Black people Income Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Black people Income - Research Paper Example Also, wealth is critical in enabling families to weather emergencies and move along a path of long-term financial opportunity and security. As such, extreme wealth inequality especially between races implies that a disadvantaged race will be unable to benefit from opportunities associated with wealth and this will hamper the community’s economic growth and that of the nation as a whole (Institute on Assets and Social Policy 1). Statistics by government agencies and non-government agencies show that there is a huge wealth inequality between black people compared to the white people in the United States. This research paper will discuss this inequality and why this inequality exists and what are the possible ways of closing the racial income gap. Statistics on Racial Income Inequality The black people in the United States continue to earn far less income compared to the white people. According to the statistics released by the United States Census Bureau, per-capita income of th e black people in 2008 was $18,054, which was just 57.9 percent that of the white people which stood at $28,502. While this was a slight improvement over the 56.4 percent reported in 2007, it was down the 2005 statistics which as 59.3 percent (Christie para 1). The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics also indicate that the white people earn a median of $756 per week, which is 25 percent more compared to the black people who earn $607 weekly. In 2011, available data indicate that the median income for the black households was approximately $32,000. This amount was 61.7 percent of the median income of white households in the same year. What is more worrying is the fact that this was about the same percentage in 1970 which stood at 60.9 percent. This implies that there has been virtually no change in regard to income between the whites and the backs (Institute on Assets and Social Policy 5). This lack of notable change comes as a surprise considering that there have been visible i ndicators about the improvement of black people income situation. Factors or Causes of the Income Inequality between the Black People and White People Numerous studies have found out that there are a significant number of causes or factors contributing to low income among the blacks compared to the whites. It has been found out there are contemporary and historical causes that have resulted to this situation (Barsky, Bound, Charles and Lupton 663). The situation of income disparity is further compounded by the fact there us a very unequal income distribution among black households; it is even more unequal compared to the income distribution among white households. It should be noted that there some black people who earn pretty high income, even higher income than some of the top white households. This can be attributed to the benefits they have obtained in the recent years (Oliver and Shapiro 78). However, extremely large black population segment earn very low incomes. The weakening of labor unions and the long-term minimum wage reduction are some of the factors that have harmed the income of many black people. Other factors such as mass incarceration of black men, as well as the consequent exclusion from mainstream economy have significantly hampered black

What Makes Us Happy?

What Makes Us Happy? During many centuries people were looking for happiness. But the question What makes us happy? still needs the answer. There is no recipe of happiness. It is very individual concept, though there are some general statements that can help person to feel complete and satisfied with his life. These statements were noted in the article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk. Some parts of the text deserves to take the place at the curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. The goal of the paper is to determine the statements that could be useful for students. To achieve the goal I divided this work into short parts devoting separate questions. Every abstract contain the idea and its value. The question What makes us happy? very philosophic and it is not so easy to find the answer. Different people see their happiness in different things. But it is extremely important to understand what happiness means for you. There are a lot of research works and books devoted this question but nobody take the liberty to give the strict determination to this phenomenon. The article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk contains rather interesting and important information related the question. It says about experiment that had place in Harvard in 1937th and lasted during 70 years. Harvards sophomores agreed to take a part in these researches. They took psychological tests, passed regular medical exams, sat for interviews, everything that were necessary. George Vaillant was a chief curator of these lives, he devoted all his life to this study. He also participated in similar work that was dedicated heroin addicts. W. T. Grant also participated in researches that were directed to identifying the features of successful living. But his work did not last till the end because the chief curator expected the results very fast. But Vaillant was conscious that researches as wine get better after long time. Sometimes the article shortly describes students lives that took part in investigations. It is easy to see that all details of males beings were noted: details about their family, childhood, illnesses, education, social life, marriage life, stressesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Vaillant tried to see the hidden facts that connected or differed all these males, to determine the life facts that made them satisfied with their lives and compare those facts. As it turned out during the researches all the lives were too wired, complicated and big to make any strict conclusion about successful living(Shenk J. W., 2009). After reading and examining the article What Makes Us Happy? I came to decision that it deserves to be mentioned in curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. But it should take its place among the informational literature as it tells about researches and describes someones experience. This article does not teach us how to be happy or what happiness is! What is important is not to mention all the information that was written in the article. Only some parts deserve students attention. These parts will be given below with explanation of their importance. Physical and psychological health. Joshua Wolf Shenk note about some phenomenon that can be a source of happiness and satisfaction for some people. Some of them are good health, adaptation in society, good family, putting and getting the goals etc. Vaillant pointed at seven factors that can promise healthy aging, he meant psychological and physical health. Employing mature adaptations was one. The others were education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight (Shenk J. W., 2009). This information should take a place at curriculum of psychology course because it throw light upon scientific research fact and shows the importance of living right way of life. The goal of every curriculum is not just to give scientific information but also to make a stress at importance of good habits and right life views. Alcoholism is one of the most serious problems. Vaillant is sure that alcoholism problem is one of the sharpest one: One is alcoholism, which he found is probably the horse, and not the cart, of pathology (Shenk J. W., 2009). He came back to this harmful habit again and again in the article text. This problem must be stressed during curriculum because it spoils both individuals physical and social harmony. After the person become alcohol addictive he ruins all spheres of his life, he loses the respect in society, this causes miserable feelings in his mind plus physical disharmony make person totally unhappy. This fact is very important for understanding happiness phenomenon. Defense mechanisms work to protect people, the rest depends on humans. There is very important idea that goes across the article: humans mind and body are very smart; they change under life conditions to protect us and give good feelings: unconscious responses to pain, conflict, or uncertainty (Shenk J. W., 2009). These processes were also called defense mechanisms (Shenk J. W., 2009). It means that the nature of humans body and mind is perfect, the last depends on human. This fact should make students to remember that individuals life mostly depends on him and in some range on circumstances. Every human should take care of his health, social life, education and other life aspects. He is a master of his life and fate. This kind of information should make student conscious their fortune depends on them and they can make themselves satisfied with their lives. Warm relations with family and society are necessary. The article makes a big stress at family relations. Valliant was sure that this fact is extremely important for every person. It is social aptitude, he writes, not intellectual brilliance or parental social class, that leads to successful aging (Shenk J. W., 2009). Good relationships with parents, cousins, siblings, friends are necessary. As Valliant said in interview: The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people (Shenk J. W., 2009). This statement is one of the leading in the question What makes us happy? It is well known fact that definitely important for every society member. Some statements of the article should be mentioned during psychology curriculum but only as a literature with researches. The question What makes us happy too complicated to give exhaustive explanation. What is necessary is to explain students that such conception as happiness is totally individual. Every person should determine the things that will make him satisfied and happy. There are a lot of fake pictures of happiness that society created. In fast modernization era very hard to determine and fallow individual goals instead of that, people used to accept dictated pictures of happiness. This fact is essential because fake satisfaction never makes human feel harmony. There were million of examples when people committed suicide after getting wrong goals. Imagined feeling of happiness did not make them really happy. This fact says about emotions sincerity that gives the feeling of completeness and satisfaction. This is one of the weighty reasons to define the things that make person truly happy. The philosophic question What makes us happy? is too complicated and multilevel to give exhaustive answer. The article with a title What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk presents the information about researches dedicated the identifying main features of successful living. Some statements of the text are worthy to be represented at curriculum of the psychology course, because it contains important information. Thought it should be noted that this kind of information is rather general, every individual can add his own criteria of successful living and happiness. Though it should be noted that all the facts are definitely incontestable. The curriculum of psychology should contain such statements as: physical and psychological health are necessary; alcoholism is one of the most serious problems that ruin both physical and psychological individuals health; defense mechanisms works to protect our body and mind, the rest depends on people; warm relations with family and society are necessary to feel complete and satisfied; extremely important to remember that the concept Happiness is individual; every human must determine the things he needs to be happy. Never accept fake form of happiness otherwise you will never be truly happy.

