How Play Benefits Autistic Children Essay

Autism results in several deficiencies in children that affect their educational and social lives. Autistic children feel difficulty to interact with their peers and they even cannot play individually (Sherratt and Peter p. 34). Relevant behavioral deficiencies are also found in autistic children if they have deficiency to play either individually or in group (Wolfberg, p. 23) and they feel difficult to socialize (Williams, Reddy and Costell p. 67-77). Types of Play There are different types of play in which children are engaged such as soico-dramatic play, symbolic play and functional play. In symbolic play, children use their imaginations to use any object as any other object that is not present. The object used in this type of play does not possess the properties of the object that is imagined to be present in place of the actual object (Libby, Powell, Messer, & Jordan, p. 487-497). Children use common things in their symbolic play to represent specific things such as they use sticks and imagine that they are using swords. Where as, in functional play, children do not use imaginary things, rather they use things that are really useful for their play (Libby et al. , p. 487-497). In such a play, children may cook pretend food by using toy kitchen objects such as cooking utensils that are made from plastic for playing purpose. Children play specific roles in socio-dramatic play. They use particular themes to represent specific roles. Most common socio-dramatic themes are playing school, playing hospital and playing house in which each child is given a specific role to perform. Autistic children find it hard to engage in such type of play because they do not feel comfortable in playing roles that require specific social cues, nature of pretending and language. There are different levels of playing. The child does not require any other child to play with in an isolated play. In this type of play a child plays gets involved in a particular activity and plays with an object with out the need of other children (Sherratt and Peter p. 58-74). Children involve in this type of play only when they are engaged with their favorite toy or object. Autistic children play with an object or a toy in a way that is not common to that object or toy (Wolfberg, p. 78). An autistic child with lacking playing skills does not play with a car in a way that normal children do rather that child would prefer to spin the wheels of the car and would not move the car as normal children do. There is another type of play known as common focus or dyadic play. This type of play requires a child to play with another child. This type of play cannot be played in isolation (Sherratt and Peter, p. 76-95). Usually two children get involved in this type of play. When an autistic child gets involved in this type of play, he or she is more likely to be closer to another child while play but he or she will not interact with another child. Three or more children get involved in group play (Mittledorf, Hendricks and Landreth, p. 63-86). Children involved in group playing usually play board games, non-team games that can be played in a playground. An autistic child does not get involved in this type of play as it requires social cues and peer interaction Another example of play is team play in which a common goal is set to achieved and two or more groups compete with each other to achieve their goal (Mittledorf, Hendricks and Landreth, , p. 63-86). This type of play is organized either on a playgroud or in-house such as team tag, baseball, kickball and basketball. This type of play requires social interaction, rules of play to be followed and high level of activity and thus autistic children usually find it difficult to get involved in this type of play. Some Play Strategies to Help Autistic Children Learn More Efficiently Educational decisions should be based on the individual qualities, skills and needs of every child. Autistic children should be considered in the same way. There are several factors that determine which intervention should be implemented by a teacher to teach playing skills to a child. These factors are the determination of the developmental level of the child, the language level of the child and the determination of the type of the play to be taught. Developmental Readiness It is very important to determine the developmental level of the child before considering which intervention will be implemented for the child. This type of determination is very important for the children that are passing through their early childhood phase. Lifter et al. (1993) found out that it is very important to know the developmental level of the autistic child in order to select a play to teach preschool autistic children. When children are involved in play activities that are appropriate according to their developmental level, they get involved in those activities very quickly and they do not spend much time to learn those activities. Children learn developmentally appropriate activities more quickly as compared to activities that are appropriate according to their age because at the same age, different children have different developmental levels that are necessary to know (Lifter et al. , p. 139-159). Different developmental objects are used to identify which activity is developmentally appropriate for a child to learn (e. g. , Broomfield p. 732-745). The present level of functioning of a child determines which developmentally appropriate activity should be chosen regarding of the age appropriateness because the developmental level of every child is different. Some children’s level is more advanced so the activities and skills selected for them are different from those whose developmental level is lower than their age. Same thing goes to the autistic children whose developmental levels differ from child to child. Language Development Stahmer (p. 123-141) observed the autistic children with the typical children when both types of children were involved in symbolic play. It was observed that both the groups were involved to an equal extent when their language abilities were the same. So it is advised to initially find out the language abilities and developmental level of autistic children when plan to teach play skills to such children. Mundy, Sigman, Ungerer, and Sherman (p. 349-364) found that language development is based on play skills. The language abilities of autistic children can be developed during their play with other children. The autistic children learn different aspects of language such as they learn how to take turn, their behavior is related when they request for their turn, and they are involved in joint attention and other social interactions (Baranek et al p. 20-30). Peer Involvement Peer involvement matters a lot. Typically developing children can play a great role in engaging their autistic peers in appropriate play and positive activities (Blanc, et al p. 229-245). There are different ways in which the typically developing children can be encouraged to engage their autistic peers in social activities such as programs for peer tutoring, Circle of Friends etc. Teachers can discuss with typical peers about autism through an informal method. In this method, teachers discuss with typical peers about the ways in which they should initiate their social interactions with their autistic peers and they are also taught that they should accept social initiations if made by their autistic peers. If typical peers do not encourage social interactions in a natural setting then training programs are initiated for them. It is also found that group games with same age-group play an important role in increasing positive social interactions and appropriate play (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). The researchers also pointed out that natural setting plays a great role. So, it is advised in order to get successful generalization, the setting of group games should be kept as natural as possible. There are a number of games that can be played in groups on the playground such as tag, baseball etc (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). Setting and Intervention Method Setting and intervention method are as important to consider as the type of play. Teachers should consider different types of setting when they are to select the settings to teach play skills to autistic children. There is a variety of appropriate setting for such a task including the classroom of autistic children or of typical children to give them general education, a day care setting, the home of a child, playground of the school or a local park or other areas where students can be engaged in playing. Using Peer Trainers and Peer Models Blanc et al found that children usually make other children involve with them while they are playing. Children should be encouraged to play because when they play with each other, they learn social and behavioral skills through interaction. Children who do not feel comfortable in such interactions do not go through experiences that are essential for their development. Autistic children do not prefer to play with their peers and they hesitate to socialize but they also get involved in activities when integrated settings are provided to them. This means that autistic children do not prefer non-integrated settings (Blanc, et al p. 229-245). Integrated classroom is essential when typical children are encouraged to interact with their autistic peers. Integrated classroom is useful only if an intervention is implemented, otherwise typical children would prefer to play with other typical children and they would not preferably interact with their autistic peers (Blanc et al p. 229-245). Goldstein et al. also believed that social interactions among typical and autistic peers should be increased and for that purpose they developed a number of intervention strategies that were purely peer-mediated. The main purpose of those strategies was typically to bring typical and autistic peers closer by increasing social interactions between them. In this intervention strategy, typical children were taught how to initiate social interactions with their autistic peers and how to respond when their autistic peer initiate an interaction. This intervention resulted in an improvement in the social behaviors of autistic peers. Autistic children are encouraged through this strategy to respond to any initiation made by typical peers. The social behavior of autistic children are also strengthened when they get a response from the typical peers (Goldstein et al. , p. 265-280). Group Games. The facilitation of play skills and social interactions can be increased by incorporating typical peers into games and activities with their autistic peers (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). Teachers can use the preferred topics of autistic children in which they can get involved easily to increase their social behaviors. Baker et al. (p. 300-308) suggested that group games should be developed by asking the autistic children about their favorite topics. These groups are usually very common such as tag. Children are usually inspired by movie characters so teaches should ask autistic children about their favorite movie character and they should incorporate that character into the game. In this way, autistic children are motivated and they become interested in engaging with their typical peers through social interactions. In tag game, the target autistic child and typical children are given instructions about the game and then they are encouraged to play the game. Baker et al. , found that social interactions among autistic child and typical children increase because the target autistic child is given more importance as he or she is the who has chosen the topic of the tag game, typical children become involved because they find a lot of fun in the tag game, and the target autistic child, as a result, gets motivated to increase his or her social interactions with his or her peers. Integrated Play Groups Model. Integrated play groups model can be used as another effective method to increase the play interactions among the typical and autistic children. In this type of play, the children are provided with proper guidance, support, environmental arrangements (Wolfberg, p. 52). the setting of the play area is very important to consider. Children should be engaged in activities in places where children normally play. In such a setting majority of the children should be socially competent so that they are able to integrate their autistic peer easily and comfortably. The environment of the play area should encourage play activity. The play area should be of a normal size, the materials should be arranged properly and the children should be able to access and organize the material easily (Wolfberg, p. 52). The play groups should be balanced. Wolfberg (p. 52) explained that all the members of the play groups must be familiar to each other, means that they are children who meet with each other regularly. The play groups may have children of different age groups but they should be socially competent. It is very important to determine the competencies of the target child. This element is very important to consider when developing an integrated play groups model. With the help of this feature it will be easy for the teacher to find out how much and what type of support has to be given to the target child. In order to facilitate the group play, the target child should be given the opportunity to select what type of activity he or she wants to play and this thing will help the teacher to find out the developmental level of the target child. Guided participation is also encouraged in this model. Children are guided by an adult how to involve in a play that will enhance their social behaviors. The adult should provide supportive guidance instead of directive one (Blanc et al pp. 229-245). The principle of immersion should be followed in this model, means that children should be fully immersed in the play. Through immersion, more experienced children help the less experienced children in learning their roles under the supported guidance of an adult facilitator (Blanc et al pp. 229-245). Conclusion As autistic children have to struggle for the development of play and social skills in them, the teachers should be aware of all the necessary methods that are useful to teach the autistic children the required skills. A teacher must be able to determine the developmental level, language level and peer involvement level of the target autistic child and then the teacher should design, select and implement strategies that will enhance the required skills in him or her. The learning ability of autistic children also depends on the type of play and setting in which the activity will be initiated. The researcher can conclude at this point that play is very important in childhood as children learn from each others experiences. Autistic children need to be taught how to socialize in order to make them useful citizens and for this purpose it is very important to implement strategies that are necessary to fulfill this task. Works Cited Baker, M. J. , Koegel, R. L., & Koegel, L. K. Increasing the social behavior of young children with autism using their obsessive behaviors. The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 23 (1998), 300-308. Baranek, G. T. et al Object play in infants with autism: methodological issues in retrospective video analysis. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(1) (2005), pp. 20-30. Blanc, R, et al Dysregulation of pretend play and communication development in children with autism. Autism, 9(3) (2005), pp. 229-245.

