The Great Wall of China and The Petronas Towers Essay Example

The Great Wall of China and The Petronas Towers Paper As Asia in the recent past has opened itself up economically to the world through trade and business, so too has it opened up to tourism and the benefits that come with this new and ever-changing industry. More specifically, the variety of visitor attractions on offer around the world has developed significantly in the past twenty years (Stevens, 2000), especially in Asia, and is influenced by a variety of factors. This essay will examine two distinctly different yet similar visitor attractions in China and Malaysia, namely the Great Wall of China and the Petronas Towers, and appropriately analyse issues such as product development, market segmentation, transportation, and the overall business environment. By comparing and contrasting these attractions, it can be seen that they overlap continuously to give a dynamic representation of the visitor attraction market as a whole. Before delving into the history of these attractions, the term visitor attraction as it relates to the management and organisation of attractions in general must be defined. A complete definition, given by the English Tourism Council, states that A permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest or education; rather than being principally a retail outlet or venue for sporting, theatrical or film performances. It must be open to the public without prior booking, for published periods each year, and should be capable of attracting tourists or day visitors as well as local residents. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Wall of China and The Petronas Towers specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Wall of China and The Petronas Towers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Wall of China and The Petronas Towers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In addition, the attraction must be a single business, under a single management nd must be receiving revenue directly from visitors. (English Tourism Council, 2000b:24) This is relevant for both destinations, with the Great Wall allowing public access for education, open without prior booking, attracting all different visitors as well as local residents, and is receiving revenue from these tourists and The Petronas Towers, which is open without prior booking, attracting international visitors as well as locals especially for shopping interests, and is owned under a single management. Defining these two attractions in depth, it is found that both attractions fall under the category of Human made buildings, structures and sites that were designed for a purpose other than attracting visitors. (Swarbrooke, 2001:5) As well, since both attractions are owned by the public sector, their main priorities are conservation, education, public access, and increased leisure opportunities for the community. (Swarbrooke, 2001:10) In order to fully understand these two visitor attractions, it is imperative to go back to their beginnings and uncover the rich historical development that each attraction possesses. The Great Wall is by far the most famous fortification in the world, stretching more than 8,850 kilometres across China. (BBC, 2009) Its early origins can be seen from the 5th century through to 1644 when Beijing was taken by the Mongols from the North at the Shanhaiguan entrance of the Great Wall. Turnbull, 2007:6) Most of the ancient walls have eroded since then, and the Great Wall that most tourists witness today is that from the Ming Dynasty. It should be noted that the costs of the wall were great, with a possible one million people losing their lives building the wall throughout history, it has been given the title of the longest cemetery on earth. (Noll, 2010) Tourism can be said to have been developed from the 17th-20th century along with The Great Walls fame and popularity, reaching attraction status in 1957 with the opening of Badaling. Visit CHN, 2009) Restoration and rebuilding took place throughout the 20th century for tourism development and benefits, and in 1987 was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2010) With the opening up of trade with the West and its induction into the World Trade Organisation in 2001, China has developed adequate tourism facilities and attractions centred on the Great Wall for the new, large influx of visitors including museums, restaurants, hotels, chair lifts, and souvenir stalls to name a few. (Pillai, 2010) Contrasting the extensive historical development of The Great Wall going back centuries, The Petronas Twin Towers are a relatively new attraction. The Petronas gas and oil company began in 1974, and is still today owned by the Malaysian government. As of 2009, Petronas has risen to 80th largest company in the world according to Fortune 500 as well as being Asias most profitable company. (Fortune Magazine, 2009) In 1990, a competition was held to find the best architect and design group to develop a world renowned symbol for Malaysia. Pelli Crosby, 2005:7) Developing on the 100 acre site that formerly belonged to the Selangor Turf Club, the winning architects Cesar Pelli and Djay Cerico under the direction of Julius Gold, began work in 1991 on what was to be the Petronas Towers. (Pelli Crosby, 2005:8) After 7 years, $1. 6 billion dollars, 10,000 workers, and eight million square feet of shopping and entertainment facilities later, the Petronas Towers were complete. From 1998-2004, t he Petronas Towers held the position as tallest building in the world, which ended when it was surpassed by Taipei 101. The Skybridge, which is the main tourist attraction, is the highest two story bridge in the world, and only 1700 tickets are given out per day. (Petronas Twin Towers, 2010) As the historical context has been put into place, it is now relevant to examine the provisions at both visitor attractions to gain better insight into their respective operations. The Great Wall of China operates at several different sites along the Wall, although for a detailed analysis, focus will be placed on the site of Badaling which is the most popular entry since it is the nearest to Beijing. The entry to the Badaling section of the Great Wall is located 200 meters to the North of the pass, where there is a Tourism Information Centre with an information desk offering guide maps, routes, and services all in one spot. (badaling. gov. cn, 2009) As well, the increasing need to generate alternative revenue streams has led to an expansion of the core activities in many new and existing attractions, with very few now opening without some element of retail or catering. (Fyall, Garrod, Leask, Wanhill, 2008:5) This can be seen through the entry, where the tourist will find souvenir shops, handicraft artists, and paintings, some of which are prize winning works by the Beijing Tourist Commodity Design Competition. (badaling. gov. cn, 2009) South of the pass, is the Badaling Hotel and International Dining Room that was built in 1986 by the Beijing Municipal Government and has received since then, more than 100 foreign heads of states, including U. S. presidents and the Queen, as well as nearly two million tourists. badaling. gov. cn, 2009) Some of the more recent provisions have been controversial, in that they may be changing the feel of the Great Wall from a heritage and cultural site, to a theme park style attraction. These provisions include bear pits, where tourists can feed the local sun bears, as well as the Biconvex Pulley which lifts tourists to the fourth tower (of eight) for a round trip price of 60 yuan. (Travel China Guide, 2010) At other sites, such as Mutianyu, toboggan rides down are a popular new attraction. This could be due to current trends indicating an increasing need for attractions to appeal to broader audiences and to generate ever greater levels of external income, resulting in an increased mix of product offering and choice for the visitor. (Fyall, Garrod, Leask, Wanhill, 2008:7) There are also cultural offerings on display, including the Circle Cinema and the China Great Wall Museum. The Circle Cinema is the largest 360 degree circle cinema in the country. (badaling. gov. cn, 2009) The Great Wall movie is presented on the seamless screen using the latest technology and 10 projectors. Next door is the China Great Wall Museum, which looks at the Great Wall in its entirety from its history, military achievements, architecture, culture, and art. Its main purpose is for education, with interim exhibitions and academic seminars. (badaling. gov. cn, 2009) Comparing the Great Wall attractions to the Petronas Towers, it can be seen that the latter is more focused on commercialism than history and therefore offers a different array of provisions for tourists and locals alike. Until recently, the main attraction was the Skybridge at the Petronas Towers which connects the two buildings on the 41st floor. A total of 1700 tickets were given out for free at 9:00am every morning and groups of 15 are taken up to the bridge. Afterwards, the visitor could then go shopping in the adjoined Suria Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Shopping Complex. However, recently, many new changes have taken place to expand the attractions offered. (Petronas Twin Towers, 2010) Visit packages are now be offered that not only include a visit to the famous Skybridge, but also a visit to an observation deck on a top floor of Tower 2 and a meal at the Malaysian Petroleum Club (MPC) within Tower 2 of the building. (Petronas Twin Towers, 2010) These packages will be priced from as low as RM3 for the Skybridge only up to RM350. Sometimes destinations only develop because of one specific visitor attraction, which is the case of the Petronas Twin Towers. Thus it is said, The marketing of these destinations tends to focus on these attractions so that they are often the symbol of the destination in the minds of tourists. (Swarbrooke, 2001:22) At the Suria KLCC, there are a range of luxury shops including Marks and Spencer, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany and Co. s well as restaurants, a cinema, the Philharmonic Orchestra and Concert Hall, an art gallery, and a Science Discovery Centre. (Suria KLCC, 2010) The shopping and attractions bring economic benefits to Kuala Lumpur, and broaden the appeal of the Petronas Towers within the destination as it is designed with a seamless flow and user-friendly experience. This is significant, since visitors want attractions which are easy to use and where as little of their precious leisure time as possible is wasted on mundane tasks such as queuing. (Swarbrooke, 2001: 166) Before focusing on the market potential for the Great Wall, it is important to understand its catchment area. World famous attractions such as the Great Wall have a large, international catchment area with visitors from all over the world coming to the attraction. Identifying the catchment area is crucial because its population size determines likely visitor numbers and because it helps marketers to decide where to place advertisements for the attraction. (Swarbrooke, 2001:77) As well, the importance of catchment areas is pertinent as unlike commodities, the product offer has to be consumed at the place of production. (Fyall, Garrod, Leask, Wanhill 2008:349) However, while the international market is important, it is crucial to understand that domestic market potential is far greater than the international inbound market. This is due to the introduction of Golden Weeks, an improving economy, and a rise in the middle class- mainly higher income urbanites. (Mintel, 2010) To demonstrate this increase, the tourism sector has risen by 9% in revenue in 2009, and is looking to achieve an increase of 14% in 2010. (International Herald Tribune, 2010) Although leisure travel is a fairly new concept to the Chinese, as the economy grew in the 1990s, domestic trips grew 54% from 1996-2006. (IHT, 2010) The year 1999 saw the introduction of the Golden Weeks holidays aimed to increase domestic tourism. These weeks included the Lunar New Year (January-February), the National Holiday (October), and the government is looking to reinstate Labour Day Holiday (May). (Mintel, 2010)