Miracles: When Faith Contradicts Reason :: Essays Papers

Miracles: When Faith Contradicts Reason When the term "miracle" comes to mind, the average person doesn’t quite know what to say. After all, a miracle is something unexplained that is looked upon in awe. Webster’s Universal Dictionary defines a miracle as: . "an extraordinary event attributed to the supernatural; an unusual or astounding event." 1 In today’s society, though, everyone has their own definition of astounding. Perhaps some people contribute certain events to the supernatural while others do not. So in today’s times, Webster’s New World Dictionary provides a clearer meaning of a miracle: . "an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws." 2 In other words, it is a gap between faith and scientific reasoning. In modern medicine, a miracle is described as any occurrence where a higher power, God, for example, takes over and intervenes benevolently in the fate of the patient.3 The doctor, along with everyone else, can only marvel. As a generality, it can be said that miracles are modern examples of the continuing contradiction between faith and reason. When People Lose Hope in Modern Medicine At a certain point during a person’s illness, a doctor will say that there is just no more that can be done. Modern medicine, scientific technology, and healing techniques have done all they can, but tragically, the fate of the person looks grim, and death is rapidly approaching. It is then that people will hope for a miracle. Terri McFaddin, a minister, expresses the feelings of those seriously ill when saying that "We are living in desperate times where people are going to believe in things they can’t see because they can’t trust the things they can see. Miracles happen where natural resources end. One will walk into the realm of miracles when all natural resources have been exhausted." 4 When scientific reasoning and human knowledge have failed people and no cure can be found, that is when people will turn to their faith and hope for a miracle. They grip hope that is beyond reason and logic.5 Praise and worship leader Ron Kenoly says that more people are reali zing that to be helped with the great problems they face, they need to go beyond the limits of reason and the abilities of man.6 Today the largest percentages of Americans in a decade profess the existence of God and miracles, according to a poll commissioned by the Pew Research Center. Miracles: When Faith Contradicts Reason :: Essays Papers Miracles: When Faith Contradicts Reason When the term "miracle" comes to mind, the average person doesn’t quite know what to say. After all, a miracle is something unexplained that is looked upon in awe. Webster’s Universal Dictionary defines a miracle as: . "an extraordinary event attributed to the supernatural; an unusual or astounding event." 1 In today’s society, though, everyone has their own definition of astounding. Perhaps some people contribute certain events to the supernatural while others do not. So in today’s times, Webster’s New World Dictionary provides a clearer meaning of a miracle: . "an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws." 2 In other words, it is a gap between faith and scientific reasoning. In modern medicine, a miracle is described as any occurrence where a higher power, God, for example, takes over and intervenes benevolently in the fate of the patient.3 The doctor, along with everyone else, can only marvel. As a generality, it can be said that miracles are modern examples of the continuing contradiction between faith and reason. When People Lose Hope in Modern Medicine At a certain point during a person’s illness, a doctor will say that there is just no more that can be done. Modern medicine, scientific technology, and healing techniques have done all they can, but tragically, the fate of the person looks grim, and death is rapidly approaching. It is then that people will hope for a miracle. Terri McFaddin, a minister, expresses the feelings of those seriously ill when saying that "We are living in desperate times where people are going to believe in things they can’t see because they can’t trust the things they can see. Miracles happen where natural resources end. One will walk into the realm of miracles when all natural resources have been exhausted." 4 When scientific reasoning and human knowledge have failed people and no cure can be found, that is when people will turn to their faith and hope for a miracle. They grip hope that is beyond reason and logic.5 Praise and worship leader Ron Kenoly says that more people are reali zing that to be helped with the great problems they face, they need to go beyond the limits of reason and the abilities of man.6 Today the largest percentages of Americans in a decade profess the existence of God and miracles, according to a poll commissioned by the Pew Research Center.

My Ride on the Bus Essay

The final paper topic that I decided on was the observation of American culture from a 5 mile bus ride. On 20th July, on a Friday, I rode the Foothill 482 bus towards Puente Hills Mall, a bus ride of about 10 miles. It was around 4.30 p.m. when I took the bus and I arrived around 45 minutes later, having passed through many landmarks and stops. From the ride, I observed a whole lot of events that made me conclude a few things about the modern American culture. The five conclusions that I made about America from this bus ride are: the distinct modes of transportations for citizens of different social classes, the continuing rise of the automobile industry, the increase in consumption of fast foods; especially among the middle-classed, the ever-going strong influence of Christianity in religious American society, and lastly the tendency of modern Americans to use foreign cars. Firstly, I would like to go into the different modes of transportations that modern America use according to their social classes. From the ride, I observed out of all the passengers who rode the bus along the 10 mile journey, there was not even one single white person who came on the bus. The only white person there was the driver, and the passengers all were either of Hispanic or Asian descent. I quote this from an online article: â€Å"But U.S. transportation systems have not been marching toward racial integration—quite the opposite. According to the research of Mark Garrett and Brian Taylor, minorities accounted for 21 percent of bus riders in 1977. By 1995, that number had jumped to 69 percent.† (http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/07/race-class-and-stigma-riding-bus-america/2510/). Now it may be easy for me to say: â€Å"Oh! White people of America don’t ride the bus, only minorities do.† But on more careful scrutiny of the passengers, of the type of clothes they wear to the places they were coming from when they boarded the bus, I realized that most of them (I’m not trying to be judgmental here, just from my observations) were of the working, middle class. There was not a single suit-wearing, briefcase-toting professional. So it is a safe conclusion for me to make that professionals and people of the upper-middle to upper classes don’t prefer to ride the bus. An evidence of this would be that when we passed through a very high-classed gated community on Golden Springs Drive at Diamond Bar, we did not even stop once along the one or two-mile stretch of road. This shows that buses are not really a main form of transport for the residents there. Another evidence was that when we passed through the Gateway Corporate Centre, a long stretch of private companies and government offices, we stopped only once, and the parking lots were full of cars even though th ey can accommodate many cars. So from my observations of the passengers and this report I quote: â€Å"Fewer than 40 percent (of Hispanics and Blacks) have middle-class levels of wealth and this proportion has not changed since 1996. Nearly 75 percent of White households have middle-class or higher levels of wealth.† (http://www.c3.ucla.edu/newsstand/national/wealth-gap-widens-between-whites-and-hispanics/), the reason why there were less Caucasians compared to Hispanics on the bus was that both races dominate different levels of the social class, thus the very little integration between the passengers of the bus, a middle-class dominated form of transport. The second point about modern American culture is the continued rising of the automobile industry and its related businesses. Between the early 1900’s to the early 1940’s, automobiles were a form of luxury and not anybody can afford them. Add to that the Great Depression and World War II, not many people were thinking of spending their money on cars and just stuck to buses and trains. â€Å"In 1900 only 4,192 passenger cars (and no trucks or buses) were built in the United States.† (http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/MarinaStasenko.shtml). However, during the rise of the consumer culture during the 50’s and the 60’s, people start to spend on things that they don’t necessarily need but to satisfy their material needs. So more people start to spend their money on cars and less people use public transports. â€Å"†¦ The United States still constitutes by far the largest vehicle population in the world; with 239.8 million cars†¦Wardâ €™s reports that there are 1.3 people for every car in the U.S†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/23/car-population_n_934291.html). An evidence of the increase of cars on the roads is that during the bus ride, we stopped a lot of times at traffic lights, which is one of the main forms of traffic control of automobiles on the road, so a lot of stops mean that there are a lot of cars to handle. Another solid evidence of the high numbers of automobiles on the roads is that I saw the very busy and congested S. Californian 60 freeway, especially since it was around 5 and everybody was trying to get home. With the increase of cars on the roads, there was also an increase in automobile-related businesses like car washes, gas stations, motels etc. Along the way, gas stations like Esso, Shell, and Chevron etc. dominated the roads with one being less than a quarter mile away from each other. When the bus moves further along the route, you’ll see another gas company of the same brands again, also not even 2 miles apart. The high number of gas stations available indicates the constant need for gas for automobile and there is also increased competition between the gas companies to get the most profits. There were also a lot of small car washes by the side of the road, and even at the mall, there was a Sears Auto Centre which sold car parts and accessories, even though Sears are most well-known for selling household appliances and clothes. Same is to be said for restaurants that have drive-throughs. It seems that they too wanted a share of the profit of the expanding automobile industry. A third conclusion I made from the bus ride is the increase in consumption of fast food in America, especially among the middle-classed. What started from a semi-successful burger joint by a pair of brothers, a visionary named Ray A. Kroc bought out the business and it is now a multi-billion dollar industry. McDonalds now owns about 450 branches in California alone, not counting the ones in other States and the whole w orld! During the ride, I would observe that fast food joints, not only McDonalds, but a whole lot of others like In & Out, Wendy’s, KFC etc.; were located on only some parts of town and not others. Their locations were nearest to neighbourhoods of middle-class stature. There were not a McDonalds in sight for the whole long stretch of the rich Golden Springs Dr. area. Their locations were also very near to each other, where all the fast food joints were grouped together on a half-mile radius. This means that somehow, even with the whole lot of competition going on with the other restaurants, each of the restaurants was doing well at their locations. So it would be safe to assume that a big target market for these fast food joints are the middle-classed because they were located so near to those neighbourhoods.

Outline for Speech on Sex Education

The question we want to answer today is should sex education be offered in school? In my opinion, yes it should. If we offer it, less pregnancys would happen. Less sexually transmitted diseases would be passed in. Less emotional/physical pain would occur. This type of education can leave a footprint on your brain. According to seventeen magazine 750,000 girls get pregnant each year. This number could be cut in half and divided by three if we enforce that it's not right until marriage.In the 7th and 8th grade when the hope center came to the middle school and taught us about all these diseases, infatuation, love, gave us situations and talked about how to prevent it. If we had this prgram 3-4 times a year we would not see 5 prgnant girls walking down the hall way ashamed of themselves. Nobody knows what its like to be in ther shoes, so why even label them. I bet your doing the same except your doing it more carefully. It only takes one moment to ruin your life, but if we have sex educ ation, those moments could happen alot less. People don't know how much of an eye opener sex-ed is until they someone enforcing everything.No one wants your future to be ruined by something that could have been prevented by one class. Now you might think this has to be taught at home well that's true, parents have more say than teachers. Some parents dont give a crap though. They turn their kid loose like there is no tomorrow. Now if we have this at school maybe they will have a new view on sex and what the after causes will/might be. Everyone needs to pause before they play. Sex-ed would teach us all that. I like sex-ed, it's actually a good course from all the people that taught me.You also might say not everyone is mature enough for the topic. Well lets see how mature you are wgen you have a baby on the way, no money, no diploma, no nothing. I'm pretty sure high schoolers sexually active should not take this class lightly becaus it could happen to any of them. Sex-ed would change their ways. Show that sex isn't everything; its just something that should only be done while bein married or when you are at the right age to handle the responsibility. So yes Sex education should be offered. You shouldn't live your life risking everything in your future.

