Saturday, August 31, 2019

The Bronte Sisters

Three children sit in a circle playing with wooden toy soldiers. The world these children play in is not Earth, but worlds of their own creating. The children in this circle will grow up to be some of the best eighteenth century writers. It is no surprise that as a child Emily Bronte and her siblings had active imaginations. They created the worlds of Gondal, Emily and Anne’s creation; and Angria, Charlotte’s creation (White 12). The world does not know much about Emily Bronte except what can be concluded from Charlotte Bronte’s autobiography (Winnitrith 111).She was born July 30, 1818 in Yorkshire, England. At the young age of thirty, Emily developed tuberculosis and died on December 19, 1848 (Magill 56). Her potential had yet to be reached. C. D. Merriman from The Literature Network said, â€Å"Many early works from her past were lost – only 3 personal letters exist from her possessions. † Emily was influenced by many people including her mother a nd father. Her father, Reverend Patrick Bronte, was a school teacher (Magill 56). Patrick Bronte had a humble beginning; he went to Cambridge University and worked in order to pay for his stay.Her father was looked down upon for being middle class in a high-class school. Emily’s stories feature a strong value of education and deal with injustices of society, which is believed to have originated from her father’s troubles. (White 8) â€Å"Emily’s mother, Maria Bronte died from internal cancer when Emily was only three,† according to The Victorian Web (Allingham). Kathryn White said, â€Å"The Bronte children felt the loss of their mother keenly, for though they never really remembered her.Her absence in their lives is reflected in the number of orphaned and motherless children who were featured in their early writings and novels. †(21) Despite the fact Emily never knew her mother; she characterized Catherine Earnshaw as having a similar sentiment ab out being more attached to the earth than to Heaven. (White 19). In November 1824, Patrick Bronte felt that his daughters needed a proper education so he sent his girls to Clergy’s Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge. This school was rigid, had poor hygiene, and lack of a good diet.He withdrew his girls after Maria and Elizabeth died from inadequate care. Although Emily had a poor experience at school, education became an escape route in many of Emily’s writings (White 5-25). Emily, Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell grew up in Haworth. They didn’t have many neighbors so they had to be content playing with each other and the wooden soldiers their father brought back from a trip (Magill 56). Charlotte and her brother, Branwell created the world of Angria. Emily and Anne Bronte created the world of Gondal.Traces of Gondal have been found throughout Emily’s poems (White 6-34). Philip Allingham reports that Emily’s favorite activities were reading and playing the piano. The Victorian Web states her favorite authors were: Shakespeare, Homer, Virgil, and Aesop. As Emily grew up she worked as a governess in Halifax, Yorkshire. She intensely disliked the experience. She planned with Anne and Charlotte to begin a school for themselves. This dream was never realized because the girls became involved in writing.Barring the fact that Emily Bronte was a private author, her sister Charlotte convinced her to join her and Anne to make a book of poems. Together they made Poems by Currer Ellis and Acton in 1846 (White 38). As an editor, C. W. Hatfield went through Emily’s poems trying to interpret them. The problems arise when trying to figure out the differences between her subjective statements. In addition, the authorship and date is uncertain as well (Winnitrith 33). Poems by Currer Ellise and Acton didn’t get much press, but got two favorable reviews from Athenaeum and Dublin University Magazine (Wilks 111).Philip Allingham writes, â€Å"Emily and her sisters took over pseudonyms to hide their gender because of the many prejudices against women authors. The failure of their poems did not dishearten the girls; it made them write even more which lead Emily to write her best novel, Wuthering Heights. † It is assumed the Wuthering Heights was written in 1846 because of the absence of poetry Emily wrote, yet the length of the novel suggests she started writing even earlier than that.The information that we have about the composition of Wuthering Heights is up to debate because it is in Charlotte’s interpretation and she could have been sensitive about Emily’s choice to go on her own (Winnitrith 47). After the publication of Wuthering Heights in 1847 the public thought it was mimicry of Charlotte’s work. The public was intensely disturbed by the contents and Emily was a cipher to the public (Magill 56-59). â€Å"Emily’s brother, Branwell went through depression and many al cohol induced rages.As a result, he died in 1848, and at his funeral Emily caught a cold and developed tuberculosis,† as said by C. D. Merriman from The Literature Network. Emily did not receive professional care and refused to stay in bed to get well. She died at Haworth in December 19, 1848 (White 75). When Emily Bronte was young she played with toy soldiers in the world named Gondal with her siblings. Today she is known as one of the famed Bronte sisters that created desolate Wuthering Heights. Though much is unknown about her, we can try to uncover the mysteries through her writings.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Phu Quoc

To Yen Ngan ELP 6 Lecturer: Mr. James Topic: Tourism in Phu Quoc Island Phu Quoc Island is located in Thailand Bay, lies in front of the Cambodia cost, 45km from Ha Tien to the West and 15 km from South Cambodia. Phu Quoc is located in the tropics and is affected by oceanic climate. These are the reasons why Phu Quoc’s climate is always being temperate with average temperature from 24oC – 27oC. The ideal time for tourist to visit Phu Quoc Island is from November to January (Lunar calendar) because in this time the sea is so calm and the amount of tourist will decrease that’s why the price of hotel and food will be more reasonable for everybody. Phu Quoc Island is an attractive island with not only fresh and wide virgin forests but also the most beautiful and clearest beaches. The island like an armed fortress of the Vietnamese navy, and 80% of the island is protected as the Phu Quoc National Forest. Phu Quoc is a beautiful island, bathed in the warm tropical sun; the sea is clear and green. Following are some famous attraction about Phu Quoc Island. Firstly is Coi Nguon museum. This is an interesting place to discover and know more about the culture and the history of Phu Quoc. This museum displays lots of ceramics, bronze and stone tools, and animal and sea mammal skeletons. Besides, there is some art work made by people from Phu Quoc using materials that are specific to Phu Quoc like sea shells and drift wood. Secondly is Phu Quoc Pearl Farm. Visiting this place, everybody have chance to find out about the way how pearl is cultivated. There is also displayed area with lots of pearl collections for your contemplation and shopping. At night, tourists can enjoy the night market in Duong Dong. Night Markets: is located in the middle of Duong Dong and it bustles with trade in fish, fruit, and vegetables. There are many activities in Phu Quoc Island. After enjoying swimming in the ost beautiful and clearest beaches, you can hire a boat to go fishing or do sightseeing in fresh and wide virgin forests or join a boat tour discovering the ocean, experience the fishermen daily life for snorkeling around some coral reefs, having lunch onboard, enjoy sea urchin – a specialty of Phu Quoc. Phu Quoc is also famous for impressive and colorful coral islands. Moreover, tourists can free at leisure for diving to discover the habitats of corals and fishes, or participating sports on the beach such as wa ter Moto, parachuting glide, kayaking, sailing boats †¦ njoy fresh local seafood. In conclusion, a visit to Phu Quoc Island is a good, an ideal and affordable opportunity to relax after hard working or studying and learn many new things in life. Tourists will be received many benefits from the trip to Phu Quoc Island such as make new friends, increase knowledge, explore the historical and cultural traditional of Vietnam many historical and cultural monuments that are connected closely with different stage of the Mekong Delta and country’s development. increase significantly self-confident and love natural, etc. List of References: * http://www. phuquocexplorer. com (Phu Quoc Explorer 2010, All rights reserved – Design by IT-DULICHPHUQUOC. INFO) * http://www. dulichphuquoc. com/2010/03/02/di-cau-ca-va-kham-pha-dao-hoang/ (2005 – 2010 Du Lich Phu Quoc) * http://www. mekongstay. com/vietnaminformations/phuquocisland/18. html (MekongStay co. Ltd 2007)

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A Review Of The Slumdog Millionaire English Literature Essay

A Review Of The Slumdog Millionaire English Literature Essay It’s about a boy who wins one hundred million ruprees on a quiz and he knows the answer to every single question because he every story of his life is an answer to one question. The story is about Ram Mohammed Thomas, the night after he took part to a quiz Who Will Win A Billion he gets arrested. they think he might have cheated because he had all the answers right, but they can’t find any proof. The police tortures him but he doesn’t confess. While they are torturing him a woman walks in on them and claims to be his lawyer. She takes him to her house and he tells her his story by every question he answered. Ram is born in Faharganj where his mother abandoned him and left him for a door of a church in Delhi. He grows up with father Timothy the priest. He learns him to read and speak English. He learns the Christian religion and what is inscribed on a cross. This is the answer to the second question. When father Timothy dies Ram goes to a orphan home in Delhi. He re he meets Salim, he becomes best friends with him. One day they make a field trip to a circus. They meet up with a fortune teller and he sees bad luck for Ram and gives him a lucky coin. One day a man (Maman) comes to pick out one outstanding boy from the orphan house. He comes every year and the children think you get to go to a good school and become rich. He picks Salim, but the owner of the orphan house will only give him Salim if he takes Ram too. So the man takes them. They go to Mamans house and get a good room and food three times a day. But there are only kids with disabilities. Kids who miss a leg or can’t see. Maman thinks that Salim can sing really good and he gives him a teacher for singing. They learn one song in particular. When they found out that Maman tortures the kids and amputates legs so the kids make more money on the street they ran away. This is the answer to the fourth question. What is the name of the song. when they ran away from Maman they know w here to go. One boy told them he got money from a nice actress if he hadn’t got enough money for Maman and she needed a maid. So they go to her house but she can only apply one maid so she picks Ram and rents a chawl for Ram and Salim nearby. The woman (Neelima Kumari) was a really good actress with lots of awards. She showed him every movie and award. After a while Ram moves in with her so he could do more work he also had to cook. One day Neelima asks him to go to the chawl for one night. Ram knows that she is meeting with a man. He wants to meet him so he goes to her apartment but stay outside. When the lover comes out Ram takes a look and goes inside and finds Neelima all beaten up and has burned cigarette hulls on her breast. This story gives him the answer to the tenth question: what is the highest award Neelima Kumari has won?

