Evas life Essay Example

Evas life Essay Example Evas life Essay Evas life Essay When Mr Birling makes his speech just prior to the arrival of the Inspector, where he gives advice to Eric and Gerald, he makes several points that Priestley himself disagrees with such as a man should look after himself and his family only. Priestley uses the Inspector as a medium to make a point to both the Birling family and the audience that we shouldnt all Look out for out own which is how Mr Birling describes it. According to Mr Birling every man should put himself first, even before his family. This is shown when he says A man should look out for himself, and his family if he has one, this shows just how full of self-importance and pompous he actually is. The timing of the Inspector is immediately after Mr Birling had made his speech. Priestley is trying to make Mr Birling look stupid and wrong for making this speech and wants to prove that he is wrong. J.B Priestley believed a great deal in socialism and believed that many other people needed to be more caring about their community and the people in it. Priestley uses the character of the Inspector to convey his own thoughts, feelings and opinions concerning social issues. However, he also uses other characters particularly Mr Birling, to show the audience how cynical some people can be. Whilst the Inspector questions each family member the tension in the Birling house begins to increase greatly, the Inspector is pressuring the Birlings and Gerald to tell their story of how and when they met Eva Smith. At first they deny any knowledge of the girl, but as the play goes on the Inspector manages to show that they all helped to kill her, he did this by putting them on the spot, asking them questions that they could not answer and intimidating them. Mr Birling had her dismissed from his factory for demanding a small increase in wages; Sheila orders her to be dismissed from her job in a shop simply because of her pride; Gerald Croft keeps her as his mistress before leaving her suddenly; Eric also has an affair with the girl and steals money to keep her living; and Mrs Birling uses her influence at the Brumley Womens Charity Organisation to deny any help to Eva Smith when she needs it most, driving her to suicide. Therefore the presence of the Inspector causes an effect on the other characters, the way he speaks to them breaks the characters down and forces them to reveal the truth and be aware of their faults causing them to feel guilty and show the audience that the Inspector has more power over the Birlings at this point. The Inspector called himself Goole, which could be a pun on the word Ghoul which is often referred to as some kind of ghostly being. Towards the end of the play it becomes apparent to the audience that he isnt an actual Police Inspector. However, Priestley doesnt actually reveal who, or what the Inspector is, perhaps Priestleys aim was to leave this matter a complete mystery. This tactic could have been to ensure that his audience continue to think about the issues of socialism and this is something that he was desperate to have happen. The character of Eva Smith is a dramatic device in itself. Eva is different from everyone in this play. She shows the difference between the lower and upper classes. Her character attracts sympathy from the audience, each of the Birlings did something wrong to her to make the audience feel like this. Gerald and Eric just use her then never bother about her again. Mr Birling takes her job for granted and insisted she was to leave after asking for a well deserved pay rise. Mrs Birling doesnt care about her problems when she comes to talk to her about it, she refuses to help her. The character of Eva Smith shows that the lower class community were often better people that the higher class community. Priestley had made Eva Smith the complete opposite character to Mr Birling to clearly show whom is the better person. In conclusion I think that the whole family are to blame for the death of Eva Smith. They all had a hand in making Evas life a living hell. You could blame Gerald for breaking her heart or you could blame Mrs Birling for giving her the final push or you could even blame Eva herself for thinking there was no other alternatives. Priestley uses methods in this play that would leave his audience thinking for a long time after viewing the play. The way he used dramatic devices to convey his own message and opinions was an excellent way to get his audience thinking. He left open ends to whom the Inspector was, simply because he needed to get his message across and if he did this would leave then to think about the issues of socialism.