Developmental psychology

This evidence shows prove that being in a low income family or living in poverty as some might like to say, has a very big impact on children's life if a parent has low self-esteem no drive in themselves then it is not showing young children how to grow into young positive, confident and thriving adults, so therefore Just copy what they now and this can cause a cycle. Quality of food we eat and give our children Is another environmental fact that can can help with our child's development, Junk food for example can make children obese, this can cause all sorts of problems In health, children who are obese will have less energy, this will cause children to not want to socialism, and this can lead to other problems such as low self-esteem,depression and anger. If you feed children more healthy food they are going to have so much more energy It will make them eager to go out and socialism and most of all help them to learn, improve your child's behavior and learning by improving their di et.Eating adequate protein and getting other nutrients that support optimal brain functioned life and school is another most important environmental fact that has a big impact on a child's development. Some children can not have the love and attention they would like and need at home this can cause children to be rebel's as some people would say, this could be caused by not knowing how to show emotion, this could be because of them not being shown emotion by family Page 1 15 Lisa Henderson 72ND at home so in a sense it's attention seeking this is due to a child doesn't feel that they are getting any attention of their family/parent's and the only way to do that is to play up even though it's not necessarily the attention they would like from their family, its there only way of getting it.School has another impact on children's development, if a child is asked to do something at school and feels they are incapable but yet the teacher still insists that the child carries out the activ ity the child can then start to feel frustrated,angry and then leaves the child feeling inadequate and leaves them with a sense of failure and embarrassment. Bullying is another major problem that can happen inside or outside of school and has a major impact on children's behavior and development this can cause low self-esteem, and stress which can then cause lack of sleep due to worry which then stops the main from functioning to its full a capability, stopping the child to fully express them selves.To help children who are in this situation they need support and need confidence and transduction's, the characteristic of this and the meaning is that children or adults develop through a more hands on approach, by this I mean learning by doing. A Russian man named Level Whisky was one of the first men to push to prove that children can learn through constructivist learning. Level Whisky used a method called ‘scaffolding' in this method he changed the level of support which was p rovided depending on how skilled the child was and this of course did vary.Depending on how skilled the child was would depend on how much help they would need, and in time need none at all. Quote: The term ‘scaffolding' is meant to represent the support for assistance provided by the teacher or mentor in the learning process. â€Å"cataloging† is a metaphor that describes the way a teacher provides assistance to the students during the learning process in much the same way that construction scaffolding serves as a temporary support until the build 2005 An example of this is some children might be able to write their name at the age of three and some children might not be able to until they are five. This is a good example to compare this theory against the constructivist theory, the reason for this is children might learn to write their name at school by using the more hands on earning approach, but younger children could learn it earlier then this by maturing earlier. Maturations learning was a way that children could learn at their own pace, every child learns different and some faster than others, this was also a way of children improving on what they already new and choosing new ways of learning by themselves, instead of somebody trying to teach them something they are was not ready to learn natural way. . Maturations also it all owed children to develop in a â€Å"observe progress in a child and choose to focus on what a child already knows, rather than what he or she doesn't know' Children mature at different stages and this could be for a numerous reasons, due to being a premature baby or Just they are incapable of doing something because they haven't developed the skills to perform certain tasks yet.An example of this is, a three year old child at the age of three being able to talk in full sentences and another child exactly the same age not being able to talk at all with no medical reason what's so ever Just that he is not yet capable o f doing so. I know this from experience. With a child who isn't capable of doing things like other children there win age this would be a good way of trying to teach them, its a good way of them learning at their own pace in their own time without feeling pressured. Page/ 5 Henderson 72ND II: Using Jean Piglet's stages of cognitive development, describe the rationale behind the use of Key stage testing in primary schools. Lean Piglet's stated that children progressed through four different stages in their childhood.The stage he stated children was at during primary school was the concrete operations stage. This was studied with ages 7-11 . â€Å"Concrete operations (ages-11). As physical experience accumulates, accommodation s increased. The child begins to think abstractly and conceptualize, creating logical structures that explain his or her physical experience's†

African Americans and the Military

Even before the United States was listed as a country, African Americans already served in the army. From small villagers' militiamen to military and seamen, African Americans strengthened their efforts to defend and eventually acquired their freedom. The struggle for unifying and recognizing black soldiers is a slow job. According to President Harry S 's presidential decree in 1948, until the end of the Second World War, the US forces were completely legally unified. The African American first joined the army on June 1, 1942. More than 2.5 million African-American men were enrolled in military drafts and African-American women volunteered to serve during the war. During the war, the admission rate of African Americans reached the highest ever in history, and the number of people serving in the army exceeded one million people. However, the US military is still seriously isolated. Air Force and Marines did not hire African Americans, and the Navy accepted African Americans as chef an d waiter. The army has only five African American officials. In addition, during the war, no African Americans receive the Medal of Honor, their mission in the war is mainly reserved for noncombat troops. During the Civil War, African Americans played an important role in EFF. More than 200,000 African Americans, equivalent to 10% of all troops, work for allied forces. 37,000 people died in the fight for the league. Most are slaves serving in isolation forces of the Caucasian officer. African-American soldiers do not have the same rights as Caucasians. Caucasian soldiers are $ 13.00 per month and clothing allowance is $ 3.00, but African-American soldiers earn 10 dollars per month and deduct $ 3.00 from clothing income. However, on June 15, 1864, African-American soldiers received equal pay. African Americans were very suspicious at the beginning of the civil war. Alliance Navy accepted African-American volunteers. Frederick Douglas believes that if African Americans fight them, the y will help African Americans have the right of equality. At what age many children have helped them in civil war. Because of the African-Americans' disadvantage, black units are not used in battle like the past. However, African Americans have fought in countless fights. African Americans are fighting bravely. As the alliance needed a soldier, the North leader saw another reason for African Americans to participate in the civil war. Congress said loudly they wanted to recruit them because they think they might have more soldiers

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Financial Statement report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Bluebird Office Products LTD Case Analysis Essay

