Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Kenya Timeline essays

Kenya Timeline essays 1000 BC Many different types of African people started to settle in Kenya. 5000B.C. The first great civilization in Africa began in the Nile Valley. 700 AD The Arabs established coastal settlements. 1500-1700 The Portuguese ruled all of the coastal area. 1895 Kenya became a colony of Britain. 1901 Britain completed a railroad in between Mombassa and Lake Victoria. 1950 Nairobi became the capital of Kenya. 1920s The Europeans controlled all of Kenyas government. 1929 Jomo Kenyatta went to Great Britain to argue for Kenyas freedom. 1940 Kenyans began a movement against British rule. 1944 The Kikuyu and other Kenyans formed a political party called the Kenyan 1947 Jomo Kenyatta became the leader of KAU. (Kenya Africa Union) 1953 The British declared state of emergency and sent 80,000 Africans to 1956 Kenya began the process of self government. 1963 Kenya gained independence from Britain, and became a free nation. 1978 President Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyas first leader, died. Vice President Daniel T. 1982 KANU officially became Kenyas only illegal political party. 1990 Riots broke out in Nairobi to support of a multiparty system. 1991 Kenyas constitution was amended to allow for a multiparty system. 1992 Moi became the president of the KANU. ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Biography of Aristotle, Influential Greek Philosopher

Biography of Aristotle, Influential Greek Philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was one of the most important western philosophers in history. A student of Plato, Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great. He later went on to form his own Lyceum (school) in Athens, where he developed important philosophical, scientific, and practical theories, many of which had great significance during the Middle Ages and are still influential today. Aristotle wrote on logic, nature, psychology, ethics, politics, and art, developed one of the first systems for classifying plants and animals, and posited significant theories on topics ranging from the physics of motion to the qualities of the soul. He is credited with developing deductive (top-down) reasoning, a form of logic used in the scientific process and highly valued in business, finance, and other modern settings. Fast Facts: Aristotle Known For: One of the greatest and most influential philosophers of all time, as well as a tremendously important figure in the history of science, mathematics, and theaterBorn: 384 BCE in Stagira, GreeceParents: Nichomachus (mother unknown)Died: 322 BCE in Chalcis, on the island of EuboeaEducation: Academy of PlatoPublished Works: Over 200 works, including Nichomachean Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics, Poetics, and Prior AnalyticsSpouse(s): Pythias,  Herpyllis of Stagira (mistress with whom he had a son)Children: NicomachusNotable Quote: Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny. Early Life Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in the city of Stagira in Macedonia, a seaport on the Thracian coast. His father Nichomacus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia. Nichomacus died while Aristotle was still young, so he came under the guardianship of Proxenus. It was Proxenus who sent Aristotle, at age 17, to complete his education in Athens. Upon arriving in Athens, Aristotle attended the institution of philosophical learning known as the Academy, which was founded by Socrates pupil Plato, where he stayed until Platos death in 347. Aristotle was an outstanding pupil and soon began giving his own lectures on rhetoric. Despite his impressive reputation, however, Aristotle often disagreed with Platos ideas; the result was that, when a successor to Plato was selected, Aristotle was passed over in favor of Platos nephew Speusippus. With no future at the Academy, Aristotle was not at loose ends for long. Hermeas, ruler of Atarneus and Assos in Mysia, issued an invitation for Aristotle to join his court. Aristotle remained in Mysia for three years, during which he married the kings niece Pythias. At the end of the three years, Hermeas was attacked by the Persians, leading Aristotle to leave the country and head to the island of Lesbos. Aristotle and Alexander the Great In 343 BCE, Aristotle received a request from King Phillip II of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander. Aristotle agreed to the request, spending seven years working closely with the young man who would later become the famous Alexander the Great. At the end of seven years, Alexander was crowned king and Aristotles work was complete. Though he left Macedonia, however, Aristotle stayed in close touch with the young king, corresponding regularly; it is likely that Aristotles counsel had a significant impact on Alexander for many years, inspiring his love of literature and the arts. The Lyceum and Peripatetic Philosophy Leaving Macedonia, Aristotle returned to Athens where he set up The Lyceum, a school that became a rival to Platos Academy. Unlike Plato, Aristotle taught that it is possible to determine the end causes and purposes of existence and that it is possible to figure out these causes and purposes through observation. This philosophical approach, called teleology, became one of the major philosophical concepts of the western world. Aristotle divided his study of philosophy into three groups: practical, theoretical, and productive sciences. Practical philosophy included the study of fields such as biology, mathematics, and physics. Theoretical philosophy included metaphysics and the study of the soul. Productive philosophy focused on crafts, agriculture, and the arts. During his lectures, Aristotle would constantly walk back and forth around the Lyceums exercise grounds. This habit became the inspiration for the term peripatetic philosophy, meaning walking around philosophy. It was during this period that Aristotle wrote many of his most important works, which had profound impacts on later philosophical thinking. At the same time, he and his students conducted scientific and philosophical research and amassed a significant library. Aristotle continued to lecture at the Lyceum for 12 years, finally selecting a favorite student, Theophrastus, to succeed him. Death In 323 BCE when Alexander the Great died, the Assembly in Athens declared war against Alexanders successor, Antiphon. Aristotle was considered an anti-Athenian, pro-Macedonian, and so he was charged with impiety. Bearing in mind the fate of Socrates, who was unjustly put to death, Aristotle went into voluntary exile to Chalcis, where he died one year later of a digestive ailment in 322 BCE at the age of 63. Legacy Aristotles philosophy, logic, science, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and system of deductive reasoning have been of inestimable importance to philosophy, science, and even business. His theories impacted the medieval church and continue to have significance today. Among his vast discoveries and creations are included: The disciplines of natural philosophy (natural history) and metaphysicsSome of the concepts that underlie Newtonian laws of motionSome of the first classifications of living things based on logical categories (the Scala Naturae)Influential theories about ethics, war, and economicsSignificant and influential theories and ideas about rhetoric, poetry, and theater Aristotles syllogism is at the basis of deductive (top-down) reasoning, arguably the most common form of reasoning used today. A textbook example of a syllogism is: Major premise: All humans are mortal.Minor premise: Socrates is a human.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal. Sources Mark, Joshua J. Aristotle. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 02 Sep 2009.Shields, Christopher. â€Å"Aristotle.†Ã‚  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 09 July 2015.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Ikea Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Ikea - Research Paper Example According to a research made in 2008, the company has been considered as the largest furniture retailing firm in the world. Overtime, proportions of discretionary spending of consumers in most economies have increased with rise in per capita. Such changes in composition of consumers’ expenditure have helped to enhance revenues of comfort product producing companies like, IKEA (Peng, 2010). Even so, it is also true that since the global financial crisis, aggregate income generated from the retail sector in the international market has fallen due to recessionary trails in economies. A very strong rival of IKEA, MFI Group Limited (a furniture retailing firm in U.K.) was forced to shut down its business during such critical conditions. So, since 2008, IKEA is facing strategic issues in business. The aggregate sales of the firm were recorded as 20.9 billion in 2009 and annual growth was approximately 1.4% since then (IKEA Group, 2013c). Rather, due to financial crunches, IKEA had t o cut down almost 5000 jobs in 2009 (IKEA Group, 2013b). Thus, from the above analysis, it can be claimed that the company needs to frame appropriate productive strategies in business which will help it to expand the scope of business internationalization and increase revenue in the long run. The following context of the paper will study the strategic initiatives that are already undertaken by IKEA as well as suggest ways through which the company would be able to strategically grow in the long run (Twarowska and Kąkol, 2013). From the above context, it is evident that IKEA is facing problems since emergence of the financial crisis. The company lacks adequate manpower to enhance its overall productivity. Moreover, aggregate demand experienced in company’s domestic market has also fallen. This is evident from the annual report of the company. The gross revenue of IKEA was recorded as US$ 2583982 in 2012 and US$ 2406539 in 2011 (IKEA Group, 2013a). Even so, the liabilities in business