Who Is the Admission Committee What Do They Look For

Who Is the Admission Committee What Do They Look For SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The admissions committee that decides whether or not you get into your dream school can often seem shrouded in mystery. Who, exactly, are these people? A group of soulless office workers who delight in stamping â€Å"Rejected† across applications? A team of well-trained robots who data-mine your application and input it into an algorithm? While it may seem like the admissions committee process is secretive, that’s actually not the case. Admissions committees are made up of real, live humans whose sole job is to put together the best incoming class possible for their college or university. Let’s learn a little more about college admissions committees. What Is an Admission Committee? A college admissions committee is a group of people who work together to make decisions about who is accepted as part of the next matriculating class. Admissions committees are made up of admissions staffers - university employees whose job it is to assess each applicant and decide whether or not he or she is a good fit for acceptance. Most highly selective schools are fairly secretive or nebulous about their admissions process, but many public schools have guaranteed admission for students who meet certain criteria, as well as offer specific information about expected scores and GPAs for applicants. The vast majority have multiple people read your application to decide whether or not you’ll be accepted. Who Reads My Admission Application? Your college application will likely be read by at least two groups of people - regional staffers and the wider admissions committee, which may be made up of deans, faculty members, and even current students. Regional staffers are college admissions employees who focus on your specific geographical region. They are typically the people who travel to college fairs in your region and may conduct interviews. You might have met them before, if you attended a college fair at your school or in your area. The rest of the admissions committee can be structured differently, depending on the college or university. Often, there are deans or other high-ranking members of the admissions office who participate in the second read-through of your application. If you’re applying to a specific school or program, faculty members who know their coursework may be part of the decision, as they have a good sense of who can handle their classes. Some schools include students on the admissions committee, who speak to whether or not applicants would be a good addition to the larger school community and student body. Over the past few months, the lawsuit against Harvard’s discrimination towards Asian students offered insight into the previously highly secretive process. The admissions committee at Harvard assesses the grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, intended majors, ethnicities, and regional background of every student. From this information, we can assume that other highly competitive and secretive schools use similar criteria. While you obviously can’t control your ethnicity or where you live, you can control the rest of your application, so it’s important to put as much effort in your grades, essays, and extracurriculars as possible. What Is a Typical Admissions Committee Process? Very few schools divulge what happens during their admissions process or give specific, data-driven criteria. That being said, schools like Harvard have released the questions that admissions committee members ask themselves as they’re reviewing your application. Here’s a sample of some of the questions Harvard admission committee members consider: Have you been stretching yourself academically and personally? How have you used your time? Do you have initiative? Are you a self-starter? Do you care deeply about anything - intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal? How open are you to new ideas and people? Will you contribute something to Harvard and to your classmates? Will you benefit from your Harvard experience? While the specific questions may vary from school to school, the basic gist is the same. Schools want to know whether or not you’ve been challenging yourself and how you’ll contribute to their campus and classrooms. Most college admissions committees have at least a two-step process for applicants. First, applications are read by regional staffers. These admissions committee members look over your application for basic qualifications like grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to make sure you match up to the standards of the typical matriculating student. If those qualifications match up, your application will be brought to the wider admission committee, made up of senior admissions faculty, deans, professors, and maybe even students. Together, that committee discusses your application and makes a decision on whether or not to admit you. Recap: Understanding the Admission Committee A college admissions committee is a group of people who read your application and decide whether or not you’ll be a good fit to attend their school. Considering that most colleges and universities have at least two read through of each student they consider a good fit, you want to make sure that your qualifications are obvious enough to pass through the first read and move on to the second. That means that your grades and test scores should be close to the middle range of scores for accepted applicants at your school so that you’ll be considered. You also want to make sure that the qualitative parts of your application are up to snuff as well. Consider what the admissions committee will be asking themselves about you. What does your academic, extracurricular, and personal record demonstrate? What story have you told about who you are and how you might contribute to the college or university of your dreams? What’s Next? Looking for application tips for some of the most selective schools? Read our complete guides to the University of California system and to the Georgetown application. Should you apply early or regular decision to college? Find out the pros and cons of early decision in this article. Not sure what to major in? Get expert advice in our guide to choosing a college major, and learn the five main factors to consider before you declare a major. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Explain the process for planning and evaluating work-family programs Essay

Explain the process for planning and evaluating work-family programs - Essay Example Prior understanding of the preceded discussion clearly necessitates efficient planning and evaluation of work-family programs. It is imperative to understand that children are the future of tomorrow and whos emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing depends on the care given by the parent. Planning and evaluation of work-family programs requires a survey among workers in all sectors. Information from the survey will enable the relevant bodies create a program that enables the employees who, in this case, are the parents to take care of family matters and have family time. Evaluation of such a program can be achieved through analysis of statistics in daycare and other care services. Also, the productivity of employees can be a good method to evaluate the programs (Poelmans,  2005). Better solution of the situation can be achieved through companies adopting measures to ensure better-working environment for the employees. Companies should be able to enact programs and strategies such as enough maternity leave period to allow a mother to take care of the infant. Care given to an infant is important as it is a foundation to the wellbeing of the individual concerned. Also, companies should review working conditions, hours, and workloads of the employees. Provision of a better situation would ensure parents get enough time and strength to spend and watch over their kids. Furthermore, enough rest would enhance in increased productivity of the employees with families. In conclusion, it is imperative for companies inclusive of private and public companies to review working conditions of the employees in general bearing in mind they have other responsibilities. Quick solution to the quagmire can be having a day care service in a company whereby kids to the parent employees are taken care of as they work. Having ones child close provides the peace of heart increasing

Dreaming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dreaming - Research Paper Example The dreams can last from a few seconds to even thirty minutes. Typically, normal human beings experience an estimated three to four dreams, however, in some instances, even seven dreams. Dreams are extremely pictorial and frequently illogical in nature. This paper explains the historical, psychological and the science behind dream reasoning. Human being have strived to understand dreams for the centuries about 3000-4000 B.C., In some aboriginal societies, participants were incapable of differentiating between the real world and the dream world. Members of these primal societies could easily opt not to make the differentiation. These primal societies perceived that the dream domain was a very strong world and moreover an extension of real world (Dreammoods, 1) In the   Roman and Greek epoch, dreams were perceived in a religious perspective. Dreams were thought to be undeviating messages from the dead or from the gods. The people of that era relied onto their dreams for clarifications what course of direction to take or on what action to do. They had faith in dreams predicted and forewarned the upcoming events. Special worship places were even constructed where individuals can visit there to sleep in the belief that a message in the form of a dream could be delivered to them. Their faith in the strength of dreams was so powerful that it even controlled the deeds of both army and political leaders. Actually, dream translators even escorted army leaders into wars to assist with war line of attack (Dreammoods, 1).  Ã‚   In ancient Egypt, priests also mediated on behalf of a dream translator. The Egyptians documented their dreams in hieroglyphics. Individual with specific vibrant and noteworthy dreams were alleged to be consecrated and were regarded as special. Individuals who had the capability to interpret dreams were highly regarded and seen as exquisitely talented.  Dreaming can be observed as a tangible dwelling where your soul and spirit

