Primark Strategy

Introduction Primark Primark is a clothing retailer, operating in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. It operates a total of 196 stores with 38 in Ireland, 138 in the UK, 14 in Spain, 2 in Germany, 1 in the Netherlands, 2 in Portugal and 1 in Belgium. Whilst the company's main headquarters are based in Ireland where it trades as Penneys, the chain is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc (ABF), and is ultimately controlled by the Weston family through Wittington Investments. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable clothing at competitive prices. In England the name is generally pronounced /? pra? m? rk/ PRY-mark. However, in Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland it is usually pronounced /? pri? m? rk/ PREE-mark. While the pronunciation on the Primark corporate video is PRY-mark the company had an intensive annual advertising campaign each Christmas during the 1980s in which the store was referred to on several occasions (throughout the song/jingle) as PREE-mark, although in the Republic of Ireland this lyric was dubbed over as ‘Penneys'. Liverpool's five story 84,000 sq ft Primark was the world's largest, but has now been superseded by the Primark in Bristol at 82-92 The Horsefair Bristol with 100,000 sq ft. Primark is a fast-growing, major, value clothing retail group employing 27,800 people. Primark's own brands All of the company's merchandise is made specifically for the company and as such Primark has its own brand names : †¢Ryan's value Socks †¢Atmosphere — womenswear/footwear †¢Butler & Webb — Premium formal menswear †¢Cedarwood State — casual menswear †¢Denim Co. — womenswear, casual men's and childrenswear †¢Early Days — babywear †¢Girl 2 Girl — young girlswear Opia – accessories †¢Rebel Senior — older boyswear †¢Rebel Junior — younger boyswear †¢Young Dimension (YD) — older girlswear †¢Primark Beauty – Cosmetics †¢Primark Home — home items †¢Secret Possessions — lingerie, women's nightwear †¢Essentials – Basic Cheaper Items †¢Beach club- Luggage, ladies beachwear The company’s strategy for the business Key Strategies Following the introduction of new provisions concerning the duties of directors under the Companies Act 2006, directors must act in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote th e long-term success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole. In so doing, the directors should have regard to a number of factors listed in that Act. Those factors include having regard to the Company's employees, the need to foster the Company's business relationships with suppliers and others, the impact of the Company's operations on the community and the environment and the desirability of the Company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct. With this in mind, the company has reaffirmed its commitment to a number of overriding principles.

Mankind Harming Environment

I believed that mankind harms our environment. During the earliest times, the life-styles of our ancestors were very simple. The air they breathed was clean. The streams were clear and free of harmful organisms. They used natural fertilizers for the agricultural crops. The surroundings were free of household throwaways. Today, there has been a tremendous growth in science and technology. Such advances have brought about changes in terms of new products, improved equipment, and more effective methodologies. Unfortunately, this same technology which made life easier for us produced wastes which are now affecting the quality of our surrounding air, water, and land. Factories and motor vehicles send tones of pollutants into our air. Excessive air pollution poses a danger to our health. It can likewise cause stunted growth and even death to our plants. Out streams are polluted by discharges from industrial plants that use chemicals. Garbage and sink wastes are carelessly thrown in our surroundings. Synthetic fertilizers and insecticides pollute our land and farm products (Allaby, 2002). Are we all aware of the extent of the damages brought about by modernization? Have we contributed to such environmental pollution? What have we done to minimize such danger to our lives? How can we take care of our environment? We must undertake measures to conserve and preserve our resources and minimize utilization of energy before it’s too late. Our fight against pollution is an initial step toward conserving our environmental resources and energy. We must all join hands for this common goal. Reference: Allaby, Michael. (2002). Basics of Environmental Science. Routledge. London.

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example The auditors would come, and most probably, would not be able to learn about Woods’s adjustments in the bills. There are two main options in front of Alex; either to tell what Wood has been doing to the auditors and get him fired, or remain silent and see what happens. There is no guarantee that Alex would be able to convince the auditors to let go of Woods if they come to know what he has been doing, and if Alex does try to convince them to do so, they might find it offensive and report the case to the authorities accusing Alex of cheating. On the other hand, this fact cannot be overlooked that whatever Woods has done has benefited the company in general and the department in particular one way or the other. In addition to that, the overall effect of Woods’s adjustments is negligible as the funds affected amount to perhaps five percent of the plants annual earnings. These points impart the need to overlook Woods’s mistake and consider the benefits drawn as a result of it. Utilitarianism is one of the most widely employed theories of ethics. Utilitarianism, as the name indicates, places emphasis upon the utility of an action. â€Å"Utilitarianism states that the moral standard should be promotion of the best longterm interests of everyone concerned† (â€Å"Nine theories of ethics†). In other words, if the end result of a certain action is good, this justifies the action irrespective of whether or not it is against the rules or principles. Analysis of the case under consideration suggests that whatever Woods has done has generated favorable results for the company. Absolutism is another theory of ethics which believes in a universally applicable system of values and norms. This system is applicable upon everyone at all times. Absolutism places a lot of emphasis upon rules, and does not make any exceptions. Analyzing the case under consideration in light of the theory of absolutism,

Global City Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global City - Essay Example It was in the 1960s that the world saw crucial changes in the organization of economic activity (Sassen 2001). These changes manifested in the economy of the world, as well as in different forms specific to particular regions. Some of these changes are recognizable even after half a century in the modern world. These include the loss of the power and authority of the industrial centres set up in the US, UK and in Japan as well. Other changes that can be recognized include the rapid increase in the industrialization process of many developing countries and the fast pace of the financial industry in taking on, and making its own, the extensive structure of transactions spread all over the world (Sassen 2001).Sassen (2001) observes that all of these changes had an impact on the connection between the cities and the global economy. In the years immediately after the Second World War, the world saw a dominance of the US over various aspects of the global economy. However, a few decades la ter, the trend started to change, and the early 1970s were witness to dissolution of the control that the US held. With the fall of the central power of the US, a chasm was created in the global economic activity, which was quickly filled by US transnational industrial firms and banks. During the time period after the fall of the transnational elements, the reins and the subsequent nature of the activities of global economy were in the hands of the US transnational firms and banks. However, within the space of a few years, the Third World debt crisis shattered the control of these US firms and banks, resulting in huge losses for them. The international economy was not broken into splinters by the debt crisis; its survival transformed it into a complicated hybrid of duality: â€Å"a spatially dispersed, yet globally integrated organization of economic activity† (Sassen 2001). The creation of spatial dispersal, coupled with global integration, has

Traditional Management Systems VS. CRM And SCM Essay

Traditional Management Systems VS. CRM And SCM - Essay Example The paper shall first compare traditional management with CRM in the first section then secondly, it shall compare traditional management with SCM. In conclusion, it is evident that both customer relationship management systems and supply chain management systems create increased efficiency, achieve more costs savings and generate greater profits for organizations that implement them. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy used to learn more about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to solidify their loyalty to the business’s offerings (Wailgum & Patton, 2011; â€Å"What Is CRM?,† 2010). This strategy enables businesses effectively utilize their resources to increase their knowledge of the behavior and value of their target customers. This increased insight enables businesses to identify and target the best customers, customization and/or personalize their products and services, track customer contacts, add cross-sell and upsell opportunities, reduce costs and increased overall profitability. CRM may mean different things to different industries but, ultimately, its purpose is to help organizations derive competitive advantages that will sustain their long-term profitability. This section shall differentiate traditional management systems from CRM in terms of differences in approaches, achieving efficiencies, costs savings, a nd firm profitability. Differences in approaches (empowering customers, becoming a trusted partner) A good example that could be used in comparing traditional management systems with CRM is the marketing function of an organization. Under traditional management systems the marketing was product-based and company focused. Management was more concerned with how much control they have on the message conveyed to the customer. In these cases the company was the active participant in the marketing process whereas the consumer was inactive or passive. In contrast under CRM, customers are empowered for example Dell customers can configure their computers prior to ordering through Dell’s website. CRM enables companies to ensure that only those products or services that consumers want are produced. This alters organizations’ marketing strategies from the traditional push to pull strategies. Furthermore, the increased consumer participation that is encouraged by CRM enables organ izations to understand their customer requirements better. This makes organizations that have CRM become more trusted partners than those firms that are stuck on traditional management systems. Achieving efficiencies CRM management systems are generally supported by information and technology (IT) solutions that are designed for the unification of customer information (Kumar, 2011). Where these solutions are well integrated with other business systems in an organization and /or with partner organizations, the company can be able to centralize all its customer information in a few IT applications. This means that senior management can easily be presented

European Union (different policies) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Union (different policies) - Essay Example The European Council have agreed to extend the EU scope to countries in the South and East Europe including Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey (European Commission). These candidates are then given financial assistance "so they can introduce the necessary political, economic and institutional reforms in line with the EU standard" (European Commission). It provides for economic reform leading to economic growth and better employment prospects (European Commission). One of the necessary tracks for the regional enlargement is the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This is particularly done by having one currency which is the Euro. The adoption of the Euro is the culmination of the three stages of economic policy (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). But prior to adopting the Euro, "a member state has to have its currency in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) for two years" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). So far, sixteen of the members have adopted the Euro. Only the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden have not accepted the third stage and they still use their own currency. To pursue a sustainable growth in agriculture, the EU adopted a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). "The new CAP will be geared towards consumers and taxpayers, while giving EU farmers the freedom to produce what the market wants" (European Commission). This will create a 'single farm payments' "which will be linked to the respect of environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards" (European Commission). To give much authority to the Member state to oversee production, they "may choose to maintain a limited link between subsidy and production under well defined conditions and within clear limits" (European Commission). The Europan union has high dreams of economic prosperity among its members, being the largest regional economy in the world. The question however is what would happen to the diaparity betweena nd among the Member States. There are two opposing theories to look at: the convergence theory which predicts that countries will even out in the future and the cumulative causation which will exacerbate divergence and economic differences. With the way the EU supports its members, we see that convergence is more likely to happen, especially that the poorer countries are given the chance to strengthen their economy before finally doing direct trade and contact with other Member States. This necessary preparation for all EU members is what differentiates the European Union from other regional economic group. Envioronmental Policy The European Union believes that "the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations" (SCADPlus). "The EU's priorities are combating climate change, protecting biodiversity, reducing the impact of pollution on health and better use of natural resources" (SCADPlus). Since climate change poses great danger to the entire region, the EU has formulated policies in combating them. Starting from the European Climate Change Program, "the European Union has come up with realistic climate change strategies advocating practical action to prevent temperatures from increasing to

Primary Source Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Primary Source Analysis - Essay Example All of this is set against the background of the Cold War, which sharpened animosities between capitalist and communist world views, and raised the spectre of world annihilation from nuclear war between Communist Russia and the Capitalist United States. The FLQ was an extremist organization and it organized campaigns violent action, including the bombing of the Canadian Stock Exchange in 1969 and the assassination of government minister Laporte in 1970. The Manifesto sets out its urgent demand for total liberation of the Quebecois people from all higher powers. It professes to have at first been supportive of the conventional nationalist â€Å"Parti Quà ©becois† but this party’s electoral defeat by the Liberals is portrayed as evidence for the ineffectiveness of this organization. The hardship experienced by many groups of working people is cited, including fishermen, miners, construction workers, factory workers, as well as other groups such as welfare recipients and policemen. Their poverty is blamed on the high taxation systems that the Canadian Federal Government has introduced, and also on trade contracts between Canada and Britain which benefit the governments and the wealthy business owners, but not the ordinary workers. The manifesto states that the QLF has not used all of the means available to it, including violent ones like arms and dynamite to free workers from exploitation by their greedy bosses. Institu tions such as the Church and the Universities, which represent the establishment, are also criticized, and the manifesto ends with a call to rise up in revolution against all of these oppressors. This document is an example of Marxist revolutionary propaganda and it offers an insight into the thinking of the people behind the terrorist acts committed by the FLQ in the 1960s and 1970s in Montreal and Quebec. Evidence for this thesis can be found in three of the document’s main features : Ideas. The authors of the document imply that it