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Meaning of Integrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Meaning of Integrity - Essay Example In some cases, integrity has been used to refer to the work of art, a defense system, or a computerized database. When used on objects, integrity refers to the purity, intactness, and wholeness of a thing. Many different facets of integrity help people understand its different meaning. Various aspects and facets of a person’s life are attributed to integrity. In most cases, people speak of attributes such as artistic, intellectual, and professional integrity. Although the term has different facets that explore on its meaning, the most philosophical aspect of it is that it relates to the general character. Specifically, philosophers have attempted to understand what it is for an individual to demonstrate integrity throughout life. Many have tried to answer the question of what it is to be a person of integrity. In summary, the philosophers’ discourse about integrity revolves around two fundamental elements. The first element is the formal relation that an individual has to oneself and secondly, the aspect of acting morally, no matter what the environment is. A person of integrity is one that does what is right despite the pressures or challenges he finds himself into. Such an individual is not moved by emotions, but by a strong character that stands for moral purpose. One of the integration outlooks of integrity is the act of keeping self uncorrupted and self-intact. It is important to note that an individual is subject to many conflicting desires. If an individual acts towards the conflict desires, then he or she acts without integrity. Integrity requires one to destroy the sinful nature that is to fulfill human desires such as greed, corruption, and immorality just to name a few. Integrity requires one to make a sober decision between doing what is right and what is wrong. For example, one may endorse the desire to outlay and study, a desire to party or go to church, and a desire to be unfaithful or faithful. The decisions that human beings make depend so much on integrity that one possesses. A person of integrity is one that is not determined by the environment he is in, but chooses to do what is right in spite of the cost or challenge. Fully integrated people do not fall into victims of immorality, corruption, or greed. Rather, they try to do the best they can to live an appealing life. A person of integrity bases judgment on positive desires and commitments. Personal integrity demands one to stand for something. This explains why an individual chooses to do the right thing regardless of being in the midst of something or an environment that would push one to make the wrong choice. As philosophers view it, integrity is having regard on one’s role and respect over what is worth and valuable doing. It means doing the right thing at all circumstances and times regardless of whether someone is watching or not. It takes the courage for an individual to do the right thing at the right time, independently on the consequen ces. For years, many people have believed that it takes years to build integrity, but it only takes seconds to ruin and lose it. With this, it is important for one to safeguard his personal life to preserve integrity, which is costly to have. Every individual should strive to attain the reputation of integrity. At all cost, one should avoid people that ruin one’s reputation. A person should be conscious of his or her action as there are consequences that follow. Success may come and go, but integrity remains forever. Thus, as people work hard to be successful in life, they should also strive hard to attain integrity that helps one to achieve his intended goals. In workplace, integrity is a word that reflects on an employee’

