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). There are many factors that play a part in the accomplishment of these goals. Head Start meets educational needs by ensuring that each child is exposed to different learning experiences that nurse intellectual, social, and emotional growth (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). The children are in an atmosphere for gaining knowledge but at the same time are placed with peers whom they can build social skills and form relationships with. Health needs are met due to the program’s emphasis on early detection of medical problems. Each child in Head Start becomes involved in a health program. The health program covers immunizations, medical, dental, and mental services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). Immunizations are ... ...t in any benefits offered by the Head Start program.† This is the time when that statement is proven wrong. â€Å"In 1968, Head Start began funding a program that eventually became called Sesame Street. It is a Carnegie Corporation Preschool Television Show that is still aired to this day (The Administration for Children and Families, 2002).† Granted some people have not viewed the show , however, their children may have. If that is not the case plenty of people are still familiar with the name and concepts of the show Sesame Street. The Head Start program is extremely beneficial to communities across the United States of America. The program set goals, continues to accomplish them, remedies educational setbacks for low-income families and children and raises debates about the success of such programs which only pushes them to strive harder to reach their goals.

Case Analysis of Sutton Health

CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 1 Case Analysis of Sutter Health CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 2 Sutter Health is a non-profit network that is made up by community-based health care providers based in Northern California. This network introduced an interface that was aimed at enhancing revenue collection of the facilities from the self-pay patient.This network identified that traditional payment processing system had limitations that hindered the effective collecting of revenue. What with the recession, healthcare organizations have seen an increase in the inability to collect debt from the self-pay, the uninsured and underinsured patients. This has caused a lot of struggle when it comes to the organizations to meet the operational margins and the profits.I find there are a number of reasons for the new increase in patient’s debts, the most common are, poor accounting practices, lack of patient information and correct demographics. There is new governance that is designed to p rovide more coordinated care to said patients (Gleeson,2010). There are five geographic regions that reflects the health care access to the customers of Northern California. Each of the five regions will have governance structure and it will oversee many of the Sutter affiliated medical facilities and also the hospitals. In its effort to increase point of service collections and improve the overall revenue cycle Sutter health took steps to measure performance using a handful of specific primary benchmarks, empowering PFS staff to assume responsibility for every individual account they handle, ensure each registration is analyzed using a rules engine to identify problems before patients leave the registration desk and ensure PFS staff receive appropriate comprehensive training to excel under the new system† (Souza, McCarty, 2007).Obtaining the correct patient information plays a large part on non-collectable debt because patients are not able to be reached. These limitations we re associated with limited access to accurate information by the account representatives, ineffective performance measures and fragmented centers of the service provision. The Sutter Health program developed a system that was comprised of solutions that were geared towards overcoming these limitations. I will be CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 3 discussing the new system that was created by Sutter Health.The key problems and issues, is that the United States healthcare system is characterized by huge upkeep from collecting revenue from patients. This situation is brought about by a health care insurance system which entails high deductible pay health plans and as well as higher co-payments plan. (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This situation has been made worse through the large proportion of the population not having healthcare coverage. The traditional health care system has had a hard time meeting their target revenue collection.This is due to several problems that attached along with the traditional payment system. Unlike when dealing with the payments through insurance claims but also dealing with the up-front payments that are required by the hospital for payment of services before the patient could even receive the service (Souza, Mccarty, 2007). So this means that the patient services staff (PFS) has to have complete and accurate information about above said client. This presented a problem for the traditional payment system where much of the customer payment system was processed in the back end.This system also required that the PFS staff ask for money from self-pay patients, but the PFS were not accustomed to this under the traditional system. The PFS staff found it hard to wait for the back end section to process customer