The Essay Experts New Years Ressaylutions- Completing 2011 and Creating 2012

The Essay Experts New Years Ressaylutions- Completing 2011 and Creating 2012 Last year at about this time, I wrote a list of six New Year’s Ressaylutions for 2011. Do you ever go back to your list from last year and check on whether you followed through on your resolutions, or whether you forgot about them the moment you put your pen down? I realized that with all my talk about New Year’s resolutions, I hadn’t gone back to check last year’s list.   I got brave and dug it up this week; the following is a report on how I did at keeping my promises!   I also make new resolutions for 2012. 2011 Ressaylutions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.   Convert my website to WordPress. DONE!   Not only is my site fully converted to WordPress, but I also have a funky cool new slider on my home page. I also created many new forms and downloadable documents that make it easier for clients to submit information and get the materials they need. 2.   Make it easier for my readers to choose the topic they want to read about. DONE!   I now have six separate e-lists: a) Job Search (Resumes Cover Letters) b) College Admissions c) LinkedIn Professional Writing d) Grammar Tips e) Newsletter only e) Everything. Choose the one that’s â€Å"write† for you! 3.   Create autoresponders. DONE!   And there is still so much more to do.   See Ressaylution #3. 4.   Guest blog. DONE!   My articles have appeared on CareerCast.com, Careerealism.com, CareerCenterToolbox.com and ilostmyjob.com, and I was quoted in Forbes.   Recently I wrote two articles for an American Bar Association publication about resumes and personal statements for applying to law school which will be published this summer. 5.   Start an Artist’s Way group. NOT DONE.   This one took a back seat to the business.   But I DID write my morning pages every day for three months like I said I would.   And I told everyone I was leading something, which made me act like a leader.   Perhaps that’s what inspired my article, Top 10 Ways to Be a Leader.   I’m content that this item did not come to fruition. 6.   Continue to write and share about writing issues, job search issues, and sometimes life issues that strike my fancy each week and that my readers care about. DONE.   I faithfully published either a blog article or a newsletter EVERY week in 2011, without fail.   Now THAT’s something to celebrate! Here are The Essay Expert’s Ressaylutions for 2012: 1.   Create a new template for my website that brings me more into the technology of 2012. Despite my successful WordPress conversion, there’s much work still to be done before I have the ability to edit my pages without â€Å"breaking† the existing code.   Look out for a new, more user-friendly interface in 2012 too! 2.   Create new e-lists for past clients, and survey past clients. I want to follow up better with The Essay Expert’s past clients and find out how they are faring with the documents we helped them prepare.   Did they get jobs?   Did they get into school?   Do they need more assistance?   My hope is that better e-lists will allow me to start providing concrete numbers about the results of the work that we do.   In service of this goal (as well as Ressaylution #3), I will be hiring a virtual assistant (VA)!   No more interns – The Essay Expert is getting down to business. 3.   Revise autoresponders from 2011. Right now most of my autoresponders are set up as summaries of my articles with links to the full article. It turns out that people don’t like to have to click on a link to read a full article!   So I will be putting complete articles into my autoresponders for your reading convenience and pleasure.   Thank you to my future VA for helping to make this happen! 4.   Publish my e-book on Kindle This one is in the works.   It will have a cool new cover and a clickable index for easy reference.   Let’s make it a best-seller! 5.   Report on and count success stories in 2012. My goal is to report 212 success stories in 2012.   My resolution is to keep doing great work and to keep marketing The Essay Expert’s offerings so we can create 212 positive results for job seekers, school applicants and businesses in the next year.   See 212 Success Stories for 2012. 6.   Continue to write and share about writing issues, job search issues, and sometimes life issues that strike my fancy each week and that my readers care about. No change here.   I’ll see you every week in 2012. How did you do on your New Years resolutions from 2011?   Do you dare to find out? Category:Life and LeadershipBy Brenda BernsteinJanuary 16, 2012 1 Comment The Essay Expert says: January 17, 2012 at 8:06 am LOL Jan perhaps theres room to start challenging yourself more! Log in to Reply

Media influences in sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Media influences in sociology - Essay Example This is a social problem because media influences the world perception and priorities of people. It is used to manipulate and organize habits and opinions of the society through false values and beliefs of the dominant social group. It manipulated the social machinery controlling the opinions and habits of middle and low classes. It is often assumed to be normal that a latent group, provided it does not encounter any obstacle or resistance and that it has sufficient 'consciousness' of the common interest, will act 'naturally' in advancing its interests. Latent groups are aware of their interests, and such awareness leads 'normally' to collective action aiming to advance the common interest. The sole obstacles which might prevent this collective action are, on the one hand, a delay in the appearance of an awareness of common interest, and, on the other hand, a resistance which derives from divergent or contradictory interests of other groups (Schmidt 363). Competition between groups w hose interests are both legitimate and at least partially in opposition is a basic means of a concentration of power in modern societies. To start from the conflict between a value system and a norm system is to suppose that one or other is coherent when taken by itself. "Media reproduces the structural components of systems of interaction" (Schmidt 241). Advertising is one of the most powerful media tools which popularize