Evaluation of Banking Competition between 2 countries Essay

Evaluation of Banking Competition between 2 countries - Essay Example This set of statistical methods aids in the instrumentation of a unique symmetric and unbiased estimator to calculate the central moment for a given distribution. For instance, the estimator h can be evaluated as: 1. Both the countries are members of the developed world. Sufficient data is available to carry out the required estimation over an extended period of time. For example, CL, NA, OBS, DEP, etc. were available for Antwerps Beroepskrediet (which is a Belgian cooperative bank) over the years 1998, 2001 and 2004. In the case of Denmark too, similar variety and quantity of critical data were available. 2. The countries are important members of the EU. Both of them share the compact regional economy of the Western Europe. Apart from availability of data, the Belgian and Danish banks are facing several challenges due to expansion of the EU. 3. Both the countries have advanced following the capitalist model of development. The geographical vicinity between them might have caused mutual influence and serious undercurrents in the bilateral relationships. In the sphere of analysis of banking competition, J. A. Bikker and J. W. B. Bos have eloquently remarked, â€Å"In observing trends, we distinguish original causes, subsequent changes in banking behavior and in the structure of financial markets, and final consequences, aware all the while, that this classification may be somewhat arbitrary.† (Bikker, J. A. and Bos, J. W. B., 2008) In this way, country specific banking behaviour can be put in correlation with financial markets which are profoundly influenced by the bond markets and the quantity of national assets. With the lapse of time, apart from qualitative analysis, quantitative methods too have emerged as tools of critical importance in modern financial research (McCrary, S. A., 2010). The Panzar-Rosse revenue test to estimate the competitive circumstances and parameters in the realm of banking depends on certain empirical

Symbolism in Hemingway's Cat in the Rain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Symbolism in Hemingway's Cat in the Rain - Essay Example A knock at the door brings the maid with a cat in her hands which the hotel owner asks her to bring to American wife. This short story of Hemingway clearly illustrates one chapter of marriage life which is enriched through the use of symbolism. The story starts with the beautiful description of the place outside the couple's hotel with the view of the sea and the picturesque panorama that artists cannot resist to paint. After this, Hemingway starts to build the situation where the couples are-"rain dripped from the palm trees (Hemingway 1)," "motor cars are gone (1)," and "empty square (1)"-which are all in contrast to the previously depicted beauty of the place. This description can be seen as Hemingway's illustration of the husband and wife. When they first got married, everything seems to be so well between them. However, they are now faced with the hardship of making their relationship work because of their individual differences which is further portrayed in the succeeding paragraphs. Hemingway's use of cat which is "trying to make herself compact that she would not be dripped on" (2) can be directly linked to the emotional suffering that the woman is going through. It should be noted that like the cat, she is battling the coldness of her husband and is trying to make him understand what she wants.

The Wonderful World of Disney Essay Example for Free

The Wonderful World of Disney Essay There are many great places to go on vacation, but Disneyworld is one of the greatest places and vacation spots there will ever be. At first, vacationers fly into Orlando. Orlando is one of the busiest tourist locations in Florida, perhaps even busier than the infamous Miami beaches. This is because Orlando hosts many locations that cater to all kinds of people, whether they are children, men, women, adults, senior citizens, or tourists. Orlando has many theme parks, but Disneyworld has four parks in it. It has Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. And this is the reason why Disneyworld is the best place for vacation. Although, many people tend to think that Disneyworld is a place for children, this cannot be further from the truth. Even though Disneyworld is designed for children and families, many adults can have a fun time in there. Disneyworld is one of the largest and most frequently visited amusement parks in the world. The Disneyworld in Orlando is a Magical Kingdom, and this is the perfect name for the place. Once tourists enter Disneyworld, they enter into a magic kingdom. It is of no surprise that many people have found Disneyworld to be extremely entertaining. The Magic Kingdom is divided into many areas, and one of the most prominent, the area where visitors enter as soon as they arrive is the Main Street, USA at Magic Kingdom. This street is made up of various architectural styles. The buildings on Main Street are built in such a way that they seem to be bigger than they actually are; the second story is smaller than the first, and the third smaller than the second is, giving the buildings a larger-than-life image. At the end of the Main Street is Cinderellas Castle, which is the trademark of the Magic Kingdom. The castles main tiles are made of real gold, and there is over one million pieces of glass in over 500 colors. Tourists really have to see it to appreciate its magical realm. The rest of the area is divided into various lands, such as the Adventure Land, and Frontier Land. Adventure Land is a paradise for children and a treat for the adults. A make-belief Caribbean town square has also been built into this area to give a tropical feel to the area. This area hosts rides such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. Frontierland has been built in reminiscent of the Wild West and the Rivers of America. This place has the looks of Rocky Mountains and railroads as it hosts rides such as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and Tom Sawyer Island. These are only a few of the wonders of the Magic Kingdom. Then there is the Epcot theme park at Disneyworld. In this part of Disneyworld there are restaurants that represent the culture and cuisine of eleven countries. They have Soarin’, and Test Track which are some of the best rides at Epcot. The one big thing that makes the Epcot center so amazing is the Spaceship Earth, looking like a giant golf ball rising high above the horizon. It welcomes tourists as they walk through the Parks main entrance. The Spaceship Earth ride focuses on the future world and takes vacationers from the dawn of time up to the 21st century cyber age. Once you are done at Spaceship Earth, then tourists can go ride Soarin†. The Soarin’ ride is a virtual ride that takes vacationers on a scenic trip across California. Vacationers sit in a row of chairs that simulate hang gliding. It starts out by fling over the Golden Gate Bridge, LA, Malibu and many more places. Then there is the Test Track roller coaster. This roller coaster simulates the process of a real car being built and the process of it being tested. First, the car is tested for turning and braking, and it takes very sharp turns. Then it goes to the weather test to see if the car can withstand heat and cold. The ride goes through a tunnel which is cold, then goes through a tunnel of high temperature. The last part is when the car goes out on track to do a lap at 60 mph. Finally, there is the World Showcase part of the park where tour ists can see many different cultures in one place. There are many different tents where they have samples of foods, shops and live performers. As tourists walk around the lake the will pass 11 tents and pavilions in which tourists smell food from all over the world. Also each at each place tourists can get replica souvenirs for each country. The atmosphere of the area makes vacationers feel like they are really there, from Canada all the way to China In this park; it is where ideas become reality. The Animal Kingdom is split up in to seven different parts of the park. All these parts of the park have to do with different animals and where the animal’s live. One of the best rides at the Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safari Expedition. It is where they have over twenty different animals in their natural habitat. They have animals from antelopes to flamingos to zebras. There is a big open bus that travels around the area that allows people to get a closer look at the animals. Sometimes people get lucky, and the animals will c ome up to the bus. Another great ride in the park is Expedition Everest. It is a roller coaster that goes through the track forwards. Then a yeti pops, out and the roller coaster does the whole track again but backwards to get away from the yeti. It is a lot of fun but is also scary at the same time. Another part of the Animal kingdom is the tree of life. It is a massive 150 feet tall and fifty feet wide. On this tree they have carved over 325 animals. Which is really cool is they hid a carving of Mickey Mouse somewhere on the tree. The inner part of the tree is where they have the Bugs life show. This park helps lead the way for animal care, education and research. Not everything at Disneyworld is fun and games. The next park at Disneyworld is Hollywood studios. This park offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of Hollywood-style action with live shows, thrilling attractions, backstage tours and special events that only happen in this Disney Park dedicated to entertainment. There are many rides and great attractions at this park. One of the two most popular rides is the Rock â€Å"n† Roller coaster. The ride is synced up with a song by Aerosmith made specifically for this ride. Also the â€Å"limo† vacationers ride in has over 100 speakers and twenty subwoofers in it to create the atmosphere of being at one of their shows. The start of the ride goes from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds and takes tourists on a ride through LA to get to a show. The other great ride at Hollywood studios is Toy Story Mania. It is a midway-style game that is virtual reality. The participant’s starts out by throwing darts at balloons. Then it goes to ring toss around the little green aliens from Toy Story. After that the participants start throwing eggs at targets, and finally they end up with throwing baseballs at plates. While doing all these fun things, some of the characters will meet up with the participants and help throughout the game. Another fun ride at H ollywood studios is the Tower of Terror. The ride is based on the 1939 disappearance of five people at the Hollywood Hotel while they were riding the elevator. In this ride, the elevator up and down as a drop ride, as if the elevator was malfunctioning. The lights start to flash and make weird noises to make it sound like the riders crossed over into the twilight zone. Riders will never know if when they will cross over into the Twilight Zone. Out of all the great places to go on vacation, these are 4 reasons why Disneyworld is the best place to go. At the Magic Kingdom they have rides for every one of all ages. In Epcot, the park focuses on more technological aspects of Disneyworld. On the other hand, the Animal Kingdom Park teaches people about the wilderness and the environment. Finally, Hollywood Studios park shows tourists a behind the scenes of how Disney movies are made. Now tourists know all about Disneyworld, and why they should go there.

