IFRS vs GAAP †Equity Accounts Essay

In discussing Equity Accounting standards of GAAP and IFRS we specifically look at Stockholders’ equity in regard to corporations. Of course there are many differences in language; however, we will review some major differences in accounting standards with respect to Equity accounts. There is a glaring difference in the two methods with regards to Distributions to Owners. Under US GAAP, disregarding dividends paid on unallocated shares (Employee Stock Ownership Plans), tax benefits can be received. It follows that the tax expense is reduced and no allocation is made in stockholders equity. The IFRS impose rules where entities must reduce equity accounts for the amount of any distribution, net of tax benefits. To elaborate, a company under GAAP pays 1 million dollars into pensions and 200 thousand would be the taxable amount. It would reduce the stock holder’s equity by 1 million; the 200 thousand would credit the tax expense. A company under IFRS would report 800 thousand as a debit to the equity account, with no tax liability. A broader topic is the issuance of equity instruments which includes stock. Minor differences related to stock are observable in linguistics, or account titles. GAAP accounts are labeled Common Stock and IFRS accounts are labeled Share Capital. One significant difference in accounting methods occurs in the presentation of increasing equity, specifically in regard to issuing stock. An IFRS entity may report Par value and nominal value separately in its equity account. There are some other differences in the accounting practices of IFRS and GAAP to make note of in regard to equity accounts. One difference is the recording of changes in equity. The IFRS implements a financial statement for this specific known as the, â€Å"Statement of changes in Equity.† The statement shows more than just changes. First, the statement reports profits or loss; what follows are incomes or expense titled â€Å"other comprehensive income.† Lastly, the statement shows changes in accounting policies and the financial effects incurred as a result. It’s used for compliance with IFRS accounting policies, estimates and error rules. US GAAP does not require a separate financial statement and can record changes simply in the notes of financial statements.

History of Vehicles Essay

Vehicles had provided humans a means of transportation and vehicles had been a great help in building early civilizations such as of Mesopotamia with its chariots, Egypt with its reed boats, and China with its wheelbarrow. The old had been improved; the new had been invented; and the future had been conceptualized. These had been the cycle of vehicles through the change of time. Looking ahead†¦ The Wheel and the Ship (3500 BC) The oldest wheel discovered was in Mesopotamia and is believed to be over fifty-five hundred years old. Rock drawings of ships were found in Egypt and are believed to have been drawn around 6000 BC. These thus proved that wheel and ships are known by man at that very early time and were used as a part of their trading and technology. Wheels are taught to had been conceptualized when â€Å"humans realized that heavy objects could be moved easier if something round, for example a fallen tree log, was placed under it and the object rolled over it† (Bellis, â€Å"The Invention of the Wheel†). First boats then were usually built of wood while animal skins, clay pots, and reeds had served as an alternative. The Wheelbarrow (181 – 234 AD) The wheelbarrow is believed to have originated from China and was invented by a general named Chuko Liang to transport supplies to injured soldiers. It is believed that â€Å"wheelbarrows do not exist in Europe before the 11th or 12th century (the earliest known Western depiction is in a window at Chartres Cathedral, dated around 1220 AD). Descriptions of the wheelbarrow in China refer to first century BC, and the oldest surviving picture, a frieze relief from a tomb-shrine in Szechuan province, dates from about 118 AD† (â€Å"Wheelbarrow†). The Early Triumphs to Fly (400 BC-1850s) Kite flying started by the Chinese had been the pioneer of man on how he could fly. Different thoughts as to how man could meet this objective had undergone. These included the experiment to imitate a bird by attaching feathers or light weight wood to arms which had been proven disastrous since human arms’ muscles are not like of birds and cannot move with a strength like of a bird. Other experiments though were not originally intended so as man could fly included the work of Hero of Alexandria on Aeolipile. â€Å"Hero mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam, and the gas traveled through pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the gas to escape, which gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to rotate. Aeolipile must be included in the history of vehicles because it gave the principle for engine created movement† (Bellis, â€Å"Early history of Flight†). In the 1480s, with over 100 drawings that illustrated theories on bird and mechanical flight, Leonardo da Vinci had also entered this search to man’s mean to fly (Bellis, â€Å"Early history of Flight†). Leonardo’s Ornithopter concept had been the basis to the invention of the modern day helicopter. In 1783, Jacques Etienne and Joseph Michel Montgolfier invented the first hot air balloon (â€Å"How Did We Learn to Fly Like the Birds? †). Using the smoke from a fire to blow hot air into a silk bag that was attached to a basket, they had been able to fly aboard the hot air balloons’ first passengers, a sheep, a rooster, and a duck. On November 21, 1783, the first ever successful manned flight took place sending Francois Laurent and Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier up in the air (Bellis, â€Å"Early history of Flight†). Further studies then went on. In the 1850’s, George Cayley, the considered founder of Aerodynamics, had made his contribution through his gliders wherein a young boy had been the first to fly. The Submarine (1578 – 1620) Designs for underwater boats or submarines date back to the 1500s and ideas for underwater travel date back even further but only in the year 1578 did appear a record of a craft for underwater navigation. â€Å"William Bourne, a former Royal Navy gunner, designed a completely enclosed boat that could be submerged and rowed beneath the surface (Bellis, â€Å"History of the Submarine 2†). Bourne’s idea had never been implemented but a similar apparatus was launched in 1605 (Bellis, â€Å"History of the Submarine 2†). The apparatus didn’t get farther as its designers did not considered the tenacity of underwater mud which caused the craft to stick in the river bottom in its first underwater trial. But in the year 1620, Cornelius Van Drebbel had invented the first â€Å"practical† submarine which was a rowboat covered with greased leather (Bellis, â€Å"History of the Submarine 2†). His submarine had successfully maneuvered at depths of 12 to 15 ft. below the surface of Thames River. He had then further made revisions of his first submarine and legends says that after repeated tests, King James I of England rode to one of his later models (â€Å"The Saga of the Submarine†). Despite success, Drebbel’s invention did not quickly amaze the British Navy that made submarine warfare infeasible during that time. Steam Powered Automobiles (1600 – 1700) Steam power had been known for the past centuries but it was only in the 1600’s where it had been in practical use. â€Å"Ferdinand Verbiest created a model steam carriage in 1678, that moved by using a principle that is used in the modern day turbine. In the 17th century the Dutch physicist, Christiaan Huygens built an engine that uses air pressure. About 1750, the French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson gave a demonstration of a carriage propelled by a large clockwork engine. The steam engine had then developed the motorized land transport by the 1760’s† (Brainard). The first built automobile is attributed to Nicolas Joseph Cugnot in the year 1769. He made his three wheeled steam driven tractor intending to help the French army to move its heavy artillery pieces in and around Paris (Brainard). His being the first had made also his automobile to be also the first to be involved in an automobile accident in 1771. Steamboat (1783 – 1787) After a century of steam power exploration used in automobiles, development of steam powered boats then took place. In 1783, the first practical steamboat was demonstrated by Marquis Claude Francois de Jouffroy d’Abbans – a paddle wheel steamboat. â€Å"The era of the steamboat then began in America in 1787 when John Fitch (1743-1798) made the first successful trial of a forty-five-foot steamboat on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787, in the presence of members of the Constitutional Convention. Fitch later built a larger vessel that carried passengers and freight between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey. † (Bellis, â€Å"History of Steamboats†). Modern Bicycles (1790) The next notable improvement in the history of vehicles is the invention of modern day bicycles which is disputed on whether the invention of Pierre and Ernest Michaux were the first ever built or not. â€Å"Some history books states that Pierre and Ernest Michaux, the French father and son team of carriage-makers, invented the first bicycle during the 1860s. Historians now disagree and there is supporting evidence that the bicycle is already known before. However, historians all agree that Pierre and Ernest Michaux invent the modern bicycle pedal and cranks in 1861. † (Bellis, â€Å"Bicycle History†, â€Å"Bicycle History in Debate†). Steam Powered Locomotives (1801) Locomotives were designed first by Richard Trevithick but not originally for railroad tracks but for roads while George Stephenson is regarded as the inventor of the first steam locomotive engine for railroads. â€Å"Richard Trevithick’s invention is considered the first tramway locomotive, however, it was designed for a road, not for a railroad. † (Bellis, â€Å"Richard Trevithick†). The Motorcycles (1867) The mechanical version of the bicycles had been born with the invention of motorcycles in 1867. â€Å"American, Sylvester Howard Roper (1823-1896) invented a two-cylinder, steam-engine motorcycle (powered by coal) in 1867. This can be considered the first motorcycle, if you allow your description of a motorcycle to include a steam engine. † (Bellis, â€Å"Motorcycle†).

