Presonal statement Essay

I intend to major in communication because of my penchant interest for news and communications, the process of gathering information and relaying it to the public. News forms an important part of the public life. Through it people base most of their decisions and even emotions. Whenever my friends hear the news, they either feel happy or sad. The facts that are presented by the news anchor and the way it is presented affects the way they react to it. News casters and news writers have a certain power of influencing and affecting the views of the people regarding a certain topic. The way they communicate is enchanting and impressive. In this regard, I want to major in Communication because I want to discover how they make such an intimate connection to the public and I also want to learn how I can effectively communicate with other people. Moreover, I have deep interest for communication through this process one learns more about the world and other people. Through proper communication, dreams could become realities. My interest for communication was enhanced when I became a junior sales girl for a telecommunications company. My job required proper communication with clients in order to establish good public relations for the company. The job was very interesting and engaging. It gave me an avenue to improve my communication skills and at the same time discover and develop proper ways of dealing with clients and other people. The experience made me realize that there are certain ways of communicating with prospective clients or customers. As a new employee, I hardly knew how to handle the job smoothly. I was regularly reminded by my supervisors on what to do and how to sell the product to the customers. At first, I did not do well. I committed several mistakes and was even reprimanded by my boss. However, I did not let such experience get the better of me. I learned from my mistakes and continuously improved on my sales skills. Eventually, I was able to execute the job properly and professionally. In my two months stay with the company, I realized that not all clients are the same. There is certain formula that should be used for a particular client. There are customers who are very particular while others are very lax. In this regard, the clients should be dealt with based on their particularities and whims. The goal is to satisfy them with the services that being provided. The best way of completing this goal is to understand what they actually want or need and address them completely. Providing adequate information and professional dealing with clients are necessary for anyone trying to sell a product. Aside from my experience with in selling products, my school activities also served as motivation for me to be interested in communication. Throughout my secondary school, I was involved in many extracurricular activities. I used to plan for several functions and events and such task required me to talk with people from different fields. This experience made me realize the importance of knowing how to properly communicate my thoughts. Had I not known how to express myself, my ideas and opinions on certain matters involving the events I planned for, I could have not fulfilled my task satisfactorily. When I entered college, I was again involved in many extra curricular activities. However, unlike my secondary school experience, my extracurricular activities in college had greater impact on me and my desire to study Communication. I was assigned to man a committee of the event. The Chairman instructed me on what to do and I, in turn, directed my committee members. All the while, I thought I was on the right track. I only discovered that I misunderstood the instruction when the Chairman saw our work. Due to such mistake, my group had to redo all the work. I felt so guilty for the inconvenience that my group mates experienced and not to mention the work load put to waste. Had I understood properly the instructions, none of it could have happened. This incident made me realize the importance of properly communicating instructions. Communication is not a one way process. It works in such a way that both parties need to listen and comprehend what one telling the other. Communication works best when one listens while the other talks and if something is unclear, it should be clarified after the one giving instructions has finished talking. My employment in the telecommunications company and school experience have thought me a lot about communication however, I believe that my experience are insufficient to teach me all the things I need to learn about communication. It is my contention that the field of communication is a very broad world and there is a lot to learn and benefit from it. In the future, I would like to be a public relations officer of the government. Like I have mentioned in the beginning, public relations is very important as it influences the views of public on certain facts, issues and organizations. In my home country, the image of our government becomes worse day after day. I think one of the reasons is the exercise by the government of poor public relations. In this regard, I would like to learn how I could improve the image of my country through the aid of public relations. I believe that being a part of the University of California, I can enhance my knowledge on communication and public relations and eventually become a key player to my country’s success. I am a very patient and determined individual. In everything I do, I give my best and do whatever it takes to achieve my goals. Right now, I believe that I could achieve my goal of helping improve the image of my country through getting a quality education in a prestigious university. I believe that through my determination and the excellent teaching in the University of California, I could someday attain my goal. I also believe that my deep interest for music and communication will aid me in building a good future. Music, like communication has the capacity to influence people, if properly executed. Moreover, just like music, the goal of producing quality tone would be useless if a good foundation for understanding notes is missing. In any field, a good educational foundation is necessary and I believe only the University of California can provide me with such excellent foundation.

Quantitative Technique

What is a linear programming problem? Discuss the scope and role of linear programming in solving management problems. Discuss and describe the role of linear programming in managerial decision-making bringing out limitations, if any. 2. Explain the concept and computational steps of the simplex method for solving linear programming problems. How would you identify whether an optimal solution to a problem obtained using simplex algorithm is unique or not? a)What is the difference between a feasible solution, a basic feasible solution, and an optimal solution of a linear programming problem? )What is the difference between simplex solution procedure for a `maximization’ and a `minimization’ problem? c)Using the concept of net contribution, provide an intuitive explanation of why the criterion for optimality for maximization problem is different from that of minimization problems. Outline the steps involved in the simplex algorithm for solving a linear programming maximiz ation problem. Also define the technical terms used therein. 3. â€Å"Linear programming is one of the most frequently and successfully employed Operations Research techniques to managerial and business decisions. ’ Elucidate this statement with some examples. †¦2†¦ †¦2†¦ 4. Describe the transporation problem and give its mathematical model. Explain, by taking an illustration, the North-West Corner Rule, the Least Cost Method and the Vogel’s Approximation Method to obtain the initial feasible solution to a transportation problem. Discuss the various methods of finding initial feasible solution of a transportation problem and state the advantages, disadvantages, and areas of application for them. 5. What is an assignment problem? It is true to say that it is a special case of the transportation problem? Explain. How can you formulate an assignment problem as a standard linear programming problem? Illustrate. What do you understand by an assignment problem? Give a brief outline for solving it. 6. What are different types of inventories? Explain. What functions does inventory perform? State the two basic inventory decisions management must make as they attempt to accomplish the functions of inventory just described by you. 7. What is queuing theory? What type of questions are sought to be answered in analyzing a queuing system? Give a general structure of the queuing system and explain. Illustrate some queuing situations. What is queuing theory? In what types of problem situations can it be applied successfully? Discuss giving examples. 8. What is a replacement problem? Describe some important replacement situations and policies. Briefly explain the costs which are relevant to decisions for replacement of depreciable assets. Illustrate their behaviour and explain how the optimal time for replacement of an asset can be determined. †¦3†¦ †¦3†¦ 9. What kinds of decision-making situations may be analysed using PERT and CPM techniques? State the major similarities between PERT and CPM. Under what circumstances is CPM a better technique of project management than PERT? A construction company has received a contract to build an office complex. It has frequently engaged itself in constructing such buildings. Which of the two network techniques, PERT and CPM, should in your opinion, be employed by the company? Why? 10. Describe the steps involved in the process of decision making. What are pay-off and regret functions? How can entries in a regret table be derived from a pay-off table? 11. What do you understand by Markov processes? In what areas of management can they be applied successfully? What do you understand by transition probabilities? Is the assumption of stationary transition probabilities realistic, in your opinion? Why or why not? 12. Explain how the probability tree helps to understand the problem of Markov processes. Explain the method of calculation of ending up in each absorbing state when a chain beings in a particular transient state. What is fundamental matrix of Markov chains? What does it calculate? 13. What is simulation? Describe the simulation process. State the major two reasons for using simulation to solve a problem. What are the advantages and limitations of simulation? `When it becomes difficult to use an optimization technique for solving a problem, one has to resort to simulation’’. Discuss. â€Å"Simulation is typically the process of carrying out sampling experiments on the models of the system rather than the system itself. ’’ Elucidate this statement by taking some examples. †¦4†¦ †¦4†¦ 14 . A company has three offers for its existing equipment in one of the divisions. The first buyer is willing to pay Rs. 50,000 at the end of 8 years’ period. The second buyer offers Rs. 39,000—consisting of an immediate payment of Rs. 14,000 and Rs. 25,000 after 6 years. The third buyer agrees to buy the equipment for Rs. 29,000 payable right away. Which is the best offer for the company if it can earn an interest @ 8% per annum on the money received? 15. What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative techniques of forecasting. When is a qualitative model appropriate? Briefly discuss the Delphi method of making forecasts. 16. a)How do you distinguish between resource leveling and resource allocation problems? State and explain an algorithm for resource allocation. b)Explain the following as they are used in PERT/CPM (i)Beta distribution, and (ii) Budget over-run. †¦5†¦ †¦5†¦ 17. The following table gives data on normal time and cost, and crash time and cost for a project. `Duration (Weeks)Total Cost (Rs) Activity NormalCrashNormalCrash 1 – 232300450 2 – 333 75 75 2 – 453200300 2 – 544120120 3 – 441100190 4 – 632 90130 5 – 6 31 60110 i)Draw the network and find out the critical path and the normal project duration. ii)Find out the total float associated with each activity. iii)If the indirect costs are Rs. 100 per week, find out the optimum duration by crashing and the corresponding project costs. iv)With the crash duration indicated, what would be the minimum crash duration possible, ignoring indirect costs? 8. What is a `game’ in game theory? What are the properties of a game? Explain the â€Å"best strategy’’ on the basis of minimax criterion of optimality. Describe the maximin and minimax principles of game theory. †¦6†¦ †¦6†¦ 19. Explain the steps involved in solut ion to dynamic programming problems. Explain the following in the context of dynamic programming: (a)Stages (b)States (c)Pay-off function (d)Recursive relationship 20. A political campaign for election to the parliament is entering its final stage and pre-poll surveys are medicating a very close contest in a certain constituency. One of the candidates in the constituency has sufficient funds to give five full-page advertisements in four different areas. Based on the polling information, an estimate has been made of the approximate number (in thousands) of additional votes that can be polled in different areas. This is shown below. No. ofArea Commercial AdsABCD 0 0 0 0 0 1913117 21517115 31212325 425232129 531252733 Using dynamic programming, determine how the five commercial ads be distributed between the four areas so as to maximize the estimated number of votes.