Distinguish between the return on investment and the return on Essay

Distinguish between the return on investment and the return on capital. Show the respective relevance of each to investment decisions - Essay Example ffect of the aggregate demand curve is the same as the demand curve, it shows the amount that the government and businesses are willing to spend on good (Perelman, 2007). Keynes postulates that the capital investment in equipment, plant and machinery will increase the production of goods in an economy. He further, says that investment consists of spending on stocks and finished goods. An increase in interest rate results to a decrease in investment hence a consequent decrease in the total demand. This happens on the ground that the interest rate and investment have an inverse relationship. The increase in interest rate increases the cost of capital hence decrease in demand total. However, a reduction in interest rate will lower the cost of the capital hence increase in investment and a consequent increase in aggregate investment. Keynes postulates that aggregate demand has a number of components. The demand function is Y=C(Y-T)+I (r) +G+NX (e) where I is income, I is consumption being a function of disposable income, I is investment being a function of interest rate, G is government expenditure and NX is net exports (exports minus imports). Keynes further ascertained that investment cannot, therefore, be a sole determinant of the aggregate demand. This means that a change in investment leads to a less proportionate change in the aggregate demand. A rising flow of investment increases the money supply in the economy. The government using its monetary policy, it employs the increase in interest rates to decrease the nominal supply in the economy as it increases the cost of capital (V). Additionally, the increase in the flow of investment increases the money supply in the economy leading to a shift of the money supply upwards and leftwards. This would consequently lead to an increase in prices and the real output (oil, petrol and

Case study reflection 2 pages per case 8 total Essay

Case study reflection 2 pages per case 8 total - Essay Example tudy of metformin-associated lactic acidosis-MALA, in which the interactions of drug that is, orlistat in the long run and cimetidine in the short run, may have triggered the woman’s condition (British Medical Association, 1988, pp56-87). The case involves a 59-year-old woman having had diabetes type 2 for 14 years, presented a history of 3 months of unclear abdominal pain and 4-5 daily loose movements of bowel. Her condition had worsened for over 4 days before her admission to the hospital. On the admission day, she exhibited signs of weakness, dizziness, and blurred vision. In addition, her husband had observed inaudible speech and an abridged level of consciousness (Ehrman, 2009, pp234-345). When the diagnosis of metformin-associated lactic acidosis with cardiovascular collapse and acute prerenal renal failure was made, it was discovered that she needed She required a vigorous rehydration, infusion of sodium bicarbonate, support of inotropic, and the therapy of renal replacement. Empirically, all cultures of blood, urine, and feces were sterile. Three years later she was dialysis independent and the stability of became real having a creatinine of 250 ÃŽ ¼mol/l. The study aims at answering the question of what initiates MALA in patients who previously had normal renal functions. Though the approach of handling this condition is unknown, the available options have been supportive and usually focus stopping the drug, correcting the acidosis and treating the coexisting conditions which in most instances are renal impairment. The therapy of renal impairment eliminates lactate and metformin from the blood. Metformin is absorbed comparatively rapidly in the intestines, and is not metabolized. And 90% of the drug is removed through glomerular filtration and secretions in the tubules. It has a half-life of 1.5-5 hours (Dong, 2006, pp34-45). When compared with phenformin, it yields a negligible increase in producing lactate, which seems to be past the extra hepatic