information and to provide a breakdown of the patients payment details. So this became a tedious task for hospital accounting departments as well as for patients that had to wait a longer period before receiving services. The inefficiency o f the traditional system not only resulted in low quality services, but also in low revenue collections.The system provides such a broad range of health care services, which include acute, sub- acute, home health, long term, outpatient care as well as physician delivery systems. These services are provided through an integrated health care delivery approach that gives the system the ability to deliver a full range of healthcare products and services. CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 4 Sutter also identified that PFS staff could not get ahold of real time information in operational and financial indicators such as cash collections and A/R (Souza, McCarty, 2007).So in the long run this meant that the managers and staff had to wait until the end of the month in order to identify the benchmarks. Sutter also recognized that the traditional system did not provide a means for analyzing selected data nor did it generate required detailed report on demand. This led to more cost as the hospital had to rely on programmers to generate such reports. The front desk staff also lacked real time information which hindered their ability to serve the client without consulting the back end staff.It also meant that the front desk staff could not monitor the patients progress (Souza, McCarty, 2007). Another challenge was that the PFS members were not empowered enough to be held accountable for each patients accounts they dealt with and it reduced the amount of accountability among the staff. These are some of the key challenges that the Sutter system were meant to address. The solutions that were employed by Sutter Health was an attempt to overcome the challenges stated above. Sutter Health implemented certain changes in the fore mentioned system that would make their operation more efficient.The strategies identified by the Sutter program entailed transferring most of the back end tasking to the front desk; providing accurate and complete information to managers and upfront staff; p roviding more effective performance evaluation and integrating all data elements within the system (Souza, McCarty, 2007). Allowing front desk staff to handle much of the payment process was deemed to have an effect on the efficiency of the process. Various solutions were employed to ensure that this is achieved.One of these solutions entailed using benchmarks to measure performance by the Patient Service Staff (PFS). Sutter identified a handful of primary benchmarks which included; Unbilled A/R days, Gross A/R days, Major A/R days, Cash Collection, Billed A/R days, and CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 5 percentage of A/R over 90, 180, 360 days (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This benchmark introduced shorter periods with which staff performances could be evaluated. This move was timely especially when onsidering that the industry has changed and things happen in terms of hours and days but not months. Another solution involved empowering the PFS members to have full responsibility over the a ccounts they are dealing with. This move was meant to increase a sense of responsibility and accountability as each individual members will be responsible for his or her own account (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This also gave the PFS members more autonomy to act as they saw fit and this improved the speed and efficient of service delivery by these staff members.The program also provided the PFS members with tools, that enabled them to automate their accounts, sort out their accounting using various means and seen their performances based on the achievement of the target. PFS and other accountant representatives were presented with individual dashboards that helped in the tracking of their progress in meeting targets. This also helped in enforcing the benchmarks set by this program. Sutter’s health program also introduced a front end collecting system as means of overcoming the mentioned problems.The pint of access collecting system introduced an opportunity for the health care fac ilities to reduce claims and denials. Though this system the patient records are analyzed before the patient leaves the registration desk. This enables the front desk staff to identify problems such as bad debt, patient or invalid patient type early enough and take the necessary corrective action. The Sutter health program also embarked on a comprehensive training program that was designed to support the existing PFS members and the registration staff. This gave staff the necessary competence to deal with the tools provided by this system.The training program also eliminated the need to hire formally educated staff to operate the system that would CASE ANALSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 6 demand more than the $10-$20 an hour paid to current registration and PFS staff. For example, registration staff who were not used to asking patients for money were trained in effective communication skills. The training was also designed to introduce autonomy and effectiveness which acted as a motivator to the employee.The Sutter system allows staff to act with more independence which has made them active in owning the system. Autonomy is a critical element that enables workers to work effectively and deliver the best when