Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 A Condition That Results From...

Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 is a condition that results from the autoimmune destruction of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. This type of Diabetes Mellitus accounts for about 5% of cases of diabetes. It affects males and females equally, and is usually diagnosed under the age of twenty. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when I was eleven. I had been experiencing the common symptoms of extreme thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, and sugar cravings for a few weeks. I was taken to see a family doctor who diagnosed me with mononucleosis, and recommended I take a vitamin C supplement. Just over 24 hours later, I was experiencing hallucinations and loss of consciousness, and I was rushed to the emergency room with a blood glucose level of over 800mg/dL. Diabetes has since been an important part of my life, and I have found that by committing to â€Å"eating clean†, exercising regularly, and monitoring my blood glucose and insulin levels closely, I am able to keep my A1C at 6.0%. I am hoping to obtain a deeper understanding about the onset of type 1 diabetes. Although the cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, a number of explanatory theories have been put forward, including genetic susceptibility, a diabetogenic trigger, and/or exposure to an antigen. The largest contribution to the pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes comes from a single locus called IDDM1 comes from several genes located in the Major histocompatibility complex on the 6p21.3 chromosome. This is believedShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Diabetes Mellitus On The Body And Its Functioning1020 Words   |  5 PagesDiabetes Age, percentages brief explanation symptoms Risk and environmental factors, different types rate per†¦. graphs and tables explain the figures, reasons for increases and decreases Diabetes mellitus is an inherited and/or acquired endocrine metabolic disease distinguished by high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) which occurs as a result of insufficient insulin levels and/or resistance to its actions in the body. It is diagnosed by determining the fasting or random blood-glucose concentrationRead MoreThe Clinical Manifestations And Pathophysiology Of Type 1 Diabetes1404 Words   |  6 Pagesclinical scenario of Ava, and comprehensively discuss the conditions she has been diagnosed with in regards to negative feedback loops, the clinical manifestations and pathophysiology of type 1 Diabetes, an understanding of autoimmunity and how Grave’s disease identifies as autoimmune in nature, and how it also presents in Serum laboratory testing. Ava is a 15-year-old girl that has presented to hospital with a history of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Grave’s disease. She has been unwell for 3 days withRead MoreTypes And Types Of Diabetes Essay1796 Words   |  8 PagesTypes of Diabetes Type 1 diabetes: Type 1 diabetes mellitus is characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas leading to insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetes : Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin resistance which may be combined with relatively reduced insulin secretion. The defective responsiveness of body tissues to insulin is believed to involve the insulin receptor. Gestational diabetes: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)Read MoreDiabetes Is A Chronic Disease1450 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction Diabetes (Diabetes mellitus) is a chronic disease caused by number of reasons. Diabetic patient characterized by hyperglycemia (high blood in sugar) resulting from defect of insulin secretion (Mellitus, 2005). World Health Organization (2008) defined the Diabetes untreated disease, known by chronic rise of the concentration of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Glucose is major source of energy in our body, food is convert to fats, protein, and carbohydrate. Carbohydrate when eat, convertRead MoreDiabetes : The Common Metabolic Disorder1298 Words   |  6 PagesDiabetes Diabetes is defined as a serious disease in which the body cannot properly control the amount of sugar in your blood because it does not have enough insulin. (Merriam-Webster, 2016) It is the most common metabolic disorder out of various lifestyle diseases, and it is associated with many complications. The condition forms because of peculiarities in metabolism of carbohydrates and insulin integration. Diabetes is a chronic health disease, as it affects millions of Americans and increasesRead MoreDiabetes : The Common Chronic Disorders1737 Words   |  7 PagesINTRODUCTION: Diabetes is one of the most common chronic disorders in UK [1]. According to Silverman, more than 2.6 million people in UK are diabetic as according to data collected from GP practices and more than 5 million obese people are registered to GP practices. So One in ten people are getting treatment for obesity and one in 20 are getting treatment for diabetes [2]. It is estimated that more than 5% men and more than 4% women in England are found to have diagnosed diabetes. While, 3% menRead MoreType 1 Diabetes Mellitus ( Iddm ) Essay1599 Words   |  7 PagesType 1 Diabetes Mellitus, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is destroys pancreatic beta-cells, leading to partial or total loss of insulin production (Merger, et al 170). The exact cause is not known, but the destruction is triggered as an autoimmune response which could be due to the stressors from environment and genetics (Merger, et al 170). â€Å"Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which there is n o cure, nor prevention at the current time† (Merger, et al 170). MostRead MoreWhy Type I Diabetes Mellitus2475 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases which affect the amount of glucose in the blood. The high blood glucose levels are caused by the body not being able to produce enough insulin to meet its metabolic needs. Insulin is a hormone released from the pancreas which controls the amount of glucose in the blood. When there is too much glucose in the blood insulin will be released which will move glucose into the cells. Once in the cells the glucose is used as an energy source or itRead MoreDiabetes Mellitus : A Group Of Diseases That Affect Your Body Uses Blood Sugar1601 Words   |  7 PagesFT030 Diabetes Mellitus Research Paper Annabelle Anglo 03/17/2015 According to Mayo Clinic, â€Å"Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is vital to your health because it s an important source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It s also your brain s main source of fuel.† (Mayo Clinic, 2005) Diabetes Mellitus has 3 types: Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 DiabetesRead MoreJuvenile Diabetes1364 Words   |  6 PagesJuvenile mellitus diabetes is a commonly a type 1 diabetes. This form of diabetes is a condition with a disordered metabolism. It is exhibited in high glucose levels due to lack of or insufficiency of insulin secretion in the pancreas organ. It happens in such a way that when a juvenile eats food it is broken down into glucose. The sugar has propensity of exceeding bloodstream into certain body cells using a hormone known as the insulin. This hormone is manufactured in the pancreas. Usually the

The Dangers Of Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol And...

Ammar, A., Blanchette, A., Sale, D., Laforest, D., Palumbo, T., Swift, A. Commissaris, R.L. (2016). Texting, drugs, and driving: A triple threat to driving safety? Journal of Ergonomics, 6 (2), 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2165-7556.1000154 This journal explains the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs along with texting while driving. This journal is useful in identifying the risks associated with intoxicated driving. It can also help in determining the effects of alcohol exposure in contrast to drugs and texting while driving to see if there are any performance impact. Chartier, K.G., Scott, D.M., Wall, T.L., Covault, J., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Mills, B.A. Luczak, S.E., Caetano, R., Arroyo, J.A. (2014).†¦show more content†¦Mu, K.J., Moore, S.E., LeWinn, K.Z. (2015). Internet use and adolescent binge drinking: Findings from monitoring the future study. Addictive Behavior Reports, 2, 61-66. DOI: http://dxdoi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2015.09.001 This journal explains Internet usage as a factor linked with binge drinking in adolescents. It was found based on the results obtained that alcohol abuse due to Internet use is most prevalent in adolescents. Furthermore, binge drinking has associated health consequences. This journal is indispensable in knowing the causes of underage drinking, its various health risks as well as strategies for preventing binge drinking. Quinlan, K., Shults, R.A., Rudd, R.A. (2014). Child passenger deaths involving alcohol-impaired drivers. Pediatrics, 133 (6), 966-972. DOI:10.1542/peds.2013-2318 This article takes into consideration the involvement of alcohol-impaired driving on child passenger’s deaths in the United States. Therefore, it shows relevant data and trends with respect to these deaths for a span of ten years. The journal is essential specifically in discussing the possible consequences of alcohol-impaired driving on individuals. As a result, various interventions can be employed in prevention and treatment of this condition. Redelmeier, D.A. Detsky, A.S. (2017). Clinical action against drunk driving. PLOS Medicine, 14 (2), 1-5. DOI:Show MoreRelatedDangers of Texting While Driving Essay1481 Words   |  6 PagesSamantha is on her way home from work, driving 55 mph, and her husband texts her to see if she can pick up some milk from the grocery store for supper. She grabs her phone and reads the message. She looks up at the road before she replies to him and she is head on with another car 10 feet away from her, she slams on the breaks and swerves to try to miss the car. She rolls her car three times, landing in the ditch, where the car is upside down. The gentlemen in the other car calls 911. Police, ambulanceRead MorePersuasive Speech: Driving While Texting Essay724 Words   |  3 Pagesjet off in a rush and head to the car. As you’re driving you decide to send them a text to let them know you didn’t forget and you’re on your way†¦ little did you know you were on your way to t he hospital, with a pit stop at the county jail. It turns out that in those 2 seconds where you were looking at your cell phone you didn’t see that stop sign let alone that mini van with the 3 young children. All they can see now is the inside of the casket, while you’re looking at 25 to life I know this isRead MoreThe Importance of Driving Education1057 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"Baseball is like driving, its the one who gets home safely that counts.† said by Tommy Lasorda. As we accumulated all the photos of car accidents in the world, it would make the saddest of yearbooks: faces of seniors with unfilled plans of college, pictures of juniors who never made it to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and freshman who could never been kissed. Therefore driving education is compulsory for all drivers before they get their driving license. Driving education is a course ofRead MoreDrinking And Driving Is Dangerous1690 Words   |  7 PagesDrinking and Driving is Very Deadly It is very disappointing to see people drinking and driving these days. Have you ever known someone who was injured or have you lost someone so close to you and the cause of his or her death was drinking and driving? It is tragic to see the families who suffer because of injury or the loss of their loved ones because of alcohol. More and more accidents are occurring because of drinking and driving. These accidents often result in injuries and/or death. ForRead MoreThe Dangers of Texting and Driving Essay1852 Words   |  8 PagesTexting and driving is known to the world as one of the most dangerous things to do while on the road.   Not only is it dangerous to the person driving, but also much more dangerous to the people and cars surrounding that particular individual.   According to many people texting and driving is similar if not identical to that of drunk driving.   For example texting and driving physically and mentally impairs you to drive straight down a road, witho ut causing a danger to people.   As a whole populationRead MoreEssay on Dangers of Texting While Driving1945 Words   |  8 PagesDangers Of Texting Many people, mainly teenagers, text while driving and don’t think to consider the safety of themselves and others. Some teenagers, just like Chelsea in the Dr.Phil’s, film â€Å"Texting While Driving†, come into some near tragic experiences because of texting while driving and still don’t consider what they are doing a safety hazard. Chelsea stated that nothing can stop her from texting while driving. I’m sure she is not the only person who feels that way. Many people enjoy the convenience

