Essay about Romanticism in Keats Poetry - 1049 Words

Romanticism in Keats Poetry Keats uses various poetic techniques and themes to emphasise these ideas of romanticism the the strange, the sensual and the dream. These themes and techniques are the back bone of the Odes which allow the reader to feel and use their imagination which was the main reason Keats wrote his poems. Keats uses incredibly sensual language to illustrate how he is feeling and what he is imagining which gives the odes a sensual feeling of being alive. In Keats Ode to Autumn he is using a large amount of sensual language to try and take us to the place in his mind, his choice of words are hugely important for making Autumn a sensual Ode. In the first stanza he is focusing very much on the sense of†¦show more content†¦This detached second stanza of Autumn can also be seen as strange as Keats is trying to pull you into this drugged place, he is trying to take you away from the real world and into this unfamilar world which is the epitome of bliss a place of semi-consciousness where everything is calm and slow like the stanza, soft and slow with the repetition of s which sounds like the wind. In Keats Ode to Psyche we can see that Keats is focusing once again on the romantic ideals with reference to classical period Godess which is an era he often likes to visit. In the first stanza of psyche Keats is focusing on the importance of his own imagination Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I see he awakens wondering if he dreamt what he saw or did he see it but it does not matter, all that matters is that he experienced it. The idea of dream in Keats Odes is not actually about dreaming it is more imagination and how it does matter how you experience a feeling, as long as you feel. This Ode has all of the points from the statement the strange , the sensual and the dream the dream is often linked with the sensual, Keats takes you into a dreaming state with his sensual language and when he describes his experiences in his dream or imagination he is using sensual words whispering this is a personified human emotion to relate this place to the reader so we can also relate to the place he has taken us. Personification is often a technique keatsShow MoreRelatedHow Does John Keatss Poetry Reflect the Romantic Era Essay781 Words   |  4 PagesExplain how the poetry of John Keats reflects the values of Romanticism. The Romantic Era spanned roughly between 1798 and 1832 and its poetry places an emphasis on the imagination, nature and feeling. The Romantic period was associated with imagination as people looked with fresh curiosity into the workings of their own minds, generating ideas that laid a foundation for modern psychology. Romanticism emerged out of the rational thought of the Enlightenment Era into a redemptive and inspiring periodRead MoreThe Elements Of Poetry For Romantics984 Words   |  4 Pagessocietal purpose of poetry for Romantics. One of the biggest reasons was that they wanted society to pick up on romanticism through the art of poetry. The purpose of art is to teach us something anyway, like public life for example. The best way to pick up on romanticism was through the art of poetry at the time. Romantics wanted nothing more than people feel some emotion and self-awareness, and by writing poetry to do just that, that’s how they attempted to get to people. 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He would fight anyone (John).† Keats lived to be only twenty-five years old before dying of tuberculosis and spent several of those years training to become a surgeon befor e abandoning his apothecary studies to become a poet. The subject matter of Keats’ poetry ranges from politics, to Greek-style epics, to love letter odes to nature (John). Keats became more closelyRead MoreRomanticism Movement ( 1750-1870 )1223 Words   |  5 PagesName: Dilli Kattel Professor: Donna Hermon English 231-02 11/18/2014 Romanticism Movement (1750-1870) Romanticism was a period time between 1750 to 1870 in Europe, Latin America and The United States. Imagination, Subjectivity of approach, freedom, Expression and the idealization of nature will be focused in movement of Romantic Literature. 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It can pertain the principles, allusion and aesthetic thought both with Tagore’s romanticism as well as Western romanticism .The crucial feature of the nineteenth century romanticism based on the imagination and fancy, therefore Edward ThompsonRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Ode Of Spring By John Keats Essay1376 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poem Ode to Autumn by John Keats, my initial thoughts of this work is how the author does a beautiful job describing the season. The way that he makes his words come to life. The poem makes you feel as if you are right there in the midst of autumn. As I read throu gh the poem, it was as if I could inhale the autumn air. I think the thing that I loved most about this piece is the mere fact that it is my most favorite season of the year. When the poem talks about the songs of spring, it tellsRead More John Keats Essay911 Words   |  4 Pages English Literature Biographical Speech Keats, John (1795-1821) English poet, one of the most gifted and appealing of the 19th century and a seminal figure of the romantic movement. Keats was born in London, October 31, 1795,and was the eldest of four children. His father was a livery-stable owner, however he was killed in a riding accident when Keats was only nine and his mother died six years later of tuberculosis. Keats was educated at the Clarke School, in Enfield, and at the age of 15 was

Argumentative Essay Pro-Choice Abortion - 1224 Words

Pro-choice Abortion Argumentative Paper When it comes to abortion, everyone has a slightly different view. Whether one believes that no one, or everyone, should be allowed to get an abortion, the same question comes into play: Is abortion ethical? In addition, when does a human life actually start? Without concrete facts, we can only do so much with those questions, which is why this is such a controversial topic. We need to consider all the facts and information available. For example, whether or not a fetus feels pain, how old the fetus is, and what condition the pregnant woman is in. The main argument comes down to pro-life versus pro-choice. After doing extensive research, I have come to agree with the side of pro-choice, meaning that†¦show more content†¦Every individual defines pain differently, so â€Å"without interrogation, we cannot know for sure what the fetus feels† (British Medical Journal). As we know, asking a fetus if it feels pain is impossible, and a ssuming that they do could be wrong. Considering these statements, abortion cannot technically be called murder. Fetuses are not self-aware, rational, or attentive like humans. From a religious standpoint, I understand why people consider abortion murder. A fetus has the potential for life, and that they consider that potential life a real life. However, stretching this idea farther, sperm also have the potential for life, but many of these people are not against sex or masturbation. Fertilization has not yet occurred, but the potential is still there. According to scientific evidence, a fetus has a fifty to seventy percent chance of becoming a feasible human being. These chances are relatively high, but not a guarantee, and not yet a life. One cannot kill something that is not yet alive. Other topics in regards to abortion are health and rape. Rape is a very touchy subject and still very controversial when it comes to abortion. If a woman is raped and gets pregnant, she should be allowed to get an abortion. She did not get a choice in that matter, so she should have the choice on whether or not she want to have a baby. Rapes cause emotional trauma, and no oneShow MoreRelatedAbortion Argumentative Essay, Pro Choice915 Words   |  4 PagesMary Townsend Med. Lit. Mrs. Averbeck February 27, 2016 On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court made a 7 - 2 decision to legalize abortion in most of the fifty states. Although abortion was not legal in the past it was being preformed on women since the fifteenth century all over the globe, but, most women did not survive the surgery. That is the biggest reason it was preformed in secret because it was taking so many lives. Thanks to modern day medicine and technology the successRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legalized? 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Teenagers Represented In The Media Free Essays

Teenagers used to be the forgotten group in society. The ones who are stuck between being â€Å"cute kids† and â€Å"responsible adults.† But all that’s been changing over the last twenty years or so, as the media realizes that teens are slowly getting a voice in society, but are these changes good or bad? The media represents teenagers in a very conventional way, stereotyped by their appearance, sex, and personality. We will write a custom essay sample on Teenagers Represented In The Media or any similar topic only for you Order Now Different varieties of media are meant to do different things. Some of the media’s many roles are to display the truth, make the viewer aware and to entertain. Most of the media presents an inaccurate and negative portrayal of adolescents today according to their appearance, sex, personality and age, among other things. Most teenagers in the media are represented as attractive, confident and white, which may make teenagers feel pressurised to fit in with the medias representation of them and so if they don’t fit these categories making them uncomfortable with their own bodies. I think the media should have a wider variety of races, looks and personalities to show teenagers they don’t have to have fit in with the typical image of them as shown in the media. The media highlights the exciting events in teenagers lives, e.g dancing at parties, getting drunk, spending money and generally having a good time, but they don’t always show the more depressing parts of teenagers lives such as bullying, exams, insecurities etc, which seems more important There are many TV programmes today that focus on wealthy, glamorous lifestyles of teenagers that come form extremely privileged backgrounds, many people enjoy these programmes as it gives them a chance to escape from the reality of their own lives and see it from other peoples. Although some other programmes look at the more realistic lifestyles, where teenagers have to work hard and don’t just have everything handed to them on a plate, many people watch these as they can relate to them and understand where characters are coming from. Although in all these lifestyles the teenage characters do go through many dramatic, emotional experiences and events. A lot of the media shows teenagers partying every night, always out and getting up to mischief e.g. taking drugs, having fights etc. In Skins, a teenage drama, a character called Effy sneaks out her house in the middle of the night, burns a bus, goes out to a deserted warehouse, where she takes various drugs with boys and finally ends up in a party at a random person’s house where she collapse from a drug overdose. Later her brother finds her, she is then rushed to hospital and ends up moving school; this all happens in the space of a few days. In reality most teenagers’ lives are a lot more boring, dull and uneventful, for example they generally spend most of their time studying, using the Internet at home and watching TV etc. Often their characters are exaggerated as well as events and situations. In a lot of teenage dramas the characters are unrealistic for example in the TV series Eastenders there is a teenage boy, Stephen, who is evil and manipulative, he turns his own sister against their family, while everyone thinks he is kind and good, in real life teenagers are not like this, they aren’t as controlling or manipulative. Although teenagers are represented positively in many parts of the media, programmes such as the OC show characters like Marissa and Ryan acting kindly and maturely e.g. when Marissa sees a man being mugged, she comes to help him and calls the police this shows she is caring and responsible, which is a positive image of teenagers in the media. In conclusion Teenagers in the media are shown in lots of different ways, often as being a problem to society e.g. controlling, rude and disrespectful, this is shown in soaps, dramas, movies and news, it gives out a very negative image on teenagers, which isn’t always fair. Teenagers can be represented positively, helping the community and being polite and social although this is not usually the case. Mainly teenagers are shown in a negative way and their characters and dilemmas are not realistic. How to cite Teenagers Represented In The Media, Papers

