Against School: Agree or Disagree? Essay

â€Å"Against School† is an argumentative essay that tells about how the public education system incapacitates the children of today. In this reading, Gatto claims that the public education system causes children to become bored with themselves, to conform to the way of the school and its teachers, and it causes them to lack the ability to deal with issues that go on in the real world, outside of school. The writer’s explanation for this is that it is partially the teachers’ fault. The students become bored because the teacher is actually bored with teaching the subject. Students would be adamant to learn if they were given and education and not just schooled. The students need to be encouraged to have the qualities to succeed in life instead of sitting in a prison style confinement, forced to learn material that society deemed appropriate. Summing up the essay, â€Å"Against School† states that he believes that the students should be able to manage themselves. After reading Gatto’s essay I must agree with him. If students and teachers are both bored in the school, and of the material being taught. We’re only taught what they want us to be taught. To me, students need more than that. The material needs to be taught and explained how retaining the knowledge will help them in the future. If we don’t know how it will benefit us in some way then it’s almost meaningful. In conclusion, I agree with Gatto’s argument because I think it is something most students can relate to. We’ve all had a boring teacher, teaching a boring class, that we thought meant absolutely nothing to us. But if we’re forced to take the class, then there must be some reason for it.

Lab Report Analysis

Memorandum TO: Emma Mackenzie, Writing Instructor; Montana Tech FROM: Sarah Hambidge, Montana Tech Student DATE: 6 November 2012 SUBJECT: Lab Report Analysis This memo proposes the observations and claims I collected from reviewing three different lab reports. Three fields of study are composed within this memo that includes Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Petroleum Engineering. â€Å"Electrical Filters,† (Electrical), written by Joe Schmoe, is a lab report made by a student at a university.The College Board produced an environmental lab report named, â€Å"Monitoring Air Quality,† (Air), for the purpose of student education as a lab template. Monitoring Air Quality was written by Dr. Angela C. Morrow who graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. Within the Energy Engineering field, I found, â€Å"NETL Extreme Drilling Lab Studies high temperature drilling Phenomena. † (NETL). This lab was created by the U. S. Department of Energy and was found in the work of the U. S. Government. This lab report was written by K.David Lyons, Simone Honeygan, and Thomas Mroz. All three lab reports’ features have been compared and contrasted using analytical techniques in this memo. Observation of Whole Document All three documents are close in terms of length of paper. They are in the range between 6 and 9 pages long. The NETL Drilling High Pressure High Temperature Drilling Phenomena and Electrical Filters lab reports have 4 or 5 figures to represent the purpose of the lab report. The Air Quality lab only has one figure, a picture of a tree.College Board’s Monitoring Air Quality figures were labeled underneath the pictures in regular font. The petroleum lab report used bold lettering underneath the figures. The electrical report’s figures were labeled with italics underneath the picture as well. * Paragraph styles All three labs differ strongly when it comes to the style of how the paragraphs were writt en. Drilling lab reports within Petroleum Engineering are most elaborate and long. The petroleum lab report has 3 paragraphs in the Abstract section while the other two reports have one short paragraph.The Petroleum lab includes specific numerical details such as different depths, fluid pressures, and temperatures. The other reports did not include quantities inside the opening paragraph that is why Drilling labs are more elaborate and precise when it comes to representing information. As a reader is reading the NETL Drilling Lab, they could be more confused than reading the other two labs. The quantities are not explained how they are derived very well, so this could result in a comprehension problem for a basic reader.I think this would make a reader with basic comprehension levels frustrated. * Headings According to the example lab report(Doyoyo,2002), paragraph titles should follow this format in order of title page, Abstract, Experimental Procedure, Results, Discussion, Conclus ion, Appendices, and References. The lab report composed by the College Board follows this format most concisely. The College Boards paragraphs are titled Abstract, Objectives, Introduction, Materials, Procedure, Data/Observations, Analysis, and Additional Resources.The procedure in this report is quite long because it has 3 sub headings within it that precede three different subjects. The analysis goes quite in depth as well and has 2 different parts in it. The electrical lab report follows a similar paragraph order; Objective, Background, Experiment, Results, Conclusion, and References. The background paragraph is 2 pages long; this is longer than any of the other documents. I believe in order to completely comprehend this document, you would have to know a great deal of background and have expierence in this field.The petroleum drilling lab report also follows a different format; Abstract, Introduction, Acknowledgments, and References. TheNETL Drilling lab stands out from the res t of the labs too because between the introduction and acknowledgments, there are 4 paragraphs that explain descriptions, efforts, and future plans. This lab is farthest from following the standard lab report format. The NETL Drilling Lab was written by the government so they may follow a stricter lab format than they teach in schools. They might make up their own order of headings and paragraphs because they are on top of the chain. Font choice The NETL lab Report uses ten point font in Times New Roman. The Electrical Engineering lab Report uses Times New Roman as well but its double spaced and typed in twelve point font. The environmental lab uses Calibri with twelve point font and multiple spaces between every paragraph. The NETL lab is the most professional looking lab because it looks formal and fits more information within a page than the other labs. A reader could get the most information out of the NETL lab because it is constructed elaborately but also concisely. Overall to ne The NETL lab has by far, most formal tone of voice. The lab created by the College Board is built for mainly educational purposes; therefore it uses a smaller vocabulary for easier understanding. The Electrical lab report was made by students so it’s not that complex. The NETL lab is professional because it is a work of the government. This lab uses many big words, acronyms, references within text, and many numerical conversions. The lab written by students has the least informal tone, most likely because they are least educated.Reading the Electrical Filters Lab could leave a reader lost in some places, and readers may want to read a different lab on Electrical Filters written by a doctor or someone with a professional degree. * Repetition The College Board lab report uses repititon the most because it was created by doctors and doctors are very precise with representing information. It often repeats, â€Å"Please see AP’s licensing for AP Questions and Materials. † It also repeats, â€Å"Clean Air Act,† â€Å"NAAQS,† â€Å"gypsum,† and â€Å"air quality laws. † Within the procedure the paragraphs are repetitive as well.The Electrical lab is the least repetitive but it did repeat input and output signal values. The petroleum lab repeats drilling terms and the process of deep drilling. I think the repetition in all of the labs was necessary because a basic reader would need to be reminded of the information to smoothly flow through reading the documents. Sections The sections within the 3 lab reports differ in body. Some are more like Markel’s sample(Markel,2010) than others. * Abstract The petroleum lab and environmental reflect the major focus of the lab well.The abstract concisely communicates the purpose of the lab, the approach, the results, and the significances of the findings. The electrical lab doesn’t have an abstract but sometimes instructors do not require an abstract section. The en vironmental lab does a better job at writing the abstract because it’s shorter and more direct to the point, therefore easier to understand. * Introduction The petroleum lab does the worst at the introduction. Markel (Markel, 2010, ch10), says the purpose of the lab is clearly stated. The petroleum lab is sort of confusing.It says,† The purpose of this paper and industry projects [1-5] deep wells are defined as wells drilled for oil and gas having true vertical depth (TVD) greater than 15,000 feet (4572 meters. )† The electrical report is more to the point, for example, â€Å"The objective of this lab is to build and test a first order, low-pass filter with resistors and capacitors. † The Environmental lab’s purpose statement is, â€Å"At the end of this lab, you will be able to describe and discuss several air pollutants and methods for detecting them. The environmental lab is a lab template so it is written in a future tense format rather than pas t tense like the other labs. Conclusion In reading this memo, I hope you understand my findings an key points about the three lab reports I analyzed. Electrical Filters, by Joe Schomoe, was poorly written compared to the other lab reports. It did properly use its figures and the abstract section was written correctly. This document was hard to read because the background was very long and in depth. This document also was least appealing to the eye because the lack of professionalism.College Board’s Monitoring Air Quality overall did well as serving the major purpose as a lab template for students. However this lab needs more figures and pictures because it only has one figure. The College Board also followed Markel’s lab format the closest. The repetition used by this lab made the whole document flow more as reading. The NETL Extreme Drilling Laboratory Studies High Pressure High Temperature Drilling Phenomena, is the most professional and formal written document compa red to the other two labs.It did not follow the normal lab report format, but it contained many helpful figures and tables. This lab can be confusing because it is so complex, but most information and data can be obtained from reading this lab report. References * Doyoyo, September 19, 2002, 13. 014J/1. 052J â€Å"Helpful instructions on how to write a mechanics lab report. † * Markel, 2010 Chapters 6,7,9,10,18, Appendix B related to APA documentation * Unit 3 Topics Checklist * (Electrical)

How to lose weight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How to lose weight - Essay Example The major causes of obesity and overweight includes increased intake of foods with high energy density, such as sugars and unsaturated fats. Another cause of obesity is leading a sedentary or physically inactive lifestyle, especially in people consuming foods with high energy and fat contents (WHO 2). There are various methods of losing weight including exercises, controlling dietary intake, taking diet pills among other techniques. This paper discusses on how to lose weight through exercises and controlling dietary intake. According to WHO, the rate of obesity in developed countries has risen more than three times since 1980 mainly because of increased consumption of foods that have high energy density, such as sugars and saturated fats(2). These poor eating habits are accompanied with reduced physical activity, because of engaging in passive working environment or aversion to physical exercises. Currently, gaining excessive weight is not limited adults alone. Steer and Jebb noted that an increasing number of school going children are affected with the condition that has reached epidemic levels in the world. Thus, the high rate of obesity is a clear indicator of the changing behavioral patterns of different communities in the world. Although genetic composition determines vulnerability of a person to gain weight, energy balance in the body is influenced by the amount of calories in the diet and the physical activity .Changes in the society such as high economic growth, urbanization, liberalization of food markets and advance in technology are some of the factors that have acerbated the epidemic. In addition, technology has resulted in the production of automated transport, passive entertainment and leisure activities at home, which require less physical activities (WHO 2). According to Steer and Jebb, controlling the amount of calories in food that we eat is one of the most practical ways of losing weight. People of