HM market free essay sample

HM (Hennes Mauritz AB) is the world second largest retail-clothing company. It was founded in 1947 in Sweden. In recent years, it has expanded rapidly, about 3,000 branch stores existing over 50 countries which include in Asia, Europe and America. As a â€Å"fast fashion† clothing company, HM’s business concept is offering latest popular design and good quality at the best price. The HM Group offers fashion from the HM, COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, Other Stories and HM Home brands. Therefore, its product line is various, including not only clothes but also shoes, cosmetics, home supplies and accessories. Customers of any age group are able to select suitable products, no matter young or old, men or women. However, the main marketing target is young people between 15 to 30 years old who chase fashion but cannot afford to buy luxury clothes. Based on Fast-Fashion concept, the biggest characteristic is that the time of the whole process including designing, producing, delivering and selling is very short, and all can be done even in only 21 days (Fahy Jobber, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on HM market or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Compared with its competitor, ZARA, although they have similar fashion designs, HM has lower price of about 30 per cent to 50 per cent than ZARA (Figure 1) (Boyu-linen, 2011). Moreover, it usually cooperates with world famous designers or super stars, such as Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 and Madonna in 2007, to design its products (HM. com). Product life cycle Product life cycle theory was proposed by Raymond Vernon, a professor of Harvard University, in 1966. Most product life-cycle curves are presented as bell-shaped including four stages: introduction, growth, maturity and decline (figure 2) (Baines, Fill Page, 2013). In introduction, when a products is brought to market, sales growth is slow and profits are virtually nil because of heavy introduction expenses. While the new product is accepted in the market, it could generate improvement of profit in growth. In maturity, the demands of market are of stabilization and saturation, and the profits stabilize or decrease due to higher competition. In decline, with the development of science and technology, new products or new substitutes appear which will make the customers turn to other new products. As a result, original product sales and profits decline rapidly. The products are entered into a recession (Kotler Keller, 2012). However, there are three special categories of product life cycle, style, fashion and fad (Kotler Keller, 2012). As a â€Å"fast fashion† clothing industry, the main feature is fashion and fad, so HM belongs to the life cycle of fashion and fad (figure3), its life cycle is very short. Generally, it takes only 21days to get a product from the design to a retail store and its products are updated about every two weeks (Fahy Jobber, 2012). 2. 4 Competitive positioning According to Kotler Keller (2012), all of marketing strategies would be based on STP concept, segmentation, targeting and positioning (Appendix 4). HM is a clothing retailer, who focuses on â€Å"fast-fashion† in clothing industry. It has numerous competitors including Gap, Top Man and Uniqlo. As a founder of â€Å"fast-fashion†, ZARA, part of the Inditex Group, HM’s key and most similar rival (Ganesan, 2012). By the end of the financial year 2012, HM had a total of 2,776 stores in 48 countries. In China, it has 134 stores and its sales (include Vat. ) was 5,411m (SEK) (HM annual report, 2012). Facing the fierce competition of clothing industry, HM has got its own competitive advantages. According to Kotler (1997), positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive position in the target customer’s minds. It means that the company need to concern with how customers in different parts of the market perceive the competing companies, products, services and brand (Hooley, Piercy Nicolaud, 2012). Competitive advantage According to Best (2014), a company competitive advantage could is divided into three main parts to analyze from differentiation, cost and marketing (Appendix 5). 2. 4. 1 Differentiation advantage It includes product quality, service quality, brand image and relative price. 2. 4. 1. 1 Product quality and relative price HM business concept is fashion and quality at the best price. Although HM usually stuck in problems of product quality in China, its quality is good comparing with its competitors ZARA (People’s daily online, 2012). Therefore, its relative price got 6 score and quality got 4score (Appendix). 2. 4. 1. 2 Brand image and product service The brand of HM is well known to most people in China, especially young people who live in first-tier cities. When HM opened new store, many people queued to get into the store (WantChinaTimes ,2011 EChinacities 2010). Although the brand image of HM is good, its service is not approved. For example, as the clothing size of HM is followed with European’s, so the trousers may be too long for Asian customers. Therefore, many trousers have to be cut short, but this service is not offered in China. By contrast, its competitor, Uniqlo, offers it for free, customers could get suitable trousers only with waiting for two hours (Uniqlo. cn, 2013). 2. 4. 2 Cost advantage It is an essential factor that enables HM to keeps a lower price in competition. 2. 4. 2. 1 Unit Cost and Transaction Cost It does not own any factories; instead, the company buys its products from approximately 800 independent suppliers (HM annual report, 2012). HM has own unique supply chain system. In order to reduce cost, it uses double supply chains. One is fast reaction chain to manage and control epidemic goods in Europe, primarily in Turkey, about 50 per cent of its products are produced here, and the process of production within no more than 4 weeks. The other is an efficient chain to manage and control production of basic style in Asia, primarily in China and Bangladesh. The process of production has long period, about 6 months. That is to say, one is European quick supply chain; the latter is Asian efficient one. The important point is about 30 per cent suppliers are based in China (Fahy Jobber, 2012). Therefore, the unit cost of HM is lower than other competitor’s. In contrast, ZARA has its own 22 factories in Spain, in order to ensure â€Å"fast-fashion† concept, most goods are produced in Europe, with higher product cost. Consequently, HM is able to keep lower price than its competitors in China. Compared with ZARA, the average price of HM is lower 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Some prices of basic clothes are lower than Uniqlo (Boyu-linen, 2011). Therefore, for the unit price, HM has more competitive advantages. Base on its mature supply system, the transaction cost is also lower than its competitors. 2. 4. 2. 2 Marketing expenses and overhead expenses To consider the marketing expenses, ZARA almost does not pay to advising. In comparison to other retailers, who spend 3 percent to 4 percent of revenues on big brand-building campaigns, Zara only spends 0. 3 percent (Kotler Keller, 2012). HM spends a hefty 4 per cent of revenues on marketing. It usually cooperates with top name designers, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s designer, in 2004 (Jobber, 2010). Therefore, its marketing expenses are higher than ZARA. However, HM has not its own factory, which lead to reduce its overhead expenses. 2. 4. 3Marketing Advantage 2. 4. 3. 1 Market Share and Sales Coverage By the end of the financial year 2012, HM has 134 stores in China, a little more compared with ZARA’s 121 stores, and it had 0. 2 market share, ranking 36th (Hansegard Burkitt 2013). On the other hand, for the sales coverage, ZARA’s and HM’s are approximate 80% and 73% respectively in China, HM is lower (HM annual report, 2012 and ZARA annual report, 2012). 2. 4. 3. 2 Brand Awareness and Distribution The brand of HM is well known to most people in China, especially young people who live in first-tier cities. However, its brand awareness is lower than its competitors, such as ZARA Uniqlo (Appendix 6) (Aip, 2011). The distribution has been referred to the part of cost advantage, which has two supply chains to produce its products from suppliers. In addition, there are three main channels for its customers in the world, physical stores, catalogues and the internet (Fahy Jobber, 2012). However, HM has not only physical stores in China, but ZARA and Uniqlo both have online shop. Although HM has a better supply chain system, if it cannot appreciate online shopping, it will lose marketing share.

Radiology 1 Images Example For Students

Radiology 1 Images Lisfranc Fx (Metatarsal displaced from Tarsus rarely heals fully) Colles Fx (Palmar angulation of radial tip) Smith Fx March Fx Jones Fx Boxers Fx Osteopetrosis (Stone bones) Normal Hip Normal Ankle Normal Foot Normal Hand Normal Shoulder Scotty Dog (Anterior Oblique view of Lumbar spine best for viewing Pars Interarticularis Fx aka Spondylolysis) Prostate Cancer (Diffuse Metastatic) Osteopetrosis (Stone bones) Prostate Cancer (Localized Metastatic) Avascular Necrosis (Note white hot areas) Avascular Necrosis of Femur (Note white hot areas) Medullary Bone Infarct Medullary Bone Infarct Pagets Disease (localized, pelvic area) Pagets of Femur (with Fx) Hyperparathyroidism (Subperiosteal Bone Resorption) Hyperparathyroidism (Erosion of Distal Clavicle) Hyperparathyroidism (Brown tumors) Rickets (Vitamin D deficiency and malnutrition in children) Rickets (Vitamin D deficiency and malnutrition in children) Rachitic Rosary (sign of Rickets) Osteomalacia (Vitamin D deficiency and malnutrition in Adults = older version of Rickets, after epiphyseal closure has occurred) Osteolytic Metastatic Disease (Geographic) Osteolytic Metastatic Disease (Mottled) Osteolytic Metastatic Disease (Permeative) Multiple Myeloma (late stage) Multiple Myeloma (punched out resorptive lesions) Multiple Myeloma (punched out resorptive lesions) Multiple Myeloma of Pelvis (punched out resorptive lesions) Osteomyelitis (of 2nd MT, infection and inflammation) Osteomyelitis (of Femur, infection and inflammation) Osteomyelitis (of Tibia) Septic Arthritis (of the Elbow) Comminuted Fx Segmental Fx Butterfly Fx Salter Harris I (Straight across the Growth Plate) Most Common) alt=Salter Harris II (Growth Plate + Metaphysis -> Most Common)> Salter Harris II (Growth Plate + Metaphysis -> Most Common) Salter Harris III (Growth Plate + Epiphysis) Salter Harris III (Growth Plate + Epiphysis) Salter Harris IV (Fx through all 3 Elements) Salter Harris V (Compression Fx of Growth Plate Uncommon) Scaphoid Fx (MC Carpal Fx, danger of Avascular Necrosis) Buckle Fx (aka Torus, Impaction Fx from FOOSH injury on distal Radial metaphysis) Radial Head Fx Supracondylar Fx (usually distal Humerus just above the Epicondyles in a child) Hip Fx (Proximal Femur Fx usually bc of Osteoporosis) Pronator Quadratus Fat Stripe Charcot Arthropathy (Neuropathic Joint destruction, usually insidious onset in Diabetics) Greenstick Fx (MC in young soft bone of a child, bone cortex on one side intact) Charcot Arthropathy (Neuropathic Joint destruction, usually insidious onset in Diabetics) Infectious Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis (Atlantoaxial Subluxation) Gout Arthritis Ankylosing Spondylitis (Bamboo Spine) Ankylosing Spondylitis (Bamboo Spine) Odontoid View (Normal) C spine Degenerative Changes DISH (Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis = enthesopathy, ossification of the ligaments and entheses older demographic than AS) T spine Compression Fx Spondylolisthesis (forward displacement of usually the 5th Lumbar Vertebra, after a Fx) Jefferson Fx (of the anterior and posterior arches of C1) Hangmans Fx (Spondylolisthesis where C2 is displaced anteriorly relative to C3 bc of hyperextension of the head, usually bc of car accident deceleration) Burst Fx (high energy axial load, more severe than compression fx)