Earnings Management and Accrual Accounting

Earnings Management and Accrual Accounting Contents (Jump to) Introduction Motivations for Earnings Management   Techniques 11 Groups to Manage Earnings Modified Jones Model   Limitations of the Earnings Management Models Implications and Application of Earnings Management References EARNINGS MANAGEMENT Introduction There has been significant attention placed on earnings management from regulators, the financial press, and academic researchers in recent years. Most are in agreement that earnings management does occur; however, there is no uniform definition for what it is or how to detect it. What are earnings and what is earnings management? Simply stated, earnings are the accounting profits of a company. Stakeholders (current or potential providers of debt and equity capital, employees, suppliers, customers, auditors, analysts, rating agencies, and regulators) use earnings to make important financial decisions. Many investors view earnings as value relevant data that is more informative than cash flow data. (Healy and Wahlen 1999) Others have suggested that current earnings are better predictors of future cash flows than are current cash flows. (Dechow 1994) In the US, these profits are derived using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) a system based on the accrual method, which measures the performance and position of a company by recognizing economic events regardless of when cash transactions occur. The generalidea is thateconomic events are recognized by matching revenues to expensesat the time in which the transactionoccurs rather than when payment is made (or received). This methodallows the current cashinflows/outflowsto be combined withfuture expected cash inflows/outflowsto give a more accurate picture of a companys current financial condition.The objectives of financial reporting and how these relate to the definition of accrual accounting, as laid out by the FASB in various Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts: The primary focus of financial reporting is information about an enterprises performance provided by measures of earnings and its components [CON1, para. 43]. Accrual accounting attempts to record the financial effects on an entity of transactions, events, and circumstances that have cash consequences for the entity in the periods in which those transactions, events, and circumstances occur rather than only in the periods in which cash is received or paid by the entity [CON6, para. 139]. It uses accrual, deferral, and allocation procedures whose goal is to relate revenues, expenses, gains, and losses to periods to reflect an entitys performance during a period instead of merely listing its cash receipts and outlays. Thus, recognition of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses and the related increments or decrements in assets and liabilities including matching of costs and revenues, allocation, and amortization is the essence of using accrual accounting to measure performance of enti ties [CON6, para. 145]. The principal goal of accrual accounting is to help investors assess the entitys economic performance during a period through the use of basic accounting principles such as revenue recognition and matching. There is evidence that as a result of the accruals process, reported earnings tend to be smoother than underlying cash flows (accruals tend to be negatively related to cash flows) and that earnings provide better information about economic performance to investors than cash flows (Dechow 1994) This idea raises the following key questions: What is the objective of accrual accounting? How far should management go in helping investors form rational expectations about the firms performance through their accruals choices and when does this activity become earnings management? To the extent that these accruals choices often operate to smooth reported earnings relative to the underlying cash flows, when does the appropriate exercise of managerial discretion become earnings management? Perhaps by its very nature, accrual accounting dampens the fluctuations in an entitys underlying cash flows to generate a number that is more useful to investors (for assessing economic performance and predicting future cash flows) than current-period operating cash flows. To characterize this as earnings management, we need to define the point at which managers accrual decisions result in too much smoothing and becomes earnings management. To think more generally about how earnings management is defined, consider the following representative definitions from the academic literature: a purposeful intervention in the external financial reporting process, with the intent of obtaining some private gain Schipper (1989) Earnings management occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company, or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers. Healy and Wahlen (1999) Although widely accepted, these definitions are difficult to operationalize directly using attributes of reported accounting numbers since they center on managerial intent, which is unobservable. Turning to the professional literature, clear definitions of earnings management are just as difficult to discern from pronouncements, statements, and speeches by regulators. An extreme form of earnings management, financial fraud, is well-defined (again in terms of managerial intent) as: the deliberate misrepresentation of the financial condition of an enterprise accomplished through the intentional misstatement or omission of amounts or disclosures in the financial statements to deceive financial statement users. (Certified Fraud Examiners, 1993) In recent speeches and writings, regulators at the SEC seem to have a broader concept in mind than financial fraud when they talk about earnings management, although a strict definition has not been made explicit. In particular, while financial reporting choices that explicitly violate GAAP can clearly constitute both fraud and earnings management, it also seems that systematic choices made within GAAP can also constitute earnings management according to recent SEC discussions. The notion that earnings management can occur within the bounds of GAAP is consistent with the academic definitions described above but is somewhat startling if the idea is that this type of earnings management will lead to explicit adverse consequences for managers and firms (in the form of SEC enforcement activity) in the same way as financial fraud. This is an important point because of the question as to whether income smoothing and other similar processes constitute earnings management and whether they ar e to be treated in the same manner as fraud. Former SEC Chairman Levitt indicated that flexibility in accounting allows firms to keep pace with business innovations. Abuses such as earnings management occur when people exploit this pliancy. Trickery is employed to obscure actual financial volatility. This in turn, masks the true consequences of managements decisions. (1998). This implies that within-GAAP choices can be considered to be earnings management if they are used to obscure or mask true economic performance, bringing us back again to managerial intent. This idea is reinforced by our reading of SAB 99, which also points to the intent to deceive. As accounting researchers have discovered, implementing this type of definition requires a reliable measure of the true consequences of managements decisions that is, the earnings number that would have resulted from a neutral operation of the process (absent some form of managerial intent). The crucial issues seems to be why firms choose to manage earnings, how do firms manage their earnings, how do we measure earnings management given that implementing GAAP requires management to make judgments and estimates, and what are the implications of earnings management. Motivation Management can have many motivations for managing their earnings. The ultimate motive for earnings management, however, is to aesthetically enhance the performance of a company in the eyes of its stakeholders. The literature cites motives such as stock market incentives, signaling or concealing private information, political cost, internal motives, lending contracts, management compensation contracts, and regulatory issues. A primary purpose of earnings management is to enhance the wealth of its stakeholders such as owners since they are hired by the board of directors and the board of directors is hired by the owners.   To enhance the benefits of the owners of a firm, management may manage earnings in order to meet analyst forecasts for present and future periods (Burgstahler and Eames 1998). An owner of that firms stock may be rewarded by the appreciation of its stock value which directly relates to the owners wealth. Meeting earnings forecast is an important factor on the stocks price. The more consensuses among analysts forecasts, the stronger incentive management has to meet those forecasts (Payne and Robb 2000).   Moreover, the direction of analysts recommendation (buy or sell) about a company can bias managements decision to manage earnings. If the company misses its earnings this can have a negative impact on stock returns and negatively impact managements compensation (Matsunaga and Park 2001).   However, if management can meet or beat analyst expectations, then this can result in higher stock returns (Bartov et al., 2002). The management of earnings has also been seen prior to a firms equity offering such as seasoned equity offers (Teoh, Welch, and Wong 1998b), initial public offerings (Teoh, Welch, and Wong 1998a; Teoh, Wong, and Rao 1998), and stock financed acquisitions (Erickson and Wang 1999). Management may have the incentive to signal positive information or to conceal negative information.   If a firm is performing poorly or having financial struggles, management may conceal this performance using earnings management (Rosner 2003). On the other hand, management may want to signal the firms future performance by revealing more information about a companys future earnings and cash flow prospects (Tucker and Zarowin 2006). Earnings management can also be used to shift earnings to other periods for optimal tax planning (Shane and Stock 2006). The shifting of earnings for tax purposes can be a sign of strength. Other reasons to manage earnings can include meeting bank loan covenants. In order to maintain bank loan covenants, management may have to achieve a certain level of earnings. Failure to reach the requisite earnings can cause the lender to call the loans due, creating liquidity problems for the firm and signaling firm weakness to the bank and other creditors. The li terature finds that firms that have violated covenants are more likely to manage earnings, possibly to prevent future defaults (Sweeney 1994).   When earnings management is conducted, managers use it as a tool to enhance perception of their management capabilities during the current reporting period, implying that this type of performance will continue in future reporting periods. They expect to be compensated handsomely for their business acumen.   However, Guidry et al. (1998) found that divisional managers for large multinational firms are likely to defer income when the earnings target in their bonus plan will not be met. This indicates that management is willing to take a bath in the current period in order to reap the benefits in a future period.   Moreover, it was found in Murphy (2001) that management is more likely to smooth earnings when using internal performance standards (budget goals and prior year) than external standards. Another form of compensation manipulation happens when there is a cap on the bonus awards. Then management is more likely to report an accrual that defers income when the cap is reached ( Healy 1985 and Hotausen et al, 1995). Furthermore, management may manage earnings depending on whether they are joining or leaving the firm. A new CEO may be inclined to downwards earnings management (transferring the benefit to future periods), while a retiring CEO may use upward earnings management (reaping the benefits in the current period) (Godfrey et al., 2003). Certain businesses have regulatory requirements to stay in business. A popular study of earnings management in the literature is the application by banks to manage earnings in order to meet capital requirements and by insurance companies to manage earnings to meet risk regulatory requirements. The literature supports evidence that when banks are close to minimum capital requirements they overstate loan loss provisions, understate loan write-offs, and recognize abnormal realized gains on securities portfolios (Moyer 1990; Scholes et al. 1990; Beatty et al. 1995; Collins et al. 1995). Additionally, financially weak property casualty insurers that risk regulatory attention understate claim loss reserves (Petroni 1992). The literature has also shown that firms facing anti-trust or potential anti-trust scrutiny are likely to use earnings management. These firms or others vulnerable to adverse political consequences have incentives to manage earnings to appear less profitable (Watts and Zi mmerman 1978). Moreover, firms under investigation for anti-trust violations reported income decreasing abnormal accruals in investigation years (Cahan 1992). Techniques Earnings Management can take place by underestimating or overestimating either revenues or expenses. It can be done to affect future earnings as well as current earnings. There are two main types: Cosmetic Earnings Management using accounting choices from GAAP: also called accrual based earnings management. It happens when managers use their judgment and discretion to make choices related to accounting principles that can alter earnings in the current or a future period. An example is the modification of depreciation rates, where an increase (decrease) in the expense may occur in the current period leading to a decrease (increase) in the future (Nelson et. al. 2003). Real-Activity Earnings Management using operating decisions: this type of earnings management is when managers make decisions that affect the real operations in the firm. This type is more dangerous both to the firm and to the managers. Managers would be at a higher risk of being caught. As for the firms, real activities earnings management affects the cash flow, and consequently has a higher impact on the companys future. For example, a manager can give discounted sales prices in order to boost sales and consequently meet some target revenues (Roychowdhury 2006). The most popular and successful techniques used to manage earnings can be categorized into 11 groups: 1. Cookie jar (Cosmetic): managers create a reserve or a financial slack to boost earnings in future periods by recording more expenses in the present. For example, when the manager reports higher inventory cost in the current period, it will allow him to reduce this in the future. (Levitt 1998) 2. Big bath (Cosmetic): when the management decides to eliminate or restructure a subsidiary or an operation, GAAP permits the management to record an estimate charge against the income. Managers can record higher charges to dissimulate other charges. (Levitt 1998) 3. Big bet on the future (Cosmetic): when a company acquires another one, managers can get an immediate earnings boost by including the acquired companys earnings in consolidated earnings. On the other hand, to boost future earnings, managers can write-off the acquired in-progress RD costs against present earnings, and thus protecting future earnings from these charges. (Levitt 1998) 4. Flushing of investment portfolio (Real): passive investments (less than 20% ownership) can be classified as trading securities (reported in operating income) or available-for-sale securities (not reported in operating income until sold). Earnings can be managed by timing sales (sell securities that gained (lost) value to increase (decrease) earnings) or reclassifying the security portfolio (from trading security to available for sale to move gain or loss from or to the income statement) 5. Throw out a problem child (Real): When a subsidiary underperforms, it decreases the overall company earnings. It is usually expected to cause a bigger decrease in the future. Managers may act in several ways to counter that: sell the underperforming subsidiary and consequently report a gain or a loss (based on the managers discretion). Another way is to spin-off the subsidiary by distributing or exchanging the shares with current shareholders and in this way the burden is transferred to the latter. 