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Anthropology Reading Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anthropology Reading Analysis - Essay Example In Anne Fausot-Sterling's article, â€Å"The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough,† Ann summarizes her opinions why the two dominant gender identities, which are socially, and medically accepted are not adequate in classifying every gender. Most modern societies accept the two obvious sexes: male, identified by having testicles and a penis and a Y-chromosome, and female, identified as having a clitoris and vagina, developed breasts, and deficient a Y-chromosome. Although the two genders mentioned above are undoubtedly the dominant sex groups, Fausto-Sterling maintains that there are many more intersexual existing in societies worldwide for them to be assumed as being abnormal incidences of nature. In a bid to reinforce her claim, Ann alludes to Johns Hopkins University psychologist John Money, who suggested the possibility that intersexual may constitute as much as 4 percent of the total births. Arguing from a world’s point of view, taking the world's total po pulation to be 7 billion, this would imply that there may be as many as 280 million intersexual on the planet. The author also defined the considerations of her five-sex classification system. We first have the well-known male and female, and then we have three other lesser-known groups. These include, but not limited to hermaphrodites, having one testis and also one ovary, male pseudo hermaphrodites, having certain features of the female genitalia and testes, but no ovaries, and female pseudo hermaphrodites, having some features of male genitalia and ovaries, but without testes. Today’s Society continues to be male controlled. In addition, scientific terms reflect a macho society. In her article, â€Å"The Egg and the Sperm: How Science has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles,† Martin maintains that Scientific writing has attempted to present the egg and the sperm with feminine and masculine characteristics respectively. This shows the sperm as the authoritative aggressor while the egg assumes a weak position. This perspective according to Martin is influenced by cultural stereotypes. Recently, the researchers Johns Hopkins University concluded that the sperm and egg attract together because of adhesive molecules on each surface. The egg traps the sperm and continues to wiggle ineffectively. However, this new account of the role of the sperm and the egg did little to help change the stereotype saga. Researchers most of whom made the discoveries continued to err in their time worn metaphor of the sperm being the active member which penetrates the egg. In conclusion, Martin compels us to correct one’s thinking about the science of one’s reproduction. Being conscious not to project stereotyped cultural imagery into studies will help improve one’s capability in understanding nature and avoid harm caused by gender bias in society. M. Miedzien’s intention of writing this article, â€Å"Real men, wimps, and one’s national security was to address the pending issue that failure to equip boys with masculine values will result in raising harmless male who will do anything to avoid violence and war. According to some, this may promote national disaster since other nations train their men ready to fight at the slightest provocation. The realists will say one’s national security is at stake.† He wanted to put this objection to rest, but his intention changed when he initiated his

Who Cares About Writing Anyway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Who Cares About Writing Anyway - Essay Example is about the self, including the individual and the collective inside the â€Å"I.† I would like to think that people, however, should think more about what, why, and how they write, because writing renders significant power that should not be diluted by constantly writing about personal and superficial strifes alone. Freedom of speech is a responsibility that is too important to be wasted on empty status updates that do not, at least sometimes, mean something more to people as human beings and as communities. This paper argues that people should care about writing, because whoever writes well can re-tell the past, appreciate and affect the present, and re-define the future. History spawns power; whoever writes and re-tells it, owns it and the future. Benjamin Franklin has written his autobiography that some praise, some criticize, or some just feel nothing for. But he knows the power of the written word. The written word can be the basis for the said word too. The written word can bring meaning and lessons that can impact the way people think and act. Lawrence undermines Franklins moral values in â€Å"On Ben Franklins Virtues,† but he does so through writing too. He wants to document his own views, because he knows that writing will re-tell the past the way he wants it to be told. He wants the past to not be interpreted and spread by a white man alone. He wants his own viewpoint as a â€Å"dark forest† (367). I want to stress that writing consists of expressing how people want others to see themselves as individuals and as part of their people/s too. Indeed, each race has its individuals. Lawrence is an individual and Franklin is too; th ey belong to their â€Å"groups,† whether these groups intersect or not. They can clash in their arguments of virtues and write about it, because that is part of shaping who they are. At the same time, they want to influence others, whether they are in the same racial community or not, so that they can make sense of their past as

ROTERDAM RULES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

ROTERDAM RULES - Essay Example With different countries following their own choicest laws to protect and further their own commercial interests, global sea trade has been thrown into a quagmire of anarchy and gross malpractices which need to be thoroughly cleansed before accountability and responsibility fixtures are made. While the shipper and the ship owners had added responsibilities under the new Rules, it is also envisaged to introduce modern communication and technological innovations including e-commerce documentation, have sound laws for container movements and also bring in new laws and conventions that could fill the gaps left in the previous Shipping rules, especially with regard to Deck Cargo and balancing of risks and responsibility among the various players in the sea trade. It is widely believed that with more and more countries signing up for the Rotterdam Rules, it would fulfil its role as a precursor of robust and rule based transportation of Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea. â€Å"The Rotterdam Rules are the direct and natural result of the deregulation and reforms that have been a boon to shippers, allowing for the flexibility and customized transportation central to any efficient supply chain.† (Rotterdam Rules, 2009). The reason for the replacement was that the old versions did not included criteria for the carriage of goods in containers and transferring electronic data. This was the main reason that made the court of law to reinvent the old versions of law. The Rotterdam rules clearly states the responsibility and accountability in certain situations where the container are stolen or if any damages happen to the ship. The other parties who are involved in the chain are also liable for the loss that happens while the goods are carried through sea. All these conditions were not included in the Hague rules and the Hague-Visby rules and the Hamburg rules. â€Å"The Ordinance of Rotterdam of 1721 declared that the owners should not

The Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner Essay What would you do to redeem yourself for a very bad thing you’ve done? In the novel The Kite Runner, the main character, Amir, will redeem himself for what he had done in his childhood by doing good things. In Afghanistan, there is a segregation of ethnic groups between the Hazara and the Pashtun. Hazara people work for the Pashtun people. Hassan Is a Hazara and Amir is a Pashtun. Although Amir and Hassan are best friends, Amir never consider Hassan as his best friend or even a friend. Even though Amir is a mean and jealous character when he is young, he evolves into an entirely different person. He redeems himself by showing unselfishness and generosity to a stranger. He grants Rahim Khan’s last request and risks his life to go help Sohrab in Afghanistan. As a child, Amir’s character shows jealousy and selfishness because he doesn’t receive enough attention from his father. Amir is always jealous of Hassan for being treated the same as him by Baba. In his head, Amir thinks that he is Baba’s true and only son, so he doesn’t understand why Baba treats Hassan the same way he treats him. When Amir and Hassan go to buy kites, they get the same kind of kite, and when Amir asks for a fancier one, Baba buys the same for both of them. â€Å"Sometimes I wished he wouldn’t do that. Wished he’d let me be the favorite. † Amir doesn’t like Hassan to be treated the same way as him because he is jealous. He once thought that the orphans should have died along with their parents because he is jealous of the kids that get to spend time with his father. This shows that when Amir is young, he was mean and selfish. To run away from his jealousy and guilt, he frames Hassan for stealing his watch and money by placing it under the mattress. After Amir frames Hassan for stealing his watch and money, he never had the chance to see Hassan again in his life. Although he purposely pushes Hassan out of his life, Amir is obsessed with Hassan throughout the novel. He thinks about Hassan when there was war, wonders if Hassan is still alive. He thinks about Hassan when he was grown up, wonders if Hassan was alive or if he has any wife yet. Its because Amir is full of guilt and obsession over Hassan. Deep inside, he thinks that if Hassan dies, it might be because of him. Amir also regrets the action in the past. Amir regrets that he wasnt mature enough to understand that Hassan is his best and only friend. He regrets that he wasnt strong enough to stand up for himself. He regrets how he was ignorant, and didnt know that Hassan is his brother. Throughout the novel, Amir has evolves into an entirely different character. He changes from a mean and jealous boy to a generous and kind man. Amir plants fistfuls of crumpled money under the mattress. He shows kindness to a stranger like Farid. Amir wants to help Farid’s family because he understands what his family has to go through in Afghanistan. When Amir was searching for Sohrab at Afghanistan, he met a beggar that knew his mother. Amir gave the beggar on the streets three dollars. Three dollars is not a lot of money but to give three dollars to a beggar is not a common thing that happens. This proves that Amir also evolves into a character that has empathy towards people, and changes into another level of kindness. He also evolves into a character that has more courage. As a child, he won’t fight people back and needs Hassan to help him. He also couldn’t stand up to the General but now he can finally stand up to the general, when he said to the general that, â€Å"you will never again refer to him as’ Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab. † â€Å"There is a way to be good again†. These words come out from Rahim Khan’s mouth. He convinces Amir to be a good person after he finds out what Amir has done in the past. Amir tries to redeem himself by meeting with Rahim Khan and grants him his last request before he dies. He goes back to Afghanistan to help Sohrab out of that poor and dangerous place. This shows Amir’s commitment to Hassan. He redeems himself to Hassan. Amir would risk his life to go help Sohrab, even though he has other responsibilities like how he has his wife at America. If he dies in Afghanistan, it will really affect Soraya’s life. He even accepts Sohrab in his family and adopts him. It shows that Amir is really dedicated to this redemption. The novel shows the evolution of Amir as a character. He becomes more kind and generous to other people. He also redeems himself for the bad things that he did to his half brother. His regrets lead him to his redemption. After Amir finds out that Hassan is his half brother, and that he has passed away, that is when Amir starts to evolve into a different character. He starts showing kindness and generosity because it is Amir’s way of redeeming himself. I think at last Amir really did become a good person.