Figure of Speech free essay sample

He was not unfamiliar with the work of Shakespeare. Einstein is not a bad mathematician. 6. Understatement is the representation of something as significantly less than it ctually is; where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression. That was some sprinkle. (in reference to the heavy rain which fell an hour before) l have to have this operation. It isnt very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. 7. Euphemism is the substitution of a cultured or less offensive term for a harsh one. A euphemism is the use of neutral language to remark something that may be offensive to the receiver. Euphemism is often used by people who are diplomatic, and who wish to be politically correct. We have to let you go. Read: Youre fired. Youre well fed. Read: Youre fat. 8. Antithesis is a direct contrast in which two sets if fgures are set in opposition to one another; defined as an opposition or contradiction between two concepts in a statement. We will write a custom essay sample on Figure of Speech or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry, The sun so hot, I froze to death Youre easy on the eyes, hard on the heart 9. Paradox is a contradictory statement which may appear false, but is in fact true. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. 10. Oxymoron uses a contradictory adjective to define an object, situation or event. Loners club. A strippers dressing room. 1 1 . Anaphora is repetition of the same word or words at the beginning or successive clauses, verses, or sentences, He came as conqueror. He came as ally. He came as a stranger. He came as brother. Water, water, every where, Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. 12. Alliteration refers to the repetition of a consonant sound, at least three times in a sentence. It is often used as a figure of speech in poetry, and even advertisements use alliteration in their tag lines to make the ads more memorable. Dont delay dawns disarming display. Dusk demands daylight. Saras seven sisters slept soundly in sand. 13. Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse. Known narcissists, sipping on arsenic, Carved carcasses in the garage, dont park in it, Hard as finding retarded kids at Harvard, Its Wolf Gang barking keep you up like car alarms. The silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain. 14. Onomatopoeia is used to imitate the sounds made by certain objects or actions. The clatter of utensils. The flutter of birds. 15. Puns refer to the deliberate substitution of similar sounding words to create a humorous effect. I bet the butcher the other day that he couldnt reach the meat that was on the top shelf. He refused to take the bet, saying that the steaks were too high. Santas helpers are subordinate Clauses. 16. Metonymy refers to the use of a phrase regarding an associated concept, in order to describe the actual concept. The editorial page has always believed This refers to the belief of the editors who write the editorial page. He writes a fine hand. It means he has good handwriting. 17. Personification refers to the art of bringing to life an inanimate object, trait, or The picture in that magazine screamed for attention. The carved pumpkin smiled at me. 18. Allusion is casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. .. a turn of phrase even Shakespeare would appreciate. 19. Apostrophe is a direct address of an absent or dead person or personified thing. God help me! Ambition, youre a cruel master! 20. Synecdoche is using a part for the whole or the whole for a part The pen is mightier than the sword They live together in one roof.

A Short Quiz About Emphasis

A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, there is a deviation from one of the conventions about how to convey emphasis in writing. Identify the error, and then check below for corrected versions followed by explanations. 1. â€Å"So-called ‘notification laws’ require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.† 2. â€Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.† 3. â€Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of ‘being one with the universe,’ but I just wasn’t feeling it.† 4. â€Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ‘YOU JUST DON’T GET IT, DO YOU?’† 5. â€Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ‘I want those two hours of my life back!!!’† Answers 1. â€Å"So-called notification laws require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.† Explanation: Quotation marks employed to highlight a word or phrase, known as scare quotes, are almost invariably unnecessary, and are redundant to the phrase so-called. (Note that in the previous sentence, I didn’t enclose the introduced slang term â€Å"scare quotes† as I explained, these quotation marks are superfluous. However, I did use quotation marks around the phrase in this parenthesis, just as I italicized so-called above and here because that’s how open phrases and words or hyphenated phrases, respectively, are styled when used as names of concepts rather than as the concepts themselves.) 2. â€Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.† Explanation: Italicization of key words can be appropriate but is often overused. Use your judgment to determine whether your point needs such emphasis or whether you can rely on readers to get it without special treatment of words. Usually, they will, and if you doubt it, perhaps your point needs to be expressed more clearly. 3. â€Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of Being One with the Universe, but I just wasn’t feeling it.† Explanation: Using quotation marks in this case isn’t necessarily the wrong approach, and it’s appropriate if someone a guru, for instance previously used these words, but if the intent is mockery, sarcasm, or irony, it may not be effective. Using headline-style initial capital letters is the conventional approach for conveying such a tone. 4. â€Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ‘You just don’t get it, do you!’† Explanation: Except in display copy (headlines, headings, and the like), using all capital letters is an awkward distraction. Let the narrative carry the emphasis; note that in the sample sentence, thanks to the expressive description in the introductory phrase, the quotation could even get by with a question mark alone (though, because it’s a rhetorical question, the exclamation point is suitable). 5. â€Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ‘I want those two hours of my life back.’† Explanation: Again, let the narrative do the work. Multiple exclamation points have no place in writing, except to mimic a hormone-addled adolescent. And avoid even single exclamation points; usually, they’re extraneous, and if they’re not, they’re probably a crutch for inexpressive writing. Isn’t the deadpan tone implied by the lack of an exclamation point in the sample sentence above more effective than the impotent peevishness that an exclamation point would suggest? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business LetterWhat's a Male Mistress?The "Pied" in The Pied Piper

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE - Essay Example You went ahead and talked about the importance of gestures in effective communication. I have to admit gestures are sometimes confusing but one has to judge every gesture according to the subject being discussed. These will surely enhance effective communication. You stated that you are most uncomfortable with listening and giving feedback. This is not a personal problem but a universal problem as well. Many people interrupt the speaker before they are done with the communication. If the speaker does not understand enough, he may end up having the wrong interpretation of the response (Caputo, Palosaari, and Pickering 122-125). I wholly agree with the initiative you have taken to eradicate this problem. Perhaps I may ask have you made any meaningful progress. Is your approach universally adaptable? I have adapted a habit of asking a question in case I want to put a point across in the middle of a given conversation. Alternatively, I just wait for the speaker to finish what they were saying before I make my

Forrensic computing - securing evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Forrensic computing - securing evidence - Essay Example Archie Rival, who got the job, says he is very happy with Axta’s work and doesn’t feel there is any conflict. However, at a recent annual review meeting the shipping clerk Asif Iwud told his reviewer in confidence that he believed Axta had not ‘forgotten and forgiven but had other fish to fry’. He believes she will be resigning soon and is hoping to get her job. Evidence is the means and materials that enable a case to be proven. The evidence shows the actual events that took place in any situation, and evidence can either be Digital, Electronic or physical. Digital Evidence is the information that is transmitted or stored in computers in binary form, and which is admissible in a court of law. Electronic Evidence is evidence or data of investigative value which can be stored and transmitted by electronic devices. Various jurisdictions allow for various principles concerning electronic evidence, but these principles are quite similar to the principles defined by the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers). 4 principles of digital and electronic evidence are defined in the third version of the Good Practice Guide for Computer Based Evidence, and these will be described here. Whenever there is cause for computers to be confiscated for forensic examination, there are some pointers as regards the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) Guide for Good Practice concerning digital and electronic evidence. The guidelines are basically for Police Officers in the United Kingdom, but it is good practice to follow these guidelines especially when there is need to seize and examine electronic data. It is also good practice to treat electronic data in the same manner as physical or traditional forensic evidence, and the ACPO guidelines are aimed at achieving the required standards. Also following these principles will ensure the integrity of the case and, ensure that the steps taken are in compliance with the

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation Article

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation - Article Example These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behaviour. Consumers can be either subjective or objective, testing the persuasiveness of brand names. Retail stores selling the products also play an important role in swaying the decisions of consumers. The whole package or visual appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales women or the clerks. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers' personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (Kim et al, 2002). These are just some of the factors that affect impulse buying behavior. ... enomenological approach of survey with succeeding thematic analysis of the texts from which the researcher could gather facts and empirical data from the academe. Aims and Objectives The main objectives of this study are to examine the aspects that influence impulse buying behaviour of consumers and their self-control. Hypotheses The impulse buying behaviour of consumers is influence by beliefs, culture, learning and values. That is regulated by self-control Method Research Design Although the study is primarily interested in examining qualitative concepts and constructs such as beliefs, attitudes and perceptions, the quantitative research approach was likewise utilized to achieve the exploratory and the descriptive objectives of the study, which highlighted the consumers' perspective about the issue of impulsive buying behavior. According to Mays and Pope (2000), the quantitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. This permits a flexible and iterative approach of analyzing and statistically manipulating the collected information. As such, these variables were presented, explained and correlated with each other and with the qualitative results of the second phase of the research project. Moreover, the study also examined the conditions and the nature that surrounds the quantitative data to achieve the descriptive objec tives of the study. Participants For this particular research activity, the survey method was planned to accomplish a desired sample size of 100 consumers as respondents. To ensure that the survey will produce 100 valid and reliable survey outputs, 40 more respondents were asked to participate, adding 10