6. Change in GAAP (Cosmetic): Management can manage earnings by undergoing changes to the present accounting standards. For example, it may volunteer for early adoption of new accounting standards, such as the 1985s standard, which allowed companies whose pension assets exceeded their pension liabilities to count the difference as income (Lev 1989). This technique allows for improved revenue and improved expense recognition. 7. Amortization, Depreciation, and Depletion (Cosmetic): Writing-off long-term assets can be managed by selecting write-off method and period, estimating salvage value, or reclassifying as non-operating use. 8. Sale/Leaseback and asset exchange (Real): selling a long-term asset that has unrealized gain (loss) can be used to manage earnings. For example, selling a building, which is carried in the balance sheet at $25 million, for $40 million, will give a boost to the current earnings by $15 million (not considering tax and transaction costs). Another way is to sell the building and lease it back (recording gains or losses). However, if the management wishes not to record any gains or losses, the long-term asset could be exchanged with a similar one (for example for exchanging a warehouse for another one that is nearer to a production site) 9. Operating vs. Non-operating Income (Cosmetic): Income items can be classified as Operating income (recurring or core income, expected to continue in the future) or non-operating income (non-recurring, not expected to affect future). GAAP permits to management to classify an item as one or the other. The managers judgment will then affect the financial analysts forecasts, which are based on the operating or core earnings. For instance, disposition of a major manufacturing plant can be classified either as special charges (Operating income) or discontinued charges (non-operating income) based on the managers discretion. 10.Early Retirement of Corporate Debt (Real): Managers may decide to prematurely sell long-term corporate debts (bonds) which are usually recorded at an amortized value. The timing of the sale may lead to gains or losses due to the difference between the amortized value and the book value. 11.Stock buybacks (Real): This technique does not affect earnings, however it does affect earnings per share. By repurchasing their own shares, an act that is considered internal and thus not required to be reported under GAAP, companies will report higher EPS. Consider a company with 1 million shares. If the earnings are $4 million, EPS = $4 million/1million shares = $4 per share. Now if the company buys back 100,000 shares, the same earnings would have to be divided by 900,000 shares, the reported EPS would be $4.44 per share. Earnings Management Models and The Accrual Generation Process Accruals have the desirable traits of giving summary measures of firms income and accounting choice.   In earnings management research, accruals are divided into discretionary (DA) and non-discretionary (NDA). Most research has focused on the detection of DA. It is customary to start earnings management studies with the study of behavior of sales over time. First, in the budgeting process, sales determine the firms production and inventory levels, which in turn determine cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and investment decisions. Second, sales have the highest persistence of any component of the income statement. Therefore, sales are an efficient statistic for describing the characteristics of the firm. The fundamental element of any test for earnings management is a measure of management discretion over earnings. Most studies use DA as a proxy for earnings management. Because DA cannot be observed directly from the financial statement, they have to be estimated using some kind of model. The literature has followed different approaches. According to McNichols (2000), the models can be broadly classified into 3 groups: aggregate accrual models, specific accrual models, and frequency distribution models.   Because of their wide use, we discuss the aggregate accrual models as follows: Models Starting with the first and simplest models, both Healy (1985) and DeAngelo (1986) used total accruals (TA) as the proxy for DA to test earnings management in the context of bonus and management buyouts respectively. However, DeAngelo (1986) used first differencing to correct for serial correlation, therefore his NDA will be less contaminated by past accruals that are irrelevant in estimating current DA. The most popular earnings management model is the Jones Model (1991). It has model has been modified in several ways. Analysis is conducted in 2 stages. In the estimation stage, the DA is assumed to be zero and firm specific coefficients of NDA will be determined. These coefficients are assumed to be stationary and are used to in the event period to determine the DA. In her model, unlike the previous models, NDA are expected to vary with the level of business activity, and revenues and property, plant, and equipment (PPE) are used as proxies to control for NDA. All the variables are deflated by lagged total assets to correct for heteroskedasticity. Dechow et al (1995) argued that earnings can be managed by inflating revenue via receivables. As a result, revenue should be adjusted for change in receivables. This adjusted model is known as the Modified Jones Model. The Modified Jones Model (1995) is: The Industry Model (1991) was developed by Deschow and Sloan when they dealt with RD spending during the last year of the tenure of an outgoing CEO. They assumed that the variation in NDA is common across all firms in the same industry and formulated a model of how the normal item under investigation behaves. However, this model applies only to event studies in which not all firms experience the same event and it cannot capture firm specific characteristics. The Industry Model is: NDA t+1 = ?1 + ? Median (TA t+1) Limitations All models come with limitations. The limitations of the earnings management models are: Strong assumptions that may not hold. These include the absence of earnings management in the estimation period, stationarity of firm specific characteristics over such a longer time horizon, and orthogonality of NDA with the error term (i.e.DA). All the models assume that abnormal accruals are discretionary. Variation in accrual could be the result of performance or business strategy. The consequence is that it produces a Type II error. The solution is to add variables to control for performance and business strategy (Hansen 1999), however, some performance and growth variables may have non-linear properties. Small samples sizes. Small samples generate higher standard error which can weaken the power for the tests (type II errors). Measurement error. Since DA cannot be observed, it has to be estimated. This produces biased estimate of coefficients. The Balance Sheet approach generates more measurement error than the Cash Flow approach. (Hirbar and Collins 2002) Omission of variables. Most models miss some important variables and this induces a bias on the included variables and higher standard errors. The obviously omitted variable is an expense. This can cause an accrual conundrum (Ronen et al, 2007). Efficiency of the existing models. Research has shown that most of these models wrongly identify abnormal but NDA as DA (Type I error) and fail to identify higher amount of induced earnings management (Type II errors). This is partly due to the linearity of the models and the non-linear behavior of the variables studied. Moreover, there are many endogenous factors that affect earnings management and it may not be captured by single equations. As a result, a shift to linear specification and non-linear specification of the models could improve the efficiency of the earnings management models. Further decomposition of accruals. The starting point for most earnings management studies is decomposition of TA and most studies decomposed TA into NDA and DA. However, accruals have reversal property that ensures the change in accrued balance to add up to zero. Therefore, reversal of accrued balance limits the opportunity of managed earnings. As a result, further decomposition of TA accrual could provide more information on the exact change in TA. Implications and Application of Earnings Management Literature related to earnings management implies that earnings management could not be completely eliminated. As long as managements can benefit from managing earnings, they would attempt to expand use of it. Earnings management could be reduced while public eyes such as regulators spend many resources to detect it. However, if they lower guard due to lack of perfect restriction methods, earnings management could be re-flourished since it is surely useful for management to achieve their goals. Therefore, firms earnings management activities continually are reiterated. This continued action without a complete elimination can cause various effects on our society. Firms which purposefully manage their earnings for their own good could negatively impact public well-fare. According to Beaver (1998), financial reporting can generate different kinds of economic consequences, mostly related to resource allocation such as wealth distribution, aggregate consumption and aggregate production, a nd resources devoted to private search for information. Since earnings management could affect the quality of information by producing less reliable financial statement, eventually it could cause various negative economic results. In other words, less reliable information produced because of earnings management may not only make the public worse-off, but may also make the overall economy less stable. For example, because of earnings management, if many investors believe that financial reporting has poor quality and less reliability, they would spend more of their resources to search for better information or private information. It could mean that society wastes resources or re-allocates them to inappropriate places. Several studies provide evidences of earnings management by testing various types of accruals. Teoh, Wong, and Rao (1998) found that depreciation estimates and bad debt provisions are used for earnings management surrounding initial public offers. Many other studies found proof of earnings management through bank loan loss provisions (Beaver, et al., 1989; Moyer, 1990; Scholes, et al., 1990; Wahlen, 1994; Beatty et al. (1995), Collins et al. (1995), Beaver and Engel (1996), Liu and Ryan (1995), Liu et al. (1997). Studies of insurance claim loss reserves, including Petroni (1992), Anthony and Petroni (1992), Beaver and McNichols (1998), Penalva (1998), Petroni et al. (1999), have provided evidence of earnings management among insurers. Visvanathan (1998), Miller and Skinner (1998), Ayers (1998) test the use of deferred tax assets as a tool of earnings management, but they only present little evidence of it. While research indicates evidence of earnings management in a few accruals, numerous studies suggest different methods which could contribute to reduce pervasiveness of earnings management. Such restriction methods could be broadly cauterized in three parts. The first proposed way is to restrict earnings management through the regulatory process. Tan and Jamal (2006) found that strict accounting standards relating to discretionary accruals may reduce earnings management through. However, they also emphasize that too much restriction for cosmetic earnings management could increase real activity earnings management. As such, restriction through regulation would not completely eliminate earnings management because there are trade-offs. Secondly, another method is an appropriate and effective audit procedure. Past studies have shown evidence that various factors related to audit procedure can help constrain earnings management (Krishnan, 2003; Van Caneghem, 2004; Van Caneghem, 2004; Vand er Bauwhede Whillekens, 2004; Kim, et al., 2003; Frankel, 2002; Ferguson, 2004; Carey Simnet, 2006). According to Kim, et al. (2003), Big 5 auditors were more effective in deterring earnings management when there was an income increasing accrual choice. The last suggested restriction method is effective and efficient corporate governance. This is associated with the firms structure. For example, if a firm is inclined to highlight effective corporate governance, this firm could make an effort to prohibit earnings management.   It is important to understand that these three methods correlate with each other. For instance, by requiring additional audit procedures or firm policies, regulation would affect audit procedure or corporate governance and would reduce earnings management. On the other hand, auditors or firms could propose new regulations to reduce earnings management. Hence, earnings management could possibly be reduced not through one method but through a combination of a ll three methods. References: Ayers, B. C. 1998. Deferred tax accounting under SFAS No. 109: An empirical investigation of its incremental value-relevance relative to APB No. 11. The Accounting Review 73 (2): 195-212 Bartov, E., Givoly, D. Hayn, C. (2002) The rewards to meeting or beating earnings expectations.  Journal of Accounting and Economics, 33,173-204 Beatty, A., S. Chamberlain, and J. Magliolo. 1995. Managing financial reports of commercial banks: The influence of taxes, regulatory capital and earnings. Journal of Accounting Research 33 (2): 231-261 Beaver, W., C. Eger, S. Ryan, and M. Wolfson. 1989. Financial reporting, supplemental disclosures and bank share prices. Journal of Accounting Research (Autumn): 157-178 Beaver, W., and E. Engel. 1996. Discretionary behavior with respect to allowances for loan losses and the behavior of security prices. Journal of Accounting and Economics 22: 177-206 Beaver, and M. McNichols. 1998. The characteristics and valuation of loss reserves of property-casualty insurers. Working paper, Stanford University. Burgstahl