Subjective exam Essay Example for Free

Subjective exam Essay A) Selling price of bond The determination of the selling price of bonds is important because it helps the bondholders know the yield they will receive if they were to purchase the bond. Bonds can be issued at par, premium and at a discount. A Bond is said to be issued at par if the yield is equal to the coupon rate. If the current market yield is more than the coupon rate stated on the bond, then, that bond has been issued at premium. If the coupon rate is more than the yield rate currently earned by similar bonds in the market (Sheth, 2007, Slide 23, chapter 12). Bondholders receive periodic payments of interest amount, which is constant over the life of bond. Therefore the price of the bond is arrived at by discounting all these payments i.e. the selling price is the present value of all periodic payments plus the present value of the maturity amount, which is the principle amount of the bond. (Englard, 1992, Page 6, chapter 1). The formula for calculating the price of the bond is as shown below. Bond price= (PV) =p (1+r)-2 + p (1+r)-2 +†¦. +p (1+r)-n + m (1+R)-n Where =p= period receipt/payment r=required yield –effective M=maturity value (principle amount) The periodic receipts of interest amount are constant over the bond period and therefore are annuity in nature. Therefore to calculate the present value of the interest payments the annuity formula is used. Present value interest payments=  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Constant interest receipts* (1-(1 +r) –n The maturity amount (principle) is received as a single amount at the end of the bond period, thus is a single amount discounted using the single amount formula. Present value maturity value =m (1+r)-1 Therefore, the total selling price is the sum of present value of interest and principal amount. 2) Presentation of bonds in balance sheet When a bond is issued, the following factors are considered in accounting for the bonds. Recording the issue or purchase of the bond Recording the interest received during the life of the bond. -Accounting for the retirement (through calling, refinancing or conversion) of the bond. (Sheth, 2007, Slide 16, Chapter 12) Issuer’s books As seen earlier bonds can be issued at par, discount or premium. Bond issued at par- the bonds were issued between interest dates. Long-term liabilities. Bond payable  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‚  Ã‚   xxx Current liability Interest payable (1 month)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Current assets Cash (amount of bond)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Bond issued at a discount Long-term liabilities Bonds payable  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‚   xxx Discount on bonds payable  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Current assets Cash (less discount on bond)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Bonds issued at a premium Long-term liabilities Bonds payable (plus premium) xxx Current assets Cash (including premium)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Investors books The buyers’ balance sheet will be as follows At par Assets Investments in bond  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‚   xxx Current-asset Interest accrued (1 month)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Cash (amount of bond)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx At discount Assets Investment in bond (less discount)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Current assets Cash  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‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx At premium Assets Bond investment (plus premium)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xxx Current assets Cash   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (plus premium) xxx B) Income statement items The items that will be included in the income statement of Norris co. for the year 2008 include -Interest expenses -Adjustment to interest expenses (amortization) Interest expenses The amount of interest is determined using the par value and the coupon rate and not effective rate. (Englard, 1992, page 2-3) Illustration At par Using the example of Norris co. bond assuming that it was issued at par, then the interest will be 1000*xx%= interest. At discount Payment- interest = xx%*1000 Interest amount = yy% *(1000-discount) The difference between the interest payment and interest amount is amortization of discount. At premium Interest payment =xx% * 1000 Interest amount= yy% * (1000 +premium) The difference between the interest payment and the interest amount is the amortization of premium.

Financial Implications of an e-Commerce Solution

Financial Implications of an e-Commerce Solution Financial Implications of an e-Commerce solution  associated to Computer Bits Ltd Designing a website When looking to develop an e-Commerce project, the primary focus is on developing an aesthetically pleasing and interactive for the consumer. Developing a website can be considered one of the main upfront costs that you will need to consider as part of the project. Other costs may not necessarily need to be paid upfront and can be considered as on going. There are various options when it comes to developing themes for your website. You have the option of a pre-made one or a custom developed one. Benefits can be mentioned for both options: Pre-developed templates- For a business that is on a tight budget, this will be the way to go as it is considered for cost effective. Usually, the maximum one would pay for this would be around  £100. Furthermore, if time is of the essence, then this option will allow you to get online quickly and start selling faster. Custom- This is considered costlier as the graphics needs to be developed and designed from scratch. Also, it can take longer to develop as more work is needed to be done. However, benefits include being able to add new features and it can be more tailored for your business and visually more appealing and interactive. Furthermore, it will allow you to create your own brand. This can be difficult when you have the same theme as lots of other businesses. The costs incurred from both options will now be discussed for you to analyze. Shopify, a hosted platform, sells off the shelf pre-made themes for approximately  £100- £120. An agency could set up the store on your behalf, this would typically cost approximately  £1000 for a full store setup. For a more tailored and bespoke theme, you can expect to pay around  £3000. Magneto, a self-hosted platform, would also be able to cater for such a project, however, costs would soar to between  £10,000 to in excess of  £50,000 for complex sites. There are benefits to both and it all really depends on your personal circumstances. In my opinion, I would suggest the off-the-shelf them and a hosted platform. Financial transactions You will also need to factor in the costs of transactions via this medium. There are various gateways that facilitate financial transactions over an e-Commerce platform, but more often they will charge a small percentage of the total order value. Paypal will usually charge a fee of around 1.8%. Hosting and Security This, like the financial transactions costs, can be considered as a recurring cost. Typically, you can expect to pay a monthly fee and the proves vary from host to host. In many cases, security is included as part of the package. Shopify packages range between  £10- £115 and you can expect to get between 1GB-unlimited storage. 34SP provide between 15GB to 82GB of storage space and you can expect to pay from  £15 to  £60. If you opt for an agency to provide this facility and support, then you can be expected to be around  £300 per month and this can rise drastically to around  £2500 a month for complex sites like Magneto. Marketing Without a strong marketing campaign and strategy, it will be difficult to make a success of the e-Commerce solution. In order to increase sales, you need people to visit your website. You will need generate traffic only via a successful marketing campaign. One method of marketing is to use Search Engine Optimization- Google AdWords and these will appear when someone searches for computer related words on Google search. You will only pay per click and you can normally expect to pay around  £370 per month. It is a fantastic way of generating traffic and a highly recommended one. Advertising on social media is also a must, if you are to have a successful e-Commerce journey. Technically this is free, however, in most cases you will need to employ someone who can do this competently. The only other option would be to do it yourself or get a family member to do it on your behalf such as your son or daughter. If you opt to outsource this task to an agency, expect to pay between  £1100- £2500 per month for Twitter and between  £1400- £3000 for Facebook. Another way you can promote your business is via Affiliate marketing. This method works by allowing other companies advertise your products and in return you give them a small percentage of the sales that you get as a result of their marketing for you. Logistics Upon implementation of the e-Commerce solution, you will start to generate sales from consumers who live nationally and internationally. Be able to fulfil these sales will mean that you shop around various parcel delivery companies and means you will have to start paying large amounts of postage fees. The fees will depend on the location, size and weight of the parcel. Cost of re-training staff Staff will need to be re-trained as to how to process orders via the website, via 3rd party sites such as Amazon and Ebay. In addition, you will need to train them to be able to deal will queries via e-mail and on line support. Staff will need to know of the new process and the restructuring could cost time and money. Cost of a mobile app There is also an option of developing a mobile app for Computer Bits Ltd. Selling via this medium can be beneficial, however, I feel as the cost of this would range between  £15,000- £40,000, it is best not to pursue this for the time being. Conclusion In concluding, I feel there e-Commerce will bring for Computer Bits Ltd. With an increase in exposure, the company will see and increase in custom and sales. This will mean that there is more profit and consequently more market share. Your business will be able to source cheaper stock, better products, trade on a platform that looks to be the future of shopping, open 24 hours for trading, and be able trade globally via an array of platforms. The costs mentioned in this report simply outline the things that need to be considered, but in no means, should deter you from pushing ahead with a e-Commerce solution. e-Commerce solution for Computer Bits Ltd Report by Umar Usman Arif Written for Mr Lukas e-Commerce solution for Computer Bits Ltd Objective The objective of the e-Commerce solution is to increase sales, profit and market share of Computer Bits Ltd. The primary focus of the solution would be from a business to consumer market and the domain name that the website can be accessed on will be www.computer-bits.co.uk Market Research All of the research conducted is secondary in nature, as conducting primary will be baseless, expensive and time consuming. All of the competition will be online based and Computer Bits will need to compete against national and international companies. Target Market The market segment for Computer Bits Ltd is to target the average consumer and sell them computer components and peripherals. The products will be sourced from manufacturers and we will aim to resell these at discounted prices. Our competition will be other resellers who have an online presence. We plan to target everyday PC users and small business that fix and upgrade systems. Computer Bits market share will be less than 1% as the worldwide industry is huge and just the PC gaming hardware market was worth more an  £30 billion, let alone the total worth of the components industry. Key Processes In order to maintain a successful e-Commerce solution, Computer Bits Ltd will need at least 3 different decent spec computer systems that will allow your employees to update stock, view orders, order more stock and send out correspondence to customers, suppliers and hosts. The systems will need to have good processors, 8gb RAM, SSD so the systems are fast and have a cloud account where you can save all your data and information. Anti-virus, spyware and malware software will be required to keep the systems secure from viruses and theft. Stock from manufacturers and suppliers will need to be kept up to date and distribution of orders can be done via Royal Mail, Hermes and DHL for international orders. The website and Ebay channel will need to maintained by staff. e-Commerce and Security The website will be hosted by Shopify and will used one of the off-the-shelf templates. I think it will be waste of money if we were to develop a custom one as this not really our aim. Our aim is to sell online, not to create a brand. Branding is more suited to companies that actually produce and manufacture their own products as opposed to resellers like Computer Bits Ltd. Payments from customers will be made via PayPal and Shopify, both debit and credit cards will be accepted methods of payment. 34SP will host the website and provide security as their packages offer better value for money in my opinion. They provide the website and our systems with security software that prevent hackers, viruses and allows payments to be taken via secure HTTPS. Only the website will be start-up costs, the rest will be working so capital to fund the system will be taken from the company accounts. Marketing will be done via Search Engine Optimisation and social media channels such as Twitter and Face book. Furthermore, we will reach out to Affiliate partners such as Amazon, CostcCo and BestBuy. Legislation The company will need to get trained on and adhere to many legislations that relate to distance selling. Customers data will need to kept secure and confidential and Computer Bits will need to be aware of Data Protection Act 1998. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 and Trading Standards mean that consumers have a right to returns and refunds if they are not satisfied with their products. Also, all content on the website will need to adhere to copyright laws and all staff will need to be retrained.