Word Choice To, Too or Two - Proofeds Writing Tips

Word Choice To, Too or Two - Proofeds Writing Tips Word Choice: To, Too or Two? As if picking between a pair of similar-sounding words wasn’t bad enough, sometimes the English language will give you three terms that sound identical! With â€Å"to,† â€Å"too† and â€Å"two,† for example, it’s very easy to get mixed up if you’re not careful. This is especially the case with â€Å"to† and â€Å"too,† which we regularly see confused in all types of writing. But precision is vital in academic papers, so make sure you use each word correctly. To (Preposition/Infinitives) Probably the most common of these terms is â€Å"to,† which can be used either as a preposition or in combination with infinitive verbs. As a preposition, â€Å"to† has several meanings, including (among others) indicating direction or duration, identifying a recipient, or making comparisons: Direction: I am going to the store to buy a hat. Duration: The hat shop is open from 9am to 5pm. Identity of recipient: Give the hat to me. Comparison: I prefer Hats Co. to Hats’R’Us. The key factor here is that â€Å"to† always precedes a noun when used as a preposition. When used to mark an infinitive, on the other hand, â€Å"to† is always followed by a verb. This is typically either to express a purpose or to give an opinion: Purpose: I’m wearing a hat to hide my bald spot. Opinion: If you’re self-conscious about balding, it’s a good idea to wear a hat. Or a wig. Eithers good. Too (As Well/Excessively) â€Å"Too† is an adverb that usually means either â€Å"as well† or â€Å"excessively.† In the former case, it works as a synonym for â€Å"also.† When this sense of â€Å"too† is used, it’s often set apart from the rest of the sentence with commas (or preceded by a comma at the end of a sentence): Mid-sentence: I, too, am going bald. End of sentence: I’m going bald, too! When used to mean â€Å"excessively,† â€Å"too† indicates that something is extreme or beyond desirable limits, such as in the following: I’ve lost too much hair to pretend that I’m not going bald. The sun is too hot for me to go out without a hat! It’s worth noting that this use of â€Å"too† never needs to be set apart with commas. Two (A Number) The â€Å"w† in â€Å"two† makes it easier to remember what this word means. In case you’re not sure, though, â€Å"two† is the number between one and three, otherwise represented by the numeral â€Å"2†: It has been two years since I went completely bald. You think you have problems? Try being a naked cat! Generally, it’s better to write out â€Å"two† in full rather than use the numeral in academic writing. To, Too or Two? Although these terms are similar, it’s easy to remember which one to use as long as you keep the following guidelines in mind: To (preposition) = Comes before a noun or an infinitive verb Too (adverb) = Can be replaced by â€Å"also† or â€Å"excessively† Two (number) = Means the same as the numeral â€Å"2†

What a CPA Should Consider While Conducting an Error Analysis Essay Example

What a CPA Should Consider While Conducting an Error Analysis Essay Example What a CPA Should Consider While Conducting an Error Analysis Essay What a CPA Should Consider While Conducting an Error Analysis Essay In accounting, errors are classified as errors in recognition, errors in measurement, errors in presentation and errors in disclosure in the financial statements of a given company. An error can be as a result of mathematical mistakes, mistake in applying GAAP or an oversight of facts that were in place when the financial statements were being prepared. In recognition of an error, a CPA should always be in a position to predict, locate the error and also correct errors in their functions of systems and procedures design, controllership and substantiation (Thompson McCoy, 2008). A CPA professional should determine carefully the entry that was made in the books of accounts. For instance, the entry can be an expense, inventory, purchase or sales.   He should effectively classify the type of entry into the above mentioned categories. Secondly, the CPA must consider which the correct entry was. Thereafter, he or she should examine the accounts which are affected by the error and analyz e increases or decreases needed. Finally, the CPA should accurately make the correct entry in the accounts. The CPA should consider all the aforementioned items and steps to prevent the error of one particular period affecting the financial statements of the subsequent years, for instance, overstating closing inventory of a given year will overstate the income of that year and consequently understate the income coming year. If the CPA puts into consideration the above items, the errors will be accurately corrected and will not affect the income of several periods. However, if the steps used in error analysis are not put into consideration, the financial statements will be overstated or understated. This is because the occurrence of the errors will have an impact on the balance sheet and also the income statement. This will result to a wrong picture of the company’s performance which leads to loss of investors’ or creditors’ confidence with the company. References Thompson, J. H McCoy, T. L. (2008). An Analysis of Restatements Due to Errors and Auditor Changes by Fortune 500 Companies. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, Vol. 11, p. 12-17

UTC, GMT, and Zulu Time Explained

UTC, GMT, and Zulu Time Explained When you read weather forecasts and maps, you may notice a four-digit number followed by the letter Z somewhere at their bottom or top. This alpha-numeric code is called Z time, UTC, or GMT. All three are time standards in the weather community and keep meteorologists- regardless of where in the world they forecast from- using the same 24-hour clock, which helps avoid confusion when tracking weather events between time zones. Although the three terms are used interchangeably, there are small differences in meaning. GMT Time: Definition Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the clock time at the Prime Meridian (0 º longitude) in Greenwich, England. Here, the word mean means average. It refers to the fact that noon GMT is the moment on average each year when the sun is at its highest point in the sky at the Greenwich meridian. (Because of Earths uneven speed in its elliptical orbit and its axial tilt, noon GMT isnt always when the sun crosses the Greenwich meridian.)   History of GMT.  The use of GMT began in 19th century Great Britain when British mariners would use the time at the Greenwich Meridian and the time at their ships position to determine the ships longitude. Because the UK was an advanced maritime nation at the time, other mariners adopted the practice and it eventually spread worldwide as a standard time convention independent of location. The Problem with GMT. For astronomical purposes, the GMT day was said to start at noon and run until noon the following day. This made it easier for astronomers because they could log their observational data (taken overnight) under a single calendar date. But for everyone else, the GMT day started at midnight. When everyone switched to the midnight-based convention in the 1920s and 1930s, this midnight-based time standard was given the new name of Universal Time to avoid any confusion. Since this change, the term GMT isnt used much anymore, except by those living in the UK and its Commonwealth countries where its used to describe the local time during the winter months. (Its analogous to our Standard Time here in the United States.) UTC Time: Definition Coordinated Universal Time is a modern version of Greenwich Mean Time. As mentioned above, the phrase, which refers to GMT as counted from midnight, was coined in the 1930s. Other than this, one of the biggest differences between GMT and UTC is that UTC does not observe Daylight Saving Time. Backward Abbreviation. Ever wonder why the acronym for Coordinated Universal Time isnt CUT? Basically, UTC is a compromise between the English (Coordinated Universal Time) and French phrases (Temps Universel Coordonnà ©). the use the same official abbreviation in all languages.   Another name for UTC Time is Zulu or Z Time. Zulu Time: Definition Zulu, or Z Time is UTC Time, only by a different name. To understand where the z comes from, consider the worlds time zones. YEach is expressed as a certain number of hours ahead of UTC or behind UTC? (For example, UTC -5 is Eastern Standard Time.) The letter z refers to the Greenwich time zone, which is zero hours (UTC 0). Since the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha for A, Bravo for B, Charlie for C...) word for z is Zulu, we also call it Zulu Time.

