More on DesigNerds

More on DesigNerds So after getting a few questions and comments about DesigNerds, I decided to email the grad student behind the project, Barry Kudrowitz. From: Barry To: Bryan thats great that students are interested in it! we are actually in the process of pitching the concept to the discovery channel. cool, eh? Theres no website yet for the project, but you can check out an article about it in the GSN (Graduate Student Newsletter) here. Look at the last page of the pdf. Soon, they will be posting the pilot of the show on the 2.009 webpage, a class where Barry was the TA. Side-note about 2.009: In this class, they helped out the Mythbusters test out the Archimedes Death Ray myth. For more on that, you can look here, or if youre not doing anything Wednesday night, you can watch the episode on the Discovery Channel. Barry also teaches a class on toy design in the spring, SP.778. Melis asked where I found out about DesigNerds. Strangely enough, I was walking down the Infinite on my way to study for one of my finals when I saw some of the people involved with the project advertising the pilot in 6-120, so I decided I could afford an hour long study break, so I went to check it out.

Nickel and Dimed On Not Getting By In America

In her book Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By In America, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich conducted ethnographic research to study what it’s like to be a low-wage worker in the United States. Ehrenreich took an immersive approach to her research: she worked in low-wage jobs, such as food service and housecleaning, in order to better understand these workers’ lives. Key Takeaways: Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich worked at several low-wage jobs in order to immerse herself in the experience of low-wage workers in the United States.Without revealing her full educational background or skills to employers, Ehrenreich took a series of jobs as a waitress, housecleaner, nursing home aide, and retail worker.In her research, Ehrenreich found that low-wage employees often go without health insurance and struggle to find affordable housing.She found that low-wage jobs can be both physically and psychologically demanding for employees. At the time of her research (around 1998), roughly 30 percent of the workforce in the United States worked for $8 an hour or less. Ehrenreich cannot imagine how these people survive on these low wages and sets out to see first-hand how they get by. She has three rules and parameters for her experiment. First, in her search for jobs, she cannot fall back on any skills derived from her education or usual work. Second, she had to take the highest-paying job that was offered to her and do her best to keep it. Third, she had to take the cheapest accommodations she could find, with an acceptable level of safety and privacy. When presenting herself to others, Ehrenreich was a divorced homemaker reentering the workforce after many years. She told others that she had three years of college at her real-life alma mater. She also gave herself some limits on what she was willing to endure. First, she would always have a car. Second, she would never allow herself to be homeless. And finally, she would never allow herself to go hungry. She promised herself that if any of these limits approached, she would dig out her ATM card and cheat. For the experiment, Ehrenreich took on low-wage jobs in three states in America: in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota. Florida The first city Ehrenreich moves to is Key West, Florida. Here, the first job she gets is a waitressing position where she works from 2:00 in the afternoon until 10:00 at night for $2.43 an hour, plus tips. After working there for two weeks, she realizes that she will have to get a second job to get by. She is starting to learn the hidden costs of being poor. With no health insurance to see a doctor when health issues first arise, those who are uninsured can end up with significant and costly health problems. Also, with no money for a security deposit, many poor people are forced to live in a cheap hotel, which in the end is more costly because there is no kitchen to cook and eating out means spending more money on food that is anything but nutritious. Ehrenreich picks up a second waitressing job, but soon discovers that she cannot work both jobs. Because she can make more money at the second job, she quits the first one. After a month of waitressing there, Ehrenreich gets another job as a maid in a hotel making $6.10 an hour. After one day of working at the hotel, she is tired and sleep deprived and has an awful night at her waitressing job. She then decides she has had enough, walks out on both jobs, and leaves Key West. Maine After Key West, Ehrenreich moves to Maine. She chose Maine because of the large number of white, English speaking people in the low-wage force and notes that there is an abundance of work available. She begins by living in a Motel 6, but soon moves to a cottage for $120 a week. She gets a job as a housecleaner for a cleaning service during the week and as a nursing home aide on the weekends. The housecleaning job gets more and more difficult for Ehrenreich, both physically and mentally, as the days go by. The schedule makes it difficult for any of the women to have a lunch break, so they usually pick up a few items such as potato chips at a local convenience store and eat them on the way to the next house. Physically, the job is extremely demanding and the women Ehrenreich works with often take pain medications to ease the pain of performing their duties. In Maine, Ehrenreich discovers that there is little assistance for the working poor. When she tries to get assistance, she finds that the people she speaks to are rude and unwilling to help. Minnesota The last place Ehrenreich moves to is Minnesota, where she believes there will be a comfortable balance between rent and wages. Here she has the most difficulty finding housing and eventually moves into a hotel. This exceeds her budget, but it is the only safe choice. Ehrenreich gets a job at a local Wal-Mart in the ladies’ clothing section making $7 an hour. This is not enough to buy any cooking items to cook for herself, so she lives on fast food. While working at Wal-Mart, she starts to realize that the employees are working too hard for the wages they are paid. She starts to plant the idea of unionizing into other employees minds, however she leaves before anything is done about it. Evaluation In the last part of the book, Ehrenreich reflects back on each experience and what she learned along the way. Low-wage jobs, she discovered, are very demanding, often degrading, and are ridden with politics and strict rules and regulations. For instance, most of the places she worked had policies against the employees speaking to one another, which she thought was an attempt to keep employees from airing their dissatisfaction and attempting to organize against the management. Low-wage workers typically have very few options, little education, and transportation problems. These people at the bottom 20 percent of the economy have very complex problems and it is typically very difficult to change their situation. The main way that wages are kept low in these jobs, says Ehrenreich, is by reinforcing the employees’ low self-esteem that is inherent in each job. This includes random drug-tests, being yelled at by management, being accused of breaking rules, and being treated like a child. References Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By In America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Infertility A Common Endocrine System Disorder Among...

