STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example Tesco initially had a localized approach as they could perceive benefits in expanding in and around London. However, their policy since the beginning had been â€Å"Pile it high and sell it cheap† (ICMR, 2005) which adversely impacted their brand image. When Britain imposed the Retail Price Maintenance Act which prevented the retailers from selling goods below a minimum price, Tesco introduced trading stamps which were given to the customers which could be traded for cash or gifts. This was abolished in 1964 and then Tesco could offer competitive prices. Cost-leadership strategy In the early 1990s, the market condition being bad, Tesco faced difficulties such as low population growth, low food price inflation, matured and saturated supermarket sector in the UK, and strong competition from retailers such as Sainsbury, ASDA, and Safeway (Coriolis, 2004). The company’s profit margins were under pressure and it remained in 2nd position with Sainsbury leading in market share (ICMR, 2005). In saturated markets competitive rivalry increases and the profits diminish as the costs are high. This was when the British economy was hit by recession and Tesco was in trouble although competitors such as Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer’s announced record earnings. This was the period when Tesco changed its strategy and focused on increasing its market share by selling goods at prices much lower than its competitors. Their strategy was to grow bigger by increasing sales volume through lower prices: Source: Coriolis (2004). Tesco went in for a major image overhaul and closed down many of its stores and replaced many with bright and attractive stores (ICMR, 2005). They were focusing on the cost-leadership strategy. In fact, Tesco was the first to introduce the cut-price strategy which led to price war (Yoruk & Radosevic, 2000). According to Porter (1996) strategy rests on unique activities and to be sustainable the strategic position requires trade-off. They did acquire cost-leadership and became the leading retailer in the UK but cost-leadership comes with disadvantages (Porter, 1979). Very low cost can take loyal customers away and lead to a decrease in revenue which is exactly what Tesco suffered with. They also earned a bad reputation in the process, which is when they decided to diversify. Strategy can be formulated at three different levels – corporate level, business unit level and the

Industrial Clusters Essay Example for Free

Industrial Clusters Essay The software industry clusters in India had emerged in a few cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Kolkatta, when conducive conditions became available. This paper highlights the development of the software industry clusters along with some setbacks suffered by them, and the pros and cons of industrial clusters. Arora (2007) reported that the early software industry clusters in India had emerged in Bangalore due to the existence of private engineering colleges, which provided a large number of fresh engineering graduates for the Indian software companies to provide services for software exports. see more:essay on bangalore city Ramachandran and Ray (2003) mentioned that the late software industry clusters mushroomed in the Indian cities of Hyderabad and Kolkatta due to the impetus provided by the entrepreneurship of the state as well as the individuals. According to Khomiakova (2007), these industry clusters have witnessed setbacks, which include an â€Å"overstressed infrastructure,† a steep rise in the cost of real estate, and scarcity of skilled professionals due to a progressive increase in demand being more than the supply. Arora (2007) highlighted that the major advantages of the software industry clusters in India include generation of employment for millions of young graduates, enhancement of productivity, and an increase in investments by Indian as well as multinational companies. Consequently, the development of industry clusters has prevented migration of local graduates to other Indian cities, and also, helped in the economic growth of the city, its state and India. However, their major disadvantage has been marginal loss of business and employment in the IT sector of developed countries, which have outsourced work to these industry clusters. The software industry clusters originated due to the prevalence of favorable conditions in some Indian cities, and they have redefined the global business operations of the IT industry.

Development of Conceptual Framework in Accounting

Development of Conceptual Framework in Accounting Introduction In this essay we will assess the extent to which a conceptual framework can be developed in accounting, with examples of past and current attempts from standard setters. Accounting is a subject which is based on economic information about entities financial affairs. Accounting is defined as a process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information according to US Generally Accepted Accounting Policies (GAAP). Accounting is not an exact science and therefore, consists of many subjective areas, namely in the valuation of assets, provision policies, recognition of revenue and costs etc. Some commentators are of the option that economic theory should form the basis of any conceptual framework within accounting. In recent times with the issues facing the financial markets, accounting framework has come under increased scrutiny, with both UK and International standard setters having to define the fundamental concepts of accounting, namely, accruals, going concern, prudence, consistency and materiality. The conceptual framework has now placed greater emphasis on ‘true and fair view’ within financial reporting standards. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) working closely with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FRSB) is developing a new conceptual framework which is based on qualitative characteristics as well as historical quantitative characteristics (Accruals, Prudence, and Consistency). The aim of the joint conceptual framework is to ensure that companies annual reports represent a true and fair view of the entities financial health, the new concepts being considered for inclusion within the framework are, Understandability, Rationality, Preciseness, Simp licity and Acceptability. In developing the conceptual framework the IASB and FRSB need to decide if it should be rules based or principles based. Conceptual Framework of Accounting The FASB (US Accounting Body) attempted to form a conceptual framework during the 70’s and during the late 80’s the International body (IASB) developed a summary revised conceptual framework for companies, specifically dealing with the preparation and presentation of financial statements. This was followed by the Statement of Principles for financial reporting in 1999. The ASB has embraced current value accounting, which is based on value to the business measurements like Replacement Cost, Economic Value and Net Realisable Value (NRV). In order to determine the extent to which a conceptual framework can truly be developed for accounting, we must first examine the definitions of a conceptual framework. The Accounting Standards Community defines it as â€Å"a consultative document, which is a set of broad, internally consistent fundamentals and definitions of key terms† (ASC, 1978) FASB defined the conceptual framework as part of the scope and implications of the conceptual framework project in 1976 as â€Å"a constitution a coherent system of interrelated objectives and fundament’s that results in consistent standard and prescribe the nature, function and limits of accounting standards†. The qualitative characteristics in the FASB’s conceptual framework above forms the fundamentals and enables financial statements to be objective and sets out the alternative accounting methods. The measurement at the operational level sets out the rules for determining the monetary amounts within financial statements, i.e. historical cost, present value, replacement costs etc. Therefore, we can conclude that the purpose of a conceptual framework is to provide standard setters with a consistent guideline of accounting principles which are consistent with each other. It will also offer guideline in applying accounting standards in the most appropriate form with treatment of transactions when the standard offers scope for judgement. Other purposes of conceptual framework are found in the ASB Statement of Principles for Financial Reporting (1991): Assist in development of future standards Assist in reduction of alternative treatments Assist in preparation of financial accounts and guidance on areas where no specific standards exist Assist auditors in forming opinion on adherence to standards (Thomas, A. (2005) pp.499) Issues Surrounding the Development of a Conceptual Framework of Accounting In recent times there has been much debate in the UK surrounding the development of a conceptual framework. The main issue in the development has been in terms of costs and whether it was beneficial and possible to develop a consistent set of fundamentals that would lead to improvements in the UK accounting standards. The other issue is in terms of whether standards will make companies accounts more consistent rather than comparable. The development of conceptual framework will presumably result in more standardisation of accounts. There are two schools of thoughts on development of conceptual framework and its underlying theme. Normative Vs. Deductive Theories Normative theories are concern with technical processes which aim to measure ‘true income’ as influenced by Hicks (1946). Normative theories would produce a set of consistent rules that would form the basis of the conceptual framework. Accounting is also viewed as a technical process via deductive theory, but supports a user needs approach in identifying the objectives of financial statements. This is the view taken in all current projects trying to deliver a comprehensive and definitive conceptual framework of accounting. Lastly, positive views accounting and in particular the process of setting standards as a political process, which can lead to exploitation of class interests. This results in standard setting being viewed as quasi-legislation as company law is set by the parliament; therefore, it’s a political process. Standard setting process need to be one of consensus and not dictatorial assertion based on a conceptual framework, which is itself is the product of a particular set of class interest namely, shareholders interest. Environmental Issues and Accounting Framework An Example of an area which requires guideline from published conceptual framework is environmental and social reporting issues. Currently there is no legal or accounting standards in operation and no legal requirement for companies to carry out such accounting. But, many large companies carry out environmental and social accounting and reporting, as it’s a part of their core business values. The body Shop, Traidcraft and others now see environmental reporting as increasingly significant issues in business and regard it as important to gather and present information about their activities in these areas. In the past traditional accounting framework has neglected such environmental matters as it was not capable of being measured objectively. Environmental accounting has proven to be technically easier than social accounting, as social accounting is seen as more political and forms part of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting (CSR). Due to the varying nat ure of environmental and social accounting within individual companies, any conceptual framework would find it difficult to promote consistency and comparability of accounting policies. The above example highlights of how accounting is changing in the area of social and environmental accounting. This change has resulted in extension to both UK GAAP and US GAAP. This has come about as a result of the growing concern over the impact of organisations on society Conclusion Financial reporting has come under scrutiny post Asian crisis in the global markets and the fairness of accounting standards has been questioned. The global financial crisis has illustrated that under the forces of financial globalisation it is vital for standard setters to increase the regulation and transparency of financial reporting, in order to achieve global market efficiencies. It is without doubt very important to have a flexible conceptual framework of accounting in order to tackle the diverse and complex markets in which companies operate today. The FASB, IASC and ASB have all published conceptual frameworks of accounting. The conceptual framework must ensure the development of relevant accounting standards which the users can understand. However, in developing conceptual framework the standard setters need to be mindful of the fact that organisational practices and market conditions will evolve, and the standards need to evolve in order to remain relevant. The framework needs to be one that is compliant with Corporate Governance rules and regulations. Rule based standards are easier to police than principles based standards, which can lead to inconsistencies within accounts of companies within the same industry, therefore, not promoting comparability and reliability. Conceptual framework development has adopted the principle based approach in allowing companies to be flexible in order to deal with new challenges of the global market place. Rule based method had come under intense criticism post Enron failure. Supporters of a pragmatic deductive theory of accounting seem to have been triumphant in the conceptual framework debate within the UK. What is still unclear is whether the monetary costs of developing a conceptual framework by the ASB can be supported in terms of the potential benefits it will deliver in financial reporting through improvements in ASBs standard setting process. The development of a conceptual framework is regarded as unbeneficial by those who believe that the framework may lead standards which will promote more consistency between financial accounts of entities but it will not achieve greater comparability. This is due to the fact that standards set in accordance with the new conceptual framework will push organisations to use similar accounting treatments, when those may not necessarily be the most appropriate for the individual company and this will result in misleading comparisons. Therefore, oppositions to the development of a conceptual framework in accounting argue that it will lead to misleading standardisation due to lack of flexibility being offered within accounting standards, hence, more rigidity and less innovation. However, the need for a conceptual framework of accounting is recognised and being addressed around the world, with the USA, the UK and IASB all taking the same principle based approach in its development and commencing with a consideration of the objectives of financial reporting, qualitative characteristics and description of elements and when these are to be recognised in the financial statements. However, concurrence on measurement has yet to be achieved. Word Count: 1,608 References Bibliography Glautier, M.W.E; Underdown, B.; Accounting Theory and Practice 5th Edition (1994) Pitman Publishing Hendriksen, E.S.; Accounting Theory 4th Edition (1982) Richard D. Irwin Atrill, P; Harvey, D; Mclaney, E; Accounting for business 2nd Edition (1994), Butterworth Heinemann Thomas, A. (2005), Introduction to Financial Accounting – 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill Accounting Standard Community, (1978) Setting accounting Standards: A consultative document, ICAEW. Financial Accounting Standards board (1976), Scope and Implications of the Conceptual Framework Project, FASB Perks, R. (2008), Financial Accounting – Understanding and Practice – Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Britton, A., Waterston, C. (2006), Financial Accounting – Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall Elliott, B.; Elliott, J. (2008), Financial Accounting and Reporting – 12th Edition, FT Prentice Hall