it comes to their ability. The efficiency of the system has also made the work of the staff easier, acting as a further motivating factor for the staff. Another solution involved getting patients on board with this program. The POS collection system is not only beneficial to hospitals but also to the health care customers as well. (Souza, McCarty, 2007).This system provides a patient friendly billings which ensures transparency in the way customers are asked to pay for health care services. The payment system that is in force in other parts, bills the patient after he or she has already received the services and has already left the hospital. However, the Sutter program introduced transparency as the patient then gets to know what the services will cost him or her b efore they receive the services. It has become evident that patients would love to know how much the care they receive will cost them and this is what the Sutter program has provided.This system also offers a simplified system of settling hospital bills thereby making things easier for customers using said hospital system, customers are usually compelled to produce a lot of records and documentations in order to have their payment processed which introduces a lot of inconveniences. There is more accounting practices that are used by Sutter in identifying and solving problems, such as Sutter was discontented with the amount of revenue being collected from the self-pay patients (Souza, McCarty, 2007).The management team understood that the self-pay CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 7 patients were capable of meeting their medical expenses and therefore the problem was in their system. Sutter then resorted to evaluate the accountability and transparency in the process involved in the coll ection of revenue. It is through this evaluation that most of the traditional system did encourage responsibility and accountability to the people handling the revenue collection. Another accounting practice that was adopted was cost reduction.Accounting principles dictate that there are two major ways for increasing the margin; increasing profits or reducing costs. After exhausting all the avenues they could use in increasing revenue, Sutter embarked on a campaign that would reduce the cost of operation. This saw the collection process being integrated into a unified system. The methods used were also cost conscious, is why they opted for comprehensive training of their existing PFS and registration staff rather than hiring specially trained professionals, who would have demanded higher pay.Another alternative would be that Sutter’s strategies focused on improving accountability and autonomy of the staff in order to enhance revenue collection. Sutter health relied on solutio ns such as setting benchmarks and the empowering of staff. What they found to work was a full cycle of the amount payable. Amount payable refers to money owed to the institution by other parties while the full cycle refers to the amount of time it takes for the patients to settle their debt. (Rauscher, Wheeler, 2008).Reducing the full cycle may help to reduce the number of bad debts that a health institution suffers from. Traditionally a patient cycle followed procedures such as organizing schedule, registration, treatment, billing and collection (Solomon, 2011). The collection part is why the health institution is able to recover the debt owed to it by the patients. This section comes along after the treatment process is concluded and therefore increases the chances for bad debt. This paper proposes a system where bills are settled on a pre-service basis.The pre-service CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 8 system will be enabled by developing a system that standardized serves to make b illing before the client receives services easier (Trans Union, 2007). A per item standardized billing is advised. This is why a standard is set for each and every hospital procedure and the patient is billed by summing up the cost of all service items he or she has utilized. In my informed opinion the approach used by Sutter Health was effective. This is because their approach was able to address the concerns raised by the network.Sutter health was concerned with the growing number of self-pay payments and the diminishing of the amount of revenue. The need to increase the amount of collecting from this section of market was the primary objective of developing this strategy. The success of every strategy is able to deliver the set goals. When it comes to Sutter Health it is estimated that revenue collection from the self-pay patients increased by an additional $78 million after the implementation of the strategy (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This is a clear indicator of the programâ€℠¢s success. One of the benefits is improved quality of care for the patient.One of the solutions identified by Sutter was bringing the health customer onboard. This system did this by factoring the customer’s needs into the system, making it customer friendly. The customer’s now spend less time processing payment while at the same time, the patient’s get to know of the cost they will incur before receiving the services. The system has also reduced the number of patients being denied treatment as a result of a streamlined inventory system. In conclusion Sutter Health is a non-profit network based in California and is made up of community based health care providers.This case discussed how Sutter developed a system that was able to