Communications Coordinator Essay

As the Communication Coordinator for this national drug manufacturer, today we will need to brainstorm and discuss how we will address the negative effects that our medication are causing to the public. The local news has already started a witch hunt by allegedly reporting that one of our local officials has suffered from adverse side effects from our medications. How can we address the public regarding this issue without losing business and the trust we created with our investors and our consumers? In today’s meeting we will decide which communication tactic is the most suitable for this situation, while making sure that we stay within the HIPPA guidelines. We will start by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional media. Traditional media can include newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. There are some great advantages n whey these media outlets would be great in reaching our audience regarding this health scare. Two great traditional methods are newspapers and magazines; they can help because we can be precise and explicit when discussing our issues. Additionally, these methods would provide use with a permanent record of our attempt to reach the public (Advantages and Disadvantages of written communication, 2012). Two other good traditional methods are radio and television. These methods are great because they are very cost effective and will allow us to reach our audience directly and will allow us to show emotion and concern regarding this matter. All of these methods seem like they would work but there are disadvantages with sticking to traditional media outlets instead of using electronic or social media sites. Some valid concerns we have with using electronic or social media sites. Some main concerns we have with using traditional media is that it can only reach a limited amount of people and we are restricted to a small scope of listeners and readers. In addition, feedback is not immediate like electronic or social media sites.

Personal education utopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal education utopia - Essay Example Rawls viewed education as an opportunity for people to progress and transform their lives and an egalitarian society would be the one, which would provide â€Å"equality of opportunity†. This would mean that every child, regardless of his or her background, race, cast, color, creed, language, culture, ethnicity, social class, and others (Levitas, pp. 87-89), would receive the same opportunity to educate him or her and stand in lines with other (Schubert, pp. 67-68). Important here to note is that this equality of opportunity would not only mean that state would take up the responsibility for the education of its students and would pay all the expenses in this regard but it would also mean that all the resources and tools which complement educational progress would also be divided equally. For example, children from poor families or lower middle class families fail to afford computer, continued internet access, educational gadgets, personal transport, access to libraries, abili ty to hire private tutors and others (Halpin, pp. 78-79).For example, no student would have the permission or access to come to school by his or her own car and everywhere would come through school bus. Important here to note is the fact that under education would no longer remain a choice for the governments. They will not be able to label educational spending as expenditure but as an investment, an ongoing investment, whose investment levels even the governments could not cut down (Winch & Gingell, pp. 13-14; Levitas, pp. 87-89).

SQL Injection Vulnerabilities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SQL Injection Vulnerabilities - Research Paper Example Exploiting SQL injection vulnerabilities enables an attacker to persistently foist dynamic and storage page content generation that would include malicious code in the attacked site. The visitors to the site may thus be redirected to malicious sites. The SQL injection attack vectors are represented by data passed to the vulnerable web application from the user and which is processed by supporting database. Practically, the most common SQL injection attack vectors arise from the data transmitted through HTTP POST and HTTP GET. Other attack vectors are HTTP User-Agent, HTTP cookie data, and Referer header values. The exploitation of some SQL injection vulnerabilities can be effected through the authentication of unprivileged user accounts, all of which depends on where the application fails in the sanitization of the input. This means that the sites that readily and easily allow the users to create new accounts hold additional risks. The automatic detection of the vulnerabilities of th e SQL injections depends on the heuristics of the behavior of the target application in responding to the specially crafted queries. The techniques involved in the detection heuristics are classified into three categories. The Boolean-based blind SQL injection which includes the supply of multiple valid statements that bears evaluation to true or false in the affected area at the request of HTTP. Through the comparison of the response page between both situations, the success of the injection can be inferred by the tool.

Individual Reflection Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual Reflection Report - Essay Example In addition, I also had difficulty getting through examinations and processing instructions for my various course requirements. As mentioned, I am not a native speaker and I still have a long way to go mastering the English language. It was extremely difficult particularly whenever I am about to take an exam. Reviewing the course and subjects was already difficult to begin with, especially whenever I had to deal with new words and concepts. So whenever there was an exam, my anxiety doubles up. Definitely, the language barrier was the main reason for slow progress in academics. In my classes, I double my effort to follow the instructions and syllabus needed for the course. Aside from taking notes, I also compare with other students so I could monitor my progress. I consult regularly with my professors to be able to ensure that I am catching up on the lessons. I have already missed a lot of things in my first year and I am determined to make it this time around. I feel that I am improv ing, little by little, so that eventually, I could reach my goals. At present, I am still working on making it better by continuously improving on my communication skills. By this, I do not only mean speaking the language, but more importantly, be able to get along well with other people and build relationships. In school, I am trying again to get better by taking the courses I failed last term, and doubling my efforts to successfully pass them this time. I have started building friendship with other foreign students who also share the same sentiments and hurdles with me. This way, we can assist each other in the adjustment processes. I talk to my professors regarding my performance, and seek help whenever I need it. Guidance is important for me at this point, as I need all the assistance I could get so I could truly get synchronized into the system. I engage in group studies, join groups that would help me improve my performance. I am now focusing on simultaneously mastering the la nguage and learning all the concepts being taught. More than memory work, I have to immerse myself into various situations and participate in activities that would allow me to create relationships and form a support group that would help me improve my performance. Eventually, I want to be really familiar with University life, finish my courses with flying course and eventually get a Degree in Business and Management. I want to have the capacity to eventually apply for a job in UK, a job that would not consider my being non-native a disadvantage. Later on, when I would be getting advanced courses, I would be able to really participate in the learning process even more. My perseverance would eventually lead me towards the achievement of my goals. So far, I think I am a work in progress, as I have already basically learned the language, and can now somehow communicate whenever I have to go out, do my errands, shop or simply interact with other people. I am slowly building my confidence to be able to engage in simple conversations even outside the university. Though there are still new challenges and hurdles that come along now that I am in the university, I think that with careful planning and evaluation, I can get my objectives done in time. CAREER As I said, I am taking up Business and Management because of my goal to secure a long tern job from the private sector. I want to given the chance to apply for corporate job in probably a bank, or in

Searching for 15 Fallacies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Searching for 15 Fallacies - Research Paper Example This is a fallacy because there are others who have been able to get jobs. 5. Our society is becoming more dangerous. This is a fallacy of Scare tactics. It makes people believe that the world is no longer a good and safe place for anyone. It forces people into taking action to secure themselves against the insecurities of the world. 7. â€Å"This has not traditionally been a partisan issue. Lincoln laid the rails during the course of a civil war. Eisen however built the interstate highway system. Both parties have always believed that America should have the best of everything† This was a statement by Barrack Obama about infrastructure. This is a fallacy of tradition. This is because the speaker is basing their argument on past events. 8. Our Mayor’s opinion about local crime is worthless. He cannot even manage to hold his household together having been married and divorced three times already. This is a type of fallacy called Ad hominen. This statement attacks the mayor’s personal life and not his opinion on local crime. 10. We need to spend more on education. Just because the Russians are, increasing military spending does not mean we should. The future of the nation depends on the children of today. This is a fallacy of Red herring. The person changes the topic. 15. Why suffer the embarrassment of morning mouth? Use xyz toothpaste every evening and wake up to a fresh, exiting mouth. This is a slippery slope fallacy. This is because it has the option of using the toothpaste but one may use something else for fresh

History 4 discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History 4 discussion - Essay Example Therefore, successful outcomes of reduced insurgence by the north and their retreat could count in indicating that US was winning the war. Hamburger Hill is one the movies that gives an account of the occurrences that took shape in the Vietnam War and relays the story from the soldiers who took part in the war. The movie shows an attempt to take Hill 937 by the US troops and the negative impact that war brings about. Other films that also give a firsthand account of the war are, Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. Limited war is the opposite of total war. The war was based on ideologies of means and end. Because of constraints in terms of the resources like financial, military and human, the presence or absence of a vision played a great role in influencing the outcome of the war. The war had to be fought by any means in order to attain the desired result. The end was to justify the means. The topic describes the Vietnam War as formless and could hardly be sustained. It had crude statistics of measuring a win. Assuming that Southern Vietnam was not an excessively hard place to operate and under-estimation of the enemy, made the war possible and sustained. The Viet used Guerrilla tactics in their combat. The US soldiers, on the other hand, used the search and destroy tactics as well as bombing the economic and industrial centers of the enemy soldiers and this tactic obliterated the Viet Cong army. To describe the Vietnam war as formless and frontless, I think creates a picture of lack of military organization with no clear cut means of measuring attained success and no strategies to secure the secured enemy territory. The war had no specific objective that could be pointed out and was, thus, formless. It was hard to identify signs of victory. Fighting could take place anywhere at any time with no frontline. The Cuban missile crisis was a great threat of nuclear war in the world. The patience exhibited by J.F Kennedy helped put the

Quick Loan Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quick Loan Business - Essay Example The requirements for taking out a payday loan are very easy. Therefore, it is very likely for any individual to take out the payday loans so long as one has a bank account, some form of income such as benefits like social security as well as a legal form of identification. This kind of loan assists people in coping with the expenses that come in between their paycheck (Bartlett, 2009. A payday loan is very important both to the borrower and to the lender. This is because as long as the borrower has a bank account, the loan can be available. Even if the borrower had been declared bankrupt in the past, or had been having a bad credit history, the individual is in a position to acquire a payday loan. This is in contrast with other lending companies which cannot give a loan to individuals with bad credit history as well as to people who are bankrupt. This means that the borrower needs not to worry about accessing payday loan. The author says that payday loans are taken very quickly. This is because of the low requirements that are needed to acquire the loan as well as their design for the short time. The author says that the payday loan can be available within 24 hours after application, even if some companies make the funds available in just a couple of hours. This means that the choices are great if the borrower needs the money quickly. The money can be available instantly if the borrower has the unexpected expense (Francis, 2009). Payday lenders offer small amounts of money which is in contrast with other lending companies whereby they put an upper limit on how much an individual can borrow. As the author puts it, the limit means that the borrower cannot borrow more than what an individual can be able to pay. The author explains that the borrower cannot get into more debts as part of the procedure Lawrence & Elliehausen, 2008).

English Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

English Legal System - Essay Example These rights are classified as 1. Right to life 2. Prohibition of torture 3. Prohibition of slavery and forced labour 4. Right to liberty and security 5. Right to a fair trial 6.No punishment without law 7. Right to respect for private and family life 8.Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 9.Freedom of expression 10. Freedom of assembly and association 12.Right to marry 13.Prohibition of discrimination 14.Restrictions on political activity of alien's 15.Prohibition of abuse of rights 16.Limitation on use of restrictions on rights. The new Act has not altered the powers of the judiciary as against the legislature and executive but brought the English law on par with the other nations in the world who recognized and give prominence to the Human rights. By bringing this act into force the English law established that the government is to protect the Human rights of the individuals and there fore brought the actions of public sector, local government and social and health care departments within the ambit of the act. From the date its inception all the statues made are subject to the scrutiny of the Act. That is to say all the Acts and Rules shall comply the provision of the New Act. The human rights enumerated in the new act are not new to any democratic country. These rights are protected either directly or indirectly through some machinery. Similarly prior to this new act the United Kingdom too protecting these rights through European Court of Human Rights, since it is a member of the Council of Europe and the laws of European Court which guarantees the Human rights are binding on United kingdom. The new act brings into its ambit all the central, and local government authorities such as National Health Service, Inland Revenue and police. And the acts of the non-government bodies ranging up to private nursing homes and Telecommunications,. The act does not spare the action of the private individuals impinging the rights more specifically protecting the children, who are subjected to torture from their parents in the process of imposing the discipline. The act maintained the perfect balance by imposing the responsibilities too on the persons to maintain the peace on the principle of one's liberty should not jeopardize the rights of the others. Powers of the court under the act: 1. Power to scrutiny the administrative actions of the public authorities. Under the Act court have been vested with the power to scrutiny the administrative actions and to restrain such authorities from misuse and improper use of their administrative powers when they are violating by acting in contravention of the Human rights enumerated under the act. With this power the court can safeguard the individuals from the inhuman treatment, discrimination, Privacy to property etc. 2. The act does not give absolute powers to the courts. As the law of land which is known as the Constitution of such nation, is supreme in all respect the Act too considered the same and maintained pride of the legislature by not giving over riding powers to the courts in this Act on the enactments made by the legislature. The act allows the public authorities to implement the law made by the Parliament in spite that it is infringing the rights. But keeping

Client Paper Essay Example for Free

Client Paper Essay Human service professionals, or helpers, will likely work with many different clients, each with their own set of problems. These problems can range from physical abuse and neglect, aging issues including death and dying, and a number of other issues concerning the basic needs of life. Problems can also encompass the many different situations people find themselves in either as a result of life choices or out of no fault of their own. These problems may include homelessness, combat veteran issues, and mental illness. Whatever the problem or problems are, it is the responsibility of the helper to use a wide range of skills to assess client needs, create a treatment plan, and offer resources and emotional support to the client as they accomplish the goals included in the treatment plan. These skills include communication, empathy, compassion, patience, analytical skills, and teamwork. A range of problems faces human services clients â€Å"Problems for clients are rarely single issues, and the human service professional should approach each client with the expectation of more than one problem.† (Woodside McClam, 2011, p. 131) Every problem that a client presents with cannot be predicted. In fact, client problems encompass a wide range of needs and circumstances. For example, a client who is struggling with domestic violence may also have a need for mental health support. A client with mental health issues may also be experiencing a lack of food, clothing or shelter. The problems facing clients are very broad and it is helpful to better understand them. Problems facing children and families include physical and sexual abuse, poverty, lack of a healthy home, or little education. Children are especially vulnerable as they cannot provide for themselves. Although â€Å"[t]he best place to serve kids is in their home and with a family,† there may be a necessity for placement in foster care or, in some ca ses, adoption (Moffat, 2011, p. 5). The elderly also face  unique problems such as lack of mobility, losing their independence, and end of life issues. When the elderly can no longer care for themselves, finding in-home care or placement in assisted living or nursing home facilities becomes the focus. In addition, the elderly may struggle with some of the basic needs of life such as food, shelter and clothing. Immigrants, veterans, and people with disabilities face other problems in the human service field. Immigrants struggle with adapting to a new culture in a new country as well as learning a new language. Immigrants may have problems with finding employment, housing, and legal help, as well. Veterans need assistance with adjusting to civilian life including adjusting their skill sets to match employment opportunities. Combat veterans especially struggle with physical and mental disabilities and are in need of appropriate services for rehabilitation. Disabled people face challenges in personal care as well as employment, including issues with rehabilitation and adapting to their disabilities. The need for residential or group care facilities may also be at issue for the disabled community. Problems with substance abuse and addiction, mental illness, and clients with criminal records also exist. Many of these problems co-exist in a client’s life and need to be addressed as a whole. â€Å". . . the client is an individual comprised of psychological, social, economic, educational, vocational, and spiritual dimensions and possibly will have needs in many of those areas.† (Woodside McClam, 2011, p. 132) Specific helping skills can be used with clients Essential to the helping process is knowledge and practice of professional and interpersonal skills that help the human service professional in effectively addressing the needs of clients. These skills include communication, empathy, compassion, patience, analytical skills, and teamwork. Chief among these are interpersonal and communication skills, because more workers deal directly with a variety of people† (Moffat, 2011, p.9). The work of human service professionals centers on building relationships of trust with the client. It is the responsibility of the helper to facilitate effective communication. Listening is vital to the process. In order to fully grasp the client situation, the helper needs to observe both the verbal and nonverbal messages. Listening involves paying  attention to both words and actions as they go hand in hand in understanding the total message being given. G.E. Egan introduced the SOLER concept for responsive listening. Learning this concept can be v ery useful to the human service professional (Egan, 2010). Details of the SOLER concept are illustrated in the following table: S Face client Squarely O Adopt an Open posture L Lean toward the person E Maintain good Eye contact R Try to be relatively Relaxed In addition to the SOLER method, paying attention to vocal tone and speech rate, and verbal tracking of the client’s message will exhibit attending behavior and help the communication process (Ivey, Ivey Zalaquette, 2009). The helper can encourage the client to discuss their issues openly by not changing the subject they have chosen. Effective listening shows compassion for the client and creates an opportunity to show empathy and patience, additional skills that are essential to the success of the human service field. Clients in the human service field come from a variety of situations. Their values and belief systems vary widely as much as their problems do. In order to effectively help people, helpers need to develop acceptance and understanding of these differences. Unconditional acceptance of the client is essential to the success of treatment. Helpers need to see the situation and experience feelings from the perspective of their client. Patience is necessary for the he lping process as there are likely to be setbacks or resistance to the treatment plan. Helpers should learn to adapt their approach as the situation changes; which leads to the skill of critical thinking. â€Å"The ability to think creatively helps workers determine ways to get around hurdles that interfere with clients’ efforts to succeed† (Moffat, 2011, p.10). Throughout the helping process, a variety of changes is bound  to occur. Whether these are positive or negative changes, client and human service professional must work together to deal with them and continue to move forward with the assistance process. Using analytical and problem-solving skills, helpers can overcome the roadblocks to treatment and continuously work towards solutions. Treatment often involves networking with a number of other professionals and utilizing a variety of resources. Being able to work well as a team is another essential skill for human service professionals. Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health Facilitators and Counselors are all participants in the work of h uman services. Using communication, empathy, compassion, patience, analytical skills, and teamwork, the helper can effectively recognize and define the variety of client problems that exist and work with them towards accomplishing the goal of the helping process, which is to encourage responsibility and promote self-help. References Egan, G.E. (2010). The skilled Helper: A problem management and opportunity development approach to helping (9th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., Zalaquett, C. P. (2009). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Moffat, C. (2011). Helping those in need: Human service workers. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 55(3), 22-32. Woodside, M., McClam, T. (2011). An introduction to human services (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage.