Reflective Practice Professional Development Planning Essay

Reflective Practice Professional Development Planning - Essay Example 9) not only at a school-wide but district-wide levels, as well. The availability of materials online allows easy access to support schools and teacher in dealing with the students’ learning needs. Killion and Williams (2004) stresses the importance of embedding professional development in the regular school day. The role therefore, of instructional leaders in creating a culture of continuous learning among the teaching staff is important. Coaching, encouraging collaborative work and providing resources and support are among the essential responsibilities of those in the leadership or administrative position. Perhaps one of the major obstacles of an instructional leader is dealing with individuals who resist collaborative professional learning. De Lay (2009) in the article â€Å"Behold! The Power of Teacher Collaboration† however, clearly emphasizes the need to encourage and sustain education practitioners’ collaboration. De Lay (2009) outlines a number of ways to create connections and engage oneself in collaborative professional development. Engaging in reflection is the starting point where one can make a clear sense of one’s professional goals and needs. Finding other professionals with common needs and goals can enrich one’s insight in achieving these goals. Active participation in professional development meetings and in professional associations perpetuates the spirit of mutual learning where one can build on solutions and opportunities. Social networking resources, such as Facebook and Twitter, are good ways of building relationships beyond the confine s of the classroom or the school. The internet has opened limitless possibilities ready for constructive exploitation. The article highlights Google Docs as way for individuals to work together on the same document regardless of where they are.

How to shop online Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to shop online - Essay Example This often involves computer systems, mobile phones, among other devices that can connect to the internet. It also involves stores and sellers that operate online. Even though the online shopping process appears to be simple, potential online buyers must be careful to consider their environment while undertaking their shopping over the internet. This involves evaluation of, and high level of sensitivity to the online environment that involves risks. These consequently define appropriate practices to ensure a safe online shopping (Get, n.d.). Online shopping ventures are for instance full of fraudulent activities that aim at getting a customer’s money without the intended delivery. Hackers particularly exist who intercept communication and misguide consumers into making payments to wrong accounts, or establish websites through which the potential customers can unknowingly make payments to wrong destinations. The result is single way transaction in which the fraudster receives payments but the potential customer does not obtain the desired products. There also exist fake websites that do not actually offer products as they claim to. They however disseminate false information on their location, communication links and inventory that may not really exist. A buyer therefore looses advanced payments to such cheats. Another threat to online shopping is in delivery of products that do not match the expected descriptions. While a consumer can have the situation corrected if such deliveries are not intentional, intentional false delivery results into losses because the alleged seller will never make the right delivery after receiving the targeted money (Get, n.d.). Safe shopping is however defined by a number of characteristics. A potential buyer should conduct a thorough search on alleged online sellers before initiating a transaction. Such a search should determine existence and validity the seller’s address and phone contacts for

Change Management and Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Case Study

Change Management and Maslows Hierarchy of Needs - Case Study Example As we see upon examination, something as small and as large as language or time expectations can lead to tremendous difficulties in motivation, and ultimately market demand and revenues. A fascinating insight into the world of work and human resource management, the GE Medical CGR case serves as a foundation for further inquiry into change management and equity incentive strategies. In consideration of organizational leadership and human resource management practices, the essay also infers the importance of a rather old, yet 'universal' paradigm from Psychology, Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs;' premise to fulfillment of the state of human nature as a means to consensus building and the inculcation of 'desire' in work. At the time that GE entered into the French market with its take-over acquisition of Companie Generale Radiology (CGR), an existing high level of specialization, low change professional environment was resilient to U.S. business protocol. The business practices at the Parisian based CGR reflected France's Scurit Sociale system. Like other medical suppliers, most of CGR's customer basis was drawn from a clientele state relationship that had held a low competition as an expectation of a 'civil service model.' Indeed from everyday aspects of employee motivation and performance on the job to standards of regulatory adherence, and attendant rules of conduct in response to those public partnerships, CGR was run on a model of a low participatory, low change management model that was experienced by most employees as stasis. No change meant that little challenge to normative modes of low productivity and national expectations of leave of absence, whether it be maternity, vacation, or merely a 'mental health break' all contributed to what GE found in a confrontation with U.S. models of high productivity, and low absence employee relations. CGR employees were nothing short of shocked by GE's protocols which reinforced high change, aggressive capitalist market practice. CGR employees also complained about communicative practices, arguing that the English introduction to GE's new management oversight meant that it was not they, who were being addressed. CGR employees were met characteristic literalism (i.e., plain talk 'means' what is said, not inferred) by North American managers, who were equally shocked at what they thought to be unmotivated and unproductive long-term workers who had been working under the former system at the Paris based firm. In short, globalization of the corporation really required localization of GE in the preliminary stage, in order for the corporation to assess its human resources accurately and adequately, and to foster good faith ground in order to effectively translate the company's corporate culture and standardized expectations in a fertile context that would be receptive towards company centered ideas such as capital growth.  

Wright Brothers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Wright Brothers - Research Paper Example While the efforts to design and develop flight can be traced to periods before the 19th century when humans were imitating birds in flight, it is 19th century and early periods of 20th century, which witnessed real and tangible efforts that culminated to controlled and powered flight (Helfand and Banerjee, 2011). Subsequent years have seen rapid advancement in the aviation industry with better and advanced flights being developed. These flights have advanced technological capabilities and comfort. They are more comfortable, fast, and come with more attractive designs. The quest to realize controlled and powered flight began in earnest in 1891 when Otto Lilienthal worked to design a glider that can fly (Dixon-Engel and Jackson, 2007). He was the first person to design a glider that would fly a person, as well as being able to fly relatively long distances. He studied aerodynamics and he wrote a book that was later used by the Wright Brothers in their designs. The year 1891also saw Sam uel Langley building a plane model called aerodrome. Although his efforts to develop a powered flight failed, he made important contributions that would help in developing powered flight in the future particularly by Wright Brothers (Anderson, 2004). In 1894, Octave Chanute undertook the invention of airplanes after being inspired by Otto Lilienthal. He designed several aircraft; the Herring was a particular aircraft that he designed and was the most successful deign and was the basis for the design of Wright biplane (Howard, 1998). He also published a book in 1894 called â€Å"Progress in Flying Machines†. This book contained all the technical knowledge about aviation at that time. The Wright Brothers this book as the basis of their experiments. It is important to note that Chanute was in constant contact with the Wright Brothers and made regular comments on their technical progress. Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright were deliberate in their quest for flight as evidenced by t he fact that they spent many years learning all the early flight developments (Dixon-Engel and Jackson, 2007). They also read all the literature published up to that time about flight. Because of the knowledge that they acquired by reading and learning about flight, they started to test the early theories with kites and balloons. They also spent considerable amounts of time in learning and testing the shapes of gliders and how gliders could be controlled. The year 1903 witnessed a breakthrough in design and development of flight (O'Hern and Mayo, 2006). Wright Brothers were the first to sustain controlled flight, powered flight. Wright Brothers are the two American brothers who are credited as the earliest successful aviation inventors and pioneers. They are credited with inventing and developing the first successful airplane in the world, as well as making the first sustained, controlled, and powered heavier-than-air human flight on 17 December 1903 (Howard, 1998). Historians agree that even though the Wright Brother were not the first in building and flying experimental aircraft, they were the first in inventing aircraft controls that made possible the fixed-wing powered flight. In particular, they achieved a major breakthrough that other inventors had not achieved; they invented a three-axis control that enable the pilot to effectively steer the aircraft and at the same time maintain the aircraft’s equilibrium (O'Hern and Mayo, 2006). The significance of this method became standard in aviation and remains standard mainly on all kinds of fixed-wing aircraft. While the experimenters of the time were emphasizing on developing powerful aircraft engines, the Wright Brothe

PHOTOSYNTHESIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PHOTOSYNTHESIS - Essay Example The learner should also explain the source of the electrons that are transported in the light reaction of the light dependent reaction of photosynthesis. Introduction Photosynthesis takes place in plants which have chlorophyll, in some algae and some bacteria. Photosynthesis needs chlorophyll-the green coloring pigment found in the chloroplasts. The process takes place in two phases: the light dependent reaction and the light independent reaction. The light-dependent reaction takes place in the thykaloid membranes while the light independent reaction takes place in the stroma  of chloroplast. At this phase light is taken up by chlorophyll molecules and transferred to electrons of a water molecule.  This energy causes the water molecules to split releasing an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The electrons carry energy which used in the synthesis of high energy molecules like ATP and NADPH2. 2H2O + 3 ADP + NADP +3Pi  =  O2 +3ATP + NADPH2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Light energy is needed in the process. ... This can be done if the thykaloid membranes (sites for light reaction) and the stroma (site for carbon fixation) are uncoupled or separated by cell fractionation. Using the isolated thykaloids, the light reactions will proceed without carbon fixation if light is present. It is an in-vintro type of reaction. DCPIP is used in Hill’s reaction to be the electron acceptor to accept the electrons after water molecules are split. It is blue in when oxidized state and colorless when in the reduced state. DCPIP (oxidized) + 2e  =  DCPIP (reduced) (Blue)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (Colorless) This way the electron transport rate in the Hill’s reaction can be accounted for spectrophotometrically on a 620 nm wavelength by the change in absorbance of DCPIP as it accepts electrons by the conversion of water molecules in the chain. The rate of electron transport is a function of light intensity. Method Hill’s reaction was used to show how photosynthesis occurs in two distinct reactions. It also shows the role of light in photosynthesis which is shown by the difference in the readings of the spectrophotometer between tubes 3 and 4 where tube 3 is placed in the presence of light and tube 4 in the dark. Also boiling the solution destroys the chloroplasts in it, thus there is no observable change in absorption. This shows there was little or no photosynthetic reaction taking place. Ice cold solutions were used to stop any reactions that could have affected or altered the results in the Hill’s reaction in the electron transport chain. The reaction conditions were light to produce the needed energy, carbon dioxide and water which is broken down to