My Values and God Essay example -- Religion, Gods Values

Values in life are something that are extremely important to have in my life. A value is something that a person considers to be important to themselves. Financial values vary from person to person. Not everybody wants the same lifestyle. Some people dream of having expensive cars, spacious homes and many possessions. Others search for the simple life, uncluttered by material goods. Our values influence the way we earn, spend, save, invest and spend money. Personal values are influenced by family and friends, by television and movies, and by what attracts us in the marketplace. For example, you may want to go to college, yet you want to earn money to buy a new car. If you cannot afford both, you must make a choice. A goal is a preferred future condition. It is more than a hope.Goals help you to get more of what you want out of life. They represent the ideal state to which you aspire, guiding all your actions towards this aspired state. What do you need to set goals? You need to know who you are (identity), your values, goals that you want to achieve, an action plan to achieve these goals, what motivates you, flexibility and self-discipline. Knowing who you are will keep you focused as you set priorities and accomplish challenges in your personal and professional lives. When you engage in self-reflection, it is helpful to avoid defining yourself in terms of external trappings, others' expectations or stereotypes. Establishing your values will help you to set goals in priority. Without values, all goals will be important, making it difficult for you to decide which should take precedence. Goals need to be specific. They should have a defined objective and deadline that allow you to asses... ..., then my life does not have meaning, and there is no explanation as to why I am alive. If He does not exist, then I have based my life on a false theory, however, there is no definitive proof that He is real or not. My interpretation of God is solely individualistic and therefore, I can not impose my beliefs on other people. I am not certain that there is concrete evidence that God really exists. However, I do know that He plays an important role in my life. I have my own view of who God is and what He has done for me. For some people, my opinion may not hold enough substantial evidence and whether this is true or not is not for me to decide. Instead, I have come to an understanding that at this stage in my life, someone else may not accept my beliefs. However, I can be happy with this and move on. I can only testify to the beliefs and faith that I hold in God.