Eye Witness Testimony Essay

â€Å"Eyewitness testimony is so unreliable that it should never be used in convicting criminals†. Eyewitness testimony is a legal term. It refers to; an account given by person(s) of an event they’ve witnessed. Eyewitness testimony is admissible in a court of law to assist in the conviction of individuals. In 1976, the Devlin report examined over 2000 identity parades in the U. K. Of the 2000 parades, 45% resulted in a suspect being identified and out of these, 82% were eventually convicted of a crime. In over 300 cases, the eyewitness testimony was the sole â€Å"evidence† used in conviction. 4% of these 300 cases resulted in criminal convictions. The significance of eyewitness testimony was highlighted in this report and resulted in much more research being undertaken. Cohen describes â€Å"erroneous eyewitness testimony† as being the â€Å"leading cause of wrongful conviction†. The multi store /Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model was first recognised in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin. The model attempts to identify the process that a stimulus must go through to become a retrievable memory. After being criticised for its supposed simplicity, Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed the working memory model. Both of these models propose that memory is a complex phenomenon that must go through numerous stages to become an accurately recalled memory. It is this process that offers explanation into the complexity of memory and the many areas that may result in memory confabulation. The Psychology of Rumour study by Allport & postman’s (examined latter) also alludes to memory being more complex than previously thought and strengthens the theory that memory is a process as opposed to a simplistic film. Sir Frederic Bartlett, (1932) introduced the theory of â€Å"Reconstructive memory† & â€Å"schemas† to Psychology. Schemas where defined by Mike Cardwell as; â€Å"packages of information† or â€Å"unconscious mental structures†. These mental structures are acquired through our experiences, or as a result of our expectations and cultural norms. Bartlett proposed that people use schemas constantly to complete tasks and to assist in making sense of our surroundings. The theory of schemas also suggests that there are gaps in a person’s memory that are filled with confabulated information when reconstructed. Sir Bartlett (1973) devised an experiment to investigate the effects of schemas on people’s memories. Twenty participants read a story called; â€Å"The War of the Ghosts†. The story was culturally different western literature, and was difficult for them to comprehend. After some time, the participants were asked to repeatedly recall the story in as much detail as possible. After recalling the same story six times, once even a year later, participants accidentally shortened the story from 330 words to an average of 180. Participants also altered parts of it to better suit their westernized culture. A conclusion of this experiment is that Memory recall is influenced by our schemas of cultural background and pre-existing knowledge. The experiment has been criticised for a lack of objectivity, being lax on variable control and casual conditions. However, the experimenter’s findings were also strengthened by Cromberg et al whom in 1996 interviewed people one year after plane crash. Of the 193 questioned, 55% falsely said that they had seen the plane hit the building and 59% inaccurately reported that a fire had started immediately on impact. Allport and Postman (1947) conducted a study titled: â€Å"Psychology of Rumour† with participants who were all white. They were shown a picture of an argument between a black man and a white man on a train. The white man is holding a razor and threatening the black man aggressively. The participants were divided into groups of seven. One participant from each group was shown the picture and asked to describe it to the second participant, who described it to the third, and so forth. Over half the participants who received the final description reported that the black man, not the white was holding the razor. This was false and shows that memory is susceptible to alteration by our own biases and prejudices within society. This experiment has been at the forefront of the interface between law and psychology. The findings have been repeatedly relayed in courts of law to express the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. However, inaccurate accounts of the procedures and implications of the study have been substantially misunderstood and distorted. Language is very important in eyewitness testimony; the way that memory is retrieved from a witness strongly affects what that person recalls. Loftus proposed that witnesses could accept false information which would dramatically affect the reliability of their testimony. This is called: â€Å"misinformation acceptance† and May happen in a post event situation such as being interviewed. Loftus believed some interviews contained â€Å"leading questions†. A leading question is defined as a question that is phrased in a way as to influence or prompt a specific form of answer. To test weather leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony, Loftus and palmer (1974) conducted the: â€Å"Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction† experiment. Forty five American students were split into 5 subgroups. After being shown various car collisions on slides that were dependant variables for each group, Participants were instructed to answer questions on what they had witnessed. The groups where asked to estimate the speed of the cars before they either: â€Å"hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted†. Each subgroup was asked the same question but with different verbs (the independent variable. ) A week later participants were also asked questions such as; â€Å"Did you see any broken glass? † when none such existed. The findings of this experiment were that the verb used to describe the collision affected the participants speed estimate given. The Biasing questions which they answered systematically affected the participant’s memory of the accident. The participants in the â€Å"smashed† condition reported the highest speeds, followed by â€Å"collided†, â€Å"bumped†, â€Å"hit†, and â€Å"contacted† in descending order. The â€Å"smashed† group also had more participants reporting to have seen glass when there was none. This experiment shows that memory is easily distorted by questioning techniques and information can be accepted post event causing confabulated memory. Strengths of this experiment are that it was conducted within a controlled environment and has serious implications for interviewing witnesses. However there is weakness’s to the experiment such all participants were students and not a wide range of people. Also, the collisions where viewed on video not in real life. Videos may lack the emotional impact caused when witnessing a real-life accident Loftus et al (1978) proposed that emotion can affect memory. Loftus stated that emotional arousal during an event can lead to a reduction in accurate memory recall. Loftus et al conducted an experiment of the effect of emotion on memory by showing two films of an armed robbery to participants. One film was violent, the other was nonviolent. They then tested the participant’s memories for details of what they had witnessed. The findings showed that the high-arousal version of a young boy being shot and falling to the floor, led to impaired memory recall. This was when compared to the low-arousal version. These findings show that emotions can affect memory. This experiment is lab based and findings may be difficult to transfer into real-life environment. However, being conducted in a controlled environment gives it enhanced ecological validity. Peters (1988) supported Yerkes & Dodson that illustrated an optimum level of emotional arousal enhanced memory. Peters found that when receiving inoculations in a clinic (an anxiety generating event) patients found it difficult in accurately identifying the nurse who issued their jab. One can conclude that this was due to the high levels of arousal surrounding the participant during the time of the jab. There is conflicting evidence weather emotions strengthen or weaken the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies. However, both theories support the idea that emotion has an effect on memory. Eastbrook (1959) proposed that arousal narrows the focus of attention. This causes improved memory for central details but impaired memory for peripheral details. Another factor that affects the reliability of eyewitness testimony while witnessing an event is the: â€Å"weapons focus affect†. Weapon focus refers to the concentration of attention on a weapon by the witnesses of a crime. Loftus et al claimed that this diverted their attention and resulted in a reduction of remembering many other details of the crime or criminal. Loftus (1979) conducted an experiment to study whether the presence of a weapon in an emotionally heightened state could affect eyewitness memory. Participants believed they were waiting to participate in a memory study and were waiting outside a laboratory. As they waited, participants in â€Å"condition 1† overheard a staged yet civil conversation coming from a room regarding equipment failure. A man then exited the room with a greasy hand holding a pen. Condition 2 participants were also privy to a staged conversation from an unseen room. This conversation was â€Å"hostile† and was accompanied by the sound of breaking class and broken furniture. A man then exited the room holding a blood covered knife. Participants were asked to identify the men they saw from fifty photographs. Condition one participants accurately identified the man 49% of the time. However, condition two participants were able to accurately identify the man only 33% of the time. From these results, Loftus concluded that presence of a weapon and a hostile confrontation affected witness’s ability to identify the individual. They were unable to focus attention on the man because more attention was concentrated on the weapon. This study is important in demonstrating the impact a weapon has on the reliability of eyewitness’s testimony. However, there have been many criticisms of these experiments. No distinction is made as to whether the hostile experience affected participant’s memories or simply the weapon. There are also huge concerns over the ethics of this experiment, participants could have been psychologically damaged by the experience and were unable to withdraw from it as they were unaware it had already begun. This experiment was conducted under controlled conditions within a controlled environment; this strengthens the information obtained by increasing the ecological validity of the experiment. The findings are less transferable to real life situations. Chrstianson & Hubinette (1993) demonstrated that in real life settings, memory can be accurate with acute stress. Eyewitness testimony is heavily dependent upon face recognition, and so the study of this subject has acute implications in understanding how reliable memories of faces are. Research shows that people have difficulty accurately recognizing individual members of a different race. One explanation for this is that we use specific features to distinguish between members of our own race and those features are not always present between other races. In a study done by Platz and Hosch, (1986) convenience store clerks were asked to identify three customers: one white, one black, and one Mexican American, all of whom stopped in the store earlier that day. The results of the study showed that each of the clerks identified customers belonging to their own race accurately, but when attempting to identify members of the other races, they stated â€Å"they all look alike. † Cross-Race Identification Bias demonstrates how prone people are to making false identifications when asked to identity people from a different racial or ethnic background other than their own. This research offers some support to the existence of cross-race identification bias. However the experiment has many weaknesses; the participants may have seen many people that day and it’s unclear whether they were briefed prior to the experiment. This experiment has enhanced ecological validity because it is set in one environment. There are many independent variables within this research that if altered, may dramatically distort the previous findings. Fisher and Geiselman (1992) developed the cognitive interview† This is a specialised interviewing technique designed to increase the accuracy of information given and minimise false testimony. The interviewer attempts to eradicate all verbal & nonverbal responses that may affect the witness’s testimony. This is to avoid the â€Å"Clever Hans† effect where a witness’s may pick up cues. There are four basic principles of the cognitive interview; firstly to report everything; all details of an event, i ncluding information deemed irrelevant. Mental reinstatement of original context is another; the interviewee mentally recreates the incident fully. The interviewer may also change the timeline of events by reversing the events in order. Finally, the interviewee is instructed to imagine how other witnesses saw the incident. A meta-analysis found in 53 cases, an average increase of 34% in correct event recognition compared to a non-cognitive interview. However this was conducted within a laboratory not a real-life setting. Mine & Bull (2002) decided to test each of the four cognitive principles separately. Participants were interviewed with one cognitive principal as compared to the four. Recall of accurate information was broadly similar to other participants in a control group who were informed to â€Å"try again†. However, when participants were interviewed using a combination of the cognitive principles their components were significantly higher. Extremely young and old people tend to have an increased susceptibility to suggestion (Ceci & Bruck, 1993; Cohen & Faulkner, 1989) as well as those whom score high on measures of dissociation. It is clear that eyewitness testimony is not as reliable as a means of conviction as generally thought due to many various factors. There is however many improvements and safe guards that can be utilized to improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony such as; performing cognitive interviews and using multiple testimonies. Key factors such as: age, race, and the emotional stimulus of an event should be taken into account. Eyewitness testimony is a vital tool in convicting criminals but may not be accurate enough as a sole means of conviction.