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Policing Domestic Violence Essay Example for Free

Policing Domestic Violence Essay Domestic violence can be considered to be an act of violence which has been observed to occur in every socio-economic class as well as within all cultures. Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of coercive control that one individual intermittently exerts over another by means of spiritual, emotional, sexual, physical or economic abuse (http://www. dvvap. org/i). This form of exploitation has victimized mostly the women and children and men in much fewer cases and it continues to be perpetrated all over the world. In some regions or nations of the world, domestic violence has become a daily occurrence. Domestic violence leads to very drastic effects on the family, especially if perpetrated on both women and children. When this form of violence is done through physical harm, it results to injury, disability or even death in victims. Mental problems that may also occur usually make the victims feel unloved, lonely and have low self-esteem. Depression occurs in many victims of psychological abuse, which in turn may cause severe isolation of the victims from family and friends. Sexual violence and incest are other forms of domestic violence. In some regions of the world, domestic violence causes continue to rise due to patriarchal, cultural and religious traditions, (Human Rights Watch, 2005. , pp 12). All over the world, different governments handle domestic violence in many ways due to differing views on violence Different proposals have been presented to encourage the governments to have certain views on this form of violence. According to Lisa, domestic violence should be treated as a political and public problem. It should also be viewed as a breach of the human rights. It is a violation of human rights which every individual is entitled to. Those who perpetrate actions of violence against the others should be stopped, (Lisa, H. 78-79). Policing domestic violence refers to a scientifically developed application that aims at solving the domestic violence problem. In the past, it has involved testing of hypothesis in relation to the classification, prediction and the domestic violence prevention. Policing domestic violence policing as a tool of solving domestic violence also experiences several challenges as a crime prevention strategy (Hoctor, M. 53). In order to identify more effective policing strategies for domestic violence prevention and control, a culture of science is very necessary where the strategy integrates trial and error as a norm in crime prevention. The domestic violence policing programs aim at offering support to victims of domestic violence while at the same time preventing domestic violence. However, the public has raised concern about the domestic violence public policy. Lawrence et al states that in the past, the public has been concerned about the domestic violence policy. This is because it is sometimes based on ideology and it lacks evidence based on science. The public advocates for an effective domestic violence policing which should be practical and also be implemented appropriately. This would be a very good measure in preventing domestic violence (Lawrence S. et al, 24). In the last decade, police response to domestic violence has been criticized with a claim that the police did not take violence incidents seriously. However, effective measures to curb domestic violence are being developed and implemented through better policing. In this paper, the domestic violence policing issue will be discussed. The ethical stance of domestic violence in policing will be looked at, as well as the police departments’ responsibility of policing. The past system and current issues arising due to violence will be evaluated. Discussion For effective policing in domestic violence, a cultural evolution in policing needs to be developed in order to support the scientific revolution in order to solve the domestic violence problem. The cultural evolution rapid movement requires a growing partnership between the police and criminologists, public health community officers and professional scientists. Coherence of approach by the different police units to domestic violence is promoted by policy statements or documents where the Police officers introduce the policy documents with varying extent and content. With the increasing reports of domestic violence to the police, the police service has been required to utilize their limited resources to improve domestic violence service delivery to the people. Domestic violence is a great concern for the community where the police intervene in many cases. Whenever the police receive an initial call for assistance, it is their responsibility to provide immediate protection to the victim due to the fact that the police have certain powers which allow them to respond to domestic violence incidents. Whether the victims feel confident in contacting the police departments later in future will depend on how the police perform their tasks when the victim makes the initial contact (Lawrence, S. 126). The police have a major role in arresting criminals or offenders with the perpetrators of domestic violence considered as criminals because they undermine the human rights of the victims. The suspects are usually arrested and charged if there is enough evidence of violence against the victim. However, law enforcement officers should ensure that the suspect’s rights are not violated until the truth is established much later as one of the requirement in the police departmental policy. The police forces have domestic violence policy documents which contain written aims and priorities that are expected to assist them either solve, prevent or reduce domestic violence incidents. The policy documents normally contain the domestic violence definition, its implications, as well as guidance about the various police response components. The responsibility to implement domestic violence policies is something that is shared across a range of the police roles. The policies are very vital in protecting domestic violence victims against actions of exploitation such as domestic violence involving withholding of economic resources from a victim. Some children are even denied education through this form of abuse, as well partners who do not work. This denies the victims their basic needs, which is considered unethical and unacceptable. Domestic violence policing prevents this form of exploitation and instead promotes ethical practices in the society. Through policing, public safety problems are defined, analyzed and effective solutions to the problems addressed. Though the society is responsible for propagating ethics, it sometimes undermines the ethics if it allows domestic violence to occur without taking any action. For instance, in patriarchal societies, men are sometimes allowed to