Freudian Reading on Othello Essay Example for Free

Freudian Reading on Othello Essay Freudian Reading on â€Å"Othello† Is it possible for other people to act as our superegos? What are the effects of never resolving your oedipal complex? And when a situation becomes to over whelming, do we project our thought and feelings on to our peers? I am using â€Å"Through the Literary Looking Glass: Critical Theory in Practice† by Sian Evans and â€Å"Othello† by William Shakespeare to analyse the characters Othello and Iago as well as the major theme jealousy through a Freudian lens. The aim of this psychoanalysis is to try and give a better understanding of the character’s motivations and unconscious, narcissistic desires. The theme jealousy is revealed by both these characters throughout the play shows us how we need to be well rounded people, and the effects this has if we are not. The opening act of â€Å"Othello† begins with the marriage of Desdemona and Othello in Venice, Italy. Here we see a black, middle aged man, marry a fair, young, Venetian woman in front of an upper class white society. (This was highly frowned upon at that point in history). As the play proceeds Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona is sleeping with Cassio, and tries to corrupt their marriage. This behaviour seems somewhat childish coming from a grown man and shows us how Iago doesn’t use his superego to control his id, as well as displaying his immense jealousy of Othello. However Othello believes what Iago is saying, as he has a reputation of being an â€Å"honest man†. Iago continues to insinuate Desdemona’s dishonesty to Othello and provides fake evidence. Othello gets increasingly â€Å"green-eyed† by the â€Å"poison† that Iago is telling him and becomes so overwhelmed by this jealousy that he goes back to his natural instincts, resolving issues through murder. This is a result of him joining the army at 7 and since then all he has known is war. The play ends with Othello acting on impulse and under the influence of his violent superego, murdering Desdemona, and then Iago after he realises Desdemona was innocent. He then proceeds to commit suicide as he believed this act would be considered noble, restore his reputation, and relieve his conscious mind of his violent actions. Othello is a mentally and emotionally frail character in the play. He joined the army at a young age and gradually became recognised in society as something other than a then a â€Å"middle aged†, â€Å"black moor†, due to his high rank in the army and then marrying Desdemona. However  when a supposedly â€Å"honest Iago† starts suggesting Othello’s wife is unfaithful, he is easily able to mentally control Othello through him never having resolved his oedipal complex. Othello had never resolved his oedipal complex because we see him give his mother’s handkerchief to Desdemona. Freud describes this as a method of transference and Othello is transferring his repressed love for his mother on to Desdemona. Iago then acting as Othello’s id then reveals Othello’s murderous superego which was caused by decades of warfare. We visually see this in the play when he says â€Å"How shall I murder him Iago† when Iago implies Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona. Here, Othello is also showing that his oedipal complex is still not resolved by transferring his repressed emotions on to new objects through his desire to murder Cassio (being the father) in order to be closer to Desdemona (being the mother). Later in the play we see hi s superego again when Desdemona (the woman he loves) becomes his enemy and he kills her. This act of murder was purely out of jealousy and the fear of him losing his reputation he has worked so hard for. â€Å"Yet she must die, else shell betray more men,† Shows us how Othello is subconsciously protecting his soldiers. Though a Freudian perspective it appears that Shakespeare has used Othello as a character to show us that if you are brought up with murder or warfare when you are young, you might never be able to overcome your violent superego as you get older and the detrimental effects this has. Shakespeare has also shown us how sublimation is applied through Othello, as he is someone that has the urge to hurt and kill and thus joined the army, so that the act of killing is morally justified by protecting their country or soldiers. He may not kill the person he wants to kill necessarily, but they will release their feelings by killing the enemy, if unless these feelings are manipulated by an external factor (Iago). Although many years have passed since â€Å"Othello† was written, people can still relate to it because human nature does not change. We all question those who are close to us, and whether or not they are honest and loyal. Shakespeare is using Othello to warn us of disastrous co nsequences that may arise when you are manipulated by a person (Iago) that capitalises on the jealous nature of another human. Iago is an extremely jealous character in the play. He is envious of Othello’s reputation, higher rank in the army, wife, and that he is more respected in a white society than him; even though he is middle aged and  black. This shown through the quote; â€Å"But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"He has done my office†. Reputation means to a lot to Iago, and overall that’s all he cares about most, which shows narcissism and racism in his character. He believed that Othello robbed him of his reputation. We see this through the quote; â€Å"But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed†. Iago doesn’t use his superego to control his id so his urges and desires are unrestrained. This is shown throughout the play in his successful attempt to corrupt Othello’s marriage. Nearly one hundred per cent of the time when Iago is with Othello he is using reverse psychology to act as Othello’s superego and make him more jealous of Cassio; â€Å"O beware, my lord, of Jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster†. This is displaying two perspectives on Iago’s physiological state. Either Iago has zero control over his id, and just lets his jealous mind run wild. Or, he chooses not to control his psychopathic mind with his superego. This results in him tricking Othello into consciously thinking he’s jealous when he unconsciously isn’t. For example, when Othello asks for living reason (proof) that Desdemonas been disloyal, Iago tells him about an erotic dream that Cassio supposedly had one night while he was lying in bed next to Iago. In slee p I heard him say â€Å"Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our loves†. After Iago tells these rumours he then covers his tracks by deceiving Othello. An example of this is when he says; â€Å"Men should be what they seem† which is ironic coming from him, as he is not what he seems. He is deceptive and believable, and for Othello that is bad news for someone who is so easily jealous and mentally frail. â€Å"He hath a person and a smooth dispose, to be suspected, framed to make women false. The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest but that seem to be so† This quote is reinforcing how Iago believes Othello will be easy to manipulate and deceive. Through this psychoanalysis we have a greater understanding of Iago’s motivations and unconscious desires. We see how he projected an overwhelming amount of jealousy he had for Othello on to him, and even though he thought he was in control of the situation and that he would come out on top, it led to both of their demise. For Iago jealousy played on the trust he developed in his relationship with Othello and whether Othello would believe him. However even though Othello did believe and trust Iago, Shakespeare still shows us  that jealousy destroys relationships and consumes the mind. My psychoanalysis of â€Å"Othello† has given me a new understanding of the play for a different perspective from what I would normally view it from. Iago and Othello both had major flaws in their characters which ultimately lead to their demise. Iago couldn’t control his id, which meant he was always acting on impulse without control of the superego and there was only a matter of time before he slipped up. Then Othello never resolving his oedipal complex meant someone like Iago could easily manipulate and mentally corrupt him. Both these characters have shown us as readers how we need to be well rounded people so we are not as easily susceptible to jealousy, and the effects this has if we are not.

Study of Document Layout Analysis Algorithms

Study of Document Layout Analysis Algorithms Relative Study of Document Layout Analysis Algorithms for Printed Document Images Divya Kamat, Divya Sharma, Parag Chitale, Prateek Dasgupta ABSTRACT In the following survey paper, the different algorithms that could be used for document layout analysis have been studied and their results have been compared. For the removal of image mask, Bloomberg’s algorithm and CRLA have been described. For the purpose of text segmentation, we have studied the Recursive XY Cut algorithm, RLSA and RLSO algorithms. Introduction Physical layout analysis of printed document images is the first step of the OCR conversion. For the OCR to work effectively, we need to provide an input wherein no images are present in the document i.e. the image contains only text. If this is not done properly, the OCR will return garbage values. To avoid this, we have discussed two algorithms, Bloomberg’s Algorithm and CRLA that could be used for the removal images from the document images. The next step is the text segmentation wherein we find the text blocks inside the document. The coordinates of these text blocks are then passed as input to the OCR. To perform this segmentation, we have discussed the recursive XY cut algorithm, the RLSA and RLSO algorithms. Removal of Image from Document The first step in the document layout analysis is to remove the images present in the original document. We will be discussing the Bloomberg’s algorithm along with its variations and the CRLA algorithm for image removal. Bloomberg’s Algorithm The Bloomberg’s algorithm is primarily used to find the image mask of halftone images. The implementation of this algorithm uses basic morphological operations. The algorithm has the following steps: In the first step, the binarization of the input image is performed. Next, 41 threshold reduction is performed twice using threshold T=1. 41 threshold reduction is performed using T=4. 41 threshold reduction is performed using T=3. Opening the image with a structural element of size 55. Next, 14 expansion of the image is performed twice. Next the union of overlapping components of the seed image obtained from step 6 with the image obtained from step 2 is performed. Dilation with structural element 33 followed by 14 expansion which is performed twice. The halftone mask obtained from step 8 is then subtracted from the binarized input image. The main issue with Bloomberg’s algorithm is that it is unable to distinguish between text and sketches (i.e. line drawings) in a printed document image. Enhanced CRLA Algorithm CRLA stands for Constraint Run Length Algorithm. In this algorithm we apply horizontal and vertical smoothening to the document image to get a clear separation between text and images in the document. Enhanced CRLA is used to smooth out only the text part in the image and avoid smoothening of non-textual part of the document image. Algorithm: Label the connected components in the document image. Classify the components with respect to their heights as follows: Height less than or equal to 1 cm, label it as 1 Height between 1 and 3 cm, label it as 3 Height greater than 3 cm, label it as 3 Apply horizontal smoothening to the components with label 1 only. Apply vertical smoothening to the components with label 1 only. Logically AND the two images obtained previously. Apply horizontal smoothening to the output image of AND operation. Calculate Mean Black Run Length Calculate the Black Run Length (BRL) row-wise for the region under consideration. Maintain a Black-White Transition Count (TC) for the region. Calculate Mean BRL as MBRL= (BRL/TC). Calculate Mean Transition Count Maintain a Black-White Transition Count (TC) for the region. Calculate W, the width of the region. Calculate Mean TC as MTC=(TC/W) Extract the components from the image with label 1 having values of MBRL and MTC in the acceptable range for the typical document image. Apply horizontal smoothening to the components with label 2 only. Apply vertical smoothening to the components with label 2 only. Logically AND the two images obtained previously. Apply horizontal smoothening to the output image of AND operation. Calculate MBRL and MTC. Extract the components from the image with label 2 and 3 having values MBRL and MTC in the acceptable range for the typical document image. At step 9 we extract the text part of the document image and at step 15 we extract the non-text part of the document image. The main advantage of the CRLA algorithm is that clear separation of text and non-text part of the document image. It also works for sketches as well as halftones effectively. It has considerably less complexity as selective smoothening is done. However, after the removal of the non-textual part of the document image, some stray pixels remain the image. The connected components in the halftone image whose height is less than 1cm are assumed as text elements in the algorithm. This results in presence of unwanted components in the final image. Text Segmentation The next step in the document layout analysis is the segmentation of text into text blocks that could be provided as input to the OCR. The following algorithms have been studied for this: Recursive XY Cut algorithm The recursive XY cut algorithm is used for obtaining text blocks from an image that does not contain any images from the original printed document. The XY cut algorithm works in the following way: The bounding boxes of the image are calculated. Next we calculate the horizontal and vertical projections of the image. After calculating the projections, we then perform X cuts on all the valleys in the horizontal projections which have a value greater than the threshold th. Next we perform Y cuts in between these X cuts at all the valleys in the vertical projections which have a value greater than the threshold tv. We repeat the steps 3 and 4 until there are no further X or Y cuts possible in a region. One of the problems with XY cut algorithm is that there is no method to find a threshold that will work for all the documents. Instead, a new threshold needs to be determined for each document and this cannot be done without manual intervention. Another major issue with the recursive XY algorithm is the time complexity. The recursive XY cut algorithm requires a large time to complete execution. Despite these disadvantages, this algorithm successfully separates the text blocks provided that a manual threshold is provided. RLSA The Run-Length Smoothing Algorithm (RLSA) works on black white scanned images of documents. It finds runs of white pixels and converts them into black pixels whenever they are less than a given threshold. The RLSA works in four steps: In the first step, we perform horizontal smoothing. For this, we scan the image row-wise and then replace lengths of white pixels by black pixels if they are less than a threshold th. In the second step, we perform vertical smoothing. For this, we scan the image column-wise and then replace lengths of white pixels by black pixels if they are less than a threshold tv. Next, we perform logical ANDing of the images obtained from the first and second steps. Then we perform horizontal smoothing on the image obtained from step 3 with a threshold ta. RLSO A simplified version of the RLSA, RLSO (Run-Length Smoothing with OR) works as follows: In the first step, we perform horizontal smoothing. For this, we scan the image row-wise and then replace lengths of white pixels by black pixels if they are less than a threshold th. In the second step, we perform vertical smoothing. For this, we scan the image column-wise and then replace lengths of white pixels by black pixels if they are less than a threshold tv. Next we perform a logical OR operation on the images obtained from the first and second step. The RLSA algorithm returns rectangular frames of documents with Manhattan Layouts. On the other hand, RLSO algorithm also works well with non-Manhattan layouts. The problem with both RLSA and RLSO is that the threshold for smoothing needs to be determined manually. Also the threshold required for each document image is different and it is almost impossible to be determined manually. Conclusion We have compared the above given algorithms for the document layout analysis. During our research we found that, while Bloomberg’s algorithm faces problems for images that contain sketches, CRLA faces problems for images that contain extremely small non-textual elements. We also observed that the recursive XY Cut algorithm and RLSA both do not work on printed documents having non-Manhattan layouts. On the other hand, the RLSO algorithm gives comparatively better results for Manhattan as well as non-Manhattan layouts. However, all three algorithms mentioned above face the common problem of manual threshold determination which is document specific. References Syed Saqib Bukhari, Faisal Shafait and Thomas M. Bruel, â€Å"Improved Document Image Segmentation Algorithm using Multiresolution Morphology† Jaekyu Ha and Robert M. Haralick, Ihsin T. Philips, â€Å"Recursive XY Cut using Bounding Boxes of Connected Components† , Third International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition, ICDAR, 1995 Stefano Ferilli, Teresa M.A. Basile, Floriana Esposito, â€Å"A histogram-based Technique for Automatic Threshold Assessment in a Run Length Smoothing-based Algorithm†, ACM, 2010. Hung-Ming Sun, â€Å"Enhanced Constrained Run-Length Algorithm for Complex Layout Document Processing†, International Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 2006