Business risk and risk assessment: Apple Essay

I. The Company’s Core Business Processes and Strategic Objectives The Company’s products can be divided into two main categories, personal computers and related products and portable digital music players and related products. Based on the annual report, the â€Å"Company designs, manufactures and markets† (Annual Report 2005 1) many variations of the products mentioned above. The more popular products of the Company include the â€Å"Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, the iPod digital music player, the Xserve G5 server and Xserve RAID storage products, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes Music Store, a portfolio of peripherals that support and enhance the Macintosh and iPod product lines, and a variety of other service and support offerings† (1). Design is mainly a concern of the Company’s research and development. Because the Company is in the technology industry, research and development is a crucial component of its operations. It is the manner by which the Company keeps its competitive advantage. In its annual report, the Company admitted that â€Å"the Company’s ability to compete successfully is heavily dependent upon its ability to ensure a continuing and timely flow of competitive products and technology to the marketplace† (14). As a corollary issue to research and development, creation, protection and acquisition of intellectual property rights are also a major concern for the Company. The Company is in possession of several patents and copyrights. On one hand, the Company is concerned with the protection of its patent, copyrights, trademarks and service marks worldwide. In the other, it must protect itself from infringing on others intellectual property rights. The Company does not only rely on its ability to create intellectual property, it also relies on those owned by third parties which are acquired through licensing agreements. Because the Company is engaged in producing technology year after year, the manufacture of the Company’s products may create complications. The Company manufactures personal computers and accessories, iPod digital music players and accessories and a variety of consumer and business software applications. The raw materials for these products are sourced elsewhere. There are certain key components that are sourced from one or limited outside source (Annual Report 2005 14). In 2005 and 2004, the Company experienced delays in relation to one of its products, the PowerPC G5 processors (14). This led to the non-availability of certain Apple products from the market (14). After this incident, the Company announced its intention to shift its Macintosh personal computers from PowerPC G5 and G4 processors to Intel Microprocessors (Apple to use Intel para. 1). This transition is expected to be fully implemented in 2007. The Company’s development of new products requires custom made raw materials that are initially single-sourced until the Company determines the need to develop new sources (Annual Report 2005 14). The manufacture of raw materials and the assembly of some of the Company’s products are made in several foreign countries by third party vendors. The Company’s marketing is done through the Company’s website, company-owned retail stores, direct selling by the Company’s sale force and third party wholesalers, resellers, and value added resellers. The Company’s main markets are usually in the following fields: education, business, creative and consumer market (Annual Report 2005 12). In 2005, the US education industry accounted for more than 12% of the Company’s net sales (12). The Company is not dependent on any single customer for its income. In fact, no single customer of the Company accounted for more than 10% of its sales for three succeeding fiscal years, 2003 to 2005 (12). The Company is divided into four reportable operating segments, America, Europe, Japan, and Retail. It also has an operating segment in Asia-Pacific. The three geographical segments mentioned above do not include retail. The Retail segment operates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Japan. (3) The Company intends to continue its substantial investment in research and development. The Company’s strategic plan includes the improvement of the Company’s existing products, as well as the development of new ones (7). The Company also believes in the capitalizing in the convergence of digital consumer products (7). This is in keeping with industry trend. For example, both the Company and Microsoft have patents that would improve or create wifi-sharing ability (wireless connectivity) in iPod, iPhone and Zune (Cheng para. 1). Zune, Micosoft’s digital music player, already has a wireless sharing capability which the iPod hopes to emulate. The new patent of the Company may also make it possible for the consumer to directly purchase media from a server through the iPod or iPhone (para 5 and 6). The Company also plans to continue to exploit the perceived advantages of the Company’s products. These advantages are â€Å"innovative industrial design, intuitive ease-of-use, and built-in networking, graphics and multimedia capabilities† (Annual Report 2005 2). Another shift in the Company’s product development is the shift to â€Å"a greener apple.† The Company announced its intention to continue to remove toxic waste from new products and aggressively recycle old products (Jobs). The Company claims that it is leading the industry’s efforts to create more environmentally responsible company and products. The Company plans to create more energy efficient products in the future (para. 29). The Company is not alone in this. Other companies also exerted efforts to show social and environmental awareness. Sometime in 2007, Google released a more energy saving â€Å"black screen† after a study showing that a blacks screen uses less electricity than a white one. As far as its marketing is concerned, the Company plans to expand the distribution of its products. In the past year it has focused on adding on to its direct selling capabilities and the improvement of its sales staff. The Company will continue this style by building more Company-owned store in high traffic locations (Annual Report 2005 8). It also aims to widen its consumer base by targeting first-time computer owners and those people who do not own a Macintosh computer (8). The Company also plans to continue building brand awareness by increasing investment in marketing and advertising as shown by the increase in selling expenses over the years. II. Business Risks Research and development is a major component of the Company’s business risk. It involve a significant amount of the Company’s resources, with research and development expenditures amounting to $534  million, $489  million, and $471  million in 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively (Annual report 2005 13). The benefits are also contingent on several factors, including the ability of the Company to determine which products or innovations can be successfully developed, manufactured and marketed. There is always the risk of choosing the wrong innovation to focus resources on. The failure to produce marketable products regularly means loss of resources and market standing. Research and development also has a legal risks involved. The Company has admitted that because of the rapid change in technology and the pace by which new patents are being issued, â€Å"it is possible certain components of the Company’s products and business methods may unknowingly infringe existing patents of others† (15). Aside from suits relating to infringement of intellectual property rights, the Company is also facing various suits in relation to its products and a derivative suit filed by its shareholders involving unfair competition and false and misleading proxy statements. In 2006, the Company was placed under scrutiny due to stock option grants, some of which are issued to the Company’s CEO, Steve Jobs, in 1997 and 2001 (Iwata). There were allegations of stockholders that the grant was part of a â€Å"backdating scheme†, a scheme were it is made to appear that the options are transacted at a later date when the shares are valued lower (Apple comes under scrutiny). The investigation showed thousands of backdating grants including two made to CEO Jobs, the second of which did not observe the requirements for validity (Iwata). CEO Jobs was not held accountable for the irregularity of the grant. However, because of the irregularity in the stock options grants issued, the Company restated prior years’ financial statements. Because of these events, the Company admitted in its annual report (2006) the there is further risk of â€Å"litigation, regulatory proceedings and government enforcement actions† (21). The manufacturing of the Company’s products raises some special concerns. As stated above certain key components can only be obtained from a single or limited source (Annual Report 2005 13). Even key components that are not from a single or limited source are sometimes subject to â€Å"availability constraints and pricing pressures† (13). In facts, sometime in 2005 and 2004, the company already experienced delays in acquiring key components which led the Company to change one of the major components of one of its products. The Company admits that the loss of certain suppliers would have an adverse effect on the Company (14). Because of this, there is a risk that the Company will not be able to meet demands for the Company’s products or that the Company will incur delay in the delivery the products ordered by customers. The Company also relies on third parties to supply digital content in its iTunes stores and to develop certain software applications. The failure of third parties to supply digital content does not only affect the performance of iTune stores but also the dominant position of the Company’s digital music player. In the same manner, the failure of software developers to develop programs compatible with the Company’s computer platform due to bigger market for Windows and Linux will adversely affect the demand for the Company’s personal computers. The use of foreign third party vendors in the final assembly of the Company’s portable products and as suppliers of raw materials increases the Company’s risk of being adversely affected by political and economic conditions in these foreign countries. Political upheaval and economic crisis in foreign countries can affect suppliers’ ability to meet the Company’s demand. The Company faces cut throat competition on many of its products. In the advent of personal computers, the Company owns a significant chunk of the market. Over the years, the Company’s market share grew smaller and smaller. In July 2006, the Company’s market share is around 2.2% (Apple market share myth), a significant drop from its original market share. However, percentage figures do not account for the growth in the PC market since its birth in the 1980’s. The decline in the Company’s market share can also be attributed to the growth of numerous generic brands that are much cheaper than the Company’s Mac computers. The proliferation of â€Å"clones† led many companies to lower their prices and profit margin to gain a bigger market share. There is an on going price competition in the PC market, and the Company is striving to be competitive in this area. However, the Company’s business strategy seems to focus less in making cheaper PCs but more on developing products that appeal to its niche market, such as the creative market (Annual Report 2005 2). This strategy of the Company is a business risk because the limited market base makes it more vulnerable to economic factors. Decline in spending ability of one of its niche market can have a greater impact on the company than if it has diverse market. On the other hand, it removes the Company from the competition in market segments that are already saturated with other players. Some analysts believe that part of the upside of the Company’s strategy is that it has refused to compete in a market over which Microsoft already has a monopoly (Apple market share myth). Microsoft has acquired a monopoly in the industry by selling cheap PCs with expensive software or a system called â€Å"exclusive software bundling.† This makes it difficult for other companies to develop operating system’s that are competitive with Microsoft’s. The Company’s strategy in focusing on the improvement of what the consumers perceived as the functional and design advantages of the Macintosh platform opens the Company to the risk mentioned above but it also removes it from the competing in saturated markets. The digital music player market is expected to grow up to 286 million units in 2010 (Guza para.1). The Company’s own product, iPod, continues to dominate the market; however, many competitors are cropping up, challenging the Company’s dominant position. Analyst believes that the Company should not be complacent regarding its dominant position in the business since the digital music player market is young and has only penetrated a small portion of the market in the United States (Siklos). Although many competitors have tried to challenge the Companies and failed, the competition is not giving up. Competitor, Microsoft, came up with Zune, its own brand of digital music player that is compatible with Microsoft’s own on-line music store. Samsung, Sandisk and Creative have came out with products of their own. Software, hardware and on-line companies are working together to address technical difficulties in the initial launch of their own digital music players, and imp roving their services (Wingfield para. 4). There is a risk that the Company’s music related products may follow the road of its personal computers. III. Three Most Significant Financial Statement Accounts The three most significant financial statement accounts for the Company are research and development, inventory, and common stock. Research and development is significant because the Company is engaged in the production and marketing of technology. Not only is research and development expense significantly higher compared to other industry, it is also the cost which enables the Company to continue its existence. In the industry where the Company belongs, obsolescence happens very fast. If the Company fails to innovate, there will come a time that the Company itself will be obsolete since the consumers have switched to the more recently developed products. Many of the Company’s strategic plans are tied up with research and development, such as the plans to improve existing products and the move towards convergence of digital products. The plans of the company to improve and to add innovations to existing products will involve a significant amount of the Company’s resources. The amount of the company’s resources spent in research and development are expensed outright, except for the costs which are incurred after the innovation has been determined to be technologically feasible (Annual Report 2005 68). The failure of the Company to produce technologically feasible products may increase research and development expense, in the same manner that the success of developing technologically feasible products does not necessarily decrease research and development expense. If all the cost for development of the product was incurred before it was determined to be technologically feasible, all cost are expensed outright regardless of feasibility. Based on the Company’s financial statements, capitalization of research and development expense is minimal (77). Inventory is significant for the Company since its operations involved both manufacturing and retail. The Company’s inventory is subject to several business risks already discussed above. In relation to the supplies issue, the Company entered into long-term supply agreements with several companies which bound the Company to these suppliers until 2010. As part of the agreement, the Company is required to make prepayment amounting to $1.25 billion in the second quarter of 2006. (Annual Report 2005 91) Part of the Company’s objectives is to ensure a continuing and timely flow of competitive products and technology to the marketplace. The achievement of this objectives means that the Company’s inventory levels are always sufficient to meet demands for the Company’s products. This would also mean that the Company has successfully managed it inventory during the year. Proper management of inventory would result in a year end inventory level is not too high or to low. The Company’s common stock is significant for the year 2006 because of the discovered irregularities in the issuance of stock option grants issued in 1997 and 2001. These resulted in allegations of fraud and falsification of documents (Wearden para.4). The Company has already investigated the matter, and the result of such investigation has exonerated CEO Steve Jobs of any misconduct. However, restatements of prior years’ financial statements were made, including the common stock and other related accounts (para. 3). This account is not necessarily affected by the Company’s strategic objectives. The stock option grant issue itself affected the performance of the Company’s stock in the market and even raised the issue of possibly delisting from NASDAQ, but which turned out be without bases. IV. Management Assertions The management assertions relevant to research and development expense are completeness, accuracy, cut-off and classification. Completeness is a relevant management assertion because research and development is an expense account, and so, there is a risk that the Company will not include all research and development cost incurred in order to increase the net income for the year. Accuracy is relevant because there is a risk that transactions relating to this account are not recorded properly, resulting in under or over statement of the expense account and, in effect, of net income for the fiscal year. Cut-off is relevant for research and development so that there is proper matching of the expense with the revenue earned during the fiscal year. Failure to record expense in the correct accounting period can also result to over or under statement of the net income for the year. Classification is also a relevant for research and development because there is a risk that the Company will capitalize research and development improperly resulting in the over statement of net income for the year and inflating the Company’s asset even if there are no expected future benefits. Failure to record the amount in the proper account can also mean that there is no matching of income and expense. The management assertions relevant to inventory are existence, valuation and rights. Existence is a relevant management assertion because there is a risk that the Company will record assets that are not there in order to make the financial conditions of the Company look better to investors. The recording of assets that do not exist can also mean failure to record expenses which, in effect, results to overstatement of net income. Valuation is also a relevant because there is a risk that the Company may overstate the value of the asset to improve the financial statement of the Company. In either management assertions, there is a risk of management inflating the asset of the Company usually to improve the stockholders’ equity of the Company. Management assertions as to rights over inventory is also relevant because there is a risk that the Company included in its assets, inventories whose ownership has already passed to another, to improve the financial statements of the Company. The management assertions relevant to common stock are existence and valuation. Existence is a relevant management assertion because there is a risk that the Company records stocks which are not actually subscribed and issued or issues stock for which no consideration was actually received by the Company, also called watered stocks. Valuation is also relevant because there is a risk that the Company will over value the property received in consideration for the stocks issued, particularly if the stock is issued for consideration other than cash, making it appear that the Company is better off than it actually is. Both management assertions can be used by the Company to lure investors to invest in the Company under false pretenses. Although wrong management assertions can be a result of other causes that are not deliberate on the part of management, such as mistakes. The assertions mentioned above are relevant to those accounts because there is the additional risk of deliberate misstatement on the part of management. V. Environmental Risks There is a low inherent, control and detection risk in management assertions of completeness and accuracy of the research and development expense based on the Company’s conservative approach in recording research and development, as well as, the relative simplicity of identifying and recording research and development expense. On the other hand, the management assertion relating to the cut-off of research and development expense is assessed as having high inherent, control and detection risk because of the lack of sufficient data regarding the Companies processes and controls relating to this account. Because the risks mentioned above are assessed at maximum, more substantial test shall be performed to decrease audit risk. There is a high inherent risk in the classification of research and development expense because of the difficulty of determining technological feasibility. The determination of Technological feasibility can be extremely subjective. On the other hand, there is low control and detection risk in the classification of research and development expense because based on the Company’s past practices, the Company is very conservative in capitalizing research and development expenses. The percentage of research and development expense capitalized by the Company is very small compared to the research and development expense incurred every year. It is the Company’s policy to record all development cost incurred before determination of technological feasibility as expense, and the determination of technological feasibility is usually done after a large portion of the cost of development has been incurred so that only a small portion of the cost is actually capitalized and amortized. The inherent, control and detection risk is high for all assertions related to inventory because the operations of the Company is complex and international. The final assemblies of some of the Company’s products which are performed by the Company itself are in different locations outside the United States. There are also final assemblies of the Company products that are performed by third parties in different countries in Asia. The Company also takes advantage of several ways of marketing its products. It uses company-owned stores, direct selling, third party sellers and on-line selling. These make it extremely difficult to keep track of the movement of the inventory and to determine when ownership over the inventory change hands. The inherent risk is assessed as high for the management assertion of existence and valuation of common stock. This is because of the investigation which the Company itself initiated in relation to its stock options grant. The investigation caused the Company to adjust its income from prior years amounting to $84 million. The Company also has stock-based compensation plans consisting of stock options grants and stock purchase plans (Annual Report 2005 88) which calls for complicated computations. The control and detection risk is assessed as low for the management assertion of existence and valuation of common stock because of the Company’s efforts to investigate the matter as soon as the problem arose. It was the Company itself that announced the existence of irregularities in the issuance of its stock options grant. The Company has put in placed control mechanisms to address the matter. Moreover, records of the investigation conducted can help the auditor minimize detection risk.