Infertility due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Infertility affects close to 6.1 Million US women during the reproductive age (7). What is infertility? Infertility is generally defined as â€Å"the inability to conceive after 12 months of unprotected sex. After the age of 35 pregnancy becomes more difficult and if infertility persist a shorter timeframe of six months is recommended (2). Infertility is not an illness it is a disease. This disease may not always be painful physically but the pain is inside, it mentally hurts and emotionally hurts. Lack of ovulation called anovulation is the main reason for infertility in these women, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a main contributor to anovulation (2). Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome will be further referenced as PCOS. Women experiencing infertility and diagnosed with PCOS may be asking what is POCS, what are the symptoms of PCOS, are there any treatments for PCOS? What is PCOS? The Mayo Clinic (2016) defines PCOS as a common endocrine system disorder among women of reproductive age (p1). In short, the syndrome is a hormonal malfunction in a woman’s body. Physicians and scientists are unsure of a cause but seem to shift towards a genetic glitch (1). Normally the pituitary gland in the brain releases two hormones, Luteinizing Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone which stimulates the pancreases to increase insulin production (9). The Follicle Stimulating Hormone [FSH] does just that, it stimulated the follicles in theShow MoreRelatedA Brief Article On Ovary Syndrome ( Pcos )1654 Words   |  7 PagesReddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Navodita Maurice The endocrine disorders among females are of various types but the most common one is the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which is basically an inherited disorder and can be received from either parent. The chances of occurrence of this disorder vary from 5-10% among the females of age group of 12-45 resulting in female sub-fertility. This endocrine disorder can be identified by anovulation which is diagnosed by irregular menstruationRead MoreThe Medical Uses Of Birth Control Pills1955 Words   |  8 Pagestwenty eight percent or ten million six hundred women of reproductive age are currently are using birth control pills for various medical reasons. Birth control pills are a synthetic form of the hormones progesterone (a steroid released by the corpus luteum that stimulates the uterus to prepare for pregnancy) and estrogen or oestrogen ( the primary female sex hormone which is responsible for development and regulation of the female reproductive system). (http://medical-dictionary .thefreedictionaryRead MoreClinical Genetics Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt1525 Words   |  7 Pages Association of PPARG Pro12Ala Polymorphism with Metabolic Parameters in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Moushira Zakia*, Naglaa Hassan a, Hala T. El-Bassyouni b, Sanaa Kamal a, Ramy Mohamed a, Osama Azmy c, Khalda Amr d a Biological Anthropology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt b Clinical Genetics Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt c Reproductive Health Research Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt d Molecular Genetics Department, National ResearchRead MoreThe Role Of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ( Pcos )2046 Words   |  9 Pagesis a common endocrine disorder that affects 4% to 12% of women of childbearing age.1 The proportion of individuals in a population with PCOS depends on the diagnostic criteria.2 According to the criteria implemented by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology/American Society for Reproductive Medicine, PCOS is as great as 15% to 20%.2 As stated in The National Institute of Health Office of Disease Prevention Report, PCOS impacts about 5 million females of reproductive age in UnitedRead MoreThyroid Hormones : A Gland Associated With The Endocrine System Of The Body1786 Words   |  8 PagesHira Rehman Professor Dr. Joseph Esdin BIOL 202 February 1, 2016 Hyperthyroidism The thyroid is a gland associated with the endocrine system of the body. It is located on the neck near the front of the wind pipe. It contains of two lobes called the right and the left thyroid lobes connected with a middle part that gives it a butterfly shape. The gland is brownish-red in color and is rich with blood vessels. The nerves that are very important for the voice quality also pass through the thyroid. TheRead MoreMonitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology ( Icmart )9447 Words   |  38 Pagesincrease in patients presenting to infertility clinics in the past three decades.1 Nigeria lies within the infertility belt where prevalence of infertility is at the highest.2 Infertility has been found to be the leading reason for gynaecological consultations (accounting for about 60%) with a prevalence of about 15% in Nigeria.3 According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART), infertility is defi ned clinically as a diseaseRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And Its Effects On The World1945 Words   |  8 Pagesportions of its dna into the plant cells. Monsanto a leading company way back in the 1900’s, had hired a chemist named John Franz to redevelop glyphosate as a herbicide. Glyphosate is a herbicide that’s applied to the leaves of plants and sprayed among the grass to ward off killer weeds. It can prevent plants from making proteins that are needed to grow. Eating, drinking, or smoking right after you came in close contact with glyphosate can speed up the process of an illness causing a risk to yourRead MoreCase Study in Nursing8060 Words   |  33 PagesCongenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) refers to a complex series of rare but well-studied enzymatic errors of metabolism with deficient levels of different enzymes involved in the synthesis of cortisol (hydrocortisone). CAH comprises a group of disorders resulting from defective synthesis of adrenal corticosteroids. Lack of glucocorticoids, especially cortisol, causes various kinds of metabolic problems. The response to low levels of cortisol is increased production of corticotropin (ACTH). LackRead MorePatient