completely dominate over women. This had led to lack of knowledge and empowerment in women to speak out against violence, whereby the victims lack the ability to express their views and opinions with those who do not adhere to this being severely punished through domestic violence. Domestic violence policies have been developed to address such cultural practices with the police ensuring that law enforcement in relation to such policies is carried out. The police department should have the responsibility of policing domestic violence in the community because they are law enforcers who are responsible for ensuring law and order is maintained in the society and the human rights are well protected. Preventing and reducing domestic violence is one of the ways in which the human rights of everyone in the community are protected. For instance in Australia, police powers and procedures are well set out in the Crimes Act 1990(Policing Domestic Violence in New South Wales NSW, 1999). In addition, the police powers can be found in the police guidelines, referred to as Domestic Violence Standard Operating Procedures. Another example can be seen in the US, where the police department has adopted mandatory arrest policy for domestic violence cases. For spousal violence cases, arrest based on probable cause could be done where the Police officers were allowed to arrest suspects without a warrant as long as the officers had probable cause whether he/she had witnessed the incident or not. This was happening in 23 states of the United States of America by the year 2005 (Hoctor, M. 007) Another reason why the police should participate in domestic violence policing is that, the legislation that protects people from domestic violence in most cases directs the police to intervene in protecting the victims of domestic violence. The police have the power to exercise arrest of criminals or offenders when need be. In policing domestic violence, domestic violence incidents should be stopped as soon as possible making the arrest of offenders by the police an effective means of stopping domestic abuse. This therefore makes it their vital responsibility in policing domestic violence with the responsibility aiming at stopping the conflict, as well as protecting and ensuring the immediate safety for the victims. As law enforcers, the police have a responsibility to ensure criminals are charged in court which mitigates future abuse. The police department receives reports on domestic violence from the community members and then investigates the cases to establish the cause of the abuse, the effects and the victim or offender. After establishing the facts about a case, offenders are charged in court. For instance policies allow police officers to apply for an apprehended violence order (AVO), which guides the judicial process (Lawrence, S. 101). Good police service initiatives in the police departments that enhance awareness in people about violence and service delivery show that they should have a good responsibility in domestic violence policing. The police departments in many nations have instituted the initiatives as a result of their recognition that a high percentage of people in our community are now aware that domestic violence is a crime. These initiatives include, public awareness through advertising campaigns, placement of domestic violence liaison officers (DVLO), specialized training for officers, working with the Attorney General and the development of COPS (Computerized Operational Policing system) to produce statistics relevant to the development of effective domestic violence prevention measures. The initiatives are a good indication of how effective the police department can be in domestic violence policing. The domestic violence issue has attracted widespread public concern, in the past and also in the current world. However, the past system differs with the current system in relation to how policing in domestic violence was/is handled. In the past, the number of domestic violence cases that were reported was fewer than the current number of the cases reported to the police. The continued increase of the reported cases in turn has necessitated the development of measures that will curb the violence effectively. This has led to the development of new measures/policies to address this problem. However, in the past, this problem was not handled with much seriousness as it is now which made the past system less effective in domestic violence policing. Cultural beliefs and practices in the past contributed to continued domestic abuse, because the victims were sometimes convinced that they deserved to be abused. Different societies have changed their beliefs towards domestic violence over time with people become more aware of domestic violence as a crime currently, which has greatly assisted in effective domestic violence policing. People are more willing to speak out about this issue in the modern world as compared to the past years. Modern police service initiatives have enhanced better domestic violence policing as compared to the past system of policing. For instance placement of domestic violence liaison officers (DVLO) in the local areas as a modern initiative has made it easy for people to report violence cases. In addition, offenders are easily apprehended and charged for their offences. In the past, lack of awareness in some victims and the community as a whole in policing encouraged continued abuse because the offender had no action taken against them. Current systems have developed specialized training for officers, which involves training of officers in response to domestic violence and other issues that surround domestic violence. On the other hand, the past systems did not have such training programs. The standard operating procedures (SOP) launching together with the development of computerized operational policing system (COPS) have been very instrumental in adoption of effective domestic violence policing measures in the modern systems (Policing Domestic Violence in New South Wales NSW,1999). The domestic violence policing have also experienced several problems. The policing may lack inadequate support which may in turn undermine how effective the policing can be in solving domestic violence. The police officers who handle domestic violence cases have been accused of not providing the involved parties with enough information and sometimes they have an inappropriate attitude towards the victims. In addition, they have shown unsympathetic, rude and indifferent behavior towards the victims. Nevertheless, solutions to these problems have been integrated in domestic violence policing programs to ensure domestic violence is prevented. Though domestic violence prevention measures were present in the past, current measures have been developed to improve on the past strategies

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Rates of Reaction Experiment :: Papers