Funeral Cosmetic Surgery Essay Example for Free

Funeral Cosmetic Surgery Essay Beauty is your funeral Cosmetic surgery is defined as, â€Å"surgery performed to improve the appearance, rather than for medical reasons† (Collins English Dictionary). Cosmetic surgery is a dangerous procedure because some people acquire lifelong scars not only that, death could be in the equation. On the other hand, many women get cosmetic surgery due to physical deformation or certain birth defects in efforts to cover up their embarrassing scars. Even though some cosmetic surgery can be beneficial, the fact that death could be involved, is it worth it? Cosmetic surgery should be illegal because the number of death and deformation in the person’s character are too great to risk any possible enhancements. We should not be allowed to get plastic surgery, implants, and liposuction because these things cause a person to become sick and then eventually die. Therefore we should warn the person about the harm of cosmetic surgery is. According to Dr.Darshan Shah, a Mayo Clinic-trained board certified surgeon, â€Å"Cosmetic Surgery itself actually carries very minimal risk if you put yourself in the hands of a qualified, certified cosmetic surgery specialist – someone who has trained and devoted [his or his] career to the misrepresentation and inexperience of certain surgeons†. (California Health and Beauty) This article is saying that people are dying because there not looking up facts and information about the surgeon, but how much is of this idea is true? I believe no matter who performs the surgery; it’s always dangerous and has many life threatening consequences. Whether or not the surgeon is ‘’good’’ or ‘’bad’’ the procedures should not be done and are unethical. First of all, cosmetic surgery costs a great deal of money. Breast augmentations are 3,797$, Tummy Tucks are,332$, Butt Lifts are $7,904, Collagen Injections are $673 and Eyelid surgery is $2,912, To me no amount of money is worth risking your life for. Not only that, I believe that people are beautiful the way they are, and that they don’t need surgery to boost their self esteem. Individuals seek to conform to the social norm, and it’s apparent that they will go to any cost to make that happen. When comes to unethical issues such as transgender cosmetic surgery, no it should not be allowed. In Fact, when they get these procedures they can die from anesthesia. In conclusion, when come to cosmetic surgery its dangerous overall even though you’re getting medical reasons or even though you get Butt Lift or Tummy Tuck or Collagen injection , Overall cosmetic surgery is a dangerous ,harmful procedure that should be banned.

The Violent Children of Our Violent Society :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cities of violence: Santee, California; El Cajon, California; Littleton, Colorado. These are names of American cities and towns where violence has usurped deep into the American heartland where families settle to raise families away from the violent big cities. Andy Williams, Jason Hoffman, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold; names of students who came to their schools with weapons to kill those students and staff whom they felt were responsible for their melancholy. What are the motivating factors behind these suicidal attempts?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society is trying to convince itself that it must be Hollywood with its violent entertainment and glorification of violence. Another scapegoat is videogames with all the gore and realistic killing or maybe even music that has lyrics considered by the majority to be riddled with suicidal or homicidal messages to today’s youth. Politicians, parents, law enforcement, and society are asking themselves, â€Å"What are the factors leading to the increase in violence among our children?†. The most convincing causes for violence in our children lies not in the entertainment industry but in us. The main source is depression of the killers due to rejection by their peers, the breakdown of the cohesive family unit due to divorce and the easy accessibility to weapons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The major cause of violence believed by some researchers is the age-old traditions of bullying and the clique system in high schools. Jerry Adler states in his 1999 article The Truth About High School that these are so called â€Å"rights of passages† that all American students have been exposed too. â€Å"These factors have been around since the invention of high school and adolescents have been forming cliques and mentally ranking them just as in an adult society [which are] dominated by hierarchies† (Adler 56).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As in most high schools across the country the athletes dominate the social scale and enforce the hierarchy, which explains why they are at the top of the food chain. â€Å"It’s pretty common to see jocks picking on the fat kid or the wimpy kid, or anybody who’s different† (Adler 56). So what provokes aggression and violence among the lower hierarchical levels? Often it is scapegoating, in which teens are bullied by and in front of their peer group by a higher hierarchical group, leaving them excluded and humiliated. In an online survey conducted by the San Diego Tribune statistics show that â€Å"87 percent of students thought that school shooters were motivated by a desire to get back at those who have hurt them and 86 percent said teenagers resort to violence because of other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them† (Eckert 2). The Violent Children of Our Violent Society :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cities of violence: Santee, California; El Cajon, California; Littleton, Colorado. These are names of American cities and towns where violence has usurped deep into the American heartland where families settle to raise families away from the violent big cities. Andy Williams, Jason Hoffman, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold; names of students who came to their schools with weapons to kill those students and staff whom they felt were responsible for their melancholy. What are the motivating factors behind these suicidal attempts?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society is trying to convince itself that it must be Hollywood with its violent entertainment and glorification of violence. Another scapegoat is videogames with all the gore and realistic killing or maybe even music that has lyrics considered by the majority to be riddled with suicidal or homicidal messages to today’s youth. Politicians, parents, law enforcement, and society are asking themselves, â€Å"What are the factors leading to the increase in violence among our children?†. The most convincing causes for violence in our children lies not in the entertainment industry but in us. The main source is depression of the killers due to rejection by their peers, the breakdown of the cohesive family unit due to divorce and the easy accessibility to weapons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The major cause of violence believed by some researchers is the age-old traditions of bullying and the clique system in high schools. Jerry Adler states in his 1999 article The Truth About High School that these are so called â€Å"rights of passages† that all American students have been exposed too. â€Å"These factors have been around since the invention of high school and adolescents have been forming cliques and mentally ranking them just as in an adult society [which are] dominated by hierarchies† (Adler 56).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As in most high schools across the country the athletes dominate the social scale and enforce the hierarchy, which explains why they are at the top of the food chain. â€Å"It’s pretty common to see jocks picking on the fat kid or the wimpy kid, or anybody who’s different† (Adler 56). So what provokes aggression and violence among the lower hierarchical levels? Often it is scapegoating, in which teens are bullied by and in front of their peer group by a higher hierarchical group, leaving them excluded and humiliated. In an online survey conducted by the San Diego Tribune statistics show that â€Å"87 percent of students thought that school shooters were motivated by a desire to get back at those who have hurt them and 86 percent said teenagers resort to violence because of other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them† (Eckert 2).