Career Passports and Career Portfolios :: Career Passports Portfolios Essays

Career Passports and Career Portfolios Portfolios have long been used in some professions to showcase professional work and skill. In education, portfolios have also been used for assessment, including self-assessment (Lankes 1995; Pond et al. 1998). Both career portfolios and career passports reflect this dual focus—students assess themselves in the process of developing a product, and the resulting product showcases and documents their experiences and skills. A distinction is sometimes drawn between a portfolio as developmental and a passport as summative (Bridging the Gap 1993). With portfolios, more emphasis is put on the developmental process of self-assessment, planning, and goal-setting; with passports, more emphasis is put on the final product that sums up the results of the process and communicates them to others. In practice, however, both passports and portfolios represent a combination of developmental process and summative product. The value of the passport or portfolio is also twofold: students come to an awareness of their own skills and experience, and employers have richer, more detailed information for hiring decisions than is provided in transcripts and diplomas. As early as the mid-1980s, Charner and Bhaerman (1986) advocated a Career Passport as a way for secondary students to identify and document their work and nonwork experiences and to translate those experiences into statements of skills specifically related to work. The process was necessary for students to understand what they had to offer to employers; the resulting Career Passport provided employers with critical information to supplement the information in school transcripts or even resumes. The Ohio Individual Career Plan (ICP) and Career Passport. The Ohio Career Passport is the capstone of students' career decision-making process, begun before the ninth grade (Gahris n.d.) The planning and decision making involved in the ICP process lead to each student's Career Passport, an individual credential housing an array of formal documents that students use in the next step after high school. Components include a letter of verification from the school; a student-developed resume; a student narrative identifying career goals and underlying rationale; a transcript (including attendance); diplomas, certificates, licenses, or other credentials; and a list of any specific vocational program competencies. The state recommends housing those components in a consistent, easily recognizable folder. Students develop ICPs through career interest and aptitude assessment, exploration experiences, preferably through job shadowing, and annual review and revision in high school. The ICP and Career Passport can be developed in any statewide curriculum area but most often this occurs in English or social studies, with assistance from the computer instructor and guidance counselor.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as a Portrait of Evil Essay -- Frankenstei

Frankenstein as a Portrait of Evil   Ã‚  Ã‚   Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is more than just a story of a creation gone bad; it is rather a story of evil that compares Victor Frankenstein to Prometheus and his monster as a God-like figure. Mary was able to do this by all of the influences that she had. These influences made her able to write a new, "modern", Prometheus that did not directly call upon God, but, however, it did directly call on evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The influences that Mary Shelley had were enormous. They were her husband, her parents, her friends, and her mind. Her husband, Percy Shelley, was also a great writer. To her he personified the genius and dedication to human betterment that she had admired her whole life (G.E.W.). And it was probably for this reason why Mary let him watch so closely over her while she wrote Frankenstein (Levine, 4) and why she gave him carte blanche to revise the book (5).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Her parents were also a big influence on her. Her father was William Godwin and her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft. William Godwin was a philosopher and a novelist. Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist. From an early age she was subjected to famous philosophers, poets, and writers. She was always treated as if she was a unique individual and her parents put high expectations on her and her potential (G.E.W.). Because of all this she had a lot of her mother's and father's political ideas go   into her book (Levine, xiii).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was probably because of her friends that she wrote Frankenstein. They were all at a party at Lord Byron's villa when the played the famous game that motivated her to write Frankenstein (Patterson). Supposedly she was the only one that took the game seriously (Levine, xi... ...eing an excellent example of the portrayal of evil writing that is often found in the writing of the Romantic Period in Europe.    Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. New York: Chelsea, 1987. G.E.W. Biographical Sketch.   Ã‚   Http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/shelley/shel110.html Levine, George. The Endurance of Frankenstein. Los Angeles: Moers, 1974. Patterson, Arthur Paul. A Frankenstein Study. http://www.watershed.winnipeg.mb.ca/Frankenstein.html Smith, Christopher. Frankenstein as Prometheus. http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/class/sf/books/frank/papers/FrankCS.html Spark, Muriel. Mary Shelly. New York: Dutton, 1987. Spark and Stanford. My Best Mary. New York: Roy,1944. Williams, Bill. On Shelley's Use of Nature Imagery. http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/class/sf/books/frank/papers/FrankWJW.html

Lethal Tools of Our Past-Weapons of The Frontier :: essays research papers fc

Lethal Tools of Our Past- Weapons of The Frontier   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A starving man paves his own highway with the calloused soles of his hunger. Out on the untamed wastelands, forests, and prairies it was the way of the gun, the knife, and the axe for all that managed to survive. And survive these brave men and women did with a sheer will of endurance that the pampered of today’s world has not come to know even the shadow of. In our modern comfort we live in what legacy these bold souls carved out of this nation, and much of the thanks we must give is passed to the sweat-hewned implements of their survival, the weapons of the frontier.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scourging the countryside for this evening’s meal or simply keeping wary of impending danger, one often felt naked without a trustworthy gun at their side. A firearm often made one feel invincible, for the power of a bullet could protect the weakest and cowardly from even the strongest and fiercest of animals and people. In it’s use it proved to be an action that spoke louder than words, many a quarrel has been put to rest through this instrument, whose music is often not one of good cheer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rifle and the coveted shotgun, literally brought home the bacon. With sleek models such as the Winchester .44 in 1873, accurate targeting sights increased a hunter’s ability to take down his prey, even from large distances, often exceeding 200 yards. The other weapon of choice, the shotgun, did not boast a straight, clean shot, but had the capacity to tear anything to shreds in a single blast. A short barrel provided the advantage of a wider blast range and easier handling (Trachtman et al 50). In many battles, the shotguns were often preferred for their simplifying features.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the frequently lawless country that the United States had become, a quicker solution for combat was deemed necessary. It did not take long for such handguns as the 1873 Colt Peacemaker to emerge as the weapon of choice for gunfighter, cowboy, sheriff or civilian. Fighting men everywhere considered the peacemaker’s balance and durability superior to that of other revolvers of the day, and they expressed their appreciation by clamoring for a variety of versions – some decorative or modified for a fast draw, others were plain, but all were lethal (Trachtman et al 43). With a growing consideration of violence, many Americans rushed to buy them in large quantities, often through the mail.