improve revenue collection from the self-pay patients. Sutter recognized that the number of bad debts was rising along with the rising number of self-pay patients, This network conducted an evaluation on its facilities and identified th at the problem of low revenue collection was linked to a disintegrated system of collection, in adequate accurate information CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 9 and poor performance indicators.Sutter Health employed solutions that entailed setting new benchmarks, empowering employees, factoring the customer’s interest and compressive training. References Rauscher, S. & Wheeler, J. (2008). Effective Hospital Revenue Cycle Management. Journal of Healthcare Management Robertson, K. (Oct, 16, 1995). Sacramento Business Journal 12, 30: 3 Solomon, P. (2011). State of Healthcare Reform Revenue Cycle Retrieved from http://philcsolomon. om/2011/04/the-state-of-healthcare-revenue-cycle-an-insi ders- perspective-part-2/ Souza, M. & McCarty, B. (2007). From bottom to top: How one provider retooled collection. Healthcare Financial Management 61 (9). 67-73 Trans Union (2007). Healthcare Collections: How Full Cycle Improvements Reduce Bad Debt. http://www. tranunion. com/docs/healthcare/busin essneeds/healthcarecollectionsWP. pdf

Black Plague of London 1665

The Great Plague in London of 1665 Although people proposed a variety of causes for the great plague in London of 1665, the effects of the plague were certainly catastrophic. Europe experienced many outbreaks of plague prior to the year of 1665. Unfortunately, no one was quite sure what exactly caused the plague, which devastated each person who was affected. The effects of the plague on society wreaked havoc on victims both socially and physically. Consequently, Londoners were forced to try many drastic measures to prevent the spread of disease.Nevertheless, the great plague left the city of London greatly damaged. Even though different causes for the plague were mentioned, the most relevant and logical cause of plague was derived from London’s filthiness. Charles J. Shields writes: Although 17th-century Londoners were familiar with the plague’s symptoms, they had no idea what caused it. One pattern they noted, however, was that it went hand in hand with filthiness. Lo ndon was an ancient human habitation, dating from the days when the Roman army had built its outside walls.Without means to provide sanitation for all its inhabitants, the city evolved into a breeding ground for epidemics. (13) Dirtiness often accompanies congested areas, and London was undoubtedly no exception. According to Britannica, â€Å"the greatest devastation remained in the city’s outskirts, at Stepney, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Cripplegate, and Westminster, quarters where the poor were densely crowded† (Britannica 447). In seventeenth-century London, people who lived in poverty were believed to be at a high risk for contagion (Hays 124).Residents of London deposited their rubble outside of their homes so that the rain could wash the trash away (Shields 13-14). Consequently, the filth throughout London’s neighborhoods attracted many rats, which carried plague-ridden fleas (Trueman). Because rats lived near garbage, the rodents also resided closely to hum ans, particularly the poor. Nonetheless, when the rats died, the fleas found new human hosts. When fleas that were infected with the disease broke human skin, the microorganism, Yersinia pestis, attacked the lymphatic system, causing enlargement of lymph glands.Therefore, the protuberances were symptomatic of plague (Appleby 162-163). Meanwhile, many Londoners still believed that there could be another cause for the plague’s recurrence. Some people believed that plague was caused by natural factors, but others believed that plague was obtained through an occult element. The English were led to believe that plague was a â€Å"manifestation of divine providence and power, as a product of an environmental miasma, and as an infectious contagion that moved from one person to another† (Hays 124).Residents of London expected a penalty for their corrupt actions as a result of religious persecution, killing of a king, and the absurdness of government. In 1657, just eight years before the last plague, Clergyman Thomas Reeves handed out flyers warning that plague would be the Londoners’ consequence for immoral conduct (Shields 24-25). In fact, those who believed in supernatural causes of the disease sought counsel from a deity through prayer, omens, and charms (Hays 124). As a result of the plague, the community of London suffered both physically and socially.Immediately upon contracting the infection, one would have an array of flu-like symptoms, such as chills, queasiness, and regurgitation. In addition, sufferers developed signs of apprehensiveness and occasionally derangement (Shields 12). Another symptom of plague was the pungent stench of the victim’s breath. Some people carried flowers with them to act as a perfume to hide the bitter smell (Trueman). Andrew B. Appleby stated that the plague could be in bubonic or pneumonic form. The pneumonic form was transferred through sneezing and coughing around others.The pneumonic plague originate d from the bubonic plague because victims sometimes acquired pneumonia along with the bubonic form. The pneumonic plague was occasional in England. The symptoms included the coughing of blood (163). Furthermore, the affliction took a tremendous toll on the overall health of each victim by causing dark round