How EU policy affects the European Automotive Industry Essay

How EU policy affects the European Automotive Industry - Essay Example However, during the last five years, there has been a slowdown in economic output across the EU, and, while the forecasts are positive, modest growth of 2.0%-2.3% is expected in 2004. Weak growth has led to reduced consumer and business confidence. Industrial production has decreased, including the production of durable consumer goods. Levels of private consumption have fluctuated during early 2003, following modest growth in the previous two years. This is partly due to poor labor market conditions, with EU unemployment rising during 2003. Economic indicators are weak in some major EU economies such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Only the United Kingdom (UK) has managed to resist these trends (Trends and drivers). This has greatly affected the car industry, given the car's status as the ultimate consumer and fashion item, as well as the importance of engineering and design in the manufacturing process. Average profit margins have declined from around 10% in the 1960s to less t han 5% today, and some volume car makers are actually losing money (EMCC dossier). Despite increasing competition worldwide, European automotive has maintained a strong position in exports and global sales. The strong bond between Europe's vehicle manufacturers and the sophisticated customer base in the largest car market in the world constitutes a prominent competitive advantage, while the notable presence of European producers in emerging markets, such as China and the Russian Federation, offers a potential for future growth and profits (info-crono-archivio). Furthermore, EU enlargement created new opportunities for the European automotive industry. The combination of expertise, affordable labor and the proximity to the large European markets has led to the emergence of a very dynamic cluster in the new Member States - especially Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Hungary (info-crono-archivio).Despite these advantages, many challenges remain: the EU automotive industry lags behind the US and Japan in terms of productivity. Labor productivity in the EU-15 is 25 per cent lower than in the US and 30 per cent lower than in Japan; labor costs per hour worked in the EU-15 are comparable to those in the US, but more than ten per cent above those in Japan and almost three times as high as in Korea (data for 2001, converted using purchasing power parities). Annual working time in the automotive industry in EU-15 is more than 20 per cent shorter than in the US (in 2001); there are major technological challenges ahead, most prominently the fuel cell (info-crono-archivio). Influences of EU policies European legislation is one of the main drivers of the European automotive industry. Emissions and recycling legislation have a strong impact both on vehicle technologies and construction (Trends and drivers). EC, industry and consumer concerns for environmental sustainability, road safety and mobility have led to a number of significant technological developments. These have both positive and negative effects on profitability. For example, a limited number of specialist high technology suppliers might prosper while vehicle makers see their already narrow profit margins cut even further. Such a development would make vehicle makers vulnerable to further consolidation and restrict

Draft of Song of Solomon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Draft of Song of Solomon - Essay Example It is about enslavement and the people who tried to escape slavery and try to find their roots back in Africa. In this book the protagonist is Milkman, a young man brought up in a wealthy family but with parents who do not love each other anymore. This is shown when Milkman’s father hits Ruth. Milkman complains to his friend guitar that certain things are making him angry and getting to him. He says, â€Å"I don’t know, guitar. Things seem to be getting to me, you know?†(Morrison, 152).Macon loves money and he loves property. His money has made him oblivious to other people’s problems. He wants his son to be just like him and surely Milkman behaves just like his father. He’s wealthy background makes him oblivious of the black oppression. Furthermore, he has money to spend on women thus treats them with little disregard. This paper is going to discuss how Milkman overcame this lifestyle to become a fully transformed man. Milkman is flawed and this is enhanced by the amount of money his father has. As a matter of fact it is the wealthy background that gives milkman his attitude. Just like his father, milkman is obsessed with money and tends to reason like a white man.Milkman believes in the power of money to gain him freedom and power in life. This is because he uses money to get the things he needs like buying alcohol, women and having a good time, thus he only believes I the power of money. In line with this thinking, he becomes a rude, mean and a dangerous person. His dangerous personality is witnessed when he hits his father for hitting his mother. We see him complain to his friend Guitar ,â€Å"Your daddy slapped your mama, right?†, â€Å"Right.Right.† (Morrison,152).However, he is not dangerous in a bad way like in being violent and murderous. He is just a man who likes to have control of situations and want things to happen his way. Milkman is also a womanizer a trait he enjoyed with guitar his poor friend. He has money and money buys him

Hunting - species Essay Example for Free

Hunting species Essay Provide several reasons why the elephant is an endangered species 1〠Population growth and migration poses a great threat to elephant survival 2〠Forest elephant lives is illegal logging by humans, Habitat of forest fires so that they become smaller and smaller. 3〠In order to get the elephants teeth, skin, bone, gall and by human hunting. 4〠Elephants character more docile, circus training and hunting with them Elephants mass suicide should be an important reason for the reduction in the number of elephants. [pic] http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480z=tn=baiduimagedetailword=%C8%CB%C0%E0%C6%C6%BB%B5%B4%F3%CF%F3%C6%DC%CF%A2%B5%D8in=5790cl=2lm=-1st=-1pn=1rn=1di=62303643165ln=1991fr=fm=resultfmq=1332407214005_Ric=0s=0se=1sme=0tab=width=height=face=0is=istype=2#pn10-1di31330369530objURLhttp%3A%2F%2Fimage2.sina.com.cn%2FIT%2Ful%2F2006%2F1001%2FU68P2DT20061001143048.jpgfromURLhttp%3A%2F%2Ftech.sina.com.cn%2Fd%2F2006-10-01%2F14171168876.shtmlW298H450T9883S22TPjpg. [pic] http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480z=tn=baiduimagedetailword=%C8%CB%C0%E0%C6%C6%BB%B5%B4%F3%CF%F3%C6%DC%CF%A2%B5%D8in=5790cl=2lm=-1st=-1pn=1rn=1di=62303643165ln=1991fr=fm=resultfmq=1332407214005_Ric=0s=0se=1sme=0tab=width=height=face=0is=istype=2#pn24-1di90139524615objURLhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.iouter.com%2Fupload%2F2007_06%2F070601140920491.jpgfromURLhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.iouter.com%2Fn12632c16.aspxW400H284T9409S44TPjpg.

