Mickey and Eddie Essay

As part of our Drama GCSE unit on Blood |Brothers we were requires to use a vast amount of sills and drama techniques in order to improve our understanding of Blood Brothers; in order to do this we completed various exercises to develop our explorative skills. One of the improvisations we had to partake in was the re-enactment of the finale scene in Blood Brothers. As we had already seen the Blood Brothers production, this acted as both an advantage and a hindrance. This acted as an advantage as we had an idea of both characters and therefore an insight into how we could perform this re-enactment, however the disadvantage was that this may prevent us from having our control over the character, this may also prevent us from using our own imagination to interpret the character and their actions as we would have been heavily influenced to mimic what we had already seen. However though we already had familiarity with the production, as it had been a considerable amount of time from when we had seen the production, our drama teachers refreshed our memories by establishing a class discussion on the subject, and the main themes of Blood Brothers. As a group discussed the main themes, scenes and then discussed the finale scene into depth; while doing this we discussed what body language and facial expressions were used and what we all found particularly effective in the scene. Once we had completed our discussion, we were then given a time frame to work towards. Once we had dispersed into our groups we divided the roles in the scene amongst ourselves; Adrian as Eddie, I was Mickey, Tamara was Mrs Johnston and both Zion and Emma acted as the police officers. I felt that this particular exercise was particularly interesting and beneficial for us all; this is as we had a new insight and understanding of Blood Brothers on a higher level. Through the re-enactment of the Blood Brothers production I also found a new knowledge of each character, particular Mickey (the character I played), this is because as you take on the role and you’re in a maximum involvement level you absorb the character and believe in the scene although it is actually happening. This lead to me felling more empathetic towards Mickey as I really felt able to relate to his feelings and his situation, therefore understanding what made him react in the way he did. Mickey reacted in the way he did as he was angry and felt completely betrayed by Eddie, his feelings weren’t helped by what he’d already been through in prison and with him now having to be on medication. Our own re-enactment was fairly accurate to what we had seen in the reduction, however I genuinely feel that we added our own input and originality into the way the final scene was devised and appeared to be (this is inevitable as when you relate to a character, your own feelings and opinions are bound to show through). In our own finale, Adrian (Eddie) opened the scene by thanking the audience for being elected as councillor, while doing so my character then interrupts by running down the stairs and onto the stage. I felt that y my character (Mickey) running down the tiered seating stairs, the audience became more involved in the scene. My character then started pushing Eddie and shouting about his infidelity with Lynda, Eddie then tries to reassure Mickey and justify himself by claiming that both him and Linda are only friends. At this point my character becomes enraged and grabs him by his collar. In our re-enactment there was more physical violence and confrontation on Mickey’s part, I felt that this would portray his rage more effectively. I also took a conscious decision to make Mickey’s tone of voice, behaviour and body language very erratic; this was in order to portray t the audience that he wasn’t in a completely stable state of mind. As b5h character continued in their confrontation, Eddie continues to try and make peace with Mickey and when it reaches the heightened tension of Mickey raising a gun to Eddie’s head, Mrs Johnston shouts stop and runs onto the scene. At this point both police officers run to the bottom of the stage from separate sides, a voice then circulates the room, saying â€Å"we have you surrounded, put the gun down†. At this point my character then starts to look around, suspicious about where the noise is emerging from; at this point I lower the gun. I feel this part of our re-enactment is particularly effective and original as all the other groups used the same approach as the one used in the production whereas in our own improvisation we devised it to appear as though the police have surrounded the building on the outside and are ready to burst in at any time. At this not Mrs Johnston (Tamara) then reveals to both Mickey and Eddie that they are literally ‘Blood Brothers’ as they are twins that were separated at birth, at this point both brothers ask why, at this point Mrs Johnston continues to explain. However in the middle of her explanation Mickey makes his final outburst screaming that because of being with her he’s ended up with no career or money whereas Eddie has managed to become some great councillor; Mrs Johnston then tries to calm Mickey down and t this point his voice raises, as does his hand and gun and he screams It should be me, at this point the gun goes off and Eddie’s killed. Meanwhile at the same point one of the police officers (Emma) emerges on scene and reacts to the sound of the bullet by shooting Mickey. I felt particular sympathy for the police offer that shot Mickey as she only reacted to the gun shot she had heard. I also feel that this particular situation gives the audience a real understanding into how difficult the job of a police officer can really be as they are often put in compromising situations in which quick instinct decisions have to be made. Another improvisation we re-enacted was the ‘kids play’ scene. Our drama teachers explained that the purpose of this is to enable us to lose all inhibitions and feel in essence what it’s like to be a child again. We were then told about Starkravski’s theory on the three essential skills tat needed in order for a person to be a god actor, the most important factor being that of naivatiae. This means to be in a child like state, oblivious to anyone there and t feel completely free, this is as children are extremely nai ve and innocent and with this they can believe in anything, allowing them to have a vivid imagination.

Green Mountain Coffee Essay

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters opened as a cafe in 1981 in Vermont. They roasted their own coffee and before long, demand grew and local restaurants and inns began to order their premium roasted coffee as well. Today the Company has extensive wholesale, direct mail and e-commerce operations. Green Mountain Coffee now has a distribution facility and two production sites in Vermont, and a manufacturing and warehousing facility in Knox County, TN (GMCR.com). GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Tully’s Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee and Newman’s Own Organics coffee. The Keurig business unit is a leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems and markets its patented single-cup brewing systems for consumers at home and away-from-home. K-Cup portion packs for Keurig Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of licensed brands, including Green Mountain Coffee, Starbucks, and Tully’s Coffee (GMCR.com). Keurig, Incorporated, which became a subsidiary of GMCR in 2006, is the second business unit of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Keurig was launched in 1990 by Peter Dragone and John Sylvan, who asked themselves why do we brew coffee by the pot when we drink it by the cup? From this question, the concept of Keurig K-Cup portion-pack brewing was born. Keurig brewing systems employ a design that utilizes single serving pods of coffee grounds that the machine pushes hot water through and into the waiting cup. The result is a fresh, hot cup of coffee that has not been sitting in the coffee pot waiting to be poured. In 1998, after eight years of development, Keurig released an industrial-strength, single-serve machine that delivered a perfect cup of coffee or tea every time. Keurig brewing systems employ a design that utilizes single serving pods of coffee grounds that the machine pushes hot water through and into the waiting cup. The result is a fresh, hot cup of coffee that has not been sitting in the coffee pot waiting to be poured. K-cups are offered in 249 varieties on the Keurig website. Most retail grocery stores sell several varieties of K-cups. There are two types of Keurig brewers, the K-cup system and the new Vue brewing system. There are 12 different K cup style brewers. In the spring of 2012, Keurig released a Vue brewing system that gives the consumer the ability to customize their drink by offering more cup size options and by brewing specialty beverages, such as lattes and cappuccinos. To date, there is only one model of the Vue brewing system available. Competitor Analysis The market for single-cup coffee brewers is a fairly new one and has very few companies selling single-cup brewing systems. The market is an oligopoly, with GMCR’s Keurig holding approximately 75 percent of the US market share (Foxbusiness.com), followed by the Tassimo by Kraft, Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto and Senseo. The global leader is Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Nespresso system with 35 percent, followed by Senseo brewers with 18 percent, and Kraft Food’s Tassimo with 8 percent. Green Mountain ranks fourth globally with almost 8 percent (Geller & Dalal, 2012). Almost all of the coffee brewers in the market are priced between $75 and $175. For around $100, the consumer has a choice of a hand full of basic brewers. The single-cup brewers each have their own system with pods or cups that work exclusively with their machine. Most of the companies in the market make most of their profit from the sale of their coffee as opposed to their machines. Mr. Coffee released a new machine in the fall that is compatible with Keurig’s K-cups specifically to edge in on Keurig’s share of the market. It is compatible with Keurig’s K-cups and is less expensive to the consumer. The main competitors in the mainstream single-cup coffee system market in the United States are Keurig, Tassimo, and Senseo. The less competitive players in the market are Mr. Coffee and Nescafe, while Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Nespresso is currently the only serious contender in the high-end market in the United States. GMCR invests significant resources and capital in engineering and research and development in order to keep Keurig’s position as the leader in the single-cup brewing market. As a result, they have a strong and growing portfolio of market-leading, proprietary technology. Keurig’s integrated engineering team drives fast and original product development in brewers, portion packs, and high-speed packaging lines; all three areas that supported Keurig’s single-cup system. The engineering team at Keurig includes mechanical, software, and nutritional science, as well as quality assurance and industrial engineering. The company’s emphasis on quality products, easy-to-use features, and innovative technologies has earned Keurig high marks in customer satisfaction. GMCR started distribution of the new single-cup Keurig premium coffee system to office coffee service and food service providers in 1998. Keurig’s strategy to gain market share in the office market is to sell machines to distributors and encourage them to give the machines away or lease them for a small fee. The economics of the strategy works for distributors because the real profit is in selling K-Cups. Keurig sells it’s machines, both to distributors and to individual consumers, at near cost and gives the machines away or rents them cheaply to businesses, in order to secure the customer’s business. They make up the cost in less than six months just on the sales of their K-cups. Keurig has licensed several additional coffee roasters to package gourmet coffee and teas into K-Cups, all of which pay royalties to Keurig based on the number of K-Cups shipped. In addition to offering Green Mountain Coffee and Newman’s Own Organics and Celestial Seasonings Tea brands, which are packaged and sold by Green Mountain Coffee, Keurig offers several other North American K-Cup brands, such as Caribou, Folgers and most recently, Starbucks (Starbucksdrinks.com). The weaknesses of GMCR’s Keurig are that the K-cups are not recyclable and create more waste than traditionally brewed coffee, since the cups are made of plastic and aluminum. The company has received some bad press for being not eco-friendly enough. Another significant weakness is that Keurig’s strategy relies heavily on selling K-cups. The company makes most of it’s profit from the sale of coffee. However, in the fall of 2012, two of Keurig’s patents expire and other companies will likely begin producing pods that are compatible with Keurig brewing systems. Already, there are reusable cups on the market that consumers can buy to fill with the ground coffee of their choice. Tassimo is made by Kraft and was first introduced to the market in 2004. There are three Tassimo single-cup brewers currently on the market. Tassimo brewers use non-reusable plastic beverage pods called Tassimo discs (T-Discs), which are produced by Kraft. Each has a barcode printed on its label, which the machine reads to calculate the amount of water, brewing time, and temperature for the specific beverage. The strengths of Tassimo’s strategy are centered around their unique barcode. While Keurig pods are pre-measured to have one amount, no matter how strong or how large you want your coffee, the barcode on the T-Disc tell the Tassimo brewer exactly how to make the perfect cup of the drink in the disc. Tassimo’s T-Discs also use liquid milk, instead of powdered milk in their T-Discs and is capable of making beverages with frothed milk (Tassimodirect.com). The result is that the consumer can make better specialty drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos in their Tassimo. Also, the market has already seen the introduction of reusable cups for the Keurig, that the consumer can fill with the ground coffee of their choosing. This is bad news for a company that makes virtually all of its profit from coffee sales. There are also reusable pods for the Senseo. Tassimo is the only system that is protected because of their unique barcode system. The weakness that is holding Tassimo back from taking more market share is the lack of popular brands of coffee available in T-Disc form. While Keurig has lots of big name coffees available in K-cup form, Tassimo’s most well-known brand available in T-Disc is Maxwell house. A very recent, and concerning, weakness is that Tassimo recalled 835,000 coffee makers in the United States and another 900,000 in Canada after dozens of reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves (http://www.cpsc.gov). There have been 140 reports of incidents with the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers, including 37 reports of second-degree burn injuries. This is very bad for Tassimo because when people do internet research to help them decide which single-cup brewer is right for them, this recall is the first thing they will see. Senseo is made by Sara Lee, who recently bought the brand from Philips, and was one of the first single-cup brewers on the market in 2001. Unlike the other single-cup systems, the Senseo uses coffee â€Å"pods† instead of cups. The pods are made of coffee-filter paper and the consumer has the option to use one for a regular strength, or small, cup of coffee or to use two pods for a larger cup, such as a travel mug, or for a stronger cup of coffee. The ability to choose one or two pods is Senseo’s biggest strength. Reviews from coffee critics consistently give Senseo high marks in flavor and quality when compared to the other popular single-cup coffee systems. Senseo’s weaknesses are that they have built an unattractive brand image and that they do not have contracts with any well-known coffee companies and have very little variety in the coffee pods that are available. They produce 11 coffee blends, all under the Senseo name, for the Senseo brewer (senseo.us). In an interview in February, Sara Lee’s Executive Chairman, Jan Bennink, told Reuters that the Senseo is â€Å"a very unsexy machine† (reuters.com) and that young people do not want to be associated with the brand. Market Analysis Worldwide coffee sales peaked at $70.86 billion in 2011. Sales of single-serve packets accounted for $5.75 billion of that, or 8 per cent (Geller & Dalal, 2012). The single-cup coffee market grew at a rate 31 percent from 2010. Most Americans who consume coffee are still drinking traditionally brewed coffee. Coffee brewed in a single-cup machine from a pod, K-cup or T-Disc cost more than twice as much as the average ground coffee brewed in a drip coffee maker. There are few barriers to entry into the single-cup coffee market. Companies that already have brand-name recognition are more able, and likely, to produce their own single-cup system. One barrier to entry is that there are already some highly recognized names in the market that will make it difficult for an unknown company to compete. Another barrier is the high cost of entry into the market. Developing the technology to create a single-cup brewing system that will take market share from the established players is a daunting task that will discourage small companies from attempting to move into the market. The most interesting potential entrant to the market is Starbucks. In March, 2012, they announced that they will be releasing a single-cup coffee system later this year (Andrejczak, 2012). This is interesting because Starbucks and GMCR struck a deal in 2011 to sell Starbucks coffee in K-cups. The K-cups have been a huge success for both companies. So far, both companies are denying that the release of Starbucks’ Verismo will negatively affect the sell of Keurig machines and K-cups. The Verismo is being marketed as a high-end, high-pressure, specialty coffee system, more similar to the Nespresso than the Keurig and Tassimo, but considering how popular the Starbucks K-cups are, it will be interesting to see how it’s release affects Keurig and the single-cup coffee market. The Nespresso is worth mentioning in the potential entrants section because although they have been making single-cup machines for some time, they are only recently trying to grow in the United States ma rket. They are opening small boutiques in major cities, most recently in San Francisco this year, and advertising on major television channels. They market their product as a high-end system, but it will be interesting to see how much of Keurig’s market share they take. The substitutes in the single-cup coffee brewer market are traditional drip brewer coffee makers, caffeinated sodas, energy drinks and coffee from a coffee house, such as Starbucks, or from a fast food restaurant. McDonalds has invested a lot of money and advertising in the last five years reinventing their image as a hip coffee shop. Consumers can now get good coffee and specialty coffee beverages like cappuccinos and frappuccinos through the drive-thru window at a reasonable cost. Suppliers have moderate bargaining power in the market. If companies that produce coffee do not want to put their coffee in K-Cup or T-Disc form, that hurts the companies that manufacture the brewing systems. Senseo has no relationship with coffee producers, and it has drastically affected their business. Customers have moderate bargaining power as well. Most of the pods, discs and cups for the systems are sold in grocery stores or mass merchandisers. If Wal-Mart throws their support behind one of the companies, that company is more than likely going to experience growth in sales, while the other companies will be negatively affected. Likewise, if customers decide that they do not agree with the values, cost, etc of one of the companies in the market, they can take their business elsewhere and the loss of sales would hurt the company. However, if they are particular about the brand of coffee that they drink, they are tied to the company that sells that brand in a form that can be brewed in their machine. Keurig is the only machine that sells Starbucks coffee, for example, at least until the Verismo debuts this fall.