Pro School Uniforms :: essays research papers

The Need for School Uniforms A safe and structured learning environment is the first requirement of a good school. Children who feel safe and secure will better learn basic American values. In return they will learn the basis of good citizenship and become better students. In response to growing levels of violence in our schools, many parents, teachers, and school officials have been forced to look toward school uniforms as one potentially positive way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety. It has been observed that the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school uniforms include decreasing violence and theft. Some instances involving designer clothing and expensive sneakers have even led to life-threatening situations among students. Uniforms would also prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school. Uniforms would also teach students discipline and help them resist peer pressure. Uniforms would also help students concentrate on their schoolwork and would help school officials detect intruders who come unwelcome into the school. As a result, many local communities are deciding to adopt school uniform policies as part of an overall program to improve school safety and discipline. California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have enacted school uniform regulations. Many large public school systems including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools. In addition, many private schools have required uniforms for a number of years. Still other schools have implemented dress codes to encourage a safe environment by prohibiting clothes with certain language or gang colors. The decision to adopt a uniform policy must be made by states and local school districts. For uniforms to be a success, as with all other school initiatives, parents must be involved. We must get the parents involved with the uniform policies from the beginning. Their support of the uniform policy is critical to its success. The strongest push for school uniforms in recent years has come from parent groups who want better discipline in their children's schools. Parent groups have actively lobbied schools to create uniform policies and have often led school task forces that have drawn up uniform guidelines. Many schools that have successfully created a uniform policy survey parents first to gauge support for school uniform requirements and then seek the parent’s opinions in designing the uniform.

Preparing for the BMAT (biomedical admissions test) Essay

The biomedical admissions test was created to assist medical and veterinary schools in the admissions process. Some of the universities have much more applications than places and the majority of these applications are strong. The BMAT allows the universities to filter out the strongest candidates based on exam performance. The BMAT exam lasts for 2 hours and is split into 3 sections. The examination test date is 31st October 2008. This article will aim to provide you with some advice and give an overview to students who are planning on taking the BMAT exam. †¢ aptitude and skills (1 hour) †¢ scientific knowledge and application (30 minutes) †¢ writing task (30 minutes) The universities which currently require you to take the BMAT are: †¢ The university of Cambridge †¢ The university of Oxford †¢ Imperial college London †¢ The royal veterinary college †¢ University of central London Aptitude and Skills This section aims to explore your problem solving skills, your ability to understand and interpret data and your analytical skills. It is multiple choice for the most. This is the main reason as to why you should guess intelligently, take a look at the given data and take a guess. Practice is key in this section. For the problem solving element of this section look at all the given data carefully. Here are some techniques to help you. †¢ Divide and conquer technique: Break down any large chunks of data into smaller chunks, making the smaller problems which are easier to solve and then once you have solved them put the data back together and form an answer. †¢ Trial and error: Use different approaches to come to a final conclusion and answer. †¢ Working backwards: start with one of the possible answers and work backwards from it. †¢ Incubation: This is a last resort method which seldom works. Put all of the starting details relating to a problem in your mind picture them and then stop focusing on them and carry on with the examination (take an intelligent guess). Your subconscious mind may come up with an answer during the rest of the examination The understanding and interpreting subset involves using the information in front of you, do not make assumptions unless it is appropriate to the question. Analyse all data given carefully not leaving anything out. The data analysis subset involves extracting certain points out of the data and using these to make suitable conclusions, to give the answer. Depending on the starting data you are provided with this could include using statistical methods, interpreting graphs, curve fitting or even eradicating unwanted information and prioritising said data. Scientific knowledge and application This section attempts to make students utilise their scientific knowledge to help them answer questions. Again this section is multiple choice, so make informed guesses when there is a need using the data given. This section also requires practice and revision of scientific principles in order to score high marks, so we advise you do some revision covering the basics of biology, chemistry and physics. Writing task The writing task is asking you to create an essay from a given question. Here are some general pointers to help you achieve a great score. †¢ Read: Read articles, newspapers, journals and book. This will help you to gain an understanding of how to put forward logical thought and will also help improve your English writing skills †¢ Partake in group discussions/debate forums: By doing this you will develop the skills that allow you to analyse certain situations and statements, in addition to developing the ability to generate a fair argument looking at both sides of the situation and can help you produce good conclusion. †¢ Good structure: Ensure you have an introduction, Main body and conclusion. By having an assigned essay structure your ideas will flow more freely and will follow a logical order that makes it easier for the reader to understand. †¢ Snappy conclusion and introduction: the introduction and conclusion can be the sections of your essay that sell it to the reader. Because these are the first and last things they read and so will remain in their mind the longest. An extremely good conclusion will stick in the readers head and maybe it might help you to boost your mark. Conclusion One key aspect for revision regarding the UKCAT is to sit some mock BMAT examinations; this will allow you to get a feel for the allocated time slot for the exam and thus ensure that you can finish all the questions. Some final general pointers I would like to add are 1. Don’t waste too much time on one question. 2. Generate a short plan for your writing task, just pointing out what you are going to cover and in what order. 3. Make sure you get plenty of rest before the exam. 4. If you have time available at the end of the exam use it to check over your answers.