Market Power (Business Enviroment Module) Essay

Market Power (Business Enviroment Module) - Essay Example In order to keep this in check, various agencies have been established in US to control the abuse of market power by organizations. The key agency is the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. The three major federal antitrust laws are the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The mission of Antitrust Division is to protect the consumers against unreasonable competition practices of organizations that result in higher product and service prices. The most implemented law by the Antitrust Division is the Sherman Antitrust Act. Under this act, Section 2 explains that it is illegal to â€Å"monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations† (Vickers, 2005). The other agency instituted to govern the market power is Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This agency deals with the issues that protect consumers while controlling the competition by preventing unfair competition. The FTC along with Department of Justice Antitrust Division pursues effective laws that pursues customers’ interests, develops policies and practices for consumers and businesses in the country’s market place as well globally. The FTC’s work is however performed by the Bureau’s of Consumer Protection, Competition and Economics. The above two agencies implement laws both on the regional and national level. In addition to this, many different independent government agencies have been set up to control various inter-state competitions. For the regulation of communications either by radio, television, satellite, cable, telephone and so on a Federal Communication Commission has been set up. For the regulation of competition and consumer protection in natural gas, oil, and electricity Federal Energy Regulatory

Comparison between Hinduism and Buddhism Assignment

Comparison between Hinduism and Buddhism - Assignment Example The religion is believed to be timeless, as the old people found it in practice. Hindus believe in one Supreme Being according to their traditions is both immanent and transcendent. According to the Hindu religious beliefs, the Supreme Being is both their creator and is of Unmanifest reality who deserves their respect (Rinehart, 2004). The Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, which are the oldest and most ancient elements of scripture in the world. Further, they venerate the Agamas as revealed in an equal measure. They treat these as primordial hymns of God which forms the bedrock of Santana Dharma, a form of an eternal religion. According to the Hindu beliefs, the soul reincarnates, evolving through many beliefs. However, the reincarnation trend stops after the resolution of all karmas. They also believe in moksha, which is the liberation from the rebirth cycle that takes place after the end of the reincarnation process. Since the process is continuous and evolutionary in every soul, not a single soul can be denied of its destiny (Fisher, 2014). In Hindu, an individual’s personal spiritual practice is referred to as sadhana which is used to refer to the means of accomplishing individual goals. It recognizes adhikara, which means that every person holds a unique position in life that is different from that of other people. Therefore, God exists in different forms, which gives people the freedom to feel attracted to one God and leave the rest. Similarly, there are different forms of yoga, just like there are different forms of God, which are not similar to one another. Therefore, the Hindu spiritual practice varies from one person to another.

Designing a Twin tip kiteboard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Designing a Twin tip kiteboard - Research Paper Example th determines the surface area the kite is edging water against and how much power a kiteboard can generates, thus a centimetre of width is more significant than a centimetre of length. Narrow tip and centre boards with longer lengths are easier from edge to edge, though not quick to plane, unlike shorter and wider boards (Boyce, 2004). Generally, Twin tip kiteboard with dimensions: 145cm length, 41cm width are for bigger riders. Top sheet: Is made from PBT which is a thin piece of plastic with two specific functions. The first function is to provide a place to print or graphics and the second function is to provide a protective layer for the laminates. Laminates: The inner laminates are a combination of fibre glass and carbon, though there are other kinds of laminations that are used. Fibre glass is measured in both in the direction of the weave and in the weight of the fabric. The most common weaves are triaxial glass, biaxial glass and unidirectional glass. Triaxial glass provides a stiffer flex, biaxial glass is more flexible while the unidirectional glass is used in combination with either triaxial glass or biaxial glass to get specific flat panels. Carbon provides stiffness and is of light weight with more reflex properties than fibre glass. Cores: Are usually made of wood and some are made of dense closed cell foam. The most common type of wood used are Paulownia, Birch, Poplar due to their longetivity, weight, price and their speed of regeneration (Boyce, 2004). The rails: They are typically acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene (ABS) or urethane which are used for their good flexibility, shaping and strength characteristics. ABS not only offers a great surface for ageing, but also a protective layer for the kiteboard. The sides are planed to remove the rough marks made by the saw. The planks are then clamped and glued for about 24 hours for them to fit into each other. The type of glue used is marine grade glue or a plumbers glue. This is also used in

Undertaking A Site Visit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Undertaking A Site Visit - Essay Example ive for Engineers to visit the site quite often to assess if progress being made is in compliance with the safety standards or else they may visit the site in the event that there has been an accident. Indeed, site visiting is not an overnight event hence this essay seeks to outline and explore some of the measures that can be taken when embarking on this particular kind of visit. A contract to construct a project like a shopping complex is often given to a contractor who can in turn subcontract some of the tasks to the others. Basically, the contractor responsible for undertaking the project has all the knowledge about what would be happening at the site but there is every need for Engineers to visit the place to see if there is compliance with expected standards so as to avoid risk of danger such as accidents or injuries or can visit in the event that there has been an accident. First and foremost, it is imperative for the visiting person to gather as much information as possible about the place he is intending to visit. The first thing necessary to do is to obtain as much information as possible about the place from the work provider. The people who are always on site are better informed to have all the instructions and knowledge about the whole area. This is very important since it will give the visitor insight into some of the risks he may expect to enco unter. Besides relying on information from the work providers, it is also important for the visitor to conduct personal research so as to gain in-depth knowledge about the area being visited. The advent of new information and communication especially internet has brought about dramatic changes in the way we do business. Google maps are very useful as far as searching information about any subject is concerned. Conducting personal research is advantageous in that the visitor would familiarise with the place even before visiting since there would be more information that can be accessed online. Google searches

International Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Accounting - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that financial reports will always need to be produced to satisfy statutory requirements, such as filing accounts or for the presentation of tax returns. As the harmonization of accounting standards takes place on a global scale, corporate reports become more comparable. This is useful for the investors who should be able to compare financial information from different business that are located in different countries. This paper makes a conclusion that in International accounting, the purpose of corporate reporting is to compliance with accounting standards. Despite the number of accounting standards in issue and the requirement for accounts to present a true and fair view, there are still number of companies that fail to comply with requirements of the standards. The financial reporting review panel in UK has the aim of ensuring that both public and private companies comply with the companies Act and accounting standards. It has expanded its role to assess financial statements prepared under international accounting standards in the UK. There are key differences between UK Standards and IFRS. The presentation of single company and group accounts in UK is governed by Companies Act 2006. but for companies or groups listed on stock exchange within European Union, they are obliged to prepare annual financial statements in accordance with International accounting standards.... The framework does not define these ideas, but compliance with international standards and the framework will help to achieve these ideas. Assessment of International Accounting The International accounting framework provides a conceptual underpinning for International financial reporting standards. One of the objectives of the framework is to provide a basis for the formulation of international financial reporting standards. The another advantage of international accounting is that the framework forms a basis for dealing with any accounting issues that arises which are not covered by accounting framework. The framework’s approach builds to corporate reporting around the definitions of assets and liabilities and the criteria for recognizing and measuring them in a statement of financial position. This approach views accounting form the perspective of the statement of financial position whereas most of companies would not consider the measurement and recognition of assets and l iabilities as the starting point for the determination of profit. In many jurisdictions, the financial statements form the basis of dividend payments, the starring point of the assessment of taxation, and often the basis for executive remuneration. A balance sheet fair value system, which International accounting standard board seems to favor, would have a major impact on the above elements. Current Development This is a long term joint project between International accounting standards and the US FASB, which was first agreed in 2004. The end point of the eight stage project will be approval of single, self-contained document which will create a foundation for the development of future accounting standard that are principal based, internally

Tuberculosis infection rates as a global and local public health issue Essay

Tuberculosis infection rates as a global and local public health issue - Essay Example To achieve this end, the partnership has undertaken a multi-faceted approach. The main mission objectives are to stop the spread of TB, to lessen the social and economical cost of TB, and to develop and implement new methods and ways to diagnose, prevent and treat TB. The partnership targets to reduce the occurrence and death rate of TB by 50% by the year 2015 relative to 1990 estimates. Another target is to have the world free from TB by the year 2050 (Actions for Life: Towards a world free of tuberculosis, 2006). To achieve this dream, the Stop TB Partnership developed a Global Plan to Stop TB in the year 2006. The proper implementation is expected to save about 14 million lives, provide treatment for 50 million people, and offer better access to diagnosis and treatment for everyone. The Plan identifies the challenges in achieving this target and has developed seven working groups to address the challenges directly. The TB facts As per World Health Organisation reports, one-third o f the world’s population is currently infected with TB bacillus bacteria. According to reports, the number of people who died from TB in the year 2009 is 1.7 million. In addition, as Sharma and Mohan (2004) state, the estimates are that between 2002 and 2020, the number of newly infected people will be about 1,000 million and the number of tuberculosis deaths will be 36 million. As Ewbank and Gribble (1993), and National Research Council (US) Working Group on the Effects of Child Survival and General Health Programs on Morality observe, tuberculosis may be responsible for more deaths than any other single pathogen. In addition, it is found that one-six of the tuberculosis infections happen in people who are infected with HIV (ibid). The WHO aims The World Health Organisation report ‘Global Tuberculosis Control (2010)’ identifies its major targets to reach its goal of 50% reduction of disease by 2015. The targets are diagnosis, notification and treatment of approx imately 7 million cases, a 90% success rate in treatment, 100% detection of HIV in TB patients, providing co-trimoxazole preventive therapy to HIV positive TB patients, testing all previously treated TB patients for MDRTB, those who are identified with MDRTB are provided new treatment according to international guidelines, and to spend US$ 7 billion per year for the purpose, and an additional US$ 1.3 billion on research and development (ibid). Challenges ahead Murray (2006), in American Medical Association, writes about the challenges of tuberculosis control in the present world. The problems identified are divided into five key areas: inefficient diagnostics and treatment, the need for expansion of the World Health Organisation Directly Observed Therapy, short course (DOTS) program, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB), and HIV co-infection (ibid). In addition, as Boogaard, Kibiki, Kisanga, Boeree, & Aarnoutse (2009) report, the existing diagnostic test- sputum microscopy- ide ntifies only advanced pulmonary TB and the remaining cases go unidentified. In addition, the DOTS strategy developed by World Health Organisation is expensive and labor-intensive, and hence less effective in developing nations (ibid). Now, taking the economic side of the disease into consideration, a study by Grimard and Harline prove that even a 10% fall in the

International Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Accounting - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that financial reports will always need to be produced to satisfy statutory requirements, such as filing accounts or for the presentation of tax returns. As the harmonization of accounting standards takes place on a global scale, corporate reports become more comparable. This is useful for the investors who should be able to compare financial information from different business that are located in different countries. This paper makes a conclusion that in International accounting, the purpose of corporate reporting is to compliance with accounting standards. Despite the number of accounting standards in issue and the requirement for accounts to present a true and fair view, there are still number of companies that fail to comply with requirements of the standards. The financial reporting review panel in UK has the aim of ensuring that both public and private companies comply with the companies Act and accounting standards. It has expanded its role to assess financial statements prepared under international accounting standards in the UK. There are key differences between UK Standards and IFRS. The presentation of single company and group accounts in UK is governed by Companies Act 2006. but for companies or groups listed on stock exchange within European Union, they are obliged to prepare annual financial statements in accordance with International accounting standards.... The framework does not define these ideas, but compliance with international standards and the framework will help to achieve these ideas. Assessment of International Accounting The International accounting framework provides a conceptual underpinning for International financial reporting standards. One of the objectives of the framework is to provide a basis for the formulation of international financial reporting standards. The another advantage of international accounting is that the framework forms a basis for dealing with any accounting issues that arises which are not covered by accounting framework. The framework’s approach builds to corporate reporting around the definitions of assets and liabilities and the criteria for recognizing and measuring them in a statement of financial position. This approach views accounting form the perspective of the statement of financial position whereas most of companies would not consider the measurement and recognition of assets and l iabilities as the starting point for the determination of profit. In many jurisdictions, the financial statements form the basis of dividend payments, the starring point of the assessment of taxation, and often the basis for executive remuneration. A balance sheet fair value system, which International accounting standard board seems to favor, would have a major impact on the above elements. Current Development This is a long term joint project between International accounting standards and the US FASB, which was first agreed in 2004. The end point of the eight stage project will be approval of single, self-contained document which will create a foundation for the development of future accounting standard that are principal based, internally

Interviewing Sales Professionals assignment (15%) Essay

Interviewing Sales Professionals assignment (15%) - Essay Example The hotel is rated four-star, with comfortable guest rooms and dining facilities; a conference centre; entertainment centre; and a health and wellness centre. Services include all the standard services for luxury four-star hotels, from laundry and room service, to satellite television and broadband. These services are available in deluxe rooms, executive deluxe suites, business suites and super-large deluxe suites. Maggie sells to groups focusing on business, conferences, wellness tours, and tourism. Impressions of the Interviewee Nonverbal techniques Maggie uses very clear nonverbal techniques to make the person she is speaking to comfortable. Her greeting is formal, and her voice pitched low and smooth. Confidence in what she is saying is expressed both in her voice and in the relaxed, attentive posture she maintains when listening or speaking. After the formality of the greeting, her expression is friendly and receptive, with eye-contact maintained. Her body directly faces the per son she is speaking to, leaning slightly forward, and she maintains a slightly lower level of contact, seeming to look upward at the other party. She keeps her hands and arms relaxed, using some gestures to emphasize what she is saying in very controlled ways. When she listens, she slightly tilts her head, looking interested, and does not interrupt. It seemed throughout the interview, and sales presentations, that she has only one focus – the person/people she is interacting with. Appearance and demeanor In appearance, Maggie Chen is very well-groomed. She wears the dark-colored corporate uniform of the hotel chain. A friendly and approachable personality is evident. She reacts to questions in a thoughtful, confident way, thinking for a moment before answering in detail. The Presentation The sales presentation I attended was to a large chain of travel agencies, specializing in business conference organization for USA and Chinese companies. They were looking for hotels across China in which to stage conferences and business meetings for up to 100 delegates at a time, and ranging from 3 day to 10 day events, over the next 18 months. Their business would allow Ms. Chen to come close to achieving her targets for the year, as she would be able to report advance room bookings at approximately 30% of occupancy – half of what she was aiming for. A PowerPoint presentation had been prepared, and Maggie had thoroughly worked through the presentation. We arrived at the venue in the hotel 15 minutes before the representatives of the travel company were set to arrive, and all the technical aspects had been checked. Refreshments were laid out and the exact number of places had been arranged at the table. When the representatives arrived each was greeted in turn, from the most senior to the least senior and I realized that Maggie had researched the people and the company well enough to know all the details about them. Her PowerPoint presentation really just gave an overview of the hotel and what it has to offer in pictures and with music. It was the commentary by Maggie that identified the possible packages that could be put together to meet the exact needs of the travel agency and their planned conferences and meetings. She had also prepared a glossy handout, listing 4 options for the room bookings, and the