Social Enterprise Challenge Assessment

Social Enterprise Challenge Assessment I was one of several students who volunteered to grade a number of business plans that had made it to the third and final stage in the Teach a Man to Fish Social Enterprise Challenge (SEC). Stage three involved each school running of an enterprise for at least one term based on their original business idea, backed up by business and financial plan. Final reports were graded on the narrative final reports submitted and marked on Business Implementation, Challenges and Solutions, Outcomes, People, Planet, Profit, Development and Sustainability, Financial Reporting. In addition, we had discretion to award a maximum of 10 Bonus Points where schools had demonstrated a high level of student involvement or a high level on innovation. In total, there were 100 points to award to each school. Of the nine schools I was given, all were from India except for one New Zealand school. Enterprises included; tree hangers, plants and crafts, jewellery and food products. It was clear students and teachers had invested considerable time and effort in taking part in the challenge. The SEC allowed students develop practical business skills and helped schools generate extra income for their school, or a social cause of their choice. I chose this POD because I hope to lecture in business or accounting in the future and enterprise development is relevant in both disciplines. I was also intrigued to see what school children in different and often underdeveloped countries would chose to do when given the support and opportunity to develop an enterprise. Enterprise development particularly in the curriculum provides students with a great way to develop hard and soft skills like critical-thinking, communication and teamwork skills and could potentially help them invent their own career in the future. Support for entrepreneurship such as that given by the SEC is important, it has the potential to have a positive impact on the entrepreneurial dynamism of our economies. Not only does it create business start-ups and social enterprises like the micro enterprises in each school reaching the final but it also makes students more employable by developing hard and soft skills. Economic growth is at the heart of addressing societal issues like; unemployment, gender equality, poverty and other health related issues worldwide, and enterprise development (ED) is a key tool to enable growth. Enterprise development is defined as the act of investing time and capital in helping people establish, expand or improve businesses. Enterprise development helps people to earn a living; it helps them out of poverty; and it leads to long-term economic growth for themselves, their families and their communities (Miemiec, 2013). Entrepreneurship and innovation are considered to be crucial to sustainable economic development and competitive advantage (EC, 2012). The objective of ED is to help create a viable business that has the ability to grow, this leads to job creation and promotes economic growth. It is much easier to develop and grow a small business than it is to attract a large company to a community, therefore, small businesses often lead to economic growth within the communities they operate in. The significance of micro firms, defined as businesses with less than ten employees by European Union (EC, 2009) has been widely recognised. These firms from the backbone of many countries economies, as they represent the large majority of existing businesses (Heshmati, 2001). Micro businesses employ locals and this in turn causes cash to move through the communitys economy. Successful local businesses allow owners to remain in place and generate more opportunities for other entrepreneurs (Muske et al., 2007). Small enterprises make substantial contributions to employment, income and output within the world economy. Within OECD member countries over 95% of organisations are SMEs and micro-enterprises, they account for 55% of GDP. In developing countries, with the exception of agriculture over 90% of organisations are SMEs or micro-enterprises, making significant contributions to GDP (Edinburgh Group, 2013). Small enterprises tend to be labour intensive, this in turn leads to job creation, which can benefit developing economies and economies where unemployment levels are high. In addition, smaller enterprises tend to be in rural areas, thus providing much-needed local employment. SMEs are considered an engine for economic growth as well as for economic development especially in the developing countries (Subhan, Mehmood, and Sattar, 2013). As growth strengthens, smaller enterprises assume a key role in development and restructuring. They can satisfy the increasing local demand for services, which allows increasing specialisation, and furthermore support larger enterprises with services and inputs (Fjose et al. 2010). Smaller enterprises encourage healthy competition in competitive markets. They shall encourage competition in terms of price, product design and efficiency (Johnson and Soenen, 2003).Larger enterprises would have a monopoly in some areas but for their existence. Small and medium enterprises represent a factor of balance at the micro and macroeconomic level. Having as correspondent the middle class in the society, the small and medium enterprises counter-balance the monopoles and oligopolies, reducing the capacity of the big companies of controlling the market (Savlovsch and Robu, 2011). Every young person should have a practical entrepreneurial experience before leaving compulsory education (EU Commission). The modern global economic business environment requires flexible, adaptable and innovative graduates. Now more than ever there should be more emphasis placed on enterprise development and entrepreneurship in education at all levels. Enterprise education is defined as the process of equipping students (or graduates) with an enhanced capacity to generate ideas and the skills, in addition to enterprise capability supported by better financial capability and economic and business understanding (DCFS, 2010 and QAA, 2012). Entrepreneurship education equips students with the additional knowledge, attributes and capabilities required to apply these abilities in the context of setting up a new venture or business (QAA, 2012). Enterprise education and the skills gained through it can offer students further skills to deal with lifes challenges and uncertain future prospects. Skills like; problem solving, self-reliance, creativity and the ability to adapt to change. In addition, it open students minds to the idea of self-employment as a viable career option. Garavan et al. (1997) concluded that enterprise education in third level universities and colleges in Ireland encouraged graduates to look creatively at their future opportunities and resulted in higher levels of entrepreneurial activity. A business plan is a risk management instrument, through which both internal and external benefits can be derived (Barringer, 2009). Externally, it provides potential investors with an overview of the business opportunity and potential ways to exploit it. From the internal perspective, it provides the entrepreneur with a road map to follow. To quote Confucius A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door. By writing business plans entrepreneurs or potential entrepreneurs improve their chances of getting there. By participating in the SEC challenge I have improved my knowledge of business planning from a difference perspective, having previously compiled a business plan as a student during my undergraduate studies. Participating in the SEC challenge has raised my awareness of the benefits of enterprise education for both the student and society as a whole. Students develop hard and soft skills in addition to a better understanding and knowledge of business and working life. Society gains due to improved competitiveness of the businesses developed by entrepreneurs. Without exception, each final report I corrected showed that students had gained an understanding of the following; Generating new ideas Gathering and managing resources Taking advantage of local opportunities Identifying, assessing and managing risk Interpersonal communication and influencing skills Monitoring and evaluating personal performance Using initiative The benefits of enterprise education include; Improved education outcomes for students through experiential learning Increases co-operation between academic institutions, local business and the community Improved career and business awareness among students Highlights more careers pathways for students In the future I hope to put the knowledge learned from taking part in this POD to use in teaching. I feel programmes like the Teach a Man to Fish SEC and others like it provide students with a better understanding of business and entrepreneurship as they bring a taste of real life business into the classroom through experiential learning. Students get to experience the reality of entrepreneurship. It encompasses all aspects of starting a business from coming up with a viable business idea, developing a business plan, producing a product, carrying out the necessary market research, promoting the business and the financial aspects like bookkeeping and calculating ROI. As previously stated the objectives of enterprise education are: To give students practical real life experience of setting up and running their own business To encourage students to think about entrepreneurship and self-employment as a viable career choice To enhance the teaching of business and entrepreneurship in schools by combining classroom learning with real life experience. References Barringer, B.R. (2009), Preparing Effective Business Plans: An Entrepreneurial Approach, Pearson Education, London. Fjose, S., Grà ¼nfeld, L. A. and Green, C. (2010), SMEs and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa Identifying SME Roles and Obstacles to SME Growth, MENON Business Economics publication no. 14/2010. Garavan, T., Fleming, P. and Ó Cinnà ©ide, B. (1997), Entrepreneurship and Business Startà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ups in Ireland, Oak Tree Press, Dublin.

Spirituality and The Second Coming Essay -- Second

Spirituality and The Second Coming      Ã‚  Ã‚   In his eloquent poem "The Second Coming" William Butler Yeats uses word choice and phrase combinations to convey to the reader an understanding of his sentiment of impossibility concerning the fate of spirituality for the human race. His inner conscious is spread out in the poem for the reader to either accompany him in his darkness or to turn their back and continue to believe in their own form of hopefulness in spirituality.    Yeats cleverly hints to the reader his despair in the phrase, "Turning and turning in the widening gyre" (Yeats, Longman p. 2329: 1.). The reader can hear the voice of the poet describing his journey farther and farther from his once cherished center based on religion. His beliefs have been shattered over time. According to the introduction in The Longman Anthology British Literature, "The 1890's in London were heady times for a young poet. Yeats became even more active in his studies of the occult" which was years before he wrote The Second Coming. This interest may have led the poet away from his former religious values. It is possible that because of this turn away from religion the author's basic value system may have been in turmoil at the time of writing The Second Coming.    Yeats drifting away from his religious beliefs may be evidenced in the phrase, "The falcon cannot hear the falconer" which could be interpreted as he can no longer hear the voice of his former God (Yeats, 2). The falcon in this sentence may refer to Yeats himself and the falconer may symbolize his former God. When the author writes, "the center cannot hold" he may be referring to his idea that organized religion can no longer give credence or explanation to his wor... ...s of the words written by Yeats and their possible meanings, the poetry written can surely be considered worthy of placement in the literary cannon not only for the beauty of the work then for the author's ability to raise questions for generations to come.    Works Cited Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism. New Jersey. Prentice Hall, 1999. Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness" The Longman Anthology British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch. Longman. New York. 2000. 2190-2246. Damrosch, David, et al., ed.   The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Vol. B.   Compact ed.   New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. Scott, Paul. The Jewel in the Crown. University of Chicago Press. Chicago. 1976. Yeats, William, Butler. "The Second Coming." The Longman Anthology British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch. Longman. New York. 2000. 2329.

The Population Growth Rate In India Essays -- essays research papers

The Population Growth Rate in India For many years concern has been voiced over the seemingly unchecked rate of population growth in India, but the most recent indications are that some success is being achieved in slowing the rate of population growth. The progress which has been achieved to date is still only of a modest nature and should not serve as premature cause for complacency. Moreover, a slowing of the rate of population growth is not incompatible with a dangerous population increase in a country like India which has so huge a population base to begin with. Nevertheless, the most recent signs do offer some occasion for adopting a certain degree of cautious optimism in regard to the problem. One important factor which is responsible for viewing the future with more optimism than may previously have been the case has been the increase in the size of the middle class, a tendency which has been promoted by the current tendency to ease restrictions on entrepreneurship and private investment. It is a well-known fact that as persons become more prosperous and better educated they begin to undertake measures designed to eliminate the size of their families. (The obvious exception would be families like the Kennedys who adhere to religious strictures against artificial birth control, but the major Indian religions have traditionally lacked such strictures.) Ironically, the state of Kerala which had long had a Communist-led government had for many years represented a population planning model because of its implementation of programs fostering education and the emancipation of women. The success of such programs has indicated that even the poorer classes can be induced to think in terms of population control and family planning through education, but increased affluence correspondingly increases the pressure for the limitation of family size, for parents who enjoy good life want to pass it on to their children under circumstances where there will be enough to go around. In contrast, under conditions of severe impoverishment there is not only likely to be lack of knowledge of family planning or access to modes of birth control, but children themselves are likely to be viewed as an asset. Or, perhaps one might more accurately say with regard to India, sons are viewed as an asset. We will have more ... ...spread acceptance considerably more progress needs to be made in raising the standard of living of the Indian masses for "although the wealthier, better-educated urban families do curtail their fertility, the poor have not had the means or motivation to do so." "Most important, perhaps," writes John Cool, is the fact that thousands of years of Indian experience have shaped cultural values and social institutions, which encourage the survival of the family and the community through high fertility. Modernization is slowly changing this situation, but to insure success considerably more progress needs to be made. Bibliography Chandrasekhar, S. Abortion in a Crowded World: The problem of abortion with special reference to India (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1974). Franda, Marcus F. (ed.). Response to Population Growth in India: Changes in Social, Political, and Economic Behavior (New Yew: Praeger, 1975) Bahnisikha. The Indian Population Problem: A Household economics Approach (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990) Mandelbaum, David G. Human Fertility in India: Social Components and Policy Perspectives (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974).

Managed Care, Physicians, and Patients :: Healthcare

Give three examples of common assertions about managed care impact on physicians and physician/ patient interaction. Explain how these assertions are proven true or false by evidence. Kongstvedt (2007) argues that managed care has impacted the way in which patient and physicians interact .Now, physicians are held more accountable, and patients are more actively involved in their care .The following are three examples of common assertions about managed care impact on physicians and patient interaction. However, these assertions are proven true or false by evidence. 1. Many critics of managed care argue that utilization review personnel decisions in regards to necessary treatment overrule doctors’ decisions frequently and coverage denial rates for physician recommendations are very low. However, Kongstvedt (2007) states that a national survey that was carried out with over 2,000 physicians caring for patients plans utilizing manage care techniques discredit this claim. In fact, the survey revealed that the final coverage denial rate for physician recommendations was at most 3% within eight categories and much less for most categories of care.