Challenges And Opportunities That Social Media Networks Offer Media Essay

Challenges And Opportunities That Social Media Networks Offer Media Essay Traditional media v/s new age media The availability of digital media such as satellite and mobile phones, the digital television and most importantly the internet, as a means for communication makes Internet Marketing (IM) very different from the Conventional Marketing. McDonald and Wilson (1999) elaborately highlighted the key difference between traditional media and new media. With particular emphasises on IM the authors proposed what they call ‘The 6 Is of e-marketing mix’. The authors posit that the relevance of the 6 Is are twofold – (i) they draw emphasis on the practical aspects of IM such as direct response and personalization and (ii) provide an understanding of strategic issues such as restructuring of the industry and the changes in the integrated channel communications. The 6 Is of e-marketing mix’ Interactivity In the case of traditional media the marketing message is predominately broadcasted from a company to its target audience, thereby im plying the existence of a ‘push factor’. This process of communication provides little scope for interaction with the customers. However, on the Internet, contact is initiated by the customer who, in most cases, is seeking information, implying the existence of a ‘pull factor’ (Deighton, 1996). Intelligence The internet renders itself as a cost effective means of conducting market research. The internet is an especially useful tool in gathering information about customer perceptions about the product/ service. Individualism (Fig 1.14) pg 30 As illustrated in the diagram above, new media forms allow marketing communications to be tailored to the individual that the message is meant for, unlike in the case of traditional media wherein communication is mass media and the same message is disseminated to its audiences. (Lasswell 1984, Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955) Further, the inherent feature of ‘personalisation’ that new media forms offer to marketers is an important building block in managing relationships with customers. Integration (diagram: A New Marketing Paradigm for Electronic Commerce) The conventional marketing communication model witnesses a fundamental alteration in the presence of a hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environment (CME) like the internet (Hoffman and Novak 1996). The internet enables an increased scope for an integrated marketing communication. The CME communication model provides a platform for consumers to interact with each other, the medium and the company itself. The most drastic departure from the traditional media is the opportunity for the consumers to generate content onto the medium. Hence, in the CME model the primary relationship is with the receiver and the CME, and not between the sender and the receiver, which is the case in traditional media.( Hoffman, 1996) The active role of the consumers makes it imperative for marketers to integrate their communication messages. Industry restructuring. Co ncepts such as ‘disintermediation’ and ‘reintermediation’ (Chaffey et al, 2003) are important considerations for companies that operate in a CME. Disintermediation refers to the process of eliminating conventional intermediaries such as agents and brokers, who previously linked the company to its customers. Reintermediation is the process of creating new age intermediaries between the company and its customer, given the presence of the internet. These new age intermediaries are often referred to as ‘cybermediaries’ (Shankar et al, 1996) and include virtual communities like forums, fan clubs and user groups, search engines like Google and Bing , virtual resellers like Amazon and eBay.

Recorded Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recorded Music - Research Paper Example In 2009, she fell out with her boyfriend Chris Brown. The fallout tinted her music career (IMDb.com, b). In 2011, Rihanna released her popular song Birthday Cake. Rihanna, Marcos Palacios, Ernest Clark, and Terius Nash had collaborated in writing the song. Birthday Cake has triggered mixed public reactions; some people praise the song while other people criticize it. At first, Rihanna produced the song as a single release but later included it in the album Talk that Talk. The second release of Birthday Cake in February 2012, featuring Chris Brown, coincided with Rihanna’s 24th birthday (IMDb.com, b). Rihanna released Birthday Cake as a single entity but due to pressure from her fans, she included it in Talk that Talk album. The 2012 remix of the song featuring Chris Brown triggered widespread criticism of the artist. Rihanna had fallen out with Brown in 2009 because the latter assaulted her. Rihanna’s initial Birthday Cake lasts for one minute and eighteen seconds. Birthday Cake is a blend of hip hop and R&B. The song’s instrumentation consists of heavy bass coupled with sounds of engines and bells. The artist adopts a sensual tone in the track. Birthday Cake lyrics are sexually suggestive. In the song, Rihanna talks about her desire to have spontaneous sex with her lover. In the original version of Birthday Cake, Rihanna ended the song in mid-verse making it appear as if it was not a complete track. The 2012 remix starts with an obscene line from Chris Brown, a continuation of the 2011 version of the song. In the obscene line, Brown states how he misses his lover’s body. The line evokes the 2009 fallout of Rihanna and Brown and the long time that had elapsed. The entire song covers sexual themes. Sexual theme is a deviation from society’s norms. By covering sexual theme, Rihanna ceases to be a role model for young girls. Birthday Cake also evoked the fans’ bitter memories of the 2009 assault. Rihanna’s

Changing the Scene of the Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Changing the Scene of the Society - Assignment Example The consequences of the cultural practice are that women will remain in their current position if they do not get empowered and strive to get equal positions with men. The consequence of the strife to be equal with men is that the female gender will be endangered. With the current trend where women strive to be equal with men, the role of the woman will be erased. Women are required to be submissive and do tasks that are considered to be feminine. This is no longer the case as women are now striving to do tasks that have been a preserve of only men. This is changing the scene of the society. There is a new definition of the terms female and male. Â  The definition of women is changing and no longer based on the biological differences. This is because of education and financial empowerment. Women have been known to be gentle in their undertakings and less aggressive when compared with men. This is changing and women are now seen to be aggressive and taking challenges that are considered manly. The struggle for many American women to be equal to men has been evident. Although women are fragile, they are seen to want to fight for battles that are fit for men. The woman gender is fast changing and is being erased by the struggle to gain equality. Women are now working and men are the ones being left at home to take care of domestic affairs. This is the norm as the career woman strives to achieve her ambitions. They no longer value the family values that have been sought and valued from time immemorial. Â  There are relationships that exist between Beauvoir’s truths and those of the readings that we had in class.