Crimes Against Humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crimes Against Humanity - Essay Example that this term first appeared in the preamble of the 1907 Hague Convention, the meaning of this term have evolved to take on a much broader meaning to include â€Å"anything atrocious committed on a large scale.†1 Killing is morally evil and wars bring so many deaths that even though â€Å"decisions relating to war are not made in a moral vacuum†2 one can never claim that the death of innocent people are but the collateral damages of war. As the term â€Å"crimes against humanity† has become so broad that it encompasses just all other types of violence against certain groups of people, sector or race, it would help us to understand it better by looking into some specific events that resulted into the loss of thousands human lives. There have been many events in the past, which involves great loss of human lives, but nothing could ever surpass the holocaust. In the generic sense of the word, a holocaust is any event where there is great loss of human life as is near total destruction by fire. However, the meaning of this word somewhat changed with the event that led to the death of some 11 million people. The holocaust is one of the best examples of â€Å"crimes against humanity†. Between 1933-1945, around 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jewish people were systematically killed when the Nazi and its supporter ruled the most part of Europe3. Although most of Hitler’s target was the Jews, there are also other people who suffered and died on the process under the brutality of the military, the government officials and the leaders of the Nazi. Technically, the holocaust started when the Nazi in Germany opened the first concentration camp sometime in January 19334. At first, these camps were used as the holding place for political prisoners but eventually evolved over time until in 1939, it became the place of horror where people were tortured and killed. Prisoners were classified in the concentration camps. Those who are healthy and strong were subjected to forced

Writing assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Writing assignment - Research Paper Example If correctly implemented, such decisions would move the organizations to higher levels of performance. However, the organizations continue to lag behind their expected performance mainly because of the failure to implement decisions. Pfeffer and Sutton (2000) explain the main reasons that have maintained a wide gap between knowledge and action. One of the reasons is the tendency by managers to pursue detailed behaviors, practices and techniques that work instead of finding out why such practices are suitable for their organizations in terms of philosophy and the general direction that action should take. Other managers overlook the importance of learning from practice. Putting the best practices into action would require the room to make mistakes during learning. This can be done well if the practices are implemented and important lessons taken from the implementation process. It is also important for managers and policy implementers to recognize that elaborate concepts and plans may not count as much if they are not put into action. Action can be made more efficient if it is grounded on real experience. Moreover, staffs that implement the plans should be inspired to action without fear. This is because fear is known to widen the knowledge-action gap. If the persons operate under fear, they will not be in a position to try something new; neither will they have the freedom to make mistakes which is an important component in the learning process. Managers should, therefore, maintain an environment that encourages stuffs to try something new while at the same time their well-being and dignity is upheld. In determining the level of progress in the implementation process, whatever should be measured is what really matters in the implementation process. The tendency to measure virtually everything is known to widen the gap between knowledge and action. The measurement should be in such a way that it does not only provide what has already been done, but also

In Depth Divorse Law Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

In Depth Divorse Law Case Study - Assignment Example Fixed resource bargaining or simply â€Å"Zero-Sum† is sometimes referred to as win-lose or distributive bargaining. It is a negotiation strategy in bargaining that is usually employed in the distribution of fixed resources like money hence the name Fixed resource bargaining. Each party in the negotiations usually feel that their objectives or interests are in a balance and therefore the major goal is the trying to and securing concession from the party that is unwilling. Hence one of the parties will lose and thus the name win-lose bargaining.It is a bargaining type that is significant since it aids in solving disputes that would otherwise no have been resolved by employing any other method. In the event that the stakes involved are very high, the resistance to decree is oftenly heightened. It is very difficult to announce as to how the matter that is being negotiated will be dealt with.The captious layout in the â€Å"Zero-Sum† bargaining method is analyzed by a †Å"bargaining some model of negotiations†. There are three vital negotiation points in the model in the book. The first is the offer point in which one side opens an offer to the opposite side. By doing this, expectations from both groups are stipulated as a beginning point. Nevertheless this is done with the supposition that stipulating the desired point in which they contain their rational and final agreement. Of course the other party will rebut this favoring the target they contain.

A day in the life of budget analyst Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A day in the life of budget analyst - Essay Example From this quote it is very clear that budget analysts must be such like a bird who have good voice mean he must have such skills that the whole organization can get benefit from it. Financing is the most important in every organization because no organization can run without the finance. So the management of the finance is very much important. He provides benefits of its analytical skills, communication skills, detailed oriented skills, mathematical skills, writing skills to all the organization. He makes budget, interpret its each item carefully so that a single mistake of him can lead to a disastrous loss. For this purpose organization hire budget analyst. Budget analyst also called budget coordinator, budget examiner, budget officer, chief financial officer and treasurer (Gloria. A 1987). In simple words we can say that budget analyst help the public and private organizations in managing their finance. They prepare budget reports and monitor the institutional spending. The budget is prepared monthly, quarterly, semiannually and on yearly basis (Ross & Firth 1987). The life of a budget analyst is very difficult. Here I will discuss a day in the life of budget analyst. Budget analyst performs the following duties in a day of his life: Work with project manager and discuss the organization’s budget ... Analyze the data to determine the costs and benefits of different projects from where future inflows are expected. He may give suggestions of program spending cuts and redistribution of extra funds. Top executive take decision on the work of budget analyst so the budget analyst who makes reports and budgets must give true picture about the organization’s inflows and outflows. He communicates its suggestions and opinions to officials. If there is any difference between desired budget and actual budget then he make a report to officials in which he explain the reasons of variation and give suggestions for reconciliation of actual and desired budget. He provides policy analysis and draft budget related legislation (Gloria. A 1987). Budget analyst has the following skills to perform its routine task. Analytical skill-He has ability to understand the things and of its interpretation as well. Communication skills-to defend its interpretation because there is need of explanation of t he results Detail oriented-ability to make explanation of every item of the budget Math skill-strong accounting skills and strong grip on finance usage of database software Writing skill-make such a budget and the interpretation of it are easily understandable to the others. He works in office. His shift is full time. But sometimes he has to do some extra work when the review of budget is made. He has normally bachelor’s degree but some organizations prefer that analyst have master’s degree. Because preparing the budget is not a simple task. For the development of budget strong numerical and analytical skills are required. These analytical skills are statistical techniques or accounting methods. He must have strong grip in finance. For the govt.