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Business Communication Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Communication - Coursework Example Constant flow of information is involved in business communication and its integral part is feedback. Business communication plays an important role in the process of directing and controlling people in an organization. Moreover, there are a number of employees and hierarchy levels, so it is difficult to manage the organization (Guffey and Loewy 2010). Correlation between Motivation Levels of Staff: In the present competitive market, the difference between competitors is the excellence of employees. To develop and retain an organization’s human resources to gain a competitive advantage is one of the main elements in human resource literature (Lin 2007). A well-managed company is one in which the motivation level of employees is high; it increases productivity, improves performance, and reduces absence.. To retain and attract talented employees, it is important for managers to understand motivation according to their requirements. The lack of motivation occurs when there is a p roblem in one of these: unsatisfactory reward systems, inadequate performance appraisal system, and inability of manager to communicate reward and appraisal systems to employees appropriately (Lin 2007). Motivational lack occurs when there is weakness in one of these three relationships. The first relationship is an effort of employees with their performance. Managers must recognize the endeavor of employees if they have exerted extra effort in their work, and managers should give performance appraisal to them. However, in most cases employees believe that their effort will not be recognized and it could direct to lack of motivation. The second one is the relationship between performance of employees and organizational rewards. Managers make sure that if employees are given performance appraisal, then organizational rewards are also given to them (Lin 2007). Weak relationships emerge when employees are not given rewards on their good performance, and this can lead to lack of motivat ion. The third one is a relationship between rewards received and rewards desired. Many managers fail to realize the motivational effects of personal rewards and when this happens, motivation of employees suffers. This concludes that there is a correlation between motivational levels of staff, and it is important for the manager to understand the level of motivation that employees need to improve their performance (Lin 2007). Two Models of Communication: 1. Shannon-Weaver Model of the Communication Process: Shannon proposed a model in 1948, in which he breaks communication process into eight components. These eight components include source, message, transmitter, signal, channel, noise, receiver, and destination (Mortensen 1972). (Mortensen 1972) 2. Schramm’s Model of Communication: Wilbur Schramm proposed this model in 1954, in which he made changes in the Shannon Model. In this model, receiver and sender conceive encoding and decoding and provisions made for a two-way trans action of a message (Mortensen 1972). (Mortensen 1972) Comparison of Two Models: Both models are the most common communication models used in low-level texts of communication and they are known as revolutionary models in modern communication. Both these models are very basic communication models in which the main emphasis is on encoding, decoding, and different sources through which message communicated from one source to another. Different elements involved in sending and receiving communications are there in these two models, and functioning of each element is almost same in these models. These two models are extremely effective in

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Social psychology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social psychology - Research Paper Example Under cultural orientation, research shows that social psychology mainly rotates around our culture and the culture of the persons who live around us. A person’s behaviour will be affected by the culture in which he or she resides. This explains why people change their mode of dressing, food and beliefs when they are in a different culture. Secondly, Social Psychology is broad in its scope and encompasses a wide range of ideas. Scholars assess that the topic not only looks into social influences but also social perceptions and interaction, leadership, aggression, and nonverbal behaviour. Third characteristic is that social psychology applies scientific methods and concepts. In order to assess the behaviour of people more accurately, psychologists apply scientific methods such as research techniques and procedures. Hypothesis tests are also conducted on the basis of scientific standards. Finally, social psychology mainly involves the exploring of deep levels of wisdom and knowl edge. It applies wisdom and knowledge to generate ideas and solve problems. Situationism is a concept in psychology which explains people’s behaviour as being influenced by their current situations. Situations in this case are divided into two: external situations and internal situations. External situations refer to factors such as financial issues, friends and family, and the general environmental issues. Internal factors, on the other hand, refer to motivational factors and the general character of a person. Fiske emphasizes that the social situation will especially have a very big impact on a person’s behaviour. Most people will act according to the demands of the situation that is facing them currently. Situationism plays a very significant role in the field of social psychology. Sociologists have relied on the results of situationism to evaluate the behavior and reactions of different individuals. With situationism also, social psychology obtains its root and fou ndation of asserting that people’s feelings, thoughts and behaviors are affected by their surrounding situations. Both psychologists and sociologists have therefore opted to use situationism in explaining the behaviour of individuals, rather than using personality traits of an individual (Fiske, 2009). This is because, while situationism encompasses both external and internal factors, personality will only use the internal factors. In assessing the way in which a person fits in a situation, social psychologists have come up with the five core social motives. These include: belonging, understanding, controlling, self-enhancing and trusting others. Under the motive of belonging, Fiske explains that people are motivated by the sense of belonging that they obtain by relating and bonding with others. In addition, research shows that every human being is happy to find that they can fit in when placed in a particular social class. In order to belong, an individual must be able to un derstand and comprehend his or her environments. This includes both the social and the physical environments. This is especially important in assisting the individual to understand the surrounding situations and consequently, be able to make the right decisions (Fiske, 2009). Controlling is a core social motive that mainly motivates people to participate in building of the society, both economically and socially. Every individual needs to feel important

Monday, August 26, 2019

Ikea Global Sourcing Challenges Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ikea Global Sourcing Challenges - Case Study Example As the discussion stresses if the child labor evidence being utilized at Rangan Exports is precise, the supplier is in direct infringement of IKEA's clause of no child labor. Barner has two clear option decisions in managing this circumstance. In the first place, she can end the contract with the supplier in light of their rupture of the no child labor procurement. This option is legitimate and reliable with. The potential disservice of this option is that it may deny IKEA of a lucrative supplier relationship, and it might briefly slice off access to Indian floor covering sources. In that capacity, it might antagonistically effect IKEA's main concern. Barner's other alternative is to give the supplier a "notice" however look after relations, with the admonition that the supplier quit utilizing child laborers. This would have the upside of keeping up a conceivably lucrative supplier relationship.This paper highlights that  it would likewise give IKEA the chance to "instruct" supplie rs about the perils of child labor. On the drawback, this activity would be in spite of IKEA's set up policies. It could make an impression on different suppliers that IKEA may furtively excuse child labor while straightforwardly censoring it.  Neglecting to do as such would send the wrong message to different suppliers, expanding their dealing power, and damages IKEA's particular policies. Besides, it leaves IKEA open to charges of exploitative conduct.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Child hood obesity in elementary school age Research Paper

Child hood obesity in elementary school age - Research Paper Example Obesity has been termed as an epidemic owing to the rise in the statistics of the people suffering from this health condition. Childhood obesity is a major issue of concern in the United States because of the increase in the number of children who have started becoming obese. This has led to a rise in the risk of various pathological conditions in these children. Over the last three decades, the graph of obesity has shown an upward trend and childhood obesity statistics have soared more than twice in these years. This rise has led to show the link between obesity and life hampering health conditions including diabetes, cancer as well as cardiac diseases. Not only this, psychological and social issues are also prevalent amongst these children. This problem needs to be tackled and measures need to be taken to overcome this epidemic of obesity. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle with the collaborative efforts of the state, media and educational institutions can prove to be beneficial in t he prevention of obesity. Childhood obesity has thus reached to alarming levels in the United States and effective preventive measures are needed as childhood obesity is associated with a large number of diseases. Obesity is a condition where an individual has an increased amount of body fat and hence an increased body weight. Obesity results when a person consumes an excessive amount of calories in comparison to the amount of calories that are burnt or utilized. Obesity amongst children has greatly risen in the United States and a report by the Institute of Medicine put forward that up to 9 million children and adolescents above the age of 6 years had increased weight and obesity in the United States. ... Obesity results when a person consumes an excessive amount of calories in comparison to the amount of calories that are burnt or utilized. Thus, there is increased accumulation of fat in the body (CDC 2013). Obesity amongst children has greatly risen in the United States and a report by the Institute of Medicine put forward that up to 9 million children and adolescents above the age of 6 years had increased weight and obesity in the United States. This has been accompanied with a surge in the healthcare expenditure for the management of obesity related pathologies that result in these individuals (Witeing, 2008, pg. 545). Obesity results due to a large number of causes which include the influence of the media and physical inactivity. Racial characteristics and societal influences are also known to play a role in the causation of obesity. A higher incidence of obesity is seen amongst the children belonging to the African American, Mexican American and Native American groups. Societal factors also play a part in leading to obesity. This can be seen as in certain localities in the United States, supermarkets and outlets providing fresh foods are not in close vicinity in comparison to the fast food restaurants and other unhealthy alternatives. Thus, this promotes unhealthy eating habits amongst the individuals. Also in certain areas, open spaces for walking and physical activity are not present. This along with a rise in crime rate in certain areas and increased traffic prevents the parents from allowing their children from going out and hence the children are indulged in indoor activities like watching television and playing video games. Physical activity education has also decreased in the schools and this accompanied with increased