Private School Uniforms and Dress Codes

Private School Uniforms and Dress Codes When you think of a dress code or uniform, what comes to mind? Most people will call to mind the stereotypical images we see in media: pressed and proper uniforms at military academies, the navy blazers or sports coats with ties and slacks at boys schools, and the plaid skirts and white shirts with knee socks and dress shoes at girls schools. But is this attire actually the norm at private schools? Many private schools attribute most of their uniform traditions and dress codes back to their British public school roots. The formal starched collars and tails worn by Eton College boys are world-famous, but they are hardly typical of a normal school uniform these days. Much more common is a looser dress code consisting of the ubiquitous blazer, white shirt, school tie, slacks, socks and black shoes; or the option of wearing dresses, or a blazer and blouse with slacks or skirts  are pretty much standard for girls. What is the difference between a uniform and dress code? The very word uniform suggests the raison detre for unis as some of the private school crowd calls them. It is one specific and standard style of dress that every student wears. Some school uniforms allow for optional additions, such as sweaters or vests to wear over the uniforms. While the rules at every school will differ, some will allow students to add their own personal flair, dressing up their standard attire with scarves and other accessories, but there are typically limitations to how much can be added to the uniform. A dress code is a strict outline of acceptable attire that isnt limited to one or two options. It serves as more of a guideline rather than a rigid rule, and provides more flexibility for students. Many view dress code as an attempt to create conformity as opposed to uniformity. Dress codes can vary by school and range from more formal dress codes requiring specific colors and limited choices of attire, to more flexible options that may simply prohibit certain forms of attire.   Why Do Schools Have Uniforms and Dress Codes? Many schools have implemented uniforms and dress codes for both practical and social reasons. Practically speaking, a standardized uniform allows a child to get by with a minimum amount of clothing. You have your everyday wear and then a Sunday best outfit for more formal occasions. A uniform often serves as a marvelous equalizer of social status. It matters not whether you are the Earl of Snowdon or the son of the local green grocer  when you don that uniform. Everybody looks the same. Uniformity rules. Do uniforms improve test scores and enhance discipline? Long Beach Unified School District, back in the 90s, instituted a dress code policy for its students. Proponents of the policy claimed that the dress code created a climate for education which led to improved test scores and better discipline. Research may vary on this, and responses from parents often differs from teachers, with parents (and students) arguing for more flexibility for personal style and expression, while teachers are often largely supportive of uniforms and dress codes because of the perceived improvements in both student performance and behavior. That said, private schools generally create a climate for learning more consistently than public schools do, to begin with. Uniforms and dress codes are just one part of the formula for success. The real secret to success is consistently enforcing rules and regulations. Hold students accountable and you will see results. What About Teachers Dress Codes? Most private schools also have dress codes for teachers. While the guidelines for adults may not mirror that of students, they are often similar, engaging faculty members in modeling good behavior and dressing best practices.   What Happens When You Disregard the Uniform or Dress Code? Now, we all know that students of any age have their ways of getting around dress code requirements. The slacks have a way of becoming a bit baggier than the school regulations intended. The shirts tend to hang out below the oversize jacket. Skirts seem to shrink overnight. This can be difficult for schools to enforce, and infractions can result in varying responses, ranging from verbal reminders to detention and even formal disciplinary action for repeated offenders.