What Is Toxicology?

Research involving laboratory animals is important to people and to our quality of life. In the past century, most inhabitants of this planet have experienced an unprecedented rise in living standards, life expectancy and personal opportunity, in large part due to the many ways chemicals have been put to work for us. For example, drugs whose effects range from curing previously fatal bacterial infections, reducing the impact of AIDS, minimizing heart disease, decreasing age- related wrinkles, to reducing hair loss are widely available today. The many benefits of the diverse uses of our natural resources are an outcome of careful scientific research and of using chemicals in an appropriate and safe manner. Toxicologists, the scientists who help determine the limits for safe use of materials, use modern technological research methods, including tests on animals, to protect human and animal health and the environment. What is toxicology? Toxicology is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems and affect normal processes, and the use of this information to predict safe exposure levels. Toxicological research and testing helps us to live safely and to derive benefit from natural and synthetic substances while avoiding harm. Toxicologists are involved in the evaluation of household products, medicines and the effects of incidental and occupational exposure to natural and manufactured substances. Toxicology also helps us develop the best treatments in the event that accidental overexposure does occur. What is safe? Toxicologists know that no substance is risk-free. One fundamental tenet of the science of toxicology is that all chemicals can cause harm at some level of exposure, summed up in the phrase â€Å"the dose makes the poison. † This means that exposure to a specific small amount of any substance will have no detectable impact on normal biological processes and is considered safe. Some doses actually have beneficial effects, as we all know from use of medicines. But increasing exposure to most substances will, at some point, cause harmful effects. Substances are considered toxic at that level. For example, digitalis is a plant product that has been used with great benefit to treat heart irregularities, but too large a dose will cause death. Oxygen provides another example of how increasing the dose can turn a safe compound into a toxic one. Oxygen is essential to life and part of the air we breathe, but when given at high concentrations it can cause lung and eye damage in infants. Sometimes the possible negative effects of a substance are outweighed by the positive benefits at that dose. Dogs are treated with heartworm medication because the risk of death from heartworms is much greater than the risk of toxicity of the medication. Similarly, chemotherapeutic agents are used to destroy cancerous cells even though they may damage healthy cells in the process. Prior to the use of new substances, toxicologists and policy makers are responsible for determining the range of exposure that is safe and the level of exposure that may be harmful to human health or to the environment. The effect of the level of exposure is also important when toxicologists assess the risk caused by a substance already present in the environment. The benefits of using a new substance, or the costs of removing an environmental contaminant, are viewed relative to the perception of what is safe.