marks around the groin, armpits, and neck. Also, the petechiae, or black spots, arose in other areas of the body (Hays 124-125). Unfortunately, these blemishes often turned into infected pus-filled welts.The last stage of sufferer’s disease occurred as the boils appeared. Of course death was inevitable, but the longevity of the plague’s victims was a mystery because each person’s reaction to the disease was different. For instance, after developing the ailment, some people would die within hours, and others would live as long as a few days. Entire families were destroyed by this annihilating illness (Shields 12). Equally important, the societal effects of pla gue were immense. In 1665, 68,596 casualties were recorded (Britannica 447).Consequently, the cadavers were covered with shrouds and placed in a mass grave because the sudden rise in deaths caused there to be a greater demand for coffins, yet a shorter supply. Not only did people lose loved ones, but they also had difficulty carrying out traditional funerals because the exposed corpses raised the risk of contagion. Although limiting guests at funerals went against society’s customs, Londoners needed to stay clear of the disease as much as possible (Hays 127). Gathering the dead was a difficult task to complete for the bearers.Bearers had to fetch bodies infested with the deadly plague, along with the bearers of the carts. The dead carts were used mainly for large parishes. The carts would grind while being pushed down the street, and the bearers would ring a bell while continually yelling for residents to release the corpses to the cart. Sadly, family of the dead had to witne ss their loved ones being towed away with the loss of dignity and respect for the deceased (Shields 48). London hired â€Å"nurses†, who lacked proper training and experience, to check on diseased victims. If sufferers could afford sustenance, these â€Å"nurses† would bring them food, too (Trueman).Society suffered through many hard times during the plague’s reign. Because of the plague’s atrocious impact on London, residents decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the plague escalated rapidly, the rich people of London left the city for the safe countryside. The poor had no resources to escape the plague’s wrath. In fact, soldiers were hired by London’s council to supervise the outskirts of the parish where the poor resided. No one was allowed outside the boundaries unless he had a document from his parish leader stating that he could leave (Trueman).On account of all the wealthy that left London to escape disease, the impact m ade by plague was mainly on the destitute (Hays 128). Because the disease was taking hold of the population so quickly, the Lord Chamberlain chose to close down the theatres in London. The roads outside of the city were congested with the traffic of people seeking refuge. The city of London was in complete chaos (Shields 31-32). Realizing that the plague was taking over London, the English government mobilized a new system of methods to battle the disease. When the plague hit, London was still following outdated rules from the plague of 1578.To begin the new set of rules for cleaning London, the government demanded that the garbage on the streets and the obstacles in the ditches were to be removed promptly. On the contrary, authorities believed that smoking tobacco and lighting fires to release smoke was profitable for the environment of the plague. Also, the Privy Council requested the slaying of stray animals, such as dogs and pigs. These animals were thought to carry the plague ( Hays 122-123, 127). In addition to the exile of the wealthy and the rise of cleaning standards, London also attempted to prevent the spread of plague by isolation.Accordingly, any family that had at least one member tainted by the disease was confined to their own home for over a month. As a caution to others, a red cross was painted on the door to display the infection of the family inside the house; however, only â€Å"nurses† were permitted to enter the plagued home (Trueman). Because of the forced seclusion from the outside world, many trapped plague victims rebelled against the authorities. For instance, neighbors helped to release the captive by removing the cross from the door of the victim’s house.The government endorsed severe penalties toward those who disobeyed the rules laid out for them to follow. Inevitably, the policy of solitude for the afflicted came to an end when the amount of homes that needed to be secluded became too great and the people who regul ated the guidelines were at a shortage; however, parishes did try to aid the imprisoned victims by raising taxes to provide food (Hays 125-127). Although isolation seemed like a feasible plan to the English government at the time of the plague’s existence, people naturally rebelled against being held hostage in their own home, even if food was provided for them.In conclusion, the great plague caused a tremendous uproar in the lives of the ones who lived in London in 1665. Even though numerous causes were offered to explain the root of the plague’s frequency, the most reasonable explanation of the disease’s occurrence was through the spread of contagion by fleas. As a result of the affliction of plague, society suffered great damage in a physical and civil aspect. Although no one was sure what caused the plague in London, many measures were taken to help prevent the expansion of the pestilence. After all, the plague of 1665 was the last of the plagues to claim Lo ndon.