Ghost: The Relationship Between Past and The Future. A Book by Henrik

â€Å"A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with judicial system that judges feminine conduct form a masculine point of view†. This is what Henrik Ibsen once said. In 1881, when Ibsen wrote one of his best works Ghost, the society was going through major change. It’s was a time were the society was questioning everything they were thought by the church. The mentality of people was being challenge and the influence the church had over the society was slowly losing its power. One of those who were questioning the method and the teacher of the church was Henrik Ibsen. In his play Ghost, Ibsen view of the methodology of the church was no longer beneficial for the society. In the play ghost, Ibsen demonstrates the consequences followed those who grasp the old practice in each character he had created. Ibsen used Mrs. Alving, to show how old attitude can strangle someone progressive ly, as she feel trap in a rigid society. Additionally, Ibsen explores how the past can come back in the form of â€Å"ghost† and how it haunts someone future. Osvald Alving through out the play is haunted by the sin of a father he did not know. Lastly, he show how living in patriarchal society can blind one’s own judgment as in Pastor Manders, who is looked at someone as holy and self-righteous but at the same time hypocritical. Consequently, those old tradition and belief endure someone life slowly but harshly and haunt them like ghost. The ghost that has been haunted Mrs. Alving for a very long time is the ghost tradition and of her duty. Nonetheless, it’s seem as if her duty has shaped her character for good. â€Å"I had my little boy, and I bore it for him†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Ibsen, 1881, p... ...e women is meant to accept his foolishness. Ibsen play â€Å"ghost† is portray of how a changing society should be. These changes are implying every aspect of live, not just marriage level but religions, and how a functional family should be. Ghost is a play, which represent a society unable to move forward, or a society unable to escape the past traditions and how being unable to escape only creates malfunction into people lives. Every character in the play are hunted by the past; someone life Mrs. Who’s past tradition has brought nothing but misery, as well as her son Osvald who even in his ignorant way is also hunted by the â€Å"sins of the father†. In addition, even those such as pastor Manders who promotes the old habits as a way of life, are surprise to these tradition hiding â€Å"Ghost† Works Cited http://collegeessaysforfree.blogspot.ca/2012/04/ibsen-ghosts_12.html Ghost: The Relationship Between Past and The Future. A Book by Henrik â€Å"A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with judicial system that judges feminine conduct form a masculine point of view†. This is what Henrik Ibsen once said. In 1881, when Ibsen wrote one of his best works Ghost, the society was going through major change. It’s was a time were the society was questioning everything they were thought by the church. The mentality of people was being challenge and the influence the church had over the society was slowly losing its power. One of those who were questioning the method and the teacher of the church was Henrik Ibsen. In his play Ghost, Ibsen view of the methodology of the church was no longer beneficial for the society. In the play ghost, Ibsen demonstrates the consequences followed those who grasp the old practice in each character he had created. Ibsen used Mrs. Alving, to show how old attitude can strangle someone progressive ly, as she feel trap in a rigid society. Additionally, Ibsen explores how the past can come back in the form of â€Å"ghost† and how it haunts someone future. Osvald Alving through out the play is haunted by the sin of a father he did not know. Lastly, he show how living in patriarchal society can blind one’s own judgment as in Pastor Manders, who is looked at someone as holy and self-righteous but at the same time hypocritical. Consequently, those old tradition and belief endure someone life slowly but harshly and haunt them like ghost. The ghost that has been haunted Mrs. Alving for a very long time is the ghost tradition and of her duty. Nonetheless, it’s seem as if her duty has shaped her character for good. â€Å"I had my little boy, and I bore it for him†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Ibsen, 1881, p... ...e women is meant to accept his foolishness. Ibsen play â€Å"ghost† is portray of how a changing society should be. These changes are implying every aspect of live, not just marriage level but religions, and how a functional family should be. Ghost is a play, which represent a society unable to move forward, or a society unable to escape the past traditions and how being unable to escape only creates malfunction into people lives. Every character in the play are hunted by the past; someone life Mrs. Who’s past tradition has brought nothing but misery, as well as her son Osvald who even in his ignorant way is also hunted by the â€Å"sins of the father†. In addition, even those such as pastor Manders who promotes the old habits as a way of life, are surprise to these tradition hiding â€Å"Ghost† Works Cited http://collegeessaysforfree.blogspot.ca/2012/04/ibsen-ghosts_12.html

Benefits Of Early Retirement :: essays research papers

Benefits of Early Retirement Early retirement is not such a bad idea, but only if itÕs affordable. Today, people who begin this process feel confident that they can live out the rest of their lives comfortably. Still being young enough to enjoy what is earned is another good reason why someone might want to advance into retirement. Also, having good health is another popular reason why it is a good idea to retire early. After working hard, one should reward them self by enjoying what they have worked for. Either off benefits or money allocated throughout the working years, these retirees enjoy what they worked for. Not only do they feel relaxation and enjoyment, retiring early also gives them a sense of accomplishment. Purchasing previously desired land or traveling to a country never visited before are just some examples in which early retirees enjoy the money that was saved. Since the assets are all earned, spending this bonus makes one feel proud for what they worked for and that the working years didnÕt seem like a waste. Something simple such as being young can make someone retire early. Retiring early just for being young also has their advantages. This way, the retiree can explore more areas and get to stay longer because they have more years to enjoy than an ordinary retiree. Also, when someone gets older their health slowly diminish and their ambition to go out and travel also vanishes. Finally, having good health while retired pays off. One would tend to enjoy retirement more if their health were in decent shape. Irritating injuries and irksome illnesses certainly keep the retiree limited while being retired. Ambition to travel and going out and doing things lowers when the health is low.