Family Care Study on Ovarian Cyst at Crh - Cape Coast15920 Words   |  64 PagesCoast from 22nd February to 26th February, 2010. She was seen and admitted by Dr. Keenan through the Out-Patient Department of the hospital at 2:00pm on the 22nd February, 2010 with the history of irregular menstrual bleeding, lower abdominal pain, infertility and was diagnosed as ovarian cyst after an abdominal scan was done. My interaction with her started on the same admission date at 2: 20 pm when she was brought to the ward accompanied by the husband Mr. J.A and an Out-Patient Department nurse ofRead MoreBhopal Gas Disaster84210 Words   |  337 Pageswere 138071 and 139067. Apart from the girl, the mother and her son also obtained compensation of Rs 70,000 and Rs 25,000 in the year 1994 and 1999, respectively. The claims clearly contained the name of the girl, her parents name, residence and age. Despite this, they were sanctioned twice in four months. The girl was also directed to remain present in the claims court on March 18 and July 19, 1999, to receive compensation as per the claimed letters. Bhartiya Jan Morcha district president Pradeep

Physical and emotional health Free Essays

Crucial to the changing lifestyle of any person, particularly a young adult such as myself, is that of being both physically and emotionally healthy in order to succeed in this forever changing world. When undergoing stress, whether it be physical or emotional, the brain changes in ways that will affect its overall function. When a person undergoes a high amount of stress for a long period of time without any treatment, it can lead to more serious problems such as strokes and heart diseases. We will write a custom essay sample on Physical and emotional health or any similar topic only for you Order Now Physically, an overload of stress constantly can lead to long term, negative effects. Some effects can include heart problems, musculoskeletal conditions, migraines, and headaches. Other effects that could arise Include Internal problems having to do with digestion and diet. Emotionally, an excess amount of stress can lead to problems mentally such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, etc. Difficulty focusing and Irritability can result from this as well. (1) As for a physical therapist, the healthcare Industry Is constantly changing, Just Like the outside world. These physical therapists face many different situations in which stress is a prevalent factor, and it is essential n this field to be able to handle stress incredibly well in order to do their job to their utmost potential. Everyone has some sort of tolerance or outside forces including stress, however, tolerance levels vary from person to person. Not only can too much physical stress over a period of time affect the body on the outside through fatigue and laziness, but it does internal damage as well. Long term stress can disrupt the body’s digestive process in a negative way. By affecting nutrients that can be absorbed by a person’s intestines, stress can cause nausea, constipation, vomiting, and other irregularities. 1) To maintain proper physical health, it is important to exercise regularly and attempting to reduce stress in any way possible. A physical self-assessment I did on myself allowed me to conclude that my physical health is excellent. My resting heart rate was 57 BPML, and my resting blood pressure was 125/70, and after slight exercise, both my heart rate and blood pressure increased at a healthy rate in accordance to the amount of exercise I did. These are average for a healthy person of my age range. My waist to hip ratio was excellent as well being that my score was . 835. After calculating my body mass index, I landed in the healthy range scoring a 21. 401. In terms of flexibility, I scored in the normal range of the 90/90 floor stretch, and I was able to touch my fingers when reaching behind my back which result In having good shoulder flexibility. When doing modified pushup, I was able to score excellent in the upper body strength category by doing over 20, and I also did over 20 chair tough squats which landed me In the excellent category for lower body strength. I have a small frame size, but I am very active and athletic. My body type Is In between extempore and mesosphere, but I am closer to mesosphere. (2) By playing soccer for Marseille has allowed me to relieve much of my stress through dally exercise. Also, we have â€Å"chalk talks† in which I can direct my attention away from other stresses in my life and focus on our team’s system and what I can do to contribute to it. My physical activity routine will continue for the next four and a half years because soccer is a year round sport. In the postseason we will be doing well to ensure my health and continues physical fitness. I have good bone health and am at less of a risk of getting any bone diseases because I am Caucasian and regularly take protein supplements and sometimes take other vitamin supplements. (2) Although my large amount of exercise plays a huge role in my physical health, it also plays a key part in my emotional fitness. Poor emotional fitness is linked to a lack of focus and bad decision making. Psychological effects can include irritability, anxiety, depression, phobias, relationship conflicts, and others. (1) Any kind of stress relieving activity will help with gaining motional fitness. Exercise, meditation, or having fun can release stress, calm the mind, and fill it with healthier thoughts. It is so crucial to have a positive attitude as well. A person can think of others and themselves in a less Judgmental way and in a more compassionate way. I filled out a few questionnaires about happiness. For example, a questionnaire called the PERM (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment), and it stated that I scored higher than 99% of people my age and higher than 98% of my gender by scoring a 9. 