Food Adulteration Essay

In our daily life there are so many unhygienic and contaminated things for our health. Most of our things our contaminated. Even the food, which we eat, is adulterated. Now a question arises that what is adulteration? The answer is that the deliberate contamination of food material with low quality, cheap and non-edible or toxic substances is called food adulteration. The substance, which lowers or degrades the quality of food material, is called an adulterant. Adulteration brings a lot of easy money for the traders, but it may spoil many lives. Food adulteration can lead to slow poisoning and various kinds of diseases, which can even result in death. Adulteration makes the food items used in our daily life unsafe and unhygienic for use. An easy example of food adulteration is vanaspati ghee in desi ghee. The traders use it for their economic benefit without thinking about its effect on the common population of our country, which consumes it. For preventing it our government has made some certain commissions and laws. Still it prevails in our country on large scale. Adulteration should be checked properly in common food items so as to save people from its bad effects. Adulteration is the government and we for the common people therefore something should do a type of curse against it. Types of Food Adulteration In India, the most common type of food adulterations is of following types: 1. Milk :- It is adulterated by the addition of water, starch, skim milk powder and removal of cream. 2. Ghee :- It is adulterated with vanaspati and animal fats such as pig’s fat. In order to improve the flavor of adulterated ghee tributyrin is added. 3. Cereals :- Rice and wheat are mixed with stones sand grit and mud to increase the bulk. 4. Flour :- Wheat flour is mixed with soapstone and Bengal gram flour is adulterated with Kesari dal or lathyrus flour. 5. Pulses :- They are adulterated with Kesari Dal stones are added to pulses such as mott urad, and masoor. Toxic chemical such as metanil yellow are added to old stocks of pulses to improve their colour appearance. 6. Edible Oil :- They are mixed with cheaper oil, toxic oil (e.g. argemone oil) and mineral oil. 7. Honey :- It is adulterated with sugar and jaggery. Material required 1. Glass Wares : †¢ Test Tube, Beaker, Slides 2. Food Samples. †¢ Ghee, Milk, Oil, Pulses samples. 3. Chemical Required †¢ Conc. HCl., Conc. Nitric Acid. 4. Test Tube stand. Procedure for detection the Adulteration in the food Items Adulteration in the food material can be detected in the following ways. 1. Vanaspti in Ghee :- Took one tea spoon full of liquid ghee. Added equal quantity of conc. HCl shook this mixture in a test tube. Now added a pinch of common sugar. Shook it well for about one minute and then allowed it to stand for 5 minute and observed the result. 2. Water in milk sample:- Put a drop of sample milk on a plain slide. Tittled  the slide and observed the result. 3. Agremone oil in edible oil :- Took some amount of edible oil in a test tube. Poured 3-4 drops of conc nitric acid. Shook it well and observed the result. 4. Metanil yellow in Dal :- Took 5 gms of sample. Add 5ml of water and a few drops of dil. HCl and observed the result. Observation Table-A:- Detection of vanaspati in ghee Sr.No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Ghee A Sample+Conc. + + + HCl + Sugar Crimson colour in lower layer of the mixture 2. Ghee B -do- + + 3. Ghee C -do- – Table-B:- Detection of water in Milk Sr.No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Milk A Sample on a + plain slide + titled the slide 2. Milk B -do- + + 3. Milk C -do- + + + Table-C:- Detection of metanil yellow in dal Sr.No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Pulse A 5gm of sample + + + 5ml of water + Pink colour Conc. HCl appearance 2. Pulse B -do- – 3. Pulse C -do- – Table-D:- detection of Argemone oil in edible oil Sr.No. Sample Procedure Observation 1. Edible Oil A 5 ml Sample + + + + 3 drops of Reddish Brown conc. HNO3 colour 2. Edible Oil B -do- + + 3. Edible Oil C -do- + Conclusions In Table A [Detection of Vanaspati in Ghee] Ghee A : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. Ghee B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Ghee C : It gives negative test, hence is not adulterated. In Table B [Detection of Water in Milk] Milk A : It gives positive test to small extant hence is least adulterated. Milk B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Milk C : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. In Table C [Detection of Metanil Yellow in Dal] Pulse A : It gives positive test, hence is adulterated. Pulse B : It gives most negative test, hence is not adulterated. Pulse C : It gives more negative test, hence is not adulterated. In Table D [Detection of Argemone Oil in Edible Oil] Edible Oil A : It gives most positive test, hence is most adulterated. Edible Oil B : It gives more positive test, hence is more adulterated. Edible Oil C : It gives positive test to small extent, hence is least adulterated.

Compare and Contrast the Depiction of War and Soldiers in Birdsong and Strange Meeting Essay

In the first half of the twentieth century bloodshed was dominant as war on a global scale occurred on two occasions. These were not only effective on people that witnessed the catastrophe but also for propaganda and literature that would occur years later. Two of the most dominant authors depicting soldiers and war were Englishmen Sebastian Faulks and Susan Hill. They expressed their opinions on such matters with literature such as â€Å"Birdsong† and â€Å"Strange Meeting† respectively. In comparison both texts were wrote within the last forty years categorising them both as modernistic texts. Along with the information that both authors were neither there or around at the time, this would indicate that their novels are both adaptations of stories they have heard and open to artistic licence resulting in both being complete works of fiction. Throughout both extracts of the texts many comparisons and contrasts can be brought up involving the way war is opinionated for the soldiers. The first contrast that can be made is the indication that the 3rd person illustrates about the trenches but through two different styles of writing. â€Å"Birdsong† creates the feeling of negativity relating to the trenches through a strong use of imagery involving death. Language such as ‘wailing’, ‘primitive fear’ and ‘rigid body’ along with the use as short and punctual sentences creates a representation of a constantly changing and dangerous environment perhaps portraying the speed of the soldiers’ heartbeats involved, enabling the reader to understand the rush and panic the soldiers are feeling and representing the horror of the trenches from the soldiers’ point of view. This is in stark contrast to â€Å"Strange Meeting† which describes the trenches with descriptive language and in a positive light, ‘†¦a full moon shone above the ridge. The frost was thin and here and there it caught in the pale light on the barbed wire, tin canisters, helmets, and gleamed. ’ This different interpretation of the trenches offers a complete alternative opinion of trench life as throughout the extract words such as ‘frost’, ‘jokes’ and ‘Quiet’ portray a very quiet and peaceful place, somewhere not to be afraid of. This is a complete dissimilarity to the interpretation of â€Å"Birdsong†. A calm and positive situation is also highlighted in the attitude of the soldiers and the relationship they have with each other throughout the extract of â€Å"Strange Meeting†. Within the extract, the author highlights the relationships that Barton, an officer, has with Parkin, a soldier, as uncomfortable but calm. A constant awkwardness is represented with the way that the two characters converse with each other. ‘â€Å"Sir? † / â€Å"Hello, Parkin. All right? † †¦ â€Å"†¦have you, sir? † / â€Å"No, have you? † / â€Å"No. †Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ could be used to represent the constant problem that an officer has with relating to Parkin, a constant problem with class and a constant inability to communicate for any length of time. The use of short and sharp responses from both sides represents that both social classes don’t really know what to say to each other and find it difficult to be themselves in each other’s company. The class struggle is further highlighted with the introduction of the character Hilliard. Hilliard, much like Barton, is an officer in the trenches. The relationship with which he has with Barton compared to Parkin is of great difference representing the social boundaries that members of the British army throughout World War I would have faced. The relationship that Barton has with his social equal, Hilliard, could be viewed as a strong family bond and perhaps even slightly homosexual. The comfortable relationship that both officers have compared to the relationship with Parkin really highlights the fact that class boundaries are a major factor. The structure of both conversations next to each other really highlights the clashes as direct contrasts and comparisons can be drawn between both conversations. The use of this by the author really illustrates to the reader the differences in the characters and enables the reader to draw up questions about the officers. The relationship that Barton and Hilliard have could be portrayed as being like husband and wife. This is highlighted where it states ‘†Do you want to turn the lamp on? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"I thought you were asleep. † / â€Å"No, I was waiting for you. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. This could be interpreted by the reader as being highly homosexual and similar to a married life at home. A constant representation of the Queer Theory is brought up through many texts involving the First World War and seemed to be acceptable within the trenches. This is further highlighted with ‘Strange Meeting’ where it states in conversation between Barton and Hilliard ‘†I want to take you everywhere, show you everything†¦ ’ This further highlights their struggle with homosexuality but it also gives the reader an insight into what Susan Hill’s opinion regarding the war is about. The talk of everything and anything within the war could perhaps insinuate boredom through the trenches or perhaps even more controversially the fear with which the soldiers have. Their constant distraction and conversation about other matters outside the war could indicate that even the image of trench life which has been talked as being calm and okay within the extract could in fact be terrifying the soldiers involved so much that they want to be constantly distracted away from it and discuss the positivity that thinking of home and the outside world may have. The indication that the positivity could be hiding the negativity of the war. The relationship between soldiers offers a different interpretation in â€Å"Birdsong†. Throughout â€Å"Birdsong† there is very little conversation between the soldiers unlike â€Å"Strange Meeting† so the reader has to gather a sense of the relationships from what the voice of the extract is telling them rather than from converse between the characters. The constant theme regarding the soldiers throughout the extract is brotherhood, in contrast to homosexual tendencies in â€Å"Strange Meeting†. Constant references throughout he extract such as ‘The three men lay close together’, ‘â€Å"Help me,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘brother’ all create an image of friendship and brotherhood to the reader and helps insinuate that they are all there to help each other and watch each other’s back in the horrors of war. Even though this also shows togetherness between the soldiers much like ‘Strange meeting’ the reader’s interpretations differ as one text depicts the soldiers as too close and the other as good friends. The constantly different interpretations with both extracts is completely down to the fact that both authors only have facts of what they have heard and have no first-hand experience of the trenches due to the texts modernistic tendencies. Along with differing circumstances throughout all the lines of the trenches no exact accounts can be given within the two texts regarding the way the trenches and the soldiers relationships with each other would have been as no trench would have been the same, the soldiers would have been all of differing backgrounds and differing opinions on the job they have to do.

Media violence: Pointing at the wrong culprit

Nowadays, violence in the streets is becoming commonplace. Headlines are screaming of assaults and other senseless crimes. Thus, it is necessary to understand what causes violence to minimize, if not stop, its prevalence in society. In this age of technology, media is very influential among people because of its global reach. Thus, there have been arguments that media violence translates to societal violence. Through the years, there has been an increase in the quantity of violence, and media has been transforming to a more sexual, graphic, and sadistic media. Because of the technological development, bullets exploding in people's brains were seen in slow motion in movies. Wrestling fans cheer over hard-hitting action, and one particular video game's, Grand Theft Auto, goal is murdering as many people as possible. Moreover, extremely violent lyrics are common in music. The Web makes access to all these kinds of media easily accessible as well as contains violent materials (Vidal, Clemente, & Espinosa, 2003). The presence of cruelty in different types of media means that it is appealing to people. Violence is incorporated to media because it is what â€Å"sells† to people. The question now is, Does it cause societal violence? Many believe that people exposed to violence in the media have a more aggressive behavior. Media has been accused of teaching children how to kill people. However, the actual connection between media and violence is yet to be established (Bushman & Anderson, 2001), and some researchers believe that blaming media is only one way for others who refuse to believe that the actual violence is seen at home and in the community. Indeed, guns, drugs, alcohol, and poverty heavily influence youth, much more than media does. Those who are believed to be influenced by media live in ghetto cities where people mostly are in the low socioeconomic bracket and belong to the minority groups. A common factor among these people is the presence of abuse and violence, even before the media became a part of the popular culture. Rap music, accused for its violent lyrics, originated from these areas, a reflection of the experiences of those who created the music. Artists of metal music are said to incite violent tendencies among youth, and Marilyn Manson was blamed for the Columbine shooting. Similar to rappers, metal music artists usually had poor upbringing and exposed to violence throughout their childhood. Cases against the rock bands claiming that they are responsible for influencing the violence in teenagers were dismissed because the teenagers were under the influence of drugs and, similarly to most artists, have depressing lives. In reality, music does not cause violence; rather, musicians are only expressing the violence that they experienced in the society.Approximately 90% of violent youths were exposed to violence at homes, were abused, and have depressing lives, even before they learned how to listen to music. As regards movies depicting violent scenes, these only slightly increase aggression (Freedman, 2002). Similarly to music, movies only emulate reality, and the graphics only help to make films as â€Å"real life† as possible. Again, it is the poor home environment that raises a violent child. As an example, movies, animes, and video games in Japan are more violent than in the United States, but are there any reported incidents of shootings by teenagers at school? None. Furthermore, there are less incidence of crimes committed by teenagers. Indeed, violence in society is rapidly rising, but people should not point their fingers at the wrong culprit—media. Media violence does not cause societal violence; rather, violence is only portrayed in media. Although it is true that violence in media increases aggression in children, ultimately, proper upbringing is essential to ensure that a child does not grow to be a violent person. Instead of focusing on media violence, people should focus on the real problem—poverty, drugs and alcohol, loose gun laws, and domestic violence. References Bushman, B. & Anderson, C. (2001). Media violence and the American public: Scientific fact versus media misinformation. American Psychologist, 56(6–7), 477–489. Freedman, J. (2002). Media violence and its effect on aggression: Assessing the scientific evidence. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Vidal, M.A., Clemente, M., & Espinosa, P. (2003). Types of media violence and degree of acceptance in