CMV Infection Epidemiology and Pathogenesis

CMV Infection Epidemiology and Pathogenesis Virus Strain Variation An important variable that may impact the prognosis of infection may be viral strain variation. It has been hypothesized that some clinical strains of CMV are intrinsically more harmful, based on variability in genes implicated in viral pathogenesis. Some subtypes of CMV classified on the basis of their UL144 (TNF receptor homolog) sequence were described as being more likely to be associated with symptomatic disease (Arav-Boger etal., 2006), irrespective of the viral load. On the other hand, other studies were unable to confirm any association with UL144 genotype and the outcome of infection. No differences in clinical outcome could be attributed to variants of the CK homologs, UL146 and UL147 (Heo etal., 2008). When genotypes based on the sequence heterogeneity in the envelope glycoprotein gene, gN (UL73), were compared, congenital infection with one genotype, gN-1, was associated with an improved prognosis with respect to long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae (Pignatelli etal., 2003). In another study of infants with congenital infection, the distribution of genotypes for the gB glycoprotein gene (UL55) showed significant differences, depending upon the disease classification observed, but no information was reported on long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae (Jin etal., 2007). Differences in virulence between strains of HCMV may reflect their abilities to attach to cells. HCMV strains Toledo (low passage in cell culture), Towne and AD169 (cell culture-adapted) exhibited differences in virulence in vaccinated volunteers. Growth differences relative to virulence of the various HCMV isolates have also been observed in endothelial cells. Differences in glycoproteins may be the reason for the differences in abilities to attach and replicate in cells. HCMV was originally classified into four genotypes of gB, each with a characteristic nucleotide and peptide sequence, but later, a fifth glycoprotein genotype has been identified (Sweet, 1999). Clinical HCMV isolates are slower growing on human fibroblast cells and differ from laboratory adapted strains of HCMV in that they encode additional sequences in the ULb locus (about 19kb), which is believed to be associated with viral pathogenicity and/or the ability of the virus to grow on epithelial/endothelial cells (Hahn et al., 2004). This locus is rapidly mutated and deleted in the process of adaptation of the virus to tissue culture fibroblast cells (Dargan et al., 2010). The UL128-131 genes in the ULb locus have been demonstrated to be necessary for virus entry into epithelial and endothelial cells by a newly identified endocytic method of cell entry that is different from the pathway of infection in fibroblast cells (Ryckman et al., 2006). Epidemiology Human CMV is an ancient virus that is ubiquitous in human populations, reaching a prevalence of 100% in Africa and Asia, and approximately 80% in Europe and the USA, depending on socioeconomic status (Cannon et al., 2010). CMV infection is widespread and occurs worldwide. (Bate et al., 2010). Seroprevalence rates vary depending on age (higher rates are observed among older persons), geography (higher rates in developing countries), and socioeconomic status (higher rates in economically depressed regions) (Bate et al., 2010, and Cannon etal., 2010). Primary CMV infection occurs most commonly during the first 2 decades of life (Joseph et al., 2006). Non-white race, low socio-economic status, premature birth, and neonatal intensive care unit admittance are among the important risk factors for congenital CMV infection (Kenneson and Cannon, 2007).Congenital CMV infection can occur in 0.5-2% of all pregnancies, often with devastating consequences for the developing fetus (Sung and Schleiss, 2010). Among congenitally infected infants, approximately 10% have signs and symptoms of disease at birth. Although the remaining 90% of infants are asymptomatic at birth, 10-15% will subsequently develop permanent sequelae, including sensorineural hearing loss and mental retardation (Cheeran et al., 2009). It has been reported that 25% of congenitally infected infants whose mother had a primary HCMV infection during pregnancy had at least one sequela, compared with 8% in infants born to women with recurrent infection (Sung and Schleiss, 2010). The impact of congenital CMV is greater in the developed world because of the number of CMV negative wo men of child bearing age and the risk of primary infection during pregnancy which substantially increases the likelihood of congenital infection (Colugnati et al., 2007). In the developed world, congenital HCMV is the second most common cause of mental retardation next to Downs syndrome (Dollard et al., 2007). Additionally, HCMV related deafness occurs at a greater frequency than that related to Hemophilus influenza infection in the preHIB vaccine era (McGregor and Choi, 2015). Transplacental transmission of virus occurs in about one-third of mothers with primary CMV infection (Kenneson and Cannon, 2007), and approximately one-half of these infections in utero result in a symptomatic clinical syndrome (Adler et al., 2007). Epidemiological data suggest that the timing of acquisition of primary infection relative to the establishment of pregnancy is an important factor in establishing the risk to the fetus for in utero transmission (Revello et al., 2006). The infection is acquired by 40% of children within the first decade of life. Seroprevalence increases to 80% by the age of 60 (Kenneson and Cannon, 2007). Most HIV-infected individuals are seropositive for CMV. HIV infection accelerates the development of CMV-dependant immunological abnormalities (Barrett et al., 2012). In Africa, the prevalence of CMV IgG among HIV-negative adults was 81.8% (range 55-97%). For HIV-infected adults the pooled CMV IgG seroprevalence was lower among those with clinically defined AIDS (81.9%, range 59-100%) than among asymptomatic HIV-infected adults (94.8%, range 71-100%), consistent with the notion of weaker humoral responses associated with AIDS progression. It is also possible that some non-HIV infected adults are infected but do not mount a measurable IgG response. Among pregnant women seroprevalence mirrored that among healthy blood donors, although the HIV status of participants was not always stated. In children, pooled seroprevalence was 88.1% (range 80-100%). With this very high seroprevalence in children, even in very young infants, one would expect seroprevalence among adults to be consistently close to 100% (Bates and Brantsaeter, 2016). In Egypt, the seroprevalence of CMV infection among pregnant women and acute lymphoblastic leukaemic patients was 100%(Bates and Brantsaeter, 2016). Pathogenesis CMV employs at least two distinct, cell-type specific mechanisms of cell entry. Entry of CMV into endothelial and epithelial cells is mediated by endocytosis in a pH-dependent fashion; in contrast, entry into fibroblasts is non-endocytic, and pH-independent. CMV fibroblast entry is believed to be initiated by binding of virion-associated gB to a cell surface receptor, followed by fusion with the cell membrane in a process that requires a complex of three other glycoproteins: gH, gL, and gO (Ryckman etal., 2006). In contrast to the model of CMV entry for fibroblasts, endocytic entry of CMV into endothelial and epithelial cells requires a complex of gH, gL, and three other proteins encoded by a region of the CMV genome referred to as the UL128-131 gene locus (Wang and Shenk, 2005). The pathologic effect of a CMV-encoded gene is believed to be mediated directly by that gene product; in other situations, CMV infection leads to downstream effects on cellular gene expression that then may potentially lead to pathologic outcomes. In many circumstances, CMV gene products mediate more than one pathogenic effect and there is considerable overlap across these categories (Schleiss, 2011). Following infection, the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for the major 72-kilodalton IE protein is transcribed more abundantly than any other mRNA as a result of an upstream regulatory sequence of DNA that competes more efficiently for ribonucleic acid polymerase 11 (Stinski, 1984). These upstream enhancer sequences constitute the first step in the regulation of CMV gene expression. The 72-kilodalton protein is then transported back to the nucleus, presumably to influence the switch from restricted transcription of the long unique sequence to more extensive transcription. A block in the synthesis of IE proteins disrupts any further transcription of the viral genome, suggesting that these proteins may play a major role in determining whether a CMV infection is latent, persistent, or productive (Spector and Spector, 1984). The pathogenesis of disease associated with acute CMV infection has been attributed to lytic virus replication, with end-organ damage occurring either secondary to virus-mediated cell death or from pathologic host immune responses targeting virus-infected cells (Britt et al., 2008).