67/10. (3) Another questionnaire I took called the Rare Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SIRS) showed that I have had more stress than normal in the last 6 months. (4) This is most likely because I started college classes and college soccer. My life has changed a lot in the past 6 months, but I am coping with everything in a professional manner. The stress has not been affecting me in a negative way. In fact, all of this stress has been motivating me to do my best. It is a good idea to try to channel the bad things in your life into things that will push and motivate you to do your best. I can improve my physical health by directing my focus to the most important things in my life. I can also focus on form by letting my mind wander less and focusing on the mechanics of my efforts. In terms of working out and staying with a routine, Just getting myself to the gym is half the battle because until I get there, there are a million other distractions getting in the way. (5) In order to achieve my goals, I must be more dedicated than I previously was by having self-esteem, a positive attitude, and the will to succeed and become the best version of myself I can be. The improvement of my emotional fitness can be improved in a way that is parallel to improving my physical health because they correlate with each other. If I improve one, then that will improve the other. To specifically work on keeping my current emotional fitness or even improving it, I must work on setting reasonable goals for myself and get creative when tracking my progress. For example, if I plan to run 3 miles a day for three times a week, then I should get a map of your Missouri, draw a line across it, and trace a specific number of miles along the line for each eek I meet my goal. 5) Being able to visualize my goals in my head and how I am going to reach them will automatically give me a positive mindset. As long as I continue to do this, or do it more often, I will improve my emotional fitness. As a physical therapist, it is important to have optimal physical health and emotional fitness. A APT will be more effective if he or she is a model for what the patients want to be come. They will be able to handle many situations in the forever-changing healthcare industry if they are emotionally stable as well. If I continue to stay hectically fit when I eventually get a Job in physical therapy, then I will be more physical self-assessment that I filled out said that overall I had excellent physical health in all areas. Along with that, the two emotional fitness questionnaires gave me results indicating that although I have been somewhat stressed, I still remain positive and have excellent emotional fitness. As long as I continue to work towards becoming the best I can be in every way possible while maintaining a positive attitude, I will have no problem becoming a physical therapist that others look up to. How to cite Physical and emotional health, Papers

Accounting Is Important For Growth Sustainabilityâ€Free Samples

Question: What is the importance of financial reporting among the SMES in Jaipur, India? Answer: Introduction Accounting is very important for the growth and sustainability of both old as well as new businesses globally. The financial books, therefore, need to be in top shape every year in order for other activities to run smoothly and improve profitability. Moreover, proper accounting of financials of the businesses enhances the future trends of the business in terms of making decisions (Guthrie and Parker, 2014). This calls for efficient and long-term plans in terms of accounting for a business because the accounting needs are likely to increase as the business grows. In this case, the international financial reporting framework needs to be adopted because it is associated with several merits (Jorissen et al., 2017). Project Objective To determine the effectiveness of financial accounting report statements in SMEs in Jaipur, India. Project Scope The importance of financial accounts in the businesses cannot be underestimated. The scope of this study will be to focus on non listed private limited liability entities in the financial sector such as banks and other privately owned firms and companies. The SMEs will thus be selected from this class of businesses and their financial statements analyzed. Literature review Accurate financial reporting also gives the investors the willingness and confidence to invest in the business. Moreover, accurate finance reports lead to low costs of capital and ensure that the resources in a business are allocated wisely on the basis of economic development (Suddaby et al., 2015). This calls for the internationally recognized accounting standards to be used because they are of top quality. Another advantage of the global accounting standards in a business is that they can be shared, understood and embraced by several setters of standards globally. Although there are some domestic setters of financial standards, but they need to be in agreement with global setters. In this case, the basic theory of financial standards is not just theory but should be based on support. Since there are very many global standards which act as a financial to global accounting and auditing, the standards adopted should be able to achieve some results. Be hiring a reputable company to ta ke care of the accounting needs of a business, it could be possible to be moving in the right direction in terms of accounting. This makes it possible to fill in some gaps which exist in global accounting which could lead to enhanced business performance. There are some functions of business transactions such as payrolls and ledger books which are almost a daily part of any business (Armstrong et al., 2015). These transactions are carried out on the basis of a set routine and protocol which do not necessarily require expertise in business. In some cases, this can be very dangerous to the company because global accounting standards are very crucial in minimizing errors. In this case, a research will be carried out to determine the use of SMEs in Jaipur city in India. Lack of proper accounting in business is identified with various problems which can negatively affect the continuity and overall performance of a business. For instance, inappropriate accounting makes it difficult for a business to open operations in new markets (Guthrie and Parker, 2014). With increasing varied needs for various market segments, the financial companies face a lot of pressure in an effort to meet the clients' needs. As the shortage of labor increases, so does the companies become in need of talents for its employees. With the young generation adopting technologies, when they