Balance Sheet and Accounting Standards

ANSWER SHEET STUDENT’S SURNAME   OTHER NAMES   STUDENT NUMBER   TUTORIAL DAY & TIME TUTOR’S FULL NAME   Test 1 – Version 2 Session 2, 2012 Course Code: ACCG 224 Course Name: INTERMEDIATE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING Time allowed: 55 minutes plus 5 minutes reading time Total No. of questions: Three Questions Instructions 1. You must answer ALL questions in the test booklet. No separate booklet will be provided to answer the questions. . This is a closed-book test. You are not allowed to refer to any text material for the test. 3. Show all workings. Handwriting must be legible. 4. Non-programmable and non-text retrieval calculators may be used, but dictionaries are not to be used. Question No. Marks 1 /15 2 /15 3 /10 Total /40 Question 1 – Multiple Choice (15 marks) (Please circle the correct answer) 1. The main functions of the Financial Reporting Council include: I. II. III. IV. V. a. b. * c. d. overseeing the process for the setting of accounting standard s of the AASB. determining the AASB’s broad strategic direction. onitoring and reviewing the level of funding for the AASB. directing the AASB in relation to the development or making of a particular standard. the power to veto a standard recommended by the AASB. I, II, III and V only I, II, and III only I, II, IV and V only II, III, IV and V only 2. The role of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is to: I. II. III. IV. a. b. c. * d. 3. I, II, III and IV I, III and IV only I, II and IV only II, and III only Regulatory capture is said to occur in which of the following situations? a. b. c. d. * 4. Enforce and administer the Corporations Act.Inform the public about Australian companies, financial markets and financial professionals who deal and advise in financial instruments. Issue accounting standards. Improve the performance of the financial system. When the regulated entities ensure non-performance by the regulating body When the regulated entities co-opt t he regulators into a mutually shared perspective When the regulated entities control the regulations and the regulatory body All of the above Which of these theories could explain a move towards government control of accounting standards setting in Australia? a. b. . d. * 5. Public interest theory Regulatory capture theory Private interest theory All of the above The primary reasons for developing a conceptual framework is: a. * b. c. d. To enable regulators to develop accounting standards that are consistent and logical To provide guidance to accountants in areas where no standard exists To reduce the number of accounting standards needed To assist auditors 2 6. According to the AASBs Conceptual Framework an asset is: a. b. c*. d. 7. A company incurs significant costs in relation to a speculative project that intends to turn rocks into gold.In accordance with the AASBs Conceptual Framework the costs of this project are an: a. * b. c. d. 8. d. it is not necessary to restate the prio r period comparatives; the error may be amended prospectively; it may be deferred and recognised in the subsequent period; a retrospective correction must be made. When changing an accounting policy which of the following has to be applied retrospectively? a. * b. c. d. 11. Relevance, reliability, materiality, consistency, verifiability, understandability Understandability, timeliness, relevance, readability, timeliness, reliability Relevance, faithful representation, comparability, nderstandability, verifiability, timeliness Uniformity, relevance, reliability, consistency, faithful representation Where a fundamental error occurs in the recognition process: a. b. c. d*. 10. expense because there is little probability that future economic benefits will eventuate expense because the recognition criteria for an asset is not satisfied asset because the definition and recognition criteria for assets are satisfied asset because the company will control the future economic benefits. The qu alitative characteristics for financial reporting contained in the Conceptual Framework are: a. b. c. 9. a contingent item depending on another event occurs at some time in the future a future benefits controlled by an entity as the result of a future transaction a future benefit controlled by an entity as the result of past transactions or events an item that has a physical existence and can be converted into cash. a voluntary change to improve the relevance of information presented a change due to the adoption of a new accounting standard a change due to the adoption of a new interpretation all of the above. A company’s workforce went on strike for an indefinite period commencing on 5 August 20X1.The strike was expected to cause severe financial conditions for the company. The financial statements for the year ended 30 June 20X1 were expected to be completed by 7 August 20X1. In accordance with AASB 110 Events after the Reporting Date, the appropriate treatment regarding th e strike is: a. * b. c. d. disclosure as a note to the financial statements, as it is a non-adjusting event; disclosure as a note to the financial statements, as it is an adjusting event; to adjust the financial statements, as it is a non-adjusting event; to adjust the financial statements, as it is an adjusting event. 