Analysis of Standard Costing System and Decision Making free essay sample

Content 1. Introduction4 2. Part ? Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis5 2. 1. Definition5 2. 2. Scenarios of Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis5 2. 2. 1 Scenario ? Manufacturing Companies—Auto-making Firms6 2. 2. 2 Scenario ? Service Industries—Banks7 2. 2. 3 Scenario ? Other Industries That Have not Repetitve Processes—AdvertisingFirms8 2. 3. Standard Costing System on Different SIzes9 2. 4. Variance Analysis9 2. 4. 1 Total Production Cost Variance9 2. 4. 2 Marterials Variances10 2. 4. 3 Fixed overhead Variance11 2. 5. Summary12 3. Part ? —Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes13 . 1. Definition13 3. 2. Scenario ? —Shutting Down or Keeping Open Part of the Business13 3. 2. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 16 3. 2. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 16 3. 3. Scenario ? —Pricing Products or Services16 3. 3. 1 Pricing Customized Produccts/Services17 3. 3. 2 Pricing Non-customized Products/Service s17 3. 3. 3 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 18 3. 3. 4 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 19 3. 4. Scenario ? —Product Mix and Limiting Factor Analysis19 3. 4. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 1 3. 4. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 21 3. 5. Scenario ? —Make or Buy Decisions21 3. 5. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 24 3. 5. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 24 4. Conclusion25 Reference26 Appendix28 I. The Learning-Curve Effect28 II. Variance Analysis for A Variable Costing System28 III. Formula for Variance Analysis29 8 1. Introduction With more and more competitive in global market, costs of companies’ products become more and more important. In this assignment, the definitions of standard costing and variance analysis are introduced. This assignment refers that whether or not standard costing system and variance analysis are appropriate to any type and size of organization, and analyzes four scenarios about decision-making. At last, some relevant and irrelevant income and costs and qualitative factors are identified in these four scenarios. 2. Part ? —Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis 2. 1. Definition Standard costing system and variance analysis usually are used in improving the control of costs. Standard costs are predetermined costs and target costs that be incurred under efficient operating conditions (Drury, 2009). Purposes of standard costing are: 3. giving a forecast of costs that can be used for decision-making purposes; 4. offering a challenging target which can motivate individuals to achieve; 5. helping for setting budgets and evaluating managerial performance; 6. acting as a control device by warning managers to situations that may be ‘out of control’; 7. simplifying the task of tracing costs to products for profit measurement and inventory valuation purposes (Drury, 2008). Variance analysis refers to find out differences between standard costs and actual costs and to analyse reasons of these differences (Atrill McLaney, 2007). Managers analyse variances of each element of costs in each responsible centre to find out measures that can control costs more efficient. 2. 2. Scenarios of Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis The data of standard costing comes from historic costs. Standard costing is most suitable to organizations whose activities consist of a series of repetitive operations and input required to produce each unit of output can be specified (Drury, 2009). Manufacturing companies and service companies have the repetitive operations, such as auto-making companies and banks. There are, however, some industries that are not suitable for the standard costing system, since their activities have not the repetitive nature. For example, hospital whose patients differ individually and advertising firms that customize advertisements and focus on creating new things do not use the standard costing system as the cost of this system is too large. The reason of why standard costing system just can be used in companies which have the repetitive operations is that the costs of standard costing system in companies which own the repetitive operations are less than in others that do not have the repetitive operations. . 2. 1. Scenario ? Manufacturing Companies—Auto-making Firms In manufacturing industries, the processes of companies are usually repeatable. This nature of manufacturing companies is due to large economies of scale. Especially the auto-making firms, they use the assembly line to standardize their products. This can help to decrease their costs. For e xample, Honda produced standardized wheels (De Wit Meyer, 2010). Because Honda used the assembly line a lot of years, Honda can accurately calculate costs of a wheel, such as quantity of materials(1. 1 kg), variable overhead (? 2. 0/h) of one wheel. Because standard costs of Honda are relatively unchangeable, Honda can use basic cost standards. Basic cost standards are one of cost standards and represent constant standards that are left unchanged in a relatively long period (Broadbent Laughlin, 2009). Although even Honda would change its productions in every two years, standard costs are not changed so much. Because Honda changed its wheel very detailed, such as wheel’s size or pattern, managers could calculate new standard costs accurately. In conclusion, manufacturing firms can use standard costing system. . 2. 2. Scenario ? Service Industries—Banks The activities of service industries own the repetitive nature. To decrease running costs, service companies make a s eries of processes that standardize activities of their employees. For example, banks prescribe processes of loan applications (at below table). In processes, the labour standard cost (? 1. 50) is the most. Companies trained employees and paid salaries to them. In Lloyds TSB online payment, the process is standardized. First, a customer fills in details of payment, such as the name of acceptor and acceptor’s address. Then, TSB calls the customer to confirm the payment. At last, TSB send a message to the customer to notice details of payment. At this process, the cost is very low—labour cost and sending messages cost. Standard Costs of A Loan Application (? ) Direct materials 0. 6 Direct labour (10 minutes) 1. 5 Variable overhead 1. 0 Total standard variable cost 3. 1 In service industries, managers should pay the most attention to labour costs. Any employee needs time to be familiar to processes and directly attend service’s activities. If a new activity is made, or new employees attend an existing activity, a learning-curve effect will occur (Appendix ? ). At the beginning, the time taken per unit of output is long. With experience increases, employees take less time to do the service. So the learning-curve effect must be taken into account when setting standards (Atrill McLaney, 2007), especially in service industries. For example, if let a new employee to take care of customers’ loan applications, the time will be longer (20 minutes) and the labour standard cost will increase (? 2. 00). . 2. 3. Scenario ? Other Industries That Have not Repetitive Processes—Advertising Firms Now more and more companies pay attention to customers’ individual needs. Customers’ needs are relatively difference. For example, in clothes design, the designer makes unique clothes for each customer. If this kind of companies uses standard costing system, managers have to recalculate standard costs every time. T his will let managers to take a lot of time to calculate standard costs. In advertising firms, they use different projects to produce different advertisement. Because advertisements have to follow customers’ requirements, each project’s costs are different (at below tables). And this kind of firms is not suitable for variance analysis, as the types of materials and labours are different. Costs of Advertisement ? (? ) Direct materials A 150 Direct labour (group 1) 200 Variable overhead 250 Total budget variable cost 600 Budget contribution margin 250 Budget selling price 850 Standard Costs of Advertisement ? (? Direct materials B 350 Direct labour (group 2) 150 Variable overhead 230 Total budget variable cost 730 Budget contribution margin 200 Budget selling price 930 2. 3. Standard Costing System on different sizes On the small size organizations, the standard costing system is not very suitable. Because resources of small size organizations are limited and they cannot produce so many products, the costs of this system on small size organization are large. About medium size organizations, the range of products in medium size organization is larger than in small size organization, but I advise this kind of organization can use budget costs, because the repetitive processes are not many in the range of medium size organizations’ productions. The costs of this system are also high. In large organizations, the types of productions are a lot and there are many repetitive processes. So this system is suitable in large organizations. 2. 4. Variance analysis From the table (Appendix ? , there are 3 parts in the variance analysis—selling and distribution cost variances, total production cost variance, and total sales margin variance. In this assignment, total production cost variance will be mainly discussed. If a firm can establish standard costs, it can use variance analysis to analyse the differences between standard costs and actual costs. If standard costs cannot be used, costs should be managed by comparing budgeted and actu al costs (Verbeeten, 2010). So manufacturing firms, service industries, or other companies that own repetitive processes, can use variance analysis. Companies that have not repetitive processes, like advertising firms, cannot use variance analysis. 2. 4. 