Financial managing application Essay

Introduction I am making a budget plan and am going to recommend financial managing application for the business as a business manager. The company is named Houzit Pty Ltd, it is a retailer for home wares. It is a growing business. It has 15 stores in Brisbane area. It has 150 staff members. It is registered with ASIC. As per the review of financial structure of this company the report below has been made. 1. The statutory requirements for tax compliances are listed below: * 9% of wages and salaries is to be calculated as superannuation for every quarter * 4.75% is payroll tax of wages and salaries for every quarter * Worker compensation is 2% of salaries and wages for every quarter * For every quarter the company tax is 30% of net profit before taxes. Current Liabilities: GST: Goods and service tax is a value added tax of 10% in most services and goods, it is imposed on most of the transactions but refunded later with certain process. Fringe benefit tax: this tax is applied to most non cash benefits that an employed provides. It is imposed on the employer. Payroll tax: it is a tax paid by employers to government. It is calculated as per the wages and salaries. It is different in different states in Australia. PAYG Withholding: pay as you go withholding is a way of paying ones tax in a year should one be an employee. Income tax: it’s a most important revenue stream in Australia. Income tax is imposed in earnings. 2. * Company must be registered as per the corporation Act 2001 * Tax must be paid regularly 13% of total income. * Auditing should be done. * Financial reporting to ASIC. 3. The name of software is arrow business software creators features are user experience with standard and dynamic menus dock able panels and seamless integration to Microsoft office application. * MYOB * Quick books Both these software are impressive at what they do. But both have similar strengths and weaknesses. But after being sophisticated in the accounts of business there can be few criticisms made in one of these products as for houzit. Quick books is not supported in Apple Macs, MYOB allows multiplication inventory where as quick books fades in this character. MYOB also allows multiple entities at a time but quick book does not. Hence, after looking at all this advantages and disadvantages, I’d recommend MYOB for Houzit. 4. Matching principle : the business that adopt matching principle can accurately evaluate their pin point financial performance and profitability for a certain time by cancelling the difference in the accounting entry timings. Account groups : assets, liabilities, owners equity, revenue and expenses makes up all of the statement of financial position and statement of financial performance. They show us the budgets and also the profit/ loss. Time period : to make a sound economic and financial decision we need time period. A business needs a timely decision in today’s world. The accounting period is the period of time over which 5. The implication of probity when revising and preparing budgets is financial probity. It involves insuring that there is full accountabilities with the funds management whether or not it is transaction related or in a form of an advice. It is also important that all of it is lawfully met as far as financial responsibility is concerned. 6. The dates are listed below: * Loan of $100000 on 31 dec * Advertisement budged increased by $70000 over 2010/11 * Salaries and wages rise $172500 in 2010/11 7. The items that are recommended for inclusion in budget sheets are listed below * Water bill * Transportation * Staff amenities * Office expenses 8. The modified internal controls that could improve risk management for the company are: * We need to follow rules and regulations * Also we have to apply and implement all the procedures * The time sheets and operating hours should be noted too Explanation: The reason for the past profit and losses could be the problem of the financial management software. As per the given care study, the software that has been used was not able to provide sufficient analysis of the generated revenue and the expenses which has made poor estimates about future profits and decision making. The growing of the customer base has helping loyalty sales and also new references of upcoming customers. This has reduced the advertisement cost. However the new software system is to be used to catch up for the company’s progression more efficiently. Mathematics: CGS = 16971237 – 7297632 = 963760 REFERENCES: www.wikipedia.org www.ato.gov.au www.asic.gov.au www.australia.gov.au www.moneysmart.gov.au

Role of A Computer Programmer

Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs, that computers must follow to perform their functions. They also conceive, design, and test logical structures for solving problems by computer. Many technical innovations in programming-advanced computing technologies and sophisticated new languages and programming tools-have redefined the role of a programmer and elevated much of the programming work done today. Job titles and descriptions may vary, depending on the organization. Computer programs tell the computer what to do, which information to identify and access, how to process it, and what equipment to use. Programs vary widely depending upon the type of information to be accessed or generated. For example, the instructions involved in updating financial records are very different from those required to duplicate conditions on board an aircraft for pilots training in a flight simulator. Although simple programs can be written in a few hours, programs that use complex mathematical formulas, whose solutions can only be approximated, or that draw data from many existing systems may require more than a year of work. In most cases, several programmers work together as a team under a senior programmer's supervision. Programmers write programs according to the specifications determined primarily by computer software engineers and systems analysts. After the design process is complete, it is the job of the programmer to convert that design into a logical series of instructions that the computer can follow. The programmer then codes these instructions in a conventional programming language, such as COBOL; an artificial intelligence language, such as Prolog; or one of the most advanced object-oriented languages such as Java, C++, or Smalltalk. Different programming languages are used depending on the purpose of the program. COBOL, for example, is commonly used for business applications, whereas Fortran (short for â€Å"formula translation†) is used in science and engineering. C++ is widely used for both scientific and business applications. Many programmers at the enterprise level are also expected to know platform-specific languages used in database programming. Programmers generally know more than one programming language and, because many languages are similar, they often can learn new languages relatively easily. In practice, programmers often are referred to by the language they know, as are Java programmers, or the type of function they perform or environment in which they work, which is the case for database programmers, mainframe programmers, or Web programmers. Programmers often are grouped into two broad types, applications programmers and systems programmers. Applications programmers write programs to handle a specific job, such as a program to track inventory within an organization. They may also revise existing packaged software or customize generic applications called middleware. Systems programmers, on the other hand, write programs to maintain and control computer systems software, such as operating systems, networked systems, and database systems. These workers make changes in the sets of instructions that determine how the network, workstations, and central processing unit of the system handle the various jobs they have been given, and how they communicate with peripheral equipment such as terminals, printers, and disk drives. Because of their knowledge of the entire computer system, systems programmers often help applications programmers to determine the source of problems that may occur with their programs. Most systems programmers hold a 4-year degree in computer science. Extensive knowledge of a variety of operating systems is essential for such workers. This includes being able to configure an operating system to work with different types of hardware and having the skills needed to adapt the operating system to best meet the needs of a particular organization. Systems programmers also must be able to work with database systems, such as DB2, Oracle, or Sybase. Programmers in software development companies may work directly with experts from various fields to create software, either programs designed for specific clients or packaged software for general use, ranging from games and educational software to programs for desktop publishing and financial planning. Much of this type of programming takes place in the preparation of packaged software, which constitutes one of the most rapidly growing segments of the computer services industry. In some organizations, particularly small ones, workers commonly known as programmer-analysts are responsible for both the systems analysis and the actual programming work. Advanced programming languages and new object-oriented programming capabilities are increasing the efficiency and productivity of both programmers and users. The transition from a mainframe environment to one that is based primarily on personal computers (PCs) has blurred the once rigid distinction between the programmer and the user. Increasingly, adept end-users are taking over many of the tasks previously performed by programmers. For example, the growing use of packaged software, such as spreadsheet and database management software packages, allows users to write simple programs to access data and perform calculations. Required skills vary from job to job, but the demand for various skills generally is driven by changes in technology. Employers using computers for scientific or engineering applications usually prefer college graduates who have degrees in computer or information science, mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences. Graduate degrees in related fields are required for some jobs. Employers who use computers for business applications prefer to hire people who have had college courses in management information systems (MIS) and business and who possess strong programming skills. Although knowledge of traditional languages still is important, employers are placing increasing emphasis on newer, object-oriented programming languages and tools, such as C++ and Java. Additionally, employers are seeking persons familiar with fourth- and fifth-generation languages that involve graphic user interface (GUI) and systems programming. Employers also prefer applicants who have general business skills and experience related to the operations of the firm.

How useful is Joseph Fletcher’s “Situation Ethics” as a guide to human behaviour? Essay

Rudolf Bultmann claimed that Jesus Christ had no ethics except for â€Å"Love thy neighbour as thyself†. This is what the Anglican Joseph Fletcher based his theory of Situation Ethics on. Fletcher opposed the idea of Legalistic and Antinomian Ethics. Legalistic ethics is where there are absolute rules to what should and should not be done. Fletcher said that Legalism couldn’t accommodate the â€Å"exceptions to the rule† and that rejecting a particular aspect of the law than you surely must reject it all. For example the law â€Å"Do not kill† may require more laws to allow killing in self defence, killing in war, killing unborn babies etc. and doing this contradicts the law in the first place. Antinomian Ethics means â€Å"against law† and people using this approach do not live by an ethical system at all. Fletcher is against this not only because it is unprincipled but also on the basis of existentialist ethics, which argues that reality is composed of singular event and moments in time and Antinomian ethics follows no predictable direction from one situation to another. Situation ethics is based purely on agape love for all. That every ethical decision we make should be made on the premise that â€Å"the end justifies the means†, and that the most loving action with a pure motive is the best one. He claims that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount should be our moral code rather than the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments. Jesus’ ethics of â€Å"love thy neighbour as thyself† can be related to every ethical dilemma, whether modern or old. â€Å"Jesus said nothing about birth control, large or small families, childlessness, homosexuality, masturbation, fornication, premarital intercourse, sterilisation, artificial insemination, abortion, sex, foreplay, petting and courtship. Whether any form of sex (Hetero, Homo or Auto) is good or evil depends on whether love is fully served.† (Fletcher quoted by Jenkins) Fletcher pointed out that even Jesus broke Jewish law if love was better served by doing so. â€Å"Christ Jesus †¦ abolished the law with its commandments and legal claims.† Ephesians 2:13-15 Christians of all denominations can use Fletcher’s theory, which is an advantage as religious disputes and anger between the Protestants and Catholics is such a divide in the Christian religion. Situation ethics could help break down the barriers and unite a faith once again, as situation ethics main principle is love. Fletcher developed six fundamental principles. These are: 1) No actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Nothing is good in and of itself except for love. Actions are good if they help people and bad if they don’t. One cannot expect to live responsibly with moral absolutes. 2) Good actions should not be done for reward (E.g. experiencing a good feeling or seeking altruistic deeds in return) but should be done for their own sake. Jesus and Paul taught love as the highest principle above the Law. 3) Justice is love at work in the community. 4) Love is practical and not selective. We should show love to all, even our enemies. Christian love is unconditional. 5) Love is the end – never a means to something else. 6) Humans have the responsibility of freedom. They are not bound by any Law. With this comes the responsibility to ‘do the most loving thing’ in every situation. â€Å"Fletcher claims that it is a mistake to generalise. You can’t say ‘Is it ever right to lie to your family?’ The answer must be, ‘I don’t know, give me an example.’ A concrete situation is needed, not a generalisation. ‘It all depends’ may well be the watchword of the Situationist.† (Vardy & Grosch p.130) There are many benefits to Situation Ethics. The Bible does not cover many modern topics such as abortion, artificial insemination etc and situation Ethics allows us to work out which is the most loving action with the most loving end. It is also true to the Gospel representation of Jesus and what rules he lived by rather than living by the Old Testament or Jewish laws such as the Ten Commandments, which Jesus came to amend. Situation ethics is flexible, practical and allows for certain actions if the motive is pure and loving for others. It allows the evaluation of actions to choose the least wrong out of two wrong actions, which a legalist cannot do. There are however many criticisms which mostly come down to the problem of knowing what the most loving action is. As we cannot predict actions of other or even actions of our own, it is difficult to know whether the most loving end will actually come or whether an unseen factor may emerge and change the outcome. Selfish people also may twist situation ethics to suit themselves. Agape love is only an ideal to follow as closely as possible not to live by, as it is difficult to see things from an objective point of view. How can we be sure that an action comes out of Agape? Who is to decide whether an action is pure by motive? Can God only decide this at Judgement Day? Another very important criticism is that it can be argued that Hitler was killing Jews out of love for the Arian race and the future of the world. Does Situation ethics allow for such actions that have been dubbed â€Å"Wrong, and that’s that.† such as the Holocaust, September the Eleventh and the Bali bombing? Although the arguments for situation ethics are very convincing and useful for everyday life, the criticisms cannot be ignored, as they are very plausible and important for world issues and topics. A way that considers both Situation ethics and legalism and is somewhere in between is Proportionalism. Proportionalists believe moral rules can only be overridden if there is a proportionate reason in a particular situation. This includes both Natural law (killing, stealing, lying, cheating) and the Situational ethics view. Proportionalists believe that these laws should be adhered to unless there are good reasons not to. This allows for flexibility and a certain amount of relativism whilst still using the fundamental aspects of the Bible. An evil like pain, death or mutilation is, in itself, pre-moral or non-moral, and should never be described as ‘moral’. It is the act as a whole, which is right or wrong, and it is the person, or the person in his or her acting, who is morally good or morally bad. (Bernard Hoose quoted by Vardy & Grosch) I conclude that Fletcher’s situation ethics is highly useful for Christians in everyday life for all the reasons above. However I do believe that there has to be a balance and in my opinion it seems that Proportionalism is the best and most moral route to follow. It contains principles of both Situation ethics and Legalism and seems to make the most sense.