The Implication of creative accounting on the firms

The Implication of creative accounting on the firms This project will explore several definitions of creative accounting and the range of reasons for a companys directors to engage in creative accounting. It explores the nature and occurrence of creative accounting practices within the context of ethical considerations. In addition, it considers the various ways in which creative accounting can be found and summarizes some empirical research on the nature and incidence of creative accounting. The role of the auditors in detection creative accounting is discussed, drawing evidence from several empirical studies. Then, it will illustrate the source of data, the sampling method and the data analysis technique that had been chosen for this research. Finally, the paper concludes with the analysis of possible solutions for the creative accounting problems. Chapter 1 Introduction Manipulation of financial information is known by several terms. In USA the preferred term and widely used is Earnings management whereas in Europe the favored term is Creative Accounting and also this term will be used in this study. The term can be defined in different ways. However, primarily it is a process whereby accountants use their knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate the figures reported in the accounts of a business. Further definition will be explored later in this paper. Creative accounting occurs when managers involve in changing the accounting figures to alter financial reporting. The motive behind the alteration is either to mislead stakeholders about the poor performance of a company or attract new contract and investment that depend on figures in statements. This research will apply the previous study in some scandal cases, such as Enron to find out whether it has same motive as mentioned by other authors. In addition, it will show the way in which managers have used creative accounting to committed fraud. The rest of study is organized as follows. In chapter 2 the literature is reviewed to pinpoint certain definition of creative accounting and explore the motives behind creative accounting. In chapter 3 the research method is employed to identify the relevance of creative accounting to Enron annual reports. In chapter 4 the paper will discuss major finding, recommendation and conclusion of the study. In chapter 5 different sources of the study will be listed including articles, journals and so on. Rationale of study: Many fraudulent cases had been found in the past few years. These scandals had been made by directors and managers of the organizations. There are numerous victims who suffered from misuse of the position starting from shareholders, going towards employees and end up with societies. Although most of these organizations have been audited by external auditors, the fraud has been occurred within the firms. This is because the auditors give only a reasonable assurance of their view on the financial statements and even some of them involved in fraud like Arthur Andersen. There are many people who are still not aware of how the company may use creative accounting in manipulate the accounting figure and hence committed fraud. This paper will explore the ethic and the way of using creative accounting providing with practical example. Aims and Objectives: To understand the meaning and explore definitions of creative accounting. To explore several reasons or motives of the using CA by companys managers. To list and explain the techniques of creative accounting. To understand the role of auditors and responsibilities in deduction of CA. To identify whether the auditors (both external and internal) play role in minimizing the CA in corporation. To find out the implication of CA on the countrys economy. Limitations of Study The research had successfully obtained the financial statements of Enron Corporation for four years started from 1997 till 2000. However, there was failure in collection the adjustment reports figure except for income and long term debts. These missing figures might be important to use in methodology for accurate judgment. Furthermore, the time to accomplish this study was slightly short to collect some important data for this research. Chapter 2 Literature Review There are various scholars who defined creative accounting (CA) in different views. These are as follows. Involves the repetitive selection of accounting measurement or reporting rules in a particular pattern, the effect of which is to report a stream of income with a smaller variation from trend than would otherwise have appeared. (Copeland, 1968) Is any action on the part of management which affects reported income and which provides no true economic advantage to the organization and may in fact, in the long-term, be detrimental. (Merchant and Rockness, 1994) Whereby the true financial performance of a company is distorted by managers for private gains (Klein, 2002) It has noticed that although scholars from different decades had defined the CA, they agree the basic concept of CA which is use knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate accounting figure to show the faulty result of the organization performance. The reasons and motivations of creative accounting Various authors have studied about the issue of management motivation towards creative accounting. There are many reasons. One of these was mentioned by: Shafren (2009) concluded based on his analysis of Satyam Company that the stakeholders are interesting on companys financial statements because there are mean to show how the firm is performed and its position in market. Therefore, managers try depicting these figures in such way to send positive indicator to the investors. The investors always attracted if annual statement is superb. Thus, to express this view mangers aim to modify the statement by means of tricks of CA. In other hand, the directors also have their own reasons as their bonuses may decide in proportion with the profit they made or reported. Lttner et al (1997) have also agreed that when the manger bonuses and stock options are depend on the company performance there is likely that the manager modify the figures upward to get the desired result. other motivation was mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) who Showed in their study of The valuation consequence of accounting charges that an organization used CA when its share price started to fall following the increase in share price which it reported previously. This reason arises when company face great pressure from a variety of obligations and constraints based on amounts reported in statements. For example: based on survey of US bank managers, they found that when a new bank manager hold responsible for an entity there is inspiration to adjust loan provision so he makes sure that any losses occurred by previous manager can be covered from this provision. Whereas Beatty and Harris (2001) said that mangers may manipulate the accounting figures in such way to reduce the burden of tax levies or to allow them to pay lowest possible income taxes by providing that the cost involved is less than the income tax benefit. Niskanen and Keloharju (2000) agreed in their research of earning cosmetics in a tax-driven accounting environment: evidence from Finnish public firms which is based on European companies that the corporate tax could be the reason for CA used by managers of the company. These are some of common motives for CA. However, the most noticeable motives are modifying the accounting figures to show positive indicator to investors and downward the firm income for tax purpose. Therefore, stakeholders should at least to be aware of these two areas. If there were more independent directors in the board then there will be less motivation or even it can be eliminated. Therefore, the best way in elimination this practice is not to know the ways that can be occurred but to appoint more independent directors. Techniques of creative accounting Largay (2002) wrote in his article of Lessons from Enron regardless of the high regulation exist in some countries like USA, the accounting environment afford great flexibility. The potential way for CA and the techniques can be found in certain areas. One of the techniques which can be used in CA as mentioned by Schipper (1989) is flexibility in regulation. He added in the article of Commentary on creative accounting that accounting regulation provides a great flexibility in choosing any policies that are set by International Accounting Standard Board, for example it allows the non-current assets to be valued either at historical cost or at revalued amount. Thus, if management decide to change policies of the company it may easy to deduct in the year of change but it is much difficult to be identified after sometimes probably after few years. Another point is the lake of regulation in some area existing in almost every country. AS it can be seen in Romania and Spain where there are few mandatory requirements for stock option and recognition of pension liabilities. CA can also be finding as the discretionary position of the management that may used in some items to obtain stability in financial position. This had explained by McNichols and Wilson (1988) that manager may decide to increase or decrease the provision of bad debts to adjust the desire result. The timing of some transactions also offers mangers the opportunity to increase the revenue and give an impression result when net profit is not adequate. For instance, company has an investment in historical cost which can be sold at current value (i.e. at higher value) where operating profit is showing an adverse figure. The third technique mentioned by the author is the artificial transactions that are usually use to manipulate balance sheet amount or to move the profit figure between accounting periods. This can be achieved by entering the related transactions with third party like a bank. Suppose an arrangement had made with bank to sell the asset to bank and lease back the same asset for the entire of its useful life. The arrangement consists of selling the asset at lower or higher value than i n an uncontrolled transaction and the compensation is from the difference of rental price. The another technique had explained by Gramlich et al (2001) in which they said that firms may attempt to manipulate balance sheet in order to change the liabilities classification to improve liquidity ratio. Most of time this manipulation is occurred to improve the investors perception. Although there is not much difference between 298 million and 301 million, investors perceived the latest amount more than the earlier one. The International Accounting Standard had been created to reduce or even eliminate the accounting fraud that is occurred by the management of the organization. However, sometimes IAS unintentionally play role in committing fraud by providing different ways of treatment of an item in financial statements. All of the techniques have one motive which is to makes FS more attractive on the view of stakeholders. The role of auditors and their responsibilities After many alleged scandal cases occurred in last decade, many individuals, such as shareholders have lost confidence on the audit firms. They are wondering the responsibility of the auditors in deduction the fraud and whether they played key role in committing fraud. According to Audit Committee Institute (2007) auditors should be aware of all circumstances that lead the firm to face a pressure from both within and outside the organization and thus, encouragement firm to involve in inappropriate earnings management (creative accounting). The independent audit should be often alert of the possibility occurrence of CA and should deeply understanding the companys processes in modifying accounting policies, estimates and judgments in order to assess these processes. Donaldson and Palmer (2003) were mentioned in conference the role that auditors played in accounting scandals of Enron and WorldCom. The auditors failed to resist pressure faced by the manager and therefore, accept the misleading financial statements i.e. they involved in fraud. Auditing may depend on external sources to verifying data. However, if the employees of the company have an intention to defeat the auditing function, they can cooperate with individuals outside the company, so even the best auditors will be unable to protect investors from such conduct at all cases. The role of auditors in minimizing the CA in the firm It had mentioned above how the auditors were involved in corporate scandal. However, internal and external auditors are also play role in at least to minimize these scandals when the audit standards, accounting standards and ethical code of conduct have been properly used. Ebrahim (2001) had mentioned in his study of Auditing Quality, Auditor Tenure, Client Importance, and Earnings Management: An Additional Evidence how the quality of auditors can be effective on earnings management or CA behavior. He used sample that listed in NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. The data was collected for 9 to 11 years. The sample included only the firms with fiscal year ended i.e. December 31. He found that the quality of auditor and the firm size had no relation with creative accounting. Amat et al (2008) argued in their empirical study of Earnings management and audit adjustments: An empirical study of IBEX 35 constituents the view of Ebrahim (2001). The sample of the study was collected from IBEX 35 index (Spain). It had collected a sample size of 42 companies for period between 1997 and 2004. The study attempted to explore the role of auditors in prevention of the creative accounting practice. As the result, this study had supported the significant role of auditors in financial market particularly in the prevention of CA practice. Clikeman (2003) mentioned in his journal of Auditors on Alert for Earnings Management that the external auditors are not only the staff who detect the CA practice but the internal auditors also have a duty and role in prevention such a practice and to comply with various requirements of the standards and Acts, such as Auditing standards and Sarbanes-Oxley Acts. The internal auditors have many measurements available to assist them in detection unethical practices. the trend analysis to find out extraordinary variations in revenues and expenses and cutoff testing which enables to monitoring sales and purchases in income statements of the company for the years end. These are some of the tools available for the auditors to detect any suspicious occurred and reported to the board. Director should be the one who should detect fraud at the first place as he is in position that allows him to access to every single part of the business. Thus, the government and the regulatory should have to improve the rules of the board of directors and management teams rather than focusing only on the auditors responsibility. Although there are many regulations for the auditors to conduct their work efficiency, there were many corporate scandals cases recently. This indicates that there are still some weaknesses in these standard and regulations. The implication of CA on the countrys economy Everyone is concerning about CA including analyst, regularities and government due to its impact not only on the firm but also on the countrys economy. The previous studies had found that the CA has a negative effect on the economy as a whole especially when it leads to large corporate scandal. One of the recent articles of these affect was by Hugh (2009). Hugh (2009) explained in his article of Creative Accounting and Italys Growing Unemployment Problem how the CA affected the Italy economy. He mentioned two types of unemployment benefits that are available in Italy. The Ordinary Redundancy Funds which applies in uncertain event, such as market crises and the Extraordinary Redundancy Fund that available in the case of bankruptcy. To benefit from this scheme, Companies cheating different states by sending their employees home under redundancy procedures and then informally re-employment and paying them under the table. The procedure will allow the firm to pay only 30% of the salary and remain will be paid by the state government. This is lead to the Italian underground economy around 15% of the total GDP for the state i.e. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 300 billion per year. The firms might benefit from the aid but they are distorting the market and discouragement the future of more productive companies. Others like Bernoth and Wolff (2006) had found in their study of Fool the market, Creative Accounting that the CA increases the risk premium. They used the portfolio model of five interest differential and modified it to investigate the implication of CA on bond yield spreads between countries. The modifying process of the model had carried on by assuming that the government might used CA to make the observation of financial position of the country difficult to observe. They found that when the country discloses transparent information, the CA increases the cost of borrowing significantly (if it becomes known) especially in the case when the market is unsure the extent to which the CA exist. On other hand, Sopelsa (2010) warned in his article of US Creative Accounting could repeat Greek Tragedy that US could face the same problem as Greece heavy debt if it does not control its spending and deal with its structural deficit. This is due to the engagement in CA for years by USA similar to those that occurred in Greece. The US government did not secure the Federal Reserve and government sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae into its financial statements. As the result, the total debt to GDP had reached to 85 percent and may going to be at 100 percent in two years. Thus, the situation would be worsening if it goes to the foreign loans. The government has to impose tight budget control, alteration social security, deal with health care costs and restructure tax system to generate more revenues. The CA would lead to economy bubble in country like US as had mentioned by Sopelsa (2010). Instead of blaming the audit firms or the companies that had been got into hot water (involved in scandal), the government should concern first why it is happening. Unfortunately, some governments are aware of what happening neighborhood or far away country but they do not see the problems in their own countries. They already knew the danger of the CA; therefore they have to find solution to avoid the fraud in the future. Chapter 3 Methodology This paper is restricted to secondary data that had collected from various source including journals (weekly and quarterly), articles, news paper, magazine, financial reports and so on. It had reviewed certain literatures which were collected from different sources (as mentioned above). Later in this chapter, the sampling, data analysis and presentation will be explored. Sampling of companies and Data collection The researcher verified a major accounting scandal that had been occurred last decade, such as Enron, Freddie Mac, Halliburton, Merrill Lynch and the recent case of Bernard L. Madoff hedge funds. These samples were randomly chosen from various cases. Last but not least, among these alleged fraud one sample had been selected which is Enron Corporation. The financial data of Enron was collected from its annual reports from the year of 1997 to 2000 (see appendix). 3.2 Data analysis and presentation The Enron Corporation US Energy Company was commenced in 1932. It became as a group of company in 1979. It employed approximately 22,000 staff in over 40 countries worldwide. It ranked in Fortune 500 as seventh largest company that operated in American, sixth largest energy Company and one of the leading company in communication, paper and pulp in the world with reported revenue more than $ 100 billion. In late 2001, Enron forced to fill up chapter 11 of bankruptcy protection after disclosed fraud and being sued by investors and creditors to claim their privileges. It was one of the largest bankruptcy cases in the US history. According to Holmes (2006) Kenith Lay (CEO of Enron) used creative accounting as a way to modify reports that allowed them to create artificial shortage by increasing prices about ten times. In this paper the financial ratios will be used to illustrate the affection of CA on companys annual reports. The ratio will be analyzed for 4 years from 1997 to 2000. Enron net income should be reduced in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by $96 million, $113 million, $250 million and $132 million respectively. It was also found that companies long-term debts should further added to the one which had reported previously. By the end of the year 1997, the additional debt should be added to give the total of $14103 million. Similarly, the extra amount of $ 561 million and $685 million should be included in 1998 and 1999 respectively to reflect the actual long-term debts of the company. The company should also add the amount of $628 million in 2000 to adjust its debts figure. These balances can be seen as follows: These were the major items which required adjustments (there were other adjustments which were not taking into account in this study). Next, it will show how the some ratios affected by these adjustments. Although the gap between the reported amounts is not much different from the adjustment balance, it is significantly important after cumulatively adding these differences for the years. Furthermore, these are information where only available at the time. There are additional adjustments required in balances for some other items, thus the gap will further increase between the reporting and adjustment balance. It can be found that the major change was in return on share capital which had reached to 2.6% of the gap between the two balances in 1999 (look to the above table). The gearing level was high especially in 1997. This indicated that company had too much debt. The debt level decreased significantly in 1999 to 65% after the adjustment that might gave to company a little hope to overcome the problem but its gearing level had increased again approximately to 70% in 2000. This explained why Enron had used CA as it wanted to hide what was going in the company. 3.3 Data presentation The below bars chart are an illustration of affection of the CA on the companys balance. 3.4 Finding It had been founded that after the adjustments in income and long term debts, there were significant changed in returns on capital and in net profit. However, there were other figures that need to be adjusted, thus the affection will be even much greater. Therefore, it leaded to misguide the public by allowing them to think that the company was in good position and it was a good investment to them but actually it was suffering from heavy debts. This was one of the companies that used the CA practice. There were other companies that exercise the CA, such as Duke Energy. As the result, there was a significant negative impact on that industry which in turn had badly affected on US. The accounting manipulation that had used by Enron affected investors much greater that what had shown above as some bogus figures were not included in this paper. Chapter 4 Conclusion and Recommendation 4.1 Conclusion Many corporate accounting scandal cases had occurred since 1980. One of the earliest scandals was an Australian Nugan Hand Banks and the latest case of Lehman Brothers and Golden Sachs. Yet, the will be many accounting scandals may the world face if nobody try to improve the procedures to prevent the CA. The paper had discussed various issues regarding to creative accounting. It had explained why the companys directors involve in CA to commit fraud. The most common reason is the one that mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) and it said; when the company wants to increase its share price. The paper had explained some of the techniques of CA which can be used by the firms including changes in accounting treatment, adjustments in provision of bad debts, movements of the figures between the accounting period and many more. It had also discussed about the responsibility of the auditors, especially external auditors, in corporate scandal and how to detect the potential fraud. In addition, it had also explained the role of the auditors in minimizing the risk of CA by disciplinary following the audit standards and some other regulations. The quality of auditors is also play important role in detection the fraud. Finally, the literature review warned the affection of CA on the economy. It had found that in some cases the CA increased the rate of interest and it would lead to heavy debt burden to country that exercising CA as what happened in US. Moreover, it would affect the GDP as in case of Italy. In methodology, it had talked about the sampling and from where the data was collected. Then, it had analyzed annual report of Enron Corporation form the year 1997 to the year 2000. It had found the earnings of the company that reported were difference from the one after adjustment. As the result, it had given a bogus report to the stockholders. 4.2 Recommendation Many issues had occurred because of the CA, some had already mentioned in this paper and remain were discussed by the others. Some are blaming the auditors whereas others are saying it is the government responsibility. However, there are many people are involved in the CA. To overcome the problems of this practice, the researcher had given various suggestions from different point of view which can be seen below. From the investors point of view, they can follow certain steps to reduce the risk of CA. The investors should not depend only on companys financial statements in deciding of whether it is worthy for their investments. They should also seek for second professional opinion because sometimes the F.S accomplished with material misstatement. The investors should diversify their investments widely and not to keep them in one basket. Although it is difficult to eliminate risk, the investors can reduce such it through spreading their security into wide range of companies or even investing in other countries so if there is any loss in one company resulting from the practice, they will gain in another one. Therefore, the investors can make profit from their average returns regardless of some negative investment that included in portfolio. From the companies point of view, they should appoint more independent directors to take care of public interest, thus avoiding personnel interest. This would lead to the more honest in reporting of the company situation. I case if there is a tragedy event, they will solve it in prudent way rather than using unwelcome practices. They should also appoint qualified audit committee with high level of experience and honesty to detect the material misstatement that could occur in the F.S. Moreover, the audit committee will take all the necessary steps to prevent such fraud. Whereas from the governments point of view, it should select appropriate standards and follow excruciating punishment against those who breach the rules. In addition, although there are some countries not allowing the auditor firm to provide more than one service, there are some governments allow the firm to provide various services to its client. This should be avoided in each country. Chapter 5