1. Total Production Cost Variance In this part, there are four variances—material variances, labour variances, variable overhead variances, and fixed overhead variances. There is an example (at below tables) about variance analysis. The costs of materials, labour or variable overhead are determined by two factors—the price and the quantity. The differences between standards costs and actual costs will be happened, when the actual quantity (or price) is different from the standard quantity (or price). Standard costs on products (? ) Direct materials—10,000kg at 13 per kg 130,000 Direct labour—20,000 hours at ? 8 per hour 160,000 Variable overheads—20,000 hours at ? 3 per direct labour hour 60,000 Total variable standard costs 350,000 Fixed overheads 120,000 Total standard costs 470,000 Actual costs on products (? ) Direct materials—10,300kg at 12 per kg 123,600 Direct labour—28,000 hours at ? 9 per hour 252,000 Variable overheads—28,000 hours at ? per direct labour hour 84,000 Total variable costs 459,600 Fixed overheads 106,000 Total costs 565,600 2. 4. 2. Material Variances (Formula-Appendix ? ) About the material price variance, the standard price (SP) of material is ? 13, and the actual price (AP) is ? 12. There is a ? 1 saving per kg. In addition, because QP was 10,300 kg, the material price variance is favourable (? 10,300=? 1? 10,300 kg). This means BWM got a fewer price in actual price, because it found a good supplier that can off er materials in fewer prices. About the material usage variance, the SQ is 10,000 kg (10,000 units? 1 kg), but the materials that were used (AQ) is 10,300 kg. And the SP is ? 13. So the material usage variance is ? 3,900 and adverse. The reasons about adverseness are company changed its quality control requirements, and changed methods of production. Managers can reduce the usage of materials through improving product design or use promotion and advertising to improve its sales. About the total material variance, the standard material cost (SC) is ? 130,000 (10,000 units 13) and the actual cost (AC) is ? 123,600 (10,300 nits 12). So the total material variance is favourable (? 6,400=? 130,000-? 123,600). Or using the material price variance minutes the material usage variance (? 6,400=? 10,300-? 3,900). This result is due to the fewer price of materials. However, managers need to reduce the usage of input. Actually the labour variance and variable overhead variance have the same formula to calculate quantity vari ance and price variances, that is, and . Because the process of variance analysis in these three parts is same and words are limited, the labour variance and variable overhead variance do not explain. . 4. 3. Fixed Overhead Variance The formula of the fixed overhead variance is (BFO means the budgeted fixed overheads; AFO means the actual fixed overhead) (Atkinson et al, 2001). BMW’s BFO was ? 120,000 and AFO was ? 106,000. So the fixed overhead variance was ? 14,000 and was favourable. The reasons about the differences between BFO and AFO may have a lot, such as the appointment of additional supervisors, or salaries of supervisors were changed. Managers are likely to think this variance is uncontrollable in a short term. 2. 5. Summary Standard costing system and variance analysis may be used to any type and size of organizations, but not suitable for any type and size of organizations. Standard costing system is suitable for some companies which own different products under a series of common operations, such as manufacturing companies and service industries. However, some companies that own different operations do not be advised to use standard costing system, such as advertising firms. The cost of standard costing system is the most important reason. The variance analysis has the same situation. 3. Part ? —Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes 3. . Definition When managers make future decisions, they have to consider relevant costs; otherwise, the decisions will be subjective or even wrong. The relevant costs and revenues mean that in decision-making, costs will be influenced in the future decision (Antrill McLaney, 2007). In addition, the relevant costs include avoidable costs and opportunity costs. For example, if a firm purchase a new computer, ? 738 will be cost; if not, the expenditure of ? 738 will be avoided. ?738 is called avoidable costs. Opportunity is a tool to measure the cash benefit from the next most desirable alternative action (Proctor, 2009). Irrelevant cost is the cost that is not about decision-making (Davila et al, 2009). It includes 3 kinds of costs—sunk costs, committed costs, and non-cash costs. Sunk costs are past costs; committed costs are about legal costs that will be paid in the future (Proctor, 2009); non-cash costs are these costs that not cause any cash movement, such as depreciation. Qualitative factors are these factors that can’t be evaluated in monetary terms (Drury, 2009) and have to be taken into account in the decision-making. For example, employee morale and customer goodwill belong to qualitative factors. 3. 2. Scenario ? Shutting Down or Keeping Open Part of the Business Many organizations do periodical analysis to compare different profits between departments. If the profit of a department is negative, the firm needs consider a lot of factors to determine close it or not. There is an example about discontinuation decisions (at the below table). PGShampoo (? 000)Body wash (? 000)Soap (? 000)Total (? 000) Cost of goods sold80088010002680 Salesperson’s salaries160200240600 Sales office rent7090110270 Depreciation of sales office equipment20402090 Apportionment of warehouse rent25252575 Depreciation of warehouse equipment18162458 Departmental and headquarters costs380400320110 Total costs assigned to each location1473165117394863 Reported profit/(loss)427349(139)637 sales1900200016005500 PGKeep soap open (? 000)Discontinue soap (? 000)Difference in costs and revenues (? 000) Cost of goods sold268016801000 Salesperson’s salaries600360240 Sales office rent270150120 Depreciation of sales office equipment9090 Apportionment of warehouse rent7575 Depreciation of warehouse equipment5858 Departmental and headquarters costs11001100 Total costs assigned to each location487335131360 Reported profit/(loss)627387240 sales550039001600 PG Company analyses its profit by departments. There are 3 departments—soap, shampoo, and body wash. From the table, PG Company should not close the soap department. Because there is a contribution of ? 240,000 about reported profit, if PG close the soap department, it will lose ? 240,000 in its overall profits. 3. 2. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? About the relevant cost and revenue, cost of goods sold, salespersons’ salaries, and sales office rent belong to relevant costs, and reported profit and sales are its relevant incomes. Irrelevant costs are these costs that do not affect the decision. Depreciation of sales office equipment, apportionment of ware house rent, depreciation of warehouse equipment, and departmental and headquarters costs are irrelevant costs, as their numbers do not change. 3. 2. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? In this scenario, employee morale, customer loyalty, and relationship with suppliers are qualitative factors. If PG make a closure decision, the redundancies arising will lead to the decline of employee morale. This may affect future output. Although reported profit of soap department was negative, its soap occupied 3. 4% market share (PG annual report, 2010). So if PG does not produce soap, it will lose a lot of customers. This will influence its long-term relationship with customers. At last, the close decision will break up the relationship with suppliers. This is not good for its future supply. Considering these qualitative factors, managers should not close soap department. 3. 3. Scenario ? —Pricing Products or Services In this scenario, there are two approach—cost-plus pricing and targeting costing, to determine the price of products. The cost-plus pricing means product costs are evaluated firstly and then a profit margin is jointed to decide the selling price (Horngren et al, 2005). The target costing is reverse of the cost-plus pricing. The start point is to determine the target selling price and then target costs are be gotten by deducting a desired profit margin. The purpose of this approach is to confirm the future actual costs will less than the target cost (Drury, 2008). In this assignment, the cost-plus pricing is mainly discussed. 3. 3. 1. Pricing Customized Products/Services Because market prices of customized products/services are often nonexistent, the cost-plus pricing is suitable for this situation. Companies can ensure costs first and then design future sales revenues to cover these costs. There is an example about pricing customized products (at below table). British CompanyMark-up percentage Cost-plus selling price (? ) Direct variable costs200160%520 Direct fixed costs100 Total direct costs30080%540 Indirect (overhead) costs80 Total cost38045%551 The British Company produces computers. In row 1, there is a mark-up (160%) is jointed to cover direct fixed costs. The situation is same in row 3. The 80% mark-up is added to cover indirect costs. At last, a 45% mark-up is added in total cost to provide a profit contribution. So the British Company makes ? 531 for customized computers. 3. 3. . Pricing Non-customized Products/Services For large volumes, managers have to make a pricing decision. In this pricing decision, the market research is very important. Through this research, managers can determine a range of selling prices and sales volumes by comparing with similar product types. There is an example about pricing non-customized products (at the below table). Chinese Company Potential selling price? 100? 90? 80? 70? 60 Estimated sales volume at the potential selling price (000s)110130170190200 Estimated total sales revenue (? 000)11,00011,70013,60013,30012,000 Estimated total cost (? 00)10,50011,10012,60012,80013,000 Estimated profit (loss) contribution (? 000)5006001,000500(1,000) Depending on a market research, managers of Chinese Company estimate a range of selling prices. In the profit (loss) contribution, profits are maximized at ? 80. So managers will choose ? 80 as the price of the new product, because it can obtain the maximized profit. 3. 