South of US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

South of US - Essay Example The combination of hot and cold weather along with abundant quantity of rain makes the region one of the best places to conduct agricultural activities. Several states are labeled under the southern region of United States, some of these states include: Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana and 14 other states that form the over all southern regions of US. These states have experienced lower rates of immigration except the state of Texas and Florida and the common population of these states includes the Scottish and Irish individuals and those who are children of the African American slaves. The total population of these states in accordance to the statistics of 2010 was 114,555,744 individuals (Bureau of Economic and Business Research, 2010). The culture experienced in these states is very different in nature as compared to the rest of the US, the specialty of food that is made in these states include: barbecue, pork and pecan

Saturday, August 24, 2019

History of Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

History of Germany - Essay Example This stance humiliated that nation brisling with ego, and became one of the many reasons for the Second World War. After the Second World War, the reluctant participant United States, emerged as the super power, and dictated her terms to war-weary countries of Europe during the end stages of the war. European countries had to accept all the demands of US most of them willingly, some of them with reservations. A comparison between French demands after First World War and US demands after the Second World War, and in this comparison, we find that more of contrast lay in the altered circumstances. France acted purely on an instinct of her national survival, whereas US had hidden her intentions. France needed Germany to be humiliated and pay back for her foolhardiness, whereas US acted mainly on her self-interest with an additional desire to see Europe and the rest of the world secure without being plagued by further wars. This intention is rather remote compared to self-gratification. After Second World War, Germany was no doubt treated badly, but was made to feel that she too is one of the European countries. Even though the persecution continued for a long time, other nations and US (mainly during Kennedy regime) were ready to forgive and forget the past. The self-interest of United States was acutely apparent in every demand, be it about European countries, territory of maintenance or military presence in Europe, it had shades of world welfare in it. At least it was presented so. In comparison, we can state that both countries needed to create a war free secure future and acted with that appreciable instinct and desire. France might have been a little undiplomatic, but we say that with the benefit of a long hindsight. US has fared better and built for herself and others a much better future, while keeping German resurrection under check, without depriving Germany much of her dignity.================= ESSAY: French demands after the First World War and the American demands after the Second World War have been compared and contrasted many times by historians. Even though French demands are known to be more aggressive and thoroughly vindictive, they had a short term affect, while the American demands after Second World War, solicitous to Europe, were well calculated and had a very long-term results. Perhaps eventually, it led to the formation of a European Union. United States of America, without Europe on its side, is a bit of loner, a kind of world bully. America and European countries have helped each other over the years. In both cases, Germany was victimised with good reasons, and with the hindsight, Germany has shaken off her past and is a confirmed democratic nation today. Europe was dominated by America and her demands after Second World War and later, some regions, by Soviet block. Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau rightly said, "Yes, we have won the war and not without difficulty; but now we are going to have to win the peace, and that will perhaps be even more difficult". Perhaps France, suffered more than any other country in Europe from the First World War and was determined not to put herself in such jeopardy again, and this resolve reflected in her demands after the world war. One look at the sacrifices made by France, her loss for no fault of hers, her sinking low in the ranks of world powers entirely due to war, no one could blame her for being vindictive or

Friday, August 23, 2019

Operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Operations management - Essay Example As a result of this, the company has now taken to more sustainable methods – it ships the scampi to Thailand, where it is hand peeled. This creates more job opportunities and the carbon dioxide emission in the shipping transport from Scotland to Thailand is the same as the machine co2 emissions. Thus, the company managed to successfully cut down at least one of the significant tradeoffs in its business. To remain competitive, Young’s Seafood has some strict criterion for order qualifiers and order winners so that it gets a higher edge in the market competition. Young’s seafood has been very focuses as result of which the order winners have become the order qualifiers for the company. As already stated above, the main order qualifiers for the company are faster and higher quality food with efficient services at low costs to the client. In order to achieve those order winners / qualifiers and gain an upper edge from its competitors, the company has done a number of changes in its operational chain and logistics. Better stock management, demand prediction, centralized distribution, order batching are some of the methods that were used by the management to convert itself into the main option for purchasing seafood in the market. Q3. Facility based services are those where the clients approach the company to utilize their services, while the field based services include those where the company sends its representatives to cater to clients. Young’s sea food originally started as a field based service where it used to only dispatch its food products to clients at the preferred destination. This required intelligent scheduling and dispatch management of products and representatives. At the same time, cost was... Facility based services are those where the clients approach the company to utilize their services, while the field based services include those where the company sends its representatives to cater to clients. Young’s sea food originally started as a field based service where it used to only dispatch its food products to clients at the preferred destination. This required intelligent scheduling and dispatch management of products and representatives. At the same time, cost was an overriding factor for the company. This also requires a mobile system that connects the delivery representative with the office. The mobile system reduces the paper work, manual errors, offers effective time management, however, it was not an option for the company when aiming to expand its services in the continent. Subsequently, the company has opened many outlets and restaurants ( facility services) where clients are served and can also buy the young’s seafood products. Youngs seafood has al so tied up with other retailers to keep its products and sell them. Also, this has helped in the brand building of the company in the market.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Relationships In A Time That This Novel Is Set Essay Example for Free

Relationships In A Time That This Novel Is Set Essay How does Steinbeck present ideas of relationships in a time that this novel is set? Steinbeck portrays a world dominated by authoritative white males. It is the attitude of this social structure that permeate ranch society and those who come from outside these expectations are inferior. Of Mice and Men describes the plight of which women, disabled people, black people and people with mental difficulties endure and suffer simply because they do not fit into the ideal category which we see whilst they interact with each other. Lennie’s brief interaction with Crooks reveals the complexity of racial prejudice during the ranch life. Like many of the men on the characters in the story, Crooks admits to being very lonely. â€Å"This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.† When Lennie visits him in his room, Crooks turns him away, in hope that he will prove a point that if a black man cannot enter a white man’s room then it is unacceptable for the reverse to occur. However, his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. In addition, he seems very suspicious of any kindness he receives. The fact that he doubts Lennie being kind to him refers to the strong racism on the ranch. Crooks is not sure how to react to Lennie and his instant reaction is for Lennie to leave. This outsider status causes him to lament his loneliness, but we can see the corrosive effects it has on him as he seems delighted in seeing loneliness in others. For example, he suggests that George is gone for good and it is not until Lennie threatens Crooks with physical violence does he relent. We cannot blame Crooks. On the other hand, this evokes sympathy as the origins of his cruel behaviour are made evident. We can infer that he is jealous and lonely that he wants to see someone else hurt just like he is. Curley and his wife have an unstable marriage, lacking in respect, compassion and communication. Curley believes that his wife is his posse ssion and shows her off to the other men. Throughout the novel we see Curley asking the other men where his wife is and likewise we see Curley’s wife looking for him. This could be a metaphor that although they are together they are still lonely. Their relationship is unhealthy as he manipulates and intimidates his wife. However, Curley seems very selfish and he did not seem to care for his wife. He used her for sex. Furthermore, the fact that she is referred to as â€Å"Curley’s wife† suggests that women did not have an identity. Curley is too protective over his wife as he knew she flirted with the other men and  Curley felt threatened, especially as she was the only woman on the ranch. There is not trust between them which is very unhealthy and not good. I think she enjoyed flirting because she felt isolated and lonely. Most of the ranch hands looked down upon her and thought she was a â€Å"slut.† This was the typical attitude towards women during this time period. They were seen as possessions of their husband. At the end of the novel, Steinbeck said that when she died, she was released and â€Å"discontent and the ache for attentions were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet.† When she was alive, she was wearing a mask and no one knew her true identify, as there was no one there to understand or get to know the real her but now she is dead, and the mask is off she looks better: â€Å"Her reddened lips made her seem alive.† Finally, in death, she could find the peace and calm that evaded her when she was alive in the harsh society. Ironically, her corpise is praised more in death than she was life. We begin to question Steinbeck’s intentions in giving us an unsympathetic view of this women and in women in general. Whenever she expresses her loneliness they are followed by acts of manipulation or violence. He seems to characterise women as trouble and they are â€Å"the downfall of man.† She is the catalyst of the drama which links to that point also. I don’t necessarily think that Steinbeck was sexist and is instead making a point about society’s sexism. She is the only character without a name, and even Crooks- who at that time was a member of a even more hated social group and if she talks to anyone â€Å"he gets mad.†