O Lazer :: ensaios

Este ensaio trata dos conceitos de lazer, que à © um dos requisitos que integram a existà ªncia dos seres humanos. É por meio dele que os indivà ­duos encontram o prazer, o bem-estar, a sensaà §Ãƒ £o de liberdade e muitos benefà ­cios para a saà ºde fà ­sica e mental. Breve histà ³rico sobre o lazer As civilizaà §Ãƒ µes antigas jà ¡ utilizavam um conceito rudimentar de lazer como atividade de descanso e distraà §Ãƒ £o. Roma, Grà ©cia, Antigo Egito, iniciaram tradià §Ãƒ µes que sobreviveram aos sà ©culos e atà © hoje integram o rol de eventos e mecanismos de lazer. Em Roma, os jogos, no campo e na cidade, alà ©m de serviam a propà ³sitos religiosos, de acordo com a à ©poca do ano e o deus a quem homenageavam, tambà ©m constituà ­am lazer. Em qualquer dos casos, os dias sequenciais de jogos, exibià §Ãƒ £o de danà §as lascivas, muito vinho, desordem e mà ºsica eram atividades de lazer. As termas e banhos, o teatro, os encontros no Forum – local basicamente composto de comà ©rcio, prà ©dios administrativos e praà §a pà ºblica – eram outras formas de obtenà §Ãƒ £o de descanso e prazer. Em Roma e na Grà ©cia antigas o teatro tambà ©m surgiu como forma de homenagem aos deuses e lazer, na primeira com as comà ©dias e pantomimas e na segunda com as tragà ©dias. Na Grà ©cia, os jogos apareceram entre os soldados e os jovens com o propà ³sito de manterem a forma e, mais tarde, foram transformados no Festival Olà ­mpico, que acontecia de quatro em quatro anos, com finalidades religiosas e de agregar as 160 cidades-estados, uma vez que a Grà ©cia nà £o tinha uma unidade polà ­tica. Os jogos eram realizados na cidade-estado de Olà ­mpia, que recebia â€Å"turistas† de toda a Grà ©cia. Os gregos nà £o tinham tempos de lazer, e os festivais religiosos, incluindo o Festival Olà ­mpico, era visto, tambà ©m, com esse fim. No Antigo Egito, a diversà £o era separada por classes e idade. Para os nobres, principalmente os jovens, a pesca e a caà §a no rio Nilo e a caà §a no deserto eram garantia de diversà £o. Ainda havia a luta e a nataà §Ãƒ £o, esportes populares apreciados pela populaà §Ãƒ £o em geral. Passeios de barco e pesca em famà ­lia eram muito praticados. A caà §a dos animais do deserto representou uma contribuià §Ãƒ £o modesta à   economia egà ­pcia, e logo se transformou em um esporte de ricos [...] A pesca com arpà £o e vara era realizada normalmente em pequenas balsas de papiro, o que era considerado uma agradà ¡vel diversà £o. A caà §a do hipopà ³tamo era, provavelmente mais que um esporte e sim um trabalho necessà ¡rio.