History paintings

History paintings Introduction Romanticism can be described as a period that was characterized by numerous changes in the works of art.1 Besides, the period of romanticism is estimated to have existed between 1760 and1870. During this era, numerous changes occurred in the works of art coupled with reactions against the rise of Neoclassicism that was taking shape in most parts of Europe.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on History paintings specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More History painting artists such as Kauffmann, David, Delacroix and Gros were against what was particularly referred to as the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, or rather the18th-century materialism. Romanticism was characterized by passion, imagination, autonomy and independence.2 Additionally, it emphasized on favorite historical art subjects, nature, people and landscapes. The Romantic Movement first developed in northern Europe as part of rejecting the new technical sta ndards of art which were fast emerging.3 It is against this scope that this paper aims to explore the aspect of romanticism in the history of painting by considering the works of artists such as Kauffmann, David, Delacroix and Gros. Kauffmann: It is apparent that Kauffmann was one of the prominent artists who were among the remarkable history painters during 18th century.4 He emerged as an active painter who used figural arrangements of old sculptures, poses and vase paintings. The artist figuratively influenced the stylistic trends of his times. For this reason, she emerges as a lucrative academic painter and thus left a mark in the field of history painting. Historical records have revealed that Kauffmann made inspirational and editorial paintings that were based on her lovely imaginations. Besides, she had made several fine etchings, friezes and ceilings. Myriad of decorations which she made around 1771-81 can be traced in some of the deluxe houses in Rome. 5 During the late 1770 s, the artist did history paintings mainly for monetary returns. Shortly after this period, Kauffmann drew her attention on neoclassicism. She produced paintings that were based on historical events that existed in ancient Rome an Athens. During this era, neoclassicism considered the work of art from the esteemed artistic perspective. Kauffmann participated in the movement. She produced a lot of exhibits mostly nude models that were used to illustrate the anatomy of human body. Moreover, she made historical paintings on landscapes and flowers. Regardless of the fact that painting of nude pictures by women was highly criticized she fairly improved her skill at drawing and painting human forms. To ward off criticism, she painted nude paintings and draped them with clothesAdvertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to research evidences on Kauffmann works; it is evident tha t she participated on exhibitions at Royal Academy in 1769. She presented four of her history pieces referred to as the iliad and odyssey.6 Out of the remarkable praise she received from the paintings, she was motivated to do more entries. Other remarkable entries include the â€Å"Venus showing Aeneas and Achates the way to carthage†.7 Evidence has that Kauffmans history paintings were different from works of other artists of her time because she portrayed women at the center of the events she painted. In addition to this, it is beyond doubt that Kauffman established a gender neutral figure in her works. In return this became an upcoming image that illustrated her personal understanding of gender parity. As an outstandingly successful female painter, she received privileges that most women were denied. For instance she received a membership in the Royal Academy that positioned her in better ground to exhibit her work.8 This position enabled her to bring a new perspective to history painting, particularly rendering the human figure. In producing gender neutral figures she managed to highlight the female role in most of her history painting. Due to the emergence of romanticism in the 18th century, Kauffman experienced all of these societal pressures and serious criticism rose against her works. However, she was able to ward off the critics as a woman and understood fully her role as an artist. During the wave of romanticism, only writers and poets were able to give their initial expression to romantic ideas. In that case, painters remained subject to such ideas and feelings. However, Kauffman acquired her inspirations from the romantic literature of the period. With the romantic movements Kauffmann gained awareness of how various form of arts interacted. Romantic critics asserted that that experience of insightful inner emotion was the major theme of creation and pleasure of art. For this reason, Kauffman became more determined to make her work pleasurab le and insightful irrespective of the critics.9 To achieve this, she explored the idea of genders neutrality and incorporated it in her history paintings. Moreover, she emphasized effeminacy, androgyny, cross-dressing and the mother as hero.10Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on History paintings specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, by incorporating cross-dressing and androgynous images, she reinvented the figures in history painting to emphasize on the theme of gender neutrality. It is beyond doubt that Kauffman was a highly privileged female artist who was talented and accepted in the masculine realm.11 Throughout her work, she incorporated all the aspects of romanticism in art such as originality, creativity, heightened sensation, fascination and emotional pleasure. Below is sample of Kauffmann works of art. Description: Angelica Kauffmann, her own portrait Source:  http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/Surve y%20of%20Art%20History%20II/NeoclassicandRomantic.htm Description: Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures, 1785, Oil on Canvas. Jacques David David’s art initially embodied the neo-classicism style that was dominant in France during the late 18th to early 19th century.12 During this time, he flourished in styling rigorous contours, polished surfaces, history painting and sculptured forms. He abandoned the style due to its primacy and hence set a radical redefinition for the history of painting that drew their themes upon ancient events and distant civilization. David s work was grounded on the new found freedom of expressing emotions after countering neoclassicism.13Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In his new style, he painted nature in it wild state that later stirred up creative imaginations. That’s not withstanding, David became a prominent artist of history and a virtual dictator of art. This artist was perfect in ethical paintings that focused of the moral climate that existed during the ancient periods Later on, the artist gained interest on romanticism as a student leader in France. He dealt with history paintings that made him to become renown worldwide. He was a landscape artist who achieved dramatic visualization in his pictorial work. Apparently, David had a marvelous mastery of his work as it was depicted on the effect of light and color on his exhibitions.14 Some of his remarkable works include the Hay wagon, snow storm and steam boat off a harbor mouth.15 It is apparent that romanticism influenced Jacques to appeal to the human need to appreciate the work of art since his exhibits held standard s of beauty that heightened public sensation. With the new rom antic style, David got an opportunity to adventure in repertoire subjects through painting that made him get exiled to Belgium in 1816.16 David History painting emerged as the most notable works of art. Several of his collections are still preserved in world renowned museums as exhibits. Below are samples of David’s works of art.17 1780 Source:  http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/Survey%20of%20Art%20History%20II/NeoclassicandRomantic.htm Description: Jacques Louis-David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784-1785, Oil on Canvas Background of Eugene Delacroix One of the most remarkable aspects of romantic literature and art history that portrayed the natural world and expressed intense emotion and passion in the history of France came from Eugene Delacroix.18 Rubin describes Delacroix in his earthshaking article Eugene Delacroix as the most influential and greatest French painter and writer in the history of the French Romantic Movement.19 Delacroix (1798-1863) made astonishing use of colors in his paintings which many art scholars claim were very instrumental in developing the impressionist and post-impressionist activities. It is imperative to point out here that his exotic locale was important for his artistic work as not only entranced him, but also provided inspiration for his art and a source for his high and mundane artistic elements.20 Delacroix works Wilkin points out in her publication that one of the most defining literary pieces done by Delacroix was the Journal d’Eugene Delacroix which greatly displays his extensive and substantial literacy.21 It illuminates and describes his paintings while articulating his view on life, politics and art. As a matter of fact, his artistic beauty as described in the paper has been inspired by writings of Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Goethe and Dante. Additionally, it represents unique contribution to the study of painting history.22 Liberty Leading the People Liberty Leading the People is one of the most ep ochal and monumental paintings made by Delacroix in response to an event in France described by biographers as a political upheaval of 1830 which almost caused the then reigning monarch called Charles X to be overthrown by the opposition.23 Spitzer describes the painting as a complex one that is weighed down with spectrums of emotions like despair, anger and grand heroism, and which is pregnant with historical references of the political upheaval.24 It is important to note that the painting characterizes French Romanticism which is expressed in complex interaction of colors showing dark shadows and brightly reflective areas. Rubin concurs with Spitzer’s view of the painting and suggests that the complex communication of colors, like rapid-fire brushwork creates vivid contrasts which augments the sense of energy and movement as well as activating the surface of the painting.25 Figure I: A Liberty Leading the People painting by Delacroix Tim argues that the unique style of pai nting Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People shows that he did not depend on the subtle and painstaking modulation of colors.26 Tim hinges this argument on the view that the painting has broken away from the tradition of painting and instead applied traces of shocking, brilliant and pure color pigment.27 From the diagram above, a person can clearly observe primary colors like the yellow, blue and the powerful reds which appear in sharp notes. In agreement, Trapp indicates that the effects in the picture are electrifying and vivid especially when observed against broad gray and brown areas.28 He concludes that this style faultlessly corresponds with the event and shows how liberty is advancing over barricades that are made of debris, and signify Parisian rebellion.29 Modern Nike Another fascinating piece of art history personifying freedom and standing in the tangled streets of France is the Modern Nike which the French refer to as Marianne.30 Scholars of history argue that be fore the 19th century, the largely medieval city of Paris and its streets were developed without a plan and this made it to appear chaotic. Nicholas posits that the warren, tousled and disheveled streets of Paris with narrow alleys presented major social and economic problems as they slowed down the movement of troops, trade and travel.31 It is in this crowded area that Delacroix artistic work personifying freedom, democracy and revolution stands.32 Figure 2: A Modern Nike sculpture in France representing romanticism Podro describes the piece of art clothed in a drapery circling the hips and which is being spun by wind as a picture that has a touch of classical statuary.33 It is on the imitation of Delacroix’s Modern Nike work that certain works like the Hellenistic sculpture with spiraling costume of the late ancient Greek and the Samothrace Nike were found.34 Of utmost importance to analysts in the picture in figure I is the idea behind Delacroix exposing Marianne’s breasts, and which analyst posit that since the figure is not a real human being, the exposure indicates an embodiment of an idea. Indeed, Marianne signifies a democracy that was created in ancient Greece. Delacroix uses partial nudity to refer to that kind of ancient democracy. In addition, the exposed breast depicts the first revolution in France which began in 1798 and created a new democratic state which was seen as an infant which needed to suckle from the breasts of its mother Marianne, and who represented freedom.35 Class distinctions Delacroix describes the phenomenon of class distinction in the history of France in the portrait below that show a menacing crowd that is partially hidden by a heavy smoke from the raging battle.36 Brown points out that these figures play a pivotal role of representing individuals of very different economic and social positions.37 For instance, the man with a jacket, Waistcoat and a top hat falls in the category of middle class citizens while t he second figure in a cap and white shirt represents a laborer and a member belonging to a lower class. Delacroix message in this picture clearly shows how in fighting a ruling aristocracy, a revolution has the power to unite different classes.38 Figure 3: A picture showing class distinction in France Rebellion and its consequences The foreground of figure I above shows bodies of two dead people with the one on the left side meant to enrage those who see it. Southgate argues that Delacroix brings the excesses and brutality exhibited by the king’s troops.39 In essence, the impression created by the painting is that of pure propaganda. The other dead person on the left epitomizes how the royal troops carry out despised practices of terror. The picture shows an individual in a nightshirt who seems to have been dragged from the comfort of his bedroom into the streets into the streets where he ends up being shot.40 In addition, there is a dead figure in uniform lying at the right side which Delacroix brings out as a royalist and an enemy who in such instances is vulnerable. At the far right end of the picture there are buildings like the Notre Dame de Paris and the great Gothic Cathedral, which symbolize the power of the king and which in the picture are flying in the tricolor triumphantly.41 Conclusion To sum up, the discussion has clearly indicated that the period of romanticism was characterized by flourishing intellectual movement in Europe in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many artists, composers, writers and philosophers responded to the complexity of that age with pieces of art showing the implications of the period. Besides, in the analysis, it is clear that the romantic thought during this time largely reflected organic conception of interconnections, the society and an individual’s life. Bibliography Ann-Marie, Michel. Delacroix and My Modern Masters. ARTnews 9, no.8(1999): 160- 168. Barbara, Gabriel. â€Å"Performing theory , performing gender: critical postscript†. Essays on Canadian Writing 54, no.6 (1994) 237-260. Barkley, Wilson. â€Å"JacquesLouis David†. Smithsonian 29, no. 5(1998), 80-91. Bordes, Philippe. Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile. Exhibition catalogue. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. Brookner, Anita. Romanticism and Its Discontents. New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux, 2000. Brown, Bronwen. â€Å"The Cambridge companion to Delacroix†. Reference Review 16, no.1 (2002): 39. Crow, Thomas. Emulation: David, Drouais, and Girodet in the Art of Revolutionary France. Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. Galitz, Calley. The Legacy of Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Gibson, Michael. â€Å"Indelibly Delacroix†. The World I 13, no. 9 (1998): 112-117. Gossman, Lionel. â€Å"Painting the Sacred in the Age of Romanticism†. The Catholic Historical Review 97, no.3 (2011): 597-599. Kaufman, James Sternberg, Robert. The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Laurent, Annie. â€Å"Painting and the Journal of Eugà ¨ne Delacroix†. Revue de Littà ©rature Comparà ©e 281, no.4 (2007): 107-109. Nersessian, Anahid. â€Å"Romanticism, History, Historicisin: Essays on an Orthodoxy†. Studies in Romanticism 50, no. 2 (2011): 377-386. Nicholas, Williams. â€Å"Romanticism and Popular Culture in Britain and Ireland†. Nineteenth Century Literature 66, no. 1 (2011): 122-139. Pantazzi, Michael. â€Å"Memory in landscape: Corot at the National Gallery†. Queens Quarterly 103, no. 2 (1996): 286-297. Pauly, Rebecca. â€Å"Baudelaire and Delacroix on Tasso in Prison: Romantic reflections on a Renaissance martyr†. College Literature 30, no.2 (2003): 120-136. Podro, Michael. â€Å"Wrestling with the Angel: The mystery of Delacroixs mural†. TLS, the Times Literary Supplement 5 2, no.21 (2003): 30. Pollock, Griselda. The Female Hero and the Making of a Feminist Canon. Differencing the canon: feminist desire and the writing of arts histories. London: Routledge, 1999. Pontara, Tobias. â€Å"Beethoven Overcome: Romantic and Existentialist Utopia in Andrei Tarkovskys Stalker†. Nineteenth Century Music 34, no.3 (2011): 302-315,356. Rosenthal, Angela. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006. Rosenthal, Angelica. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. Rubin, James. â€Å"Delacroixs Dante and Virgil as a romantic manifesto†. Art Journal 52, no. 2 (1993): 48. Rubin, James. â€Å"Eugene Delacroix†. ARTnews 97, no.11(1998): 155. Shelton, Andrew. â€Å"Ingres versus Delacroix†. Art History 23, no.5 (2000): 726-742. Southgate, Therese. â€Å"The cover†. JAMA 285, no.4 (2001): 375. Spitzer, Alan. â€Å"Delacroix, Art, and Patrimony in Post-Rev olutionary France†. The Journal of Modern History 78, no.2 (2006): 496-498. Stauffer, Andrew. â€Å"Dreaming in Books: The making of the bibliographic imagination in the Romantic Age†. Studies in Romanticism 50, no.1 (2011): 213-216,218. Tim, Wilson. â€Å"Delacroix, art, and patrimony in post-Revolutionary France†. Choice 42, no.4 (2004): 649-650. Trapp, Ferdinand. â€Å"The paintings of Eugene Delacroix: A critical catalogue: Fourth supplement and reprint of third supplement†. Choice 41, no.1(2003): 136-137. Wilkin Karen. â€Å"Art: Drawn to Revolution†. Wall Street Journal. Web. Footnotes 1 Anita Brookner. Romanticism and Its Discontents. (New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux, 2000), p.88. 2 Angelica Rosenthal. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), p. 56. 3 See (Romanticism and its discontent), p.101 4Angela Rosenthal. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2 006), p. 32. 5 Ibid 1 p.63 6 Angelica Rosenthal. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), p. 99 7 Ibid 1, p.113 8 Ibid 2, pg 117 9 Angelica Rosenthal. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. (New Haven: Yale Univ Press, 2006), p. 115. 10 Wilson Barkley. Jacques Louis David. Smithsonian, 29.5(1998) p.83 11 James Kaufman Sternberg, Robert. The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p.94. 12 Griselda Pollock. The Female Hero and the Making of a Feminist Canon. Differencing the canon: feminist desire and the writing of arts histories. (London: Routledge, 1999), p.18 13 Wilson Barkley. JacquesLouis David. Smithsonian, 29, 5(1998), p.80 14Calley Galitz. The Legacy of Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825). In Heilbronn Timeline of Art History. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000), p. 6 15 Philippe Bordes. Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile. Exhibition catalogue. (New Haven: Yale University Pre ss, 2005).p.77 16 Ibid 2, p 86 17 Philippe Bordes. Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile. Exhibition catalogue. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005).p 22. 18 Rebecca Pauly. Baudelaire and Delacroix on Tasso in Prison: Romantic reflections on a Renaissance martyr. College Literature. 30.2 (2003), 120. 19 James Rubin. Eugene Delacroix. ARTnews. 97,11(1998)155 20 Michael Gibson. Indelibly Delacroix. The World I, 13.9 (1998): 115. 21 Karen Wilkin. â€Å"Art: Drawn to Revolution†. Wall Street Journal. 22 Annie Laurent. Painting and the Journal of Eugà ¨ne Delacroix. Revue de Littà ©rature Comparà ©e, 281, 107. 23 Michael Pantazzi. Memory in landscape: Corot at the National Gallery. Queens Quarterly, 103. 2 (1996)292. 24 Alan Spitzer. Delacroix, art and patrimony in post-revolutionary France. The Journal of Modern History 78, 2(2006): 496-498. 25 See ‘Eugene Delacroix’ 26 Wilson Tim. Delacroix, art, and patrimony in post-revolutionary France. Choice, 42.4 (2004) 649-650. 27 Rosenthal Angela. Angelica Kauffman: Art and Sensibility. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006, p.57 28 Gabriel Barbara. Performing theory, performing gender: critical postscript. Essays on Canadian Writing, 54 (1994) 252. 29 Ferdinand Trapp. The paintings of Eugene Delacroix: A critical catalogue: Fourth supplement and reprint of third supplement. Choice, 41.1(2003) 137. 30 James Rubin. Delacroixs Dante and Virgil as a romantic manifesto. Art Journal, 52. 2 (1993): 48. 31 Williams Nicholas. Romanticism and popular culture in Britain and Ireland. Nineteenth Century Literature, 66. 1 (2011)126, 139. 32 Anahid Nersessian. Romanticism, History, Historicisin: Essays on Orthodoxy. Studies in Romanticism, 50.2 (2011), 380, 386. 33 Michael Podro. Wrestling with the Angel: The mystery of Delacroixs mural. TLS, the Times Literary Supplement, (5221) (2003)30 34 Lionel Gossman. Painting the sacred in the Age of Romanticism. The Catholic Historical Review 97, no.3 ( 2011): p.597. 35 Andrew Stauffer. Dreaming in Books: The making of the bibliographic imagination in the Romantic Age. Studies in Romanticism, 50, no. 1 (2011), p. 219. 36Thomas Crow. Emulation: David, Drouais, and Girodet in the Art of Revolutionary France. Rev. ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), p. 43. 37 Bronwen Brown. The Cambridge companion to Delacroix. Reference Reviews 16, no.1 (2002), p.39. 38 Michel Ann-Marie. Delacroix and My Modern Masters. ARTnews 9, no. 8(1999): p.165. 39 Therese Southgate. The cover. JAMA 285, no.4 (2001): 375. 40 Andrew Shelton. Ingres versus Delacroix. Art History 23, no.5 (2000), p.742. 41 Tobias Pontara. Beethoven overcome: Romantic and existentialist utopia in Andrei Tarkovskys stalker. Nineteenth Century Music, 34.3 (2011), 315, 356.