retire from service, it becomes important for a company to get other talented people so that they can create plans for the future business operations (Kaya and Koch, 2015). Moreover, there are challenges in creating a team of internal employees who can demonstrate leadership abilities. Such leaders are very crucial for the continuity of the business upon retirement. However, the challenges being faced by businesses in terms of financial accounting and auditing create problems. If some talented leaders would be trained, they would become experts in solving some of the problems that the business might face in the course of its operations (Van Auken and Carraher, 2013). Such motivated and talented employees who possess the best qualities for business operations can thus be an asset because they determine the way in which the customers, employees, and investors perceive the company (Leuz and Wysocki, 2016). However, if the resources are not appropriately allocated due to poor financial reporting, then it becomes difficult for the business to obtain external help in molding the team of next generation leaders who would build the reputation of the business. Justification There are several problems which are associated with lack of proper financial accounting among the SMEs. Most of these classes of business do not adopt the international accounting standards and may mostly rely on their accountants. This could lead to improper decision making which affects the profitability of the business due to failure in meeting the requirements of the business. Another problem which emanates from improper financial reporting is that there are problems with regards to adoption of technology. Some businesses are so reluctant in coping and keeping abreast with the ever-changing trends in technology in order to meet the needs of the customers. Moreover, poor financial reporting could make it difficult to handle the expectations of the clients. This is because nearly every client expects to receive top quality services so that the problems that they are facing can be solved within a short time. It becomes wise that financial reporting companies maintain the customers who are of the same type in terms of meeting their expectations. Secondary research questions Based on the initial aim of determining the level of use of the financial reporting systems in Jaipur, the following research questions will be addressed: Which SMEs are the largest users of financial statements? What are the various ways in which the financial statement reports are used? What is the level of independence in terms of carrying out audits are various SMEs subjected to? Are there any merits or demerits associated with the use of financial statements in accounting? Are there any variations in terms of the quality of the financial reports generated by the SMEs? Research design and methodology Since there are variations and varied arguments on whether to use the qualitative or quantitative methods, this study will adopt the mixed methods. The mixed method will apply many data collection methods in terms of interviews and questionnaire surveys. This will allow the detailed investigation of financial reporting among the SMEs in India by use of several perspectives, a step which will increase the confidence of the researcher on the obtained data and results. The use of multiple sources will enhance a complete and holistic form of data collection for this research. As a result, elements of both the qualitative as well as the quantitative data collection methods will be used. This is because there is a wide range of research questions which needs to be answered to meet the requirements of this research. Some of these research questions are more of descriptive and exploratory, necessitating the use of mixed methods. Qualitative research More specifically, the inclusion of the qualitative aspects of data collection, will make it possible to understand the complex nature of the aspects that are being studied and hence a clear understanding. Since the accounting processes involve the human behaviors, the mixed research will help in gaining an understanding of the nature of usage of accounting information. The qualitative research will therefore use a detailed questionnaire which will have both open ended as well as closed ended questions. Therefore, the concurrent triangulation research approach will be used such that the quantitative and qualitative data collected will be analyzed separately but interpreted together. Quantitative research For the quantitative methodology, well structured interviews will be conducted to the same number of respondents on phone as well as face to face. This will ensure that each of the interviews will have the same set of questions. As such, comparisons between various types of SMEs will be easily made based on the aggregation of the obtained answers. Sample size In this case, all people of 18 years and above will be included in this study. This will be done in order to ensure that the perceptions of social media marketing in financial institutions were covered throughout all ages. More so, the various SMEs in Jaipur city will be interviewed in order to get their reactions and views concerning financial accounting and auditing in decision-making processes (Vander Bauwhede et al., 2015). Having identified the population, it is important for the researcher to draw a sample from the population. This sample is representative of the population being studied and hence the findings of the sample population can be interpreted on to represent the study population (Charan Biswas, 2013). In this research, the sample size will be 150,000 SMEs in Jaipur city of India. Sampling In this study, simple random sampling technique will be used to interview respondents, answer the research questions and test the hypothesis. A pilot study will be carried out before the main study in order to determine the effectiveness of the data collection tool before the main survey. Variables The variables in this research will be classified as dependent (that the researcher is interested in) and independent (affects the dependent variables). The dependent variables will include age, gender of the respondents. The independent variables will include the nature of the business, whether they use the standard financial