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc) is a multinational corporation that is established on April 1, 1976 in California and incorporated on January 3, 1977.  [i]  The company for 30 years was named as Apple Computer, Inc. but it changed its name to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007 as it wanted to expand to the consumer electronics market and do not only stay in the computer market.  [ii]   Furthermore, the company for the year 2010 employs 46,600 full time employees and 2800 temporary employees and contractors.  [iii]   Apple designs, manufactures and markets a range of computer software, hardware products and personal computers. Some of its products are the following: Products Hardware Products Application Software Operation System Software Displays Peripheral Products Marketing Tools SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is used inside a company in order to discover its strengths, its weaknesses, its opportunities and its threats. The SWOT analysis is a strategic marketing planning tool that is usually used to help each company understand and analyse its strengths and weaknesses, identify the threats of other businesses and the various opportunities in the market share. The SWOT analysis is divided in two sectors. The strengths and the weaknesses refer to the company and its products as internal factors, while the threats and the opportunities refer to the external factors of the company in which it has no control. In SWOT analysis it is usual to list the strengths, the weaknesses, the threats and the opportunities in the same page. This is done by dividing the page into four squares and entering strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) in the top two squares and opportunities and threats (external factors) in the button square. The SWOT analysis should be brief and interesting and should not exceed more than four or five pages. An example of a SWOT analysis is the following 4: (How to write a marketing plan [electronic resource] / John Westwood, Westwood, John, 1947, London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2006, 3rd ed), (Malcolm McDonald on marketing planning [electronic resource] : understanding marketing plans and strategy / Malcolm McDonald. Publication Info. London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2008.) STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS The number of individual SWOT analysis will defer from company to company. The most common levels that SWOT should be undertaken are the following: For the organisation as a whole For every major Competitor For every major product or service For every major market share The SWOT analysis is used for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, etc. This tool is very useful for each company to understand and make decisions in all kind of situations. (4, McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117) A good example of Apple to explore their strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats is to develop a Swot analysis for the company. The Swot analysis for company is showed below: STRENGHTS: Apple is producing innovative, quality and easy to use products. The innovation made Apple such a powerful company. This is obvious if we look its past: 1970-2001-Apple was making changes only to its computers (face-lift), end of 2001-Apple introduced iPod, June 2008- Apple introduced the cinema displays, March 2007- Apple developed Apple TV, June 2007- Apple entered the Mobile Market with iPhone, 2010- Apple introduced iPad. Every year Apple spent around $1.5 billion for the development of new products in order to keep the existing customers satisfied and recruit more new ones. [3] Apple has a very powerful brand loyalty. As it is one of the most profitable and healthy companies in the World, it managed to adopt a large amount of loyal customers. [1] This happened because Apple periodically, provides updates to all its application and operating systems not only for the Mac computers but for Iphone, Ipad etc. With this way Apple keep the customers satisfied and willing to buy its new products. [3] The key success for Apple is its dedicated personnel and more specifically the CEO team. This team includes all the executive team( Steve Jobs, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, Millard S. Drexler) and the employees in technical, marketing and staff positions.[2] Steve Jobs, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Apple Inc. plays a vital role inside the company. During his absence (1985-1996) Apple experienced many financial problems. However, when Steve Jobs came back to the company in 1996, he focused on developing new ideas and in 2001 he introduced iPod which is making a lot of profit to the company. Therefore, Steve Jobs is definitely a strength for Apple.[2] Apple developed a partnership with Intel ® microprocessors in June 2005. This was very useful for Apple because it is addressed in a wider market. Furthermore, as Steve Jobs specified Intel is the strongest processor roadmap. Therefore from then until now, Apple computers is much stronger and more stable.[4] Apple has managed to adopt loyal customers through its stable and reliable products. Therefore, in order to make some profit in the introduction phase of its product, it announces a pre-order technique in order for the innovators to pre-order the product and pre-pay it. With this technique Apple gain a large amount of money and invest them in other areas. WEAKNESSES: Apples hardware and software products and services are very complex and high technology that most of the times contain defects such as bugs. For example, when iPhone 4G came to production, everyone was complaining about the signal when they make a call. Therefore, Apple introduced an update to fix the problem. However, there is no guarantee that Apple is able to detect and fix all the defects in its products and services.[3] This failure results in harming its reputation and sometimes losing customers because they are not satisfied.[3] In the US, Apple has made a contract with a specific carrier for selling and promoting iPhone. If this carrier cannot compete with others in the U.S. market concerning the quality, coverage and pricing or if he cannot promote iPhone correctly into the market so as for the customers to buy it, then this will have a negative impact on the sales and the profit for the company as it will not sell enough units.[3] Furthermore, as Apple decided to make a contract with one carrier, it will lose the loyal customers from other carriers Steve Jobs, is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. During the departure of Steve Jobs from the company, Apple was facing many financial problems because it did not have any innovative products. Therefore, if Steve Jobs leaves again from the company then it might face the same problems. Therefore Steve Jobs is both a strength and a weakness.[2] When Apple announced in June 2005 that is going to leave from IBM and to switch to Intel, some specialists commented that it might lose the loyal IBM customers because the swap would confuse them. Apple has very high prices in its products, so it addresses in a low market- share and not to all customers. OPPORTUNITIES Due to the high competitive market, Apple has to introduce new products, services and technologies and enhance existing products and services so as to simulate new and existing customers to buy the new and upgraded products and services.[3] With the success of iPod and iTunes, Apple entered to the Consumer Electronics market. By introducing iPhone, Apple has expanded to the Mobile Communications market. Therefore, now Apple has the opportunity to expand to further markets like home stereo, TV or even a gaming system like play station.[2] Apple made a contract with Intel to install their processors to Apple computers so as to prompt business to replace Pcs with iMacs. They did this in order for their business applications to become stable and reliable. The first example of replacing their computers with iMac is in Japan. Aozona Bank Ltd replaced their computers with iMacs. Therefore, Apple has to find a way to establish themselves as a major player in business applications.[2] Apple have to create a strategy that will expand its product line to other products that is going to be less expensive. THREATS The biggest threat that all the IT companies face is the high level of competition in the technology markets. The most common feature is the price competition. The competitors reduce their selling prices and sometimes adopt the features of Apple products in order to attract more customers. For example, Apple has only recently entered the Mobile Communications market, so many of its competitors have greater experience and more resources, so they could provide their products in a lower price with little or even no profit at all.for the company. Therefore if Apple stops investing a lot of money to research and development, it will lose its competitive position in the market. Furthermore, in these markets the product Life Cycle of all the products and services is extremely short e.g. for mobiles phone their lifecycle is around 6 months. Therefore, each company has to introduce new products and services. [1,3] In 2005 Apple won a legal case about a blog that pre-introduced new Apple products. With this trial, Apple force Bloggers to name the source of their information because the company suspected that the information had leaked from its employees. [1] Therefore, Apple is always vulnerable to leaks from various employees. This information may conclude to the competitors, so Apple will lose its competiveness.[1] As Apple is an IT company, it relies mostly in economic factors to make profit. Therefore, the economic crisis that exists worldwide is a major threat to all companies but mostly to technological companies. This happens as with the unemployment and the decrease of salaries; most customers consider the market of a technological product unnecessary e.g. an iPhone, so the sales of the company are going down. Customers will download music from another free online program without having to pay anything in iTunes. This will have an impact on iTunes and on the profit of Apple. Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/swot/apple-swot.html A strategic Analysis of Apple Corporation, Imothy Pivovamik, Jeff Shaver, Adam Silver, Richard Sterling, Dave Strubbe (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 http://www.apple.com/investor/ Ansoff Matrix Ansoff Matrix is a well known marketing tool which was first published in Harvard Business Review. Many companies nowadays use it in order to help them decide for the development of their product and the market share. [3,4] The matrix has 2 dimensions. The first one consists of existing and new products while the second consist of existing and new markets. Inside the matrix there are four main categories with suggested grown strategies for each one in order to help the company set the correct direction of their business strategy. The four categories are: Market Penetration in which the company enter into an existing market with existing products or services. Product Development in which the company introduce new products/services into existing customers. Market Development which the company tries to attract new customers with existing products or services Diversification occurs when the company tries to capture new customers with completely new products/services.[3,4] An example of the Ansoff matrix is the following: Ansoff Matrix w500.gif Apple could use each of these four categories in order to manage its existing products and develop new products/ services Market Penetration: In this strategy, Apple could aim on selling the existing products, e.g. Mac Computers to the existing markets. More specifically, Apple: Should try to increase the market share of the existing product. This could be achieved by using the appropriate marketing tools( lower prices, sales promotion, advertising) in order to attract new customers to buy its products.[3,4] For example, more advertisement or reduced prices on Mac Computers could persuade new customers that prefer Windows operations system to change to Macintosh. This is more highly to be achieved in the grown markets because in there the product is at its rising stage. In order to increase its sales and its profit, could persuade existing customers to buy more products. This can be done during an economic grown where customers are willing to spent more money in technological items. [4] For example, Apple could use more advertisement or sales promotion to persuade customers to buy an iPhone for all the members of their family. Or Apple could persuade existing iPod customers to buy also a Mac computer. Should try to ÃŽÂ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ®Ãƒ Ã†â€™ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ the leadership role in the market by ÃŽÂ ´ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ Ã… ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ all the other competitors. This could be achieved by adopting an appropriate promotional campaign. For example, to drive out any competitors in order to have only its product in the whole market. It will succeed this by adopting a very aggressive promotional campaign. (1,3) Product Development In this strategic option, Apple could create new products for the existing customers. With them, Apple has already a strong relationship, so it knows their need and specifications for creating a new product. Therefore, the company is innovating its products in order to keep satisfied their customers, beat its competitors and keep its leadership role in the market. An example of this strategy is the iPod. The first iPod that Apple introduced was in October 2001. This was the first entertainment tool from Apple for people to use in order to hear all the time their favourite music. However it had a black-white screen and only 5 GB capacity for songs. Therefore, in 2003 Apple introduced an iPod with the maximum of 40 GB capacity. In 2004 it introduced an iPod with a colour screen and 60 GB capacity. Nowadays, Apple has created an iPod that has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display, Wifi and many other features. These changes belong to the product development as Apple innovate its products to attract the existing customers and replace their product with the new.[6] Another example is that Apple every year innovate the iPhone. The first iPhone was released in 2007. The next year Apple introduced iPhone 3G. In 2009 Apple announce the iPhone 3GS and in 2010 it announced the 4G. All these products are aiming to the same market share, the customers who have already bought the first iPhone and want to replace it with the new one.[6] Market Development In the Market Development, Apple could use different marketing strategies in order to sell existing products/services to new markets and increase its profit. It can achieve that, either by expanding to other geographical areas or by looking for users with that will use the product in a different way. A common example is by expanding to foreign markets or to expand from the private sector to the public.[4] Some examples of Apple are the following: Apple did not stayed on selling only to U.S but expanded on all over the world and in 2010 it is earning $24,298 from America sales and $30,929 from worldwide. [5] Another example is that when Apple introduces a new product to the market, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market in order for the customers with low income to buy it. With this technique Apple gain a new market and make a small profit. Another example is that Apple in the beginning was only selling only to customer market but a few years later, it expanded to the area of education. Diversification This strategic option is the risky of all as Apple has to think of new products and introduced them into totally new markets. This option has a very high failure rate as many products fail to come up with the expectations of the customers, so the company has a loss instead of a profit. [4] The most recent example of diversification to Apple is the introduction of iPad in 2010. With this product Apple was aiming in capturing the customers who use the Internet all the time and do not want to carry a notebook or a netbook with them. With iPad Apple did not enter to a completely different market because iPad is like an iPhone with a bigger screen. Therefore, Apple knew how to handle this type of product. Another example is the introduction of iPhone. In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, the first mobile phone from Apple. With the specific product, it entered immediately to the mobile market which was totally new to them and in which did not have any previous experience. Apple knew that it should have many competitors and it knew that the product will be either a failure or a success. Therefore, with appropriate marketing and management strategies, iPhone proved to be a success. A much older example is the introduction of iPod. Apple introduced the iPod in 2001. Like in the case of iPhone, Apple was entering here into a whole different area from the computer market. It was entering into the music market and was aiming for existing customers to buy an iPod and for new customers to try one and also try the services of Apple. Finally, Apple has already entered in the markets of Mobile Communications, Computers, TV and Music, therefore it could invest money on creating a gaming console, like Play Station 3, in order to enter to the market of gaming. If it enters this area, it will make a lot of profit because young people spent a lot of money on gaming Market Penetration Usage of appropriate Marketing Tools(advertising, lower prices, etc) Persuade existing customers to buy more products. Product Development Introduction of iPod, the first entertainment tool from Apple Innovation of iPhone each year Market Development Apple expended Worldwide Diversification Introduction of Ipad Introduction of iPhone Introduction of iPod Apple could create a gaming console Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236, http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 6) http://www.apple.com6] Product Lifecycle(PLC) Another diagnostic tool that is very useful for the companys marketing is Product Life Cycle. With this tool, the company is able to determine different strategies for a product or service. More specifically, the product lifecycle has to do with the life of the product in the market, so it is similar to the humans lifecycle. Humans during their lives pass trough different stages e.g. birth, grown, maturity, decline and death. The same thing happens with product lifecycle. It passes trough introduction, grown, maturity, saturation and the final stage of decline cause of some natural limiting factors.[1] An example of a product lifecycle curve is shown the figure 1. Figure 1 [1] Each product lifecycle has 5 different stages: Introduction: In this stage the company plan and develop the product. In this stage the company does not make any profit because the product is new to the market and the customers are cautious of buying it. Some companies eg Apple, announce their product before it is introduced in order for the early adopters to preorder it and make some money. Generally, this stage is very difficult for each company and has to play with the marketing mix (price, promotion, product, distribution) in order to make some profit.[1] Grown: In this stage the sales are increasing as customers become aware of the product and start to buy it. If the product proves to be a success then more customers will buy it and the company will make more profit.[1] However, not all products reach this stage. This is because in this stage it starts the competition. Therefore, also in this stage the company should develop a smart marketing mix so as to attract more customers. [1,3] Maturity: This stage is the most profitable of all. Sales continue to increase but the cost for the company is decreasing as the advertisements expenditures decline because customers know the product.[3] However, competition is increasing and when the markets are full; the grown of the product begins to decline. [1] Therefore, during this stage, the company should make some radical changes concerning the marketing mix in order not to lose customers. Saturation: This is the stage that the market is full of companies competing for the same product and the sales are decreasing. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are the key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media. The rate of sales grown eventually levels out. Generally, there are too many firms competing for too little business at this stage. As a result, price wars may break out and there are casualties or tactical withdrawals among the competitive companies. [2,1] Decline: In the final stage, the product has come to its decline as there is a downturn in the market. This means that the market is full of more innovative products in more attractive prices.[2] The limitations of PLC are that this tool is not the same for all products e.g mobile phones have shorter lifecycle than automobiles. Its product has a unique lifecycle e.g some go from introduction to decline. Therefore is very difficult for the marketing managers to predict in which stage is the product. The most common is that when sales peak and then decline, the managers conclude that the product is in the decline stage. Furthermore, some products do not experience any decline like Coca Cola or Pepsi. These products are in maturity for many years, so the company has only profits from these.[2,3] To sum up the PLC is ideal as a descriptive model as it focuses on the future sales and understanding the dynamics of the market.[1] 1)McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117 2)Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3) http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ After the developing new products and products portfolio, Apple should use a tool in order to manage these products. The Boston Consulting Group Box (BCG Box) The Boston Matrix is another useful tool for the marketing managers in order to plan the product portfolio of their company. The product portfolio is divided into the products that generate cash and the products that do not. Then the managers will use this model in order to see which one produce cash and make profit to the company and which are not. [2] Therefore, the company can evaluate if its products are healthy The BCG Box uses a form of a two- dimensional matrix. The two axes are the market share, which indicates the strength or limitations of the market and the market growth rate. In order for someone to use the matrix, he should divide it into 4 quadrants, stars(high share/ high market grown), cash cows(high market share/ low market grown), dogs(low market share/ low market grown), question marks(low market share/high market grown), like the matrix in Figure2. Furthermore, he should use circles for each product or product portfolio of the company. The size of the circle indicates the size of the sales or profit for the particular product, product line or business unit.[1,5] In order for Apple to apply the Boston Matrix and manage its products, it should divide its product portfolio into 4 categories deciding which of them are dogs, stars, cash cows and question marks. Figure 2 Stars: Stars are products that are in high growth market with high market share. As Tony Proctor said stars are tomorrows cash earners. This means that stars make a lot of profit for the company but in order for the company to keep these products to this stage, it must spend a high amount of money on them. Therefore, stars are neutral from the point of view of cash generation. [1,2] iPhone is an example of the star products that Apple has in its portfolio. iPhone in its grown it generates a lot of gross profit to the company but it needs also a lot of money in order to change it to cash cow. When it reaches the maturity stage and change to cash cow it has only profit to the company without any expenses for investment. Cash cows: In this stage are the mature products with low growth and high market share, so this area is the most profitable of all as they generate a lot of cash that can be used in improving other areas or in supplying research and development of new products. The company have to invest only a small amount of money to keep them where they are. [1,3] An example of cash cow is the iPod. Despite the fact that Apple does not make considerable changes to the specific product, customers prefer it and buy it. In 2010 Apple sell 8,274 units without making considerable changes. Another example is iTunes. Customers from iTunes can purchase many songs, videos and nowadays even books. Apple all these years made minor changes to iTunes but customers continue to buy from there. Therefore, iTunes is a very profitable programme for Apple without any cost for investment. A case in point is Apple Computers flagship product called the iPod, which occupies a dominant 73% share the portable music player market (Cantrell 2006). Analysts believe it is the impetus for Apples financial rebirth 40% of Apples sales is attributed to the iPod product line (Cantrell 2006) Dogs: These are products with low market share and low market growth. These products are completely profitless for the company and have no future. The best thing each company should do is sold off these products.[1] However, many companies that have dog products have to think carefully before divest them because they might be a portfolio of other products which might be stars. So if the customers that buy with the stars also the dogs, they will stop buying both of them and the company will lose money. Many companies like Apple do not have many dogs products because they are IT companies and they innovate their products very often in order not to lose their position on the market. One example is the iPhone 3Gs when Apple released iPhone 4G.This happens to all of the products of Apple. When it releases a new product, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market with a very low price. This is a dog product. Another example is the iPods shuffle that does not have any screen. These are products with little or no demand on the market because most of the customers buy the iPod with a screen. Therefore, these products make little profit for the company, so they are dogs. Question marks: These are products with low market share but high market grown. These are also unprofitable for the company as they are low market share and the company have to invest a lot of money to grow their market share. Therefore, marketing managers have to think very carefully which ones they should invest in. If they invest in a profitable product then it will become star and afterwards cash cow or else they will become dogs.[1,3] An example of question marks is the Mac Computers. Most people worldwide prefer to buy a computer with a Windows operation system instead of Macintosh, so Apple has to invest a lot of money, as they are very complex products with high technology in order to change them into stars. In General each company have to possess at least one cash cow in order to make profit and invest it to other areas, like stars so as to become a cash cow. If a company has many dog products then the best solution is to either convert them to stars or dispatched them. There is the possibility for a company to have question marks. If that happens, then either it should money to change them to stars and then cash cow or let them become dogs and dispose them. [1] However, despite for all the positive results that Apple could have with BSG matrix, it has many limitations. Firstly, the matrix assumes that every product is independent from the product portfolio of the company. This is not all the times true as many products depend from others and if the company consider a product dog and divest it, then it will create a problem to the other product. Furthermore, The limitations of BCG matrix are that the higher rates of profit do not always related to high rates of market share. Furthermore, it is usually applies to product lines instead of simply a product. Finally, the main problem with these tools is that they are not always accurate.[2] 1) Strategic marketing [electronic resource] : an introduction / Tony Proctor, Proctor, Tony, London ; New York : Routledge, 2000. 2) Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236,http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Marketing, David Mercer Swot analysis: Use SWOT analysis for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing, business and product development and research reports. The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. You can then attempt to exploit your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, grasp your opportunities and defend yourself against threats. This is one of the most impor