3. 3. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? Direct variable costs, and profit contribution are relevant costs and incomes, and direct fixed costs and indirect costs are irrelevant costs in this scenario. Managers have to consider direct variable costs and profit contribution seriously, and they do not need to think about direct fixed costs and indirect costs, as they do not influence the decision-making. 3. 3. 4. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? About qualitative factors, there are 2 factors, that is, the degree of market competition and management expertise. The degree of market competition is used to determine the mark-up. If market competition is intensive, mark-ups are likely to decline. And if market competition is not too intensive, mark-ups may increase. Management expertise relates to whether or not managers could analyse the market information accurately. They are able to determine the range of prices very exactly. Managers must own management’s general knowledge of the market. 3. 4. Scenario ? —Product Mix and Limiting Factor Analysis Limited productions may be due to the market demand or the shortage of resources. These resources include raw materials, labour, machinery, space, and so on. And these scarce resources are often known as key or limiting factors (Horngren et al, 2005). There is an example for product-mix decision (at below tables). Products Component XComponent YComponent Z Selling price per unit? 35? 30? 16 Variable cost per unit? 19? 17? 8 Contribution per unit of output? 16? 13? 8 Machine hours required per unit of output8 hours4 hours2 hours Estimated sales demand2000 unites2000 unites2000 unites Required machine hours for the quarter16,000 hours8,000 hours4,000 hours Component XComponent YComponent Z Contribution per unit? 16? 13? 8 Machine hours required8 hours4 hours2 hours Contribution per machine hours? 2? 3. 25? 4 Ranking 321 European Company produces 3 kinds of components and these components use the same machine. Because of the availability of machine capacity-European Company can provide 16,000 scare machine hours, output of these components is limited in the short term. At the first glance, component X should be produced firstly, since it owns the highest contribution per unit of output. However, this is incorrect. To produce component X, all of the 16,000 machine hours will be occupied. Because components Y and Z just use 4 hours and 2 hours respectively, European Company can firstly produce 2000 each units of each component and then still produce component X about 500 units. Because component Z spends the least hours, the company should produce component Z first, and then produce component Y. At the result, the company makes the decision—producing 2000 units of component Z, 2000 units of component Y, and 500 units of X. 3. 4. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? About the relevant costs, the material costs and distribution costs belong to relevant costs, as depending on different decisions, these costs will be changed. In this scenario, the irrelevant costs include some fixed costs, such as warehouse rent, administrative expenditure and so on. . 4. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? Customer goodwill and long-term strategy are qualitative factors in this scenario. If European Company is unable to supply components Y and Z and just produce component X, customer goodwill may be lost, and this will lead to a fall in future sales. About its long-term strategy, managers must pay attention to company’s strategy. Through pr oducing different components to expend its market, European Company can obtain a long-term development and become the market leader finally. 3. 5. Scenario ? —Make or Buy Decisions Some companies do the make or buy decisions, because its production capacity is limited, or because products from outside are cheaper than from themselves. For example, the personal function could be subcontracted. Getting products or services from a subcontractor is called outsourcing (Horngren et al, 2005). There is an example for outsourcing (at below tables). Situation 1Total cost of continuing to make 10,000 components (? )Total cost of buying 10,000 components (? )Difference in extra costs/(saving) of buying (? ) Direct materials AB140,000(140,000) Direct labour100,000(100,000) Variable manufacturing overhead costs9,000(9,000) Fixed manufacturing overhead costs90,00070m000(20,000) Non-manufacturing overheads50,00050,000 Outside purchase cost incurred/(saved)350,000350,000 Total costs incurred/(saved)389,000470,00081,000 Situation 2Make component A and do not make component Z (? )Buy component A and make component Z (? )Difference in extra costs/(benefits) of buying component A (? ) Direct materials XY130,000130,000 Direct materials AB140,000(140,000) Direct labour100,000100,000 Variable manufacturing overhead costs9,0009,000 Fixed manufacturing overhead costs90,00090,000 Non-manufacturing overheads50,00050,000 Outside purchase cost incurred350,000350,000 Revenue from sales of component Z(380,000)(380,000) Total net costs389,000349,000(40,000) There are two situations—no alternative use of the released capacity (situation 1) and the released capacity can be used to make component Z (situation 2). The Asian Company can outsource component A to American Company. At the first glance, because the purchase price of outsourcing is just ? 35, this component should be outsourced. However, there are some irrelevant costs. They will be not changed whether or not Asian Company makes the outsourcing decision. In situation 1, because the total costs of outsourcing will be more about ? 60,000 than continuing make components, managers should not outsource component A. Although the company will cost ? 130,000 for direct materials XY in situation 2, it can obtain revenue from sales of component Z about ? 340,000. So at the result, if Asian Company can release capacity for making component Z, it can get a net benefit of ? 40,000. 3. 5. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? In situation 1, the relevant costs are direct materials AB, direct labour, variable manufacturing overhead costs, and costs of outsourcing and the irrelevant costs are non-manufacturing overheads. However, in situation 2, direct labour, variable manufacturing overhead costs become irrelevant costs. In addition, fixed manufacturing overhead costs and non-manufacturing overheads are also irrelevant costs in situation 2. Direct materials XY and AB and costs of outsourcing are relevant costs, and revenue from sales of component Z belongs to relevant income. 3. 5. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? About qualitative factors, because a delay in meeting orders will lead to decline sales, the availability of future supplies has to be considered. Managers can find many suppliers to provide products. This can decrease the risk of the delay. Managers have to check products from outsourcing very carefully, because if the quality of products is not as good as before, customer goodwill will decrease and this will result a decline in future sales. If the company stops to produce component A and there are redundancies, employee morale will be declined. At last, managers cannot outsource companies’ core business, because core business is a company’s core competitiveness. 4. Conclusion Through analyzing situations that standard costing system is used by different organization, the first part obtains that standard costing system is suitable for some companies that own repetitive process and are large organization. Then variance analysis is analyzed. At the second part, four decision making scenarios are introduced, and relevant and irrelevant income and costs and qualitative factors of four scenarios are identified respectively. Reference ?Drury, C. , 2009. Management Accounting for Business†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Drury, C. , 2008. Management and Cost Accounting†¢7th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Atrill, P. , and McLaney, E. , 2007. Management Accounting for Decision Makers†¢5th. London: Prentice Hall. ?De Wit, B. , and Meyer, R. , 2010. Strategy: Process, Content, Context†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Broadbent, J. , and Laughlin, R. , 2009. â€Å"Performance Management Systems: A Conceptual Model†, Management Accounting Research, Vol. 0, pp. 283-295. ?Verbeeten, F. , 2010. â€Å"The Impact of Business Unit Strategy, Structure and Technical Innovativeness on Change in Management Accounting and Control Systems at the Business Unit Level: An Empirical Analysis†, International Journal of Management, Vol. 27, pp. 123-143. ?Atkinson, A. , Barker, R. , Kaplan, R. and Young, S. M. , 2001. Management Accounting. London: Prenti ce Hall. ?Proctor, R. , 2009. Managerial Accounting for Business Decisions†¢3th. London: Prentice Hall. ?Davila, A. , Foster, G. and Oyon, D. , 2009. Accounting and Control, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Venturing into New Research Opportunities†, European Accounting Review, Vol. 18, pp. 281-311. ?PG, 2010. PG Annual Report. ?Horngren, C. , Datar, S. , and Foster, G. , 2005. Cost Accounting, A Managerial Emphasis†¢12th. London: Prentice Hall. ?Horngern, T. , Foster, G. , Datar, M. and Bhimani, A. , 2005. Management and Cost Accounting †¢3th. London: Prentice Hall. Appendix I. The Learning-Curve Effect (Resource from: Atrill, P. , and McLaney, E. , 2007. Management Accounting for Decision Makers†¢5th. London: Prentice Hall. ) II. Variance Analysis for a Variable Costing System (Resource from: Drury, C. , 2009. Management Accounting for Business†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ) III. Formula for Variances Analysis Material Price Variance SP means the standard price; AP means the actual price; QP means the quantity of materials purchased. Material Usage Variance SQ means the standard quantity; AQ means the actual quantity. Total Material Variance SC means the standard material cost; AC means the actual cost. (Resource from: Drury, C. , 2008. Management and Cost Accounting†¢7th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. )

Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine Essay Example

Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine? Essay Different set of rules apply to the art of writing depending on the medium of publication/broadcast. Even within a particular medium, writing can be divided into creative writing and reportage/opinion, with the latter usually based on facts. Various genres exist within conventional creative writing – prominent among them are novels, short stories, poetry and plays. Hence, both the medium and the genre combine to lay a set of guidelines for the writer. The rest of the essay will outline those guidelines and also provide examples. With the advent of long distance telecommunication technology during the early twentieth century, radio took off as the most sought after public broadcast medium. Writing for radio then became a specialized field for there are unique qualities associated with a purely aural mode of communication. This posed challenges as well as opportunities to writers and broadcasters. Those pioneers who conquered this new horizon in writing established a genre that was both refreshing and demanding. For example, listening to a play in the radio is quite different to watching it onstage. The playwright will have to supplement through audio the events on stage that are not accounted in words. In other words, special audio effects to reflect transpirations on stage became important. Hence, writers had to pay more attention to detail and try to incorporate various kinds of information into the aural form. What radio writers also did was to improve the attention span and concentration of the au dience, for the narrative tends to be information packed and tightly plotted to maximize content output. We will write a custom essay sample on Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Coming to creative writing for television, the rules are not as rigorous as that applicable to radio writing, for the genre draws many of its rules from motion pictures. This is especially true with respect to soap operas, sitcoms and other televised entertainment. The British Broadcasting Corporation, which has mastered both radio and TV drama over the years, has the following to say about good TV drama writing: â€Å"TV is easy to turn off or turn over, so open your story as dynamically as you can. Try to hook the interest of the audience as soon as possible so that they will want to stay tuned and, if there are more episodes to come, will want to keep tuning in. Ask yourself if there’s a strong enough sense of character, drama, and story to sustain an audience’s engagement.† (www.bbc.co.uk, 2012) But, when it comes to news coverage in television, the main focus tends to be the headlines, with sound bites and video footage complementing the scrolling text. Television talk shows, on the other hand, have now become a time-tested concept that can succeed with even basic recording technology. We’ll now see how writing for radio and television is different to writing for newspaper and magazines. The printed word has always proven to be more powerful in expressing complex thought or argument. Hence, the media of magazines and newspapers are more apt for carrying out in-depth analysis of public issues. Writing for the print media also requires a greater command over vocabulary, grammar and usage. Hence, writing for publications is far more challenging and exacting than writing for television or radio. It is only those intellectuals who can perform incisive analyses that make it to editorial pages of major newspapers. Reporting for print media, on the other hand, is usually about following a set format or template, which doesn’t require high analytic skills. The following tips will come handy to the news or opinion writer: â€Å"The opening line of the article must grab the reader’s attention straight away. This is no different to any other form of writing: a story must hook the reader in a very short space of time†¦this hook must be the first sentence, not the second or the third†¦Another crucial point here is the length of the opening sentence. The word count needs to be no more than twenty-two words for your grab line. This in itself is a challenge.† (Shaw, 2007) Moreover, writers should keep in mind that congested printing styles, where the paragraphs are large and run on with long sentences, tends to put off the reader. Hence, maximizing ‘white space’ within the article will make it more appealing to read. In conclusion, writing for any medium of communication brings with it a unique set of challenges and requirements. But by mastering these requisites the writer can produce a work of high quality. A brief look at the history of twentieth century writing reveals how many outstanding pieces of articles, plays and TV shows have been produced. These masterpieces have excelled in the art and craft of writing. Works Cited: Writing TV Drama: Scripwriting Tips, It is important to know your market, retrieved from on 19th July, 2012 Janet Shaw, June 12, 2007, Writing Articles for Newspapers and Magazines – Tips and Tricks, retrieved from on 18th July, 2012. Harvard College Writing Program, Harvard Writing Project, retrieved from on 19th July, 2012.

Free Essays on Pop Art Movement

Pop Art was a visual arts movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s in Britain and the United States of America. The term Pop Art referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products. Pop Art is an abbreviation of Popular Art, the images used in Pop Art were taken from popular or ‘pop’ culture. Pop art was â€Å"a dazzling celebration of life in a world recovering from war.†# Pop art is in some ways hard to define. Pop art does not describe a style but rather a collective term for an artistic phenomena where the works have a sense of being in a particular era. There are however essential characteristics which make artworks part of the Pop Art Movement. These characteristics are the subject matter, forms and media of Pop Art. Pop art was entirely a Western phenomenon, born under capitalist, technological conditions in an industrial society. The epicentre of Pop art was America and as a result the entire western world have become Americanised.# Pop art thrived in big cities. The cities of its birth were New York and London. These two places became the new art centres of the Western World.# In the post war world of the 1950’s both Britain and America were places of optimism. After the War there was a consumer boom. Exciting new products were pouring out of factories on a massive scale. Mass production meant lower prices so more people could afford these new products. People were enjoying fast cars, fast food, colour television, film, fashion and pop music for the first time. There was a whole range of new products to brighten up these peoples lives. This was the birth of Popular culture. Stores, burger bars and cinemas wanted to draw big crowds. To do this they advertised their products on giant billboards, television screens and magazines. The Pop artists liked these bright images that they saw in the advertisements and realised that by using these i... Free Essays on Pop Art Movement Free Essays on Pop Art Movement Pop Art was a visual arts movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s in Britain and the United States of America. The term Pop Art referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products. Pop Art is an abbreviation of Popular Art, the images used in Pop Art were taken from popular or ‘pop’ culture. Pop art was â€Å"a dazzling celebration of life in a world recovering from war.†# Pop art is in some ways hard to define. Pop art does not describe a style but rather a collective term for an artistic phenomena where the works have a sense of being in a particular era. There are however essential characteristics which make artworks part of the Pop Art Movement. These characteristics are the subject matter, forms and media of Pop Art. Pop art was entirely a Western phenomenon, born under capitalist, technological conditions in an industrial society. The epicentre of Pop art was America and as a result the entire western world have become Americanised.# Pop art thrived in big cities. The cities of its birth were New York and London. These two places became the new art centres of the Western World.# In the post war world of the 1950’s both Britain and America were places of optimism. After the War there was a consumer boom. Exciting new products were pouring out of factories on a massive scale. Mass production meant lower prices so more people could afford these new products. People were enjoying fast cars, fast food, colour television, film, fashion and pop music for the first time. There was a whole range of new products to brighten up these peoples lives. This was the birth of Popular culture. Stores, burger bars and cinemas wanted to draw big crowds. To do this they advertised their products on giant billboards, television screens and magazines. The Pop artists liked these bright images that they saw in the advertisements and realised that by using these i...