Kudler fine foods and the relevant market research

Kovacic, et al (2003) wrote a paper about the research they made which details how the group relied on a market research study to see if the product that they would like to sell, kulen in particular, to their target market including European countries like Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Through the market research they were able to find sufficient reason to launch a market test and eventually a full scale export operation, largely because of the use of market research. Like Kovacic, Kudler Fine Food’s company is also engaged in the sale of organic food to a particular target market. And while Kovacic has not started with the business and Kudler Fine Food already has, it does not make market research any less significant for any of the two. Kudler Fine Foods was able to put together a very sound marketing strategy and tactics that it uses to further improve its performance in the business front because of its effective implementation of market research.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Without the market research, Kudler Fine Food’s company is close to groping in the dark since the market research provided Kudler Fine Foods company several important information that it needs to know wherein marketing strategy and tactics greatly depend. Through the inclusion of the inputs of market research Kudler Fine Foods was able to detect not just the significant growth the company is experiencing, but as well as the capability and the viability of the company to finally expand the services. One of the many dilemmas faced by companies is the ability to know for sure when it is the right time to expand as well as to downsize just to ensure that sustainability as well as growth is possible and attainable. Through the input of the market research, the company was able to know that aside from starting on the correct marketing strategy that enabled the creation of a situation fit for starting company expansion, there are more and better marketing strategies that they can use to improve the performance of Kudler Fine Food in the business front. The market research also enabled the company to detect areas of development and improvement in operations. This is just as important because different aspects of the business drastically and quickly change. Sometimes, the reason and nature of such changes are reactionary and it is important for companies like Kudler Fine Foods to be able to detect facets of its operation which still needs a shot in the arm and still has a lot of room for improvement. Market research makes this data available through research and study methodologies that enables Kudler Fine Foods to get inside the minds of its customers, non-customers and even employees and using that opportunity to explore what one thinks is Kudler Fine Food’s weakest link so far that hinders them from operating in a level that is a notch higher. And finally, the market research also helped the company pinpoint exactly the frequency of the   improving consumer purchase which provided the necessary data to Kudler Fine Foods that the company’s current strategies are making it easier for increased loyalty of its consumers, which in turn results to improved profitability. Market research, after all, is geared in knowing, interpreting and digesting the pulse of the market and tactics and strategies in the future can be maximized if it is directed in the direction that market research points to. Additional market research is needed in the following areas that include the better profiling of competitors, internal marketing, knowing what both the patrons and non-patrons of Kudler Fine Foods expect from the company in the long and short term future including the introduction of new products or new services, the study of viable partnership or alliances with other companies the partnership of which can provide better revenue and sales performance for both parties involved, Market research should not always be focused on what a company wants to work on through self assessment; sometimes, it is also important that companies assess themselves by comparing itself as a company to other rival and competitor companies and see the differences as well as the advantages in favor of the rivals and the competitors and why such advantages exist in the first place. To be able to be consistent in the pursuit of staying ahead, a company must always understand the rival company’s next moves and thwart it or be a step ahead of it, and this can only be done by the integration of a more detailed profiling of rivals based on more market research. Know your enemy is the famous dogmas of every efficient fighter so that you have an improved judgment every time you decide and anticipates the rival’s next moves. While it may not always guarantee that the rival will become totally predictable, it will make your moves more calculated and not something which is loosely and randomly done like strategies done on impulse. Through the use of correct market research, the money a company spends for its marketing strategies and tactics (including promotions, advertisement, acquisitions, launching of new products, phasing out of old products, re-branding and brand re-positioning, etc) achieves expected goals. While most market research are generally capable of identifying whether or not a person likes a brand or not, or which particular brand he likes the most and the least; marketing strategy should never forget to cover its own base and make sure that it also knows what the employee wants and the extent of the company employees’ loyalty to the brand or the company’s products or services. Most market research efforts are focused too rigidly on knowing what customers want that what the employee wants are ignored, forgotten or removed from the equation, which should not be the case since employees, when outside the office, transforms not only into clients and customers but as well as first hand agents of product and service promotion that can ultimately translate into a highly probable long term client. Modern companies are already cognizant of the need for an effective internal marketing program and like external marketing; all a company needs is a market research. Knowing what both the patrons and non-patrons of Kudler Fine Foods expect from the company in the long and short term future including the introduction of new products or new services is an important (sub) topic of future market research because it can provide a glimpse of where Kudler Fine Foods should go in order for them to maintain the loyalty of its current patrons and to invite more individuals to become customers of the company as well. The study of viable partnership or alliances with other companies the partnership of which can provide better revenue and sales performance for both parties involved can be assessed better through the use of data from market research. This is a very tricky business and marketing move, but it is doable and can be a potential tool in improving sales, visibility and touching bases with the target market if the alliance is done with a viable partner in a set up that is as much as possible a win-win situation for both parties involved, or if not, with very minimal losses. Take for example the move of Starbucks and the bookstores and libraries. Starbucks' willingness to explore the possibility of setting foot on new grounds enabled such a new phenomena that â€Å"a growing number of the nation's 3,700 academic libraries — eager to lure students from wired coffee shops off campus — are following bookstores and public libraries in opening their doors to Starbucks† (Horovitz). The result was an improved brand recall and greater impact on its target market without the use of hard selling and traditional advertising, and its usual costs. It is important to mention that analyzing the significance of competitive intelligence possessed by Kudler Fine Foods in the development of the company’s marketing strategy and tactics was an important step towards the realization of the potency of such information and how it can help in the shaping and re-shaping of marketing policies so that it suits well with what the company wants to achieve regardless of the action and presence of its competitors. References: Horovitz, B. (2008). Something else to check out at library: Starbucks. USA Today. Retrieved January 12, 2008, from http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-09-27-starbucks_N.htm Council of American Survey Research Organizations (2001). Importance of Marketing Research. Retrieved January 12, 2008, from http://www.casro.org/media/Importance%20of%20Research.pdf Kovacic, D., Radman, M., Kolega, A., Markovina J, and Karolyi, D. (2003). Export Marketing of Slavonian Kulen: the Results of Market Research. Retrieved January 12, 2008, from www.agr.hr/smotra/pdf_68/acs68_33.pdf ;

Alternative management accounting (AMAR)