Rates of Reaction Experiment Rate of reaction means the rate of formation of a product/disappearance of a reactant, this is useful because we can time the different concentrations reacting with the acid, and give each of them a rate, based on the formula rate = 1/time. Rate of reaction is what we use to measure how quickly a reaction takes to reach a certain point in the reaction in this case it is when it gets to certain cloudiness. In this investigation, we will need to measure the time of the reaction, so we can make a rate for it, to do this we use the formula, - rate = 1/time * 1000, we use the *1000 so that it is a manageable number to plot on a graph if necessary. It is generally measured in time, as this is the only means possible to us; however you must be careful because as heat is a catalyst, it strongly affects the rate as you will see in the results, so we have to try and keep it the same throughout the experiment. The reaction we are studying is very easy to monitor and time. All of the products in the solution dissolve into it (sodium chloride, sulphur dioxide and water), apart from sulphur, which makes the solution go cloudy, and forms a precipitate. This can be written down as s-1for example 15.7 s-1means 15.7 per second is the rate of the reaction. The rate is generally measured by selecting a certain amount of two substances, and finding a suitable way of judging when the reaction has finished, the reaction is then timed, and when you have a time, you put it into the formula rate = 1/time *1000.This is the only method available to us, because it can not be done any other way for this experiment, but others may be measured in different ways, i.e. mass loss, or amount of gas evolved could be measured. The Equations for this experiment are: Sodium thiosulphate + Hydrochloric acid à   Sodium chloride + sulphur +