Financial Statement Fraud and Revenue Recognition Fraud Essay

Financial Statement Fraud and Revenue Recognition Fraud - Essay Example We can define financial fraud as an intentional act to deceive people through manipulated financial statements for personal gain (â€Å"Bank Negara Malaysia† 1). Financial fraud is crime under civil law and involves complex financial transactions conducted by white-collar business professionals with a criminal intention (â€Å"Bank Negara Malaysia† 1). Nevertheless, financial fraud derives numerous loses on the global economy and on the reference corporations where many companies collapse due to financial frauds. Additionally, financial fraud demeans investor confidence in financial reporting and lowers the efficiency of corporate governance. A financial statement fraud refers to an intentional misrepresentation of financial information that the corporation presents to the public. Notably, improper revenue recognition, failure to record incurred liabilities, and failure to disclose contingent liabilities are the most dominant financial statement frauds (Bradford 1). Cas es of financial statement fraud are on the increase and the economic crisis catalyzes the problems. Nevertheless, most of the financial statement frauds relate to revenues recognition while accounting errors take the other proportion. As such, internal and external auditors should understand the dynamics of revenue recognition fraud and institute proper measures to curb financial fraud. Ideally, financial statement fraud and revenue recognition fraud relate to financial fraud. Definition Financial statement fraud refers to an intentional misrepresentation, misstatement, or omission of financial statement data for the purpose of deceiving the public and creating a false impression of an organization's financial strength (Colby 1). Notably, financial statement fraud is an enormous challenge in the global market as corporations seek to stalk investors to continue investing in the corporation. Moreover, corporations engage in financial statement fraud for purposes of securing bank appro vals for financing and satisfy the shareholder’s interests (Bradford 1). Ideally, the top management plays the major role in a financial statement fraud since they supervise and authorize the preparation of financial statements. There are different forms of financial statement fraud in the global market where the initiators will use distinct systems of manipulation to maintain the appearance of the financial statement fraud. The most common types of financial statement fraud include manipulation of liabilities, improper recognition of revenues and expenses, improper asset valuation, improper disclosures (Pinkasovitch 1) on financial statements, and fictitious sales (Colby 2). However, manipulation of revenue is the most dominant form of financial statement fraud. This includes the posting of sales prior to payment while the manipulation of expenses includes the capitalization of normal operating expenses (Bradford 1). On the other hand, the manipulation of liabilities relates to failure to record regular expenses while improper disclosures relates to misrepresentation of the company’s financial status (Bradford 1). An overstatement of current assets on financial statements leads to improper assets and defines financial statement fraud (Colby 2).  

Managerial Finance (topic in instruction) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Finance (topic in instruction) - Essay Example Examples here include venture capital businesses that require consistent capital. However, the investors are allowed to limit their liability due to the massive outlay of capital and investments in the company’s operations. Another example that benefits from limited liability partnership are firms employing and owned by attorneys and accountants that offer professional services (Steingold & Bray, 2001).. A good example is the McGladrey & Pullen Limited Liability Partnership, a mega accounting firm in the United States. Evidently, a 1% investment acquired by partners in the company accrues a liability that limits their exposure to their personal amounts invested. 2. When does insider trading occur? What government agency is responsible for protecting against the unethical practice of insider trading? Explain by giving examples. Insider trading occurs when an individual in a company or associated with an employee of a company accesses pertinent information, and illegally uses it to purchase or sell stock (Macey, 1991). Evidently, such information is used by the individual to gain unfair advantage in the trading of stocks compared to the general public. Example of an insider trading is in reference to the case of Rajat Gupta, a prominent New York based businessman. Evidently, he is accused of acquiring insider from a board meeting of Goldman Sachs. The information revealed that Warren Buffet was planning to make a huge investment that would in effect raise the stock pricing of the firm. Consequently, Rajat Gupta collaborated with Raj Rajaratnam, a hedge fund manager and to purchase stocks from Goldman Sachs when the price was still down. To this end, the government agency in the United States charged with protecting against insider trading is the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its mission is to protect investors, ensure orderly, fair, efficient markets and oversee capital formation. Evidently, the Securities and Exchange Commission enforces the law aga inst insider trading through its division of enforcement. The enforcement division commences investigations against insider trading plus a host of other unethical issues. These include investigations against theft of customer securities or funds, manipulation of securities market prices, sale of unregistered securities, omission or misrepresentation of pertinent information concerning securities. An example of a successful conviction by the SEC in insider trading relates to the case of Rajat Gupta and his collaborator Raj Ratnaman, the hedge fund manager. Evidently, Rajaratnam was investigated by the SEC and found guilty of insider trading. 3. Explain how the tax code allows depreciation to contribute to cash flow. An innate understanding of the tax deductions of businesses offers an appealing opportunity for business proprietors to enjoy individual benefits from business expenditures. To this end, the tax code provides an opportunity for gross income deductions that minimize income taxes. Moreover, the increase of tax deductions minimizes income taxes and taxable income. Consequently, an understanding of how to maximize the deductible expenses of a business enables the proprietor to lower the taxes. Evidently, the tax code allows for tax deduction on expense depreciation. Consequently, it results to tax shield or tax saving that increases the operational cash flow by default. However, this action is based on the premise that a taxable income is present. In effect, if taxable income was not

Islamic history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Islamic history - Essay Example However, the study will be guided by such questions as where did Islam start and who were the first people to adhere to it? What are the main ideologies that define Islam and how has they evolved over time? When did Islam start and what historical significance has the ideology had over the course of its evolution to the modern day Islam? Islam started in the seventh century (C.E) as instituted by Prophet Mohammed and it took over the Arabic region, which was characteristically defined by polytheism. It is adherent to monotheism and as such the ideology stipulates that there is no other God to be worshiped but Allah. It therefore transformed greatly the religious systems of the traditional nomadic life that was characteristic of the Arabs from the extremes of worshiping many Gods as well as paganism to the faith in Allah. Prophet Mohammed was born in late sixth century and in the early seventh century; he is believed to have had an encounter with an angle of God where he became the pr ophet (apostle) of God (Nawwab, Speers and Hoye, para 1-5). Through divine revelations, Mohamed is said to have written the Quran as it is adhered to in Islam. Therefore, among other great ideologies that define Islam, Quran as it was written by the last prophet of Allah (Mohammed) is complete, infallible, perfect and eternal and thus holds eminently against any influence or modification. In religious matters, the tenets presented in Quran held and continuously holds to define Islam. Islam ascribes to various ideologies which include that God is transcendent and omnipotent, that there are angles, that Quran are words of God’s revelation through his prophets as well as there is the last day that awaits all and in which God’s judgment to mankind will be pronounced. Moreover, the Islam believes that God is all knowing and as such, he is omniscient (â€Å"The History of Islam† 1-3). Despite the great transformation that characterized the inception of Islam, as a rel igion in the Arabian countries in matters of polytheism believes, Islam held to the supremacy of Allah as god who was more impressive than the rest. Besides being the creator, Allah was and is believed to be the provider as well as the determiner to human destiny in eternity (â€Å"History of Islam† para 3). Besides, the Muslims have dispersed everywhere to occupy all the parts of the globe where Islam has been introduced. Little is seen to have changed in terms of believe systems and ideologies as they were instituted and depicted in Quran. The modern day Islam upholds five basic rules, which are prayer, fasting, faith, almsgiving as well as pilgrimage at Ka’bah (â€Å"History of Islam† 5). The evolution in Islam has been more in matters of spread and global acceptance as unlike in matters of systems of believes. Besides much of what is practiced in the modern day in Islamic circles is purely as it was practiced traditionally as instructed by Prophet Mohammed i n Quran (Nasr, vii-xix). In spite of the little evolutionally changes that has been shown in ideological aspects of Islam, misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the ideologies has led to wrong perception of the culture. It is increasingly being associated with acts of terror due to few of its teachings on Jihad and such political activism which has in the past led to political as well as religious conflicts in different parts of the globe

The Effect of Hand Washing with Soap among Early Graders Assignment

The Effect of Hand Washing with Soap among Early Graders - Assignment Example The purpose of this qualitative study is to discover the effect of hand washing with soap among early graders by the use of school based campaign. The purpose of the study is to come out with an action based intervention that will reduce the occurrence of hand to mouth infections among children of school going age. This is a major social health concern that demands urgent professional attention. The reason behind this observation is that once children are plagued with some of these infections, they become so vulnerable that their chances of surviving the fatality become minimized. It is against this background that the proposed purpose of the study has been chosen as a means of campaigning in schools and among students on how they can use the basic practice of washing their hands with soap to reduce events of hand to mouth infections. Once research of these nature are completed, the researchers want to have a feeling of how relevant their works have been on existing practice and on general social change. The proposed research, once successfully completed would be no exception of such significance. The relevance of the proposed research to effecting social changes is numerous. In the first place, the intervention is action based and brings a new paradigm towards the approach commonly used in addressing some of these health issues in society. Indeed, the use of a school based campaign is highly social and can come with the added advantage of ensuring the easy involvement of otherwise reserved and shy participants into the research. What is more, by using a school based campaign as an intervention, there is the tendency that the habit of hand washing with soap that will be eventually cultivated among the students will become a permanent part of their social interactive lifestyle. Once this is achieved, it is going t o be possible that hand to mouth infections are going to be permanently prevented among the students. Finally, the research findings are going to form a part of a universal basis to qualitative study on the research study. This means that all future researches who wish to undertake evidence based research can fall on the findings.