Real Estate Investment Trusts in China

Real Estate Investment Trusts in China Real Estate Investment Trusts in China: how can we learn form American model to develop our REITs system? Ouyang Chun Abstract The real estate market is a burgeon market and is an essential part in the Chinese economy. During the past decades, the government made all their efforts to boost its development by using foreign countries experience. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) model is new method to finance for city development. Since 2007, Chinese government began to test whether this model is suitable for China. The paper addresses the situation of Chinese REITs and the factors influencing REITs operating in China. Using the American REITs model for reference, the paper also discusses how to solve this problems and how to implement REITs model in China. I. Introduction The real estate market is booming in these years, particularly in China. The demand of finance as well as the housing supply makes China searching for other more efficient financing methods to meet the increasing requirements. Recently, with the releasing of the law restrictions and the reform and opening-up, more and more diversified investment methods are being tested in China. The Chinese government is now trying to find a new financing method by learning from foreign experience and integrating it with the Chinese situation. The REITs is considered to be one of the most efficient and suitable investment tools in China. REITs first appeared in the USA in 1960s. With over 40 years of development, REITs was successful in America because of complete laws and professional evaluation agencies. REITs developed rapidly in both their size and numbers since 1990 in America (Chan et al., 2002), and now it is a very mature investment model in the USA, benefiting the individual investors by running properties under the professional institutions. A REIT is a mutual fund to collect money from both individuals and institutional investors, with the exemption of the taxation, investing to different categories of real estate projects in different regions indirectly, and it is also can be traded on the stock markets (Jones. C, 2007). According to the Baker Review (Baker, 2003), the institutional investors prefer to use REITs, which is a tax transparent investment tool, to stimulate and to improve the rent stock as well as to stabilize the market. This tax transparent feature means that there is no need to pay double tax on REITs. Since 2007, the Chinese government established some test spots by choosing several potential projects, examining the feasibility of REITs in China. However, almost all the tests failed by various factors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors influencing the REITs adapted to the Chinese market. The paper also examines the experience from the USA, which has the most mature REITs model in the world, and contrasts with the Chinese REITs model. As part of the task, the paper addresses the countermeasures for the factors influencing REITs feasibility in China by giving the law supports, improving the REITs models and establishing the professional evaluation system. The paper first examines the definition and the properties of REITs and then addresses the current situation of REITs operation in China. It then considers the factors which influences why REITs did not particularly adapt to China before. The paper then introduces the experience of REITs in America and also the reasons making REITs successful in the USA. The final part of the paper considers the countermeasures for making REITs adapt to China in the future and draws some conclusions. II. The current situation of REITs in China In this section, the paper will first address the potential of REITs in China, giving some reasons why REITs is considered to be the most suitable financial tool in China. The paper will then examine the reasons influencing REITs developed in China since 2007. A. The potential of REITs in China The National Association gave the definition of the Real Estate Investment Trusts as followed (NAREIT): â€Å"[a] REIT is essentially a corporation or business trust that combines the capital of many investors to acquire or provide financing for all forms of real estate. The aim of REITs is to invest to the real estate market and to receive the returns, it just like the stock shares held by the investors, which creates the possibility to indirectly invest to the market with professional management. REITs is suitable for China because of its features, the liquidity, the diversification of risk and the available capital. The Liquidity of REITs is that it can be traded on the open markets just like the stock shares, which means that the individuals or the institution can invest to the real estate market even though they are not the professionals in this area. It also gives them a chance to withdraw their asset quickly when the market is depressed instead of the long period of the direct investment (Eichholtz, 1996, Hoesli et al, 2000,Walpole, 1999). Eichholtz also pointed out that (Eichholtz, 1996) REITs can diversify the risk of the investment. The capital of the REITs will be divided into several parts to invest in different category of properties and in different regions. The development in China is unbalanced even in the metropolitans. Thereby, REITs will spread the risk efficiently for the investors and improve some undeveloped area where the direct investment did not participate in. REITs welcomes all kinds of investors including the retails and the institutions. Because it does not need too much assets to involve, REITs may collects enormous money and becomes a non-ignored capital in the market (Walpole, 1999). REITs can be cultivated stronger in China because of the massive of the retail investors, thereby, the available capital of REITs may become incredible huge and will benefit substantially for the Chinese real estate market. B. The reasons influencing of the Chinese REITs Since 2007, the Chinese government set up several test points to examine whether REITs adapted to China, however, almost all the projects failed, which exposed many factors influencing REITs operating in China. The supporting laws and policies is non-enough. The Chinese government published few supporting laws or policies for REITs. REITs returns are mostly attribute form the exemption of the tax, but there are still not any policies or laws published to exempt the taxes of REITs, which makes the incomes of REITs are very low. Thereby, the investors in China still wait and see to determinate whether invest to REITs market. The complicated properties of the projects make the evaluation difficult. Due to the limited test spots, the competition in Chinese REITs was very sharp since 2007, more and more conglomerates joint or had a will to join at that time, the projects they brought to the test spots is significantly huge for the Chinese REITs system. There was not enough preparations for such big properties in this market, such as the laws, the regulations as well as the evaluations systems, which is considered to be the most important part in REITs investment, did not prepare maturely at that time. Therefore, as the test began, the problems appeared gradually, the valuation of the properties was evaluated incorrectly or the values of the whole project were not easy to evaluate which caused the investor was not able to grasp the information precisely. The unclear ownership of the Property Portfolio reduced the value of the REITs. After the project started, this problem appeared significantly, a larger of buildings which were prepared to be the asset pack existed problems, the use or the property of lands are not correct or the approval process is not complete. Such buildings are not allowed to invest to the Chinese REITs market due to the laws. Thereby, these problems affected the evaluation of the asset directly and also affected launching the REITs definitely. The rental fee can not be collected efficiently. The Chinese government established some development areas in the past decades, in which the investor would be benefited when they established the projects by some policies. These policies exempted the rental fees from their buildings for a particularly period, which effected the operating of REITs dramatically, because the most important factor, the returns, was affected. A non-returnable property would not make and profits for the REITs products obviously and would confuse the investor on how they would get their incomes after they invested, therefore, it would not be approved by the market definitely. Although there were many defects in Chinese REITs, we could avoid these disadvantages by using other countries experience for reference. The American REITs model is one of the most mature models in the world. Their development history, their REITs structure as well as the reason of its success are worth us to reflect our REITs model. III. The REITs model in USA and the analysis of the reasons of the success of RIETs in America In this part, the paper will analyze the reason of the success in the American REITs. The paper will first give a brief history of the REITs in the USA and address its structure. After that, the paper will focus on analyzing the reasons promoting REITs market to boost and boom in recent years. A. A brief history of the REITs in America The modern pattern of the REITs appeared by the Wall Street in 1960s even though the idea of it can be dated back to 1880s. In 1960, in order to stimulate the depressed real estate market, the United State published the Real Estate Investment Trust Act, which gave the supporting law to the new invest model (Klame. P et al, 2001). This Act defined the regulation of REITs and also gave it the exemption from the federal taxation, which means there is no need to pay the double tax while using this investment tool (Klame. P et al, 2001). REITs did not make any significant achievements in the first decades, but grew dramatically from the 1990s, in which erupted a housing market collapse (Harvard University, 2003). Due to the low cost of management and the diversity of risk, more than 200 companies in America invested indirectly to the real estate market, the total assets exceed $ 12,000 billion until January 2000 ,and now, the American public real estate market is the biggest and most mature market in the world (Klame. P et al, 2001). B. The current situation of REITs in America The structure of REITs investors in America are divided into three parts, 55% in the domestic institutions, 25% by individuals and 7% by the foreign investors (Friday, 1999). REITs benefit all forms of the real estate projects, such as office buildings, shopping centers and private housing (Klame. P et al, 2001). The aim for the REITs was first defined for the retail investors, but attracted the institution investor since 2004, which increased the numbers of the trades as well as the liquidity of the REITs (Chan et al., 2002). Moreover, the REITs investors in America can obtain about 90% of the income of the REITs and do not need to pay any tax from their incomes, thereby making the benefits they receive higher than the stock markets (Klame. P et al, 2001). C. The reasons of the success of American REITs With almost 50 years development, REITs in the United Stated became the most mature one in the world. The reasons for that are varieties. The first reason is the government published a lot of supporting laws. With these Acts, REITs developed rapidly. The REITs did not make many achievements at the very beginning, but the American government made all their efforts to push this investment method to success. With the Tax Recovery Act in 1986, the REITs in the USA first grew tremendously after experiencing the bubbles and the depression in 1970s. This Act weakened the limited partnership by restricting their tax exemption and cancelling the accelerated depreciation accounting method of the real estate. The Act also loosened the access standard of the REITs, which made the REITs companies not only owned the real estate assets, but also could manage the properties. Moreover, most of the REITs added the low debt provision in their organizational files, which would absolutely reduce the risk in operation. These changes attracted the investor to join this boom market and promoted the development of REITs. At the end of 1999, the most important Act, REITs Modernization Act, passed and published in 2001. This Act reduced the distribution proportion to 90%, and stipulated the companies could dominate the profits freely after they pay the tax from their un-distributed incomes. Therefore, REITs could use this profit to maintain the existing properties, invested to new properties or pay the debt. As a result of that, this Act increased the investment chance and promoted the business performance. These Acts helped REITs to become more flexible, more focus in customer demands and a more profit-seeking institution. The supporting laws and policies are definitely important, however, REITs needs more supporting from the financial system, and the evaluation system is considered to be the most important systems in REITs development. The evaluation system in the U.S. is quite complete. With the experience of over 100 years financial operation, the Americans accumulated substantial finance evaluation experience. When REITs started, the evaluation of the REITs products were not difficult tasks to finish. Almost all the REITs projects had been evaluated correctly, which provided accuracy information to the investors. Due to the REITs market is not difficult to enroll, most of the investors, including individuals and institutions, could operate readily when they joined the market. That absolutely promoted the REITs boom in the United State during 1990s. In addition, REITs companies in America invest to specific objects. Compared with China, the U.S. REITs concentrated in existing real estate projects, which means the companies preferred to operate the buildings rather than to establish one. That would absolutely reduce the risk for REITs, which attracted a lot of investors. These three factors motioned above supported the REITs developed very fast since 1990s and make it becomes one of the most efficient and mature REITs model in the world. The Chinese REITs may probably enlighten form these experiences and avoid the problems by learning their developing history. IV. Countermeasures To establish a relatively complete environment for REITs investment, China would probably benefits from the American experience. The paper will provide some suggestions which might helpful for improve the REITs in China. A. Exemption of the double tax of REITs As Chinese REITs markets were mainly affected by the investment environment, especially the supporting laws, the Chinese government could refer to the American model to release the law restricting gradually. The most exigent problem which should be solved first is the taxes on the REITs products. The American experience exposed that the transparency feature of the tax is the most important factor promoting REITs market boost. Without the tax transparency, the returns of the REITs would be very low. The Chinese government should use this experience for reference, exempting the double tax on the REITs, stimulating the REITs markets by raising the returns. B. Introduction for the public Due to the returns of REITs are a little bit higher than the stock markets and the investment skill is fairly easy to grasp, both the individual and the institutional investors would be willing to invest to this market. However, the REITs market was not flourishing as the exception, that is mainly because most individuals in China did not understanding what was REITs and how many retunes they could received by the REITs, even the specialists would not invest lightly due to the unclear information of supporting policies of the REITs. If the government really want to boom the REITs market, they should focus on publicize the REITs products to the citizen and publish the very clear supporting policies or law to enhance the investors confidence. In order to extent to market of REITs, it should absorb both individual investors and institution investor to join. However, the Chinese government paid more attention on the institutions instead of considering the individuals, which cause the ins ufficient funds of the REITs markets. Obviously, the institution investors are quite cautious and would not invest their money to the uncertain finance products such as REITs, which would directly lead the depression of the REITs markets and also caused a vicious circle : no investors, no money and no money, REITs market would not attract investors. To change this situation, money from individual investors is necessary because the asset from individuals is fairly huge in China. The government should use this kind of power, just like the U.S. model, to support the unstable REITs market at its very beginning. Using the bank sell model, which is just like the fund sell model in China, and minimizing the unit of REITs just like the American to create the chance for individuals to enroll. C. The clear investment aim The investment object is another severe problem in Chinese REITs model, REITs companies in China used to prefer invest to the big projects. Because the limitation of the test spots, the opportunities are very competitive. Most of the companies used their best properties to join this market, these properties are so huge that could not be evaluated very clearly before they used them to invest. Therefore, due to the unclearly evaluation of these properties, the information for the investors are ambitious, which would definitely cause severe problem in them investment decision-making. Moreover, REITs in China is a relative new investment methods for both individual investors and institutional investors, with the unclear information, investors therefore would not have a willing to buy this kind of finance products, they might consider that REITs is a very risky products for them to invest. That is also a reason why investors enthusiasm for this investment tool is not very high as the expe ctation. However, the situation in America is complete change. At the very beginning, REITs was considered to be a quite popular invest method, the reason for its depression is the only the double tax. Thereby, when the government released the tax and published some supporting laws to regular REITs, its market grew suddenly. That is because almost all the properties, which are provided by the REITs companies in America, were not very huge at the very beginning and were evaluated clearly before they came into the markets. Even some properties are relatively big, having been given exhaustive information for the investors. Therefore, investor could easily invest to these products with this information and would approximately calculate the incomes they would return. Such experience should be used in Chinese REITs market, establishing the professional evaluation agencies to provide the official evaluation reports to the investors, making sure the information they received is true and int act. That might greatly stimulate the investors confidence and give them a positive signal that the REITs is a fairly formal investment tools for them to choose. V. Conclusions The Chinese real estate market is booming these years, but it is by no means that all of the foreign finance methods suitable for China. When we want to use some advance experience to the Chinese market, we should consider it very clearly, not only learn the structure of concept of the new method, but also we may need to figure out the essential of it and in what situation we will use it. According to the REITs, we may understand that even its concept is fairly suitable for Chinese situation, the operation details is also quite difficult to follow. It might need several years to establish our own REITs market and to publicize it to the whole citizen. That is not the task which only to publish some REITs products, it is also a task to build a whole REITs system, including the supporting policies or laws, complete the evaluation system and extending the REITs spots. All of them need time to finish. Therefore, we could not run it so fast but to make sure every step is moderate and effic ient. In this circumstance, we may probably find some new problems and new chance for us to develop our REITs, and also we might discover some new ideas or methods to make the REITs more efficient and more suitable for China. References Barker, K. (2003) Review of Housing Supply: Interim Report-Analysis (London: HMSO). Chan, S. H., Erickson, J. Wang, K. (2002) Real Estate Investment Trusts Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportunities (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Eichholtz, P.M.A., â€Å"Does International Diversification Work Better for Real Estate than for Stocks and Bonds?, Financial Analysis Journal, January-February, 1996, pp. 56-62. Friday, H.S., G.S. Sirmans, and C.M. Conover, â€Å"Ownership Structure and the Value of the Firm: The Case of REITs, Journal of Real Estate Research, 1999, vol. 17, no. 1/2. Harvard University (2003) The State of the Nations Housing 2002 (Massachusetts,