Sir Francis Bacons Advancement of Learning and Information on the Internet :: Internet Net World Wide Web Media

Sir Francis Bacon's Advancement of Learning and Information on the Internet In the book of Ecclesiastes we are told, "Of making many books there is no end; and much study is weariness to the flesh." (Eccles. 12:12) If we compare web sites to books, then it follows that there is no end to the amount of information put onto the Internet, and that studying, or, browsing the Internet is tiring. Additionally, we read, "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he who increases knowledge increases anxiety." (Eccles. 1:18) The sheer quantity of information found on the Internet must increase our knowledge and this we read - that anxiety follows. Bacon's tells us that what we need is not quantity, but quality of information plus a corrective spice. Bacon reasons that the biblical writers were not thinking of "pure knowledge" of nature and universality. He suggests that they were referring to people's attempts to rule themselves using knowledge of good and evil, in which case depending no more on God. Therefore, there is no grief in learning. How large a quantity of knowledge can completely fill the mind? Nay, the mind can never be satisfied with a quantity of knowledge states Bacon. He quotes the Scripture, "the eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing." (Eccles. 1:8) There is nothing in this world that isn't reached by people's inquiry and invention. If this is the capacity of the mind, then it is clear that there is no problem with having too much knowledge. The problem is the quality of knowledge therein. The fact that the Internet is bristling full of information, too much information for a single human being to comprehend, is not the problem, but the real issue is in the quality of the information therein. The old lesson on Internet searching is when you enter for example, "computers," and the search engine returns 10 of an abominable 8,102,365 matches. You would exclaim, "Wow! There is a lot of information in there." Then you would ask, "How do you know what is good?" Where is the quality? Portals (who run search engines) these days are adding value to their searched information thereby returning higher quality results, often grouped by appropriate categories, thus pinpointing useful information for the learning public. Yes, the quality of information needs to increase, but Bacon tells us that we need a corrective spice. The reason we need this spice is that the information may be of high quality but be "venomous" or malign in nature.

The Role and Proceedings in a magistrate’s court

The court system in the United Kingdom has continuously been changing over the year’s. In the recent past; the pace of change in court reforms has been fast, this has in turn led to some important changes within the English court system. For example, before the year 1979, the Lord Chancellors department (LCD) was responsible for running all the courts except the magistrate’s courts.It is during this year(1979) when the administration of magistrate courts was transferred to a state agency referred to as the court service which was earlier responsible for administering the functions of the supreme court of England and Wales, this also consisted of the court of appeal, the high court ,the crown court, county courts and several tribunals. Magistrates Courts were under the jurisdiction of local committees that were constituted under the authority of the home office until the beginning of the year 1991. Since this year, the Lord Chancellors Department took over the running of magistrates courts.The enactment of the courts act of 2003 led to the creation of her majesty’s courts service (HMCS) as the executive agency responsible for administering the English court system. The crown court on the other part is one of the courts that constitute the senior courts of Wales and England. The administration of the crown court is overseen by the HMCS and the court mainly handles appeals for decisions referred from the magistrate courts, convicting persons who have sentenced in the Crown courts, carrying out jury trials and finally, sentencing those who have been convicted in magistrate courts (Gray, 2004, p.16). This paper explores what happens in magistrate and crown courts and offers a comparative analysis of the two courts and seeks to create understanding of the role played by them in the administration of justice. The Role and Proceedings in a magistrate’s court The first visit by any one into a magistrate’s court will be characterized by so many questions. As Gibson and Watkins, 2009, p. 10, note, a first visitor will want to know why things are done in the manner they are done. Many of the criminal proceedings begin in the magistrates courts.These proceedings range from offences relating to parking, sexual offenses, crimes committed by youthful people or juveniles and cut across to cases involving murder. Besides these hearings, Welsh, Greenwood and Banks, 2007, p. 97, add that magistrate courts also carry put proceedings relating to family issues like neglect of young children and disputes between the husband and the wife. Most of the cases that are brought in a magistrates court are concluded through acquittals, conviction and sentencing by the magistrates.Magistrates do not work for a regular pay but in the course of their duties, they are given reasonable allowances to meet their travel, subsistence and loss of earning. According to Hunter and Roberts, 1997, p. 35, any one aged above eighteen years and has bee n charged with committing an offence is required to attend a hearing in the court. As mentioned earlier, a large percentage of the criminal cases in England and Wales are handled by the magistrate courts.The cases heard in a magistrate’s court are divided into summary offences (lesser offences), Either-way offences (cases that can also be heard in a crown court before a judge) and Indictable-only offences (serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, and rape). The hearing for the case takes place in the court, members of the public have a gallery from which they sit and follow the proceedings. In cases where the accused persons are young offenders or juveniles, special arrangements are made before the trial begins (Gibson, & Watkins, 2009, p.83). During my visit to the magistrates’ court, I noted that the nature of offences that were being heard were common offences which included affray (in which the defendant was a young man), a case involving assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), this case involved two young college mates of which the defendant was a female student. The last case involved theft, a young man was accused of having shop lifted a pair of sports boots from a shopping mall.The offences are defined in the following provisions; section 47, of the offences against the person act of 1861, Section 1 of the theft Act 1968, and Section 3 of public order act 1986. (Adopted from, Criminal Litigation & Procedure by Tyrer& Lawton, 2000, p. 119). Of the three cases, none of the defendants had a defense lawyer. In the case involving assault, the defendant appeared composed and decently dressed. When the charge was read, the defendant showed that she clearly understood the accusation against her.The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge explaining to the magistrate that the assault was due to excess drinking that made her to be easily provoked by the plaintiff. In delivering the sentence, the magistrate read out the charges clearly to the defendant and quoted extensively on the provision section 47, of the offences against the person act of 1861. the magistrate concluded his sentencing by requiring that the she pays a fine of three thousand pounds and also ordered that the defendant restrains from excessive indulgence in alcohol consumption.The defendant in the second case was young man and the witness was a shop attendant who worked in the shopping mall from where the defendant was accused of having committed the crime. The stolen shoes and tapes recordings from a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera inside the shop were produced and used as exhibits in the case. The prosecutor was able to prove that the defendant had committed the offence because of his alibi. Similarly, the defendant pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness vowing never to commit the offence again.In settling this matter, the magistrate cited the nature of the offence and considering that the young man was a first offender, the magistrate ruled that the young man be freed upon paying reparations equivalent to the price of the stolen boots. The case involving affray involved a young man who was accused of threatening a neighbor with violence in a dispute arising from a bet that was not honored relating to the outcomes of a premier league encounter between two teams playing in the champions’ league.In delivering the sentence, the magistrate ordered that the young man be remanded and the case be heard on a later date since the defendant was not apologetic to the plaintiff and was openly violent even at the hearing of the case. I was particularly impressed with the way the prosecution was able to proof that the young man had stolen the boots from the shopping mall and in the case involving affray. My surprise comes from the conduct of the first two defendants who pleaded guilty to the charges, consequently, leaving the prosecution with no task to proof that the defendants had actually committed the offences.The Ro le and Proceedings in a crown court. The national audit office, 2007, p. 4 reports that crown courts handle the most serious cases for example murder and rape. The administration of these courts is a responsibility of the HM court services and the courts often handle appeal proceedings that are brought against convictions or sentences that were initially dealt with at the magistrate’s court. When a case is heard in the crown court, the judge has the authority alter or even reverse earlier decisions made regarding the case.During the trial, the judge and a jury that consists of around twelve people hear the case. Members of the jury who hear the case are required to come up with their own verdict regarding the matter in the proceedings. The defendant will be present together with defense and prosecution lawyers, together with members of the public who follow the court proceedings from the public gallery. At times, members of the press may be present in the court to follow on t he proceedings.The length of time a case may last in the crown will mostly depend on the nature of the case and the complexity involved in the gathering and presenting the evidences. So, the trials could last t for a day or proceeds for several weeks and even months. Cownie, Bradney and Burton, p. 317, explain that cases in a crown court are heard before a judge and jury; they however note that a small number of all the cases that appear in crown are acquitted or convicted through jury trials. An observation by Cownie, Bradney and Burton (p.317) is that most of the defendants in the crown court end up pleading guilty and the judge plays a critical role in the acquittal of those defendants who enter a not guilty plea. According to Gray, 2004, p. 16, offenses tried in a crown court can be categorized into four classes namely, Class 1(murder, treason and other related crimes ), class 2(Manslaughter and murder, rape cases), class 3(indictable and various either-way offenses) and finally class 4(robbery, assault and offenses causing serious bodily harm).During my visit to the crown court, I heard a case that involved a middle aged man, thirty five years of age who was charged with an indictable-only offense. The man was charged with grievous bodily harm which is contradiction to the provisions of section 18, Offence Against the person act 1861. Alonsdide this, the man was also facing an acquisition of affray which is a contradiction to section 3 public order act of 1986. These two incidents were tied to a fight that took place in the city centre between supporters of opposing teams.The defendant was represented by a lawyer and this is one of the cases in which the prosecution was put to task to proof that the defendant had committed the offence. The case also involved the jury which ruled that owing to the extensive damages to property and the disruptions of activities at the city centre occasioned by the brawl, the defendant had a case to answer despite not pleadi ng guilty. This case had received great coverage from the press and public interest in the case was also high.The case was not concluded as I had anticipated and the case was deferred to later date owing to the need for the prosecution to finalize investigations on other co-defendants who were still in police custody. Comparative analysis Looking at proceedings that are handled in the two courts, both courts carry out trials that fall in either one of the following offenses; summary offenses which are often petty offenses mainly tried in the magistrates courts. In the magistrates’ court, an important distinguishing note between the magistrates’ court and the Crown is that the proceedings do not involve a judge or a jury (Cullingworth, 2001 .p. 205). The magistrates, unlike the judge who sits in the Crown court, the maximum sentence that the magistrate can give to a defendant who is proven as guilty is six months, this is different from the sentences in the Crown court where the judge together with the jury can give a sentence that is more than six months. On the same note, the maximum amount of money that can be paid as fines in a magistrate courts differs from that which the judge can quote at the conclusion of a proceeding in a Crown court.This maximum amount is three thousand pounds. In regard to the second category of offenses, which are triable either-way offenses, proceedings can be held in any of the two courts. Most often, a case is referred to the Crown court by the magistrates court if the defendant has been charged with the same offence more than twice or when there are multiple charges in which the magistrate feels there is need to refer the case to the crown court (Hannibal & Mountford, 2007, p. 39).Such cases include serious offenses like assault and rape. Pertaining to the last category of offenses, which are indictable offenses, proceedings can only be conducted in the crown court. The nature of offenses is regarded as serious and the trials may take considerable time because the cases involved are complex. Such complex cases include trials for armed robbery, major fraud cases, rape, and grievous bodily harm . These offenses have harsh sentences that may include the defendant being sentenced to life in prison.Both courts have a shared responsibility of administering justice, though this is done at different administrative levels with majority of the criminal cases being tired in the magistrates’ court with some being referred to the crown court for further consideration. Conclusion The magistrate and crown courts were created to serve the need of administering justice as part of the English court systems. Many of the criminal cases are heard in magistrates’ courts which do not have a judge or jury during the proceedings.The nature of sentences that a magistrate can order are generally not severe because the maximums sentence period is six months and the fine is set at a maximum of three thousan d pounds. On the other hand the proceedings in Crown court often involve a jury, a judge, defense lawyers and the director of prosecution. Since the Crown court handles cases that are complex in nature, the English court system has made the process of justice administration easier as magistrates’ courts can be effectively used to divert sizeable number of cases that could end up being pushed in Crown courts.Keeping in mind the crucial role played other courts like the county and youth courts and the presence of a state agency solely responsible for administration of the courts, which is her majesty’s courts service, (HMCS), the English justice administration systems are quite efficient. Reference list Cownie, F, Bradney, A & Burton, M, 2007, English legal system in context, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Cullingworth, N, 2001, Edexcel BTEC first public services textbook, Nelson Thornes,Cheltenham. Gibson, B &Watkins, M, 2009, The Magistrates ‘Court: an Introduc tion, 5th Ed, Waterside Press, Sherfield.Gray, D, 2004, BTEC National in Public Services, Heinemann. Hannibal,M& Mountford,L,2007,LPC Handbook on Criminal Litigation 2007-2008, Oxford University Press, Oxford Hunter, J& Roberts, C. A, 1997, Studies in crime: an introduction to forensic archaeology, Routledge, London. National Audit Office, 2009, Administration of the Crown Court, The Stationery Office, London. Tyrer, J& Lawton, D, 2000, Criminal Litigation & Procedure, Routledge, London Welsh, T, Greenwood, W& Banks, D, 2007, McNae's essential law for journalists, Ed19, Oxford University Press, Oxford. .