Human and Technology Essay

A social constructed human beeing: a (bio)technological approach The importance of this article talks about how technology has helped us and how it has also changed us as humans. It compares the past of the humans with the future of the humans. This source of the paper deals with my topic by helping me answer some questions of how technology is helping out humans and making them smarter. But then there is a down side to it also helping me explain the technology and if it is evolving faster than what we can get a grip on it and actually enjoy it before something more advanced comes about. The reason feeling like I can actually relay on this source is because it has a lot of other sources behind it that are cited and that are included into one big source that is which makes up this paper. Pros and Cons of modern technologies In the importance of this article it talks about the pros and cons of technology. This source is very helpful to my topic by it explaining how technology has helped us humans and destroyed us at the same time. This source explains the positives on how this new technology has put us humans at an advanced rate and helped us out tremendously. It also explains the cons of this new advanced technology and how it has put a major hurting on the new generation and has made us too reliable on this new technology to do all the dirty work rather than how it was done in the past of long ago before all these new electronics and gadgets came along, when most things were done by human hands, instead just with the flick of a switch or push of a button. Yes and no of relying on this source because it has background information and a few cited sources which I can relay on, but some things there just isn’t enough information on whether to believe it all or not. The comparing of both of these sources that I’m using is that they both talk about how much technology has helped us. The difference between these two sources are that one article also talks about how all this new advanced technology has hurt the human nature with its side effects. September/26/2011 The Pros and Cons of Technology Today In this source it talks about the great things of technology and how it has come a long way and helped out the world lots and that we use it in our everyday lives, but also that with every good there comes a bad. This source helps me with my topic and relates with my topic because I’m looking for the good and bad in technology and how it has changed our lives, either for the good or bad. But this source tells me all the good and how it has saved lives, and then there is the downfall of how it has effected lives and caused harm. I know that I can rely on this source because it has hot links that are included into this which lead to more information if more is needed for back up. With the differences of the other resources some doesn’t talk about all of the different effects that technology has on life. The pros and cons of advancing technology With the importance of this source article it talks not only about how technology helps humans, but is it evolving faster than we can learn. This source is relevant to my topic because of the good things it talks about with technology helping people and the bad of technology with people. It answers the fact that of are we really prepared for all of these new changes in technology or is technology advancing way too fast for us? This source also has hotlinks that linked too it that gives me more information from different websites for me to have something to backup all my information on. The comparing of all of these sources is that they all talk about the greatness of technology and how it has helped out the human population so much, but then how technology has also effected the human population and given people different perspectives on things than the way it was of the past. The difference from this source than all the other sources is that this source talks about how technology is advancing and that it might be advancing more than what the human mind can comprehend all so fast. October/3/2011The Pros and Cons of Technology in the classroom The main story behind this article is about the good and bad of technologies. The source of this article is relevant to my topic by technology having its good and effective ways on helping people learn faster, and easier. This source also talks about how hard it is for every person to be as advanced with the technology and have it in every school  because of its expenses. In one way technology can be good for its uses in classrooms, but on the other hand it can also be bad, because every school isn’t going to be able to have the advanced studies of the new type of technology that comes out so often, because of it expenses. For example when one school who is on a budget with buying new technology, and when they final are able to get that technology, a school that is able to afford the technology as soon as it comes out already has a newer version of the schools old technology. So that’s a down side to this. Yes I can rely on this authors work because of its well cited facts and information to back up things. This article is different with its talks about technology in classrooms. Same by having its ups and downs of technology. Technology of Security Engineering (Program for Cyber security Neighborhood watch Developed) This article’s source is about mainly the technology security and how it can help and also cause security problems. This source of this article is relevant to my topic by showing ways of how technology has helped keep the people safe and how it has also hurt some people verbally and physically. This article answers the question of to how can the security help and help people in their everyday lives. The way technology security can help people are with their being passwords for to help save people from letting them get out their personal information. Also it can harm people by their being hackers out here in the world and breaking through those security fields and getting information of other people. Then they can pretend to be others through technology without showing ones true identity and ruining someone else career. The comparison of all these articles is there being a way technology can help people and harm them. The difference is that this source talks about security technology, than any of the other sources. October/5/2011 Technology in restaurants The source to the technology in restaurants is that there can be errors and there can be good things that come about. The good can come about for when the restaurant has a quality of food and the technology is just there to help them keep track of the stock of things. The bad is that there can be  errors when technology is doing all the work and there can be a wrong type of number put in and can cause a miscount of the quality of the food. This topic relates to mine by there being way that technology can help and affect our everyday human life. The comparison of all these sources is that there is always a plus to having technology and a negative to how it can affect our everyday lives. The difference of this article is that this one talks about how technology helps and affects our lives with restaurants. Investing in Technology in restaurants This source talks mainly about how if it is good or not to invest into technology and if it can ditechnology can go two ways. This can be good because the technology might make things faster and easier for the restaurant. But this could also go bad because this could change the taste of food from which peoples are use too, and it could slow things down. So it’s a risk that the purchasers for the restaurants have to take. This source relate to my topic by saying whether it is good or bad for this technology and if it can help out humans or not. The comparisons of all of these are that the good and bad comes with all technology. The difference of this article is saying is there a risk with helping or hurting the restaurant with buying technology that they are not familiar with. October/12/2011 Pros and Cons of Modern versus Old Technology The source of this article talks about the greatness of how much technology has helped out with the human body so much in ways of finding things that couldn’t be done without technology. The source of this article also talks about how technology has its downside with helping humans figure out problems with the human body. This source is relevant to my topic with all the good of saying how far technology has come with making humans lives so much easier. But it also relates to my topic by telling all of the cons about how technology has hurt the human body and that it sometimes reads off false information. This source helps me answer that no matter how great technology is, that it can still be wrong at times. I can rely on this source because of all the good information that is stated along with its information backing up all the details. The comparison of all these articles  is that they all have the good and bad side to having technology around. The difference of this article is that it talks about how technology has helped out discover new things in the human body. The pros and cons of finding out through technology about Medicated chewing gum. This source of the article talks about how chewing gum has its great ways of helping people out. This source also talks about the bad side of how chewing medicated chewing gum can affect you. This source is relevant to my topic by having the good side of chewing gum and how it can help humans by keeping them with fresh breath, helping humans out by whiting their teeth; fight cavities and making your jaw bone structure stronger. The other way it helps me is by showing the way technology finds out the bad things that this medicated chewing gum can harm you by giving you cavities causing problems with your gums because of the sugars and colors affected changes to the mouth. I can rely on this source because of all the other case studies that are within this article that all have information to back it up with. The comparison of all these articles are that technology has its ups and downs of helping humans. The difference of this article is that it’s about chewing gum and how it can affect the human body mouth and cause more problems.

Canadian History Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Canadian History Paper - Essay Example But the problem remains: Canada cannot realize its full political and economic promise with a foreign monarch as its head of state, one whose presence is a constant reminder of the nation’s colonial past. As such, Canada should sever its ties to the constitutional monarchy. In March 2002, Prince Charles visited Mexico City to promote trade between Mexico and Great Britain. As often happens when a member of the royal family embarks on a diplomatic visit to the Americas, Canada’s economic position in the international community is marginalized by what can best be described as an awkward, hierarchical relationship. Charles’ mission to Mexico offers a case in point: Mexico and Canada are trading partners under terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and yet according to Canada’s constitutional ties to Name 2 the British throne, the Prince of Wales was there ostensibly as proxy for Canada’s legal head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. In the market place of international commerce, sovereignty and prestige are important to engendering and maintaining confidence among a nation’s business partners. ... When Britain sought membership in the European Economic Community in 1961, Canada, through no fault of its own, found itself in an awkward and potentially damaging situation with the United States. The U.S. complained that Britain’s move into the EEC would pull Canada into a preferential European agreement, which â€Å"would threaten American trading interests by†¦linking Britain and its current and former colonies into the large European market† (Buckner, 109). The constitutional monarchy has also placed undue pressure on Canada’s domestic political scene. Quebec’s lingering separatist movement has for decades drawn on the country’s ties to Britain, the very symbol of imperial/colonialist domination, for political ammunition. The queen’s 1964 visit to Quebec, one of her most disastrous forays into North America, exacerbated anti-union sentiment in Quebec. She was booed in Quebec City, and Rene Levesque, Quebec’s minister of Natur al Resources, boycotted the banquet celebrating the royal visit (Buckner, 89). Worse still, civil unrest followed marked by acts of violence involving protesters and the provincial police, whose actions made martyrs of the separatists. Name 3 Canada’s increasing ethnic diversity has, in recent years, called into question whether a constitutional monarchy is an appropriate institution for a democratic, pluralistic society. It is difficult to imagine that a constitutional monarchy could ever be a unifying factor in a country where citizens of English ancestry are now in the minority (Leuprecht, 68). The continued presence of the Queen (and her successor) affirms a â€Å"symbolic executive (who) would seem to be limited not only for those in Quebec but for the many

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

Mergers - Essay Example rgers are part of reforming a business which involve two companies coming together to create a big organization that pleases shareholders (Albizzatti and Sias 35-28). One factor that may make two companies succeed in merging is by integrating their data thus it will be easier to achieve the shareholders value. According to Gaughan (2009), this strategy is mostly used in tough economic times where those companies which cannot survive the competition in the market are bought-off by the strong companies in the market. Stanwick (16-11) descries that this enables the companies to improve their competitive nature as other companies merge hoping to increase their share in the market and thus will produce more than they would have if they were to operate by themselves. This study shows the possibilities that would make a company such as SLP want to merge with another one. It will also show how the mergers are financed and finally it shows the second and the third company to be chosen as a merger giving reasons for each. In my opinion if I was to pick a company to merge with between Dell and Intel it would be Dell. This is because it has more benefits to the company than Intel. Perry and Herd (19-12) shows that Dell is a multinational company and it already has a big market share all over the world which has been estimated to be 20 percent. This advantage would make SLP Company be in a position of venturing the global market as Dell would increase its industrial visibility. Dell is a company that deals with computers and SLP Company is involved in vehicles. Their merging type would be in the form of extending their product as the businesses are different but the products are somehow related. If Dell was to takeover SLP it would achieve more benefits of economies of scale as the size would increase as well as its product line. To pay for the deal the best way would be through fixed value stock. This is where the shares are fixed in that the buyer’s shareholders may run