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cycles of Reflection in Nursing

Cycles of Reflection in Nursing Introduction Oelofsen (2012) defines reflective practice as the process in which an individual makes sense of situations, events and actions that occur in the workplace (Natius, 2012). In the light of nursing practice, the concept of reflection plays a critical role by enabling practitioners (nurses) to, competently manage the impactful and precarious nature of care giving (Natius, 2012). According to Keeling and Somerville (2004), reflective practice facilitates the understanding and development of self-awareness, inter-personal skills and also the ability to influence positive change in others (David June, 2004). These skills are key to nurses in mapping out the most appropriate action plans to take in any given situation. Comparative examination of four models of reflection as applied in the context of nursing Gibbs model of reflection is commonly employed in the Health profession because of its clarity and precision (Brock, 2014). It allows for easy description, analysis and evaluation of experiences and thus helps the reflective practitioner (nurse) to, clearly make sense of her experiences as well as examine her nursing practice (Holland Roberts, 2013). Unlike the Gibbs model, the other models, for example, Kolb’s model 1980 and Goodman model 1984 are relatively complex. These models require, to a greater extent, some degree of experience (McKee Eraut, 2012). The Kolb’s reflective model, for instance, is basically hinged on experiential learning that covers four stages (McKee Eraut, 2012). And since experienced nurses have enough experience, they can easily relate to the model and apply it in practice. Model that is best suited for nursing practice John’s model of reflection 1994 is best suited as a tool for the nursing profession. Its structured nature serves as a good platform for a complete assessment of the nursing practice (Rideout, 2001). The questions are excellent cues in prompting particular actions (Driscoll, 2007). This approach is also wholesome in the sense that it explores all the areas of the nursing practice. It examines the practitioner’s experiences, her reflection on the experiences, actions taken by the practitioner and impact of the actions on self (practitioner) and the patient (Mohanna et al., 2011). It also looks at the aspect of the academic sources that may have influenced the decisions made as well as the possible angles to how the situation could have been dealt with differently and how it can be handled in the future (Moon, 2013). Importance of the choice of framework of reflection in encouraging and supporting reflection A desirable framework of reflection is helpful to nurses as it provides a structured process that guides the act of reflecting (Jasper, 2003). The choice of a particular framework of reflection is important because students face different experiences, and so is the need for an appropriate framework to offer the necessary support and encouragement throughout their learning process (Schon, 2008). Critical analysis of all the four models with respect to what is good and bad about them The four models of reflection examined above, all have their strengths and weakness in their application. Below is a table summarizing their strengths and weaknesses. Reflective practice and its use to medical education The ability to reflect plays a critical role in medical education. Reflective practice enables learners in the medical field to clearly understand and develop self-awareness, interpersonal skills and analytical skills (Jack Mezirow, 2011). These skills will come in handy in practice as medical students will be able to handle people (patients) in frontline settings such as a hospital scenario. The importance of students developing a habit of assessing their own learning needs Through self-assessment with regard to learning needs, students are able to constantly identify areas of weakness and improve on them (Earl, 2004). The fact that students are actively engaged in the process serves as a motivation for them and subsequently translates to better outcomes (Bonnie Beyer, 2014). References

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Differences Between International Financial Reporting Standards Ifrs And Current U S Gaap Accounting Essay