REDUCTION OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR IN COPD IN LOS ANGELES AREAS Research Paper

REDUCTION OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR IN COPD IN LOS ANGELES AREAS - Research Paper Example It is a fatal habit, which can cause many diseases like COPD, stress and many forms of cancers. According to the American Society Council, the major cause for death in the states is mainly lung cancer, which is caused due to smoking. Apart from this, it causes many health problems, which need treatment that a common man cannot afford. In spite of all the efforts from the government to stop smoking, the number of people affected from various diseases maintained a steady level for the last few years, which needs to be monitored in the coming days, to reduce the intensity of the problem that is being faced by the present generation. â€Å"Smoking reduction and the rate of decline in FEV1: results from the Lung Health Study†. (Simmons & Connett & Lindgren & Kleerup & Murray & Bjornson & Tashkin, 2011). Current situation: It is totally impossible to count the number of smokers and people suffering from various diseases due to smoking. The only way to get such a data is to analyze v arious surveys regarding smoking and the hospital reports. When we evaluate the reports on cigarette control and smokers, we can see that Los Angeles is the worldwide leader in tobacco control and prevention. Compared to all other states in America, Los Angeles has the least smoking rate. The main reason behind this is as follows: Various tax policies adopted by governing council on cigarettes. It can force many people to stop the habit of smoking, due to the amount they have to pay for it. The media has been aggressive on the anti smoking policies. As the main thing, which directly influences the people today is media; the acts put forward by them affect the criteria. Various public policies like smoke free condition in several public areas, also affects the matter. Mainly the control of tobacco, which largely limits the production of cigarettes. Despite of success in these matters, it is seen that the medical reports from various hospitals reveal the fact that instead of a decline in the number of smokers, it maintained a constant level for last 8 years, some of the reports from the hospitals also prove the same facts: The reports from the cancer department of California hospital medical centre shows that, I. From 1990 to 2002 the patients admitted in the hospitals due to diseases like COPD, lung cancer etc has reduced from 50% to 35%, which is mainly due to the various laws imposed. II. For last 8 years i.e. from 2002 to till now, the rate has fluctuated between 35% and 30%, which shows the various shortcomings of the laws imposed. Same facts are revealed from the good Samaritan hospital reports, I. There was decrease in number of patients suffering from various health problems due to smoking, has decreased from 45% to 30% until 2002 II. After 2002, the

Strategic Management of AtomFilms Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Strategic Management of AtomFilms - Case Study Example    In the B2B, AtomFilms acquired content through major film festivals using grassroots public relations. It also distributes content through finding distribution channels that would buy the films. In 1998, Air Canada bought five films for its short-haul flights opening up an opportunity for success for AtomFilms. The B2C was not much successful because advertising and merchandise revenue overshadowed it but it built the company’s brand identity, consumer outreach, and marketing strategy. The two strategies helped the company grow as the consumer confidence grew. By the year 2000, the company had generated more than $5 million in revenue. The B2C had helped the company gain $1 million in revenue from merchandise sales through the company’s website. Despite the fact that the elements of the business model are mutually consistent and reinforcing, the company had not found the best way to use its website to monetize consumer traffic (Hill & Jones,  2013). Mika’s possible approaches correspond to forward integration, market penetration, and market development strategies. First, the B2B and B2C approach correspond to the forward integration strategy in the sense that it sought to gain ownership over distributors. AtomFilms developed its content distribution network by calling every distribution channel to sell its products. It also established a website to directly reach consumers and promote sales. The company’s approach also corresponds to the market penetration strategy in the sense that it sought to increase its market share for present products through B2C approach. This was launched after B2B to increase advertising and offer extensive sales promotion items and to increase publicity efforts (David,  2013).   

The challenges and opportunities for healthcare services in the future Essay

The challenges and opportunities for healthcare services in the future - Essay Example e first aid services to all sick or injured people, provide programs for the prevention and control of communicable diseases, control of endemic diseases, and offer generic medical advice1. However, health care services are facedwith many challenges presented by demographic and economic pressures. On the objective side, many opportunities can help healthcare services to develop and improve. Health care was and will continue to be one of the important sources in promoting the physical health and the wellbeing of people all over the world. However, with the advent of numerous healthcare changes, the sector of healthcare as well as the people who are working in healthcare service is continually presented with many challenges and the opportunities. This paper will discuss in detail the challenges and the opportunities for health care services in the future. It will have a deeper look at three main topics: technology and research, people and chronic disease, and working environment. It will address the challenges and the opportunities in each of these topics2. The world health organization has focused on establishing factors that contribute to the high preference of chronic diseases in their recent past. According to WHO, food determinants are a critical determinant of the health of any individual. An increased consumption of fast foods and a high preference for unhealthy foods has contributed to the souring occurrences of chronic diseases. Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and liver and kidney diseases are attributable to an unhealthy eating pattern. The need for adoption of healthy eating patterns cannot be over emphasized3. Food habits have a direct correlation to the body mass index which is a reflection of one’s susceptibility to chronic diseases4. This is to say that, people with poor eating habits register high BMIs, high cholesterol levels and are susceptible to obesity. If such trends persist then the future will present a higher

Application week 1 class 8110 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Application week 1 class 8110 - Essay Example The general idea is to develop high levels of wellness maintaining comfort and dignity. This paper tries to relate the close relationship between the overall nursing philosophies and their impact on my beliefs and views. The paper also elaborates on the relationship that exists between philosophy and knowledge development in the context of the nursing practice. My personal philosophical influences in relation to this week’s readings Personally, I have always considered nursing as an opportunity to develop high levels of wellbeing by providing care and assistance to groups, families, and individuals. With this in mind, the aspects of my nursing philosophy are influenced by respect, knowledge, time management, skills, honesty, caring, and compassion. My main philosophical power to maintaining all these values relies on the belief that nursing is a discipline that requires both formal knowledge and life experience. The readings on nursing philosophy offer a broad spectrum of info rmation, which has a significant impact on my views. The opinions expressed in the articles and course tends to correlate to my beliefs and views of the nursing practice. ... This is after I went through Nightingale’s philosophies that stirred up some significant research, which leads us to the current nursing philosophies that are adopted by a large number of people. One other significant revelation that reshaped my views is the link between nursing science and philosophy. This was brought out by Grove, Burns, and Gray, (2013), whose text places an emphasis on the importance to appraise research and use of evidence based practice. A point that was clarified by Isaacs, Ploeg, and Tompkins, (2009) nursing science, which is accompanied by research, needs guidance from a philosophical basis. I still believe that neglecting the philosophy of nursing places the discipline as risk, and there is a need for scientific methods to coexist alongside philosophical inquiry (Pesut & Johnson, 2008). Nursing philosophical foundations influence on my nursing practice The American Nursing Association describes nursing as, â€Å"promotion, protection, and ability to prevent disease and injury. Further, it alleviates suffering through diagnosis and treatment of humans†¦ in the care of communities, populations, individuals, and families† (American Nurses Association, 2004). From this description, it is common for most people to engage in the nursing career with the idea of helping or caring for families, individuals, and groups experiencing health related problems. It is around these views that the Nursing philosophical foundations build upon, for example, to achieve the nursing objectives nurses need to utilize the nursing opportunities, and methods in using evidence-based practice to develop high levels of wellness. As I had indicated

Students with Exceptional needs Essay Example for Free

Students with Exceptional needs Essay I observed a student with delayed developmental milestones in One Tree School. The student has very slow catching up capacity and according to her teacher she is left behind most of the time by the class. Her teacher ensures that before presenting lectures in class, he make a simplified copy of lecture notes which is given to the student. The teacher assures me that the teaching standards offered to the class are understandable to the student with delayed developmental milestone. In addition the student is given tape recorded material to assist her in re-evaluating the lectures after classes. The class environment is very favourable for this student because there are other three students with exceptional needs in the same class room. The school administration has established policies which ensure that all students with exceptional needs are served well and accorded quality standardized education. Other students in the classroom, who have no exceptional needs have been advised on how to handle, cope with, and assist this student to increase her understanding abilities. I asked to read the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and her teacher was very cooperative. The IEP of this student has been well designed based on her disability and knowledge capacity. It has included all the knowledge and skills which the students need in order to progress to the next grade. The IEP of this student has specifically included her educational program which is English language arts program. The IEP analyzes her current performance in class based on the examination and test results given by teachers, parents and other school staff. According to the individual education plan her disability has not affected her class work much because she is a bright student who is willing to learn. The IEP shows the annual goals and objectives which she is required to accomplish in terms of academic or behavioral needs. She has made measuring progress in her previous grades according to the achieved objectives. All special education services are included in the IEP and provided to the child. However, she is not allowed to participate in academic contests which involve arithmetic and geometry studies. She picks up very slowly both academically and socially. She has difficulty catching up with teachers in class especially when the presentation is very fast. She has a problem in finishing her class work assignments on time due to a slow speed of understanding. The student experiences difficulty in socializing and making friends with classmates and schoolmates. She spends most time in isolation and has developed low self esteem and lack of confidence. Teachers and the girl’s parents have collaborated to initiate measures which ensure the student’s needs are met. The girl is given extra tutoring after school and assessed using individual tests to update her academic level. Support groups are put up in place in the school to assist her in developing social and interpersonal skills. I would change the instructional delivery system by ensuring that the child is allowed to participate in challenging events such as geometry contests and taking arithmetic assignments to improve her overall understanding level. This will increase her self esteem and level of confidence. It will allow her to adapt in any kind of environment, despite her delayed developmental milestones. The student should be widely consulted and assessed to create instructions that will be effective in providing all required knowledge and skills. Grade Four English-language Arts Content Standards. Reading 1. 0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development Students understand the basic features of reading. They select letter patterns and know how to translate them into spoken language by using phonics, syllabication, and word parts. They apply this knowledge to achieve fluent oral and silent reading. Word Recognition 1. 1 Read narrative and expository text aloud with grade-appropriate fluency and accuracy and with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression. Vocabulary and Concept Development 1. 2 Apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, synonyms, antonyms, and idioms to determine the meaning of words and phrases. 1. 3 Use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of unknown words within a passage. 1. 4 Know common roots and affixes derived from Greek and Latin and use this knowledge to analyze the meaning of complex words (e. g. , international). 1. 5 Use a thesaurus to determine related words and concepts. 1. 6 Distinguish and interpret words with multiple meanings.