Effective Leadership in an Organization Research Paper

Effective Leadership in an Organization - Research Paper Example Leadership is defined as the influence exerted by particular individuals upon the goal achievement of others within an organization (Nader, n.d). However, it should be borne in mind that leadership is not only concerned with encouraging people to perform preferred tasks within a group, and that leadership skills can be learned and exercised by any individual within a group in order to complete the desired tasks. Therefore, leadership is not only about leading people but should also inspire and motivate others to become leaders themselves. Thus leadership and motivation are strongly linked as leadership is also about providing the right direction and motivation to people in a group or organization in order to achieve the set target or goal successfully. In order to motivate their staff a leader may choose to follow a particular behavior to get the work done from their co-workers or subordinates. They may follow a directive behavior by which they schedule the work and maintain performa nce standards for their team members. Some leaders may have a supportive behavior by maintaining a pleasant and friendly relationship with their team and motivate them to achieve the set goals. ... Recent studies have analyzed the important role of an effective leader to an organization for bringing about a transformational change within the same. Leaders who are capable of bringing about a transformation within the organization should inspire and motivate their team to work towards achieving the set goals without any consideration for the pay or position that they may stand to gain from the job. Through such an effort leaders affect the performance of an organization and contribute to its survival in a highly competitive environment. Major problems within organizations are sorted by bringing about a change in the leadership with the hope that the new leader would bring effective strategies to change these problems. In addition to individuals possessing the right leadership qualities, the presence of talented personal and management, effective strategies that would help in staying ahead of competitors and monitoring systems that would help keep track of all the above would cont ribute to making an effective organization (Ali, 2012). There are several qualities that make for a successful and effective leader. Leaders can earn their positions through their hard work, expertise and ability to influence people within an organization or in some cases may be assigned with leadership responsibilities through a formal appointment. In either case leaders need to possess certain desired qualities or traits that would help them to be successful and also gain the support and trust of their subordinates and co-workers. Leaders should be able to provide intellectual stimulation to their fellow workers which would enable them to come up with new ideas and handle situations and problems in different ways. Leaders

Effect of herbal products on perceptions or memory (Literature review) Research Proposal

Effect of herbal products on perceptions or memory (Literature review) - Research Proposal Example Because of the increase in unchecked quality, standard, and safety of the product for use (Starling 2006, p.6). The escalating use of herbal products on UK markets that is evident through the increased sales. The growing usage of the herbal products makes it a critical concern to ascertain its safety for consumption (Reynor et al. 2011, p.2). The women perceive herbal products to pose adverse consequences on their health. UK government should invest and funds researches meant to explore the effects of the herbal products on its citizens. The study herein evaluates the effects of herbal products and perception. The research encounters several ethical issues that the researcher must address in his or her study. The issue of honesty is very critical when conducting the research. The researcher must exercise honesty in all scientific disseminations he or she conducts. The second issue is maintenance and exercising of high level of integrity in the research. He or she must keep all the promises and agreements and act with sincerity as per the subjects’ anticipation. The researcher must remain respectful towards the subjects. He or she seek for permission from the subjects before conducting the research and ensure no to exceed the limits accorded when researching. The researcher must ensure not to invade the privacy and confidential part of the subjects. Cannabis is one of the controversial herbal products used across the globe both for medicinal and recreational purposes. The herbal product faces a heated debate on whether to legalize the drug for use for medicinal purposes in hospitals. Literature search involved comprehensive evaluation of scholarly online indexing and abstracting databases via Google search engine. On the scholarly database, the literature is available by keying the research topic. The database offers a broad range of peer-reviewed articles. The point of interest in the literature review is to

Transformation at the IRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transformation at the IRS - Essay Example he group of people to which the task for implementing change has been assigned, e) measures for empowering people supporting the plan of change have to be introduced, f) the success of any part of the plan of change has to be advertised, so that people participating in the plan are empowered, g) alterations and updates of the plan of change are made, if necessary, so that the effectiveness of the particular plan is increased, h) the benefits of the plan of change for the organization should be clearly explained to all members of the organization (Badenhorst-Weiss, Nieuwenhuizen, Rossouw, Brevis, and Cant 2009, p.461). Ziegler (2007) notes that the 8-steps model helps ‘to understand the role of emotions in implementing change’ (Ziegler 2007, p.45). From a similar point of view, Mathew (2011) explains that the particular model reflects the level of communication between the leader and the employees, those who will be asked to support a plan introducing change. At IRS, the implementation of change has been unavoidable; in fact, as noted in the case study, the Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 has been the legislative text enforcing change in IRS. The above text highlighted the key aspects of change in regard to the specific organization. Reference should be also made to the following fact: in IRS efforts for change have started quite early; the last major effort of this type, before the RRA of 1998, has been that of President Truman in 1952 (case study). The implementation of change in IRS has many similarities to the 8 – steps model of Kotter, as presented above. This means that the chances for success of the particular plan are significantly increased. Still, not all steps of the above model have been used in the specific project. Using the 8-steps model, the framework of change in IRS can be described as follows: a) the public in USA had been already notified on the need for change in the organization’s services since 1990 (case study, p.6); although