Evacuation Essay -- Papers

Evacuation The sources all show different attitudes tot the evacuation of children, some show that evacuation was a great success, however some show that it wasn't such a success. They all show this in different ways-pictures, interviews with the parents and teachers, advertisements and novels so some evidence is more reliable then others. Source A is a very positive attitude or impression to evacuation as it shows evacuees walking to the station in London in September 1939. The children don't look at all bothered, they seem to be smiling and waving to the person who is taking the photograph. Although this is a photograph so it will be real, it isn't that reliable in showing the attitudes or impression towards evacuation because the rest of Great Britain may have different views on the whole evacuation idea, probably a lot of children and the parent would be feeling quite distraught as it would be quite an emotional experience so it definitely isn't at all reliable at showing what evacuation was like and the publics attitude. It could be a source of propaganda; the government were probably trying to make out that evacuation was going well and that it would be a success. In a way this source does show that evacuation was a great success, yet it is a bit bias. Source B shows a negative attitude towards evacuation. Though it is an interview, it only gives one point of view. The interview is both reliable and unreliable as well, it is reliable because it is someone who has actually experienced the evacuation and this person had to look after the children who were being evacuated so this person will know what it was like... ...rces are very negative about evacuation, so I don't really think it was a great success for the public, as they were the ones who were experiencing it and they didn't really approve of it, however for the government it was a great success as they saved some of their population plus other countries thought it was successful too so this was good for the British government. None of the sources give a clear picture on what and how the public were feeling about evacuation and whether they thought it would be or was a success. Everyone in Britain all had very strong and different views about it. Although it does show that government had a very good attitude towards to their public and their safety. In my views, I don't think evacuation was a great success, it was successful but there could have been other ways of solving it. Evacuation Essay -- Papers Evacuation The sources all show different attitudes tot the evacuation of children, some show that evacuation was a great success, however some show that it wasn't such a success. They all show this in different ways-pictures, interviews with the parents and teachers, advertisements and novels so some evidence is more reliable then others. Source A is a very positive attitude or impression to evacuation as it shows evacuees walking to the station in London in September 1939. The children don't look at all bothered, they seem to be smiling and waving to the person who is taking the photograph. Although this is a photograph so it will be real, it isn't that reliable in showing the attitudes or impression towards evacuation because the rest of Great Britain may have different views on the whole evacuation idea, probably a lot of children and the parent would be feeling quite distraught as it would be quite an emotional experience so it definitely isn't at all reliable at showing what evacuation was like and the publics attitude. It could be a source of propaganda; the government were probably trying to make out that evacuation was going well and that it would be a success. In a way this source does show that evacuation was a great success, yet it is a bit bias. Source B shows a negative attitude towards evacuation. Though it is an interview, it only gives one point of view. The interview is both reliable and unreliable as well, it is reliable because it is someone who has actually experienced the evacuation and this person had to look after the children who were being evacuated so this person will know what it was like... ...rces are very negative about evacuation, so I don't really think it was a great success for the public, as they were the ones who were experiencing it and they didn't really approve of it, however for the government it was a great success as they saved some of their population plus other countries thought it was successful too so this was good for the British government. None of the sources give a clear picture on what and how the public were feeling about evacuation and whether they thought it would be or was a success. Everyone in Britain all had very strong and different views about it. Although it does show that government had a very good attitude towards to their public and their safety. In my views, I don't think evacuation was a great success, it was successful but there could have been other ways of solving it.