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Pension Plan Paper

The Post Retirement Benefit of Pension Plans Marcus Womack Intermediate Accounting II (ACC 306) Professor Rick Kwan September 29, 2010 There are several different types of employment compensation. Salaries and wages that people earn while they are working provide immediate compensation for services provided and are a key factor in managing one’s day to day life. However, there are also various types of compensation that one can earn from employment after they have retired from a company. The purpose of these post-retirement benefits is to ensure livelihood for a person when they are no longer able to work.A pension is one such plan. A pension is an arrangement—paid in regular installments–to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. The goal of pension plans is accomplished by setting aside funds during the years that an employee is working and making those funds along with earnings from investing those funds available when retirement occurs. A pension created by an employer for the benefit of an employee is commonly referred to as an occupational or an employer pension and for tax reasons, are usually advantageous to the employer and employee.Favorable tax treatment is an added benefit of pension plans established under specific guidelines. Employers earn special tax deductions while employees are only taxed on the fund contributions after retirement occurs. There are other mutual benefits as well. An employee with a pension plan often feels a sense of retirement security that will cause them to work harder and stay at their job longer. Increased productivity and decreased turnover as a result of sufficient retirement plan offerings enhances a company’s competitive ranking in the labor market.Pension plans may be classified as either defined benefit or defined contribution plans depending on how the benefits are determined. Defined contribution plans are plans in which the employ er agrees to contribute a fixed amount to the employee’s pension fund each year that the employee is employed. Retirement benefits are contingent on how much money the plan accumulated during employment and the return of investment of those funds. Employers offer designated options for employees to choose where their funds are invested such as stocks or fixed income securities. 01(k) plans offered by private sector employees and 403(b) plans offered by public and non-profit employers are two types of defined contribution plans. In a defined benefit plan the contract between employer and employee states that the employer contributes a specific amount to a pension fund and at retirement pays the employee a fixed monthly income for life. The benefit on retirement in this plan is determined by a set formula. This formula is usually either a dollar times service or final average pay calculation, or a combination of both. Sometimes the age of the employee is a factor as well.In thi s arrangement, it is up to the employer to ensure that the funds are available to provide the benefits to employees once they retire. In addition to the burden of being completely financially responsible for funding this type of plan there are other reasons for which defined benefit plans have lost their popularity. Three main reasons are the fact that government regulations make administering the plan costly and cumbersome, employers have become more interested in attracting new talent as opposed to building long-term loyalty and there are several market risks that go along with the company’s obligation to contribute to the plan.Kilgour (2007) discussed many of the issues surrounding pension plan funding and the creation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The Bush administration proposed an overhaul of pension law that served to strengthen pension plan funding and protect the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) by increasing the cost of employer contributions. Th e requirements outlined added significant costs, risk and complexity to defined benefit plan sponsorship and is a contributor to the fact that today more than two-thirds of workers are covered by defined contribution plans.The market risk that exists is associated with the changes in the value of investments with the plans. While both types of plans carry market risks, the risks associated with defined benefit plans lies on the shoulders of the employer while those associated with defined contribution plans are assumed by the employee. During periods of economic growth the cost of maintaining a pension fund decreases due to the rising values of investments. Employers are able to contribute less and still meet future pension obligations.However, when markets go down the employer has to contribute more money to the plan to ensure that they are able to pay retirees their promised funds. Retirees receive the same dollar amount of income regardless of market conditions. With defined cont ribution plans the risks and rewards are reversed. Since the retiree both assumes risks and reaps benefits, periods of economic growth cause the retiree’s wealth and income to increase and negative market changes cause the opposite to occur. Employers have agreed to a fixed amount and are unable to adjust their contributions downwards.In essence, with this type of pension plan the employer does not take on the risk of their obligation changing unexpectedly, the pension funds being inadequate to meet their obligation or any added periodic expense of carrying a pension plan. Once retirement occurs, the company’s financial commitment ends. The pension obligation is defined as attributable to retirees and other employees entitled to benefits and current employees depending on their service to date. In regards to pension accounting, there are three different ways to measure the pension obligation.Accumulated benefit obligation (ABO) and projected benefit obligation (PBO) ar e two of these methods. The accumulated benefit obligation is the estimate of the total retirement benefits (at their discounted present value) earned by employees so far. It applies the pension formula using existing compensation levels. The ABO assumes that the employee is fired or retires on the date that the calculation is performed and is therefore what the pension fund must pay the employee should the employer and or employee make no further contributions and the employee retires immediately.It is the present value of the future liability of an employee’s pension. In contrast, the projected benefit obligation is the estimate of the total retirement benefits earned by the employee so far and applies the pension formula using estimated future compensation levels. The PBO assumes that the employee will continue to work and make contributions to the pension plan. It also assumes that the contributions to the fund will increase as the employee’s salary increases.While the ABO’s objective estimate of benefits is reliable it does not take into account that between the present time and retirement there will likely be increase in salary so calculating the benefits and taking this increase into consideration may offer a more realistic picture. The projected benefit obligation is an estimate of the present value of the future liability of the pension. When examining a calculation of the PBO, substituting the employees existing compensation in the formula for their projected salary at etirement would result in the accumulated benefit obligation. Pension plan reporting is an often-changing and complex topic of discussion. The funded status of a pension plan is one such aspect. This is the status of the pension plan that has accumulated assets that have been set aside for the payment of retirement benefits. It is defined as the difference between the projected benefits obligation and the fair value of plan assets—employer contributions and accumulated earnings on the investment of those contributions to be used to pay retirement benefits.In Reilly’s (2006) article he discusses the fact that for almost twenty years companies have been required to include the amount owed to employees based on the PBO in the footnotes of financial statements. Even though neither the PBO nor the plan assets are reported on the balance sheet, in 2006 it became a requirement that companies report the difference between these two values on the balance sheets rather than just showing them in the footnotes.Reporting of the funded status sparked debate because moving this information to the balance sheet could force companies to recognize a large liability, which could possibly cut their net worth, hinder dividend payments or jeopardize lending agreements. Reilly argued that this change could prompt more companies to freeze pension plans. Pension obligations change from year to year for several reasons. These reasons include the performa nce of investments, switching methods and assumptions and changes in benefits.To help provide greater transparency of assets and related liabilities of post-retirement benefits The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has established rules for reporting benefit plans in accounting statements. There are several steps companies must take in this reporting in addition to disclosing the funded status of their plans. First, companies must â€Å"recognize as a component of other comprehensive income, net of tax, any gains or losses and prior service costs or credits that arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost† (Reinstein, 2007).Amounts of comprehensive income are reported on a cumulative basis in the balance sheet. Companies must also measure defined benefit plan assets and obligations as of the date of the employer’s fiscal year-end balance sheet. In their financial statements companies must disclose certain informat ion about effects on net periodic benefit costs for the next fiscal year that arise from delayed recognition of the gains or losses, prior service costs or credits and transition assets or obligations (Reinstein, 2007).Companies are required to report pension assets for overfunded benefit plans and liabilities for underfunded plans. An actuary, a professional trained in the particular branch of statistics and mathematics to assess the various uncertainties and to estimate a company’s obligation to employees in connection with its pension plan, plays a vital role in post-retirement benefit reporting. Actuaries use skills in mathematics, economics, computer science, finance, probability and statistics to help companies assess the risk of certain events occurring and to help formulate policies that minimize the cost of that risk.In regards to pension benefits, actuaries also address financial questions involving the level of pension contributions required to produce a specific r etirement income and the different ways that companies should invest their resources to maximize the return on investments despite the potential risks. Many events, such as death, are inevitable so the role of the actuary is to help a company minimize the financial impacts of those events when they occur since these events can affect both sides of the balance sheets. Managing these risks requires asset and liability management and valuation skills.In conclusion, pension plans are a very important aspect of post-retirement planning which can be beneficial to both employer and employees. To maintain the integrity of their financial statements, it is important for companies to adhere to proposed guidelines for post-retirement reporting and manage their benefits plans wisely. Likewise, it is important for employees to gain full understanding of their companies post-retirement plans before and during employment so that they are adequately prepared for life after their working years. Refe rences Kilgour, J. G. (2007). The pension plan funding debate and PPA of 2006.Benefits Quarterly, 23(4), p7-20. Lacomba, Juan A. ; Lagos, Francisco. (2009) Defined contribution plan vs. defined benefits plan: reforming the legal retirement age. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Mar2009, 12(1), p1-11 Reilly, David. (2006) Pension reporting sparks debate. Wall Street Journal, 248(3), pC3. Reinstein, A. (2007). New accounting rules for entities offering post-retirement benefits: some implications for bankers. RMA Journal Spiceland, J. D. , Sepe, J. F. & Tomassini, L. A. (2007). Intermediate accounting (4th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Marketing information systems