The Differences Between International Financial Reporting Standards Ifrs And Current U S Gaap Accounting Essay The differences between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and current U.S. GAAP are numerous. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are principles-based Standards, Interpretations and the Framework (1989) adopted by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). IAS was issued between 1973 and 2001 by the Board of the International Accounting Standard Committee (IASC). On 1 April 2001, the new IASB took over from the IASC the responsibility for setting International Accounting Standards. During its first meeting the new Board adopted existing IAS and SICs. The IASB has continued to develop standards calling the new standards IFRS. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction which are generally known as Accounting Standards. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statement. U.S. GAAP and IFRS differ in key ways, including their fundamental premise. At the highest level, U.S. GAAP is more of a rules-based system, whereas IFRS is more principles-based. This distinction may prove more difficulty than it initially appears, because most accounting and finance professionals in the U.S. have been schooled in the rules of U.S. GAAP. The overriding lesson from their years of study and work is this: If you have an issue, look it up. Under U.S. GAAP, voluminous guidance attempts to address nearly every conceivable accounting problem that might arise. And if that guidance doesnt exist, it generally is created. On the other hand, IFRS is a far shorter volume of principles-based standards, and consequently requires more judgment than American accountants are accustomed to. Companies involved in the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas have the option of choosing between two accounting approaches: the successful efforts (SE) method and the full cost (FC) method. These differ in the treatment of specific operating expenses relating to the exploration of new oil and natural gas reserves. The balance sheet includes items that differ between International Financial Reporting Standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles will be addressed first. Balance sheet items include assets (inventory, property, plant and equipment), liabilities (accounts payable and other amounts owed) and equity (ownership interest, usually in the form of stock). Inventory is any item available for sale or used in the production of an item that will be sold. In valuing this inventory, GAAP allows for First-In-First-Out, Last-In-First-Out, Moving Average and Weighted Average. These are the four main methods used. IFRS does not allow the LIFO method. In times of increasing prices and costs, inventory profits may result from using and inventory valuation method other than LIFO. These inventory profits result in improved reported earnings, but because the inventory profits are taxed, they reduce a companys net cash flow. Depending on the system used, inventory values, profits and taxes can be affected. To give you some examples, the financial statements of a company using the LIFO approach as opposed to FIFO generally reflect: * Conservation profits, because LIFO buffers the effects of inflation. * Better matching of current costs with current revenue. * Lower liquidity, that is, a lower current ratio. * Lower equity position, that is, a higher debt-to-worth ratio. (Gibson) IFRS takes this one option away. In addition to this, IFRS required that the same formula be applied to all inventory of a similar nature. GAAP allows for different methods to be used. Asset retirement during the production of inventory is accounted for as a cost of the inventory using IFRS rules. Whereas, GAAP allows for it to be added to the carrying amount of the property, plant or equipment used to produce the inventory. With IFRS this cost will stay with the balance sheet. GAAP would move it to depreciation which lowers earnings but increases free cash flow. A write-down of an asset is reducing the book value if it is overstated compared to current market values. If a need arises to reverse a write-down, IFRS allows it and GAAP does not. GAAP does not allow the revaluation of property, plant and equipment. It uses historical cost. IFRS, on the other hand, allows either historical cost or revalued amount (fair value at date of revaluation less subsequent accumulated depreciation and impairment losses). The rules concerning residual value have some differences too. Residual value is the amount you expect to be able to sell a fixed asset for at the end of its useful life. IFRS calculates it as the current net selling price and it may be adjusted upwards or downwards. GAAP calculates it as the discounted present value and it may only be adjusted downward. Next, items such as depreciation and leases will be addressed. Since these items are expenses, they will affect the income statement. Depreciation is an expense that reduces the value of an asset as a result of wear and tear, age or obsolescence. IFRS requires more work when depreciating items. Depreciation of assets with differing patterns must be depreciated separately. This means that each item would have to be accounted for separately. GAAP allows this but it is not required. With GAAP, all the depreciation would be able to be grouped together and listed as a total requiring fewer entries. When capitalizing an asset, GAAP only allows interest. IFRS includes interest, certain ancillary costs and exchange differences that are regarded as an adjustment of interest. Being able to include these costs will increase the value of the asset and provide for more depreciation. Land and building leases is another topic where differences occur. IFRS considers land and building separately and GAAP considers them as a single unit unless land represents more than 25% of the total fair value. A couple of other items worth mentioning are contingent assets and extraordinary items. Contingent assets are assets in which the possibility of an economic benefit depends solely upon future events that cant be controlled by the company. Due to the uncertainty of the future events, these assets are not placed on the balance sheet. However, they can be found in the companys financial statement notes. These assets, which are often simply rights to a future potential claim, are based on past events. An example might be a potential settlement from a lawsuit. The company does not have enough certainty to place the settlement value on the balance sheet, so it can only talk about the potential in the notes. IFRS does not recognize contingent assets, GAAP does. Extraordinary items include the sale of the subsidiary or the payment of a lawsuit. Extraordinary items are a liability that is unusual or infrequent in its occurrence. IFRS prohibits extraordinary items and GAAP allows them. Although rare and infrequent, extraordinary items can be substantial and being able to include them can have an impact on your financial statements. As you may be able to tell, both have their advantages and disadvantages where compared to the other. There are some items in which benefits are drawn from IFRS and others that GAAP provides. There is an ongoing effort to address the differences and come to a consensus. At some point, the two different set of rules may be combined into one universal system. Works Cited Deloitte. IFRS and US GAAP: A Pocket Comparison. July 2008. IASplus.com. Gibson, S.C. LIFO vs FIFO: A Return to the Basics. Oct. 2008. The RMA Journal. Hughes, S.B. and Sander, J.F. A U.S. Managers Guide to Differences Between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. 2007. Management Accounting Quarterly. Kumar, S. Differences Between IFRSs and US GAAP. 26 July 2006. Caclubindia. PriceWaterhouseCoopers. IFRS and US GAAP: Similarities and Differences. Sept 2008. PWC.com. Inventory IFRS information on inventory can be found in IAS 2 and in Chapter 8 of the Wiley IFRS 2010 book. GAAP information on inventory can be found in ASC 330 and in Chapter 9 of the Wiley GAAP 2010 book. GAAP Definition (ASC 330-10-20): The aggregate of those items of tangible personal property that have any of the following characteristics: a.) held for sale in the ordinary course of business; b.) in process of production for such sale; c.) to be currently consumed in the production of goods or services to be available for sale. IFRS Definition (IAS 2): Items that are held for sale in the ordinary course of business; in the process of production for such sale; or in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in the production process or in the rendering of services. GAAP IFRS |Allowable costing methods include FIFO, average cost, and LIFO |Allowable costing methods include FIFO and the weighted-average | | |cost. LIFO costing is prohibited | |Presentation at lower of cost or market required |Presentation at lower of cost or net realizable required | |Only in rare instances (mining of gold, etc.) are presentation |Certain defined situations, including agricultural products, | |at fair value in excess of cost permitted |permit reporting at fair value in excess of actual cost | |Lower of cost or market adjustments cannot be reversed |Lower of cost or market adjustments must be reversed under | | |defined conditions | |Recognition in interim periods of inventory losses from market |Recognition in interim periods of inventory losses from market | |declines that reasonably can be expected to be restored in the |declines that reasonably can be expected to be restored in the | |fiscal year is not required |fiscal year is required | Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale (IAS 2). Presently, there are two sets of accounting standards accepted for international use U.S. GAAP and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). US GAAP or simply GAAP are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including publicly-traded and privately-held companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop GAAP within the United States in the publics interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) designated the FASB as the organization responsible for setting accounting standards for public companies in the U.S. On the other hand, the second set of accounting standard is IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), which is issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), based in London. Nearly 100 countries use it or coordinate their financial instruments. These countries or groups of countries include the European Union, Australia, and South Africa. While some countries require all companies to adhere to IFRS, others merely allow it, or try to coordinate its own countrys standards to be similar. The IASB is working toward this goal in a partnership with some of the most influential accounting standard-setters across the globe. The globalization of business and finance has led more than 12,000 companies in more than 100 countries to adopt IFRS. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been taking steps to set a date to allow U.S. public companies to use IFRS, and perhaps make its adoption mandatory. In fact, on November 14, 2008, the SEC released for public comment a proposed roadmap with a timeline and key milestones for adopting IFRS, beginning in 2014. IFRS website states that the convergence between IFRS and US GAAP brings some benefits. Growing interest in the global acceptance of a single set of robust accounting standards comes from all participants in the capital markets. Many multinational companies and national regulators and users support it because they believe that the use of common standards, in the preparation of public company financial statements, will make it easier to compare the financial results of reporting entities from different countries. They believe it will help investors better understand opportunities. Large public companies with subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions would be able to use one accounting language company-wide and present their financial statements in the same language as their competitors. Another benefit some believe is that in a truly global economy, financial professionals, including CPAs, will be more mobile, and companies will be able to easily respond to the human capital needs of their subsidiaries around the world. According to aicpa.com, the most important specific differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ IFRS does not permit Last In, First Out (LIFO) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ IFRS uses a single-step method for impairment write-downs rather than the two-step method used in U.S. GAAP, making write-downs more likely à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ IFRS has a different probability threshold and measurement objective for contingencies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ IFRS does not permit debt for which a covenant violation has occurred to be classified as non-current unless a lender waiver is obtained before the balance sheet date Based on my research, I have read from some SEC and AICPA critics and also individuals in favor of the introduction of IFRS in U.S. Most of common critics against the adoption of IFRS focus on similar areas. Remi Forgeas, a CPA states in article published in AICPA website his critics: The usual difference noted between GAAP and IFRS is that the former is rule-based whereas the latter is principle-based. This principle-based concept generates concerns that it will be more difficult for a preparer to defend its position in case of litigation. Another point for discussion is the risk to see the standard setter becoming less independent and/or that the U.S. having less control on their accounting standards. The cost and the duration of the transition are often presented as a major hurdle, especially in this difficult economic environment. The complexity of the transition and then its cost will depend for the most part upon the completion of the convergence. The convergence process is expected be completed in 2011. Assuming the SEC decides on 2015 for the year of transition, changes for companies should be less complex, since both standards will be converged. Finally, the last issue is the human factor: are the preparers, users, auditors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ experienced enough in IFRS? There is no doubt that specific training will be required to ensure IFRS are known by various categories of people dealing with IFRS. Focusing on the situation today is probably not the right approach: true there is today a lack in knowledge, but the situation is evolving rapidly. People favoring the introduction of IFRS in the U.S. states that the harmonization of financial reporting around the world will help raise the confidence of investors, generally, in the information they are using to make their decisions and assess their risks. The opposite is perhaps the clearer case. If accounting for the same events and information produces radically different reported numbers, depending on the system of standards that are being used, then it is self-evident that accounting will be increasingly discredited in the eyes of those using the numbers. For those companies with joint listings in both America and another country, there should be substantial savings, particularly in terms of preparation costs. Avoiding the burdensome U.S. GAAP reconciliation statement, required at present, would be a worthwhile prize. The good reasons why convergence with the U.S. should be pursued has been noted. There is, however, a downside to all of this for IFRS many people also believe that U.S. GAAP is the gold standard, and something will be lost with the full acceptance of IFRS. Other disadvantages are as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Extra costs in the preparation of financial statements by all IFRS companies implementing new requirements and restating previously reported numbers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Changes have to be communicated and understood by all of those involved in preparing the accounts, auditing them and using them. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Translations of the amended standards are required for the many languages in which IFRS are applicable. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The changes have to be approved by the various national endorsement authorities and often incorporated into their legal systems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continuous piecemeal changes undermine the reputation of IFRS. Some might justifiably ask why high quality standards need such frequent amendments. WORKS CITED AICPA IFRS Resources ifrs.com December 11, 2010. Web Accounting Standard Codification fasb.org December 11, 2010. Web Epstein, Barry. Nach, Ralph and Bragg, Steven GAAP 2010. New Jersey: Wiley, 2009. Print. United States Accounting Standards vs International Accounting Standards June 21, 2009 Introduction This research project will inform the reader of the difference between the United States accounting standards and International accounting standards. The United States uses the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to issue financial reporting procedures. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). There are proposals for the United States to adopt the International standards. Financial reporting procedures are debated about the United States using the Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP) or following the global procedures. This project will also examine, compare, and contrast this debate. Discussion of Topic In an article by Heidi Tribunella (2009), U.S. GAAP is considered rules based. Rules-based accounting standards, on the other hand, give strict rules that must be adhered to in order to properly account for particular transactions. For example, lease accounting in the United States gives four criteria for determining if a lease is a capital lease. If a lease contains any of the following, then it is considered a capital lease and must be accounted for as such: 1 ) a bargain purchase option; 2) ownership transfers at the end of the lease; 3) minimum lease payments with a present value of at least 90% of the FMV of the asset; or 4) a lease length of at least 75% of the economic life of the asset. This is an example of very specific rules for accounting for leases (Tribunella, 2009). Tribunella (2009) goes on to explain International accounting standards, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which was created in 200l. Previously, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), founded in 1973, issued International Accounting Standards (IAS). When the IASB was created, it adopted the IAS and continued the work of the IASC (Tribunella, 2009). Gary K. Meek and Wayne B. Thomas (2004) explain the influence of the IASB on the global reporting standards including the U.S. GAAP. In 2000, the International Organization of Securities Commissioners (IOSCO), of which the SEC is a member, recommended to member countries that IASC standards be used in cross-border offerings and listings. The enforcement of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by exchange regulators will be crucial to the eventual acceptance of the IFRS around the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In October2002, the IASB and the Financial Standards Accounting Board (FASB) issued a memorandum of understanding, which formally stated their commitment to the convergence of IFRS and U.S. GAAP (Meek and Wayne, 2004). Jose Marrero and Thomas Brinker (2007) explain the efforts of the IASB and the FASB to merge their practices. Over the last two decades, research indicates that developing a framework of global accounting standards favors the recognition of culture. Cultural differences will impact a nations final consensus regarding accounting standards. However, after years of discussion, a solution to the dilemma of merging culture or international cultures and accounting standards has yet to be found. Currently, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the FASB are working on a principle-based framework for global financial reporting standards the cooperation of both the IASB and FASB will yield a uniform body of accounting standards allowing financial and investment advisers to view global investment opportunities on a more level playing fieldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Marrero and Brinker, 2007). They also point out why certain business owners may not want to follow global practices, Further, business owners are unwilling to abandon their localized business practices to appease the accounting standards imposed on the multinational companies, much less their bookkeeping and financi al reporting standards to the jurisdiction of a U.S.-dominated accounting standard board (Marrero Brinker, 2009). David Bogoslaw (2008) talks about the convergence in further detail, The uproar over fair value accounting practices, which some critics have blamed for the depths of the global financial crisis, threatens to sink a long-sought move by countries around the world toward a single set of international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been working with Londons International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) since 2002 toward what accounting professionals call convergence. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to announce its road map for conversion sometime this month, which will probably include early adoption in 2010 for about 110 of the largest U.S. companies with business operations throughout the world. The key difference between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IFRS is that U.S. standards are based on explicit rules while the international standards reliance on principles gives companies more room to use their judgment in deciding how to recognize r evenue and other key metrics. Adoption of IFRS would also probably trigger a big tax hike for U.S. companies, which would no longer be able to use the last-in-first-out [LIFO] inventory accounting method, which doesnt exist under the international standards. The LIFO method assumes that goods purchased most recently are sold first and that the remaining items have been purchased at earlier periods, yielding a lower gross profit during high-inflation periods than the first-in-first-out accounting method (Bogoslaw, 2008). The main debate over switching accounting practices is further explained by Bogoslaw (2008) by stating, The debate over switching to accounting standards based on something less explicit than rules comes down to questions about whether the less explicit standard will provide adequate protection against lawsuits, says James Leisenring, director of technical activities in research at the FASB. You cant understand the debate about gratuitous vs. obligatory guidance (within IFRS) until you understand the litigation system in the U.S., where companies are more concerned about getting sued than in other parts of the world, he says. What its really about is safe harbors. What (IFRS skeptics) really want to know is if I do it in a particular way, am I home free or not? The explicit rules under GAAP may appear to offer safety, but the downside is there are so many of them that the odds of missing one or two are greater, he says. From Leisenrings perspective, the big accounting firms that are drawn to IFRS believe theyll get sued less since it will be harder to point to their mistakes. White agr ees that some companies like the freedom allowed under IFRS to interpret standards to suit their convenience, which undercuts auditors ability to prohibit certain accounting choices (Bogoslaw, 2008). Bogoslaw (2008) explains two sides of the criticism this switch has been receiving. Many are for it, but some are against it. The most strident critics of migration to IFRS argue that the primary goal of the SEC and U.S. Treasury Dept. is attracting capital to U.S. markets, rather than ensuring that the highest quality accounting standards prevail. While attracting more capital to the U.S. is a valid business objective, its not clear we can do that by going to international financial reporting standards, says Ashwinpaul Sondhi, president of A.C. Sondhi Associates in Maplewood, N.J., who has served on CFA Institute committees. Paul Miller, a professor of accounting at the University of Colorado, would prefer to have competing standards, since the only standards all countries would be able to agree on would be very weak ones. He also believes a unified set of standards, rather than being helpful, would stifle much-needed innovation given that most of the existing accounting standards are more than 60 years old (Bogoslaw, 2008). Adam Pieniazek (2007) wrote in a research paper about the comparison and contrast of U.S. GAAP and International Accounting standards, Due to the uncertainty of what the future American accounting standard will be, individuals and organizations in the US, would rather have the FASB pick one of the options and declare that it will stick with it, rather than debate for eons over the positive and negative aspects of the principles and rules based approach. As many prominent countries are already using the International Financial Reporting Standards, the representatives of American accounting must act now to align us with the IFRS; otherwise we face potentially being shut out from the formation process of these standards which will affect all international companies. The FASBs cooperative work with the IASC will result in a true Global GAAP; once the IFRS is aligned with the U.S. GAAP system, the American companies will issue statements according to the IFRS, as the SEC has declared that it will remove the reconciliation requirement once it is satisfied that IFRS are of a sufficient standard. The completion of convergen ce will be a boost to the global economy, and inherently, all underlying economies, as it will standardize the practice of accounting, allowing more work to go into principles and theory research, and increase the pool of available and applicable accountants. No longer will investors have to reconcile financial statements to an accounting style they are familiar with and neither will accountants have to prepare statements differently in various countries (Pieniazek, 2007). Conclusion United States Accounting Standards and International Accounting Standards are two different practices in financial reporting, that come from different bases. These two practices are being worked on to converge and use a Global accounting standard. This convergence is creating much criticism. There are many countries that are currently using the International standards, and many more are starting to join. The FASB and IASC are working together to converge by 2010. This convergence will also make it easier for accounts to prepare financial statements reporting United States and International transactions.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Animal Farm : Comparison Between Movie and Book :: compare contrast