Activity Based Costing Essay

Activity based costing (ABC) is a relative new way to allocate costs to specific processes and services. This system assures that the costs are accurately distributed to the products or services that generated them. ABC illustrates costs more accurately, giving management insight to the cost associated with certain business activities. ABC extends the decision-making skills of management by expanding on traditional costing (job order costing/process order costing) techniques. However, since ABC’s introduction in the 1980’s, many corporations are not using ABC, despite gained managerial decision making capabilities. Even by the mid-1990s, ABC’s use has not spread throughout the accounting industry and its use is not obvious (Selto & Jasinski, 1996). The following article will discuss the pros and cons of the ABC method. ABC is an extension of traditional product costing techniques. These techniques are called job order costing and process order costing. A job order costing system arranges costs for each unit as it goes through a production process. A process cost system collects costs in work in progress account. The numbers of units worked are recorded for the accounting period. These systems alone do not accurately illustrate costs incurred. Instead, these two costing techniques generally lump costs into 3 main categories (cost centers). These three categories are direct materials, direct labor and overhead. Cost drivers are then assigned to represent the relationship between the cost and the process it is allocated to. ABC provides a better map of the costs of manufacturing products or distributing services. ABC uses a multitude of activity centers, which are the equivalent to the previously mentioned traditional cost centers. Each of these activity centers has its own cost driver and driver rate. ABC identifies many different costs to products by adjusting the cost driver and driver rates to specific activity centers. This process avoids across the board allocations of cost. For example, a product, which takes up .03% of space in the warehouse, would require .03% cost absorbed by product sales revenue. If the depreciation unit requires 5% cost to replace equipment at a latter date, 5% is the driver rate for that particular product. Unit, batch  and product level costs can be determined with ABC. The following steps can summarize the ABC process. The first step is to identify the activities that consume resources and allocate costs to those activities. For example, purchasing materials, record keeping, labor, materials, miles driven, machine hours and number of customers served are activities, which consume resources and needs costs to be assigned to them. The second step is to distinguish the cost drivers that are related to each activity. For example, if machine hours an activity used in the process, then the number of hours used in production of one unit would be the particular cost driver rate. The last step is to allocate costs to products by multiplying the cost driver rate by the number of cost driver units consumed by the process. There are many inherent strengths in the ABC model. The ABC model allows costs to be allocated to many different activity centers. Few corporations can focus on undifferentiated product lines and be successful. Having multiple product lines means the company has multiple cost drivers associated with each different product line. ABC is helpful in selecting which products are successful and which ones should be eliminated. Accurate cost information is key in determining the actual costs of frequent product changes. This cost is important because costs can be a good indicator of the justification or termination of varying product lines. Product lines have become more complex. Product lines of past were much simpler. For example, the Model T Ford came in one style and one color, black. Today, Ford cars have many different colors and styles. These different styles all have different cost drivers and activity centers. ABC illuminates hidden costs when high volume sales are not present and product differentiation is. This is advantageous because unprofitable lines can be replaced with lines that are profitable. Not many years ago, labor comprised 25 to 50 percent of a product’s cost. However, since the 1960s, labor is increasingly less involved in the  production process. For example, the textile industry replaced 100-year old shuttle looms for European air-jet looms, doubling output with less labor. In steel, the Nucor corporation used continuous casting machines to yield labor costs of $60/ton verses traditional steel’s $130/ton. Labor cost today is infrequently the driving force behind costs it was during the development period of cost accounting (1930’s). Instead, indirect costs have replaced labor as the dominant portion of costs for some products (Kelly, 1991). To use labor as the major basis for allocating as job costing or process costing accounting does, may lead to inaccurate decisions by management. The accounting profession has largely overlooked ABC. Among reasons cited for low adoption were employee resistance and the organizational changes essential with the use of ABC (Ness & Cucuzza, 1995). Some trace the source of hindered adoption of ABC to technical as well as cultural issues. Others feel that ABC would be more widespread in industry if it were marketed better by the accounts themselves (Brausch, 1992). There are several reasons for ABC low adoption rate. Complexity is an obstacle to implementing ABC. ABC requires detailed records of the costs associated with producing products and services as compared to traditional methods. This detailed record keeping requires more effort from the accountants and is more time consuming. The complexity of ABC can contribute to more errors. ABC can require more time to check and recheck to uncover errors. ABC generally requires more effort on the part of the accountant verses traditional methods and reduces the adoption rate of ABC. Another reason for not using ABC is the increased economies of scale. Many corporations are standardizing their products to reduce the costs to manufacture them. For example, Coca-Cola distributes its products in many different countries. The product varies very little in respect to packaging and manufacturing. Traditional methods of accounting can assign costs more easily, quickly and accurately for those products that have little or no product variation. ABC is a valuable tool in calculating the costs of producing varying product  lines. These differing product lines require more extensive accounting practices than traditional costing methods provide. The information obtained from ABC can help promote product lines that managers feel are profitable between those which should be eliminated. Labor is less frequently the major ingredient in the production process. ABC addresses this concern by examining and illustrating the overhead costs associated with particular activity centers. ABC describes these over head costs more accurately and is beneficial when increasingly more complex manufacturing processes are used. Adoption issues should be addressed to implement ABC method when costing decisions matter to managers. Bibliography: ReferencesBrausch, J.M. â€Å"Selling ABC: New Cost Systems Can Flounder if They Are Not Marketed.† Management Accounting, February 1992, pp. 42-46. Geishecker, M.L. â€Å"New Technologies Support ABC. â€Å"Management Accounting, March 1996, pp. 42-48. Kelly, K. â€Å"A Bean-Counter’s Best Friend.† Business Week, October 25, 1991, pp. 42-43. Ness, J.A. and T.G. Cucuzza. â€Å"Tapping the Full Potential of ABC.† Harvard Business Review, July/August 1995, pp. 130-131. Selto, F.H. and D.W. Jasinski. â€Å"ABC and High Technology: A Story with a Moral.† Management Accounting, March 1996, pp. 37-40. 17 Activity based costing Essay Executive Summary This report provides an analysis of Activity Based Costing systems and Conventional Costing systems to determine whether the application of Activity Based Costing concepts would be useful at DBS Consulting Services. A profitability analysis of the two consulting services offered by DBS Consulting Services (e-Commerce Consulting and Information Systems Consulting) was performed using Activity Based Costing and Conventional Costing. Using the conventional costing approach, the overheads of $342,000 were allocated at $129,960 (e-Commerce Consulting) and $212,040 (Information Systems Consulting). Using the Activity Based Costing approach, the overheads of $342,000 were allocated at $107,160 (e-Commerce Consulting) and $234,840 (Information Systems Consulting). Before implementing an Activity Based Costing system, management needs to assess the problems that the firm is facing so that the Activity Based Costing system can be designed to address those problems. DBS Consulting Services is in a tight local labour market and is having difficulty finding quality staff. It was found that E-Commerce Consulting Services provided a higher income per billings percentage than that of Information Systems Consulting Services (19% vs. 3%) under the Activity Based Costing approach. E-Commerce Consulting Services provided the higher return per sales dollar. These results would suggest that the professionals at DBS Consulting Services need to spend more time in e-Commerce. The success of failure of Activity Based Costing approach is