Operations Analysis: Starbucks

Operations Analysis: Starbucks Starbucks main focus has been on its employees. Starbucks understands that their employees are the driving factor and most important resource of the company. Starbucks provides each employee with a starting wage above minimum wage standards as well as a quality health care and benefits packages. They firmly believe that the welfare of their people, environment and community are linked to their success as a company. These principles provide an established and proven work environment for every staff member throughout every retail store owned or operated by Starbucks. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES Speed Starbucks is all about customer experience and the key aspect to that is not keep a customer waiting. Speed is an essential aspect, for the business, because the speed of their processes affects them in many ways. The profitability is affected when the staff keeps the customers waiting and this could cost them dearly, besides, with regard to the product, by being slow the quality of the food and beverage also suffers. One way of reducing time is to have efficient and smooth internal communications, and by keeping an adequate quantity of inventory, especially a well organized kitchen or working space. Quality Quality is probably the main performance objective as it is usually the one factor that differentiates it from its competitors. As mentioned above, as part of the customer experience, quality plays a main role. Quality encompasses a lot factors and a large portion of that depends on the customer perception of it. Quality is primarily affected by the quality of the resources, the time management etc. Starbucks could adopt a TQM approach and even have quality checks. They could take back feedback from customers from time to time to review their performance. Dependability Starbucks needs to be consistent in its performance, and the quality of service or product provided. One way to measure dependability of products is for example a business may look into the records of the amount of warranty claims made against a particular product. Flexibility Speed and Flexibility are related, the faster the processing time the better the chances of processes being adjusted quickly. Flexibility also involves a degree of being up to date and to accommodate the customer needs from time to time. Starbucks RD department would have to identify flavors and new mechanisms that could attract new customers and benefit the company. It also involves understanding the economy they work in, like creating a customized menu for the countries they serve in. Cost Cost affects a large chunk of how the company works, because no matter which company it is they all have a profit maximization objective. Major costs for Starbucks include the acquiring of coffee beans and Starbucks is very specific about the Arabica beans they procure, an example of minimizing cost would be how they have started growing their own coffee beans, which has given them better control over their costs by reducing supplier costs. Another method to do so is to update technology that better uses input and reduces waste. Of the 4 strategic perspectives, Resources applies best to Starbucks Financial resources affect Cost and Quality performance objectives. If quality is high, costs are usually high. However, Starbucks finds the balance between cost quality and provides a good quality product service at minimum cost. Physical resources refer usually to the area where business is carried out and affects the Speed element of the performance objectives. Starbucks all around the world have similar outlet design where to get to the counter; customers have to first pass through the seating area. It would be faster and probably more convenient to customers to have the counter closer to the entrance. Human resources include the knowledge and experience of employees/owner and affect the Dependability variable of the performance objectives. There is a requirement for all Starbucks employees to learn how to make the various drinks and also how to interact with customers. The way Starbucks employees interact with customers is very different from other of their outlets. Also, a drink made in one outlet sometimes doesnt differ at all from the same drink made in others. There lies a very high degree of consistency in the product and service of Starbucks. Technological resources affect the Quality, Speed and Cost variables of performance objectives. With better technology, costs can be reduced, speed may be increased and quality can be consistent. SUPPLY NETWORK The major aspect of Starbucks supply chain is the supply and distribution of the coffee beans. This is a complex process as the coffee and other related products need to be obtained from around the world to be delivered at their retail outlets. Starbucks follow the rule of Plan, Source, Make and Deliver for their supply chain. Their operations begin right from the planting of the coffee to brewing the perfect cup of coffee for their customers. Starbucks supply chain includes everything from planning the raw materials, to the manufacturing of the coffee and last but not the least distribution of this coffee to their retail outlets, and they successfully do this by positioning its own people inside of distribution centers, to keep watch over operations and forge stronger relationships with service providers. (Refer to Appendix 1) CUSTOMER ORDER PROCESS Store Entrance Cashier I Cashier II Payment Specialty Drink NO YES Pickup Counter Cashier Calls Order to the Barista Barista Repeats the order and prepares Products Eg. Coffee Bean Select and purchase supplies, hire and training Seen by Customer Not Seen by Customer Fig: Paryani, K. (2013) Product quality, service reliability and management of operations at Starbucks.International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, 3 (7), p.3-14. Available at: http://www.ijest-ng.com/vol3_no7/ijest-ng-vol3-no7-pp1-14.pdf [Accessed: 13 Mar 2013]. (Refer to Appendix 3 4) ORDER PROCESS MAPPING This order process mapping has been divided into three main portions, the customers viewpoint, the cashiers viewpoint and finally the baristas view point. From the customers viewpoint, the order process begins when the customer enters the store and begins to make an order. At this point depending on the speed of the order process, the customer could either wait at the queue or leave it he/she feels like it is time consuming. On reaching the cashier, the customer reads and chooses from the menu available and places an order to the cashier. The cashier then informs the customer about the specialties offered, like a caramel or chocolate topping etc. This is the decision point for both the cashier as well as the customer and the customer could alter the order further. After this point, the customer pays for the drink and proceeds to either in store or maybe wait at the special stools near the checkout counter to the collect the drink and proceed to leave. Next from the cashiers perspecti ve, the process begins with the opening of the store, and it is the responsibility of the cashier to ensure that they have necessary cash to make transactions, by ensuring that they have coins and other cash/notes. The actual order happens, when the customer chooses the drink or food places the order. The cashier then mentions the various options available like choosing a topping or cream etc. The cashier after confirming the order with the customer, then immediately calls out the order to the barista. After this, the cashier tells the customer the amount to be paid and collects the amount, along with a receipt for the order, and tells the customer the approximate time that will be taken for the drink to be prepared. The final approach is that of the barista. When the order is placed by the customer, the cashier calls out the order to the barista. The Barista then follows this up by calling out the order loudly once more. This is the poke-a-yoke approach, as a method of double check ing and ensuring that the right order is placed. After this, the barista proceeds to make the actual drink. At this point it can take two deviations, there could be a fail point and the barista may not make the drink properly, in which case the drink will be made again and the barista completes the drink and places it on the checkout counter or gives in to the customer in his/her seating area. The red arrows signify an interaction between the customer and the staff and how the viewpoint is different in both their terms. The green arrow is the cashier calling out the order to the barista. Fig: Perkins Will. (2012). Research journal. The Impact of an Operational Process on Space. VOL 04.02 (1), p43-44. TRANSFORMATION PROCESS MODEL Inputs Outputs Transformation Process Coffee beans Baristas and other staff Coffee Machine, condiment counter, food freezers and other equipment Coffee Customer Satisfaction Experience Preparation of Coffee Warming of Food Fig : Simple Transformation Model adapted from Shaw, N, 2010, Operating Systems, Performance Objectives and Operations Strategy, Operations Management 1, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh (Refer Appendix 2. ) The transformation process model shown below gives us an insight to the detailed version of the order process of Starbucks. It starts with the environment, which includes the customers of the coffee shop. The transformation process model is constructed keeping in mind the Starbucks customer experience that ensures when a customer leaves the coffee shop they have a smile on their face. Like the traditional transformational process this model also depicts the inputs, the transformation system and the outputs. This model creates a linkage between monitoring and control and the transformation system, which helps in enhancing customer experience and the environment in the shop. Environment Customers Inputs Customer Order Coffee Beans Staff Equipment including coffee machines and so on. Transformation System Preparation of coffee Food warming Output Prepared Coffee Starbucks Experience Monitoring and Control Fig: Detailed Tranformation process of the order process adapted from Operations management: The input/output transformation model. 2013. Operations management: The input/output transformation model. [ONLINE] Available at: http://cnx.org/content/m35439/latest/. [Accessed 13 March 2013]. PROBLEMS FACED Some of the primary problems faced by the company in terms of its operations and performance are as follows. Inadequate seating capacity and power sources. The cleanliness at the condiment counter is another issue. No new beverages options or menu and that not all beverages are available at different stores across the globe. Inconsistency in customer service and inventory. The Wi-Fi ports arent available at all stores. RECOMMENDATIONS A) Increase seating capacity: Starbucks can increase their seating capacity by having a outdoor seating area. They could also use comfortable, space friendly couches and bean bags that can be moved around easily to suit the customers comfort. By increasing the seating capacity of the store, more customers will prefer to dine in-store and this would mean that the order process will be serving a larger number of people at the given time. Staff would have to be on hand at all times. B) Cleanliness of the counters and the coffee desks: Starbucks has a separate condiment counter which hold additional sugar sachets, stirrers, mug holders, tissue napkins etc. Though the staff provides these along with the coffee order, customers can access this if they need any additional. A recommendation that we would suggest is to develop a good roster system that will ensure that staff take turns in keeping an eye on the coffee desks. This is essential to the order process, affecting the level of customer service and satisfaction. This could contribute effectively to improving both the speed and customer satisfaction of the order process, because this is a vital part of the process. C) Customized orders: Though Starbucks boasts of customizing their beverages on the request of the customers, like providing variety in their milk full cream, low fat, skimmed milk, soya milk etc. It was identified that most of the time, the store is out of inventory for the required order and this is a major weakness. This affects the order process, because it confuses the customer and the barista. This will have a direct impact on the order process such that, the staff taking the order will have to be specific in terms of mentioning their specialties available. The customer must be made aware of the choices available, and they should have the respective ingredients available for these options. D) Stores have Wi-Fi ports. Starbucks, like its competitors, provided the policy of free Wi-Fi ports in the store. However, not all stores are consistent in this aspect and many stores dont offer this facility. This will affect the order process, as customer like youngster and business people might actually leave the store due to this reason. E) Switch menu. Customers often feel like the Starbucks menu doesnt switch around much and also that they dont have all their options available in all store. We would advice Starbucks to incorporate the feedbacks from their customers into their menu and this again would directly affect the order process. CONCLUSION This report has effectively analyzed the operations of the Starbucks chain of coffee shops. The study looked into understanding the performance objectives by aligning them to the strategic objectives of the company. Furthermore, we have identified the suitable transformational model of the company and then explained in detail the order process. We chose the order process as the main focus of this paper, because we felt this was one the main operations of the company. We have identified how the order process functions and have also mapped out the entire process from the view point of the customer and the company. Finally, we have identified some functional problems and weaknesses of their operations. One the basis of site study as well as adequate research through company profiles and journals, they study has looked into amending some of these issues. The report has explained our recommendations towards addressing these issues and henceforth makes the operations of the store more bene ficial and profitable to both the company and customers. APPENDIX 1. They set a direction based on three broad action areas: service, cost, and talent. We make 80,000 deliveries per week globally and the store managers and baristas rely on us doing this well for them to be successful. Replenishment to our stores was not setting our stores up for success. We talked to store managers and they were clear that they could not be successful if the reliability and quality of supply was not good enough. 2. The basic model of transformation process indicates the inputs and outputs required by the firm. One of the main procedures of Starbucks is the order process that includes different inputs that are essential for the coffee shop. The inputs being, coffee beans, barista and other staff, the coffee machine, condiment, food freezer and other equipments. The outputs result in the hot and warm coffee and the customer satisfaction and experience. The process that led to the outputs includes the production of coffee and warming the food. 3. Starbucks utilizes an Assemble to Order process (ATO) when dealing with customers. ATO is a mixture of make to order and make to stock. Since customers like to personalize their order, Starbucks has an inventory in every branch to reach customers needs. The product is made when a customer puts in their order yet all the materials are kept at hand for workers to make each order accordingly. Also, they keep certain things made at all times on hand like caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee because its a common order thats expected to sell and can be customized for the specific customer such as adding sugar or milk if theyd like to. (Team 1 Starbucks, 2010) 4. A typical service blueprint of the order process at Starbucks is shown Below. To start the order process, the barista behind the cash register gives friendly service by looking the customer in the eye and then greeting the customer. The customer gives the order. If the order is for an espresso drink, the barista repeats the order, out loud, and states the ingredients in a predefined order (size, type of milk, type of coffee, etc.). The barista behind the espresso bar repeats the drink ingredients in the same order. This simple poka-yoke technique helps to guarantee that the drink will be made correctly the first time. This process is generally observed at in most Starbucks stores, where the barista asks for the customers name and repeats it with the drink order. In the early days, the baristas were trained to ask the customers name. Howard Schultz has brought this step back as another way to differentiate Starbucks from the other coffee shops; this act, in turn, has had a positive impact on improving market share. (Paryani, 2011) Names of team Members Team work (management/co ntribution /attendance of team meetings) Research (contribution to data collection / group discussions /idea generation /literature review) Final Report (report construction /report write up/diagrams/ referencing, etc.) Total contribution towards assignment Athina Abigail Dsilva 1 2 2 5 Callahan Jason Brown 2 1 2 5 Leni Vincent Joseph 2 1 2 5 Nida Saleem Siddiqui 2 2 1 5 Rudy Rosario 2 2 1 5 Vidhya Subramani 1 2 2 5 Total score 10 10 10 30