Gut Feelings Feedback Example

Gut Feelings Feedback Example Gut Feelings Feedback – Coursework Example Gut feelings feedback al affiliation: Due Intuition of a practitioner The article review has a succinct and detailed outlook of institution of a practitioner. The inclusion of how institutive assessment forms part of the diagnose process our conscience in decision-making. Subsequently, the clear difference between analytical data and intuitive assessment is important in my opinion. Explanation on the non-analytical institutive thinking also offers accessibility to intermediate thought, which offers a platform for complex reasoning. Most importantly, the inclusion of hypothesis for correct testing of knowledge. Certainly, this plays an important role towards development of experience and information gathering. Additionally, it is worthwhile bringing into perspective the rules that dominate the analysis, which induce specific diagnostic thought. Therefore, I believe this plays a significant role in the development of appropriate health service professionalism in the nursing industry. G ut feelingsIt is a non-contested fact that the analysis on gut feeling elevates knowledge to greater heights important for our professional field. The relationship between gut feeling and medical examination lays foundation for understanding of different phenomenon. Indeed, the inclusion of analytical and non-analytical understanding induces a balance in understanding not only behaviour of health professionals, but also other medical features. Additionally, the inclusion of cultural and psychosocial elements for analytical reasoning works from different perspectives in enhancing proper decision-making. In many cases, nurses are faced with tough decisions when caring for patients. The balance of power to adequately care and make intuitive judgments does great justice in justifying additional tests. It is also worth mentioning inclusion of important patient situations that advance exposure or experience. I strongly believe this plays an important role in enhancing proper diagnosis.

International Financial Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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American History Since 1877 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American History Since 1877 - Essay Example However, challenges still loomed for blacks in the 1870s such as the â€Å"Ku Klux period†1. However, since the 1870s, America has undergone numerous changes to become the modern day world’s super power. This paper examines American history since 1877 to the present date. After the civil war, most of the population in America moved to the west and towards the end of the 19th century, cities begun to expand. During this period, America also witnessed growth contributed by industrial revolution thus opening up more businesses and creating the principle of laissez faire.Further, employment opportunities where created during this period and marked the introduction of wage workers. Regulations such as protective tariff were also introduced on traded commodities and to favor domestic business owners. On the other hand, the whites gained control of the South during this period and denied blacks voting rights. The barring of blacks from voting was made possible by the introduction of new laws and intimidation. Further, the relationship between the Federal government and Native America also suffered during this period where most of the Natives were forced into reservations2. In the early decades of the 20th century, saw the rejection of the principle of the laissez-faire economy emphasized in the Gilded Age. Leaders in America during this era were more progressive in terms of pressing for new changes. An example in this sense, involves pressurizing the government to regulate corporations. Consequently, the Federal government endeavored in breaking up large monopolies in the country. Progressive reformation during this period also saw the introduction of tax on the rich as a means of redistributing wealth to the disadvantaged in the society. This period further marked the transition from a republican federation of states to democracy of national citizens. However,

Power, Desire, Difference Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Power, Desire, Difference - Essay Example The specific psychical concerns of the symbolic may have been played down in some feminist writing, political issues have been played down (and deeply confused with psychical ones) in recent critiques of essentialism. The thing is, the challenge to Lacan is often read as, or reduced to, the challenge to patriarchal structures of language and phallogocentrism, which of course in part it is. Lacan's theory also covers the psychical organization, the argument that the symbolic is the condition of sanity; it is not purely about the patriarchal order of language (Chodorow: 1998:167). It should become evident that this facet of Lacan's theory has also received attention in French difference feminisms, especially from Irigaray. Moreover, it is only when this aspect of Lacan's theory is taken into account that the British feminist defence of him makes any sense. The symbolic's patriarchal nature relies on the interlocking functions of the symbolic father, and the notorious phallus. Lacan says the symbolic father intervenes in the imaginary ties between mother and child (Withford: 1986). For Lacan the actual father matters infinitely less than his structural, symbolic position as an intervening third party. In the imagination, the father's place is similar to the occupied by language, in that language intervenes in the imaginary dyad as the symbolic words that rupture the threads of phantasy that hold lack at bay and the illusion of union in place. To borrow the vocabulary of mainstream psychoanalysis for a moment, this intervention is critical to the process of psychical differentiation, to the subject's differentiating itself from others; and this is one reason why sanity relies on the symbolic (Withford:1988). How changing the sex of either the intervening third party or the primary care-giver, or the actual father's social spot, would af fect the process of differentiation is another matter; but real changes in either parenting models or the social position of women and men must have consequences for the symbolic. The phallus is the mark of need, and diversity in general and sexual difference in particular. As the mark of need, it pertains to the fact that the subject is not complete unto itself. It is here that the symbolic father and phallus connect; the former breaks up the illusion of unity, the latter represent that break (Withford: 1986:7). As the mark of difference in general, the phallus is allied with the logos, with the principle that the identification of difference is the condition of logic and language alike. That is to say, thinking as such requires difference. This brings to a critical Lacanian claim that sexual difference is the crucial one in being able to speak, thus think; and, mutatis mutandis, that speaking is critical to sexual difference. The visual recognition of sexual difference is a channel connecting the heterogeneous experience of the feeling, sensing body to something that is strange to it: the differential structure of language; in turn, that language allows it n ame the difference. In short, Irigaray, like Mitchell, may have a clinical issue in mind: the idea that the phallus is represented by the penis implies, according

Patchwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Patchwork - Essay Example This particular realization has made the government adopt changes in policy to help the youth. Although the younger generation are now being employed in return of wages, their living standard is still highly compromised. The real wages received by the youth has fallen particularly for the age group of 16-24years from 2003-2011. The toughest problem is that the younger generation in labour markets has low chances of higher prosperity and real income compared to their parents. It has been a common consensus that performance of the youth employment has been less than impressive in almost all developed nations; but, this book has pointed out that youth unemployment had been aggravating in British economy much before the crash of 2008. U.K. has also been regarded as one of the worst performers among the other G8 nations, in terms of youth unemployment. It has been estimated that 14% of the under 25 population have no jobs and authors have estimated that if conditions does not improve in t he near future, then the situation is going to worsen. The authors have indicated that among the total unemployment share in U.K., proportion of unemployment under the age of 25 is the highest and it accounts about 40% of the total unemployment. The entire generation is â€Å"jilted† because if unemployment percentage under the age of 35 is considered, then this figure rises to 60%. Though the government has been able to reduce the level of unemployment as a whole, yet the segment of the â€Å"jilted† generation is degrading. The authors have identified the problem of NEET (not educated, employed or trained) among the youth (9% faces the NEET problem). This implies that a formidable section of the youth does not have the required skill set required by the nation to hire them. The authors have realized that the problems begin at schools, which later manifest in the labour market. The excessively high University fees have created two classes. The percentage