Eminent Domain Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 30

Eminent Domain - Case Study Example The city plan did not violate the constitutional taking clause. The takings clause protects the private property from conversion by the state for public use without just compensation. The plan was engineered to boost the low economy by providing jobs to the unemployed and increase the tax receipts that would eventually see the city's economy stabilize. This step is beneficial to the public both directly and indirectly and a legitimate public use of the justly acquired land. The economic benefits, on the other hand, appear to be secondary and incidental as brought forth by the dissenting judge. The developers seem to be the primary beneficiary of the acquisition and there is no surety that unemployment will be curbed and hence have the public benefit. All in all, the entire takings clause is objected towards just compensation of the private landowners where the government acquires such land for public use. From the foregoing, the land was put into public use that is faced as economic development having compensated the owners justly. It thus follows that the takings clause was not violated.

Interrelationships with Culture and Visual Entertainmen Essay Example for Free

Interrelationships with Culture and Visual Entertainmen Essay Culture and visual entertainment media have an interrelationship with each other such as film and television. As the years go by and more and more television shows and movies have been created they have in my opinion become of a reflection of our cultural times. Society is watching the films and television and seeing that they can relate to what they are watching which then they are able to take away a message. People can see visual instead of having to read to learn which can give them a different perspective that they may not have thought of on their own. As people view the visual entertainment they and see what is being influenced from the way people act, dress, talk, and so forth since it is what is shaping our culture. The Brady Bunch is an example of how families were starting to see that families can merge together and become one family, the outfits and hairstyles were being mimicked by people in everyday life. I remember watching this show thinking how â€Å"cool† is it to have two families merge together. This showed that the social influences of visual entertainment media can be positive. People can still watch visual media that is been out dated but still learn about American culture with such shows. Another example is â€Å"The Breakfast Club† this movie is a classic and still very relevant to how our American culture is shaped. In this movie they look at individuals and show that even though we are from all walks of life such as a jock, nerd, snob, shy, and criminal that we all have similarities in the end if we stop and take a moment to see. I Love Lucy† was a huge influence on visual entertainment people wanted to have the grace, the silliness, and could also see that they lived modestly which made it relate to society. Visual media can be negative as well a positive influence on social behavior. When we view visual entertainment I would say majority want to emulate the celebrities that they are viewing which can be negative or positive depending on that moment. People want to fit in society and with visual entertainment that can shape them in to something different. I remember during the eighty’s all of the shows and movies I watch were all the underdog wins in the end and I felt that this is what I want I want to be the underdog the stand along and befriends with everyone. Guess what I was that person I still am that person as well as I take up for the underdog and befriend everyone as well as treat everyone with respect no matter what. I can thank â€Å"Sixteen Candles, Full House, The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, and I Love Lucy† were all visual entertainment that made me who I am as well as a lot of others.

Students Essay Example for Free

Students Essay A students life is often plagued by examination. The demand to do well is further increased as good grades woud lead one to secure entry to a good grades would lead one to secure entry to a good university and consequently to a good job and future. Hence,there is no surprise and mentel health problems among school-going children. The Befriends Malaysia,a voluntary organization located in the klang valley,pointed out that they receive approximately 60 calls per day and from these 10 per cent are from student under the age of 20. The examination pressure experienced among students has also seen the rise in suicides and deaths among school students. In 2007,a young 12-year0old s. subashini ,hanged herself in her room after receiving her upsr results. In 2005,Matthew Vinesh a teenager in the prime of his life at 17,hanged himself at home just completing his trial spm examination. The year 2004 recorded 3 suicides due to examination pressure. The alarming number of students experiencing strees,mental and health problems as a result of examination pressure calls for measures to be taken . For starters ,the Malaysian Examination Syndicate (MES) has proposed that more school-based assemenst replace the many public examinations. Furtheromore,school-based assessments are continuous,ongoing and formative in nature . This will not only help reduce pressure from summative exams but also help both teachers and students work on their strengths and weekness in the teaching and learning process. School –based assessments will also bring about abolishment of some public examination. The MES proposes to abolish the Primary Year Six UPSR and the secondary There PMR public examination. Besides MES,the Ministry of Education (MOE) is also planning to take a number of measures to curb the stress and pressure school students have to undergo. The large class enrolments hinder the care and attention teacher can give to help students cope wit their studies. Therefore,teachers do not have time to cater to the different problems faced by the large number of students in each class. Thus,steps have to be taken to reduce class enrolments so that teachers can give quality attention to students learning in their classroom. There should also be more school counselors that students can go to when facing problems. Besides counseling ,students should also be exposed to motivational talks that include strees managements strategies. Finally,the MOE should conduct clinics or seminars for both teachers and parents to help them identify students for both teachers and parents to help them identify students that display suicidal or other forms of negative behavior. Since examination are one of the main cause of increasing number of students facing pressure ,mental and health problems,it is important that this issue be addressed. Steps and immediate measures must be taken to help overcome or curb this problem. What is needed is a concerted effort by all parties concerned to work together collaborativrly to help reduce pressure and stress as a result of public examination.