E-commerce made its first major impact by registering on the economic horizon in 1998. In that year, Amazon made $1 billion.   In an article in The Economist on the 19th of August 2006, Amazon.com is credited as being the pioneer in teaching the world how to shop online. Today, Amazon’s product range is anything from travel (the biggest seller), to computer equipment and software to cars, clothing and home furnishings in that order of magnitude. Technology (by way of one-click shopping) has been of great assistance in collecting data based on buyer preferences and past buying behavior. Search boxes, pre-ordering capability are some of the ways Amazon collects customer information. Information gathered includes birthdays, interests, wish lists, location and past purchases. Good marketing information systems reward online behavior with rewards that make customers feel pampered. They also give great user experience and evolve with customer needs. Amazon has just added â€Å"Search Suggestions† as another way of gathering information by requesting customers, authors and sellers to make recommendations that they feel are linked to search keywords. This should result in the company building up a comprehensive database for gaining and retaining customer loyalty. This information is used mainly to cultivate buyer loyalty. A typical example is the Amazon practice of tempting shoppers by making recommendations based on what others who have bought the same product bought also and based on the buyer’s previous shopping style. After gathering the necessary information, Amazon also makes buying from them attractive with such enticements like extensive selection, free shipping and excellent customer service (you actually get to speak with a real person within seconds if you use the click-to-call button and provide your telephone number). Bottom of Form Top of Form REFERENCES â€Å"Click to download – Amazon.com†, The Economist (US), August 19, 2006. Volume 380, Issue 8491, p 58. Fernando, Angelo, â€Å"Why punish, when you can reward? Online or off-line, there are simple steps you can take to make your customers feel valued†, Communication World, Sept-Oct 2006, Volume 23, Issue 5, p14-15.   

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The ABCs of School Visits with an Independent Bookstore

The ABCs of School Visits with an Independent Bookstore If you write for children or young adults, you probably already know that school visits can be an excellent way to supplement your income, get to know your audience, and introduce new readers to your books. But did you know that organizing school visits in partnership with your local independent bookstore can make the experience even easier and more productive? Here are four reasons to consider partnering with your local indie. 1. Especially if youve moved recently or are newly published, you might not have personal connections with the schools and educators in your community. Local bookstores often have existing partnerships with schools, and you can benefit from those connections when you work with a bookstore on organizing your visit. Bookstores can introduce you to teachers, librarians, and parent leaders, and theyre likely to know which schools or even classes might be the best fit for you and your books. This is particularly helpful if you live in an urban area with a lot of different schools near 2. If youre visiting a school, youll want to give students and teachers a way to buy your books, but the purchasing process can be complicated. When youre working in partnership with a bookstore, the store will likely handle a lot of the legwork for you, including coordinating order forms, getting books from the publisher and transporting them to the school, and processing payment. In many cases they will also promote your books to the school and do their best to make sure sales are high. Different stores have different policies, but most will be able to make the sales process much easier for you. This applies even if your books are self-published; many stores are still willing to coordinate sales of self-published books in exchange for a share of the revenue. 3. Schools are chaotic places with a lot of moving parts, and sometimes handling logistics can be as challenging as presenting to students. Many bookstores will send a representative to the school on the day of your visit to help out with all the little details, from troubleshooting tech to assisting you with signing and personalizing books. This leaves you free to focus on your biggest fans- the kids! 4. Partnering with a bookstore on school visits is also a great way to build a relationship with the store itself, which might lead to in-store events in the future. As an added bonus, some school events will include more than one childrens author, which means you might get to know some wonderful new colleagues in the process. Lots of independent bookstores around the country have school visit programs, and even those that dont might be glad to develop one in partnership with you. If youre interested in visiting schools through a bookstore, its always a good idea to send the store an introduction about you, your books, and what your presentation can offer a school. Know that some stores have limited resources and might not be able to work with you right away, but chances are theyll still be happy to keep your contact info on hand. To find a store near you, check out indiebound.org. Author