Deciphering Yoko Ono's Artworks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Deciphering Yoko Ono's Artworks - Essay Example The essay "Deciphering Yoko Ono's Artworks" explains the artworks of Yoko Ono. One of Yoko Ono’s works that testifies to her use of conceptual art is that of the ceiling painting which is shown in Figure 1. The artwork consists of text on paper, glass, metal frame, metal chain, magnifying glass and painted ladder. In this well-known Ceiling Piece (1966), the seeker’s journey up a ladder is rewarded with a benevolent "yes." Yet the word can’t be easily read. A magnifying glass hanging nearby must be used, reminding the viewer that it is their desire to know and see that carried them to this moment of affirmation. There is not so much subtlety in the Line element besides from the fact that the words were written so as to produce the desired effect of curious thinking. The simplicity of the shape, a three dimensional ladder, induces the mind as it makes the viewer wander about where the ladder is leading to. Its effect is that it arouses curiosity and such is the wa y to make others view your work. When it comes to texture, the artwork seems to suggest of the smooth transition as the viewer climbs the stairs. We see that when it comes to space, there is that little space where the ladder is focused. There is no boundary for the negative space and it is this vastness that the viewer is attracted to the artwork. We see that the stairs were highlighted. The contrast between the ladder and its surrounding serves to further emphasize that this ladder is not just an ordinary ladder but something more. That placement of the common ladder makes it so conspicuous that someone passing by would be interested in taking a glance at the artwork. The lightness value of the way the ladder was emphasized somehow gave it a glint of mystery which made it more mysterious to behold. After having read the words yes with the magnifying glass, the whole work achieves harmony with the viewer as he now feels the aura of mysteriousness and the sense of fulfillment. Perha ps the movement in the artwork is the climbing of the stairs, usage of the magnifying glass and reading the words. Each movement leads the viewer more to the essence of the artwork and makes him internalize the meaning of what he has just experienced. I could not agree more with what Bowen (2003) tells us that Ono "Ceiling Piece encourages us to ponder where we're heading..emphasizing the visual nature of this quest by linking spiritual affirmation to the seeker's curious gaze. On the other hand, what is finally found is a word, not an image. This substitution makes the mental nature of vision apparent." Another work of art of Ono is the invitation to her exhibit This is Not Here (1971). The invitations were written on partially fixed then folded photographic paper. When the invitation was opened and exposed to the light, the image imprinted disappeared. Instead, what was left was Onos name and telephone number. The recipient was left with a blank sheet of paper and an afterimage of its contents. The feeling of being puzzled and awe was for Ono what art should be and that is "wonderment". This use of photographs, as she called it, is "a tool with which to picture our world, mediate our desires, fulfill our goals, and yet it too exists in flux, perpetually afloat and ridden with life". The question that now faces us is how to delineate the elements of art in this work. Can we consider the lines that gave semblance to the imprints as having some artistic

Causal Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Causal Argument - Essay Example In the course of the ruling, the regulation was improved to permit States to opt-out of growing admission to Medicaid (Troy 30-32). The law necessitated all American citizens to have a health insurance plan by 2014 with an option of paying a month fee for every month short of minimum necessary coverage. The health plan was shared responsibility, which was unofficial to individual’s mandate. Supreme Court administrated it to be a tax plan but rather not a mandate by ruling June 28, 2012 (Troy 30-33). The healthcare law does not alter the approach to which insurance is obtained, since people can still purchase private insurance, acquire employer-established insurance, and acquire healthcare insurance plan via government programs like Medicaid or Medicare. However, the Obama Care only adds new ways of purchasing the insurance cover and plans. According to the law, insurance can only be purchased through state health insurance marketplaces where the insured obtain cost assistance and acquire apples-to-apples evaluations of plans (Hollander 1). According to the law, each insurance cover categories have their open enrollment times, consequently making certain categories of insurance plan to be purchased only during specific period of the year (Hollander 1). The Health Care Act is a problem to some quotas of the Americans who view it as expensive while others view is at cheaper. It necessitates all American citizens to buy a private health care insurance plan, get immunity or remit a tax fine on their end year taxes. According to the law, citizens who are unable to afford health insurance cost either qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP or acquire support in the formula of tax credits or support with the up-front costs via their State’s Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace (Wear 17-20). Those who cannot afford even after assistance especially when the insurance cost is more than 8 percent of their families

Patchwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Patchwork - Essay Example This particular realization has made the government adopt changes in policy to help the youth. Although the younger generation are now being employed in return of wages, their living standard is still highly compromised. The real wages received by the youth has fallen particularly for the age group of 16-24years from 2003-2011. The toughest problem is that the younger generation in labour markets has low chances of higher prosperity and real income compared to their parents. It has been a common consensus that performance of the youth employment has been less than impressive in almost all developed nations; but, this book has pointed out that youth unemployment had been aggravating in British economy much before the crash of 2008. U.K. has also been regarded as one of the worst performers among the other G8 nations, in terms of youth unemployment. It has been estimated that 14% of the under 25 population have no jobs and authors have estimated that if conditions does not improve in t he near future, then the situation is going to worsen. The authors have indicated that among the total unemployment share in U.K., proportion of unemployment under the age of 25 is the highest and it accounts about 40% of the total unemployment. The entire generation is â€Å"jilted† because if unemployment percentage under the age of 35 is considered, then this figure rises to 60%. Though the government has been able to reduce the level of unemployment as a whole, yet the segment of the â€Å"jilted† generation is degrading. The authors have identified the problem of NEET (not educated, employed or trained) among the youth (9% faces the NEET problem). This implies that a formidable section of the youth does not have the required skill set required by the nation to hire them. The authors have realized that the problems begin at schools, which later manifest in the labour market. The excessively high University fees have created two classes. The percentage

Causal Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Causal Argument - Essay Example In the course of the ruling, the regulation was improved to permit States to opt-out of growing admission to Medicaid (Troy 30-32). The law necessitated all American citizens to have a health insurance plan by 2014 with an option of paying a month fee for every month short of minimum necessary coverage. The health plan was shared responsibility, which was unofficial to individual’s mandate. Supreme Court administrated it to be a tax plan but rather not a mandate by ruling June 28, 2012 (Troy 30-33). The healthcare law does not alter the approach to which insurance is obtained, since people can still purchase private insurance, acquire employer-established insurance, and acquire healthcare insurance plan via government programs like Medicaid or Medicare. However, the Obama Care only adds new ways of purchasing the insurance cover and plans. According to the law, insurance can only be purchased through state health insurance marketplaces where the insured obtain cost assistance and acquire apples-to-apples evaluations of plans (Hollander 1). According to the law, each insurance cover categories have their open enrollment times, consequently making certain categories of insurance plan to be purchased only during specific period of the year (Hollander 1). The Health Care Act is a problem to some quotas of the Americans who view it as expensive while others view is at cheaper. It necessitates all American citizens to buy a private health care insurance plan, get immunity or remit a tax fine on their end year taxes. According to the law, citizens who are unable to afford health insurance cost either qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP or acquire support in the formula of tax credits or support with the up-front costs via their State’s Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace (Wear 17-20). Those who cannot afford even after assistance especially when the insurance cost is more than 8 percent of their families

Teaching assistant diplom Essay Example for Free

Teaching assistant diplom Essay Introduction In this essay I will be analysing what influence the recession has had on consumer behaviour and the cause behind those changes in performance. A recession is defined as two straight quarters of depressing economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘The study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products. The recent recession began in December 2007 and produce from the USA‘s advance market, mortgages were being proposed to people who simply could not afford to include one. As a result the property market collapsed and the economic down turn rapidly spread to the rest of the world’s financial system, therefore there is now a worldwide recession. With the banking world in turmoil there have been effects for other industries. For example, the car industry is one of the most terrible hit industries because banks are now being particularly alert about lending capital. This means that whilst a customer may wish a new car they are unable to fulfil those needs because there is no way of them generating the resources which would allow them to make the purchase. This can be demonstrated by the fact Toyota has suffered a loss of $4.4 billion4. It is Toyotas first loss in 59 years which added highlights how bad the recent recession is. Furthermore, the fall down of the property market has not just changed the behaviour of consumers in this industry although, it has also had knock on affects. For example, because less people are being contributed mortgages, due to the fact a 20-30% deposit is needed, there is usually less demand for new houses to be built because they basically would not be bought in the current climate. The sale of fewer houses then affects furnishing stores as there are hardly any consumers who need new furniture. Therefore, it is important to realise that consumer behaviour is related between industries. Impact of recession on consumer Consumer behaviour will also change during a recession depending on  demographics which include age, gender and occupation. Research conducted by Price Water House Coopers put forwards the most influenced age group is the 60-65+ year olds who are retired or come up to retirement, followed by 18-24 year olds, then 45-60 year olds and ultimately 25-44 year olds be likely to be the least affected by the downturn. The worst affected are the 60-65+ year olds because the UK government implements an economic policy. This means the government regulates the money supply and interest rates to direct the economy. As OAPs rely on their savings to supplement their pension it means in the current incidents they are earning significantly less money than they were in prior years because interest rates are currently at 0.5% contrasted with 4.5% in 2005. This clearly has huge affects on their buying behaviour because they are forced to create cuts which they may not want to make but have to go throu gh requirement due to major reduced disposable profits. With idleness soaring during a recession this affects consumer behaviour as individuals become more alert about their spending due to the fear of unemployment or unemployment. During the current recession it is the 18-24 year olds who are bearing the most with unemployment. However, with unemployment rates presently at 7.8% the increase in cautiousness, and the alarm of unemployment is not isolated to purely this age group as individuals who have seen friends, family or colleagues lose their jobs share the same sentiments and fears that they could be next. This has a huge impact on consumer confidence and therefore consumers will look to reign in their spending. Consumers adjust their frame of mind to being more adjusted towards saving money rather than spending money because of the uncertainty which surrounds their future. This involves the consumer’s behaviour towards products. Luxury products such as top of the range food, cars, clothes and perfumes etc are similarly to see sales drop spectacularly as consumers look for methods of decreasing their spending whilst maximising how far their budget goes. For example, an average family may choose to t he drop brand level of food for their weekly shop. So rather than buying the Tescos finest variety they would buy the Tesco Value range. Research proposes that on average you can save 33% for each product for a one level drop. For a family hit by the recession this would be a major saving and this emphasizes how when times are hard value is the most vital factor for the consumer and their behaviour will return this. During a recession many consumers are  forced to down grade their preferences in order to make living monetary viable. By staring at the performance of Dominos pizza it is evident to spot that consumers are changing their activities. Dominos pizza recorded a 20% rise in returns for the first half of 2009. This is an outcome of cash strapped families opting to stay in and order takeaways as a form of a treat rather than eating out at restaurants and pubs. This means the restaurants and pubs are experiencing the brunt of the change in the recession as equal to 75% of British family’s say they will avoid equally eating and drinking out of the house. This does not however mean that households are cutting alcohol out of their life. Instead British households are choosing to drink at home wi th the average spend per household thought to be  £35 per week. So the consumers behaviour is changing in the form of where they purchase their products rather than what they are purchasing in this case. Conclusion On the whole, it is enormously vital to recognise that consumer behaviour is affected by the recession. However it must be noted that the changes in consumer behaviour are very much charge on the industry and products concerned. This is underlined by the aforementioned points, so for example the car industry, construction and property market were the most unhelpfully affected even as industries which allow diversion benefit from the recession i.e. the entertainment sector and the cinema. Finally, consumer behaviour will evermore face affected. It will be affected depending what stage of the life cycle the country is at, therefore the only way to reduce the adverse affects and take benefit of the positive affects is for businesses to be flexible. These way businesses have the best opportunity of helping consumers to get equilibrium in the homeostasis see-saw which is more and more difficult to achieve in a recession as consumers face more limitations. Referencing UKessays.co.uk [online]. (2003 2014). Available from: . [Accessed 30 march 2014]. Wikipedia [online]. (28 March 2014). Available from: . [Accessed 30 march 2014].