The Traditional Malay House

The Traditional Malay House This study is to analyze the modern traditional vernacular Malay house. How is the origin Malay house being transform into modern vernacular houses and what is the effect of contemporary materials. The kampong Baru is located in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala lumpur. This is a reserved area for the Malay ethnic groups. From the case study will found out the climatic effect of using contemporary materials in the traditional Malay house by the following questions: 1: How is the climate of Malaysia? 2: How did the climatic factors of Malaysia influence the design of the traditional vernacular Malay house? 3: How did the traditional vernacular Malay house being modernization? 4: What are the climatic effects on the modern vernacular Malay house? Introduction In this paper, is to study and analyze the influences of Malaysia climatic factors on the design of the traditional vernacular Malay houses. Basically it is part of the research on the climatic effects on the contemporary construction materials in the traditional vernacular Malay houses in Malaysia. The study is more focused on the adaption of the local climate on the traditional vernacular Malay houses and how the building was transformed into modern vernacular Malay houses through the modernization process also the effects of using modern construction materials in the modern vernacular Malay houses. During the early 20th century, modernization and colonization periods the British had brought multiracial immigrants into Malaya. Then, Malaysia defines as a multiracial country that included Malays, Chinese, Indian and others. During the colonization period, multiracial group is staying separately. The majority staying in countryside mostly is Malays group and the Chinese and Indian were staying in the city. The Malay racial group depends heavily on the environment. Villages can be established even a single traditional Malay house and the additional houses came later. Normally, the buildings that built closely together were usually family members. The most significant characteristics of traditional vernacular Malay house are the adaption natural climatic factors in Malaysia. The traditional vernacular Malay house defines as a richest component of Malaysia cultural heritage. The buildings built with local materials and local techniques. Mostly, the occupant will participated in the process of design and construct, it is to manifest the aesthetic skills of the Malays. The site planning of the building based largely on Islamic beliefs and its environment. The layout was split into two parts, front and back yards. Obviously, front part will be the welcoming guest area and it is decorated with different types of ornamental plants and flowers. Back yard is the area linked to kitchen and washroom and it is placed near water, as the kitchen needs intense water usage. The marital status also reflected the architectural style of the building because of the Islamic beliefs. The house form had developed and modified over a long period to satisfy most of the cultural, occupants needs and circumstances changes. The traditional Malay houses are bamboo or timber houses raised on stilts (timber). The building mostly is a post and lintel structure with timber or bamboo walls and a thatched gabled shape roof. There are always large openings on the sides of the building to providing good ventilation. From a distance the traditional Malay house seems to integrate naturally with the environment. The large gabled shape roofs, dominates the low walls and with different orientations and sizes created an interesting visual form. Overall the Malay house is designed to cater the local climatic factors by various ventilation and local materials that are low thermal capacity materials. Besides the well adaption to the environment, the design of the traditional Malay houses are flexible is to cater the needs of user and it evolved a building system called prefabricated. Th e building has developed a sophisticated addition system that allows the building can be easily extended with the needs of the occupants. There were various traditional Malay house forms can be found in Peninsular Malaysia. Normally, they classified based on the shapes of roof. The basic forms of Malay house are called the bumbung panjang, bumbung lima, bumbung limas and bumbung perak. The most common design of the Malay house form was bumbung panjang that with a simple long gable roof, supported by the main posts. The bumbung panjang is the simplest one of the four roof shapes and it is an oldest identified in Malaysia. The bumbung panjang form became most popularity used on the Malay house among the poorer users and those built the buildings by themselves. Due to the bumbung panjang house form, it is simplicity and become a very efficient roof shape for the building. Mostly the material used for the bumbung panjang is attap. Attap is a thatch covered and tied together with nipah and others palm trees that can easily found in the local area. The simple funnel shape of bumbung panjang roof is a very efficient in ventil ation properties. The roof can cools the house effectively is because of using the ventilation grilles at the ends of the gable called tebarlayar and the ventilation joints to provide better ventilation. Besides the bumbung panjang, the bumbung lima, bumbung limas, and bumbung perak are all not origin tradition roof shapes, it has modified and developed through foreign influence. Furthermore, the bumbung lima Malay house always with a hipped roof, the bumbung perak Malay house form always with a gambrel roof and the bumbung limas house always with a pyramidal roof. Hence, they are two type of houses believed that were influenced by Dutch and British architecture during the colonization. Lastly the bumbung perak house form also known as the bumbung potongan Belanda which is a type of Dutch roof and it is a famous roof in East Coast. Originally, spaces in traditional Malay houses can be separated into front part and back portion. Therefore, the core house (rumah ibu) or main area must be at the front and the kitchen (Dapur Rumah Tengah) area will be on the back portions of the house. The selang is a closed walkway covered by leaves and used to be a linking device for the front and back portions. The selang is providing good ventilation and natural sunlight entering the house. Besides the location of the side entrance to the kitchen, it is also a space for womenfolk to socialize and chat. Most of the traditional Malay houses entrance there will be a covered porch called the anjung that acts as a transition place between the private and public spaces. The anjung will only used to entertain the unfamiliar visitors and it is a favorite space for the users to chat and rest. This floor was approximately 0.5 to 1 meter lower than the rumah ibu floor level. Beside the anjung was a hanging verandah (serambi gantung) wher e most of the guests will be entertained here and it is a one step down from the main house around 15 centimeters. The openings in the serambi gantung provide good views to outside and allowing natural ventilation entering the place where usually occurred daily activities. At the serambi gantung area can easily observed the embellishments like carving and grill of openings, balustrades and wall panels. Next to serambi gantung was the rumah ibu, which is the core area and it is the largest area and can defined as multi purpose area for most activities were conducted here. The rumah ibu floor level was the highest and cleanliness area white the kitchen (dapur) was the lowest level and untidy area of the house. The main characteristics of traditional Malay vernacular houses are it is well designed to cater the Malaysia climate. From the Malay houses we can notice it is designed with a very good understanding for nature. In the traditional Malay societies, the villagers were directly obtain most of the resources from the natural environment for theirs building materials, food and medicines. To understand better on the influences of local climatic factors on the Malay houses, must first understand the local climate, thermal requirements comfort and the conditions of the environment that the building will build. Malaysia is located in central South-East Asia and has a tropical weather. Due to the latitude and longitude, it gives Malaysia a warm humid equatorial that influenced by monsoonal climate. The monsoon climate here comes twice a year, the first monsoon season comes during the summer season and the other comes during winter season. The differences between the two monsoon season are summ er season bring lots of rainfalls and winter monsoon does not brings rain and is generally dry. The annual rainfall was averaging 80 inches to 100 inches. Furthermore, the climate here gives hot summer and high humidity throughout the year. The temperature here holds around 24 Celsius to 34 Celsius, which gives warm days and fairy cool nights. The annual humidity level was averaging about 75% or above. The high humidity climate causes the very high water vapour in the air. It can filter the solar radiation but it also speeded up the rotting, and the growth of algae. The local wind only comes in from northeast and southwest these two directions. Normally winds are in low variable speed, high variable speed wind will only occur when rain. Hence, the local climatic factors here were high temperatures, humidity and solar radiation. Based on the local climatic factors the building built here should able to achieve the thermal comfort. Therefore, rain, floods and strong winds must be control to achieve thermal comfort in Malaysia Malay houses. For thermal comfort, heat will produce from the human activities and metabolic process. The metabolic process will balance and maintain the body temperature (37celcius). The heat will release during the metabolism process of conversion of good into energy. The heat loss through convection, conduction and radiation can be negligible is due to the local temperature are almost same as the body temperature. Similarly, the perspiration is reduced and the body temperature is decreasing because of the high humidity. The saturated air envelope blocks the evaporation from the human body and it is easily form especially in humid climate. In the building ventilation is important because air fl owing can removed the saturated air envelope in order to accelerate evaporation. Similarity, a building without any ventilation, it will increase the temperature and humidity to an uncomfortable conditions. The main sources of body heat gaining are the local climatic factors conduction from the building fabric. Direct solar radiation is the main sources of body heat gaining, thus the proper design of controlling the direct solar radiation entering the building is the most important to achieve thermal comfort. Besides that, the type of materials used is one of the major sources because the high thermal capacity materials will absorbed heat and emitted to the interiors buildings. Therefore, heat gain from solar radiation must be minimized and maximized the ventilation in order to achieve the human thermal comfort in the house. Obviously, the traditional Malay vernacular house is well local climatic control building and it also influences by the local climatic factors. A local design of Malay house must have the following factors must raised up on stilts (timber), large opening on side, use low thermal capacity building materials (wood,timber,rattan,bamboo), controlling the direct sun radiation, a long thatched steep gable roof by attap , site planning and site layout. From the design of traditional Malay vernacular house, it is a very appropriate design to cater the tropical climate of Malaysia and it is more suitable to the Malaysia climate compared to the modern brick house. The raised up floor in traditional Malay house is maximizing the ventilation in the house as well as preventing the monsoonal rain floods. The raised floor is hardly seen in most modern house and the quality of openness in the building is shown by the voids in its window, ventilation grills, the open raised up bottom and the open int eriors. There are various features providing effective ventilation in Malay house. The purpose of elevated the floor on stilts is to catch high velocity of winds and the interiors with minimum partitions is to maximize the cross ventilation occur in the building. Normally, full-length opening and fully adjustable windows or louvers will surround the traditional Malay house. The carved panels on the top of the windows and wooden grilles also an important ventilation device. Behind the ventilation, the craving on wooden panels controlled the glare entering the house and it also representing the Islamic scripts. There are two effective ventilation devices on a simple gable roof. They are the sail-like gable-end (tebar layar) of the roof and the ventilation joints called patah both are very effective ventilation to direct air to ventilate the roof space. The houses in village are randomly arranged and planting the tree wisely around the house to allow natural flow through the building a nd integrated harmoniously with nature. The Malay house mostly built far apart for future extension to fulfill the needs of occupant. In the traditional Malay house, there are more voids than mass and it is a lightweight construction using natural materials to cater the local climate. The natural materials define as low thermal capacity materials and it is a very good in insulating. The long thatched roof with large overhands in traditional Malay house has reduced the solar radiation and it also designed to reduce direct sunlight. The low walls and large overhangs in Malay house, it make the shading easier and reduced the solar radiation also the glare from he open skies. Besides providing good shading, the large overhangs also gives protection against driving rain. The walls and overhangs have allowed the windows to be open in different situation weather. In addition, the external environment of Malay house mostly covered and shaded with trees or vegetation. This provides a cooler environment and lessened the reflective of glare for the house to set in. Traditionally, most of the Malay houses are oriented to face East-West for religious reasons and reduces direct exposure to heat from direct solar radiation. Nowadays, most of the traditional vernacular Malay houses are being transforming into modern Malay house throughout the modernization period. The Malay houses were modernized due to the stress from urban redevelopment and sociality changes. The new Malay houses has different spatial layout also the used of construction materials and technique. Based on the case studies, the Malay houses in the kampong bharu were transformed the roof, wall, pillar and window. The external environment has also changes is hardly to see high and tall trees only short trees are planted there due to the limited space of the compound. The short and small trees also blocked most of the natural airflow passes through the house. Besides the changes of external environment, the interior of Malay houses was transformed into more walls to divide the rooms and spaces. The cross ventilation and natural air movement were reduced due to the mass partitioning walls inside the house. As I mentioned above, the roof is the most significant feature because the Malay house were categorized based on their roof types. The Malay house in the kampong mostly used bumbung panjang compared than the other 3 types of roof. This is because the type of roof is easier to construct and cheaper. From the site I have found some houses actually using different roof for theirs main and secondary roofs. The most famous combination types of roof in kampong are bumbung perak with bumbung panjang and bumbung panjang with bumbung panjang. The long gable steep roof has become gentler for the sloping degrees and regarding the tebar layar on the gable ends of the roof were modified the design or closed with wall panels. Traditionally, attap or wooden shingles were the main materials of the roof but generally now modern construction materials were often used than the traditional materials. Besides the transformation of roof, the walls and the openings also modified due to introduce of new arc hitecture during the colonization period. The traditional wall is made by bamboo and the traditional arrangements of wallboard were totally modified. The shuttered windows on the wall are one of the significant features to show the characteristic of Malay house. The faade of the Malay house can be separated into 3 parts, the carved wooden panels providing better ventilation mostly at the top part above the window, while the window or adjustable louvers always built at the middle and bottom parts. There are some Malay house walls still using the timber board but in the modern construction brick walls are replaced the traditional bamboo or timber board wall is due to the maintenance and long lasting problems. There are 3 main types of windows such as the short window (tingkap), the tall window (jendela) and the punched window. The aesthetic wooden balustrades behind the windows are being used for safety purposes. In origin of window pattern, the jendela and tiangkap window have a key feature to classify the windows pattern called Jenang pintu. Although, the windows in Malay house has the traditional elements but the proportion of the window has modified to slimmer and became closer of the gap between the windows. The western punched glass window was adopted modern glass louvers to maximizing the ventilation while maintaining the safety of the house. The traditional stilts are no longer in use since pillars are a very important structural to support load from the house. In general, the brick and reinforced concrete pillar were often used, with the increasing of concrete pillar heights spaces of underneath became more efficient. In the modern vernacular Malay house only used concrete pillars and the underneath is usually walled to fulfill the needs of user. The transformation of wooden pillars to concrete pillars is due to the concrete pillars is more suitable for supporting the loads. After brought in the modern construction materials like zinc, cement, brick, glazing and aluminum louvers window into traditional Malay house has modified the traditional house forms and side effects of the high thermal capacity materials. The high thermal capacity materials are not suitable in local climate example like the zinc and asbestos roofs in Malay houses are generated more noise during the rains fall and gives a very hot interiors during the day. Besides the climatic effects the used of modern materials also causes the diminishing of traditional aesthetic skills and techniques of creating the complicated thatched attap roof. Other than used of zinc and asbestos materials, the bricks, cement and concrete are better materials use for creating walls especially the wet area parts and stronger structures for the house. Some of the Malay house has a closed underneath to create the house to double-storey house. Such change has transformed the light and airy Malay house into solid looking building. The full-length wooden window has been replace by the adjustable glass louvers window with aluminum frames. The louvers window has modified the traditional windows into smaller and closed the bottom part of the window. It causes the less efficiency of ventilation. The iron bar in louver window is for safety purpose but it totally destroyed the quality of openness in traditional Malay house. Throughout the studies, the traditional vernacular Malay house was design to cater the local climate and it is one of the richest components of Malaysia cultural heritage. Besides the adaption of local climatic factors the houses also reflected the Islamic belief. The houses were developed and modified until it satisfies the user. Based on the research they are various house form in Malaysia, they only can be classified based on the roof types. Overall the traditional Malay house was adapted to the local climate and it is design such as random spatial layout, raised up floor, full-length windows and high-insulated roof. The shading tress and vegetation around the house also helps to cool down the temperature in the house. The orientation of house facing to east and west was influences by the religions reason and it helps reduced the direct sun light radiation. In the modern vernacular Malay house was transformed and modified to fulfill the needs of occupant but it still maintained the traditional roof shapes. The used of modern materials was directly changed the house form and brought climatic effects into the house. Secondly, introduce of modern materials the lightweight construction Malay house has transformed into more solid looking building and it also causes the diminishing of traditional skills. Overall, the sustainably in modern vernacular Malay house was transformed and also the traditional house forms were changed.