Macbeth: Shakespeares Comparisons And Contrasts :: essays research papers

Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparison with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the tittle of Cawdor on Macbeth. The king then proclaims his son Malcom to be Prince of Cumberland, in effect designating him as successor to the throne of Scotland. This dramatic announcement of Duncan's chosen successor marks the beginning of an ironic story. It is at this point in the play that we, the audience, become fully aware of Macbeth's intentions to murder the king. Duncan hails Macbeth as his "worthiest cousin" and blindly entrusts his fate to one whom he considers his "peerless kinsman." Shakespeare concentrates on Macbeth's courage so that he can contrast it later on with the terror and panic of Macbeth's psychological anguish. Lady Macbeth will stop at nothing -not even murder- to satisfy her driving ambition. She worries that Macbeth is "too full of the milk of human kindness" to go after the throne. She wants to be tough and begs the spirits to "unsex me here." Macbeth, on the other hand, hesitates to murder Duncan for several reasons. Among these reasons the earthly consequences frighten him the most. How would his new subjects react? Would the kingdom disrupt in chaos? Furthermore Macbeth cannot escape present punishment if he fails. We see Lady Macbeth's persuasiveness producing a new courage in her husband and that courage is manly enough to perform murder. Therefore, Macbeth has no reasons for murdering Duncan except for his "vaulting ambition," his lust for power. Throughout the play we see Lady Macbeth's and Macbeth's conscience, or lack of, change places. Macbeth transformed from having a guilt ridden conscience to having no conscience what so ever. However, Lady Macbeth changes from having no conscience at all to becoming so guilt ridden that she took her own life. Like Macbeth, Banquo is courageous.

Rattlesnakes of the Southwest Essay -- essays papers

Rattlesnakes of the Southwest Rattlesnakes are very common in North America; they mainly range from Arkansas to Southern California. Rattlesnakes as most people known use a rattle, located at the ends of their tail, to warn people of their location. Rattlesnakes are from the Pit Viper family of snakes. They use pits located in their head to sense heat from prey or predators. Some rattlesnakes can sense heat from a mouse from as far as twelve feet away. Some common rattlers of the southwest are the Western Diamondback, Mohave, Sidewinder, and Prairie Rattlesnakes. All snakes listed are of the Genus Crotalus; which is the most common among rattlesnakes. Western Diamondbacks are the most common and most likely to come in contact with people. It has the widest geographic range, ranging from Arkansas to Southern California and into Northern Mexico. It is the largest rattlesnake in the southwest, attaining lengths of up to six feet. It also packs the most venom; normal yield is normally around 200-300 mg. A dose of 100 mg is usually lethal to humans, although most bites are defensive and venom is not injected. These snakes are very difficult to see because they blend in so well with their surroundings. They commonly have about ten rattles at 5 to 6 years of age. Mohave, sometimes referred to as Three-Stepper, are the second most common rattlers in the southwest. The main factor of the Mohave Rattlesnake is that it is the most venomous snake in this family. It’s normal yiel... Rattlesnakes of the Southwest Essay -- essays papers Rattlesnakes of the Southwest Rattlesnakes are very common in North America; they mainly range from Arkansas to Southern California. Rattlesnakes as most people known use a rattle, located at the ends of their tail, to warn people of their location. Rattlesnakes are from the Pit Viper family of snakes. They use pits located in their head to sense heat from prey or predators. Some rattlesnakes can sense heat from a mouse from as far as twelve feet away. Some common rattlers of the southwest are the Western Diamondback, Mohave, Sidewinder, and Prairie Rattlesnakes. All snakes listed are of the Genus Crotalus; which is the most common among rattlesnakes. Western Diamondbacks are the most common and most likely to come in contact with people. It has the widest geographic range, ranging from Arkansas to Southern California and into Northern Mexico. It is the largest rattlesnake in the southwest, attaining lengths of up to six feet. It also packs the most venom; normal yield is normally around 200-300 mg. A dose of 100 mg is usually lethal to humans, although most bites are defensive and venom is not injected. These snakes are very difficult to see because they blend in so well with their surroundings. They commonly have about ten rattles at 5 to 6 years of age. Mohave, sometimes referred to as Three-Stepper, are the second most common rattlers in the southwest. The main factor of the Mohave Rattlesnake is that it is the most venomous snake in this family. It’s normal yiel...

Hrm Interventions Essay

It is also an important and comprehensive approach to manage employees in the workplace environment. HRM needs to be integrated with the overall strategy to ensure effective use of people and provide better returns to the organizations in terms of ROI (Return on Investment) for every rupee or dollar spent on them. If the HRM continues to practice this way it will lead to the success of the organization and also the organization will start utilizing its employee capabilities completely. Human resources are the most difficult resources to manage in an organization. HRM is responsible for effective designing and implementation of various policies, programs and also about developing and managing knowledge, skills, creativity and talent. HRM focuses on managing physical and emotional capacity of employees. As a result of this the range of HRM is developing day-by-day. Hence, HRM manages harmonious relationships in an organization along with maintaining a balance between organizational goals and individual goals. There are three human resource management interventions: Performance management, Career planning and development and work force diversity. Organization’s human resource specialists perform these change processes. Performance management is an integrated process in which an organizational employees are involved either individually or within a team to achieve its goals and policies. Employee performance management includes: 1)Planning 2)Monitoring 3)Developing 4)Rating 5)Rewarding 1)Planning: It means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to use their abilities to achieve organization objectives. Employees should be involved in the planning process to understand the goals of the organization. Performance appraisal plans are developed to evaluate the performance of a team or an individual by a manager or a supervisor. Performance appraisal plans should be official working documents that are put into effect. 2) Monitoring:In this stage the performance of employees is monitored and feedback is provided to the employees about their performance. Monitoring continually will help the organization to check the standards of the employees and also help them to make changes to meet the standards of the organization. This can be done by conducting status meeting and submitting reports about their progress. Any unacceptable performance can be identified at any time with the help of continuous monitoring. 3)Developing: In this phase of the process the organization helps the employees to develop their skills by providing training. Training helps the employees to improve their performance, boost their job-related skills and to withstand the changes in the workplace such as the introduction of new technology. Lack of performance of the employees can be developed in this stage and help them to achieve more goals of the organization. )Rating:In this stage the organization evaluates the performance of the employees against the standards of the organization’s performance plan. By rating the organization will come to know about its best employees. This can be done by maintaining rating record which compares the performance of the employees from time to time . The rating of record is assigned according to procedures included in the organization’s appraisal program. It is based on wo rk performed during an entire appraisal period. 5)Rewarding: Rewarding means appreciating employeesfor their performance. It can be done in different ways such as saying simple words like thank you and rewarding employees with awards based on their performance. Rewards can either be formal or informal. Therefore, all the five components in the performance management process work and support each other for effective development of the organization. Second and most important HRM intervention is Career planning and development. Nowadays most of the organizations have adopted career planning and development to increase communication and healthy environment among the employees which will result in the effective growth of their organizations. Career development programs are required to the people irrespective of age and gender for the development of the organizations. Career is the progress and actions of a person related to occupation throughout a lifetime. Different stages are present in a person’s career. There are five stages in a person’s career-Growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance and disengagement/withdrawal. Growth (4-13 years of age) is the initial stage in a person’s career where the person thinks about his/her future. Second stage is exploration (early teens to mid-twenties) where the person becomes definite about occupational choice. They do many trial jobs before deciding on their appropriate field to work. Third stage is establishment (mid-twenties to mid-forties) where the person establishes in a long-term in their chosen field. Maintenance (mid-forties to mid-sixties) is the fourth stage in which the person achieves successes in their career. They also tend to help their subordinates as they are more experienced. They try to maintain stability in their job. Last and final stage in career is disengagement/withdrawal (mid-sixties) in which the person takes retirement and try to explore new jobs. Career development helps people to achieve their career objectives. It can be linked to career planning at different stages. It includes managing a person’s career between different organizations. Career development interventions can be used for many goals. These interventions are mainly designed for young employees rather than managers. Some of the interventions which are related to career stages are as follows: realistic job preview is related to establishment which helps the person to know the work requirements. Developmental training helps the person to gain knowledge to reach their goals. This intervention is related to establishment and maintenance stages in career planning. Performance feedback and coaching comes under establishment stage which helps the person to know about their performance. Work life balance planning helps the person to maintain balance between personal and professional life. It comes under establishment and maintenance stages . Challenging assignments keeps the person engaged with interesting and creates an enthusiasm towards work. This comes under maintenance stage. Dual-career accommodations comes nder maintenance stage and it helps the person to find satisfying work projects. Phased retirement falls under withdrawal stage of a person’s career where the person retires from the job. All these interventions will result in various desired consequences such as increases job satisfaction and commitment, monitors human resources development, strengthens organizational capability, improves quality of life, maintains member motivation, increase s productivity ,decreases stress in later stages of life and also reduce turnover and training costs for the organization. Work force diversity interventions are the third type of HRM interventions. Organizations should develop their human resources in such a way that it should maintain diversity in an efficient manner. People from various regions may work together in an organization. They may differ in various ways like age, gender, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality traits, ethnicity and culture. An organization with diverse workforce can better achieve its goals. Employees from diverse workforce can learn more and achieve more experience as they work in a mixed environment. Other than the employees of the organization, clients can also gain profit from it as the organization which encourages diverse workforce will be more open and flexible. As people come from various cultures and backgrounds in diverse work force they can learn more business practices. Employees can develop their knowledge, communication skills, problem-solving capabilities through diverse workforce. All the employees need to be trained to work either individually or as a part of a team.