determined by the reactions of the people who develop and use the system. An Activity Based Costing system can be costly and time consuming to  implement and maintain, it requires extensive training, expertise and information. However, the benefits of Activity Based Costing systems, being improved cost accuracy and assisting management with decision making, outweigh these costs. Introduction It is said that Activity Based Costing can result in improved costing accuracy when compared with Conventional Costing procedures. Arguments to support this claim are that companies who adopt Activity Based Costing are not limited to a single cost driver when having to allocate costs to their products and activities. Activity Based Costing allows companies to use non-unit cost drivers as well as unit cost drivers to allocate costs. Also, because use differs significantly amongst activities, no single cost driver can accurately assign costs for all activities whereas Activity Based Costing takes advantage of multiple cost drivers, not just a single cost driver. Arguments against this claim are that service industries often have higher levels of facility costs which mean fewer costs will be included in the Activity Based Costing system. Service industries also have a lot of non-repetitive activities which make it difficult to identify an individual activity to assign a cost driver to. Both the conventional costing system and the Activity Based Costing system calculate the cost of a product or service in relation to the revenue it generates. However, the conventional costing system assigns manufacturing overheads based on a volume-based cost driver, and Activity Based Costing systems assign the manufacturing and non-manufacturing overheads based on the activities required to produce the item. Part 3 Case Analysis Report – DBS Consulting Services (cont.) The Conventional Costing System Conventional costing approaches assume that manufacturing overhead costs are related to the volume of production which is usually measured by input measures such as direct labour hours or direct machine hours. The features of a conventional costing system are: Direct material and direct labour costs are traced to products Manufacturing overheads are assigned to products based on a pre-determined overhead rate The manufacturing overhead rate is calculated using a volume-based cost driver Non-manufacturing costs are not assigned to products The advantages of using a conventional costing system are: They are aligned with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) They are simpler than Activity Based Costing systems and easier to implement The disadvantages of a conventional costing system are: They are not as accurate as Activity Based Costing systems They can result in under-costing and over-costing of products They can lead to poor management decisions as non-manufacturing costs are excluded The Activity Based Costing System Activity Based Costing systems allocate manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs to a product based on the activities required to produce the item. Activity Based Costing systems calculate the cost of individual activities and then assign those costs to cost objects, such as outputs, based on the activities required to produce them. Activity Based Costing systems can be used to estimate the cost a product and also as a tool for management to monitor and control what is happening in the business by analysing the activity costs, the root causes of activities, the value of to the customer and measures of performance. The advantages of Activity Based Costing systems are: They provide a more accurate cost of products Manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs are included in the calculation They provide a greater understanding of overhead costs The disadvantages of Activity Based Costing systems are: Information can be misinterpreted by some users They can be costly to implement and maintain They involve major changes in data collection and analysis which can be challenging and also cause resistance amongst employees Current System at DBS Consulting Services Currently at DBS Consulting Services our administration costs (overheads) are allocated to both consulting services (e-Commerce and Information Systems) based on billable hours. The following analysis presents the profitability of the firm’s e-Commerce and Information Systems consulting services using Conventional Costing procedures and Activity Based Costing. Part 3 Case Analysis Report – DBS Consulting Services (cont.) Conventional Costing Procedures: Part 3 Case Analysis Report – DBS Consulting Services (cont.) Activity Based Costing Procedures: Analysis: Activity-based costing procedures result in a significant increase in the overhead costs allocated to Information Systems Consulting and a significant decrease in the overhead costs allocated to e-Commerce Consulting. The conventional costing procedures allocate overheads based on billable hours which results in 38% of overhead costs being allocated to e-Commerce Consulting (=1900 billable hours for e-Commerce / 5000 total billable hours), and 62% to Information Systems Consulting (=3100 billable hours for Information Systems / 5000 total billable hours). However Activity Based Costing shows that the overhead percentage allocations vary for each activity as summarised below. Part 3 Case Analysis Report – DBS Consulting Services (cont.) The e-Commerce Consulting services are allocated less overhead costs using Activity Based Costing when compared to the conventional costing approach. Using the conventional costing approach, $342,000 is allocated at $129,960 (e-Commerce Consulting) and $212,040 (Information Systems Consulting). Using the Activity Based Costing approach, $342,000 is allocated at $107,160 (e-Commerce Consulting) and $234,840 (Information Systems Consulting). E-Commerce Consulting Services provides a higher income per billings percentage than that of Information Systems Consulting Services (19% vs. 3%) under the Activity Based Costing approach. This shows that although both services are charged out at the same rate, and the labour rate for both services are the same, e-Commerce Consulting Services provides the higher return per sales dollar. By adopting the Activity Based Costing approach we can determine a more accurate method of allocating overhead costs to our services which in turn will provide more accurate profit analysis of each service. This will help to increase customer and shareholder value. Summary Given the very tight local labour market and the fact that it is difficult to find quality staff it would not be desirable for an aggressive expansion of either consulting service regardless of the fact that both generate a profit. If we opt to expand either service this would mean having to hire more qualified staff, which as mentioned above, is difficult in today’s competitive market. Before implementing an Activity Based Costing system, the following factors need to be considered: Management needs to show conviction that the benefits of the system will outweigh the costs Management and staff need to understand what Activity Based Costing is and how it can help the firm The requirement of resources to implement Activity Based Costing need to be considered Concerns about the resistance to change factors need to be addressed The success of failure of Activity Based Costing approach is determined by the reactions of the people who develop and use the system. Resistance to change can impede implementation, therefore in order to succeed, there must be a plan in place that is carefully thought out to take into account the factors above as well as determining the extent of change required and the different personalities involved. Employees should be encouraged to play a major role in developing and using the Activity Based Costing system to give them a sense of ownership and help them to view the system as a tool to help them manage their work. In conclusion, an Activity Based Costing system can be costly and time consuming to implement and maintain, it requires extensive training, expertise and information. However, the benefits of Activity Based Costing on improved cost accuracy and assisting management with decision making outweigh these costs. Part 3 Case Analysis Report – DBS Consulting Services (cont.) References Langfield-Smith, K., Thorne, H., & Hilton, R. (2012). Management accounting: Information for creating and managing value (6th edition). North Ryde, NSW, Australia: McGraw-Hill. Heisinger, K., & Hoyle, J. (2013.). Managerial Accounting,v.1.0. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http:/catalog.flatworldknowledge.com Johnson, R. (n.d.). Traditional Costing Vs. Activity-Based Costing. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http:/smallbuiness.chron.com Wilkinson, J. (July 23, 2013). Activity-based Costing (ABC) vs Traditional Costing. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http:/strategiccfo.com Marx, C. (n.d.). Activity Based Costing (ABC) And Traditional Costing Systems. Retrieved April 4, 2014 from http:/financialsupport.weebly.com Keshav. (n.d). Advantages And Disadvantages of Activity-Based Costing (ABC). Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http:/accountlearning.blogspot.co.nz Delaware Technical Community College. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2014 from https://www.dtcc.edu