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

7 Steps to Know If Youre in the Right Job

7 Steps to Know If Youre in the Right Job Do you spend a lot of time moaning about your job? Worrying that you maybe picked the wrong career? That your dream job is still out there somewhere and you’re stuck in a rut? We all complain about our jobs- and the grass is almost always greener somewhere else. But there’s a difference between something called â€Å"job depression† and actually being in the wrong career.Our brains tend to do three things that can be poisonous to our job satisfaction: distort, delete, and generalize. It’s easy to distort our own view of what we do. It’s easy to delete the fun, rewarding parts when complaining about all the tasks we hate. And it’s easy to draw global conclusions when we focus on the negative.If you want to know whether you actually hate your job- or have just convinced yourself to hate it through your own complaining- here are seven steps you can take:1. Assess your job.How do you think and talk about your job? Does your gut response really re flect how you feel about the work you do?2. Listen to yourself.How often do you complain about the parts of your job that you don’t like?3. Accentuate the positive.Take a moment and make a list of all the things you like about your job. Really think about the tasks and aspects of your work that you enjoy.4. Give your job a break.There’s no such thing as the perfect job. Try to remember that even your dream job would involve at least a few tasks that aren’t your favorite things to do.5. Keep track.Make a list of every task you do for two weeks and then rate each one on a scale of 1 to 10. At the end of two weeks, the numbers will not lie.6. Remember your strengths.What are your best, most unique skills? Does your job give you the opportunity to make best use of them?7.  Reassess your job.By now, you should have a pretty clear idea of how you really feel about your job. What percentage of your job do you actually hate? Does the number surprise you?You probably r eally do like your job- or most of it. Or maybe you’ve realized that you like some aspects of your job, but that you’re not satisfied overall. If the negatives really do outweigh the positives, then maybe it’s time to stop complaining and start looking for another job! Either way, it’s important to connect with how you really feel and not let your bad psychology get the better of you.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Management - Essay Example A Collectivism Vs Individualism 11 5.1.1. B Power Distance 11 5.1.1. C Uncertainty Avoidance 11 5.1.1. D Time Orientation 11 5.1.1. E Quality Vs Quantity of Life 12 5.1.2 Analysis 12 6.1 Technological Environment 12 6.1.1 Technological Infrastructure 12 6.1.2 Communication Network 12 6.1.3 Logistics Network 12 6.1.4 Analysis 13 7.0 SWOT analysis 14 7.1 Strength 14 7.2 Weakness 14 7.3 Opportunities 14 7.4 Threat 15 8.0 Recommendations 15 9.0 References 16 1.0 Introduction Adventure Tours Australia is one of the leading nature-based small group tour companies. The company tries to cater to the needs of various people especially active budget travelers along with private charters (Adventure Tours n.d.). The company was established in the year 1993 and it has been evident that in the year 2010 the company had been successful in providing 90000 passengers which was the biggest achievement for the company. It has wide range of tours that explore highlights along with hidden delights of Wes tern Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland for its travelers at budget price. Adventure Tours Australia has won several awards for delivering quality services to travelers. It tries to focus on unique scenery, aboriginal culture of each area and wildlife. The tour normally ranges from one to eighteen days with regular assured departures. For those travelers who want an ‘extended value for money travel options’, several tours are combined into tour packages. The top management of the company is actively involved in day-to-day operations of the company and has been trying to make the company large enough so that it can render professional services and supports. It further engages in providing enough care to each passenger (Adventure Tours n.d.). The company is extremely concerned about climatic changes and negative impacts on unique Central Australian environment. In lieu of this fact, the company has tried to i ntroduce certain climate friendly initiatives into its every day operations and upon its future planning (Adventure Tours 2011). The aim of the company is to provide best services to its customers so that the prospective customers can be turned into loyal customers. Through this report it has been intended to expand Adventure Tours Australia’s operations in Brazil. The services will be rendered by Brazilian nationals, however training of the staffs in Brazil will be provided by Australians in order to make the employees aware of the potential organizational values and norms. In this report, a thorough situational analysis of Brazil will be conducted in order to understand the scope for Adventure Tours Australia in the country. Therefore, it will try to conduct a PESTEL analysis of Brazil along with a SWOT analysis. Finally, based upon the results from two analytical tools, recommendations will be provided to the Adventure Tours Australia as to whether it would be viable for t he company to expand its operation to Brazil. 2.0 PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis is an analytical tool through which an organization can make strategies by understanding the external environment in which it operates or will operate in near future (Renewal Associates 2011). In order to expand operation in Brazil it is important to analyze Brazilians overall environment. 2.1 Political Environment 2.1.1 Government Stability The type of government that Brazil has is Federal Republic (U.S. Department of State

Friday, November 1, 2019

Marketing plan ( Target Market ) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing plan ( Target Market ) - Assignment Example The target market of the new dome will be interested in saving the money and the time associated in the construction of dome. This will be the main differentiating point for the new foamed dome introduced by Pretson. The company will try to attract the large builders and architects who are currently involved in the business of building and construction. This strategy of targeting the architects and builders will allow the company to promote the new product in effective and efficient manner. Abby Preston who is working as a Chemist in ApplPoly Products’ resins laboratory, came up with new product ‘foamed dome’. In this product, the foamed polystyrene is utilized in order to build dome shaped roofs and other building structure. The procedure being used in order to construct the foamed dome is as follow: A specially designed machine has been used in the manufacturing of a foamed dome because of which, the dome shaped is formed by bending, placing and bonding pieces of plastic foam collectively. The head of the machine is mounted on a boom at the time of forming a dome and at this point of time, the machine swings around a pivot very much similar to the hands of a clock, laying and bonding layer upon layer of foam board in a rising spherical form. There are several benefits of the new foamed dome concept over the simple domes and structures constructed through the cement based materials. One main advantage is regarding the cost and time associated with the construction of the foamed dome and structure. The foam boards allow the architect to save time involved in the process of construction. On the other hand there is more time involved in the construction of the dome and structure through the cement. The polystyrene foamed board is one of the effective insulator and have outstanding and enduring insulating features. It is also important to acknowledge here that the foamed board is mainly used as an