Analyzing Atheism Essays -- Religion, Spirituality

Religion is one of the touchiest subjects in America. It is something that is rarely on the forefront of many people’s minds but as soon as someone brings it up, everyone has an opinion. Similarly, the idea of no religion, of atheism, is equally opinionated. While Americans of â€Å"faith† often have conflicting opinions with each other, they often stand united on the stance of atheism. For them, atheism is bad and atheists are bad. However, what really is an atheist? At its most basic, an atheist is merely an individual who rejects the idea of god and religion. It is nothing more, nothing less. Nevertheless, many people of faith attach secondary implications to this definition. They unify atheists under a series of assumptions concerning morality, belief, organization, and just plain illogical misconception. As an atheist of eight years myself, I find such assumptions to be insulting and prejudiced. I am an individual. My lack of belief does not entail other beliefs. T he same is true for all atheists. The first misconception I bring up is the most radical and illogical. Very few hold this sort of belief, but those that do I am unlikely to sway with simple logic and common sense. They are the type of people who only see what they want to see and hold onto their preconceived prejudices like a life preserver in a dark sea. Thus, I will address it first and be as quick and succinct as possible. As an atheist, I do not believe in the devil and so I cannot be a Satanist. That is a logical impossibility. The next misconception is a little more subtle, but by far the more widespread. Many people believe that morals are a religious construction and that without religion there is no morality. Thus, they conclude that atheists are amoral ... ...e science of the universe and the science of life are beautiful and help give meaning to existence to me in ways that religion never could. At the end of it all according to science, we are all made up of the same stuff as stars. Within us all are the building blocks of creation, of everything. The last and overarching point I am trying to illustrate is the atheism in not a standardized system of beliefs like religion is. Being an atheist does not entail anything other than a disbelief in deities and religion. While it is likely that atheists will share other beliefs it is not because they are atheists. To say otherwise is to make a baseless and prejudiced assumption. Atheism is not a religion or a belief system; one is not a follower of atheism. We are individuals with differing thoughts and opinions on the many myriad of issues that we often are lumped under.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Essay -- students, academic progre

On January 8, 2002, President George Bush signed into law The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which was a reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was designed to help disadvantaged students achieve success in school (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011) The components of The No Child Left Behind included annual testing, academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes. These measures were â€Å"designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress† (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011, para. 3). NCLB also promised to close the achievement gap and increase student learning (Hursh 2007). By the year 2005-2006, the states were required to assess all students annually in grades 3-8, and these tests had to be aligned with the state standards (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). In addition, a representative sample of 4th graders and 8th graders had to participate in National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) testing program in order to be compared to other students nationally (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). For a school to meet academic progress, certain subgroups and the school has a whole had to make adequate yearly progress. If the school failed to make AYP, then the school could receive supplemental services and parents could send their children to another school. If the school continued to not make AYP, then the school could receive punitive government sanctions. Teachers had to be deemed highly qualified in their subject matter, and school report cards had to be released each year to illustrate student achievement data and scho... ...lenge them as well as help them to learn, the students are able to achieve academic progress. References Dee, B. and Jacob, T.S. (2011). The impact of no child left behind on student achievement. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 30 (3), 418–446. Retrieved from http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/86808/20586_ftp.pdf?sequence= Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2011, September 19). Issues A-Z: No Child Left Behind. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/no-child-left-behind/ Hursh, D. (2007 September). Exacerbating inequality: The failed promise of the no child left behind act. Race, Ethnicity, and Education.10 (3), 295-308. Retrieved from http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/foundations/Hursh.pdf Tatum, A. (2006) Engaging African-american males in reading. Educational Leadership, 63(5), 44-49.

Human Relations and Education Essay -- essays research papers

Human relations cover a multitude of interpersonal interaction. Human Relations can be seen in education through group development and the resulting interpersonal interaction. The Thread That Runs So True and Stand and Deliver, are both good illustrations of this development and interaction. The teachers and/or students are interacting with the administration, peers, and parents in both of these stories. The ability to effectively communicate is the most important aspect of human relations. Without the ability to effectively communicate, there would be no human relations or less than satisfactorily relations. Effective interpersonal communication can be divided into five main concepts. The following will focus on these five main concepts that made both Stuart and Escalante effective communicators in a student/teacher relationship. Each concept will also have underlying subcategories that both the stories illustrated well. The first and the most important aspects of human relations and the ability to effectively communicate can be found in an awareness or knowledge of self. If a person doesn’t understand or know who they are, then how can they have a relationship with anyone else. An adequate self-concept comes from knowing your own values principals and ethics and not being willing to compromise those beliefs. Culture plays a role in this by knowing where you came from. I think that for both Stuart and Escalante this played a major role in their relation to others. Both men ...

Goodyear: Aquatred

The year is 1992 and Goodyear is planning to release its new tire the Aquatred. The new tire is a premium tire which reroutes water away from the main tread making it have superior traction in wet conditions. With the launch of this tire coming up Goodyear has some challenges they need to figure out, where should they price the Aquatred? Which type of distribution model should they use? To figure this out we will first need to discuss the existing market and modes of distribution. The tire market can be segmented in three ways. The first way is by tire, either by performance or broad-line tires. Performance tires were more expensive but gave the consumer more traction and control. Another segment was by either OEM or replacement tires. OEM tires are those which are included when a new car was purchased and a passenger replacement tire are those which are bought after initial tires are worn out. The last segment was by major brand which was about 36% of the market, smaller brand which had 24% or by a private label which held a 40% share. Goodyear was a major brand and made about 65% of its revenues off of replacement tire sales, with the rest coming from OEM sales. The US replacement tire market in 1991 accounted for 8. 6 billion dollars. The Aquatred tire is to be launched in the replacement market because it would take a few years to develop a contract for OEM sales. This would be too long of a wait because competitors had their own versions of the Aquatred due to release sometime within beginning 1993. Replacement tires were distributed to consumers through a variety of ways. One way was when the tire manufacturer sold direct to large chains and wholesalers who resold the tires at retail, car dealers and other secondary outlets; this accounted for 40% of Goodyear’s sales. Another 10% of sales were sold to large chains and wholesalers who sold only to secondary outlets and did not sell retail. The rest of Goodyear’s sales were from retail outlets which made up 50% of replacement tire sales. Traditional retail outlets for replacement tires consisted of six different channels: Garage/service stations – offers auto services, sold both private and brand label tires, sales have been in decline recently due to lower cost higher volume outlets. Small independent tire dealers – have one or two locations where they sell and install tires while also offering auto services. Offer a variety of brands but make the most revenue off of private labels Manufacturer-owned outlets – owned and operated by tire manufacturers, offered one brand of tire and performed auto services. Warehouse clubs – low price with limited tire brand offering, did not offer auto services just tire installations. Mass merchandisers – retail chains which sell tires as well as other auto merchandise. Carried multiple brands and offered auto services. Large tire chains – usually had 30 – 100 outlets within one geographic region, carried many major brands and private label tires, they were low price – high volume outlets. Goodyear did not distribute its tires through all of these retail options. They only distributed their tires through independent dealers, manufacturer owned outlets and directly to government agencies. Their direct competition Michelin sold its tires mainly through large chain dealers and warehouse clubs. The small independent dealers accounted for 50% of Goodyear replacement tire sales revenues while manufacturer owned outlets accounted for about 30%. There were 4400 small independent dealers which carried the Goodyear brand, however only 2500 of these dealers were considered active by Goodyear which was only about 57%. To be considered active a small dealer must generate consistent levels of sales, maintain major Goodyear retail displays and offer the full line of Goodyear tires. A reason why only 57% of small independent dealers were active is because many of them were unhappy about how Goodyear owned about 1300 manufacturer outlets throughout the country. This gave some of the small independent dealers a disincentive to push Goodyear products. We can say this because the margins that small independent dealers averaged 28% on Goodyear tires, 25% for other major brands and about 20% for private label tires. Another reason why small independent dealers were unsatisfied was because wholesalers and large chain stores would occasionally acquire Goodyear tires and then advertise Goodyear merchandise even when they did not have any in stock. They would then sell the consumer another tire, this tactic was called the bait and switch and it found Sears on the wrong end of two law suits from Goodyear. Even though the margins for tires for independent dealers were at a pretty reasonable level they derived almost half of their revenues from auto services such as oil changes, tire rotations and minor engine work. This was because consumers buying tires often referred to it as a grudge purchase. The â€Å"average price† of a Goodyear tire in a small independent dealer was about $75 per tire. However, Goodyear and the entire industry found that its sales were much higher during promotional periods. This led to the over promotion of tires and now has left the consumers expecting some sort of deal when tires are purchased. Many of these promotions were often something like buy three tires and the fourth is free. In this case that means that 4 tires were really being sold for about $56 ($225/4 tires) compared to the $75 average. This type of marketing structure led to the expectation by consumers that they should be getting a deal on the tires that they purchase. Another sale tactic which sold tires to the consumers was a manufacturer guarantee, which would often guarantee the life of the tire between 60,000 and 80,000 miles. This made consumers feel as though they were getting a quality tire at a reasonable price, which in hindsight pushed the independent dealers to sell more of the inexpensive tires that came with the manufacturer guarantees. The Goodyear Aquatred tire was going to be released in 1992, and Goodyear needed to know how to price it and which channels to distribute it through. The Aquatred tire was to be positioned at the top of the line broad-line segment. This was because the Aquatred differentiated itself by having the â€Å"Aquachannel† which was a deep grove down the middle of the tire and channeled the water out from underneath it to avoid hydroplaning. When tested in wet conditions this tire stopped cars going at 55 miles per hour a whole two car lengths shorter than its all season tire competition. Goodyear was claiming that when the Aquatred was 50% worn it was still as effective as a brand new all season tire. The Aquatred tire was to be released with a Goodyear 60,000 mile guarantee. Goodyear’s suggested retail price of the Aquatred was $89. 95 for a black sidewall and $93. 95 with a white sidewall. Analysis – Where distribution lays right now for Goodyear, mainly small independent dealers and manufacturer outlets, it would be within their best interests to lower the price of the Aquatred tire. I know that this is a premium tire, but at the current retail prices that Goodyear is suggesting they would be positioning themselves out of their market place. Their pricing of the Aquatred tire is about $35 ($56 compared to $90) higher than a tire with a similar mileage warranty. I would lower the price of the Aquatred to somewhere in the $80 – $87 range so when there was a promotion it would reflect $60 – $65 range. This would show the consumer that the extra money is for the quality of the tire and for the enhanced safety of the passengers. Another key concept would to under no circumstances sell to wholesalers and large chains, this trend is continuing to eat away at their core channel of distribution (small independent dealers). Another thing I would do is make the manufacturer outlets stock only the full lines of Goodyear at their stores when there weren’t any small independent dealers within the region. Otherwise, I would use the manufacturer outlets to sell more of the Goodyear niche products to try not to directly compete with the nearby small independent dealers. Another way I would try to please Goodyear’s small independent dealers would be to have the manufacturer outlet’s retail prices be higher but still competitive with them. I believe that this tactic will raise the amount of active independent dealers for Goodyear up from a lowly 57%. To help the sales of the independent dealers I would run an advertising campaign that emphasized the safety of the Aquatred in harsh conditions. With the main objective of the ad saying something like ‘isn’t your family’s enhanced security worth an extra $20? ’ I would also commit more ads to the southern half of the US where there would be no need for all season tires, and more of a market for the Aquatred. I would still advertise in the north of the country, there is just more value in the south due to the lack of snow. These are my recommendations for Goodyear.