Racial Profiling In Canada Criminology Essay

Racial Profiling In Canada Criminology Essay The public and the police encounters are challenged and stressful events. As a multicultural nation, Canada protects its core values such as the freedom from discrimination and arbitrary. However, activities like the investigation by the law-enforcement officials may make people vulnerable leading to allegation of racial profiling (Sean Kevin, 2006). Yet, the community widely recognizes the intelligence-law as a desirable matter of practice. With this regards, the police are encouraged to use criminal intelligence to eliminate the egalitarian ideals making the citizenry proud (Sean Kevin, 2006). A few years ago, the weight and height criterion on police officers recruitment and the training requirements were guided by physical strength and physiques, and their effectiveness at work rather than the color of the skin. Nonetheless, there are people who think that the skin color, non-legally relevant behavior, clothing can make them subject to unwanted treatments and if it comes from t he police it may qualify to be an infringement. The sense of the infringement in itself can escalate a response. Of course, some policies may lead to racial discrimination without any intention of racism. After careful consideration of Toronto Star investigative journalism report and a few other studies one should conclude that the Canadian Police Force have allegedly engaged in Racial Profiling, thereby demonstrating the negative effect on the public perception of police legitimacy. The Problem Canadian policing in terms of its affect on the publics perception of police legitimacy is a debate whose heart lies on the role of the police. The Canadian Police Force also bears the largest part to the responsibility of racial profiling (Melchers, 2006). In some instances, the police contacts with the public leave the sensitive members of the public bewildered. The quality of the police- public interaction has been intensified by the anti-racial profiling accusations. There are no new facts in the neologism racial profiling since there is a long history of biased policing in the findings and reported accusations. Racial profiling has garnered the attention of the media and public and thus the expression that the old wine is pouring into new bottles reinvigorating the problem. The Toronto Star articles Race and Crime The Toronto Star on October 19 2009 started publishing Race and Crime as series of articles that revolved around the theme of racial profiling. Justice is different for blacks and whites, Police target black drivers, and Blacks are targeted by Toronto police are treated harshly than whites are some of the singled out 2002 articles (Melchers, 2003). These subsequent stories claimed that the Toronto police were connected with racial profiling. The Star defined these acts of stopping people as the practice of stopping people for little reason other than their skin colour. The publication of the interviews with the black community leaders and advocates confirmed the presumption concerning reported charges of racial profiling and articulation of Scott Wortley, a Toronto criminologist (Melchers, 2006). The police representative responded to these acquisitions rejecting that they were singling out the black community. Alan Gold, a prominent lawyer and Edward Harvey a University of Toronto s ociologists were commissioned to conduct the Star independent review analysis by the Toronto Police Service. After their investigation the commission made a conclusion that what the Star analysis was Junk science and that the articles were completely unjustified, irresponsible and bogus slurs (Melchers, 2006). Additionally, the police union on behalf of its 7,200 members filed a $2.7 billion libel suit. To refute or support these claims judges, police officials, and attoneys further weighed to establish concrate contoversial statements. The Stars reported on police racial profiling after analyizing the Toronto Polices Criminal Information Processing System (CIPS) arrest data accessed by the Stars invetigative journalist team. The team was supervised by Dr. Michael Friendly, a director of York University Institute consulting service. The database that was analyzed constisted of more than 400,000 incidents involving arrests or tickets (Melchers, 2006). The identification information w as not included to protect the identity of individuals. Information identifying the incidence of arrest, charged or ticketed in broad category included other attributes such as gender, age, skin colour, the resideny status, and immigation. The data also included limited information housed in the CPIC such as the criminal histories of individuals, conditional release status, previous convictions, probation orders, and bail status (Melchers, 2003). Some of the police-recorded data in various instance was either missing or overrepesented. For instance, the least serious offenses were underreported and the more serious offences and known offenders were over-represented. Notice the CPIC only records information on police actions and incidences included information on arrest, ticket or charged persons. The main purpose of CIPS is to provide relevant information in the subsequent stages of the process of criminal justice. With this regards, no subsequent action can be taken on the recorded information if incomplete, the Star investigative journalist team faced this predicament in the course of their investigation. The Evaluation Over the past few years, the Toronto Star investigative report on Canadian police on racial profiling has attracted considerable attention. Canadian newspaper report on police racial profiling is practice that been highly politicized since the 70s (Melchers, 2003). For instance an earlier report conducted by the Royal Commission in 1992 on Donald Marshal indicated that nearly two-thirds of the total respondents felt that the police were discriminating the Canadian-African community. In reference to the interview with the Black Caribbean-Canadians who lived in Toronto City, Henry (1994) articulates that the police-public relations are filed with racial mistrust and suspicion practices (14). James (1998) also concludes in his examination that the encounters that the Black youth have with the police are characterized by harassment, suspicion, homogenization, and stereotyping which are indicative to police attitudes toward the Black youth (134). In other study conducted by Tanner and Wor tley (2002), the research approximated that more than 3,400 Black students in Torontos high schools attested having been stopped and questioned by police twice or more in a span of one year (369). They also claimed that they were subjected to physical searches. For the sake of this illustration, a keen interest must be developed on the articles that the Toronto Star initiated under the series race and crime with the claim that the Police Force of Toronto were engaging in racial profiling. The claims asserted the Black Torontonians were detained and treated worse than their White counterparts (Melchers, 2003). The citizens and the community leaders took the Stars report as a justification stating that racial profiling is an endemic in the crime and judicial system. The Star article series analyzed two independent data sets for two explicit reasons. First, there are the out-of-sight driving offenses where the driver is stopped without apparent reasons used in the assessment of the various patterns of traffic stops. Second, data sets pertaining to simple drug offenses were used in the assessment of the disparity of treatment of both Black and White drivers. In regard to the analysis of out-of-sight, the Star reported that from 19996 through to 2001, 4,696 out-of-sight offenses with noted skin colour were recorded identifying 33.6% of these as Black (Melchers, 2006). In comparison to the 1996 Canadian census, only 8.1% of Torontos total population was identified as Black therefore the Star reached to a conclusion that racial profiling existed. On the drug offenses, the Star investigative team examined more than 10,000 police depositions of the charged persons. For those involved, 23.6% were Black drivers and 63.8% involved the White counterparts, whereas the 76.5% of the latter were later released at the scene compared to the formers 61.8%. During the same period, 15.3% of the Black drivers were held for bail hearing as compared to the 7.3% of the White drivers (Melchers, 2006). The evidence was clear that the police treat Black Canadian worse than their White counterparts. Racial Profiling in Canadian courts The ambiguity of the phrase racial profiling has found itself favoured in the Canadian Courts. The jurisprudential term articulable cause in Canada equates to lack of reasonable grounds in the U.S., which is regarded as de jure evidence concerning racial profiling even when specific evidence on racial biasness is missing. Such an asymmetry has emerged as a consequence that has affected how the legal rights in regards to the ways the police powers are treated when applying the power of search, investigative detention, and seizure. This form of asymmetry makes the enforcement of law and public safety more difficult when it comes to the members of visible minority threatening to endanger their security, in the midst empowering criminal organizations (Melchers, 2006). There is a growing reception in the courts, the public, and the media on racial profiling allegations whose basis might be evidentiary weak or not completely fabricated. The two most cited sources of claims in Canadian expe rience are the Toronto Star investigative journalism report on race and crime conducted in year 2002 and the recently conducted data collection by Scot Wortley commissioned by Kingston Police Service. The two experiences are still undergoing peer reviews though they continue to circulate as grey literature. Today the two studies suffer from acute methodological problems and the research community have a consensuses view that the two are junk science. Subsequently, if any police work lack sufficient grounds or articulable cause then these cases are submitted as racial profiling when the subject of these actions is from a visible minority community. When the subject stopped by the police present physical and visible characteristics that may evoke stereotyping and the findings of the court report that the police were deficient and unlawfully detained the subject then the court can submit statements supporting the presence of racial profiling. The ant-profiling advocates have made suggestions that all police stops of the visible minority population including those at the street stops of pedestrians be taken as presumptively forms of detention of a higher standards. Many have argued that such a differential standard is crucial because it recognizes how the visible minority perceive things differently from others specifically when they relate with the police. Under looking the developments are advocates whose intentions are to drive an intermediary between the law enforcement authorities and the visible minorities which perhaps unknowingly can further the notion that the police are antagonistic and unsympathetic to the visible minorities. Fighting Racial Profiling In the law enforcement, the issue of racial profiling has purported systemic and widespread biasness. This issue in the public debate has a staying power which requires immediate response from the investigative authorities, the police, and other parties in the criminal justice system (Melchers, 2006). The culture of racial profiling can be dangerous to the public safety and the social cohesion. Furthermore, it has became clear that the conventional accountability mechanisms such as clear polices working in opposition to discrimination and biasness are no longer seen as sufficient as they used to be. Perhaps Stars article series were the eye opener depicting the intractable problems that still permeates the Canadian criminal and Judiciary system. Yet, the racial profiling in other countries such as the U.S. has added much heat and no enlightenment to the debate. Some of the effective tools that can control and suppress the perception of racial profiling policing are the establishing t ask forces that involve the community leaders, disciplinary policies, public statements, training, and written policies that work against racial profiling. These mitigation techniques are rather debatable than costly compared to the difficult flawed collection of evidence that can sometime contradict or even support positive-negative views. Conclusion In todays conformist age, it is very tempting for the progressives to be content with victories such as the official knowledge of Canadian racial profiling. Nonetheless, the realization that the government agencies such as the police force are operating in non-transgressive universe of meaning whose value on acknowledgement concerning issues of social justice are characterized by omissions, distortions and qualifications can lower these temptations (Melchers, 2006). The Stars series articles presented police racial profiling as ubiquitous and dysfunctional producing a report that was more cautious than crucial and more befuddling than enlightening and hence the title of these articles. Significantly, this paper has addressed the specific topic about Canadian policing in terms of its affect on the publics perception and the police legitimacy concerning racial profiling. The paper also presented general arguments about Canada, the presently constituted policies in courts, and the lack of guarantees to substantive anti-racism. It now goes without saying that appeasing measures such as training, establishing task forces that involve the community leaders, disciplinary policies, and public statements can help fight the problem of racial profiling. If these methods are followed, Canada can mollify the effect of racial profiling, lower political costs, and fuel the progressive transformation of major institutions such as the police force. From the point of view Stars investigative journalism report and other studies on race and racism, it is clear that the best racial policy is the one that provide appearance of change without a changing of the status quo.

Joy Kogawas Obasan Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I decided to read the novel by Joy Kogawa entitled Obasan. The novel was written in 1981 and told the details of how the Japanese were discriminated against during World War 2. The author's main purpose was to educated the reader on how hard life really was for her family and other Japanese Canadians living in British Columbia, and especially in Vancouver. Joy Kogawa tried to show how ignorant British Columbians really were, and that we still do not fully understand what really happened during the war. She also tries to teach Canadians the culture of the Japanese.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel starts in the seventies with Naomi a teacher in Northern Alberta finding out that her uncle has died. When Naomi returns home to console her Aunt Obasan, she begins to relive the difficulties of her life. She recounts the struggle against the government and themselves while trying to stay in Vancouver. Naomi is very small at the time of the war and did not really fully understand what was happening to her race. The novel recounts the struggle of Naomi's Aunt Emily to ensure that her family would be together in whatever place they were sent to. Aunt Emily wanted to head east to Toronto, but was unable to get the documentation for the entire family which included her sister children, who she was taking care of. The novel discuses the camps that the Japanese families were sent to in Hastings Park during the ...