How to Spot the Pegasus Constellation

How to Spot the Pegasus Constellation Stargazers looking for an easy-to-spot star pattern cant go wrong with the constellation Pegasus, the Winged Horse. Although Pegasus doesnt exactly look like a horse- more like a box with legs attached- its shape is so easily recognizable that its hard to miss. Finding Pegasus Pegasus is best spotted on dark nights beginning in late September and early October. Its not far from W-shaped Cassiopeia and lies just above Aquarius. Cygnus the Swan is not too far away, either. Look for a group of stars in the shape of a box, with several lines of stars extending out from the corners. One of those lines marks the Andromeda constellation.   Pegasus is one of three northern hemisphere autumn constellations that are easy to spot. It contains the globular cluster M14. Carolyn Collins Petersen Stargazers looking for the Andromeda Galaxy can use Pegasus as a guide. Some like to think of it as a baseball diamond, with the bright star Alpheratz as the first base mound. A batter hits a ball, runs to first base, but instead of going to second base, runs up the first base foul line until they run into the star Mirach (in Andromeda). They turn right to run into the stands, and before long, they run right into the Andromeda Galaxy.   The Story of Pegasus Pegasus the Winged Horse has a long history with stargazers. The name we use today comes from ancient Greek myths about a flying steed with mystical powers. Before the Greeks were telling tales of Pegasus, ancient Babylonian mystics called the star pattern IKU, meaning field. The ancient Chinese, meanwhile, saw the constellation as a giant black tortoise, while indigenous people of Guyana saw it as a barbecue. The Stars of Pegasus Twelve bright stars make up the outline of Pegasus, plus numerous others in the official IAU chart of the constellation. The brightest star in Pegasus is called Enif, or ÃŽ µ Pegasi. There are brighter stars than this one, such as Markab (alpha Pegasi), and of course Alpheratz. The stars that make up the Great Square of Pegasus form an unofficial pattern called an asterism. The Great Square is one of several such patterns that amateur astronomers use as they find their way around the night sky. The official IAU chart of the constellation Pegasus shows its brighter stars plus numerous others. It also shows a few deepsky objects, such as M15 and the Andromeda Galaxy. IAU/Sky Telescope   Enif, which can be seen as the muzzle of the horse, is an orange supergiant that lies nearly 700 light-years from us. It is a variable star, which means that it varies its brightness over time, mostly in an irregular pattern. Interestingly, some of the stars in Pegasus have planetary systems (called exoplanets) orbiting them. The famous 51 Pegasi (which lies on a line in the box) is a Sun-like star that was found to have planets, including a hot Jupiter.   Deep Sky Objects in Pegasus Constellation Although Pegasus is one of the largest constellations, it doesnt have a lot of easily-spotted deep-sky objects. The best object to spot is the globular cluster M15. M15 is a spherically shaped collection of stars bound together by mutual gravitational attraction. It lies just off the horses muzzle and contains stars that are at least 12 billion years old. M15 is about 33,000 light-years away from Earth and contains more than 100,000 stars. Its almost possible to see M15 with the naked eye, but only under very dark conditions. How to find the globular cluster M15. Carolyn Collins Petersen The best way to view M15 is through binoculars or a good backyard telescope.  It will look like a fuzzy smudge, but a good telescope or an image will reveal much more detail. An amateur view of M15 through a backyard-type telescope. Hunter Wilson/Wikimedia Commons The stars in M15 are so tightly packed together that even the Hubble Space Telescope, with its eye for detail, cannot make out individual stars at the core of the cluster. Currently, scientists use radio telescopes to find X-ray sources in the cluster. At least one of the sources is a so-called X-ray binary: a pair of objects that are giving off X-rays.   A Hubble Space Telscope view of the central region of globular cluster M15, which is so densely packed with stars that HST has trouble spying out individual ones. NASA/ESA/STScI Far beyond the limits of backyard telescopes, astronomers are also studying galaxy clusters in the direction of the Pegasus constellation, as well as the gravitationally-lensed object called the Einstein Cross. The Einstein Cross is an illusion formed by the gravitational influence of light from a distant quasar that passes by a galaxy cluster. The effect bends the light and ultimately causes four images of the quasar to appear. The name Einstein Cross comes from the cross-like shape of the images and the famous physicist Albert Einstein. He predicted that gravity affects space-time and that gravity could bend the path of light that passes near a massive object (or collection of objects).  That phenomenon is called a gravitational lens.