accounting standards, level of effectiveness of the financial statements, nature of the business and whether they file the tax returns. Data collection Having chosen the sample for this study, forms of informed consent will be sent to the study participants electronically and by hand delivery. The purpose of the study will be explained to the participants and responses will be promised to be confidential and only compiled together with the views of other participants to make a general conclusion and recommendation. The questionnaires will be sent to the respondents via their email addresses while others will be delivered by hand by the research assistants. The participants will be asked to submit the filled questionnaires back to the researcher after three days. The responses received from the questionnaires and interviews will be entered in Microsoft excel, edited and coded as appropriate. The data will be exported into SPSS version 17 data analysis software, analyzed and data presented using descriptive statistics such as means, mode percentages, 5-likert scale and standard deviations. The summaries of the results will be visually presented in forms of tables, charts, and graphs. Moreover, multilinear regression model will be used to find out the use of financial accounting in SMEs. Data analysis The responses received from the questionnaires will be entered in Microsoft excel, edited and coded as appropriate. The data will then be exported into SPSS version 17 data analysis software, analyzed and data presented using descriptive statistics such as means, mode percentages, 5-likert scale and standard deviations. The summaries of the results will be visually presented in forms of tables, charts, and graphs. Moreover, multilinear regression model will be used to find out the effectiveness of financial reporting for SMEs. While the multi-linear regression controls the effects on independent variables, it will also offer information concerning the effects of independent variables. Conclusion It is expected that most of the SMEs that uses financial reporting are banks, tax authorities and some management entities. For the case of large SMEs, the financiers are the biggest users of accounting (Brouwer and Hoogendoorn, 2017). Since the directors form the majority of the shareholders of the SMEs, several sources of information are used for the purposes of decision making. In this case, the SMEs statements are expected to be the biggest source of information for the purpose of decision making. There is a likelihood of using both internal as well as external sources of financial accounting reporting standards (Valentinetti et al., 2016). Most of the tax liability by the directors of the SMEs can be estimated using financial statement. Reliability and validity The use of mixed methods in research is associated with threats to the validity and reliability of the results obtained. For the primary data a test for validity and reliability will be conducted to find out whether the same results can be reproducible. However, for secondary data, there will be no need of carrying out the test because the data will have already been published and signed as passed in the financial statements of various SMEs. Research limitations Some of the limitations of the methodology in this research will be in terms of the long time and effort required. Moreover, the research will require more resources in order to collect enough information to answer the set-out research questions. While many sources of information will be used in order to be confident with the research findings, most likely some of the information obtained might not be collaborative and hence there could be a possibility of the discrepancy of results. Most of the respondents who will be considered in this research are those who have sound business enterprises. Since some of the respondents who will be out of reach will be sent the questionnaires, there might be a possibility of bias in terms of ability to read, write or use internet services. Time plan Activity/ time 2016 May June July August Sept Literature search Proposal preparation Data collection Data analysis Thesis writing Thesis submission Reference List Armstrong, C., Guay, W.R., Mehran, H. and Weber, J., 2015. The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance: A review of the evidence and the implications for banking firms and the financial services industry. Brouwer, A. and Hoogendoorn, M., 2017. The role and current status of IFRS in the completion of national accounting rulesEvidence from the Netherlands. Accounting in Europe, pp.1-13. Charan, J., Biswas, T. (2013). How to calculate sample size for different study designs in medical research?. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 35(2), 121. Guthrie, J. and D. Parker, L., 2014. The global accounting academic: what counts!.Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal,27(1), pp.2-14. Jorissen, A., Britton, A., van Mourik, C., Hoogendoorn, M. and Alexander, D., 2017. International Financial Reporting and Analysis. Kaya, D. and Koch, M., 2015. Countries adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs)early empirical evidence. Accounting and Business Research, 45(1), pp.93-120. Leuz, C. and Wysocki, P.D., 2016. The economics of disclosure and financial reporting regulation: Evidence and suggestions for future research. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(2), pp.525-622. Mulvey, G. J. (2015). Ethics in research. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 96(3), 477-479. Suddaby, R., Saxton, G.D. and Gunz, S., 2015. Twittering change: The institutional work of domain change in accounting expertise.Accounting, Organizations and Society,45, pp.52-68. Valentinetti, D., Rea, M.A. and Basile, C., 2016. Differences between national reporting practices and IFRS for SMEs presentation and disclosure requirements: Evidence from Italy. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 6(2), pp.146-174. Van Auken, H. and Carraher, S., 2013. Influences on frequency of preparation of financial statements among SMEs. Journal of Innovation Management, 1(1), pp.143-157. Vander Bauwhede, H., De Meyere, M. and Van Cauwenberge, P., 2015. Financial reporting quality and the cost of debt of SMEs. Small Business Economics, 45(1), pp.149-164.