Sustainable information security policy in an organization

Sustainable information security policy in an organization Introduction The purpose of this research paper is to investigate how organizations design sustainable information security policies. Designing a sustainable information security policy is one of the most important issues facing organizations today. It should not only be the first step in an organizations information security policy program but a continuing process to ensure the policy should be maintained of high quality, it is clear, comprehensive and appropriate to the organizations specific business objectives, strategic goals and culture needs. This is a particularly salient issue in organizations that operate in numerous political, cultural, legal, geographic and economic environments and, by necessity, sometimes must have an information security policy that employees can follow and actually use. Information security represents a growing concern for organizations. As organizations are relying and becoming more dependent on information systems for staying competitive, gain strategic advantag e and operations, the issue of effective information security policy also becomes important and the necessary foundation for organizational information security. In an organization, some unique challenges can arise in designing an information security policy, such as policy differences arising through the various threats, risk acceptance and tolerance levels among business units; internal and external requirements at a country, local and national level; human factors; and cultural differences. In some cases, an organization may require a region-specific information security policy that may be more restrictive than a global information security policy. However, the reason why an information security policy has to be enforced on an organization is because the information security policy requires an effort from them. The literature review and an experimental study will be used to investigate, explore and understand different factors such as ease of use, designer perceptions of user shortcomings, attitude toward usage, peer influence, perceived behavioral control usage, perceived ease of use, quality of working life, work attitude and intentions as to how to design a sustainable information security policy in an organization. The research problem and goal. The research problem of this study is to investigate how to design a sustainable information security policy in an organization. Surprisingly, not too much is known about how to design security policies that pay attention to unique organizational security features, employees and business needs (Siponen and Iivari, 2006). In business, an information security policy is a document that states in writing how an organization should plan to protect its information systems and technology assets, provides guidance based on standards, regulations and rules of what to and what not to do. However the information security policy quality, flexibility and usability are limited. Therefore employees do not pay attention, understand, follow abide and break the information security policy. An information security policy that is viewed as design product and that is normative lists actions that the employees should follow or should not perform. The design of an information security policy does not necessarily make it possible to address all situations reasonably. However, to guide the design of the information security policy, the product and an application principle should state how it needs to be applied, and a design method should state how it needs to be crafted (Siponen and Iivari, 2006). Product design and development is a complex and lengthy process for organizations since it involves multiple participants from several organizational departments who are required to make decisions outside their area of expertise. To address the problem organizations often purchase ready made information security policies from various sources such as ISO, text books or adopt information security policies from government and other online sources. This leads to incomplete activities a nd flaws which lead to difficult to follow information security policy. Sound information security policy should protect the information and systems, as well as the individual employees and the organization as a whole from a wide variety of threats (Veiga, Martins and Eloff, 2007). It also should serve as a prominent statement to the outside world about the organizations commitment to information security. An information security policy is often considered to be a living document, meaning that the document is never finished but is continuously updated as technology, regulations and business requirements change. The information from systematic monitoring should serve as a critical input to evaluation, formulation, implementation and design of the information security policy. The information security policy should be seen not only as an artifact document of the organization to enforce best information security practices but also should identify details of what is acceptable or unacceptable and what is reasonable behavior from the employees in order to ensu re sound security of information. Information security policy should be sustainable. Information security covers people and process issues as well as technology. The design of information security policy in an organization should be integrated into a process that involves employee usability testing and input from various regions, regulations, industry standards and business units. An information security policy is the necessary foundation for a sound organizational information security. Information security policy should be able to enhance business operations by reducing risk, ensuring protection of organizational critical information assets and decreasing information systems security management costs as well as to improve information systems operations while also supporting the demands of internal and external compliance. Since many of these policies require human involvement, for example employee and customer actions, the goals should be measured and checked if they are met only if such human activities can be influenced and monitored and if positive outcomes have incentives while negative actions are sanctioned. The goal of this research study is to investigate how to design, create and maintain a sustainable information security policy using experimental methods and control focus groups in an organization. An effective information security policy should be based on a usability standard that can be achieved during the design techniques appropriate to implement sustainable information security policy. Importance of research problem The successful design of information security policy is critical in todays environment of rapid change and challenges in addressing information security policy compliance and effectiveness in organizations. The information security policy is the foundation on which a sound information security is built. As with any foundation, it must be well designed, and well constructed; it can then be trusted to support the organizations business objectives and goals effectively. It is essential that effective information security policy practices be in place in organizations to ensure the success of information security policy. Effective information security policy requires that users understand and follow the information security mission as described in the organizations information security policy. Flexibility and usability are essential elements of an information security policy life cycle, particularly of the design process of information security policy formulation and implementation. An information security policy needs to be sustainable and not rigid. While the importance of the information security policy in ensuring the security of information is acknowledged widely, to date, there has been little empirical analysis of its design, impact or effectiveness in this role. Designing sustainable information security policy is critical to protecting the organizations information systems and assets. The consequences of violating such as information security policy might be extensive and expensive. The organizations information security policy should be written with a clear understanding of the expected outcome and the need to be flexible and usable. The information security policy should incorporate clear definitions and user responsibilities (Gaunt 1998). It should also aim to influence behavior and turn employees into participants in the organizations efforts to secure its information assets. Information security policy plays an important role in preventing, detecting and responding to security threats and breaches. Organizations should have security controls to protect their information. One of the most important controls, according to Hone and Eloff (2002), is the information security policy. The information security policy is likely to be ineffective if it is not written well, understood, followed and accepted by all employees. The results of this study will help practitioners understand how an organization can design sustainable information security policy to achieve effective information security. Research argument The information security of an organization might be left in a less effective state in situations where information security policy is not followed by employees. Employee perception, in some instances, is that following the rules in information security policy interferes and gets in the way of doing their day-to-day work and their ability to accomplish their job tasks. This is because they feel as though this approach is cumbersome and a waste of time. An employees failure to comply with the information security policy is a key concern of information security practitioners and organizations. According to Desman (2002) information security is not a technical issue, but rather a human issue, therefore the most significant threat to the security of information in an organization is its employees (Gaunt 1998). Information security policy should be fair, reasonable, understandable, flexible and usable. If an information security policy is