Commandant Reflection Paper

COMMANDANT REFLECTION PAPER (CRP) â€Å" Reflection, in the context of learning, is a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities which individuals engage to explore their experiences, in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations. It may take place in isolation or in association with others† Boud, Keogh & Walker, 1985, p19. INTRODUCTION 1. The 15-week Command and Staff Course (Executive) at Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College exposes officers with myriad of learning opportunities in professional military education and training.Correspondingly, the different modules conducted throughout the course serve as touch points for officers to reflect on their personal learning and development journey. 2. Consequently, officers need to dedicate time to journal their reflections at each juncture of the course not just for record purpose but more so to gauge their progress in professional and personal development and growth. OBJECTIVE 3.The objective o f the Commandant Reflection Paper (CRP) is for the officers to take ownership to reflect, journal and share on their professional and personal learning, development and growth throughout the 15-week Command and Staff course (Executive). REFLECTION TITLE 4. The reflection is titled â€Å"Are you ready to Lead? † 5. In your reflection, you should consider the following questions: a. Referring to the CSC(E) Graduate word picture (See Figure 1), how has attending the GKS CSC prepared you to Lead? What aspects of the course have developed and prepared you for your future roles in the SAF? b.How much do you think you have developed in both the professional and personal competence? Figure 1 Organisation Knowledge Comprehend changes and trends in strategic environment Adaptive to organisational challenges that arises Military Technology Adept at applying military technology in developing innovative operational concepts and capabilities and fully appreciate the impact of future techno logy trends and developments Military Operations Comprehend military operations in a Joint environment Decision Making Competently arrive at timely decisions based on systemic analysis of the relevant context, factors and values Life-Long LearningInspire to life-long learning Develop self awareness & personal mastery CSC(E) Graduate Word Picture c. Apart from the course curriculum, what else have you learned and developed in this journey that you feel will better prepare and serve you in the years ahead? d. What would be your leadership and values philosophy? and e. What other aspects do you think are needed to further prepare you to Lead? DELIVERABLES 6. Officers are to journal and share their reflections at the end of the course at syndicate and course level.Insights gleaned from syndicate and course levels sharing will help to further strengthen individual CRP. 7. Details on the paper are listed below : a. Word Count. 2000 – 2500 words. b. Presentation and Submission. (i)End of Course. Officers are to share your reflections in relation to the CRP title at the end of the course at Syndicate level on 22 Nov (Thu) from 0830 to 1020 hrs and at Course Level from 1030 to 1220 hrs. (ii)Submission of Paper. Officers are to submit the paper, both in hard and soft copies, by 23 Nov 2012 (Fri) 0830 hrs. c.Officers are strongly encouraged to develop the habit to pen down reflections regularly such as at a daily or weekly basis, or after each lesson, sub-module or module to chart your reflection paper. Mapping your reflections as a frame is a suggested method as you could build on the frame going through the course. CONCLUSION The CRP serves as a self-reflection on how each officer has developed and grown during the CSC(E) journey, in preparation to lead. Officers should also capitalise on this process and internalise it as a culture of reflection in the course of their military career and beyond. Prepared By : LTC Terence Goh

Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Example

Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Example Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Essay Topic: Catching Fire Bodily functions in Lilliput BY GabrtelaGM Bodily Functions in Lilliput Swifts satirical work, Gullivers Travels, tells the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon that by way of sea travels finds himself in four different, amazing lands. First: a land of six-inch tall human-like beings. Secondly: a land of giants. Thirdly: a floating island. Fourthly: a land ruled by thinking and talking horses. For the purpose of this essay, I will only take into consideration the first of these four voyages. Gulliver finds himself stranded in a beach, tied by hundreds of tiny wires. Surrounding him are tiny creatures holding this wires. One can only imagine the fear the Lilliputians must have felt at the sight of such a giant. However, slowly but surely, they start to take a liking to this enormous man. They sharewith him their culture, their food, and provide him with a house. There are two main instances, during this first Journey, in which we are faced head- on with bodily functions. The first of these is when Gulliver describes how, after rriving to his new house in Lilliput for the first time; he had a major bowel movement: l had been for some hours extremely pressed by the necessities of nature; which was no wonder, it being almost two days since I had last disburdened myself. I was under great difficulties between urgency and shame. The best expedient I could think of, was to creep into my house, which I accordingly did; and shutting the gate after me, I went as far as the length of my chain would suffer, and discharged my body of that uneasy load. He goes on to say that, after this first so uncleanly an action, he would go outside any time he had this basic human need. Of course the excrement, which was of an equally impressive size a Gulliver compared to the Lilliputians, could not be left outside his house to pollute the air around it. Servants would come every day with wheel-barrows to remove this waste. The second time we are faced with a bodily function is the very point in which Gullivers favor with the people of Lilliput really started to go downhill. He had been among these people for while, when one night he was informed that the Queens quarters were on fire. He runs to help and realizes the entire castle is in danger of catching fire. Seeing no manner of assisting, he suddenly remembers that he had a lot of wine to drink that evening and that he hadnt yet discharged any of it. The heat I had contracted by coming very near the flames, and by laboring to quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I voided in such a quantity, and applied so ell to the proper places, that in three minutes the fire was wholly extinguished, and the rest of that noble pile, which had cost so many ages in erecting, preserved from destruction. In this manner he does save the castle from becoming a pile of ashes, but by doing so he also gets the undying hate of the Queen, who is understandably appalled that a man urinated all over her rooms. We can see, from these two examples of the role Swift gives to bodily functions in reader uncomfortable or even disgusted, all for the purpose of assisting the satire.

buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay

buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay Why is it important in todays environment? It leds to development of legal defensible code of students conduct by ensuring that the rights of students are protected, Allows students officials to disseminate rules that allow them to exercise a reasonable degree of control over students under supervision. Students are subject to reasonable rules and regulation promulgation by school officials, they do enjoy personal rights that must be recognized and respected by school officials school rules are necessary to ensure proper order and modesty they should not be vague and ambiguous in interpretation. Helps students understand ther rights. Helps governs the way students conduct in an institution also facilitates, maintains order and peaceful school environment.(Essex,Nathan L. 1999.P.g45) Discuss some of the pros and cons of programs created for students with exceptional needs. Pros Inclusion is valuable in integrating students with disabilities into regular school programs benefiting them from these arrangements. Benefits are conferred to students with disability when they attend public schools, interactions and socializing with other minimizes stigmatization and isolation.(Essex,Nathan L.1999.P.g 995) Cons The concept of inclusion in regular classrooms teachers across the country may be challenged to meet the needs of these students with disability teachers may not be prepared to handle them. Teachers my not be willing to provide special education services during the inclusion period. Reasonable standards of care by school districts is required, these means that the district must be properly prepared to meet the diverse needs of students. These calls for systematic and continuous training as well as appropriate developed policy and procedures regarding the teachers role and the students with disability.(Essex, Nathan L.1999.P.g95) Buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay

Agreemnet Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Agreemnet - Personal Statement Example d genuine differences among people to rapidly spiral out of control, further destroying the team’s interpersonal relationships (Griffith & Goodwin, 2012). As such, it is important to adopt positive approaches towards resolving conflicts, whereby discussions and exchanges are courteous, active listening occurs and the focus is on issues instead of individuals. Significantly, it is important to accord parties in the conflict the benefit of doubt since making assumptions and apportioning blame without hard evidence might further aggravate the conflict. Collaboration is another tactic that may be effective in addressing Manuel’s case of conflict. Since in this case job dissatisfaction and unfair pay seem to be the triggers for conflict, it is important to gather all involved parties to brainstorm for possible solutions solution that are mutually beneficial. However, this will only occur after Manuel is able to come to terms with his personal issues. This is because in order for collaboration to be effective in resolving conflict, compromise must occur whereby individuals relinquish their hard stand to find the middle ground. Consequently, Manuel may not be able to compromise if he has not come to terms with his issues and role in the conflict. The ability to compromise will also be helpful in negotiating for the appropriate solution since Manuel will have understood clearly the position of the company and his colleagues and vice

Apology Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Apology Letter - Essay Example Nothing was wrong until I encountered an unexpected expense that I had not planned for. That unexpected expense put me into great trouble and I was perplexed. I did not know how to accommodate that in my budget. Circumstances had become unbearable for me, and I had to come out of them any way. Lack of money had sabotaged my ability to think rationally, and I ended up charging back almost $1000 on my credit card in five different transactions without taking the items back to the store. I was able to do that since I knew how to operate the computers accordingly. However, I must tell you that till this point, I had full intension of paying the price of those items. I had planned to simply charge my credit card back again upon receipt of my tax return money. It was just before I could get my tax return money back so that I could charge my credit card back that the store manager somehow got to know about my act, but not my intentions! I had no intention of stealing anything from the store ever, though apparently I do sound like that. Through the explanation that I have put forth in the text above, I have tried to convey that all I did was as a result of immense tension and confusion that I was going through few days back, though my conscience is clear for I never intended to steal.

Beatles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Beatles - Essay Example A simple percussion that is consistent throughout does not dominate but simply backs the moderate tempo of the song. However, the changing progressions and phrasing throughout the song gives the illusion of a changing tempo and time signature. The instrumentation is built on top of a bass line that is an "Oom pah" sound reminiscent of a military march or civic band. In the first half of the song, this is accompanied with a strummed acoustic guitar that compliments the percussion. In the last verse, Harrison introduces a picked instrument, probably a 12 string guitar, that plays counter melody and gives the song a Mediterranean or Eastern sound not unlike the sitar used in later works. "Girl", like many of the songs on the album, was mixed with all the vocals on one channel and the instruments on the other. This was a move toward greater use and experimentation in the studio. Many of the elements of "Girl" would be expanded on and would show up on their subsequent recordings.

Male culture disadvantages boys in education Essay Example for Free

Male culture disadvantages boys in education Essay Until the late 1980s, most sociological literature focused on the underachievement of girls. Girls were less likely to pursue A levels and consequently to enter higher education. However, in the early 1990s, it was argued that girls had begun to outperform boys at most levels of the education system. The main sociological focus today therefore is on the underachievement of boys. Epstein et al.(1999) state that boys underachievement is not something new, but in the past was not a worrying trend for two reasons: working-class boys used to move easily into jobs without good qualifications in the days when sons followed fathers into mines, factories, etc. And the structural and cultural barriers preventing females access to high-status jobs and the pressure on women to become wives and mothers, etc. meant that males always achieved better paid jobs in the long run. However, today Epstein notes that governments are anxious about large numbers of unemployed young men because they are a potential threat to social order. There are many reasons why boys are under-achieving in education. In some schools, the extent of boys underachievement has become so serious that twice as many girls are getting five GCSEs grades A-C. It is estimated that by the age of 16, nearly 40% of boys are lost to education. Some sociologists have suggested that the fault lies with teachers. Studies of classroom interaction and the relationship between pupils and teachers suggest that teachers are not as strict with boys as with girls. It is claimed that teachers tend to have lower expectations of boys, e. g.they expect work to be late, to be untidy and boys to be disruptive. Emphasis in the past has been on excluding such boys rather than looking for ways to motivate them. Consequently a culture of low achievement evolved among boys and was not acted upon because the emphasis in schools for many years was to make education more relevant and interesting for girls. Boys performance in schools is a complex issue. This policy issue of boys underachievement can be understood in many different ways. The issue can be framed in terms of human capital, class inequality, equal opportunities or social justice. Links can be drawn between the low educational attainment of some boys and the low employment rates of some young men. There is also for some boys an antagonism between educational attainment, even attentiveness, and the performance and achievement of particular and valued masculinities. Mac An Ghaill (1996) argues that working-class boys are experiencing a crisis of masculinity. Their socialisation into traditional masculine identity has been undermined by the decline of traditional mens jobs in manufacturing and primary industries such as mining. Mass unemployment found in working-class areas means that boys are no longer sure about their future role as men. This confusion about their future role may lead working-class boys to conclude that qualifications are a waste of time because there are only limited opportunities in the job market. The future looks bleak and without purpose so they dont see the point in working hard. They may temporarily resolve this crisis by constructing delinquent or anti-school subcultures, which tend to be anti-learning. Research evidence indicates that boys appear to gain street credibility and status in such cultures for not working. In 1994 Panoramas The Future is Female by Hannon suggested that with more opportunities for women in the work place, a change in the female ideology and with a fairer education system women simply passed the boys. Boys are not actually doing worse than they have done in the past, they are improving, but girls improvement outstrips boys Hannon, The Future is Female, 1994. With father opportunities of women it is easy to realise the origins of the current masculinity crisis, as there is no set role. Boys are no longer thought of as maturing later and comfortably walking into sustainable education. Instead men are expected to work hard throughout education to reap the rewards later but this is against the gender stereotype portrayed through the agents of socialisation. With this problem the new man was created producing a crisis for men on which to evolve into. Both published in socialisation agents boys have the problem of evolving into fulfilling the laddish stereotype or one in which they draw away from the idea that it is not male to work hard in education. Other sociologists have pointed to the feminine culture, which surrounds younger children as a possible influence on male under- achievement. Children, both male and female, may equate learning and therefore schooling with femininity. As boys grow up, they identify with more masculine role models and may reject academic learning and skills such as presentation and reading as feminine. Boys and reading and boys and literature are frequently mentioned by teachers as trouble spots in educating boys. Many young boys belong to anti-learning sub-cultures and they would therefore be deemed as un-cool if they achieved well in school especially in a girly subject such as English. Many boys dont try to achieve at school simply to conform to their groups norms and values. If their group doesnt value education then they wont. They believe it is more valuable to be popular and in with the right crowd as opposed to achieving in school and education.