Value Added

Introduction Conventional financial reporting shows the firm’s disclose of the financial position of a firm (balance sheet), the financial performance of the firm (income statement), and the movement of cash flow (cash flow statement) (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Value Added specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although these statements are very useful over time, they fail to give important information about the total productivity of the firm and the share of each team involved in the management of resources: shareholders, workers, government, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004). Therefore, this paper will attempt to show firm’s value addition and how it is distributed to the stakeholders. Value Added According to Haslam and Neale (2000) value added is the accumulation of the wealth earned through productive utilization of the company’s r esources such as assets before it is distributed to the owners, government, customers, creditors, employees, suppliers and the public in general. Value added as defined by Riahi-Belkaoui (1992) is the return generated by the firm to its owners, government, workers, and capital providers such as creditors, supplier and bondholders and it can be calculated by adding earnings before tax to the financing costs (interest) and payroll costs. Similarly, value added may be calculated by subtracting costs incurred during purchasing of the services or goods from the sales revenue. Additionally, the difference between output and input explains effectively the concept of value added, and in reality this is what is used by the government in calculating value added tax. Wood (1978) defines value added as a measure of the wealth added or created and distributed by the company through an activity like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to various firm’s stakeholders such as shareholders, government, creditors, suppliers, customers among others. Thus, it measures net instead of firm’s gross output. In addition, International Labour Organisation, IMF, OECD, UN, Economic Commission for Europe and World Bank (2004) defines value added as the variance between firm’s output value created in a certain period and the firm’s input value acquired or purchased from various companies in order to produce the output. In the form of an equation, value added can be illustrated as shown below; Value Added = Value of the Outputs – Value of the InputsAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are two ways in which value added can be classified; Gross Value Added (GVA) and Net Value Added (NVA). GVA is determined by adding up sales revenue to any other income generated from various sources or services less purchased services or raw materials from other c ompanies (Mandal and Goswami, 2008). GVA can be used to gauge contribution towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) made by the industry or sector or individual producer (OECD, 2001). On the other hand, NVA is the variance between depreciation and the GVA. NVA may also be determined through the producer or manufacturer prices or factor prices or basic prices (Eurostat, 2010). To begin with Cox (1979) proposed two methods that can be used to calculate value added; additive method and subtractive method. Under the additive method, value added is determined as follows; Value Added = Profit/Earnings before taxes + Employees’ cost + Depreciation + Taxation + Interest charges The additive method equation illustrates how wealth can be distributed to the creditors, employees, and government among other stakeholders. On the other hand, subtractive method describes how wealth is earned or created and the following formula can be used to determine the value added; Value Added = Sales + Services’ income – Cost of sales/ Services purchased This means that, in order to determine the value added one must use income statement, which indicates the loss or profit made by the company over a certain period like one year or quarter of semi-annual, and how it is calculated as well as appropriated. And just like income statement, value-added statement indicates value added by the firm over a period of time as well as how it is determined and appropriated to the stakeholders.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Value Added specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, returns allocated to employees include salaries, wages and the staff expenses; to government include corporation tax and income tax; to shareholders is dividends; to business is retained profits; and financiers is the share capital’s dividends and interest on the loan. In simple terms, profit is determined by subtracting all business costs from sales. While value added is variance between revenue obtained after selling the company’s product and services and raw materials costs purchased to manufacture these services or goods. Indeed, profit is the value added less the costs of value addition by the firm. An Example To show the Value-Added Statement Analysis, BT Plc is used as an example. The following table show the value added that is computed from the BT Plc financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2011. From the statement, the BT Plc’s value added is  £10,355 million, which also applies to various stakeholders.  £ â€Å"million† Sales Revenue/Turnover 20,449 Less: Cost of materials/ services bought 10,094 Value Added 10,355 Applied To Employees (Wages Salaries) 4,798 To Providers of Finance (Lenders – Interest) 861 To Providers of Capital (Shareholders – Dividend) 543 To Government (Payment of Corporation Tax, Income Tax) 21 3 To Maintenance and Expansion of Assets (Depreciation Retained Profits) 3,940 10,355 Table 1: BT Plc Value-Added Statement The value-added concept is an important tool for appraising the firm’s performance whose operations have an effect on the economic and social well-being of the society. It recognises various contributors who have made contributions to the process of generating the value like the government, shareholders, financiers and employees. Relationship between value added, cash flow and profit and firm’s sales performance A strong relationship exists between the firm’s financial statements, in that the value added, profit and cash flow are strongly related to the firm’s sales performance. First, the firm’s profit depends strongly on the firm’s sales performance as well as its target. This means that if the BT is not making any profit one would easily look at the firm’s sales budget and performance. And if sales pe rformance is poor, this implies that the firm is making losses. Conversely, in case the firm is more profitable this means that the firm sold more units and exceeded its budget. But at times high profit does not imply high sales. For instance, the firm may purchase products from the supplier at a lower price, with an expectation that it will sell the same to consumers in huge volumes at a higher price, thus expecting high profit. If the firm does not sell the expected volume, this means that the firm may end up with obsolete stock and losses (Heshmati and Loof, 2006).