Quick Books Essay

.Rissy Montoya Acct 31 Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries. Accounting/Finance application systems and QuickBooks let you manage your business with a little or no experience.All three application systems allow the users to manage the companies' capital including bookkeeping, inventory, non-inventory & service items, sales orders, purchase orders, and reports. It allows the companies to keep tracking of the financial assets and at the same time have the information the accountant needs. Using the accounting/finance application system, makes it easier to enter and proc ess the data rather than manually enter and process the data.. QuickBooks is an accounting software package which is developed by Intuit, Inc. It was launched in the 90's and since than it is one of the market leaders in accounting software.The software was designed to help the small business owners who had no formal accounting training. Very shortly after the introduction, there was no doubt that the product is going to be a hit. With a deep focus for the non-accountant, and a lower price than the competitor's products, it outsmarted its competitions. Intuit states that the company's mission is to create new ways to manage personal finances and small businesses that are so profound and simple, customers cannot Imagine going back to the old way QuickBooks created an application that is most commonly used accounting product for small businesses QuickBooks ProThe world today is in the computer age. Almost everyone now has a computer or access to a computer. Now that almost everyone kn ows how to use a computer, almost every business has one. Business’s before had to rely on people to do all the accounting by hand, and doing the accounting for a business used to take a lot of man-hours to complete. Business’s slowly moved into letting computers do a lot of the work for them, but they still had people to check on the computers because the applications that they were using would sometimes screw up and cause a lot of confusion or even loss of money.With the latest application QuickBooks Pro 2011, there is little need for any backup measures. This application does everything that the business needs to do, manage your business, track time, do payroll, develop estimates, and much more. QuickBooks Pro 2011 quickly finds the reports you need with the Report Finder, shows you critical information about your business at a glance with Company and Customer Centers, and track Features of QuickBooks that will help the company implement sound internal control polic ies and procedures; Access to accounting records should be limited to designated individuals.Once a transaction has been entered, the ability to change or delete it entirely should be limited to some other individual, preferably an accounting manager. Financial statements should be prepared monthly, with gross profit percentage and expense percentages, so that management can question apparent errors or omissions. The monthly financial statements should be comparative, i. e. show last year’s figures alongside this year’s, preferably with percentages as well as dollar amounts, to make apparent any significant variations in revenue or expense items that should be investigated for possible error or even fraud.Budgets should be prepared, and variances between actual and budgeted figures should be shown on budgetary income statements each month. The deficiencies with this program for internal control starts when you initially set up your accounts, you enter in your beginning account balance amounts (unless you are a brand new company with no activity). The problem is that if you do not input an amount, or input an amount correctly, the difference will go to Opening Balance Equity.If it is not fixed, it will stay there indefinitely. QuickBooks will allow you to enter a transaction for any date that you wish. While this is convenient for purposes of making projections, it can have bad consequences if you go backwards. QuickBooks retains every transaction you enter from the day you started using it. While this is useful to get historical information, on a practical basis, the file sizes can easily get large enough to be unmanageable and slow your computer. Conclucion