Mars Global Explorer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mars Global Explorer - Essay Example This research paper attempts to find out valid reasons and facts supporting the existing of life on Mars. There have been a host of significant discoveries in the past that have reflected on the idea of existence of life on Mars. Mariner IX (1971) orbited Mars and pointed out at the planet having an active weather system. He observed clouds, odd swirls of cloud that make a cyclone, and even frontal systems. It was assumed that the clouds were thin. But in 2004, Mars Global Surveyor took some high resolution images of the clouds thus enabling it to measure their thickness. To much surprise of the scientists, the thickness revealed that cloud’s inside some of the deep canyons was far more opaque and dense than could be imagined. They also contained triple the amount of water than was initially expected. There also exist evidences about the existence of a vast ocean surrounding the Northern Hemisphere of Mars. In 1999, Mars Global Explorer showed positive evidences of palcomagnetic Islands on Mars, with the bands being about 10 times wider than those found on earth (Garrison 94). A recent surprising announcement is made by Mars Global Explorer that there are chances that water still flows on this planet. Images of Martian cliff were sent back by it that showed streaks similar to the ones found on mountains on earth. It is expected that these rocks have melted ice under the surface that bursts out time and then (Kidger 124). This topic is of interest as one of the major missions of European Mars Express is to use specialized decameter radar – MARSIS – for searching for such underground water bodies. Hydrated minerals have already been discovered on the surface of Mars. The above facts clearly throw light on the better possibilities of existence of life on Mars in the nearby past. There are strong evidences supporting the fact that life still exists on Mars owing to its mild climatic conditions and presence of water on its

Cultural impact of globalization Research Paper

Cultural impact of globalization - Research Paper Example This has caused significant impact on people’s economic, social, technological, political and cultural aspects. This paper focuses on the cultural effect that globalization has had in the modern world appreciating culture as way humans exist in a community expressed through different forms of their lives. The focus would be on how globalization has caused the emergence of new global professions, pop culture and global village. It would also discuss the effect of globalization on political culture and enhancing cultural liberty, giving the challenges that have limited the influence of globalization. The paper borrows from various secondary sources including articles from scholarly journals and books supported by evidence from newspaper articles. Introduction Globalization is a term that has been widely used in the modern business community worldwide and among governments, scholars and non-governmental organizations among other organizations. In many forums, participants have sought to demystify the gains and disadvantages involved in globalization. Globalization is deemed to have begun before the 1960s with the word being coined by Roland Robertson to describe the expansion of the policy of European colonies to subjugate parts of Africa and Asia and other underdeveloped countries globally (Razak 61). With the expansion of these colonial powers came the influence through language, customs, administration system, culture, law and order with the Europeans justifying their action as an act of bringing civilization to the uncivilized. Other than this historical explanation of globalization, the modern world has attached various meanings to this phenomenon. Also referred to as internalization, it describes the international exchange growth and the global interdependence of countries through adoption of liberalized economies where capital movement restrictions among countries have been withdrawn. It encompasses the free flow of news, information, people and capital from a country to another without subjection to restriction by the respective governments. The term Westernization has also been used by various scholars interchangeably with globalization to describe the replacement of pre-existing cultures in the underdeveloped countries with the Western culture. The impact of globalization is far reaching and encompasses various aspects of human social, economic, technological, environmental, health and cultural endeavors. Studies on culture largely depend on what and how definitions come about and the reasons for having these definitions, which could be used, modified or at times fall into disuse. According to Lieber and Weisberg (275), culture could be said to be the common form of life in a national community where there is a homogeneous lifestyle and value system and national identity forged through modernization or industrialization. It refers to the way of existence among humans expressed through the varied forms of life specific to communities. Just like other resources, culture is subject to the environment which dictates what should be done and what should not. As such, different people would have different cultures with different meanings; it includes belief, art, knowledge, customs, laws and morals. However, the physical environment has no effect on culture; it is the people who come up with cultural resources and control how they would be accessed. From the viewpoint of religion, ideology, history and tradition, culture would have a social function where the culture would exist as a whole in a society. Globalization has always been associated with the notion of cultural difference. With the increased appreciation of globaliza

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis - Essay Example The companies had come to this point of crisis because free market had allowed them to make investments due to which the institutions were posed to risks. Millions of people in America lost their jobs and had their savings bushed. A number of factors have been blamed for this crisis but economists believe that free market is the very basic factor amongst all. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in his book Freefall that market fundamentalists and deregulators are responsible for the mess. The situation showed that free-market economists failed and market fundamentalists were responsible for the economic crunch (Sorman 2010). The economy of United States of America witnessed only a few minor recessions each for a short period of time. Those recessions did not stir the economy enough to cause economists to develop a well descriptive recession model. With no major recessions over a long time, the economists tend to believe that the crisis may not happen. The model derived by free marke t economists was running a healthy economy from 80s to 2008 making economists believe that the model may not turn the situation upside down (Sorman 2010). The free market economists argue that it is the recession that prompted the financial crisis and not the other way around. Economists believe that recession began in 2007 when consumer spending decreased, overdue borrowing increased and lack of interest of homeowners in their mortgaged houses increased. They claim that the failure of financial derivatives were not the cause of financial turmoil as they were helping in the stabilization of the economy. Economists assume that due to a sudden economic downfall government faced pressure from political and non political forces to take immediate steps. This led to government spending and its intervention in the scenario which seemed quite logical at that time. The situation worsened with new public debts and regulations which stumbled upon the recovery of the economy (Sorman 2010; Bordo et al 2010). The economy could be recoiled in a quicker way if government had allowed enterprises to survive on their own by dealing with the crisis with an astute strategic approach. It is also believed that the financial turmoil was brought about by the recession but the initial slump was the result of energy cost as well. The US expenditure of energy as expressed in percentage of total spending had droppedfrom 8 to 5 percent between 1979 and 2004. The price of gasoline had hit $4 per gallon by June 2008, representing a sharp shift in energy share of total spending back to 7 per cent. The shift was due to the increased demand from evolving economies like China and India which soared up the prices. The price grabbed attention as the spending pattern showing a considerable upward movement was an indication of disruption. The unit sales of light truck curtailed by 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 in comparison to the preceding year’s 2nd quarter.The auto manufacturin g industry cut over 125,000 jobs during the same period. The energy prices affected transportation and hence the housing sector as the houses in the suburban region lost their value and attraction. Failure of the mortgage market came up as another blow in 2007, prior to the financial cri

Week 2 - Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 2 - Leadership - Essay Example These are indeed some of the most admirable qualities of a leader (Musser, 2011). Qualities such as risk-taking, determination and self-awareness are necessary for all leaders. They are the core pillars that can propel them to making well-informed decisions for the entire organization. At the same time, if a leader puts the interests of his followers at heart, he can win their confidence (Avolio, Sosik, Jung & Berson, 2003). Thins, can in turn, be a better way of restoring the confidence of the followers and motivating them to dedicate their time for the service of the organization. In conclusion, the effective application of charismatic leadership style has enabled me to rank it as the most effective leadership style. It has made leaders to win a lot of support, respect and following. Such a support plays a very significant role in assisting the organization to prosper. Transformational leadership simply implies to a leadership style where the leader is given the responsibility of identifying the required change within the organization and coordinating and organizing his followers to execute it. As a matter of fact, change is a necessary thing for any organization. It is the best way through which improvements can be made as the organization seeks to accomplish its short and long-term goals (Gupta, 2004). For a leader to be transformative, they should be ready to understand themselves, their followers and the environment within which they operate. This can grant them an opportunity to come up with ideas that can positively transform the organization. Actually, transformational leadership has greatly contributed towards the success of Public Safety. As a profession, Public Safety is a sensitive area that requires team play and cooperation. With the application of transformational leadership style, leaders have managed to use their transformative traits to inspire workers, motivate them and challenge them to dedicate their time in

Discussion 11- reporting net income Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion 11- reporting net income - Assignment Example Habitually, EPS has been hugely applied but it is susceptible to critical errors in calculation. Customarily, EPS is mostly influenced by the model of the accounting policies adopted by the company. Yields gained from the growth percentages is mostly perplexing and may be misleading or even meaningless with regards to small base and even negative earnings collected from past periods. EPS becomes distorted in cases when the company re-tracks share buy back in instances when the company repurchases its main shares thus reduces the amount of the shares placed in issue (Pratt, 2013). This provides automatic increment on the EPS figures. While most companies would boats of elevating the EPS, it is enormously vital to note that earnings must increase which is the desire of the investor. Even after placement of savings on the account of the investor, the cash should earn additional income in terms of compound interest (Peters, 2013). Normally, the EPS does not consider the company’s dept level and concurrent leverage which are the factors that influence the direction taken by the investor in selection of the future investments. EPS are repeatedly configured by the mergers and other entailed acquisition which has least regards for the actual value that is created (Pratt,