Richard Cory, by Edwin Arlington Robinson :: Richard Cory Analysis

A. Title: The title of this poem suggests that it is about a man, possibly a man people like and possibly a man they do not like. From the vagueness of the title the man could be an outcast. B. Paraphrase: When Richard Cory goes downtown, people look at him. He was dressed nice from head to toe, clean and very thin. He was alway quietly well-ordered and human when he talked. But he fluttered when he said, "Good morning," and glittered when he walked. He was richer than a king and very well mannered and graceful. We thought he was everything, and wanted to be him. So he worked and waited for light, didn't eat meat and hated the bread, one summer night he went home and shot himself in the head. C: Connotations:The poem is written in quatrains ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH and has an irregular rhythm to it. There is imagery in the poem when it says, "he glittered when he walked." Everyone liked Richard Cory and wanted to be him because he was so perfect, however Richard Cory was still unhappy which caused his untimely demise. D. Attitude: The speaker in this poem is most likely a person from the town that represents the town as a whole, a synecdoche. "We," being everyone who had ever seen Richard Cory. The attitude of the speaker is one of possibly reverence. The townspeople liked Richard Cory because of how he was and they were sad to hear that he had killed himself. The attitude of the poet is that what happened had happened and it couldn't be changed. Even though Richard Cory had everything a man could ask for, he was still unhappy. E. Shifts: There are no shifts in speaker throughout the poem but the attitude of the poem takes a turn towards morbid at the end of the final quatrain when he kills himself. The shift is important because it gets to the main point of the story. Just because someone has everything and appears happy, does not mean that is truly how they are. F. Title: The title for this poem after reading it could be seen as his epitaph on his gravestone; his name posted at the top and then a small story about his life and

Presidency Essay -- Essays Papers

Presidency Although it is often said that the President of the United States holds the most powerful office in the world, this does not mean that he is able to decide very much for himself. The American Constitution, which was adapted in 1789, clearly states the Separation of Powers. Thus, the president makes up only one third of the government, namely the executive branch. He is also controlled by a complex system of checks and balances, which makes sure that he (or any of the other branches, for that matter) does not become too powerful. We will now have a look at the different problems which may be facing a recently elected president, and then discuss to what extent his powers are important. The first and foremost problem is that the president does not necessarily have a majority in Congress behind him. As the American system of government is non-parliamentary, the president is elected by the people, not by Congress, Thus there may very well be, as there is at the moment, a Democrat as president, with a Republican majority in Congress. The president will then have to do a lot of negotiation and adaptation, to be able to get new laws through Congress. He will not be able to follow the politics entirely of his own liking. But even if the president is supported by a majority in Congress, this does not mean that everything is necessarily fine. Since there are only two important parties in the USA, the representatives from each group make up a far from homogenous mass. Conservative Democrats may very well support the Republicans in many cases, and liberal Republicans may support the Democrats. President Clinton experienced the trouble connected to this in the years 1993-94, when he faced a Democrat, but nevertheless relu... ...e power of the President (sic)is great if he can use it; but it is a moral power, a power activated by persuasion and discussion." The president will always have to co-operate in order to achieve something. If conflicts arise between him and Congress, for example, trouble is in the horizon. This happened in 1995, when President Clinton refused to sign the national budget proposed by Congress. The entire government came to a stand still for a couple of weeks, and then Congress had to back off. They were not strong enough to override Clinton's veto (they would have needed a 2/3 majority). And of course, as already mentioned, the president exercises an immense influence on political life. Therefore, despite all the elements which may pester his existence, the president could rightly be called the most powerful man of the US, and thus, in today's situation, of the world.

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) from first principles Essay

Explain the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) from first principles. EOQ, or Economic Order Quantity, was developed by F. W. Harris in1913, even if R. H. Wilson is recognized for his early deeply analysis of the model. Harris’s original pape was disseminated; it actually was ignored for many years before its rediscovery in 1988. During this period, a lot misunderstanding developed over the origin of the EOQ model. The model is defined as the optimal quantity of orders that minimizes total variable costs required to order and hold inventory. The first part of the essay will explain the principles of the EOQ and gives an idea about how it works. Second part will sets out its advantages and disadvantages. EOQ is not a simple solution but an instrument, which enable the firm to determine the order size that will reduce the total inventory costs, by calculating an economic order quantity. It refers to the most favourable order volume that will result in the lowest total of order and carrying costs for an article of inventory given its expected usage, carrying costs and ordering cost. Thus, by dint of its principles, the EOQ tool can be used to form the quantity of inventory that the firm should order each month. Indeed, there are two categories of costs that need to be considered: ordering costs and carrying costs (also called holding costs) which must be defined. Holding cost, carrying cost is the cost associated with having inventory on hand. It is made up of the costs linked with the inventory investment and storage cost. For the use of the EOQ calculation, the cost must change based upon the quantity of inventory on hand in order to be included in carrying cost. In the EOQ formula, carrying cost is represented as the annual cost per average on hand inventory unit. The interest rate would be part of the carrying cost if a loan is required to pay for your inventory. If there are loans on other capital items, the use of the interest rate on those loans is possible since a reduction in inventory would free up money that could be used to pay these loans. If you are debt free you would need to determine how much you could make if the money was invested. Insurance costs are also a part of carrying cost since they are directly related to the total value of the inventory. If a payment of any taxes on the value of the inventory is necessary they would also be included. Mistakes in calculating storage costs are frequent in EOQ implementations. Generally, companies take all costs associated with the warehouse and divide it by the average inventory to determine a storage cost percentage for the EOQ calculation. This tends to include costs that are not directly affected by the inventory levels and does not compensate for storage characteristics. Carrying costs for the purpose of the EOQ calculation should only include costs that are variable based upon inventory levels. As to the ordering cost, it is associated with processing the order, by receipt and settlement of the suppliers bills. The marginal cost of the additional order can be appraised; its a fixed cost, independent of the size of the order. When the order quantity (Q) increases, the total ordering costs decrease while the total carrying costs increase. The economic order quantity, denoted by Q, is that value at which the total cost of both ordering and carrying will be minimized. The total cost curve reaches its minimum at the point of intersection between the ordering costs curve and the carrying costs line. The value of Q corresponding to it will be the economic order quantity Q. The EOQ formula can be used in order to improve the management of supply, even if there is any information concerning the costs. It can reduce the value of the average inventory for the same order load and decrease the order load for the same average inventory. The advantage of the EOQ formula is that it provides a baseline for getting the best deal. It helps you purchase what you are going to use and keeps you from over purchasing to get deals from vendors. The disadvantages are obvious if you have a high periodicity or seasonality to your consumption, or your usage is minimal. EOQ should only be applied to higher volume items that are worth inventorying; for example, using EOQ to order memory chips for a retail computer store can be detrimental since the demand can vary greatly and the risk that they will become obsolete is high. Knowing and understanding both historical and future demand, and maintaining a sane safety stock are the keys to use EOQ reliably. Furthermore, there should not have seasonality. Sources: internet: http://www.eoq.org/start.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_order_quantity