12. Differences between the carrying amounts of an entity’s net assets determined under accounting standards and accrual accounting, and the tax bases of those net assets determined under the Income Tax Assessment Act, are described as: a. * b. c. d. 13. CTT Limited has an asset which cost $300 and against which depreciation of $100 has accumulated. The accumulated depreciation for tax purposes is $180 and the company tax rate is 30%. The tax base of this asset is: a. * b. c. d. 14. temporary differences permanent differences tax losses the current income tax liability. $120 $220 $80 $20In jurisdictions where the impairment of goodwill is not tax deductible, AA SB 112 Income Taxes: a. * b. c. d. does not permit the application of deferred tax accounting to goodwill allows the recognition of a deferred tax item in relation to goodwill requires that any deferred tax items in relation to goodwill be recognised directly in equity requires that any deferred tax items for goodwill be capitalised in the carrying amount of goodwill. 15. Revaluations under AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment apply to: a. b. c. d. * all assets on an individual basis individual current assets only individual non-current assets only ssets on a class-by-class basis. 4 Question 2 – Short Answers (15 marks) Part a. The ASIC Act details that one of the primary accounting standard functions of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to ensure that accounting standards serve the best interests of both the private and public sector. Why is it important that the FRC ensure that the interests of the public sector are met? (3 marks) One of the crucial roles of FRC is to assess the continued relevance and effectiveness of accounting and auditing standards to ensure that accounting standards serve the best interests of both the private and public sector.Relevant accounting standards lead to required and appropriate accounting information disclosure. Accounting information serves an important public policy purpose — namely improving the flow of information to investors in a country’s capital markets. Accounting information helps investors and other stakeholders make sound economic decisions, which will enhance the efficiency of resource allocation and fairness of wealth distribution in the society. With the development of a country’s economy, the social welfare will increase.The public interest means such social welfare. 5 Part b. You have recently graduated with your Bachelor’s degree and have applied for a position with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) as a technical adviser. At the interview, the Chai rman stresses that they often have difficulties in determining whether the standards they draw up should follow a ‘principles based’ or ‘rules based’ approach. In particular they want to implement standards to overcome creative accounting practices.Knowing that you have recently completed studies in accounting theory and standard setting, explain the Chairman what are the three main differences between the ‘principles based’ approach as opposed to a ‘rules based’ approach to standard setting? (3 marks) Principles Based ? †¢ †¢ IASB follows a principles-based approach to standard setting. Constructed in a broad framework that is not focussed on specific rules under specific circumstances Allows for professional judgement in relation to substance rather than form Advantages of principles-based standards †¢ Principles-based standards are simpler. They supply broad guidelines that can be applied to many situations. †¢ They improve the representational faithfulness of financial statements. †¢ They allow accountants to use their professional judgement. †¢ Evidence suggests that managers are less likely to attempt earnings management. Disadvantages of principles-based standards †¢ Managers may select treatments that do not reflect the underlying economic substance. †¢ The judgement and choice involved in many of the decisions mean that comparability among financial statements may be reduced Rules-based †¢ Currently FASB follows rules-based approach. Constructed in a framework that is focussed on specific rules under specific circumstances. †¢ Misuse in corporate collapses means that FASB is reconsidering if they should move to principles-based standards. Disadvantages of rules-based standards †¢ Rules-based standards can be very complex. †¢ Organisations can structure transactions to circumvent unfavourable reporting. †¢ Standards are likely to be inco mplete or even obsolete by the time they are issued. †¢ Manipulated compliance with rules makes auditing more difficult. †¢ Rules-based standards can be confusing. Part c.Explain what a conceptual framework is and what are the benefits of having a Conceptual Framework for the accounting profession? (4 marks) Definition of a Conceptual Framework ? ‘A coherent system of interrelated