The Effects of Employment on Academic Performance Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Employment on Academic Performance Essay ABSTRACT This study examines factors that impact students engaged in paid employment while studying in a tertiary accounting program in a regional Australian university. It examines the differences in experience of domestic and international students. No direct significant relationship was found between paid employment and academic performance for the overall study sample. There was a positive relationship found between paid employment and academic performance with respect to domestic students. However, in the case of international students a negative relationship between paid employment and academic performance was observed. A significant positive relationship between a shift work pattern of paid employment and academic performance was found. The Effects of Employment on Academic Performance of Australian Accounting Students 1. Introduction This study makes a contribution to the literature identifying and examining the factors that impact student performance in tertiary accounting programs. Much of this existing literature is located within the United Kingdom and North American institutions. Documented factors in these studies include the impact of gender, prior knowledge of accounting, academic aptitude, mathematical background, previous working experience, age, class size and class attendance. However, more recently, observations of accounting academics suggest a new factor to be examined in the Australian context, the socio-economic circumstances as represented by their need for paid employment of accounting students. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in recent times more students are now working while studying, reducing the time available and quality of their efforts towards their accounting studies, for example many students miss or do not prepare for classes. University administrators have noted concern about student work patterns and student availability to spend time on their studies and participate in the university community life (Rudkin and De Zoysa 2007). The contribution of this paper is to examine the impact of paid employment while studying on the academic performance of students in an accounting program in Australia. The impact is examined differentiating between domestic and international accounting students. This dichotomy is significant because there is currently a large international student enrolment in accounting programs in Australian universities driven by government immigration policy to address a skills shortage (Birrell and Rapson 2005). There is also a shortage in meeting the demand for accounting graduates in the domestic industry coinciding with a shift in the funding mechanisms for Australian domestic university students in recent years. The impact of the market demand for a skilled workforce and the effects of existing student funding on work participation requires analysis. This paper investigates two aspects; first whether there is a relationship between paid employment and student performance, and secondly if there is a difference between the experiences of domestic and international students in paid employment and academic performance. Survey data of 170 enrolled students enrolled in a third year 12 credit point financial accounting subject at the University of Wollongong in the autumn session of 2006 was collected for this study. 2. Prior Research There have been few studies identified that examine the relationship between student participation in paid employment and their academic performance in a tertiary accounting program. There have been no studies identified by the authors that examine the difference in employment on tertiary academic performance between domestic and international accounting students in Australia. Gul and Fong (1993) conducted a Hong Kong study on first year accounting students, and found predictors of academic achievement to be personality type, grades achieved at the school certificate in mathematics and accounting, and previous knowledge of accounting. A study by Wooten in 1998 examined 271 students taking introductory accounting at a major south-eastern American university of which there were 74 students identified as non-traditional defined as aged 25 years or older, and 127 traditional students aged under 25 years. Wooten found that for the traditional cohort grade history, motivations and family responsibilities all influenced the amount of effort these students made. However, neither extracurricular activities nor work responsibilities influenced their effort. However for the non-traditional students, motivation was the only variable that significantly influenced effort. Neither grade history nor extracurricular activities, nor work responsibilities, nor family responsibilities had an effect on motivations. Family activities had a significant negative impact on effort for the traditional students, but not for the nontraditional students. It is conjectured by the authors of this paper that these differences in ages may also capture different socio-economic circumstances. Gose (1998) found an increase in the number of students employed over time, with 39% of students working 16 or more hours per week in 1998 compared with 35% working in 1993. Naser and Peel (1998) and Koh and Koh (1999) documented much research done on common predictive factors of academic performance in accounting courses, including gender, prior knowledge of accounting, academic aptitude, mathematical background, previous working experience, age, class size, lecturer attributes and student effort. However, they note the findings are not definitive. An Australian study done by Dobson and Sharma (1999) examined the relationship between student performance and the cost of failure, noting both the public and the private dimensions to the cost of failure. Similarly the Australian study by Booth et al. (1999) examined factors that impact upon accounting student academic performance, but failed to incorporate a socio-economic dimension. Booth et al. (1999) used the Approaches to Learning paradigm from the education literature to investigate the learning approaches of accounting students from two Australian universities, as compared to previously reported data for Australian arts, education and science students. This study provided evidence that Australian accounting students tend to take a superficial approach to learning typified surface learning such as rote memorization, while using lower deep learning approaches than their counterparts in Australian arts, education and science studies. Whether this is due to work factors has not b een investigated. Wijewardena and Rudkin (1999) undertook a study of students enrolled in a first year accounting program at a regional Australian university. They identified that students’ attendance at tutorial classes, the commitment of a major in accounting and a demonstrated interest in accounting correlate positively and significantly with academic performance. They also find that local students perform better than their overseas counterparts and that part-time students (who work full time) outperform full time students. Cheung and Kan (2002) contributed to the limited studies done outside the Western context. They examined factors related to student performance in a distance learning business communications course in Hong Kong. Their results based on studying 168 students showed females outperformed males, and a positive correlation between previous academic achievement and related academic background and student performance (p261). A positive correlation was found between tutorial attendance and student performance and between previous learning experience and student performance. No relationship was found between semester course loads and student performance. The results are consistent with prior Western studies. A Welsh study by Gracia and Jenkins (2003) undertaken in the second and final year levels of an accounting degree considered gender, prior year performance and students’ application to study and their relationship to student performance. Gracia and Jenkins argue that academic failure creates both emotional and financial costs for students, and that significant cultural differences may be attributed to academic success. This study found that if students are actively committed to self-responsibility for their studies, they tend to do well in formal assessment. They also found females outperform males in the second year and that there is a negative correlation between age and grades. Students who have work experience perform significantly better than students who go straight from the second to the final year. They argue that the work experience allows students to get their finances in order thereby reducing the need for them to earn money while studying in the final year, thereby reducing financial and time management pressures. Vickers et al. (2003) while not specific to students that study accounting, examined the effects of part-time employment of students on their participation and attrition in tertiary study in Australian universities. They report that the proportion of full-time students undertaking work has increased between 1990 and 2000 from 46% to 56%. They find that an inverse relationship between the number of face to face course hours and the drop out rate of tertiary students, with the more hours of classes the less the drop out rate. They also found that students working 20 or more hours per week are more likely to drop out of tertiary study by 160 – 200% than those who work less than 20 hours. Vickers et al. also find that students receiving Youth Allowance are more likely to drop out of tertiary study than those who do not receive Youth Allowance, despite the fact that the majority of this group do not work part time. They also observe that the odds of dropping out of university decrease by 31-32% if a student is from the highest socio-economic quartile as opposed to the lowest. Those who work between one and 20 hours per week are just as likely to continue in study as those who do not work at all during their studies. The Vickers et al. study is important because it signifies a change in the university experience not only for students but also for academic staff who teach working students. Strong and Watts (2005) investigated factors affecting accounting student satisfaction at a small public university in New South Wales. They found improvements in the effective allocation of casual and full time staff and the introduction and of common subject outlines lead to improvements in student performance indicators of satisfaction. Consistent with this theme, Hutcheson and Tse (2006) explained student non-attendance in class as student satisfaction with the teaching performance and course delivery. Nonis and Hudson (2006) note that the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education has found that since 1987 the time students spend studying outside of class has declined each year, with only 47% spending six or more hours per week studying outside of class compared with 34% in 2003. Nonis and Hudson (2006) identify a need for empirical research to determine the impact of student work on academic performance, and its impact on the design of academic programs. Their study found a lack of evidence for a direct relationship between times spent working and academic performance. Sullaiman and Mohezar conducted a study at the University of Malaya in their MBA program. They found conflicting evidence of the impact of work experience on student academic performance. They note studies by McClure, Wells and Bowerman (1986), Schellhardt (1988) and Dreher and Ryan (2000) finding a positive relationship between work experience and academic performance, but studies by Dreher and Ryan (2000, 2002 and 2004) Dugan et al. (2006) and Graham (2001) and Peiperl and Trevelyan (1997) found no relationship between students working and their grade point average. Sullaiman and Mohezar’s study found that work experience is not related to MBA performance. Hutcheson and Tse (2006) at the University of Technology Sydney found that on average students who attended more than half of the tutorials obtained a higher final mark than students who did not, and that this was particularly so for international students. This begs further research as to why, when students pay high fees for classes, they do not attend. This paper identifies the need to investigate whether the need to work is one possible reason for this finding. De Zoysa and Rudkin (2007) undertook a pilot study examining the relationship between academic performance and student socio-economic circumstances, which did not find a direct significant relationship between the number of hours of paid employment and student academic performance in accounting. However, a significant positive relationship between shift workers and academic performance was found. James et al. (2007) undertook a non-discipline specific study encompassing a survey of 18,954 Australian public university undergraduate and postgraduate students. They found 70.6 per cent of full-time undergraduates reported working during semester two, 2006, working on average 14.8 hours per week, with one in every six full time undergraduate student working more than 20 hours per week. For students enrolled in a part-time pattern, 41.8 per cent were working at least 38 hours per week, which effectively means full time employment. The study found many students worked significant hours merely to afford basic living necessities such as transport, books and study materials, with 39.9 per cent of full-time students and 54.1 per cent of part-time students believing their work adversely impacted upon their studies. The study of this paper contributes to the literature in that it uniquely examines differences between domestic and international accounting students in the Australian context of the impact of undertaking paid employment on their academic performance in a subject of an undergraduate accounting degree. This study makes two contributions to the accounting education literature. First, rather than a predominant focus on first year students, this study examines second and final year accounting students in a regional Australian context. It uniquely examines differences between domestic and international accounting student experiences. 3. Method Subjects of this study were drawn from School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Wollongong, a regional Australian university. The accounting program is professionally accredited with both requisite professional accounting bodies, CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. The degree is a full time three year program, with admission based on the standard University Admissions Index (UAI), or equivalent. Specific to these entry requirements, mathematics is not a compulsory entry requirement, though is recommended. There are no domestic undergraduate full fee paying students admitted to this degree. A prescribed program of study is required, with both compulsory accounting subjects using a prerequisite system, with opportunity for more liberal electives. This study undertook a survey of 170 third year students in their final compulsory financial accounting subject in 2006. The students were questions about their academic experiences and socio-economic circumstances in the prior session, the Australian Spring Session 2005. To obtain a complete sample, students who failed their prerequisite subject in the prior session Spring 2005 were also surveyed to obtain a representative population. Academic performance for the purpose of this study is determined as the final grade in the second year financial accounting subject, ACCY201, studied in spring session 2005. The research was conducted by paper surveys handed out in compulsory tutorial classes in the last week of session. Participation in the survey was optional. Both day time and evening tutorial classes were surveyed, to ensure a representative mix of both part time and full time patterns of study and work commitments. Of the 170 students surveyed, 101 (59%) of students are domestic students while 69 (41%) are international students. Those enrolled part time in the sample of 170 students are 34 (20%) while those enrolled full time are 136 (80%) of the sample. Of the domestic students, 45 (45%) are male and 56 (55%) are female. More domestic students are enrolled full time than part time, with 69 (68%) being enrolled full time compared with 32 (32%) being enrolled part time. More males are enrolled part time than females, with 18 (56%) of males enrolled in a part time pattern compared with 14 (44%) of females in part time study. There are 27 (39%) of domestic males compared with 42 (61%) of domestic females enrolled in a full time study program. Australian government regulations require that international students be enrolled in a full time study pattern. The survey sample reflects this, with all but two of the 69 international students being enrolled full time. It is surmised that the two males enrolled in a part time pattern are completing remaining subjects needed to satisfy graduation requirements which would arise if subjects must be repeated. The pattern of male and female international students is similar to that of domestic students in the sample, with there being 30 (43%) international male students compared with 39 (56%) international female students. These demographic enrolment patterns are illustrated in Table 1 Enrolment Pattern below, which describes the relationships of male and female, full time and part time, and domestic and international students. [INSERT TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE] 4. Results and Discussion Five aspects pertaining to the relationship between student employment patterns and their academic performance will be discussed. First section 4.1 will discuss the relationship between the hours worked in paid employment by students and their academic performance. Secondly, section 4.2 examines the type of employment mode students undertake and its impact on academic performance. Thirdly the impact of the nature of the paid work done by students and its impact on academic performance is considered in section 4.3. Section 4.4 explores the impact of travel time between students’ places of employment, the university and their residences on academic performance. Section 4.5 documents student perceptions on the impact of their paid employment on their academic performance. The research in these aspects seeks to discover the employment commitments of both full time and part time accounting students, whether the nature of this is different between international and domestic students, and whether these factors impact positively or negatively on the academic performance of accounting students. For the purpose of the survey, those working 20 hours or less a week are regarded as part time workers, consistent with the Australian government working regulations of student visas for full time international students. This is also consistent with a survey undertaken by Vickers et al. (2003) which while not unique to accounting students, found that 20 hours per work of paid employment was a significant indicator with respect to student performance because students who worked above this amount were most likely to withdraw from university study. 