Customer Service and Project Essay

Customer Service and Project Essay Customer Service and Project Essay Assignment 4 1) If I was an employee at Petrie electronics I would like to work on this project to be able to know what products are being sold as well as time frames of the sales. For example if I was a floor salesman and knew that TVs get purchased right after income tax time I am able to research all upcoming TV deals and know what to tell people when they ask about them. Also if a new system is being placed as an employee I’d like to test it and give my feedback on the system and become familiar with the system. It is also a nice gesture to be able to keep tabs on valuable customers so we can make relationships with them to be able to boost sales as well as my commission. 2) If I was part of the management department at Petrie electronics; I would have no issue with approving the project. Jim has given all the information that a scope statement requires, and I do have some suggestions though. A brief description of the problem we are having without the new loyalty system w ould be able to allow management a better understanding of why implementing the project is essential. Also the objectives states, â€Å"†¦ provide superior customer service by rewarding our most loyal customers† which is exactly what we want to do but I feel like we should try to make a connection with all of our customers and not just returning customers. Anyone that walks into Petrie electronics should feel like we want to help them with their needs and regardless of how long they have been shopping with us; they will get the best service and opportunities. 3) Some of the tangible cost pertaining to this project would be the cost of all the hardware that may be purchased to make the system, labor costs for the staff working on the project, training cost to implement the system correctly, and we also need to have some set of rewards set for people to want to join the program. The intangible costs for the project would be some loss of operation efficiency at the beginnin g of the project because, all the staff members must adapt to the new system and all new systems have their hiccups. This could also lead to employee moral going down if the system isn’t implemented well. Yet there are some intangible benefits to look forward to such as being able to compete with other companies that already have a loyalty program. We will also have more timely information on all of our customers to be able to track buying trends and necessity of products in our store. 4) A risk that may be associated with the product is if the system doesn’t work correctly such as customer points not allocating properly they customer will not enjoy they system if they have a hard time with it. This project has a high risk to it because we are trying to stay competitive with other companies as well as make our customers feel like an important part of our company. There will also be many resources used to finish the project and if the project is unsuccessful there is a lot of money wasted that could have been allocated somewhere else. As a team member I would be worried of running the risk of not making the deadline because, Jim is new to the company and I would be unsure of his abilities as a team manager. 5) When using the incremental commitment technique you reassess the project after every step of the SDLC. So while developing the BPP we can reassess the project and it would benefit us by making the new system better. If we stop to take a look at how the project is progressing we can make changes if need or if some new aspect or idea can be added to the project. 6) Economic feasibility analysis is used to aid management on deciding on which projects to go forward with. The economic feasibility of a project should be conducted right after the scope statement, so that the objectives or a vague plan is in place to be able to know how much benefits the project will be adding to the corporation. I think many of the economic feasibility factors are relevant; such as the

Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example

Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Essay Topic: The Scarlet Letter Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Symbols in the Scarlet Letter The use of symbolism is the use of a symbol, which is the representation of something else (Fromm 122). A symbol is used to mean something else apart from the one that has obviously been described. Symbols are often used to describe the inner experiences to the outside world. The same symbol could mean different things in various contexts, and should therefore be carefully interpreted to suit the circumstances. A symbol can be an object or action that has additional meaning that is identifiable to a person. Symbolism requires seeking of a deeper meaning to a description in order to understand the intended meaning. The life of a human being is full of symbolism whether intended or accidental (Birkerts 125). We often use signs to signify various aspects of our lives and to communicate. For example, we use a handshake as a sign of peace. The writer of the scarlet letter successfully makes use of symbolism in his work. The first symbol used is Hester, pearl’s mother who is seen as a sinner by the community. She is viewed as a disgrace to the community for committing adultery and is punished for her sins after a public humiliation. The torture she undergoes during this period symbolizes the struggles that people undergo in their lives due to their moral choices. It represents the consequences of choices that are inconsistent with the society’s norms. She was ridiculed by the society for her actions, which lowers her self-esteem and her self-worth. This represents the stigmatization in the society that people who have made immoral choices undergo. After enduring her punishment, she transforms from a lifeless woman to a strong woman. She is finally set free from the oppression. This shows that been a sinner is a temporary condition that can be changed. The writer uses her as a symbol of a sinner who makes mistakes, learns from them and finally changes her behavior. Dimmesdale is also used symbolically. In the text, he is a sinner just like Hester, but unlike Hester, he does not confess to his sins and instead shies away from the truth. He comfortably goes about his duties as a reverend as if nothing had happened, and does not help Hester when she is tortured for not revealing the man who had made her pregnant. The public views him as holy while inside he is the opposite of that. The society is sometimes judgmental and fails to see a person for who he is and instead judges him depending on his outward appearance and image. This portrays him as a symbol of hypocrisy for acting like the holy person he is not. Finally, he decides to confront his sins and admits to being the father of pearl. Dimmesdale is a symbol of guilt, where he tries to fight the guilt, but it eventually wins him over and makes him confess his sins. He is also portrayed as a hypocrite who eventually comes clean and gains inner peace in doing so. The scarlet letter is used as a symbol with different meanings in various contexts. Initially, the letter was used to mean adultery in reference to Hester’s adulterous actions. It represents the suffering she was subjected to by the society. The scarlet A on her dress hides Hester’s heart just like her life; the pain and sufferings are hidden by her sinful action. Here, the scarlet A is used to represent the shame Hester’s actions had brought her. This was a way of punishing her by constantly reminding of her sins and reminding the society of the consequences of adultery. It is also meant to signify the guilt of Hester and her identity as an abomination. At the death of the governor, the community sees the scarlet letter in the sky as a sign that he was becoming an angel while to Dimmesdale it reminded him of his sins. Later on, when Hester starts visiting the homes of people in sorrow, the meaning of the letter changed to mean ‘able’. This is symbol ic of the society’s changing view on Hester as she picks up the pieces of her life after they had been shattered by her sins. This symbolizes the changes in the society’s perspective that is influenced by changes in the behavior of individuals. This means that the actions of a person are a determinant of how the society views him. Pearl is a complex character used symbolically in the text. She is like the scarlet letter only that she is a living human being. Just as the letter serves as a constant reminder to Hester of her sins, Pearl is also a reminder to her mother and to the society of the sins committed by her mother. This represents the permanent consequences of human actions that cannot be reversed and one has to live with them forever. Pearl is viewed as a product of evil by the community, and their opinion does not change like it did in relation to Hester (Hawthorne 5). This shows that the community most likely judges an individual on a sin committed once or a long time ago. Despite pearl been the symbol of her mother’s sins, she says Pearl is her source of joy. She also represents the passion that resulted from that sin. This is the symbolic meaning that good can come from evil. Instead of Hester viewing pearl as a curse, she sees her as a blessing to her. This shows that people can turn their problems into opportunities to make themselves stronger and better. It could also be interpreted as focusing on the positive aspects of a situation instead of complaining of one’s problems. Pearl enjoys the life in the forest since she feels free and happy there unlike in the puritan community. She is also set free by the confession of her father’s sins. This is symbolic that the acceptance of one’s sins sets him free from guilt and gives him peace. Chillingworth is used by the writer as a symbol of revenge. His strength and enthusiasm represents the strong emotion of revenge that is out of human control. He is compared to a snake, which symbolizes the evil that revenge possesses. Chillingworth makes the community start mistrusting Pearl, which shows the raging fire of revenge that consumes people regardless of their personalities. Dimmesdale suffers due to the torture caused by Chillingworth. This shows that the power of revenge is exceptionally strong, dangerous and destructive to the parties involved. Pearl warns her mother against associating with Chillingworth. This could be interpreted to mean that Pearl was warning her mother against been consumed by the strong force of revenge since it was a force of evil. After Dimmesdale’s confession of his sin, chilling lost his strength and withered. This is symbolic that revenge is killed by good actions since it is by itself evil. Light and color are used as symbols in the text, in their various contexts. The opposites of the two are used to represent good and evil. When pearl’s parents meet in the forest, the sky is covered in some form of gray covering, and the forest is described as black and dense. This represents the guilt weighing in their conscience and the evil sin they committed. Sunshine is seen to flicker in the forest as a representation of hope of redemption from their sinful nature. This symbolizes the hope for the alienated people in the society who have been tortured continuously for their mistakes. Pearl tells her mother that the sun would not shine on her if she was still sinful and she therefore needed to repent. This symbolizes that a sinner can only change after accepting his sins. Eventually, the sun shines on Hester after she sets her hair free. This shows that there is hope for the couple after the torture they had been subjected. This is also a sign of freedom for the oppressed after they let their troubles go. The sunshine is also a sign of nature’s approval of good actions. Darkness was used to describe jail where Hester underwent a lot of torture as punishment. The puritans at this time wore gray hats representing the sorrow of the community. Nighttime is the moment of concealment of the truth by Dimmesdale. His confession is made at noon when the sun is bright. The use of noon is symbolic of the revelation and exposure that he is exposed to by his confession. It is also symbolic of a line between good and evil since his confession makes him a better person but other people may focus on his wrongdoings. The community is associated with dull colors such as grey and black which is a representation of their sorrow. The setting in the text is symbolic. The group of people who are consistently watching the development of the story represents the rigid rules and regulation governing the community, which cannot be changed. The forest represents the natural world governed by the laws of nature, which are more humane than those of the land. The forest is also a representation of a moral ground that Hester goes into after her sinful nature. The brook is a border for the two worlds, which pearl refuses to cross. The writer has successfully used symbolism to communicate various messages about the life of a human being in a society. The scarlet letter is a short story with a lot of information. Symbolism gas been used to simplify the message into short words. The various interpretations of a particular symbol are proofs of the richness of information that the text carries. Therefore, the use of symbolism is evidently helpful in writing to help the reader view the text in a broad perspective and relate the text to real life situations. Fromm, Erich. The Nature of Symbolic Language. Class Handout: English 101. Cerro Coso Community College, 2010. 2l -26. Print. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlett Letter. London: Dent Sons, 1971. Print. Birkerts P. Sven. Literature: The Evolving Canon. Class Handout: English 101. Cerro Coso Community College, 1995. l25 -27. Print.