Research Proposal Electronic Health Records

Effects of Technological Experience on Adoption and Usage of Electronic Health Records Introduction The integration of electronic health records in the IT infrastructures supporting medical facilities enables improved access to and recording of patient data, enhanced ability to make more informed and more-timely decisions, and decreased errors. Despite these benefits, there are mixed results as to the use of EHR.The aim of this research is to determine if medical health professionals who lack experience with technology are slower to adopt and use electronic health records (EHR). Research has shown that the healthcare industry is plagued by rapidly increasing costs and poor quality. The United States medical care is the world’s most costly, but its outcomes are mediocre compared with other industrialized, and some non-industrialized, nations. Medical errors are a major problem resulting in upwards of 98000 deaths a year; as a result, patient safety has become a top priority.The healthcare system has been slow to take advantage of EHR and realize the benefits of computerization: that is, to improve access to records and patient data, to reduce incorrect dose errors, avoid drug interactions, and ensure the right patient is in the operating room (Noteboom 2012). Despite the obvious benefits a 2007 survey by the American Hospital Association reported that only 11% of hospitals had fully implemented EHR. Another study by Vishwanath& Scamurra reported less than 10% of physicians in different practices and settings in the US use EHR. Blumenthal (2009) cites only 1. 5% of US hospitals have comprehensive EHR systems.A similar 2009 study by the American Hospital Association shows less than 2% of hospitals use comprehensive EHR and about 8% use a basic EHR in at least one care unit. These findings indicate the adoption of HER continues to be low in US hospitals (Manos, 2009). Understanding the reason for the lack of technological integration is pivotal to securing q uality and affordable medical care. Education expert Mark Prensky (2001) defined two terms, digital natives and digital immigrants, which he used to describe those who have an innate ability for technology from an early age (native) and those who are slower to learn and adopt it (immigrant).This disparity is suggested to play a key role in the ability and desire of professional to use technological solutions in their day-to-day activities. Our intent is to expand this possibility to medical health professionals’ use of electronic health records. Our research will attempt to determine if being native to technology has any impact on a practitioner’s desire to incorporate information technology in to their work routine. We will also see if natives have perform better in health information settings as has been shown in other areas.Previous Research A 2008 study by DesRoches et al. attempted to discern barriers to the adoption of electronic health records. The authors condu cted a survey of physicians registered in the masterfile of the American Medical Association, excluding Doctors of Osteopathy. The authors listed 4 basic reasons the respondents could choose from; financial barriers, organizational barriers, legal barriers, and barriers from the state of the technology. Respondents could further clarify their responses base on subgroups.Financial barriers could include initial capital to implement the systems or uncertainty about the return on investment. Organizational barriers were sub-divided in to physician didn’t want to, the physicians did not have the capacity to, or they feared there would be a loss of productivity during implementation. Legal barriers included fears of breaches of confidentiality, hackers, and legal liability. State of technology included failure to locate an EHR that could meet their needs or that the system would become obsolete to quickly.Their results show that 66% of physicians without EHR’s cited capital costs as a reason. The also responded with not finding a system to meet their needs, 54%, uncertainty about their return on the investment, 50%, and concern that a system would become obsolete, 44%. Physicians working in locations with EHRs tended to highlight the same barriers, though less frequently. The authors concluded that financial limitations are the greatest barrier to the adoption of electronic health records. They do admit that their study, like all surveys, could be subject to response bias.Burt (2005) also surveyed physicians, this time from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a yearly survey conducted by the US census bureau. The authors were attempting to find correlations between EHR implementation and other statistics, such as age, practice size, and ownership (physician, physician group, or HMO). They used regression modeling and bivariate analysis of three years of survey data. They found that practices owned by HMOs were three times more likely to adopt EHR as single physician or group owned practices.Also, large physician group owned practices (20 or more) had an increased usage of EHR over small group and single physician owned. The authors reported that there were no variations due to practice size in the different ownership groups. Physicians’ age did not have any effect on EHR usage. The authors concluded that the ability of larger practices to spread the sizable investment required to purchase and implement the technology over more physicians and services was the largest factor in implementation EHR. Laerum (2001) was the first to look at how individual Physicians interact and use EHRs on an everyday basis.The conducted surveys and telephone interviews with physician in 32 units of 19 hospitals in Norway, because a much higher percentage of Norwegian hospitals use EHR, about 73%. The authors selected 23 possible common tasks a physician that could be assisted by or completed by an EHR. The also collected computer lite racy data, respondent age and sex and overall satisfaction with the system. The authors found that very few of the possible tasks were being utilized in the EHR. The found that on average physicians were using EHR for 2 to 7 of the possible 23 tasks.Most of the tasks used related to reading patient data. The also found that the computer literacy rate was high (72. 2/100) and there was no correlation with respondents age or sex. They gave the users satisfaction as a generally positive rating. Though demonstrating that physicians use EHR less than they could they gave no explanation as to why. Simon (2009) followed the same path as Laerum mentioned above, surveying physicians usage of EHR in practices that have systems deployed. The authors identified ten main functions available in EHR systems deployed in hospitals in Massachusetts.They attempted to determine if these ten functions were actually being utilized or if the physicians were still using paper. The authors deployed mail bas ed surveys, in 2005 and 2007, to physician in Massachusetts. The surveys asked the practitioners if they had an EHR deployed in their hospital, if and how they used the EHR for the ten predetermined tasks, and simple demographic information. The authors found that while EHR deployment grew by 12% (from 23% to 35% of hospitals), the amount of usage self reported didn't change.EHRs were still mostly being used for reading patient data, but there was a small increase in the use of electronic prescribing, with 19. 9% of physicians with this function available in 2005 using it most of the time, compared to 42. 6% in 2007. Linder (2006) expanded on this by asking why physicians aren't using EHRs. The authors also conducted a survey of Partners Healthcare; which supports an internally developed, web based, fully functioning EHR called Longitudinal Medical Record. They also expanded their base to include nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians.The survey contained basic demographic info rmation, self-reporting skill level with the EHR, how often they used the EHR, and what they felt were barriers to their use of the system. Since this survey was contained to a system that had already implemented the EHR, the authors had removed the typical barriers of capital as reported above, but they still found that 25% never or rarely used the system, and less than 15% used the system exclusively every time, i. e. never took paper notes or wrote paper prescriptions.They found no correlation of EHR usage to age or gender, but did find that nurses were slightly less likely to use the system. The most uprising data was why practitioners said they didn’t use the EHR with 62% of respondents saying they didn't want to suffer a loss of eye contact with the patients and 31% of respondents saying that they thought it was rude to use a computer in front of a patient. Other notable reasons were falling behind schedule at 52%, computer being to slow (49%), typing skill (32%), and p referring to write â€Å"long prose notes† (28%).This was the first study to identify social barriers to the adoption of EHR in professional settings. Since the majority of the research had been unable to identify simple solutions a series of workshops consisting of industry leaders were formed to study the problem. Kaplan (2009) reports that participants convened and discussed current issues and challenges with widespread adoption of EHR. The workshops conclude that while there are still some technical issues with Information technology in the health sector the main focus needs to shift to revealing sociological and cultural problems.Noteboom (2012) took a different method to determine barriers to EHR adoption; eschewing all previous research in to problems with the usage of EHRs. The authors decide to use an approach more commonly seen in social sciences called open coding, a type of grounded theory. This method is almost the complete revers of traditional research in that it starts with data collection. From this data, key points of text, in this case transcripts from case studies, are marked with a series of codes.These codes are anchors that allow key points of data to be gathered. The researcher can then use these key points to construct a theory or hypothesis. Noteboom started with simple interviews with physician, attempting to elicit â€Å"perceptions, meanings, feelings, reasons, and comments† about their interaction with EHRs. The interviewed physician at the Research Medical Center, Kansas City, and labeled the transcripts of these interviews. From these interviews the authors discovered that users of EHR fall victim to positive and negative work cycles.Positive cycles are ways in which the system helps the physician, i. e. quicker reading of patient data or mining historical data. Negative cycles are tasks that take longer like data entry, which was done by nurses prior to EHR implementation, or lack of specific functions for special ists, calculate rad dosage for radiation therapy. Design Our research methodology will consist of a case study of medical health professional, preferably physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners, currently employed in an institute running EHRs.The primary data will be gathered through interviews to elicit perceptions on ability to adapt to and use new technology, feelings on the implementation of the technology, comments about the systems, and history of their technology use (to determine natives and immigrants). Secondary data will be collected by having competent users observing participants interaction with the system and evaluating their efficacy. Once the data has been collected it will be analyzed to determine if there is any correlation between digital natives and digital immigrants as it pertains to their use of EHR.Special attention will be paid to how often the system is used compared to the theoretical maximum and how efficient the practitioner is compared to how efficient they perceive they are. Requirements to conduct this study are small. All that is required are willing hospitals that have EHR systems installed, hopefully with a diverse staff spanning many age groups and experience levels. We would also require around 5 interviewers who are well versed in assessing software efficacy to conduct the interviews and gauge practitioners’ abilities on the EHR system.Statistical data will be calculated on IBM SPSS or similar. ? References Bates, D. 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