After Various Writings By Rich :: essays research papers

After various writings by Richard Rodriguez and Octavio Paz, I have come across several realizations. Who am I? Should I be a part of a nation and a â€Å"system† that does not value me, or should I be a part of a nation that does not acknowledge my existence? The United States as a nation does not value me, and Mà ©xico does not even know that I exist. These are difficult matters to discuss. We are all in search of our own identity. However, some of us are placed in a situation that makes it very difficult and confusing to know or understand. I have always asked myself, â€Å"Who am I?† I should put it in more crude words, â€Å"Where do I belong?† After this specific question is asked, I begin to realize that I have problems coming up with a response. My parents were born in Mà ©xico, and thus, they are Mexican. Sometimes I feel I belong here in the United States, but other times I feel more attached to Mà ©xico. I am a Mexican-American. However, I feel that I am denying in some way my heritage and my culture by saying that I am. I am denying my parents. I say that I’m Mexican because in a sense I am. I am also an American. I am a Mexican-American. What do these terms put together imply? They should imply that the person is Mexican and American. The term â€Å"Mexican-American† is the very reason why I find myself confused about who I really am. I need to search for my own identity, which leads me to the purpose of this essay. Rodriguez and Paz have discussed this particular problem of identity. All three have different viewpoints. Some of their ideas are similar but mostly contradictory, especially in the case of Rodriguez and Paz. As I was reading, I was able to relate to what they had to say, and in a much bigger sense, I was able to understand and know who I am. I was able to find my self.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Paz, self-discovery is most than anything realizing that we are alone. Paz argues that our being or our identity becomes a problem and a question. It becomes a problem because of several reasons. We just don’t simply wake up one day and realize that we don’t know who we are. There are individuals who are placed in difficult situations that allow for these questions to arise.

Subject-Object Relation in Mullâ Sadrâ’s Theory of Knowledge :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Subject-Object Relation in Mullà ¢ Sadrà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Theory of Knowledge ABSTRACT: Dividing knowledge to knowledge by presence and knowledge by representation, Mullà ¢ Sadrà ¢ treats the subject-object relation with regard to each one of them differently. In the former, the subject is united with the object, or rather they are one, and the reality of knowledge is this very unity. In this type of knowledge, there is no medium. Such unity culminates, on the one hand, in knowledge by presence comprehensively and completely conveying the objective reality, and in its untransferability on the other. By contrast, in knowledge by representation, the subject experiences another kind of relation to the object of knowledge thanks to the presence of a medium in the subject’s mind, called "mental form." Mullà ¢ Sadrà ¢ considers mental forms as the mental existence of the same quiddities (mà ¢hà ®yyà ¢t) existing in the external world. The only difference is that they have another type of existence. In this essay, I argue that this approach is congruent with the principality of quiddity, which is rejected by Mullà ¢ Sadrà ¢. To be consistent with the basic pillar of Mullà ¢ Sadrà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s philosophy, viz., the principle of existence, I hold that one should begin with the continuity of existence through mental, imagery and external worlds from which the mind abstracts the same quiddity, not vice versa. The problem of the interaction between subject and object in the process of cognition is a crucial issue in a theory of knowledge. Cognition, a unique window on the objective world, has captured the attention and motivated research and debate by scholars in a wide variety of fields over millennia. In all discussions regarding the phenomenon of knowledge, one question has always been raised no matter what the approach, method or focus of inquiry employed. For Kant, the distinction between nomenon and phenomenon and the determination of categories were major concerns. For the psychology of sensation and perception, the search continues for scientific methods to settle the extent to which an individual vis à   vis the environment effects the content, as well as the form, of sensory perception. In the tradition of Islamic philosophy, discussion revolves around the relation between ‘à ¢lim and ma‘là »m (knower and known). The question, expressed more precisely is: How much of what we know can be credited to objective reality per se, and how much is the creation, influence, or interference, of our mental power? It might also be asked how much and in what ways this influence alters the reality of the object of our cognitive system.