Elementary Math Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Elementary Math Questions - Coursework Example They come in different shapes and forms and include algebra tiles, algebra blocks and algebra models. These different forms help support the different factors and variables, therefore, making it easier to understand the concept of algebra by use of visuals. This can be transferred easily to mathematical calculations later. There are many manipulatives that can be used in a classroom. However, the choice depends on the individual teacher and the grade level of the young learner. The manipulatives should also be easy and interesting. This is to avoid creating boredom and lack of interest for the learner. Some of the important manipulatives include counting, interlocking and rod, attribute blocks and money manipulatives. For example, I would use counting manipulatives to help learners determine missing numbers. This challenges the user to work it out and helps in quick understanding of the concept. Young elementary students should be allowed to use manipulatives both in class and during assessments. This is considering that they are the first means of helping young learners understand basic mathematics. Manipulatives should be allowed on assessments to help in evaluating the young learners ability to grasp the basic concepts. However, once these are found to be satisfactory, the younger learner should be weaned off from using them. This would help in making the learner develop mental abilities for doing calculations without their use. Set theory uses a collection of objects into sets used for objects relevant to mathematics. The theory tends to explain the inter-relationship between the objects. The way these are interchangeably arranged help learners to acquire the concept more easily. Visual presentation is important and it helps deepen the learners’ understanding. This makes it easy to do calculations later after they are no longer in use. This would be through the use of manipaulatives brought by the students or made in class out of foam sheets. The

Professional Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Professional Perspectives - Essay Example The main objective of co-educators is to ensure that a group heterogeneous student understands instructions effectively (Perez, 2012). Contrariwise, co-educators differences results to lack of collegial interactions of strategies, which leads to a poor instructional program. Philosophy Statement on Co-Teaching It is hard for co-educators to meet diversified students’ needs with differing professional perspectives, which negatively affect professional interactions in the development of effective strategies to ensure that all student needs are satisfied including those with disabilities. A colleague with a different perspective from mine will be of more disadvantages than advantages in terms of collegial support towards meeting student needs and formulation of effective strategies. I am profound on the professional interactions as well as my co-educator’s characteristics and needs. The concepts of an effective exchange of plans and consultation in implementing a curriculu m that gratifies all student needs are central to my philosophy of co-teaching. Collegial support that offers a different input towards my plans demonstrates the absence of diversity based teamwork towards a long lasting co-teaching (Specialconnections.ku.edu, n.d.). I believe that co-teaching has to involve a number of co-teachings activities such as exploring skills that educators require to collaborate successfully. However, in a case whereby my co-educator differs with every slight perception I have towards a learning environment, it is challenging to implement co-planning in a classroom. I love learning new things, and it would be god of my o-educator to equip me with new instructional techniques. Nonetheless, my co-educator has to assimilate my perspectives and together develop strategies towards effective co-teaching opposed to a situation where none of our professional perspective is common. I believe that adaptability, dedication, collaboration, and positive collegial suppo rt are the key aspects towards effective consultations on issues affecting students because of diversity rather than focusing on the differences that may exist between my co-educator and me. Different professional perspectives should be utilized as a tool of every co-educator self-reflection to realize his/her weakness and strengths concerning the ability to work as teamwork (Perez, 2012). The success of an inclusive classroom depends on the parity portrayed by the partnership of both educators, which must show the presence of a teaching practice based on effective collaboration and support. Viewpoint Description on Co-Teaching The most important aspect for effective consultations in handling students’ needs in co-teaching is the partnership between two co-educators. Each co-educator perspective on co-teaching is a complicated set of actions and intentions with unique criteria for evaluating strategies that are right and wrong. Our roles and the idealized self-image as co-edu cators are determined professional perspectives. Moreover, perspectives provide the basis to which co-educators can reflect on the co-teaching practice (Beninghof, 2012). The moment I consult with a co-educator who believes as I do, an immediacy of communication is established as well as the feeling of being understood. However, a colleague that believes in a truly different way from mine evokes a