Like all books, Animal Farm the book, is different from Animal Farm the movie. One of the reasons is the characters. Some of the characters that were in the book were not in the movie. Those were characters like Mr. Whymper, Clover, and Mollie. In the movie, Jessie, the dog that was only mentioned in the first chapter, replaced Clover. Jessie narrated the story, was the main character, and was in the story the entire time. Some of the events that were in the book were not shown or did not happen in the movie. These were events like the bank note forgeries and some of the things that Squealer said to them like how he convinced them to let the pigs use the apples and milk in their mash. They did not even mention this event in the story. Other things that they did not even mention in the movie were the Sunday meetings and something they didn’t mention in the book was Napoleon’s addiction to whiskey. One of the main events in the book that was not shown in the movie was the battle where Boxer split his hoof. The only two battles that happened were the Rebellion and the Battle of Cowshed. One event that happened in the movie that did not happen in the book was when Squealer took Mr. Jones’s camera equipment and used it to speak to the animals. Another different thing about the story was when the events took place. They showed the pigs walking on their hind legs after they showed when Jessie couldn’t tell the difference between the humans and the pigs. One of the last things that were different about the movie was the ending. It didn’t end with Jessie not being able to tell the difference between the humans and the pigs. After that, Jessie took Benjamin and a few other animals with her to escape. They came back a few years later after Napoleon died. The farm’s new owners were coming and Jessie and

The Scarlett Letter :: The Scarlett Letter

The Scarlett Letter The story opens with Hester Prynne standing silently on the scaffold in the middle of a town square in 18th century Boston. Hester, holding her small child in her arms, is publicly on trial for adultery. The town people, especially the women, are not happy that Hester has been sentenced only to wear a scarlet letter and to stand on a public platform for a few hours of public humiliation. However, the judge has decided to be merciful to her because, over all, she has been a good citizen up to this point. Even after hours of questioning by the authorities, Hester still will not reveal the name of the man who committed adultery with her. The father of her child, Arthur Dimmesdale, a respected minister, feels horrible to see her in this situation, but stands by in the crowd and says nothing. Eventually, he even joins in asking her to reveal the father's name. In a way he hopes she will confess and relieve him of his guilt. Suddenly, Hester recognizes her husband in the crowd surrounding the scaffold. When he realizes that she is on trial for committing adultery he promises himself that he will find the father and make sure that he is also punished. Two years before her trial, Hester arrived in a Boston harbor from Amsterdam, and she is married to an icy scholar, going by the alias Chillingworth, who is much older than she is. He had sent her alone to New England with plans to follow behind much later even though they were newly married at the time. Since then, two years have gone by and he has not even written her a letter. Hester believed that he must have gone down in a shipwreck. Later, when Chillingworth is allowed into her jail cell as a physician, he pressures her to give up the father's name and she refuses to give in to him. In response, she is ordered never to tell anyone who Chillingworth really is and she promises him that she will not. The next day, she is released from the prison, and she and her baby daughter, Pearl, are moved to a small, isolated cottage in the woods just outside of town. She manages to make the money that she needs to survive by sewing clothes for the people from town. Against puritan tradition, she also sews brightly colored, extravagant looking dresses for Pearl.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Devils Arithmetic - Relationships Essay -- Jane Yolen

The Devil’s Arithmetic is written by Jane Yolen. The story’s main character is Hannah. Hannah is a thirteen year old girl who is unappreciative of her family and everything they do for her. During a Seder dinner, Hannah is transported back in time to rural Poland in 1942. In this time Hannah becomes Chaya. During a wedding procession, she is captured and taken to a concentration camp. In the camp Hannah experienced different kinds of family structures. Some of the family structures Hannah experienced in the camp were with her immediate family, her friendships, and with other strangers. During her time as Chaya, Hannah was involved in many family structures. One of which is with her immediate family. She witnessed self sacrifice of herself and the others around her. While getting ready for her Uncle Shmuel’s wedding, she received two blue ribbons. Her Aunt Gitl gave her a blue dress, and to go with the dress she gave Hannah a pair of blue ribbons, which she had been saving for her wedding night. â€Å"These I was saving for my wedding night-about which you know so much,† (pg. 6) Gitl sacr...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Interwest Healthcare Essay