Accounting Information System 5

American Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-223X Issue 4 (2009), pp36-44  © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009 http://www. eurojournals. com/ajsr. htm Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Universiti Putra Malaysia Abstract This study seeks to examine the use of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) by ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. , and it’s contribution to the knowledge management and strategic role of the organisation. ZBMS is a company that registered in Kuala Lumpur and operate in construction industry.The company used automated AIS known as ‘Contract Plus – Financial & Project Accounting’ package commercially developed by a private company (ZYXW). Wide variety of people that involve in the company’s operation within and outside the organisation uses accounting information generated by this system for decisionmaking. Ba sed on input provided by operational level managers, the Contract Plus software produces monthly projects’ income statements, balance sheets and statement of changes in financial position for the strategic and tactical managers to plan, control and make decision on the resources allocation.The role-played by AIS enhanced the organisations’ accounting functions, and add information value. The automated AIS speed up the process to generate financial statements and overcome human weaknesses in data processing. The system enhances management of resources and the process of monitoring, control and prediction of ZBMS business for better future. With the advent of AIS, the growth of tacit and explicit knowledge could be seen from the intensive training of personnel at the early stage of system implementation to the development and use of company’s own manual in training of new staff and assisting the job of existing staff.Given the benefit of AIS to ZBMS, this paper re commended that the source of data should be fully automated, and the existing system should be upgraded through computerise the pre-tendering and post-tendering of projects to enable AIS integration. Keywords: Accounting Information Systems, Knowledge Management, Accounting Functions, Information Value, Financial Statements 1. Introduction Accounting Information System (AIS) is vital to all organisations (Borthick and Clark, 1990; Curtis, 1995; Rahman et al. , 1988; Wilkinson, 1993; Wilkinson et al. 2000) and perhaps, every organisations either profit or non profit-oriented need to maintain the AISs (Wilkinson, 2000: 3-4). To better understand the term ‘Accounting Information System’, the three words constitute AIS would be elaborate separately. Firstly, literature documented that accounting could be identified into three components, namely information system, â€Å"language of business† and source of financial information (Wilkinson, 1993: 6-7). Secondly, inform ation is a valuable data processing that provides a basis for making decisions, taking action and fulfilling legal obligation.Finally, system is an integrated entity, Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 37 where the framework is focused on a set of objectives. The combination of the three words Accounting Information System indicate an integrated framework within an entity (such as a business firm) that employs physical resources (i. e. , materials, supplies, personnel, equipment, funds) to transform economic data into financial information for; (1) conducting the firm’s operations and activities, and (2) providing information concerning the entity to a variety of interested users.Indeed, the combination or interaction between human, technology and techniques would permit an organisation to administer its knowledge effectively (Bhatt, 2001; Thomas and Kleiner, 1995). Currently, the world and human life has been transformed from informat ion age to a knowledge age (Syed-Ikhsan and Rowland, 2004: 238; Thomas and Kleiner, 1995: 22), and knowledge has been recognised as the most valuable asset. In fact, knowledge is not impersonal like money and does not reside in a book, a data bank or a software program (Drucker, 1993).Drucker believed that knowledge is always embodied in a person, taught and learned by a person, used or misused by a person. As the world moving into knowledge era, this paper will examine how ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. manages its knowledge in order to remain competitive amongst the construction industry. Probst, Raub & Romhardt (1999, p. 1) stressed that companies must learn to manage their intellectual assets (i. e. knowledge) in order to survive and compete in the ‘knowledge society’. Indeed, knowledge management is concerned with the exploitation and development of the knowledge assets (Davenport et al. , 1998).This paper seeks to examine the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) used by a Malaysi an company named ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. The paper will highlight the users of the system and the way information adds value to the organisation. Also, the paper will investigate the way knowledge is managed through the process of creating, storing, disseminating and applying and how information system plays an important role throughout the process and the AIS contribution in the organisation’s strategic role. The remainder of the paper is organised as follows. The following section describes the background of ZBMS and the use of accounting information systems.The third section provides research findings on accounting information systems employed by ZBMS. The fourth section offer suggestions for future research. The final section concludes the paper and outlines the limitations of the study. 2. The Use of Accounting Information Systems in ZBMS ZBMS is a private limited company registered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that operate in construction industry, where the main activities ranging from construction of infrastructure, building, power, waste water to property development as well as engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) in the oil & gas sector.The company used automated AIS known as ‘Contract Plus – Financial & Project Accounting’ package in their Finance Department, which was commercially developed by a private company (ZYXW). Contract Plus is a fully integrated business solution designed specifically for companies in the engineering and construction industry. The software will generate financial data to be analysed by the accountants and subsequently used by top level of management for strategic decision making, thus, these managers could identify future opportunities and limitations face by the company and industry (McCarthy, Minichiello and Curran, 1987: 243-244). . Findings As mentioned earlier in section 2, ZBMS is a company that operate in construction industry. The industry was identified as one of the most difficult to understand due to its complexity mixture of people, plant, materials, locations, technology, knowledge of the law as well as the design and valuation of work done, which are much subjectivity (Capon, 1990: 1). However, these challenges are under control with the advent of technology such as software development that allows systematic data 38 Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori processing.Therefore, it is important to understand the information flow in ZBMS in order to appreciate the usage of information within the organisation as shown in Figure 1-1 below. 3. 1. Users of AIS As shown in Figure 1-1, the finance personnel that reside at site project office (or called Project Accountants) and head office such as the Financial Accountants, Management Accountants and Finance Manager are the internal users of the system. Also, the management team that consists of Finance General Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Board of Directors are among the internal users of the system.On the other hand, the external users consist of government agency (i. e. Inland Revenue), external auditors and creditors. Indeed, wide variety of people within and outside the organisation uses accounting information for decision-making (Rahman and Halladay, 1988, Renau and Grabski, 1987). Figure 1. 1: Information Flow of ZBMS ZBMS HEAD OFFICE Management Team Inland Revenue ZBMS HEAD OFFICE External Auditors Finance Department Bankers Suppliers Site Office Design Team SubContractors Client 3. 2.Function of AIS The main function of AIS is to assign quantitative value of the past, present and future economics events. At ZBMS, AIS through its computerised accounting system (i. e. ZYXW-Contract Plus) produces the financial statements namely income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statement. The system will process the data and transform them into accounting information during input, processing and output stages that will be used by a wide variety of users such as inter nal and external users (see for example Wilkinson, 2000: 10-11).Wilkinson noted that an effective AIS performs several key functions throughout these three stages such as data collection, data maintenance, data Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 39 management; data control (including security) and information generation. Figure 1-2 summarised the transformation process of AIS. Figure 1. 2: Data Processing in Finance Department at ZBMS Input – Progress Billing Certificate, Subcontractors Progress Certificate, Suppliers’ Invoices Processor – ZYXW Accounting System Output – Financial StatementHuman Element – Finance Personnel 3. 3. Usage of Information Within AIS The construction projects undertaken by the company are divided according to the type of construction activities that comprised of five divisions, namely infrastructure, building, power, wastewater and oil and gas, where each project is treated as a se parate company. The number of projects undertaken by each division depends on the contracts being awarded to the company. As indicated by Figure 1-2, the sources of data originated from external parties such as client, subcontractors and suppliers.The Project Accountants will work closely with the Quantity Surveyors to come out with the appropriate information as illustrated below: Client – The client’s Quantity Surveyors (QSs) will evaluate work in progress (WIP) and come out with percentage of WIP to be agreed by both parties. Once agreed, Progress Billing Certificates (PBC) will be issued by Client’s QSs, which a copy of it will be sent to head office for data processing. Subcontractors – The ZBMS’s QSs will evaluate subcontractor’s WIP at site and come out with percentage of WIP to be agreed by both parties.Once agreed, Subcontractor Progress Certificate (SPC) will be issued by ZBMS’s QSs and verified by ZBMS’s Project Mana ger, which a copy of it will be sent to head office for data processing. Suppliers – QSs and Project Accountants will ensure that the materials and machineries are delivered in good condition at construction site before delivery orders are accepted. The delivery orders will be attached to supplier’s invoice and sent to Head Office for processing. 40 Figure 1. 3: Simplifies the AIS within ZBMS: Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori CLIENTSUBCONTRACTORS SUPPLIERS Site Valuation by Client Site Valuation by ZBMS Materials & machineries delivered Certified by Client Certified by ZBMS Materials & machineries delivered PBC SPC Invoices Verified & KeyPunched by Project Accountants Projects’ Accounts Receivables HQ Database (ZYXW) Head Office Maintenance Projects’ Accounts Payable Projects’ Fixed Assets Projects’ Cash Book Project Ledger Projects’ Trial Balance Projects’ Financial Statement Consolidated Consolidated General Ledger Consolidated Trial Balance Consolidated Financial StatementsThese documents will be verified and input into the system by Project Accountants. The projects’ data will be stored at Projects’ Account Receivables, Account Payables, Fixed Assets accordingly. Projects’ cashbook will be updated automatically after the data being entered to the projects’ Account Receivables and Account Payables. Any expenses incurred at head office will be stored at HQ Maintenance master file by Financial Accountant. The Contract Plus Accounting System software will process the data and produce financial statements of individual company’s projects onAccounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study 41 monthly basis, which subsequently consolidated at group level. The process flow is shown in Figure 13 above. The automated AIS play an important role in the ZBMS’s operational level. As indicated by Rahman and Halladay (1988: 20), most modern organisationâ€⠄¢s operational control of financial resources depends largely on automated support. This is due to the financial statements are generated by the Contract Plus.As shown in Figure 1-4, projects financial statements are generated by the Project Accountants, while the Financial Accountant generates the consolidated financial statements. The Management Accountant uses the consolidated financial statements to prepare company’s Performance Report such as cash-flow forecasts and ratio analysis. Once the Finance Manager (operational level) approve the report, it will then be submitted to the Finance General Manager and Chief Operating Officer (tactical level) to assist them for planning, control and decision making.The Performance Report will provide the information regarding work in progress relevant information. Therefore, AIS plays very important role at operational and tactical level as the activities at these level depend heavily on the information generated by the AIS. Figure 1 . 4: Type of Information in ZBMS Strategic Board of Director, Managing Director Tactical Chief Operating Officer, General Manager (Finance) Finance Manager, Management Accountant, Financial Accountant, Project Accountant Operational Transaction Processing ZYXW Accounting System . 4. Value Added of AIS The role played by accounting functions has been enhanced with the development of AIS, which in turn contribute to the profession’s value added to organisation. In fact automated AIS employed by ZBMS expedite the process to generate financial statement and reduce the human errors compared to non-automated AIS, which add the existing value of accountants. AIS also provide information on both actual and budget data of the organisation that helps company’s management to plan and control business operation.Good management of resources and better control of cost, budgeting and forecasting enhance the well being of ZBMS to continually generated profits. The AIS also played a cr ucial role that contributes to ZBMS’s value added by providing internally generated inputs from financial statements. Rahman and Halladay (1988: 19) believed that viable strategic plan must have inputs based on history of organisation, the current assets and capabilities of the organisation, and the trends in operations of the organisation. 42 3. 5. Role of Knowledge Zulkarnain Muhamad SoriAt ZBMS, both tacit and explicit knowledge are used as shown by the extensive used of accounting information system to assist business decision-making. The ZBMS begins its computerised accounting system in 1997. During the transformation process from manual to computerised accounting system, all finance personnel were sent for comprehensive computer training. Table 1: Relationship of AIS at ZBMS and Knowledge Management System Knowledge Management System Creation of knowledge Creation of Knowledge Storing of Knowledge Disseminating of Knowledge Knowledge Conversion Explicit to Tacit Explici t to Tacit Tacit to Explicit Tacit to ExplicitDevelopment of Automated AIS Training by hands-on experience ZYXW implemented, staffs learned from vendor’s manual Staffs gaining experience; Problems and solution being recorded on paper Improvement on system; Internal manual that suits the ZBMS needs being produced; Widely used in the department; Assists learning process of new staffs Explicit to Tacit System constantly use in Finance Department to generate monthly financial statements Applying of Knowledge Explicit to Explicit As shown in Table 1, the staffs were given hands on experience on the ZYXW System.During the early stage of system implementation, finance personnel were given flexibility to explore the system due to limited experience on the software at that time, and most of the staffs depend largely on the manual provided by the vendor for trouble-shooting. At initial stage, two-way communications with the vendor were developed to solve problems arised. As the time go ing on, the personnel were encouraged to record the problems aroused. Problems that have been solved were recorded for future reference.Currently, the ZBMS Finance Department has its own ZYXW manual that suits with the department needs. The manual provides valuable information to new employees as well as to the existing personnel at Finance Department. Indeed, AIS provide the systematic recording, processing and generating of accounting information, and in the absence of AIS, information would be scattered, random and hard to access, which would become a barrier to the growth of knowledge. 3. 6. Strategic Role and AIS To analyse the AIS strategy in ZBMS, McFarlan Strategic Grid will be utilised. The McFarlan’s strategic grid would locate ZBMS to the appropriate category with respect to its information system strategy (Curtis, 1995: 61). Automated AIS is fundamental part of the strategic plan of ZBMS in 1997. It has been improved over the years of implementation and generates accurate and timely accounting information that contributes to a good decision-making. Realising the benefit brought by the AIS, the source of data must be fully automated. The existing system should be upgraded through computerise the pre-tendering and post-tendering of projects in the primary stages of the construction activities.When the system is upgraded, the ZYXW Contract Plus will integrate the two modules of pre- and post-tendering with the currently automated Financial and Project Accounting. Therefore, the most suitable position to locate AIS at ZBMS on the McFarlan Grid is on Factory Grid as shown in Figure 1-5 below. Accounting Information Systems (AIS) and Knowledge Management: A Case Study Figure 1. 5: ZBMS Location on McFarlan’s Strategic Grid 43 Low Current Dependence on AIS Support Turnaround High Factory –AIS at ZBMS Strategic Low Future Importance of AIS High 4. Direction for Future ResearchHaving mentioned the above opportunities and challenges to t he AIS, future research should investigate the AIS contribution on the organisation’s growth of knowledge. Though AIS would organise and structure the data input and knowledge, lack of understanding on the potential effect of human behaviour on the system such as human error, manipulation and work-style. In fact, Ponemon and Nagoda (1990) noted, â€Å"the most difficult problems often are caused, or are exacerbated, by those individuals who have erroneous expectations of the new system being implemented† (p. 1).The study would be fruitful with the use of questionnaire and interview survey. Perhaps, the survey should concentrate on a sample of senior managers of the top hundred companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia (Malaysian Stock Exchange), banks and regulatory bodies. These groups could contribute significantly due to their role as a decision maker in their respective organisations. Secondly, future research should also investigate the possibility to expand the use of AIS to the other areas that still did not use the system such as non-profit organisation and society.Indeed, the current level of usage shows that the benefit outweighs the investment cost. The successful implementation of AIS could save shareholder’s money and time. Finally, future research should explore issues on the information value generated by AIS to shareholders and stakeholders in making investment decisions. Case study approach on top companies would be appropriate methodology because the understanding on specific AIS model would be more valuable rather than using questionnaire and interview approach that assumes AIS across sampled organisation is identical. 5. ConclusionThis paper examines the use of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) by ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. The wide varieties of people that involve in the company’s operation get the benefits from the implementation of AIS and the use of Contract Plus software developed by ZYXW. The system assists the operati onal managers to come out with monthly reports for the top managerial level (i. e. tactical and strategic) plan, control and decide resources allocation. In addition, the paper showed that the AIS add value to information processed within the company. The automated AIS could speed up information process and overcome traditional human weaknesses.As a result, the system supports the resource management and help ZBMS pursue its projection of continuing business profit. The use of AIS indicate the growth of tacit and explicit knowledge, where personnel were trained intensively and experience and trouble shooting were 44 Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori recorded for future reference and training. Indeed, the successful implementation of an accounting information system can be described as a series of complex, interconnected activities necessitating participants to have technical and managerial skills to sort out prospective problems (Ponemon and Nagoda, 1990: 1).Note To keep the identity of the r espondent and it’s software developer anonymous, an imaginary name was used in this study i. e. ZBMS Sdn. Bhd. and ZYXW respectively. References [1] [2] Bhatt, G. D. (2001). 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