objectives and fundamentals that is expected to lead to consistent standards’; ? Also, it is an attempt to provide a structured theory of accounting that prescribes practice. ? establishes concepts/ideas that underlie the preparation and presentation of financial reports; ? assists standard setters, preparers, auditors, users and those interested in the work of standard setters How the framework is used for the accounting profession? Explains the concepts/ideas that underlie the preparation and presentation of financial reports for external users – What is the purpose of finan cial reporting? – For whom should financial reports be prepared? – What qualitative characteristics should financial information possess? – What are the elements of financial reporting? – What measurement rules should be employed? It provides guidance to the accountants when there is no specific guidance given in the accounting standards.It also assists the accountants when they cannot understand the application of certain IFRS due to the complexity involved. 7 Part d. Barton Ltd uses tractors as a part of its operating equipment, and it applies the straight-line depreciation method to depreciate these assets. Barton Ltd has just taken over Deakin Ltd, which uses similar tractors in its operations. However, Deakin Ltd has been using diminishing balance method of depreciation for these tractors. The accountant in Barton Ltd is arguing that for both entities the same depreciation method should be used for tractors. Provide arguments for and against this pro posal. 2 marks) Para 50 of AASB 116 notes that depreciation is the systematic allocation of the depreciable amount of an asset over its useful life.. Arguments against the Proposal ? Depreciation is measuring the change in value due to the use of an asset over the period. It is possible that Deakin Ltd has been using the diminishing value as it was going to use the tractor more in the early years of the economic life and hence the choice of the depreciation method is justified. Arguments in Favour ? It is important that there is consistency in the type of the asset and depreciation method applied.Part e. a. Explain the difference between the cost model and revaluation model under measurement subsequent to initial measurement. (3 marks) Cost Model AASB 116 requires that measurement subsequent to initial measurement of assets could be carried at cost less any accumulated: – depreciation; – impairment losses. Revaluation model – As an alternative to the cost model AASB 116 allows the revaluation model to be used for classes of assets. Revaluation is an adjustment of PPE’s carrying amount so that it reflects its current fair value. Measurement basis is fair value (FV).Frequency of revaluations is not specified, but must be performed with sufficient regularity such that the carrying amount of assets is not materially different from their FV. Revaluation performed on a class basis. Accounting performed on an asset-by-asset basis. 8 Question 3 – Practical (10 Marks) Bravo Ltd began operations on 1 July 2011 and has provided the following information: 1. 2. 3. Pre-tax accounting profit for the financial year ended 30 June 2012 is $150 000. The enacted tax rate is 30%. Differences between the 30 June 2012 income statement and tax return are listed below: (a) b) (c) (d) (e) 4. Annual leave expense accrued for financial reporting purposes amounts to $15 000. The employees were not allowed to take annual leave in the first year of operat ion. Depreciation of property, plant and equipment for accounting purposes amounts to $120 000. Depreciation of these assets amounts to $80 000 for the tax return. Entertainment expenses of $6 500 were included in computing pre-tax accounting profit. Tax free government grants of $5 000 were recognised as income. As a small business, Bravo Ltd chose for taxation purposes cash accounting for their sales revenue.Accounts receivable regarding sales show a balance of $20 000 at year-end. There was no need to recognise any allowance for doubtful debts. Taxable profit is expected for the next few years. Required (a) (b) (c) Calculate taxable profit for the financial year ended 30 June 2012. (4 marks) Prepare the journal entry to record income tax expense, deferred tax and income tax payable for the financial year ended 30 June 2012. (4 marks) Draft the income statement beginning with ‘Profit before income tax’. (2 marks) (a) Pre-tax accounting profit $150 000 Permanent differ ences: Entertainment expenseTax-exempt revenue Adjusted accounting profit 6 500 (5 000) 151 500 Originating temporary differences: Annual Leave Provision Accounting expense Tax deductible Excess depreciation expense Accounting expense Tax deductible Excess Revenue Taxable profit (b) $ 15 000 (0 ) 15 000 > DTA 4 500 120 000 (80 000) 40 000 > DTA 12 000 (20 000) > DTL 6,000 $186 500 > Income tax payable 55 950 Income Tax Expense 45 450 Deferred Tax Asset 16 500 Income Tax Payable 55 950 9 Deferred tax liability 6 000 DTA = 4 500 + 12 000 (c) Profit before income tax Income tax expense Profit for the period $150 000 45 450 $104 550 10