MyAlert Essay

Come 1999, the international mobile data services market was ever so expanding and changing rapidly. Jorge Mata was able to hop on the bandwagon early enough to profit from this business venture as this industry was just at the beginning of a new era that would revolutionize how consumers and businesses communicated with each other. More simply stated, MyAlert was a great business idea, developing a more personalized mobile industry. Mata could not actually believe that such a business model had never been thought of in the past, but did not have to think twice before investing in the MyAlert project, becoming the first company to appear and succeed in the mobile services market in Spain. Flash forwarding to a year after its creation, figures are only representative of the huge success MyAlert was facing in terms of the service and content the company offered its customers. Figures were in the black, and more than 200.000 users were registered to the ‘Alert portal’ witho ut even any substantial advertising expense. Another indicator of a good business idea is whether the creator of the company is able to find any potential investors ready to sponsor his project. In this case, Mata is the first to find enough capital (half a million euros) to launch his project. His ex-CEO at BroadVision also wanted to invest in the project, showing us just how serious and well thought of this business plan actually was. Although the initial funds were clearly insufficient to bring MyAlert at the top of the ladder both domestically and internationally, Mata’s strategy is clear-cut in the sense that the first priority was developing a project with â€Å"a top-tier management and technical team and a sound technological platform to make alerts work at the targeted scale† (p. 2). The company could effectively y use its technological platform to provide a personalized service, that at the time, was crucially needed by customers and companies who wished to stay at the top of the information chain. This was the booming time in terms of new technologies and how they could be adapted to the internet and the mobile phone. MyAlert’s business idea was once again great because it could actually provide this ever so needed information to its end users. By valuing the customer and focusing on what the market needed and will need in the future, MyAlert is a perfect example of how they were able to carry out the latter and grasp a changing environment before it was too late. The main competitive advantages that MyAlert benefit from are seen through their timing and their strong technological platform. In effect, the company benefits from a first mover advantage into the mobile data service industry. With this advantage under their belt, it is essential in for MyAlert to develop an on-going demand for their service. The customer base is large and potentially profitable and the company understood this. As I stated previously, instead of focusing itself on the product/service they deliver to the customer, MyAlert’s strategy is to focus on what the customer really wants from the company. The emotional factors that the customers face are very important because they act as an experience on each individual when they decide to sign up for daily alerts on football, or stock quotes for example. My Alert knows that by focusing on the customer base, by offering them a service that is affordable and useful, positive recommendations will then follow placing them at an advantage vis-à  -vis their competitors. While focusing on the demand aspects are vital, it is also crucial for the company to concentrate on the supply scale for the competitive advantage to be sustainable. Basic services such as alerts on business headlines are interesting but MyAlert’s main wish is to expand their supply with a â€Å"†¦ number of services thanks to agreements with other content and service providers† (p. 2). By growing a significant supply scale, a broader demand from not only individual end-users will arise, but also from sources like corporations and large advertising companies. With all the information above, a value chain of MyAlert’s business model is shown through this diagram: A perfect example of this model at work is when MyAlert enters the European major markets. While replicating the entry strategy that had already worked in Spain, the company broadens its supply scale by offering free advertising services to international companies and then pursuing on to develop tight relationships with these companies so that they can offer them business services. This is a clear example of how the company intentionally expands its supply scale to attain an even larger demand (customer) base. After the dotcom bubble crisis, companies focused on new technologies such as MyAlert, take the hardest hit. Their competitive advantage based on a strong  technology is now under threat and the company has to reevaluate its strategy. I believe the merge with Buongiorno is not only positive for both companies, but a must if MyAlert wishes to stay competitive in the long run. Mauro del Rio basically says it all in his statement as he declares that the â€Å"†¦ two absolute imperatives for ambitious European high tech companies [are]: critical mass and positive P&L† (p.4). MyAlert could no longer expand through organic growth and so this merger is a fantastic idea in terms of bringing new qualified staff, technology assets and know-how. On the flip side, the position the two companies now hold as a whole, allows them to penetrate new markets and develop synergies. The two companies complemented each other very well in terms of My Alert bringing a strong technological platform to the table and powerful ASP services versus Buongiorno being more present in terms of marketing and advertising services. The strengths of one, replaced the weaknesses of the other. A good example of how the two companies complemented themselves really well is by analyzing the services they sold through various business models. In terms of business services, Buongiorno would lead the way offering companies other marketing services such as brand building and customer loyalty. The product range allowed a higher diversification and greatly benefited the company. The above would not have been possible to realize if MyAlert wouldn’t have merged with Buongiorno because of a poorer marketing penetration. When it came to consumer services however, MyAlert would lead the way by actively investing and developing new apps carefully adapted to their customer base thanks to t heir strong technology. Consumer services were the new hit at the beginning of the years 2000’s and Buongiorno! MyAlert was able to establish itself as a clear industry leader. At first, intensively focusing on consumer services was not a clear target for the newly merged companies. The SMS market was in full evolution but many competitors were focusing on the benefits of developing WAP. The portal worked similarly to the WWW navigation, except it was adapted to cell phones. The main point here is that MyAlert had the necessary technology to develop this project and become a global leader but the management team made a wise decision when they decided to focus more on what the consumer actually wanted. WAP-enabled phones had huge potential, increasing to 23% in  2000, but the alarming factor was that only 3% of those users were actually using the new mobile portal. In effect, the company realized that they were found in a value added service market and that their business would mainly depend on what share they could capture from mobile operators when end-users download a song or a logo via SMS, and which marketing budget their customers could channel throu gh them. More simply stated, the company shifted its competitive advantage from a strong technological base to a market driven, consumer targeted base. This business model change allowed the company to develop its own kind of virtual network, linking them to diverse mobile operators’ message centers. As Nomura correctly states, the company could now benefit from its new position and operate its new value chain by having higher punctuality and lower messaging costs. This diversified network the company had built with all the operators, and the flexible strategy they had put into place to be able to adapt to a changing environment, gave them a â€Å"competitive advantage and barrier to entry for any competitors trying† (p.15) to penetrate the market. The evolvement of the business model was a crucial point for the company as they correctly analyzed the market and customer appreciation instead of focusing on a strong service (WAP) that they could’ve developed. If they had chosen this route, maybe things would’ve not been as smooth and successful for them. In this case though, the company was showing positive results and was in a continued search for new businesses and markets to enter while diversifying both in terms of their products and services. This model can only be sustainable, because as Darwin says it best â€Å"if a being wants to survive in a shifting environment, it must evolve at least as fast as the medium itself.† BuonGiorno!MyAlert is perfectly equipped to do so.