Alternative management accounting (AMAR) In this paper, the emergence of alternative management accounting (AMAR) will be discussed followed by the contributions it has brought to the field of knowledge. After which, reasons why alternative management accounting research s tools and techniques has not successfully displaced the use of traditional accounting research s and techniques in organizations will be discussed. The importance of addressing this issue is to justify if this alternative direction is right within management accounting academia, and whether it should be continued. The emergence of alternative management accounting research occurred in the late 1980s partly due to the shortfalls of the traditional management accounting approaches. Traditional management accounting research (TMAR) is objectivist-orientated, with a focus upon unifying characteristics. These assumptions have limitations and hence are unable to provide broader insights into the nature of management accounting. TMAR makes no distinctions between the perspective of the organization and its managers (Puxty, 1993). In general, this approach encouraged a financial accounting mentality and also encouraged a focus on external financial reporting requirements (Johnson Kaplan, 1987). It was widely believed that all management accounting research existed to inform rational decisions to achieve organizational goals which essentially refers to achieving shareholder wealth maximisation. TMAR also has an implied assumption that the manager is isolated from other decision makers when making decisions (Scapens, 1991). Group decision makings were either ignored or considered to be non-existent in TMAR. Traditional approaches are problem motivated and are aimed towards bettering and refining tools and techniques to inform rational decisions in order to achieve given organizational goals (Covaleski, Dirsmith Samuel, 1996). As a result, it provides narrow insights as focus was not brought into the broad er social, political and economic settings (Macintosh, 1985). Traditional management accounting thoughts was greatly influence by neoclassical economic analysis (Scapens, 1994). According to Otley (1984), though management accounting centres on the provision of information, the core theoretical approach derives from economics in which the rational model dominates. The utilization of power, group considerations, choices and purposes are disregarded or excluded from neoclassical analysis. Such factors are assumed to minimally impact individuals (Spechler, 1990).Individuals live and interact within society, but are not altered or affected by these social interactions (Ulman, 1998). Neoclassical economics has no intention to explain behaviours if managers within the organization (Scapens, 1994) and hence cannot adequately study social phenomena since it does not consider the political, social and organizational factors that affect individuals. Ryan and Scapens (2002) state that management accounting research based upon positivist theories; may be useful for predicting general trends, but they will not be helpful in explaining individual behaviour; nor are they likely to be useful as guides to individual managers or firms about their own economic behaviour . Traditional management accounting researches offers a narrow insight to the world, which limits individuals abilities to create and analyze interesting propositions and develop meaningful stories about MA in its social, organizational and behavioural contexts (Hopper, Storey Willmott, 1987). Rational designs also limit one s abilities to develop critical positions and impends the ability of MA research community to carry out significant scientific conversation and achieve progress. The limitedness recognised in the rational designs approach of traditional management accounting has ignited the interest of a core group of alternative management accounting researchers from Europe who had strong sense and beliefs that management accounting was much more beyond the very simplistic positivist technical view. They believed that there was a lot of new and important insights that AMAR could bring to the field of knowledge and began to emphasise the need to study management accounting in the contemporary world from a broader political, cultural and social perspective (Baxter Chua, 2003). Critique of Means-Ends reasoning Traditional MA tools and techniques are developed from rational design theories (Hewege, 2012) but it was never questioned if the tools and techniques are practical or useful for the organization. They might be unintended and unrelated to achieving unclear organizational goals. Even when organizational goals are not achieved, managers choose to learn from the failures and improve on the tools and techniques used. Therefore AMAR promotes rethinking and restructuring traditional practices. The organization should question if better finances automatically denote benefits for the company and consider if the reputation or social responsibilities might have greater impacts on a companies long-term growth. Critique of the real Information can be easily manipulated which means that information presented might not portray an objective view. Hence, the importance of MA tools and techniques are subject to the reader s interpretation due to differing reactions that people have towards the information they have. Every organization is different which means tried-and-tested concepts is not adequate to capture the performance of the whole organization. It is crucial for managers to accept the fact that there is no one ideal solution. Mouritsen s study (1999) suggests that due to the current technological advancements, non-human actant can be relied on to aid in the interpretation of information. Management accountants can have more time to focus on other important things such as improving the performance of the company from social, or cultural aspects. Critique of accounting s impotence The apolitical imagery of TMAR is challenged by AMAR. AMAR enables us to understand the ability of management accounting practices to achieve or bring about a certain result. Baxter and Chua draws an example of this from the politicised budgetary process of a Swedish local government (Jonsson, 1982). Although technologies such as budgeting systems were thought to be useful in influencing important decisions, it might in fact be detrimental for the organization if they are invented for use by the personally motivated. They may mobilise political power to set policies and rules and as a result, influence management accounting practices which might not contribute to achieving organizational goals. AMAR states that it is these technologies that contribute to the overt clashes of interests in organizations and society, and the oppression of others (Chua, 1995). Critique of accounting change The rational designs approach provides sparse empirical evidence that an enlightened, well-engineered and progressive path characterises the development of management accounting technologies (Baxter Chua, 2003). Some researchers demonstrated the roadblocks that particular organizations faced in attaining a fit between management accounting control systems and appropriately modifying environments contexts when using the rational design approach (Ezzamel Bourn, 1990). AMAR has increased understanding of accounting change by conveying distinct insights. For example, attributing changing of sociocultural, political and economic conditions to a plethora of changes within MAP in the 20th Century including the emergence of value-added accounting (Burchell, Clubb Hopwood, 1985). AMAR recognises that accounting changes are not predictable, not controllable, exclusively technical or well-behaved. Memorably, many of these perspective would not be covered in the mainstream approach. Critique of bodiless forms of MA practice. Baxter Chua (2003), discussed the ways in which management accounting is both inhibited and assisted by the inherent attitudes of its proponents. This alternative research highlighted the importance of interactions between the management and the organizational participants. Management accounting is not just about the techniques that inform, maximise, and optimise decisions- it also focuses on the people who uses them, and who continually interact to understand their needs and habits. For example, emphasising the need to motivate companies employees. This is supported by Preston s (1986) research, which set an anchor between an organization s processes and an individuals involvement within them. So what practical contributions has AMAR made? Alternative management accounting researchers have been challenged to face important contemporary topics which includes but not limited to globalisation, hybridity and the network society (Baxter Chua, 2003). Globalisation brings about high exposure of information, increasing trade and competition. And in these contexts, it is not enough for companies to remain competitive just by using financial measure. As testified to by Kaplan and Norton, who stated that financial measures tell stories of historical events, which are appropriate for industrial age companies whereby customer relationships and long term investment capabilities were not critical for success. However, these financial measures are inadequate for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.† Globalisation causes the global dissemination of technology, popular culture, workers, financial capital, knowledge, and goods and services. Though globalisation uproots MA practices from their context and diffuses it to other remote locations, knowledge of how technologies travel and the issues that result from it are very limited (Vaivio, 2008). AMAR sees management accounting as a set of practices implicated within complex processes of societal and organizational interpenetration which requires implementation of expert systems that interconnects time and spaces. AMAR has helped developed tools and techniques like Economic Value Added (EVA) and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to help companies gain competitive advantage in this environment. The balanced scorecard is a tactical planning and management system that is used in business and industry, government, and non-profit organizations worldwide. The purpose of the BSC is to improve internal and external communications, align business activities to the stratagem and vision of the organization, and monitor organization performance against planned goals. It is a performance measurement framework that considers both strategic non-financial performance measures and financial metrics to give managers a more holistic view of the performance of the organization (Kaplan Norton, 1996). Hybridity suggests the examination of the functioning of management accounting in conditions with both traditional and new elements such as the local and the global, private and public. For example, the university in which Baxter and Chua worked in an educational institution that was widely viewed to be a public institution. However, reducing government funds and increasing fee paying students dominated the budget of the faculty. Hence the university is in a way, no longer considered to be a public institution but is not a private one either. This creates contradictions, but accounting inscriptions are central to the ongoing function of this hybridity by conveying economic differences between public and private entities and traversing this differences to enable the university to function. AMAR contribute insights to the hybrid roles of management accountants. Instead of their traditional score keeping controller role, their new accounting role is focused on consulting and helping the organizational participants implement and adapt to the new accounting change. This is supported in Pharmaceutical, which is a UK Based manufacturing branch of an international pharmaceutical product producer, where hybrid accountants assist day managers with day to day decisions as well as advising performance measurement product stream leaders on strategic issues (Hopper, Northcott Scapens, 2007). A change in the image of accountants was observed by looking at how they were portrayed in software advertisements. It was seen that the image of accountants has changed from being dependable and logical to a more self-indulgent person from the 1970s to the 1990s (Baldvinsdottir, Burns, Noreklit Scapens, 2009).This reflects changes in wider social practice from a modern way of thinking to a h yper modern way of thinking. Finally, it has been suggested by Baxter and Chua (2003) that we are living in the network society. This basically meant a digitized, technologically advanced surveillance society, where management accounting can cause any type of action to become visible. Through qualitative analysis, we can ask whether management accounting is taken on-board in the creation of a super panopticon, an open space where personal privacy is exposed (Baxter and Chua, 2003). Latourian researchers are known to be the most suitable out of the other approaches to take on such modern-day alternative research, in view of the close attention this point of view lends to the interaction between networks of individuals and non-human objects, such as computers (Baxter Chua, 2003). AMAR has brought insights to show how management accountants have been influenced by external factors. It was identified in a study that social advertisement has encouraged management accountants to hand over control to systems which are able to do everything while the accountants themselves should follow instructions (Baldvinsdottir, Burns, NÃÆ' ¸rreklit Scapens, 2010). AMAR has also contributed to the growth of new management accounting techniques including technology road mapping to help organization fit in the new technological advanced environment. Technology roadmapping is a flexible technique prevalent within industries to balance long-term strategic issues alongside short-term financial performance. The approach provides an organized way to explore and communicate relationships between evolving and developing markets, products and technologies over time. It is suggested that the roadmapping technique can boost companies chances in stormy environments by providing them a focus during environment scans, and a means of tracking the performance of individual, including potentially counterproductive, technologies (Phaal, Farrukh Probert, 2004). Whilst Miller and O Leary recorded widespread use of technology roadmaps in their case study of Intel corporation, its use in capital decision making practice is still in its infancy. Also, despite its recognised potential for supporting strategic investment decision-making, this strategic analysis tool has yet to make its way into mainstream capital investment academic materials. (Hopper, Northcott Scapens, 2007) Despite the advances of knowledge through AMAR over the last 30 years, AMAR has not completely displaced the traditional approaches. Organizations outside Europe still uses the traditional approaches to determine the performance of the company. This is because changes are often time-consuming and expensive, considerably impacting an organization s overall success. Another reason on why organizations refuse to change is due to a form of mimetic isomorphism (Baxter Chua, 2003). This is with a mind-set that since other organizations are still going on well using the traditional, rational approaches, so must we. Also, according to the theory of structural inertia, organizations are hesitant towards change because they are reluctant to take unnecessary risk. They prefer replicable behaviours as constancy is rewarded. Change not only disrupts current business but also can lead to disaster. As a result, organizations continue with past procedures, even when it seems irrational to do so (Hansen, 2012). Though TMAR have their own limitations, they should not be replaced by AMAR. A blend of usage of tools and techniques developed from the two areas of research should be considered by organizations. For example, using TMAR techniques to influence financial measures and using AMAR techniques to focus on non-financial measures which help organizations grow substantially and maintain sustainability in both short-term and long-term aspects. In conclusion, AMAR emerged mainly due to limitations identified in the traditional rational approach and increased interests. AMAR has contributed significantly in helping organizations operate and gain competitive advantage in the contemporary environment. The direction to explore into AMAR is right because in doing so, regression will not occur within the MA academia (Lukka Mouritsen, 2002). However it is important for AMAR to not lose sight of its public responsibility, and for it to persist in providing insights that protect individuals against impersonal, entrenched forces that are not in their interests. Qualitative research needs to investigate the social, societal and political facets of management accounting, and remind us of the larger picture containing the beliefs and motivations that lie beneath the surface of modern practice.