Different School Systems Essay

In 1867 Catholic’s represented 17% of the population of Ontario, while Protestants represented 82% and other religions combined to 2% of the population. At the time of the confederation there was an issue that the province would be controlled by a protestant majority and might use its power over education to take away the rights of the minority Roman Catholic population. The solution to this problem was solved by the guarantee of the rights to a denominational education by entrenching it in the Constitution. Since 1867 the population of Canada has changed along with the different religious beliefs. This exemption of Catholic school being considered public seems discriminatory towards those of different religious beliefs. With Canada’s diverse multicultural population, is it reasonable in Ontario to consider Catholic Schools public and receive government funding , while other religion based schools are considered private, and receive no funding? The obvious conclusion would be that funding should be limited to public schools that are independent from religious indoctrination because funding of Catholic schools goes against our protected Charter of Rights, current non-religious based public schools are better in meeting the demands of the population, and finally other provinces have began to stop funding of all religion based schools. The first reason against the the funding of Catholic schools is that it goes against our protected Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In charter section 15 it states that â€Å"Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and in particular without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion†¦. †. This means if Catholic schools are funded by the government, why shouldn’t other religious based school be funded as well? The justification of section 15 (2) cannot be applied since Roman Catholics were never disadvantaged in the first place. Also the idea of this funding towards Catholic schools was created in to allow denominational education towards this particular group in response to the fear of the Catholic community losing its education rights. This does not solve the problem because this action does seem fair to the educational rights of other religious minorities. Also the funding of Catholic schools goes against charter section 2 which gives the â€Å"freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief and opinion†¦. Since a normal public school is independent from religious indoctrination why would we then have another public school going completely against that idea of independence of education? We then have cases in which coercion occurs. This funding also interferes with the idea of everyone being equal before the law since the charter section 29 basically prevents any other section of the charter to abrogates or derogates from any rights or privileges guaranteed by the Constitution of Canada. This allows for Catholic school funding continuing receiving its funding and prevents any individual to take action against this inequality. The second point which goes against the funding of Catholic Schools is the fact that current non-religious based public schools are better at meeting the demands of Ontario’s multicultural society. Since non-religious schools are free of any religious indoctrination it allows for a sense of equality being recognized by the community. The fact that there is no advantage or disadvantage being put onto a certain religious groups allows for there to be fewer arguments among different religious groups on education equality. Also since there is no religious beliefs placed in a non-religious based public school it is more free and open to all living in Ontario. Everyone is able to attend a public school without a worry of going against their own religious morals and beliefs. Also the curriculum being taught at a Catholic school is not more advanced than non-religious public schools, but instead the same standard. This means that Catholic schools being recognized as a public school system does not hold any significance except to cause disputes among individuals. The third and final point which goes against the funding of Catholic schools is the fact that other provinces have stopped funding of all religious based schools. This idea that other provinces have stopped funding these schools shows that a majority of Canada recognizes the problems with this type of funding. In Ontario it is required by law for an individual to get an education until he/she is 18 and may decide otherwise. Since every child gets a chance at a free education through the schools which the government funds, why should there be a preference in school systems which the government also funds? Why should individuals who pay taxes and send their kids to non-religious public school also have to cover for the cost for individuals who feel more special than the general population? Since no individual is really forced to go to a Catholic public school by law, why should it be considered public? In conclusion the idea of Catholic Schools being considered public was created to protect the education rights of the minority (Roman Catholics) during time of confederation. Now that time has passed the population of Ontario has changed and along with the religious beliefs of that population. This privilege given to the Roman Catholics now should change to accommodate the population of Canada. This should be done so by limiting funding to public schools that are independent from religious indoctrination because funding of Catholic schools goes against our protected Charter of Rights, current non-religious based public schools are better in meeting the demands of the population, and finally other provinces have began to stop funding of all religion based schools.

Putnams Theory on Bowling Alone essays

Putnams Theory on Bowling Alone essays Robert Putnam's central thesis in Bowling Alone is that there has been a decline in civic engagement and social capital over the past few decades. The idea of "bowling alone" stems from the fact that bowling in leagues from 1980 through 1993 decreased by 40 percent, while individual bowlers increased by 10 percent (Putnam 112). Putnam uses this metaphor for all forms of civic disengagement, meaning that people virtually do as little as possible collectively and would rather focus purely on the individual, rather than the group. Putnam's book addresses several topics of civic disengagement, including a decline in civic participation and social isolation. Putnam focuses on the increasing amount of television viewership and is wary to comment on technological increases, like the Internet, for this decline. However, Putnam tends to focus on what is occurring, using various sorts of data, and overlooks the true meaning of why it is occurring or the positive effects from an average Am erican's viewpoint. The increase in television viewership and use of the Internet does mark a change in social habits, but it does not warrant Putnam's view that it causes social isolation or disengagement. People in the forties and fifties did not have the same ability as society has today to watch television or use the Internet to get information. It is true that 50 years ago, citizens that wanted to be informed on current issues needed to attend meetings or engage in verbal conversation with other people to gather that information. Today, citizens spend an average of four hours a day watching television and countless hours at a computer, but they are getting more detailed information than the people fifty years ago did. The increase in television has allowed for all people to be better informed. Television enables people to get a broader view of current events, including immediate reports from around the globe and every angle of a situati...

Pronouncing the Spanish L

Pronouncing the Spanish L You may not have noticed, but the L in English has two sounds that are quite different from each other - and if you can remember that, you can easily learn the sound of the L in Spanish. The two L sounds occur in the word little - and the sound of the Spanish L is basically the same as the first L but not the second (a sound, by the way, that native Spanish speakers often find quite difficult). In other words, the Spanish L is always pronounced with the tongue at the front of the roof of the mouth similar to the L in words such as love and alike. It is never pronounced with the vowel-like sound found in words such as ball or cell. Phrases used by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the L are lo siento mucho, hola,  ¿quà © tal? and igualmente, gracias. The pronunciation of the L should not be confused with that of the LL, which used to be a separate letter of the alphabet.

CV and personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CV and personal statement - Essay Example After travelling to other countries, I become a witness as to how modernity changes the phase of infrastructure development. Along with the rapid advancement of science, new technologies are introduced together with better materials which gave way to the creation of taller, more astounding, and beautiful buildings. However, I still often look back at the Great Wall as it provides me with the fondest memories and my huge ambitions of becoming an engineer. I often wish I can build something as significant and distinct as a legacy to world of my existence. I have long admitted my incapacity of building my own Great Wall to be remembered for. However, I remain committed to my aim of building my legacy through pursuing every opportunity to further my strengths and competencies which include seeking admission to graduate school. I dream that someday, I will be able to utilize my knowledge and skills through the aid of technological advancements to erect infrastructure which will be mark my contribution to the world. It might not be as grand, popular, and even remarkable as the Great Wall but it will stand as the fulfillment of my aspirations and will serve as witness to the long years I have labored in acquiring knowledge and skills in the field of engineering. The last four years in my life that I spent in the University College of London marks my continued voyage of finding more about the application of technical and scientific knowledge in the design of efficient processes, machines, and systems. These years have introduced me with the basic concepts of engineering but even increased my interest in acquiring the specialized knowledge and skills that I need to gear me with in order to become a civil engineer. However, I also believed that professional knowledge is inadequate but should go hand in hand with application. Inside our classroom, I have painstaking learned about combining science and technical

Policy paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Policy - Research Paper Example Both of these policies, working in consort, and in spite of a polarizing political climate, did manage to turn the American economy around. However, it was because of the desperate political climate that the ARRA was made to suffer less than a full effect on the American economy. It could have done much more, but the damaging political climate refused to allow deeper systemic problems to be addressed. Introduction The UN International Labor Organization estimated that the recent global regression resulted in worldwide job losses at 50 million by the end of 2009 (Taylor and Weepapana, 2009). With demand of goods falling worldwide, global economic growth was expected to shrink by 2 percent, effecting emerging economics as far as in Eastern Europe and in mainland China. Taiwan saw its exports fall 42.9 percent. Unemployment in the United Kingdom which was 4.7 in 2000 and grew to 5.0 in 2008, reached 7.9 by December 2010. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics charted unemp loyment rates that varied between 4.1 and 5.0 percent 2000 through November 2005. These rates begin to worsen by September 2008, reaching 6.5 by October 2008 and the highest level of 10.0, 15.4 million people out of work, by November 2009. A total of 750,000 jobs was being lost per month in an economy that was contracting 6 percent annually (CEA). Clearly, economic policy had faltered worldwide and particularly in the United States. By December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research had finally declared the U.S. had been in a recession since December 2007. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2008 had shrunk to a negative 6.2%, the lowest since 1982. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Immediately after his election, President Barak Obama led the 111th United States Congress through a series of emergency measures. These measures capitalized to his signing into law, on February 17 2009, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, Pub.L. 111-5), referred to as the Stimulus or the Recovery Act. This $787 billion spending program consisted of $286 billion in tax cuts to stimulate the economy and expenditures for spending on infrastructure, State, revenue sharing, unemployment benefits, food stamps, and business and middle class tax cuts. Specifically the ARRA directed $88 billion for direct purchase of goods; $44 billion for infrastructure transfers to state and local governments; $215 billion for non-infrastructure transfers to state and local governments, accounting for such as public safety and education spending; $100 billion for direction transfers to persons in form of unemployment insurance benefits, and student loans; $18 billion to retirees; and tax cuts totaling $266 billion that covered business tax provisions and such as the first-time homebuyer tax credit (Berger and Gaffney, 2009). The ARRA funded many specific programs that sought to influence change in greenhouse technology, rapid transit, electronic medical health records a mong a large number of broad base initiatives. For education, the ARRA allocated $5 billion to the Department of Education to fund programs under the Race to the Top program that closed the achievement gap and improved student achievement. The DoE allowed successful programs to compete for grants from a $650 million fund that would enable them to