Academic excellence guarantee successful life Essay

Nowadays academic excellence among the young is given much importance. While it is perfectly acceptable to strive to achieve good academic results, the notion that only academic excellence guarantees a successful life is not true. Students are pressured into taking more subjects than they can handle and this causes immense pressure among our young. The question is can this endeavour absolutely confirm a dynamic future? I disagree that academic excellence guarantee our successful life. This is because without academic excellence, people still can success in their life. With business also human can success. For example Bill Gates is the first founder of Microsoft in operating system computer. With create of the Microsoft computer and sell it he can become a successful businessman. Besides that, people can success with through use their talent that they have. For example, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza our first singer in Malaysia become success with only use her talent without have academic excellence. From nothing, become popular and success as we know and see now. Besides as a singer, she also have own company. She also be the ambassador of beauty product. Finally, someone also can successful in life without high education through family background. For example someone that born of wealth families, that have own company. Without excellence academic around this line of business can still succeed as long as they can in good governance. Through family-owned business also someone still can success in their life. Overall, not necessarily without academic excellence a person can’t success in their life. That has other way someone can success without academic excellence such as through talent,business or with background family.

Sap Ag and Brady Corporation Redesign

Case Study – Can Brady Corporation Redesign Its Systems for Success? Executive Summary: The Brady Corporation is branded as the oldest & the most successful companies in Milwaukee, Wisconsin founded in 1915; and a leader in high performance labels, signs and related industrial safety products. They have 44 business units that produce and distribute its labels from 47 locations in 20 countries on five continents around the world. Despite its growing success, the company found it was running into trouble in the mid 1990’s that fear of falling behind with its competitors in the use of Internet to save costs on already –low profit margins. In 1997, Brandy launched a major Web project; the new digital system was called Web-to-Workbench; which enable customers to be able to design and order their own signs online and the website would automatically forward the new order to its production facility. However problems were encountered; Brady relied heavily on information systems (IS) to support most of its business process, but were antiquated (out of date), & could not communicate with each other. In February 1999 Hudson’s assess the company could not continue growing because it was â€Å"Stymied by an infrastructure that had reached well beyond practical limits† She concluded that the company must overhaul its business process totally to move fully into the digital age. Brady needed to revamp al its system. The goal â€Å"business-led Project for the whole company† and not just a software or information technology project was made clear by CFO David Schroeder Brady. I. Viewpoint From the Brady’s CEO KATHERINE HUDSON II. Time Context In year 2000 III. Statement of the Problem SAP enterprise software was not a good foundation for Brady’s new systems creating problems in various areas of the company. IV. Statement of the Objectives 1. In year 2000, SAP will tie-up with other systems projects 2. In year 2003 upon installation and testing of all systems and then if it fails, it’s time for Brady to redesign its system 3. Hire people for maintenance of the new information system for the company simultaneously with the installation of the system. V. Areas of Consideration TOWS MATRIX |Strengths |Weaknesses | | | |Business units act independently from each | | |The pioneer in high performance label and |other. | | |signs. |Information systems are not in synch with each | | |Has 44 business unit for the manufacture of its|other. | |products |Information systems are out of date. | | |Has a unique system that lets customers | | | |customize their own design in the product they | | | |intend to purchase. | |Opportunities |S O |WO | | | | | | | | | | |â€Å"Maxi-Maxi† Strategy |â€Å"Mini-Maxi† Strategy | | | | | | |Use a firm’s internal strengths to take |This are strategies aimed at improving internal| | |advantage of external opportunities |weaknesses by taking advantage of external | | | |opportunities | |Threats |ST |WT | | | | | |1. Brady is falling behind with its competitors|â€Å"Maxi-Mini† Strategy |â€Å"Mini-Mini† Strategy | |in the use of Internet to save costs on already| | | |–low profit margins. Use a firm’s strengths to avoid or reduce the |This are defensive tactics directed at reducing| | |impact of external threats |internal weaknesses and avoiding external | | | |threats | | | | | | | | | | | | | VI. Assumption Computers and Information Systems: Year In Review 2001 The recession year 2001 hit the computers and information systems sector hard. Already reeling from the collapse of dot-com companies a year earlier, the industry had to de al with reduced demand for its products and services. That in turn produced a steady stream of corporate cutbacks and layoffs. The terrorist attacks in the U. S. on September 11, which stunned the world and sent the U. S. Source: Encyclop? dia Britannica. om, retrieved from Analysis: The information age had run a wall in its technological advances. After the millennium bug the news about the dot. com collapse and the terrorist attacks, people begun to question the reliability of computers and the system. Companies began searching for a cheaper and more reliable system to place. SAP Needs More than Tech Help to Fix Problems SAP has made a lot of bad headlines. An SAP rollout at Levi Strauss went awry, leading to delayed product shipments for a whole week during the second quarter, which in turn caused a bad earnings quarter. News of price hikes and a forced transition to the new SAP Enterprise support. Silicon. om best summed up the problem that this SAP is claiming this as an enhanc ed offering, it is difficult to see how it will be able to justify this level of fees for customers whose deployments are complete or which do not wish to upgrade. Source: ITBusinessEdge, Lorraine Lawson, July 2008 Analysis: Systems had become unreliable that companies in the US had become hesitant in installing new and improved information system in their production. Another bad scenario that had come up is the burst of the dot. com bubble leaving most Americans awry about computers and the system that runs them. VII. Alternative Courses of Action ACA 1: Change for Oracle System ACA 2: Hire technicians to troubleshoot and upgrade the system ACA 3: Extensive use of the internet for the unification of transaction of all units of Brady corp. VIII. ANALYSIS ACA 1: ACA 2: Hire technicians to troubleshoot and upgrade the system Advantages: By hiring technicians, they can do preventive maintenance of Brady’s system and at the same time can upgrade the system. The can install programs that can help Brady in its information system problems. Disadvantages: More costly because of the human factor that is attached upon the ACA ACA 3: Extensive use of the internet for the unification of transaction of all units of Brady corp. Advantages: Internet usage had been proven less costly and the vastness of its reach is unlimited. Disadvantages: Brady might just replicate the problem that it already has. IX. Conclusion Decision Matrix Criteria |ACA 1 |ACA 2 |ACA 3 | |Cost-driven | |1 |3 | |Effectiveness | |4 |4 | |Easy to implement | |3 |4 | |Total | | | | Rating: 1-4 (1 is the lowest and 4 is the highest) X. Plan of Action Activities |Person in-charge |Costs |Timeframe | | | | | | |ACA 1 | | | | | |HRD |The minimum wage it has to pay |2001 | |ACA 2 | | for the technicians that will | | | | |handle the information system | | | | |(44Business Units/One person | | | | |per unit) | | | |I. T. /Engineering Dept. |Internet usage is said to be |2001 | |ACA 3 | |free of charge but the system | | | | |that a company has shell out to| | | | |have a decent internet | | | | |connection varies | |