4.1 The relationship between hours worked and academic performance. The survey gathered data on the employment patterns of the sample. Of the 170 respondents to the survey, 165 answered the question of whether or not they were working in paid employment. Of this 165 sample size, 38 (23%) indicated that they were not in paid employment during the survey study period, while 127 (77%) indicated that they were in paid employment, either working full time or part time. The study seeks to compare the work patterns of students with their academic performance in accounting. Of the 165 students that answered in the affirmative to working while studying, subject results relevant to the period of their work was available for only 144 students. Therefore the sample size was reduced to 144 surveys. Academic performance was classified into three bands. The first band captured students achieving below 44 marks in a subject, indicating poor performance and a fail grade. The second band captured students achieving between 45- 64 marks indicating a satisfactory performance in terms of achieving a pass conceded or pass grade only. The third band captured students achieving a final subject grade of 65 or better, indicating a good performance of a credit grade or better in a subject. The research reveals no significant relationship between the hours worked by a student and their academic performance in an accounting subject. 44 (31%) out of 144 students achieved poor academic performance. 49 (34%) achieved a satisfactory academic performance, while 51 (35%) achieved good academic performance. Of these students 31 (22%) did not work in paid employment, 71 (49%) worked between 1 and 20 hours per week, and 42 (29%) worked in paid employment 21 hours or more per week. This is illustrated in Table 2 Hours Worked and Student Performance, shown below. [INSERT TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE] The survey results were then tested to determine if there was a different relationship between the number of hours per week spent in paid employment and academic performance between domestic as compared to international students in an accounting subject. The results show the impact is different for each group. Acknowledging the limitation of the small sample size of only four domestic students not working, the results show that domestic students who are working perform better academically than those who are not working. However, the finding for international students is the reverse. International students who are working perform less well academically than international students who do not work in paid employment. While possible reasons can be conjectured such they are working longer hours for lower rates, the determination of such factors is outside the scope of this paper. This is illustrated in Table 2.1 Hours Worked and Student Performance: Domestic Students vs International Students as shown below. [INSERT TABLE 2.1 ABOUT HERE] In the table above, it is shown international students in the poor student performance band demonstrate that as the number of hours of work increase, the does the percentage of poor performing students. When considering student paid employment in the range between one and twenty hours per week, there are different relationships evident between employment and academic performance for international and domestic students. There were 43 domestic students and 28 international students who indicated they worked between one and 20 hours per week. Of the international students who work between one and twenty hours of paid employment per week, 12 (43%) were in the poor performance band, 10 (36%) were in the satisfactory performance band and 6 (21%) were in the good performance band. This is compared with the domestic student trends for paid employment between one and twenty hours per week which showed only 9 (21%) of domestic students in the poor performance band, 8 or 19% fell into the satisfactory performance band, and 26 or 60% met the good performance category criteria. This demonstrates that while part time employment between one and twenty hours a week is more consistent with better academic performance than not, the reverse is evident for international students. Those international accounting students who worked between one and twenty hours were more likely than not to demonstrate poor academic performance. This trend is more apparent in the band of hours worked per week being 21 hours and above. There were a total of 36 domestic students falling into this category, compared to only 6 international students. It is noted that under international student visa requirements, a maximum allowed paid employment is 20 hours per week. There were 6 international students who indicated they worked 21 hours and above, outside this legal requirement. Of these 6, 4 (67%) fell into the poor performance category of a fail grade between 0 and 44%. There was one international student in each of the other two categories. This again is a different trend to the domestic student experience. Generally domestic students working more than 21 hours per week in paid employment performed less well than similar students working only between 1 -20 hours. 10 (28%) of domestic students working 21 hours and above achieved a poor performance grade, while 18 (50%) achieved a satisfactory grade and 8 (22%) achieved a good academic grade. These results show that domestic accounting students who are working perform better than those who are not working. However, for international accounting students the opposite trend is evident. Specific explorations to the reasons for these opposing trends are outside the scope of this initial survey. However, further analysis of this finding is offered from research done by Rudkin and De Zoysa (2007) who undertook a study of the socio-economic conditions of accounting students at a regional university in Australia in a comparable period. They undertook a survey of student hourly pay rates. Their findings are given in Table 3 below. [INSERT TABLE 3 ABOUT HERE] Rudkin and De Zoysa (2007) undertook a pilot social account from 162 questionnaires from students in their second session in the second year of an undergraduate accounting degree at a regional Australian university. In this survey students were asked to indicate their average gross pay rate. Hourly rates varied from under $10 an hour to $21 per hour and above. This data was then further analyzed for the purposes of this paper, finding differences between the pay rates achieved between domestic and international accounting students, as shown in Table 3.1 below. [INSERT TABLE 3.1 ABOUT HERE] Of the students who are paid less than $10 per hour, 90% of these are international students. Rudkin and De Zoysa (2007, p.95) found that 18% of students in their study found were illegally underpaid while 20.7% indicated they felt exploited in their employment. It is conjectured by the authors that international students are more vulnerable to illegal and exploitative work practices with lower pay rates, and so must work longer hours to achieve the income necessary to support their study. This is identified as an area for further research. 4.2 Type of employment pattern and academic performance. This section examines the relationship between the type of employment mode the students are employed under and their academic achievement in an accounting subject. Three categories of employment of students were identified, permanent work, casual work or contract work. Although conditions and entitlements vary across industry of employment, the three categories are reflective of patterns of work conditions, and entitlements with respect to vacation, sickness and family leave, regular hours, guaranteed income and hourly paid rates. The authors assumed that students employed in permanent positions have access to paid leave, more economic certainty compared to students employed on a casual or contract basis, but they would also have less flexibility in their employment. Of the sample surveyed, 112 students gave valid responses to the question of the nature of their employment to the three options of permanent, casual or contract. 18 students (16) indicated they were in permanent employment. There were no international students employed in a permanent position. Overall 87 students (78%) stated they were employed under casual conditions. Of these 87 students 57 (66%) were domestic students and 30 (34%) were international students. A casual employment pattern is most predominant in the international student grouping, with only 57 out of a total of 79 (72%) domestic students who responded to the question indicating casual employment. This is in contrast with the international student cohort, where 30 out of 33 (91%) were employed on a casual basis. The number of students employed on the basis of a contract were minimal, with only 7 (6%) of students working in this form of employment. These results and their relationship to student academic performance are summarized in Table 4 below. [INSERT TABLE 4 ABOUT HERE] The chi-square test found no significant relationship between the mode of employment and student academic performance in an undergraduate accounting subject. However, it can be observed that students employed as a permanent worker performed better (22% poor performance compared to a combined 78% for satisfactory and good performance) compared to students employed as a casual worker (31% achieving a poor performance band) and as a contract worker (57% achieved a poor performance band). However, any comparison between domestic and international students of this data is not meaningful due to the small numbers in each category. 4.3 Nature of work patterns and performance The authors investigated whether regardless of the mode of employment, the nature of the work patterns that student employment required may impact on their academic performance. It was assumed that students who worked shift work did not have a stable work and study pattern preventing or hindering their participation in classes and class preparations. That is, students working irregular shift work times and hours would experience different attendance and study patterns and opportunities compared with those students who worked set hours at regular times. Students were asked to nominate whether their typical work pattern was changing shift work to a roster, or regular hours. 87 valid responses were received to this question. 58 students (67%) indicated that they worked changing shift work compared with 29 (33%) who indicated they worked regular hours. The results of this question are shown below in Table 5. [INSERT TABLE 5 ABOUT HERE] An unexpected significant positive relationship was found between students who work changing shift work academic performance. Only 12 (21%) of student working changing shift work compared to 21 (72%) of those working regular hours were classified in the poor student performance band. 80% of students in the changing shift category achieved satisfactory or good academic results while only 27% of students with regular working hours achieved similar results. There were similar results observed between domestic and international students in this respect, with 69% of domestic students and 61% of international students working changing shift work hours. Only 14% of domestic students doing shift work achieved poor results, while 60% of students working regular hours achieved poor results. All of the 9 international students doing regular hours failed the subject. These relationships are described in tables 5.1 and 5.2 below. Table 5.1 gives a comparison between domestic and international students’ work patterns, and Table 5.2 below shows the relationship between both domestic students’ and international students’ work patterns and their academic performance. [INSERT TABLE 5.1 ABOUT HERE] [INSERT TABLE 5.2 ABOUT HERE] Reasons for the favourable relationship between shift work and academic performance have not been sought in this study, but are identified as an area for further research. Conjecture as to the reasons include greater flexibility for students working shift work to arrange their rosters around their university class and assignment commitments, and the possibility that jobs requiring night shift work such as garage attendants require a presence but only ad hoc activity and so allow time on the job to be spent studying and completing class work. 4.4 Travelling time and performance. The location of the university of this study is an Australian university located approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney in the state of New South Wales. It is a regional university that includes the Southern parts of Sydney in its catchment area. Many students travel by public transport being rail from Sydney and a limited local bus service. The travel time from Sydney to Wollongong is approximately 1  ½ hours journey one way. Students residing or working in Sydney face a daily three hour transport commitment. Such a journey is not uncommon as the regional area has a high local unemployment rate and many students seek paid employment outside the region in Sydney. It is the assumption of the authors that time spent by students travelling detracts from their academic performance both because of the fatigue factor of travelling distances, and because travelling time is time not available for academic pursuits. Students were asked to indicate on average how long did a typical journey take you to travel to the university. A summary of the results to this question is given in Table 6 below. [INSERT TABLE 6 ABOUT HERE] It is observed that 46% of students surveyed are spending more than one hour travelling each way when they attend the university. It was assumed by the authors that time spent travelling has a cost to the students both in time available at the University for study and financially in terms of the cost of how many days they attend the university. It was assumed that if students are working, the time spent travelling in addition to the hours they spend in paid employment has a combined impact on their availability to participate in academic tasks. The relationship between time spent travelling and student performance was measured. No significant relationship was found between travelling time and academic performance of students who are not working. However, there is a significant relationship between academic performance and travelling time with students who are working. It was found that students who spend less time travelling perform better academically than students who spend more time travelling to university. This results are described in Table 6.1 below. [INSERT TABLE 6.1 ABOUT HERE] Student perception on the impact of work on studies. The authors were interested in observing the perceptions of students of the impact of their paid employment on their academic studies. Students were asked whether â€Å"my exam and / or assessment marks would have been better if I had not been working†. Out of 124 valid responses from students who are working to this question, 51 (41.1%) answered in the affirmative, while 73 (58.9%) answered in the negative. That is, 41% of the students surveyed thought that their work interfered with their studies. Students who indicated they were in paid employment were also asked the question whether or not they missed classes because of their work. 110 valid responses were received to this question. 42% indicated that they always missed classes because of their work commitments, while 11% indicated that most of the time classes were missed because of work commitments. While the findings suggest that there is no significant relationship between the amount of paid employment per week that students undertake and their academic performance, it does suggest that these students are deprived of a full academic experience in terms of full engagement with the campus community, networking opportunities and similar. The responses of students who admitted missing classes because of paid employment are shown below in Table 7. [INSERT TABLE 7 ABOUT HERE] Other reasons for missing classes given for students were that they were not prepared for class, because they lacked motivation, because they did not find the classes useful, because they had other illness or family or personal reasons, and because they had work commitments to complete in other subjects. The rankings of these reasons are given in table 7.1 below. [INSERT TABLE 7.1 ABOUT HERE] 5. Summary and Conclusions This study examines the relationship between employment and the study of accounting students in Australia. Given the high incidence of paid employment in the accounting student population and its impacts on academic performance, this study has ramifications for the nature of accounting program delivery in the Australian context in terms of times classes are offered and flexibility in delivery modes, and the quality of the university education experience with which students can engage. Limitations of this study include use of self reporting by students, a small sample size. In addition, findings pertain to a regional university in the Australian context. While many tertiary institutions in Australia are regional in nature given the geographic and demographic characteristics of the country, this experience may be different and not generalisable to metropolitan institutions in Australia and outside the Australian context. Further testing at other institutions would contribute to the knowledge of the relationship between paid employment and academic performance for accounting students. This study makes four findings. First, this investigation did not find a direct significant relationship between the hours students worked in paid employment and their academic performance in an accounting subject. However, contradictory results did emerge with respect to differences between domestic students and international students in a cohort. Secondly, while there was a positive relationship between paid employment and academic performance in relation to domestic students, there was a negative relationship between paid employment and academic performance for international students. Thirdly, with respect to international students, although a statistically significant relationship was not found, it seems that the academic performance of international students not working is better than that of working international students. Fourthly, a significant positive relationship between shift workers and academic performance was revealed that offers no obvious explanation and is identified as an area needing further research. With respect to the quality of university education experience of accounting students, there are indicators that accounting students may not be optimally engaging in a full university experience because of work pressures. There were 9% of students are found to be working fulltime and studying full time simultaneously. The fact that many choose to miss classes for work commitments does not afford them the opportunities associated with campus life including generic skill development of a social nature, networking with their future professional peers, and engagement with the benefits of cultural exchange with an international student body. Given that Vickers et al. (2003) found if students work more than 20 hours per week they are 160%-200% more likely to drop out of university, this has implications for attrition rates in accounting courses also. The authors contest that there is a need to explore further to understand the positive and negative impacts of paid employment on academic performance, and why differences exist between domestic and international students. This will aid in meeting the demand for good Australian accounting graduates. 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