not flexible and usable, employees will not follow it and it will break. According to Besnard and Arief (2004), the design of security products and information security policy should rely more on the rules of human-computer interaction. The employees, independent of their knowledge and intellect, should be able to read an organizations information security policy understand, follow, comply and adhere to it. One of the ways to implement good information security practices in an organization is to ensure that a detailed information security policy is in place. The content of the information security policy is particularly significant, as it should be monitored for any changes after it is adopted to attain relevance and an understanding of whether there were changes due to the policy or program. According to Gaunt (2000) user participation in the development of an organization information security is necessary if it is to achieve wide acceptance. Problem Relevance According to Hone and Eloff (2002) one of the most important information security controls in an organization is the information security policy. However, this important document it is not always easy to put together and develop. Some organizations derive their information policy from business goals, service level agreements, industry best practices, and International Standard Organization standards such as ISO 27000, or copy paste from other ready made policy templates found or procured from textbooks or online resources. Content in information security policies differ according to the type of organization: for example, corporations, academic institutions, government, and within departments such as information technology, human resources, legal, and finance to name a few. The degree of guidance varies from very specific references of what to do or not to do and sanctions of not following the rules. Sanctions affect employees actual compliance with information security policy. According to Bia and Kalika (2007), the decision to formulate an information security policy, for example, a policy of acceptable use, occurs when the organization has experienced problems, conflict, damage, or business loss because of improper use of information security rules. The application of a security policy is considered essential for managing the security of information systems. Implementing a successful information security policy in an organization, however, is not a straightforward task and depends on many factors (Karyda, Kiountouzis and Kokolakis, 2004). Sometimes, employees view the information security policy as an obstacle and a barrier to progress and, in an effort, to do their job more efficiently, employees might not follow the rules set in the information security policy document. Despite the fact that organizations have information security policy in place, more often than not, the application of information security policy fails to attain its goals. To ensure that information security policy is effective, information security professionals must first understand the social elements, including cultural and generational variances that affect employee behavior and perceptions about information security policy (Cisco, 2008). According to Baskerville and Siponen (2002), strict access controls imposed during fast growing organizational changes can become an obstacle by limiting access to information thereby threatening the organizations survival. This problem is one of limiting organizational emergence because of limited information access and presents conflicting and stringent demands for security policy making. Unexpected business opportunities may require actions that conflict with their information security policy. Some of the problems facing organizations are of employees not following the information security policy, which reflects the social nature of human beings. According to Kabay (2002), an information security policy challenges employees to change the way they think about their own responsibility for protecting the organizations valuable information. Attempting to impose information security policy on unwilling employees results in resistance both because stricter information security procedures make jobs more difficult and because people do not like to be told what to do. The process of design and development of information security policy plays an important role in the life cycle of an information security policy and affects how people feel about the information security policy and whether they see rules as a needless imposition of power or an expression of their own values. Unfortunately, an information security policy conflicts with most peoples view of reality: for example, an empl oyee showing sensitive information to someone who does not have the appropriate level of authorization to view such information because they both work on the same project team. However, if users fail to comply with the rules, an information security policy can help deter abuse (Straub and Nance 1990). Although having an information security policy in an organization is essential, it is not enough to ensure an employees compliance with it. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to understand what factors should be considered in the design of a sustainable information security policy in order to motivate employees to comply with the information security policy and understand how important it is. Definitions of Terms For the purposes of this paper: Information security policy: by definition, an information security policy refers to a clear, understandable comprehensive and well-defined plan, rules, and practices that regulate access to an organizations system and the information included in it. It is defined as the security policy in a document that states in writing how an organization plans to protect the companys physical and information technology assets. Information policy: is defined as the combination of laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines that steer the creation, management, and use of information that greatly shapes the roles of information in society. Information policy includes a range of issues related to freedom of information, privacy, secrecy, security, intellectual property, and information and communication technologies among other policy areas. Information system security: is defined as the state of being free from unacceptable risk. Thus, information security focuses on reducing the risk of computing and communication systems, especially in regard to the misuse, destruction, modification or inappropriate disclosure of information either by intent or accident. Product design and development: in this paper refers primarily to the design and development of new information security policy. Research questions and Hypothesis. The main research question for this study is formulated as: How to design sustainable information security policy in an organization? Hypothesis: H1: Is there a significant difference between flexibility and usability? H2: Is there a significant relationship between flexibility and usability? H3: If an information security policy is usable then is there a need for sanctions? H4: If an information security policy is flexible then is there a need for rewards? Reference Agarwal, R and Sambamurthy, V. (2002). Principles and models for organizing the IT function. MIS Quarterly Executive, 1(1), 1-16. Baskerville, R., and Siponen, M. (2002). An information security meta-policy for emergent organizations. Logistics Information Management, 15(5/6), 337-346. Besnard, D. and Arief, B. (2004). Computer security impaired by legal users. Computers Security, 23(3), 253-26. Bia, M., and Kalika, M. (2007). Adopting an ICT code of conduct: An empirical study of organizational factors. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 20(4), 432-446. CISCO. Data leakage worldwide: The effectiveness of security policies, 2008, Retrieved March 29 2010 http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns170/ns896/ns895/white_paper_c11-503131.pdf Da Veiga, A., Martins, N., and Eloff, JHP. (2007). Information security culture validation of an assessment instrument. Southern African Business Review, 11(1), 147-166. Desman, M.B. (2002). Building an information security awareness program. Boca Raton, FL, Auerbach Publications. Doherty, NF., and Fulford, H. (2006). Aligning the information security policy with the strategic information systems plan. Computers Security, 25(1), 55-63. Eloff, JHP., Labuschagne L, and Badenhorst KP. (1993) A comparative framework for risk analysis methods. Computers and Security, 12(6), 597-603. Gaunt, N. (1998). Installing an appropriate IS security policy in hospitals. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 49(1), 131-134. Gaunt N. (2000). Practical approaches to creating a security culture. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 60(2), 151-157. Hone, K., and Eloff, JHP. (2002). Information security policy what do international security standards say? Computers and Security, 21(5), 402-9. Kabay, M. (1994). Psychological factors in the implementation of information security policy. EDPACS, The EDP Audit, Control, and Security Newsletter, 11(10), 1-10. Karyda, M., Kiountouzis, E., Kokolakis, S. (2005). Information systems security policies: a contextual perspective, Computers and Security, 24(3), 246-260. Lapke M., and Dhillon, G. (2008). Power relationships in information systems security policy formulation and implementation. European Conference on Information Systems, 16, 1358-1369. Siponen, M., and Iivari, J. (2006). Six design theories for IS security policies and guidelines. Journal of the Association for Information System,s 7(7), 445-472. Thomson, K. L., von Solms, R., and Louw, L. (2006). Cultivating an organizational information security culture. Computer Fraud and Security, 10, 7-11. Straub, D.W., and Nance, W.D. (1990). Discovering and disciplining computer abuse in organizations: A field study. MIS Quarterly, 14(1), 45-60. Warman, AR. (1992). Organizational computer security policy: the reality. European Journal of Information Systems, 1(5), 305-10. Zhang, Y., Liu, X., and Wang, W. (2005). Policy lifecycle model for systems management. IT Professional, 7(2), 50-54.