What are the potential sources of the problem? The source of these problems seems to be coming from two areas in Interwest Healthcare. The first area is the miscommunication that the hospital administrators are having with upper management. The hospital administrators and upper management are not only having miscommunication issues but they also do not share the same role expectations with each other which is creating tension. â€Å"The hospital people accused Singh of being a bureaucrat who did not care about patient services. Singh accused the hospital staffs of not understanding the importance of accurate reporting† (Brickley, Smith & Zimmerman 2009 p. 38). The second area is the system or process that is in place for recording and entering data. The current process is clearly not running at an efficient rate which is raising concerns for upper management. Even though hospital administrators do not see to eye to eye with upper management the concerns that they have are valid and can have a very negative impact on Interwest Healthcare if the issue is not resolved. What information would you want to analyze? The first information that would be analyzed is the process that is done to record and enter data for patients. It is important to gain as much information as possible regarding the data entry because that is the root of the whole issue between hospital administrators and upper management. Another area that would be analyzed is the workplace with emphasis on how time is managed and the importance employees put on data entry. It is important to gather and analyze as much information as possible on the source of the problem. By gaining and analyzing the information it would help Interwest Healthcare make progress on the data entry issue which will put them in a better position to succeed. What actions might you recommend to increase the accuracy of the data entry? The first point of action would be streamlining and simplifying the data entry process. By completing those it would not only increase the accuracy of the data entry but it would also decrease the burden on the hospital administrators. But before any changes to the data entry process are made it is important to communicate directly to the hospital administrators. It is important to have the hospital administrators on board with the changes that will be made with the data entry process. By gaining the hospital administrators consent with the changes this will allow a smoother transition for the data entry change and it could provide a positive change to the workplace. As for the changes to the data entry it would most likely be a simple computer process along with small piece of paperwork. It would be best to have some sort or paper record on file that would need to be alphabetized along with a simple computer program. The computer program would help ensure accuracy and would have the patient’s data record on file which will be easy to locate. There would be very little paper work for the process mainly because it takes up space and takes more time to record. The paper work that is part of the process would simply serve as a backup if the computers were down. The key to ensuring accuracy with the data entry is to make the process as simple as possible so it would minimize the errors. How does your view of behavior affect how you might address the consulting assignment? As a consulting assignment I see Interwest Healthcare as a company in distress due to the way the hospital administrators and upper management. The way the two groups have been behaving and treating each other it is a clear sign of stress and miscommunication. One of the first tasks is to mediate the two groups and try to have everyone on the same page. There is a clear disconnect on the expectations of each other’s roles but by bringing them together the roles and expectations can be made by both parties and progress can be accomplished. In order to make progress both parties will need to be able to compromise and be willing to understand each other’s concerns and priorities. Refreneces : Brickley, J.A., Smith, C.W. & Zimmerman J.L. (2009). Managerial economics and organizational architecture (5th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irw

Friday, August 16, 2019

Meaning of Life and Ordinary Person Essay

I cannot sum up my philosophy with one broad term. I will discuss my philosophies but they all connect based on my main philosophy. My main philosophy is that hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny. Ordinary people from the past that endured through hardships, such as Anne Frank, Martin Luther K. Jr. and Caesar Chavez, had an extraordinary destiny. I am not comparing myself to these magnificent individuals, but they are a source of encouragement for an ordinary person like me. I felt in my heart that everything happens for a reason. There is no way that my life should have or could have turned out like this. My belief was solidified and my faith strengthened, when I became a mentor to the Women at La Casita Rehabilitation Center. I am perfect for this volunteer service! My experiences enable me to care so deeply and empathize with these women in recovery. I find meaning in this work. There is no monetary gain. It’s the intrinsic feeling I get when I see a woman get her 30 day, 60 day, 90day and 1year sobriety chip. This service provides me with gratitude for my recovery and humility. I was that woman, maybe not exactly, but the feelings were very similar. Another aspect of my philosophy of life is; life is not about finding yourself but creating yourself. I have developed my philosophy of life based on my experiences in life and made a decision to re-create myself. I am a fervent believer that you can become whoever you want to be in this life. We should not take life for granted because it is a gift and tomorrow is not promised to anyone. If you don’t like your circumstances, it is okay to change them. There are some things we have no control over, but for the things we can control, we have the power and responsibility to change it. If not, stop complaining and adjust to the situation. However, if we simply sit there and wait for things to change, it probably will not change. Or the situation may become worse over time. In the interim we will be missing out on the joys and blessings of life. At least this has been my experience.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Marcus Ang Is A Member From The Field Sales Section Essay

Marcus Ang is a member from the field sales section. His sales performance in the recent months has been below target in contrast to his outstanding sales in the past years. Marcus blames it on the poor economic situation, however the other sales staff seem to able meet their target. How should Madam May May attribute Marcus’s performance? First of all, Madam May May has to know about what happened to Marcus. What causes him to blame the poor economic situation while the other sales staff still be able to meet their target. As we learn from the organization behavior, we know that employee’s behavior will affect the performance of an organization. According to Fritz Heider and H.H. Kelly, they stated that people’s behavior is affected by internal and external factors. On the other hand, Kelley’s attribution theory refers to three types of factors which are distinctiveness, consensus and consistency. Distinctiveness is about whether the subordinate’s behavior occur during the performance of this task only? Next, consensus is like whether this behavior unusual for the subordinate’s peers? Then, consistency is about if this behavior unusual for the subordinate in other situations? In this situation, Madam May May should first consider about the factor of consensus. As Marcus cannot be able to hit the target while other are able to reach their target. Next Madam May May should consider about locus of control dimension, which mean whether the primary cause of the behavior is a characteristic of the subordinate, or a characteristic of the situation. Second ,stability dimension whether the subordinate is likely to remain stable or unstable? The crossing of the locus of control and stability dimensions produces four casual factor that a leader can utilize to explain a subordinate’s behavior, ability , task difficulty , luck ,chance, effort.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Home Depot Essay