Analysing the change in the role of the management accountant

This work is focused on critically measuring the doggedness of the alteration in the function of the direction comptroller from traditional accounting maps to that of a strategic contriver and concern spouse. The work of Johnson and Kaplan ( 1987 ) , titled â€Å" Relevance doomed † has prompted a drill-down on this research country. Though most of the research workers agree to the altering function of the direction comptroller ( Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2005 ; Cooper and Dart 2009 ; Allot 2000 ; Chenhall and Langfield-Smith2007 ; Siegel1999 ; Kerby and Romine 2005 ; Vaivio1999 ; Ittner and Lacker2001 ; Ax and Bjornenak 2007 ; Bhimani 2006 ; Roslender and Hart 2002 ) . The importance the traditional function still remains critical to others, and should function to complement the new techniques or the alteration. ( Bromwich and Bhimani 1998 ; Burns et Al. 1999 ) . Others are of the position that history is still a relevant portion of the hereafter or the altering tendency. ( Fleischman and Funnell 2006 ; Luft 1997 ; Beaman and Richardson2007 ) .The type of organisation every bit good as the direction may besides find the nature of alteration. Yazdifar and Tsamenyi ( 2005 ) . This a lteration does non take the same signifier in organisations, but differs in form. Sulaiman and Mitchell ( 2005 ) . With the present economic miasma, some research workers are even recommending a return to the old ways: the traditional function, ( Baldvinsdottir et al ( 2009 ) . The first subdivision of this work will therefore reexamine these positions presented and seek to pull a comparing between these positions to see if the function of the direction comptroller has really changed and to what extent. This will be done pulling support from literatures. It will instantly be followed with some of the new roles the direction comptroller is taking up in organisations. Thereafter the place of traditional accounting pattern in this new tendency of events will be discussed. This will enable us to cognize where to put the traditional accounting function, whether it has lost its utility and should be wholly cast-off or should function to congratulate the new functions. Following to that, some of the new techniques in direction accounting that organisations are following, the factors that are driving the alteration in function every bit good as their significance to the new function will be discussed. Decisions will so be drawn as to the direction comptroller ‘s functions change.The altering function of the direction comptroller.Johnson and Kaplan ( 1987 ) are deemed to hold set the canvas in this statement with their book titled â€Å" Relevance lost: the rise and autumn of direction accounting. † These strong footings used by them has prompted or necessitated a batch of research work in this way. They argue that the bing signifier of direction accounting lacked the know-how to run into up with the dynamic concern environment. Their statement was supported by mentioning technological promotions, information engineering, every bit good as planetary and domestic competition as grounds doing the bing patterns inadequate. Harmonizing to an article published in the Journal of Accountancy ( Most Companies Want Their Certified public accountant to Be Business Strategists, Survey Says, 1996 ) , much more is now being demanded of the direction comptrollers within organisations. Their occupations are traveling beyond the readying of fiscal statements as accounts and reading are now required of them of the information they provide. The direction comptroller is consequently a â€Å" high-ranking determination support specializer † . Kerby and Romine ( 2005 ) argue that for direction comptrollers to stay a relevant portion of their organisations, there must be a alteration in accent from the traditional accounting patterns which involves the numeration, analysis, reading and presentation of fiscal information. They advocate that the direction comptroller should be versed with cognition about alterations impacting the concern of his organisation and imbibe qualities that would enable them map as fully fledged concern spouses. Smith ( 2007 ) opined that the focal point of the direction comptroller within organisations is now switching to the external environment. That the direction comptroller is no more uniformed of what happens externally to his organisation, He now looks both inwards and outwards. Cooper and Dart ( 2009 ) , give support to this position that, direction comptrollers are traveling from being information suppliers to back uping the determination devising. Siegel ( 1999 ) , noted that direction comptrollers were earlier now non involved in the existent decision-making procedure, but acted in support of the determination shapers and subsequently got informed of facts. But the function of the direction comptroller had changed and greater portion of their clip was being spent as internal advisers or concern analyst within their companies. Like most of the other authors he attributes this altering function to the promotion in engineering which he states has freed the direction comptroller from what he describes as â€Å" mechanical accounting † . He stated that the new function of the direction comptroller now involves a batch of direct contacts with people throughout their organisations, and that they are more involved in determination devising and cross-functional squads. This he termed development from functioning internal clients to being concern spouses.The direction comptroller as strategic contriver and concern spouse.The cardinal message of this work has been on the direction comptroller presuming the function of strategic contriver and concern spouse as opposed to the traditional function of corporate bull and bean counter. The direction comptroller ‘s function has evolved and is determining up into a strategic fiscal contriver and director of information. The direction comptroller is said to be h olding less to make with the everyday accounting pattern. ( Siegel 2000, Cooper and Dart, 2009, Latshaw, A. and Choi, Y. , 2000 ) . New countries of focal point of the direction accountant include the development of fiscal programs, information engineering systems direction, assisting in the formation of concern aims every bit good as monitoring consequences and maintaining up with selling aims. Others are direction and organisation of work force, playing consultative function in operational determinations, programmes and undertakings. ( Feeney and Pierce, 2007 ) . For the direction comptroller to work efficaciously as concern spouse, certain accomplishments must be acquired. This will include the quality of analysing and treating unwritten and numeral informations into meaningful information. This should be buttressed by the ability to work efficaciously in a squad. ( Curruth, 2004 ) As concern spouse, the direction comptroller combines both the traditional function of protecting the assets of the concern with a new function of analysis and engagement in determination devising in the concern disposal. ( Kennedy and Sorensen, 2006 ) . Caron ( 2006 ) , defined stairss that should be taken for the direction comptroller to presume the place of a concern spouse. They include: Acting as operation and cognition expert. He/she should be able to supply best pattern information and strategic accomplishments. Should be able to set to pattern the cognition acquired in developing strategic direction programs. He/she should be able to mobilise the human resources at his disposal. He/she should be able to circulate accounting information efficaciously.Management accounting the place of the traditional function.Although Johnson and Kaplan ( 1987 ) opined that the traditional accounting function of the direction comptroller had lost its value and have argued that it is no more relevant to the dynamism of today ‘s universe, non everyone believe their sentiment is best for direction accounting, and have therefore expressed their reserves. ( Bromich and Bhimani 1989 ; Burns et Al 1999 ; Yazdifar and Tsamenyi 2005 ) . Baldvinsdottir et Al. ( 2009 ) are of the sentiment that a return to the traditional or â€Å" mechanical † accounting methods is of great importance particularly at this period of economic down-turn. They argue that although the ballyhoo about the altering function of the direction comptroller, a batch of the traditional accounting function has comparatively remained the same over several decennaries. Luft ( 1997 ) is of the position that history serves as a platform for understanding the present ; that the oversights of the nowadays could really be alleviated by mentioning back to history. Fleischman and Funnell ( 2006 ) , while holding with Johnson and Kaplan, that it is of import that direction accounting studies provide direction with information that will help them in minimising cost and improved productiveness, argue that although these activities are frontward looking, they have to be based on what they described as â€Å" intimate dependance between the past and future † . They insist this is necessary because of the uncertainnesss and instabilities associated with commercial environments, coupled with the intricatsies of direction. That, direction comptrollers in the class of seeking to do the information they provide more utile to their organisations should bear in head that this should be done in observation of necessary ethical issues. Beaman and Richardson ( 2007 ) found out in their research that accounting patterns within organisations are being confined to the traditional function, alternatively of the expected function of determination support and job resolution. There has been the recognition of the broad usage of traditional accounting techniques in most organisations as opposed to the supposed outlook of radically new advanced accounting techniques being adopted by these organisations. ( Burns and Scapens, 2000 ) .Emerging techniques in direction accounting.Some comparatively new trends/techniques have emerged with the purpose of undertaking the insufficiencies of the traditional accounting methods. Some of them have been lauded as the new title-holders of direction accounting solution suppliers in organisations. ( Cooper and Kaplan, 1991 ) . Although these techniques are extremely praised, their acceptance and execution may non hold been as widely accepted as the ballyhoo associated with them. ( Collier and Gregory, 1995 ; Roslender and Hart, 2003 ) . These techniques include: Activity based costing ( ABC ) ; The coming of ABC has changed the pattern of cost allotment necessitating that direction accountants develop more analytical accomplishment to undertake the complexnesss of apportioning operating expenses to different cost objects utilizing cost drivers. ( Burns and Yazdifar, 2001 ; Byrne and Pierce, 2007 ; Anderson, 1995 ) . ABC made the direction comptroller an indispensable portion of the determination doing procedure by concentrating on pertinent information needed to better steadfast public presentation financially and market wise. ( Kennedy and Affleck-Graves, 2001 ) . Kaplan and Anderson ( 2004 ) nevertheless noted that organisations have abandoned ABC because of its failure to capture the complex nature of their operations, the holds of execution and the cost consequence which are normally excessively expensive. Balanced scorecard ( BSC ) : The balanced scorecard enables the direction comptroller to strategically mensurate public presentation and develop a model for the strategic measuring and direction systems ( Kaplan and Norton, 2007 ) . It changes accent from fiscal facet to encompassing client, internal and every bit good as acquisition and growing factors of organisations. ( Kaplan and Norton, 1996 ) . This has altered the function of the direction accountant puting him strategically as a determination support specializer. ( Latshaw and Choi, 2002 ) . BSCs are adopted by houses for strategic public presentation measuring, but the result of these steps is normally developed to encompass operational scheme, nevertheless it was noted that organisations frequently fail in seeking to set BCS into a peculiar usage ( Wiersma, 2009 ) . Atkinson ( 2006 ) noted that the BSC has been found deficient from empirical consequences of its benefits.Strategic direction accounting:Strategic direction acc ounting ( SMA ) : SMA shifts the focal point of direction comptroller to non-financial factors external to the organisation. ( Simmonds,1981 ) . It demands that the direction comptroller be knowing in subjects like public presentation indexs development, value concatenation analysis every bit good as capacity cost direction. It broadens the range of the direction accountant beyond the house to strategizing for competitory market and chances. ( Whiteley, 1995 ) . SMA requires the direction comptroller as a member of the cross functional squad which his function now embraces to convey to bear relevant information and expertness that will help determination devising. ( Roslender and Hart, 2001 ) . The direction comptroller now addresses the impact of other non-financial activities, the cost place of rivals, and rating of rival merchandises and services. These activities have placed the direction comptroller in the important function of strategic contriver and concern spouse. ( Whiteley , 1995 ; Langfield-Smith, 2008 ) . However, Roslender and Hart ( 2003 ) , noted that what constitutes strategic direction accounting is still non clearly defined. Collier and Gregory, ( 1995 ) opined that the degree of execution of strategic direction accounting may postpone in different economic systems. That is, the economic system determines the scheme and functionality of the direction comptrollers. Enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) : ERP requires the direction comptroller to hold sound cognition that will enable him to supply information that will technically run into the demands of the house. It besides demands that the MA be versed with cognition of concern maps related to production, selling and information engineering. For the direction comptroller to acquire traveling with all these maps, he needs to construct a sound inter-personal and societal accomplishments. ( Barton, 2009 ; Pierce and O'Dea, 2003 ) . It may nevertheless cut down occupations, making unemployment. Enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) : enables the direction comptroller to track â€Å" production by occupation, work centre, and activity † ( Zimmerman, 2009:720 ) . However, respondents to research carried out by Knnerley and Neely ( 2001 ) were non certain the debut of ERP to their organisations had made any noticeable impact.Factors driving the alteration in the function of direction accounting.The utility of direction accounting has come under examination following factors like: mechanization of mill procedures and processs, information engineering, competition, and globalisation, complexness of concern among others. Some of these factors and their significance will be discussed briefly. Information Technology: ( Carruth, 2004 ; Beaman and Richardson, 2007 ) , noted that information engineering has enabled direction comptrollers to take more responsible functions in their organisations. The direction comptroller is now able to salvage clip in his analysis and reading of information. The direction comptroller helps in showing informations in a signifier that makes them relevant and utile for managerial intent. This involves strategizing and being involved in the determination devising procedure. Granlund, M. and Malmi, T. ( 2002 ) It has changed the nature of information and placed determination doing on information provided by the direction comptroller. ( Atkinson et al. 1999 ) . Automation ; requires the direction comptroller to develop more analytical accomplishments and to be able to supply such information that will enable houses take determinations and follow such schemes that will assist them remain in competition. ( Kerremans et al. , 1991 ) . Automation is advantageous in take downing labor cost, but may make occupation losingss. ( Mantripragada and Sweeney, 1981 ) .Other factors:Other noteworthy factors driving the function alteration in direction accounting include ; the accent on quality, rational capital, more client focused organisations, addition in overhead cost, less of direct labor cost, and precedence on environmental and external issues. These factors have helped orient the direction comptroller ‘s function to that of a strategic contriver and a concern spouse. The direction comptroller now takes a more proactive function in cognizing and supplying solutions to strategic issues in his organisation. The issue of competitory concern env ironment which is closely related to globalisation is another major factor impacting the manner direction accounting maps are handled in organisations.DecisionAlthough there have been demands for the alteration in accent on the function of direction comptroller, this alteration has non been absolute. This is because the cost and complexness of using these new techniques have made their acceptance slow. The debut of new techniques in direction accounting and the impact of assorted factors have made the direction comptroller more focussed on non-financial facets of organisations and has widened the range of activities external to the organisation, doing him a utile portion of the determination devising procedure. However recent issues ‘ following the economic downswing has suggested keeping of portion of the traditional function in combination with new techniques might be more utile. ( Balvinsdottir et al. , July/Aug. 2009 ) Furthermore, the importance of these new techniques and the benefit they provide to organisations can non be overemphasized. These new inventions have made the direction comptroller more flexible, a solution supplier and an of import portion of the organisation as concern spouse and strategian, reconstructing relevancy. ( Johnson, 1992 ) . It is notable that though many are the advantages of implementing these new techniques, some organisations still stick to traditional accounting because it is less complex to implement, salvaging clip.