Accounting In China Essay

1. Introduction †¢ China’s rapid economic growth in the past two decades has amazed the rest of the world. †¢ With China’s accession to the WTO, business activities with and within China will further expand. †¢ China fully understands that a sound financial reporting system plays a key role in the process of economic development. †¢ The Chinese Ministry of Finance (MoF), who has the responsibility for regulating accounting matters in China, has set itself the objectives of fostering investors’ confidence in financial information, increase transparency of financial reporting, and harmonize with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), so as to reduce the costs of raising capital by enterprises and alleviate the risk of financial crisis. 2. History Of Development †¢ The old accounting and regulations were designed to meet the needs of a planned economy, and therefore focused on whether the production goals of state-owned enterprises and their financial and costs plans were being met. †¢ Accordingly, the objectives of accounting and performance measurement some twenty years ago were significantly different from the financial reporting objectives in a modern market oriented economy. †¢ Significant accounting reforms were undertaken in the past two decades due to several factors such as: âž ¢ Since China opened its door to foreign investments in 1979, the rapid growth of its economy, international trade and securities markets has shaped new objectives for financial reporting. âž ¢ State-owned enterprises now look a lot like profit-oriented businesses, and managers and other users need reliable and relevant financial information on which to base decisions about the efficient allocation of capital. âž ¢ At the same time, china has reached out to the international community to form joint ventures and gain greater access to the latest technologies and the world’s capital markets. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay †¢ In the 1980s, the MoF issued the first set of accounting regulation, which was formulated by reference to international accounting practice, for joint ventures in China. †¢ In 1992, due to rapid development of the Chinese securities market, the accounting System for Experimental Joint Stock Limited Enterprises was promulgated by the MoF in order to standardised accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. This System was subsequently replaced by the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) in 1998. †¢ The 1992 regulation moved away from the traditional fund-based Soviet accounting model and incorporated many common Western accounting practices. †¢ In the same year, the MoF promulgated the Accounting Regulations for Foreign Investment Enterprises (FIE), the Accounting Regulations for Share Enterprises. †¢ In 1993 the Basic Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises came into force. It imposes some basic rules (e.g. that double entry bookkeeping must be used, that a cash or funds statement must be included in the financial statements, and that consolidated financial statements must be provided where appropriate); set out a conceptual framework of China accounting and make some detailed rules of financial reporting. †¢ The conceptual framework introduced on a broader scope new accounting concepts and essential elements of financial statements that were in many respects based on international practices. †¢ The conceptual framework aspects of the regulation are reasonably close to US and IASC precedents. †¢ However, these pronouncements were still found to have essential differences with international practice such as limited disclosure of financial information for the users to understand the results and financial position of the reporting enterprise. †¢ Another difference is that the regulation does not specifically identify the primary user or purpose of financial statements. Instead, a hierarchy of users includes the government, banks, the public and an enterprise’s own management. †¢ This is very different from the US or IASB which emphasis on financial decision making by outside investors. †¢ In addition, the ASBE is based on historical cost without the revaluation allowed in IASB or UK rules or the increasing use of fair value in IASB/US/UK rules. †¢ Furthermore, ‘substance over form’ is not established as a principle in China. 3. The New Accounting Standards And Accounting System (Development after 1993). †¢ In 1993, with funding from the World Bank (US$2.6 million), the MoF engaged Deloitte Touchee Tohmatsu (DTT) as consultants to develop a body of Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) broadly in line with accounting and financial reporting practices used internationally. †¢ Exposure Drafts on about 30 standards have since been published between 1994 and 1996, and they were generally closely in line with the standards of the IASC. †¢ In 1997, the first standard was issued. It is on disclosure of relationships and transactions with related parties. †¢ In the same year, China joined the IASC, and became an official observer at Board meetings. †¢ In October 1998, an Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) was founded within China’s MoF. It comprises academics and members of accounting firms as well as government experts. †¢ In 1998, the Ministry of Finance issued the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) to replace the accounting System for Experimental joint Stock Limited Enterprises in order to standardise accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. †¢ In 2000, DTT was reappointed as consultants for the second phase of the project. †¢ China accounting has achieved remarkable progress in unifying its accounting practices since Year 2001. †¢ In the same year, MoF issued a new comprehensive Accounting System for Business Enterprise (the ‘System’). The new System replaced the Accounting System for JSLE form January 1, 2002. †¢ In other words, all JSLE (including all listed enterprise) and FIE are now required to follow one unified new System. The system introduces the concept of substance over form and extends the requirement for consideration to all assets. †¢ The MoF plans to ultimately require all medium-size and large enterprises (other than financial enterprises) to adopt the new System, and announced its expectation that state-owned enterprise will adopt the new system over time. †¢ When fully implemented, the new System will replace the numerous inconsistent industry accounting regulations, enabling the financial statements of different types of enterprises to become more comparable. 4. Impact Of The New Systems On FIE †¢ Before adopting the new System, FIE’s financial statements which were prepared in accordance with the Accounting Regulation for FIE could not properly reflect the enterprise’s actual financial position and operating results, the enterprise had to make numerous adjustments when they compile financial statements under overseas accounting standards, such as IAS and US GAAP. †¢ The process was time consuming and imposed additional cost of investment to the foreign investors. †¢ After the adoption of the new System, the differences between FIE’s financial statements under PRC GAAP and those prepared in accordance with international accounting practices will reduce further, thereby enabling the foreign investors to assess the performance of their investments more efficiently. 5. China Accounting Standards Convergence With IFRS †¢ The importance and acceptance of IFRS has increased significantly over the past few years. †¢ While actively pursuing convergence with IFRS, the MoF necessarily has to ensure that accounting standards appropriately address the national circumstances that exist during this transitional period in the economy. âž ¢ A very significant portion of the economy is dominated by state owned enterprises. Even after enterprises are restructured into joint stock enterprise and branched out from the government structure, functional or regional government that remain stakeholders still exert significant influences over the enterprises and their trading partners and their transactions. âž ¢ Free markets are not sufficiently developed in many areas. âž ¢ Financial statements are multi-functional, serving not only the needs of the investors but also other interested parties including the State for supervisory and management purposes. âž ¢ Enterprises and professional intermediaries such as auditors and valuers are at a developing stage. During this transitional period, accounting standards must be realistically implementable by the preparers and auditors of financial statements. †¢ On 16 February 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the International Accounting Standards Board formally announced that Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) will converge with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on 1 January 2007. †¢ Converging CAS with IFRS is one of many successful initiatives undertaken by the PRC government over the past global economy. †¢ Investors, analysts, regulators and other interested parties in recent years have been increasingly demanding more consistent and reliable financial reporting from companies around the world. †¢ The adoption and consistent application of accounting standards based on IFRS principles is widely viewed as a commitment to transparent financial reporting by these constituents. Transparent financial reporting is considered as the foundation of investor confidence. †¢ The process of convergence has been started way back in November 2005 when several meetings had been held between MoF and board members of IASB. †¢ The process of convergence will involve integrating the IFRS principles into CAS and will result in the amendment of all existing standards and the issuance of an additional 22 Specific standards. †¢ While the revised CAS will not reflect a literal translation of IFRS, their scope will include all IFRS principles. In additional, they will contain interpretive guidance to address the accounting for specific types of transaction (e.g. combinations of companies under common control) and industry accounting issues (e.g. extraction of petroleum and natural gas). †¢ The new CAS will comprise 1 basic standard and 38 specific standards. †¢ The revised CAS will first be applied to listed companies from 1 January 2007 and gradually applied to other types of entities. †¢ There will be differences between the revised CAS and IFRS to reflect unique circumstances in China. †¢ These differences, among other things, relate to: a. A prohibition of the reversal of asset impairment once it has been made; b. The accounting for certain government grants; c. Related party disclosures between State owned enterprises that have no direct investment relationship. 6. Challenges faced by China in converging with IFRS. †¢ The effect of changing accounting policies involves some efforts such as: âž ¢ Re-designing the financial reporting process to ensure that management has sufficient reliable financial information with which to prepare financial statements that comply with the standards, particularly in regards to the increased levels of disclosure required, and properly supports critical accounting estimates and judgements. âž ¢ The people involved in the financial reporting process will need to develop a new expertise and competency in applying revised CAS. âž ¢ Developing new accounting policy manual; integrating new CAS internal management reporting (budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement) and external reporting (financial, statutory, investor) into daily operations across the organization. âž ¢ Implementing ongoing and sustainable processes such as valuations of share options and derivatives, impairment testing hedge documentation and effectiveness testing, etc. âž ¢ Require identification of new data requirements due to financial statements and disclosure requirements. âž ¢ Train the head office and business units of the new reporting requirements. âž ¢ Provide training to finance and also non-finance staff including key management (e.g. finance, treasury, tax, human resource and sales) on new CAS principles and new reporting requirements. THE NEW SYSTEM OF CHINESE ACCOUNTING STANDARDS Key features and impact of the new accounting standards 1. The new accounting standards represent convergence with International financial Reporting Standards. †¢ Most of the newly issued standards and revised standards make reference to the equivalent IFRS and adopt the principles and treatments similar to its counterpart. †¢ As a result, the financial statements prepared in accordance with the New Accounting Standards will be more comparable with those prepared in accordance with IFRS. †¢ Overseas investors and users of financial statements will understand the financial statements of Chinese enterprise better and the cost of re-preparing financial statements for Chinese enterprises when getting overseas listing will be reduced. 2. The requirement of fair value measurement †¢ Under the new accounting standards, debt restructuring and no-monetary transactions will be measured at fair value and gains that meet certain criteria will be recognized in the income statement. †¢ Whereas before the revision, those transactions were carried at book value and any gains arising from those transactions were not allowed to be recognized. †¢ In practice, the determination of fair values may not be easy for many entities and various valuation techniques are required. 3. Specify accounting treatments for important accounting issues such as business combinations and consolidated financial statement. †¢ In the past, there was neither formal accounting standards nor comprehensive and detailed guidelines in the area of business combinations and consolidated financial statements. †¢ As a result, accounting treatments for similar business combination transactions may have varied across different enterprises causing much confusion and inconsistency. †¢ Therefore, the issuance of the standards on â€Å"Business Combination† and â€Å"Consolidated Financial statement† will provide comprehensive and more authoritative provisions and guidelines on these important accounting issues. 4. Specify treatments on new accounting issues and certain previously off-balance-sheet items will be recorded in the balance sheet †¢ Derivative financial instruments will be recognized on the balance sheet instead of only being disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. †¢ All shares and share options granted to employees to be measured at fair value and expensed in the income statement. 5. Standards relevant to important specialized industries †¢ The New Accounting Standards will include a number of standards that are relevant to those specialized industries. †¢ For example, the four standards on â€Å"Financial Instruments† will have an impact on accounting practices in various financial institutions. †¢ The standards on â€Å"Direct Insurance Contract† and â€Å"Re-insurance Contracts† will affect players in the insurance sectors. †¢ The â€Å"Extraction of Petroleum and Natural Gas† and â€Å"Biological Assets† are standards that are issued specifically for enterprises operating in the petroleum and gas industry and agriculture industry respectively. 6. Impairment of Assets †¢ The previous accounting regulations in China allow the reversal of impairment under certain circumstances. †¢ However, under the new standard, it specifies that any recognized impairment loss for fixed assets and intangible assets cannot be reversed in future accounting periods. †¢ The restriction on impairment loss reversal does not apply to inventories, trade receivables and bank loans. 7. More detailed requirements on disclosure †¢ The new standards provide users of financial statements with more relevant and transparent information, which will facilitate their economic decision-making. †¢ For instances, in respect of accounting policies and accounting estimates, the basis for the determination of significant accounting policies and accounting estimates is required to be disclosed. †¢ In relation to financial instruments, a detailed disclosure on the enterprise’s financial risk exposure is now required. 8. Transitional adjustments †¢ The New Accounting Standards were applicable to listed companies effective from 1 January 2007. †¢ The MOF has issued transitional provisions which are included in the standard on â€Å"First Time Adoption of Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises†. †¢ The standard requires that at the date of transaction, an entity should reclassify, recognize and measure all assets, liabilities and owners’ equity in accordance with the New Accounting Standards and prepare an opening balance sheet. †¢ These transitional provisions may reduce the workload and complexities for preparers’ adoption of the New Accounting Standards.