Today’s market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all vying for consumer’s loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be successful. Strategies are carefully planned and executed to gain the ultimate goal of all: company growth. However, external factors are not the only elements which influence growth. Today most companies find that it impossible to create any kind of sustainable competitive advantage based on product alone. It is common knowledge that every one of the successful companies sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create a customer-centered competitive advantage. Along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before. In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centered. Hence, in order to bring out exceptional customer services within the company operations, the management should employ fine-tuned organizational restructuring. Moreover, employing proactive customer commitment involves the consideration on culture and infrastructure (Lowenstein, 1997). Organizations that capitalize on customers’ active participation in organizational activities can gain competitive advantage through greater sales volume, enhanced operating efficiencies, positive word-of-mouth publicity, reduced marketing expenses, and enhanced customer loyalty (Lovelock & Young, 1979; Reichheld & Sasser, 1990). Rather than going after every potential source of revenue, companies eliminate useless assets that do not add value for customers’ satisfaction. Business organizations implement bureaucratic policies and procedures for the benefit of the staff, customers and the company in general. According to Bowers, Martin & Luker (1990), if consumers somehow become better customers — that is, more knowledgeable, participative, or productive — the quality of the service experience will likely be enhanced for the customer and the organization. Company Profile The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retailer and second largest retailer in the United States. From one store to $73. 1 Billion in sales, Home Depot has come a long way in a short time. This organization is very familiar to this writer as he was employed here for a few years after leaving the Marine Corps and was his first civilian job. Home Depot stands out more than many organizations that this writer has worked for because it was his first civilian organization and many adjustments had to be made. The company distributes everyday jobs to participants and creates rules, policies, measures, and hierarchical organizational charts to organize various actions. Home Depot ought to continually amend their structures to become accustomed to the atmosphere shifts, technology changes, organizational grow, and leadership changes. Furthermore, structure is also a means to high-performing teams. Mindful awareness to structure and roles in teams will make the team much more successful. When it comes to leadership, structural leadership contributes a critical role in shaping organizations. It can be influential and stable, even though it is more restrained and less heroic leadership compared on other frames. Structural Change In the traditional supply chain management used by businesses that import materials for production, a lot of people, time and money are invested upon to ensure that the demands of the manufacturers will be handled in the specified date and time required. Before being able to place an order of shipment of raw materials, several transactions are consulted between the supplier and the manufacturer that eats up their valued time. The supply flow normally includes the intention of order, quotation, confirmation, delivery, payment and handling of receipts. Great amount of time is consumed in the mere planning of the purchase orders of a manufacturing company. And since most of the time the transactions involve not only a single supplier, especially in the case of huge international producers, manufacturers deal with sub-suppliers with several forwarders from which a number of consolidations are exchanged. The workload and time that the inventory managers handle defines the proceeding business processes that will follow that predicts and maintains the success and profit of the whole business organization. That is why, efficiency counts! The best suppliers continuously update and upgrade their service deliveries in order to answer the demands of their customers. Customers have the ever-increasing demand on getting their hands into the products which can lead to change in supplier if expectations are not met. This is the reason why suppliers who are also industry leaders trend toward more reliable delivery services across their customers. However, problems of delivery are usually attended by most companies through with either quick fixes that do not work or complete and comprehensive designs that take too long and are expensive. The Implemented Plan of Changes Customer Satisfaction Along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before. In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centred. Rethinking and reformulating the organization on the other hand, entail the consideration of several factors such as various processes, technology, the environment as well as the success factors of people (Cohen and Moore, 2000). Hence, in order to bring out exceptional customer services within the company operations, the management should employ fine-tuned organizational restructuring. Moreover, employing proactive customer commitment involves the consideration on culture and infrastructure (Lowenstein, 1997). Online Marketing The tremendous growth of technological advancement has become the driving force of contemporary industries. The diffusion of the internet has revolutionized the business arena. The use of the Internet is changing high-tech marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It has not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services, but it has also become an effective instrument in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Appelbaum et sl, 1998). E-marketing is a powerful tool used by different business organizations around the world. It is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology. Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss’ mnemonic for how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics. These 5S’s are selling, serve, speak, save and sizzle. E-marketing is also known to be the online marketing strategy utilized by different company whose objective is to be the best company in their field. In various countries worldwide, more and more business firms have been using e-marketing strategy in order to be competitive. From books, foods and beverages, automobiles and other products and services, various firms, irregardless of their company sizes, are trying to survive by means of e-marketing strategy. Aside from being a promotional medium, the internet is a tool for marketing communications as well. Due to its interactive nature, the internet is an efficient method used in communicating with the consumers. Hence, several companies are beginning to realize the advantages of using the internet as a tool for communication. Companies then started to concentrate on designing web-related strategies and employing interactive agencies that will facilitate their development of specific company web sites as part of their integrated marketing communication strategy. There are companies however, that are effectively using the internet by incorporating their web-related strategies with the other areas of their IMC strategies. The approach now becomes integrated and more strategic. On-line marketing is considered to be the most expensive yet seems to be the most comprehensive marketing strategy that every company wants to implement and apply. At present, people, particularly those in the business arena, tend to engage themselves within the trend of rapidly growing technology so as to stay competitive. Upon surfing the internet, various companies have put up their official sites online for customers and potential consumers to view. Online or e-marketing is the latest marketing approach for any firm who wants to effectively market its products and services. In addition, e-marketing enables the company to be known worldwide since more and more people are able to access information derived from the internet. Within the business world, where competition is strict, internet marketing is one essential marketing strategy applied by most industries. Service Delivery Service intangibility means that services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before they are bought. For example, people undergoing cosmetic surgery cannot see the result before purchase. Airline passengers have nothing but a ticket and a promise that their luggage will arrive safely at the intended destination, hopefully at the same time. They draw conclusions about the quality from the place, people, price, equipment, and communications that they can see. Therefore, the service provider’s task is to make the service tangible in one or more ways. Although there are also times when product marketers try to add intangible offers, service managers try to add tangibles to their intangible offers. Physical goods are produced, then stored, later sold, and still later consumed. In contrast, services are first sold, then produced and consumed at the same time. Service inseparability means the services cannot be separated from their providers, whether the providers are people or machines. If a service employee provides the service, then the employee is part of the service. Because the customer is also present as the service is produced, provider-customer interaction is a special feature of service marketing. Both the provider and the customer affect the service outcome. Service variability means the quality of services depends on whom provides them as well as when, where, and how they are provided. For example, some hotels – say, Marriot have reputations for providing better service than others. Still, within a given Marriot hotel, one registration-desk employee maybe cheerful and efficient, whereas another standing just a few feet away maybe unpleasant and slow. Even the quality of a single Marriot employee’s service varies according to his or her energy and frame of mind at the time of each customer encounter. Service perishability means that services cannot be stored for later sale or use. Some doctors charge patients for missed appointments because the service value existed only at that point and disappeared when the patient did not show up. The perishability of services is not a problem when the demand is steady. However, when demand fluctuates, service firms often have difficult problems. For example, because of rush-hour demand, public transportation companies have to own much more equipment than they would if demand were even throughout the day. Thus, service firms often design strategies for producing a better match between demand and supply. For instance, hotels and resorts charge lower prices in the off-season to attract more guests. Restaurants hire part-time employees to serve during peak periods.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Marsden Threatened Rob Jr. with Being Thrown to Hell Research Paper

Marsden Threatened Rob Jr. with Being Thrown to Hell - Research Paper Example The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress has three elements: outrageous conduct by the tortfeasor; conduct that causes severe mental anguish in the victim and; the mental anguish suffered by the victim because of such behavior. On the other hand, reckless infliction of emotional distress shares all the other elements as the intentional type except that there was no intent to cause the distress (Buckley 130). The element of â€Å"outrageous conduct† refers to behavior that is so outlandish or highly offensive as to result in the emotional distress of the victim. An example would be the case of Clifford v Hollander 6 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2201 (NY Civ CT 1980) where the defendant published a picture in a pornographic magazine and deliberately incorrectly identified it as the plaintiff, who was a freelance journalist. As a result, the plaintiff received obscene telephone calls from obviously disturbed individuals. In another case, Martin v Municipal Publications, 510 F. Supp. 255, 259 (ED Pa 1981), the defendant published a picture which he labeled as â€Å"closet transvestites who got stinking drunk.† In both cases, the court ruled that the actions of the defendants can be classified as â€Å"outrageous.† It is also important that in intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiff should be able to prove that the conduct of the defendant was intentional and that he so behaved deliberately so as to cause mental anguish on the victim. In some cases, this element came into conflict with the First Amendment â€Å"freedom of speech† as what happened in the celebrated case of Hustler Magazine v Falwell 485 US 46 (1988), where a Protestant Minister brought an action against Hustler Magazine, which, as a parody, featured him as having an incestuous rendezvous with his mother in an outhouse. The Court turned down the plaintiff’s  argument on the ground that he was a public figure and therefore as such may not sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress unless he can prove its falsity or that it was done in reckless disregard for the truth.

Homework Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Homework - Research Paper Example focus on standardizing the models that they use in carrying out their businesses and dedicate the needs of the IT system leading to a better performance. The institution should also consider the major forces that affect its profitability and align the IT system with the most current business practices that in carries. The top management of the institution should channel its efforts on prioritizing for equal resource allocations, while on the other hand the I/C management puts its focus on making an IT system that works following the guidelines of the company’s top management. On the level of service, the focus should be placed on the basic needs of the target customers and the IT performance should be based on the doctors of Peachtree new system design that brings about reliability without squashing doctors independence (Too far ahead of the curve? 2007). Again, the institution can use a service level alignment to ensure that all their external and internal domains align, maintain the quality of the care that they provide, their greatest assets and all the doctors to receive and play a part in the implementation process. To retain the doctors flexibility in decision-making, there should be an introduction of an IT system that is in a position to allow for surgical standardization. The institution should provide a user-friendly system for doctors by placing its focus on extreme system simplicity while at the same time maintaining the care quality for their businesses. Using pre-built SOA modules when possible and at the same time, basing all the modules will improve the communication and the interface between the doctors and the management in each module (‘too far ahead of the curve? 2007). Peachtree can also focus on purchasing custom- built services and channel its energies on those modules that pertain only to their business. As per this reason, it is imperative to come up with the strategic partnership to implement, operate and update a standardized

Monday, August 12, 2019

Emotional Intelligence and Employee Productivity Essay

Emotional Intelligence and Employee Productivity - Essay Example Scientific literature is filled with innumerable definitions and descriptive models of the term at hand; however, the ability and trait EI models are the most widely recognized to be the pertinently valid models of emotional intelligence measurement and description. There has been considerable chatter on the notion that whether emotional intelligence is indeed real or is it merely a subsection of the basic human intelligence; and if it has additional applicability over the conventional Intelligence Quotient and the major five personality facets. (Kluemper 2008, 8) This puts forward another question i.e. how can emotional intelligence be measured which would help us decide that who is more emotionally intelligent? Researchers came up with two basic modeled EQ tests. One of them is called the ability-based measure of EQ and test taker goes through maximal conditions whereas the self-report measure is conducted in ordinary conditions. The first model that will be discussed is commonly k nown amongst literary circles as the ability-based model. This model incorporates emotions in the simplex as the appropriate avenues of information that help the test taker understand as well as properly traverse through the social society that they find themselves in; either in the workplace or at school or even at home. The basic proposition constitutes that every individual varies from one another in their ability to understand and compute information in an emotional genre as well as connect the emotional procession of information with their overall intellect and understanding. This attitude is seen in a certain set of behavioral traits and actions. Salovey and Mayer divide emotional intelligence abilities into four areas -- in their four branch model: (Mayer et al 1997, 4) The ability to correctly preempt emotions. The ability to utilize emotions for assisting the thinking process. The ability to understand emotional connotations. The ability to manage emotions.