Integrated assesment

Integrated assesment HNC Social Care Integrated Assessment 2 Catherine McAvoy Values are standards and principals by which we live our lives. These standards are many and often depend on people`s background e.g. Culture, class, religion, gender, age. Values are extremely individual attitudes that direct people`s responses to the world around them. Amongst some of the values I live my life by and respect are privacy allowing me to have space to myself and respecting the fact that others may desire privacy, to be safe and also allowing others the same, having self respect, being trustworthy, being non judgmental, being anti discriminatory, respect life and faith, value freedom and equality, value choice and others points of view. I have learned to live my life this way from my parents and their families. The schools and church where I was taught , espoused the values of  Ã‚   human dignity, solidarity for the common good , charity in truth, and the family,   all of   which I continue to hold dear. I therefore try to ensure that I treat people the way I wou ld like to be treated. Because of these values, I am able to work happily alongside the organization I volunteer for, as their policies and procedures represent many of these common values. I currently volunteer as a Befriender for a group that helps adults with learning disabilities become included within the community through socialization, by matching Befriendees with supportive Befrienders. I, as a volunteer for this organization, provide their service participants with the opportunity to take a full and satisfying part in their community. I also help to raise awareness of issues affecting adults with learning difficulties in community participation. I did this in a major way by participating in the collection and presentation of our petition to the Scottish Parliament to request that Befriending is financed with core funding. Although Befriending, to help social inclusion was briefly mentioned as a means of supporting adults with learning disabilities in Same as you Strategy2000, this article has never been defined by the government as a core service to be provided by councils. As a result, Befriending for Adults with Learning Disabilities has rarely been financed or delivered by statutory services. However, the social work department is the main means of referral to our organization and so for the moment receive this service free, financed by charitable donations. I f eel this is a form of statutory discrimination against our client group and hope our petition resolves this situation. This petition has received a positive reaction from the petitions committee and is still going through the committee processes. I also receive continued training, support, and supervision and engage in partnership working with relevant agencies. The core values of our organisation are underpinned by: National Care Standards , which were set up under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 . This Act came about to regulate the care and social work force and set out the principals of good care practice. The Care Commission was set up under this Act to register, regulate, and inspect all care services listed in the Act. It also established The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). The SSSC has aims and objectives to protect the service users, raise standards, strengthen, and support workforce professionalism. There are six main standards laid down in National Care Standards that are at the centre of any care practice. Dignity making someone feel worthy and impressive as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary. I ensure that I give dignity by respecting individuals for who they are. I recognise all individuals are different and I am sensitive and aware of this. Privacy and confidentiality is the need and right to privacy. The principle of confidentiality between me and the service user is built on mutual respect and trust. Confidentiality is further reinforced by the Data Protection Act 1998 . This allows our service users to see any information that is held on them. I must ensure that this information is held securely in a locked filing cabinet. Any information I write in an activity plan must be truthful, factual, and accurate with my opinions to be objective. Choice means giving and explaining different options to individuals. I support our service users by encouraging their right to choose. By offering they limited options that will encourage them to look at positive alternatives within a safe environment. Safety means that I must ensure my service user when in my care, is protected from harm and abuse. If I suspect or observe that harm and abuse has or is taking place, against a service user, I must report the incident in an Incident Report   Form within 36 hrs of the episode to my line manager. I also complete a risk assessment form before any activity. Realising Potential ensures that I must allow my service users the chance to aim to achieve things great and small within their abilities. These core values are represented within our organisations policies and procedures. To ensure client safety we have a Health and Safe ty Policy which is designed to comply with the Health and Safety at work Act 1974. Risk Assessments are used on a daily basis before an activity to ensure that the staff and clients are safe on the premises. We also have Accident and Incident Reporting procedures which are required under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation 1995 (RIDDOR) , Social Security Regulations 1979 (SRR), Data Protection Act , to be reported in an efficient manner. I must complete relevant forms and report to my line manager. If an event requires reporting directly to RIDDOR the records should be kept securely for at least three years. Our Equalities policy complies with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and 1986, the Race Relations Act of 1976 and the Race Relation Amendments Regulations of 2003, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 . Our organization opposes all forms of unfair and unlawful discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, religion, nationality, social background, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age and disability. It also promotes the principle of equal opportunities in paid employment, voluntary work, and service provision. Although it is important to apply positive values within my practice, it is sometimes difficult to do so. Giving someone choice needs to be balanced by ensuring that this choice is safe and positive. Giving Adults with Learning Disabilities too many choices can cause confusion and sometimes fear. So I give limited positive choices to ensure that this does not happen. Safety issues can also limit choices, as under the Health a nd Safety at Work Act 1974 and National Care Standards it is important that I ensure my client is safe from harm and abuse. If a risk assessment shows that an activity is not suitable to the client because of safety issues then the choice of doing that particular activity is reduced. Privacy and confidentiality is dealt with in our Confidentiality policy . Our organization requires information about clients, volunteers, staff other organizations and our own organization. I am therefore committed to ensuring that all information is stored safely which also allows appropriate retrieval. Confidential material must be kept in a locked cabinet. Volunteers are only able to see files on a need to know basis only. Computer access is limited to authorized staff and information backed up and compatible with The Data Protection Act 1998. If a client discloses something to me and asks me not to tell anyone then I must respect his/her wishes as a matter of trust. However, sometimes this can be difficult, especially if abuse is disclosed. Under these circumstances I am obliged to tell him/her that I understand his/her need for confidentiality, but the circumstances require me to advise my line manager in writing and that this will be in his/her best interests and to try not to worry. As we do not supply a care service, we are not required to register with the Care Commission, but we ensure all our policies and procedures meet their standards. As all clients under these standards are legally allowed an individualized care plan, we instead have an activity plan. To ensure no discrimination takes place the client is assessed using (Ref1) PIES . We take into account, our clients Physical needs, Intellectual needs, Emotional needs, and Social needs. Needs were first described as requirements for our survival in the model put forward by ( Ref 2 ) Abraham Maslow , a Humanist Psychologist. He stated that human needs can be arranged in a stepladder pyramid and that the lower level needs must be satisfied before higher levels can be met. Starting from the basic psychological need, then moving to safety and security, social, esteem, and self- actualization. He suggested that not satisfying these needs the person could become frustrated and emotionally distressed, with possibly poverty and crisis taking place. He also suggested that these needs be met in order.  Ã‚   Prejudice as ( Ref 3) defined in the Collins dictionary is an unreasonable dislike of a particular group of people or things, or a preference for a one group of people or things over another. Prejudice is caused by a lack of understanding of something, causing the wrong impression to be created. Working with people with learning disabilities has shown me that prejudice arises amongst some of the local community. This is a small section of the community pre- judging those with learning disabilities through lack of knowledge and so they hold unfavourable views or opinions towards people who are different and so bullying can take place. Adults with learning disabilities are a section of society that tends not to be able to stand up for themselves. They rely on family, social workers, advocacy workers, and support workers to advise them on their rights, choices, and responsibilities. Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, some sections of this community may not receive this relevant information. They do not receive the care, benefits, and advice that they need, or they do not receive the statutory services they deserve. This can be caused by certain people denying our client group their rights and so discriminate against them. Harassment, bullying and hate crimes of those with learning disabilities takes place in many areas, the recent death of a mother and daughter burned to death in England after numerous threats and harassment is an excessive example and result of discrimination. Discrimination takes place through fear, misunderstanding, misinformation, and so as well as laws against discrimination, we need to educate and provide training against it. To try to ensure that the incident that took place does not happen in our community, our organization is involved in providing a training service to the community. I have taken part in training to try to educate youths from the local secondary school about Learning Disabilities. This resulted in them becoming peer volunteers to younger children with Learning Disabilities from the local school for autistic children. A music group was set up to bring these two groups of youngsters together, with positive results. ( Ref 4 ) Adults with Learning Disabilities are more likely to develop health problems. Therefore, without support, they may not be able to make their feelings known and so screening and or treatment may be denied. The need for support to allow them to lead as normal a life as their abilities allow and to access services, has a financial cost to society. The belief that people with learning disabilities, are a financial burden to society, and not providing relevant support is evidence of discrimination . The impact of discrimination on my client group can result in exclusion and marginalization. Psychologically that can result in depression, low self- esteem, frustration, or anger. Causing their behavior to be affected, by them becoming withdrawn or violent. Through legislation, social care organizations now have to be more accountable and have increasing responsibilities to write and maintain policy and procedures. These have to comply with current legislation and exist to protect people`s rights and ensure quality services are provided. Our policies and procedures must have specific guidelines, for example, they cover confidentiality and privacy, equal opportunities, health and safety, abuse policies, lone working practices, activity planning and reviews and risk assessment and management. I have a responsibility to read the organizations policy and procedures thoroughly and integrate them into my practice. I should query any uncertainties and report any infringements. If I am uneasy about the practice of others within the organization or within any other agency I come into contact with, I must report to my line manager and seek advice. My manager has a responsibility to produce these policies and procedures ensuring they incorporate current legislation. Management ensures that staff and service users have easy access to them. Discussion and reflection of policies and procedures to ensure they are justified and explained to staff is encouraged. References. Elizabeth Bingham + . (2009). Social Care: Group Award Graded Unit. In: Heinemann HNC in Social Care. Edinburgh: Heinemann. 147. Elizabeth Bingham + . (2009). Psychological perspectives and Theories on development and needs. In: Heinemann HNC in Social Care. Edinburgh: Heinemann. 86-89. http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/prejudice http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/media/news-releases/newsreleases-2005/14-july-2005/?locale=en