Anthem :: essays research papers

Removing the Stains From Society The world’s creatures have always yearned for a special peace that would allow all to become equal. This peace may bring about a utopian world but reality may strike and send a message of what life is really about. Some may think of life as a time to form justice and equality amongst all yet, others think of life as a time to become a higher more authoritative person that the rest of the world. The Residential Community at Beacon Hill Friends House provides the sort of utopian community that many imagine achieving. Everything is equal in a small world like this starting from the management of food to the use of the VCR. The Residential Community at Beacon Hill Friends House has set a realistic utopian society and has not yet corrupted the uniqueness of justice and equality amongst the residents as in Anthem. A utopian society is a form of society in which there is only equality and justice for all. Many utopian societies are formed for means of shelter to those who form similar opinions of how the world should work, some for educational purposes and others for a spiritual communion. The Residential Community at Beacon Hill Friends House was formed â€Å" To advance and foster the distinctive principles of the Religious Society of Friends, to provide opportunities for the development of leadership for the Society, and especially to establish and maintain a center where members of the Society and persons sympathetic to its principles, including those pursuing programs of study at other educational institutions, whether undergraduate, graduate, or special, may meet together, and where such persons may live, and where the principles of the Society may be advanced and fostered by study and example.† This society is still successful in its mission to provide what has been stated. This c ommunity is still open and willing to accept any applicant. There are many elements that are required to maintain a utopian society such as equal chores of an everyday household. There are responsibilities of every resident from cooking food to keeping the house clean. These chores have to be just otherwise the purpose of the utopian society is corrupted. All residents have the same right as any other member of the society yet there are some rules that are to be followed to help maintain the community. This is when a form of self-government comes into action.

Beowulf vs. Gilgamesh as Epic Heroes Essay -- Epic Hero

Clack! Bang! Swish! Auuuuugh! This is the sound of clanging armor, flying spears, and slicing swords. The sound of men howling in agony as their limbs are severed from a blood thirsty blow of the enemies sword can be heard from the four corners of the earth. This can only be described as the sound of great battle. Battle was a very important part of a man’s life back during the seventh and eighth centuries. Every battle has a man who stands out at the forefront and shines above the rest. During these two time periods there stood two great men: Gilgamesh, the selfish, lustful king, and Beowulf the proud and boastful warrior. These two men, both powerful and well-respected, embody the true essence of what it means to be an epic hero. Gilgamesh’s lifestyle and rash decisions make him the perfect candidate for a life lesson by the gods. Beowulf and his boastful nature ultimately lead him to be great in life and to later fall. Finally, the two epic heroes both share some of the same good and bad qualities, thus, making each one slight mirror images of one another. According to Webster's, an epic hero is â€Å"a larger than life figure from a history or legend, usually favored by or even partially descended from deities, but aligned more closely with mortal figures in popular portrayals†. The hero participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey, gathers allies along his journey, and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society from which the epic originates. They usually embody cultural and religious beliefs of the people. Many epic heroes are recurring characters in ... ...rs. In conclusion, Beowulf and Gilgamesh totally exemplify what is truly means to be a tragic hero. The two men’s lifestyles ultimately determined how their destiny would lay out. Every epic hero is the same no matter where they come from. Their proud demeanor, superhuman abilities, and treacherous journeys qualify them as special individuals because no ordinary could ever possibly do all that they do. Even though every epic hero possesses a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall, they always seem to get some good done before they leave the earth and fade into the afterlife. They are always themselves no matter what any opposition may think. No matter the circumstances they believe in the glitz and glory of battle and they always die with their name going on for ages and ages, thus, making these two the epitome of what it means to be a true epic hero.

Essay --

Some people should keep away from all material things as they distort a person’s wellbeing. As a transcendentalist, I strongly believe that people should not be influenced by material things. These are some of the reasons which create a rotten culture in the society. A good example is a case where someone desires to have a certain commodity that belongs to their friends, they end up stealing. The love for material things is responsible for the deterioration of good cultural practices in the society. It is important for people to live simple lifestyles without any form of complications or desire for big things. It is necessary to acquire a high self-esteem as well as morals. The three major fields which involve the participation of human beings should be characterized by the good character of the people involved. These include religion, literature and culture. In order to achieve the success of creating a stable personal state, it is necessary to consider intuition. As a transcendentalist, I have a strong value for nature based on the way it is. Nature happens to be so pure unlike the things mankind engages in creating on a daily basis. Some of these unnatural materials are contributing to the worsening of the society. Self-reliance is another very significant personal attribute I support. An independent person does whatever they can in the most possible way. This is not the person who has to wait for favors from others. The personal wellbeing and responsibility, as well as usefulness are enhanced by self-reliance. I desire to live the simplest form of life one can ever imagine thus living a happy life. Young states that simple lifestyles are not faced by numerous stresses of life or any form of complications. The more one aspir... ... the idea of people moving away from cultural and traditional practices. Most of these factors are good at taking people away from Godliness thus ruining the personal wellbeing. Some cultural practices employ the practice of wrongful deeds, which should not be conducted at all. Engaging in cultural practices helps in ruining the relationship between people because there are different customs in the society. Transcendentalism is helpful in the creation of simple lifestyles which do not cause problems in people’s lives. I have a strong belief in this movement because it enables people to live better lives. This is what everybody ought to practice in order to live less stressful lives. The benefits are numerous as one’s wellbeing enables them to develop strong connections with God. As well as themselves. After all, one's character is defined by what they believe.

Spirituality and Strength

My Strengths Strength is a word that is greatly misinterpreted. Strength is to overcome challenges that you face and to grow from them. To most, strength only comes in physical form, while for others strength comes emotionally as well as spiritually. One can be small yet strong or one can even be scared yet strong. Strength has no set rules or requirements. Strength is going against all odds to end up prevailing. Being physically strong is the ability to sustain the capacity of a force without breaking or yielding.To be mentally strong is to emerge with confidence through an emotional series of events. For one to be spiritually strong they must have faith in what you believe when the odds are stacked against you. Everyone in life strives to be strong. Why? It is human nature. Physical strength is to prevail through obstacles that test your body to its limits. Physical strength is fighting a disease such as skin cancer. Listening to the doctors tell me that the chances of living a lon g healthy life are not excellent. After telling me all this they expect me to be that same person who was lways there for others.But who was there for me? Physical strength is fighting the never ending battle of drowsiness, when I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. This was a hopeless battle when I had so many things to do in so little time, Meyer 2 with no energy to spare. Yet, all I wanted to do was to fall into a deep sleep and escape all my responsibilities for the moment. Physical strength is being the strongest that I can be. This is waking up six days a week at the first light of day and pushing my body to its limits at the gym surrounded by other bodies dripping of sweat.It is to fight the endless struggle of laziness of a typical college student and workout even when I have had a long day, with few hours of sleep, and no time in my schedule. Physical strength is a daunting task to seek out but with hard work and perseverance it can be achieved. Mental strength is the ability to overcome hardship, pain, and suffering. The ability to use those experiences from depression in a positive way, to grow and develop from the most painful situations imaginable. That is what mental strength is all about. I have always been told that the strongest are always most successful.My success is the new person that I have become. I ignore the Judgmental looks and comments made by those I love and those I hate. I handle being ridiculed and gossiped about by those, who in the past, I had put all my trust in. Mental strength is dealing with the drama and stress of high school. It takes strength to walk down those cramped hallways alone and be watched by those who I used to be able to call my friends, and having no one to talk to. Even though I feel as though I am alone within a crowd of faces and shadows, bumping into me, trying to knock me down I do not get intimidated.On weekdays at six in the morning I look in the mirror and plaster on a brave face to fool others into thi nking that nothing is wrong. I have the strength to not fall in to the deadly trap that people lay out when they make fun of you have with everyone and with yourself. Spiritual strength is the will to believe when all others do not. It is the fight for faith, something that could be imaginary, but that I see as real. It is the urge to die for what I believe in. I maintain my strength while I am tested on my faith in God by countless people, Judging me for following and acting on my beliefs in God.I would rather die protecting my spirituality then live a lie full of regret. In my times of trouble I have come to realize God is the light, the truth, and the way when all other paths are taken over with darkness. My strength is overcoming the hardship of following the unknown and not knowing where it will take me. It is putting my faith trust in God, and praying when I feel scared or upset. Every Sunday morning and Wednesday night I devote myself to the life of the church, the body, and the blood of Jesus Christ. Some say that by having spiritual strength I am condemning myself.On the contrary, in having spiritual strength I am freeing myself to a life full of Joy and happiness. Above all, to have spiritual strength is to have faith, love, patience, dedication and hope in God. In conclusion, there are three types of strength I have exhibited throughout my life; physical, mental, and spiritual. To have physical strength is to excel in challenges that are made upon the body. To have mental strength is to when my limits are tested. To have spiritual strength is to stick to what I believe is morally right in life. These strengths tie into how I live my life day by day.