Childrens ESL Lesson Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Children's ESL Lesson Old MacDonald Had a Farm Level: Beginner (children)Focus: Vocabulary Note: This work was prepared to take advantage of all the potential of a song like â€Å"Old MacDonald Had a Farm† may offer to work with different kind of animals. The methodology used permits any teacher to adapt the matter according to their necessities. Grade Level: Young ChildrenSong: â€Å"Old Mac Donald Had a Farm†Lyric: Old MacDonald Had a Farm Traditional Old MacDonald had a farmEe-yi-ee-i-ohAnd on this farm there was a dogEe-yi-ee-i-ohWith a woof woof hereAnd a woof woof thereHere a woofThere a woofEverywhere a woof woofOld MacDonald had a farmEe-yi-ee-i-oh†¦. 2nd verse: cat/meow Optional from 3 to 6: 3rd verse: horse/neigh4th verse: duck/quack5th verse: cow /moo6th verse: pig/oink Objectives Make the students have fun making sounds.Children should have an active part in singing, making his or her animal sounds.The children will also learn to work with each other by presenting their piece in the song. Materials Needed to Teach the Lesson The songbook and tape of â€Å"Old Mac Donald Had a Farm.†The pictures of the animals of the song that contain the sound that each animal reproduces.Sheets of paper that children will use to match animals and the sound they make. They must have some pictures.Sheets of paper that contain the lyrics of â€Å"Old MacDonald Had A Farm† but the lyrics should have some blanks to be completed by each child. They should include some pictures. Teaching Procedure I. Preparing the Class: Choose animals the children know or pre-teach the animals for the song – ducks, pigs, horses, sheep etc.Make pictures of each animal for all children in the class. These pictures should have written the sound that the animals produce.Prepare sheets of paper to match animals and their sounds II. Introduction to the Lesson: Create a classroom mural titled What We Know About Farms.†Set up a farm display area to generate interest in the new classroom theme (might include straw hats, overalls, farm toys and of course animals).Hand out the pictures of each animal to all children in the class. Check that they know the English word for their animals.Make the children think about their favorite animal that lives on a farm.Make the student listen to the recording of â€Å"Old MacDonald Had A Farm†, and think about what animal from the song they want to be. (Then, they will be asked to participate according to the choice they made). III. Step by step Procedures for Teaching the Focus Concepts: Listen to the recording of the song line by line; Old MacDonald Had a Farm and ask children to join you according to the animal they have selected. If it is necessary, stop the song line by line until they get the idea.Sing the song together with the accompaniment provided on tape. Remember children may learn very easily by using echoic memory.Promote mimics, gestures, etc. associated with  the meaning to make children play a participative role freely. Remember children have energy and want to make noise. Songs will channel these natural inclinations positively. IV. Closure and Review of the Lesson: Divide up the children into their animal groups to sing Old MacDonald Had A Farm song without the accompaniment of the tape. Assessing Understanding of the Concept Taught Make the children sing in a cappella with their farm animal group. In this way, you will listen more closely to discover if the children are pronouncing correctly the most important words of the song such as the name of the animals and the sounds they produce.Hand out the sheets of paper that have the lyrics with some blanks.Finally, as an option, children may use a paper to match animal sounds to the correct farm animals at class or home. This lesson has kindly been provided by Ronald Osorio.

Law of Tort Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law of Tort - Term Paper Example According to Hodgson and Lewthwaite, negligence can be defined as an act of being careless. There are three main elements of negligence in tort. First, a legal duty must exist, secondly, there must be breach of the legal duty and thirdly, damaged must have been suffered because of breach of legal duty. The plaintiff (claimant) must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant owed him or her legal duty of care. Negligence is recognizable in the court of law only where the relationship between the defendant and claimant give rise to the legal duty of care. For example, a doctor who operates on a patient and leaves surgical equipment in the patient’s body is liable for negligence. Statutory torts are civil wrongdoings that have legislative backing. The statutes impose duties to private and public entities that cause the tort to compensate or remedy the injured as defined by law. To be valid, the statute must impose a specified duty on the defendant. For example, if legislati on (statute) imposes a duty on the employer to take care of the employees’ welfare, then the courts always construe the statute as giving rise to a statutory tort. If the employer fails to take care of the employees’ welfare and the employees sustain injuries or suffer losses as a result, the employer (defendant) is guilty of statutory tort and shall compensate the employees as per the requirements of the guiding legislation. Intentional wrongdoing is consciously harming someone to achieve a predetermined objective.