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More BT Plc requires capital in order for it to survive as well as for it to undertake future investment in new assets. The cash is used to purchase resources used to manufacture services or goods, which are then sold. This process is known as cash-flow cycle, which involves the movement of firm’s incomes and expenditures for a period of time. Cash flow as a vital part of the firm is linked with firm’s sales performance. In case the firm sells services or goods, the volume of sales determines how much is earned by the firm. Thus, if the firm is profitable, the firm’s sales performance is excellent resulting to extra addition of cash to cycle of the cash flow. On the contrary, if firm’s sales performance is poor, the firm may be unable to put more cash to the cycle of cash flow as it had anticipated. Therefore, most businesses fail as a result of inadequate cash flow instead of profitability (Heshmati and Loof, 2006). The value-added statement mirrors how BT Pl c creates wealth and how wealth is distributed to the stakeholders. Revenue is generated when services or goods are sold, not when the cash is paid. Hence, for credit sales, the time of sales is before the cash is required. The revenue can also be considered as the starting point for profit. However, the precise relationship is not necessarily linear that is every dollar of extra revenue does not necessarily translate to an extra dollar of profit for two main reasons: (1), the presence of indirect variable and fixed costs and taxes. Different firms have different levels of gearing indirectly variable costs that normally vary non-linearly with the output, while the fixed costs, which are measured as a percentage of total costs are operating costs like rent, will be constant. Thus when sales increase, the profit will as well increase (Heshmati and Loof, 2006). (2), as a business grows and increases its profit, it requires more capital. However, the cost of capital does not stay the sa me because of the amount of risk that capital providers perceive in investing in the company. This means that larger firms represent lower risk. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a non-linearity between profit and EVA and, hence, a non-linearity between sales and EVA (Referenceforbusiness, 2010). Finally, net profit will turn into net cash flow, but over any time period there is a fluctuating relationship, which is largely influenced by economic circumstances. For example, during economic downturns, demand decreases and BT may be forced to delay payments to their suppliers as a result of decreased purchasing power. References Cox, B. 1979. Value added: An appreciation for the accountant concerned with  industry. London: Heinemann. Print. Eurostat. 2010. Glossary: Gross Value Added at market prices. Web. Haslam, C. and Neale, A. 2000. Economic in a Business Context. London: Business press. Heshmati, A. and Loof, H. 2006. Investment and performance of firms: Correlation or   Casuality? CESIS Electronic Working Paper Series, Paper No.72. Web. International Labour Organisation, IMF, OECD, UN, Economic Commission for Europe and World Bank. 2004. Producer price index manual: theory and practice. Washington DC: IMF. Mandal, N. and Goswami, S. 2008. Value Added Statement (VAS) – A Critical Analysis: A case study of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. Great Lakes Herald, 2(2):98-120. OECD. 2001. Gross Value Added. Web. Referenceforbusiness. 2010. Economic Profit. Web. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. 1992. Value added reporting: Lessons for the United States. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Print. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. 2004. Accounting Theory, 5th edition. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. Reprint. Wood, E. 1978. Added value: The key to prosperity. London: Business Books. This essay on Value Added was written and submitted by user Justus Rowland to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Expressing Disappointment in English

Expressing Disappointment in English We try our best and hope that everyone gets along well. Unfortunately, thats not always the case and we need to express disappointment. We might be disappointed with other people, or with ourselves. At other times, we might want to express our view that something we expected didnt go as planned. For these situations, its important to keep in mind the use of register  when expressing our disappointment. In other words, who are we speaking to, what is the relationship, and how should you communicate with them? The phrases we use will be different depending on whether we are speaking with friends or at work. Use these phrases to express your disappointment in the appropriate way. Expressing Disappointment and Frustration with Yourself I wish I Past Simple Present Disappointments The use of I wish with the past simple to express something you are disappointed with at the present time. This is similar to the use of the unreal conditional  to express something imaginary. I wish I had a better job.I wish I had more time for my family.ï » ¿I wish I spoke Italian. I wish I Past Perfect Regrets about the Past The use of I wish with the past perfect  is used to express regret over something that happened in the past. This is similar to the use of the unreal past conditional to express a different result in the past. I wish I had been hired for that job.I wish I had worked harder in school.I wish I had saved more money when I was young. If only I Past Simple Present Disappointments This form is used to express things we arent happy about at the present. It is similar to the form above. If only I played soccer well.If only I understood math.If only I had a faster car. If only I Past Perfect Regrets about the Past This form is used to express things regret about past experiences. It is similar to wish past perfect. If only I had moved to this city earlier.If only I had asked her to marry me.If only I had known about that last year! These forms can also be used to express disappointment with others: I wish she had paid better attention in class.I wish they asked me more questions. Im sure I could be of more help.If only they worked with us! We would give them a better deal than Smith and Co.If only Peter had hired Tom. He was much better qualified for the job. Expressing Disappointment with Others Why didnt S Verb? Why didnt you tell me that?!Why didnt he inform me of the situation?Why didnt they finish on time? How am/was I supposed to Verb How am I supposed to complete the project?How was I supposed to know that?!How am I supposed to work with this? Formal Expressions For Disappointment What a shame!Thats too bad.Thats so disappointing!I was so looking forward to ...I / We had high hopes for ...What we had been led to expect was ... Informal Expressions For Disappointment What a bummer!What a let-down!That stinks. Role Play Exercise: Between Friends Friend 1: Im not happy.Friend 2: Whats wrong?Friend 1: Oh, I didnt get that job.Friend 2: What a bummer!Friend 1: Yeah, I wish I had prepared better for the interview.Friend 2: Maybe you were just nervous.Friend 1: If I had only thought about how my experience applied to the position.Friend 2: That stinks. Well, Im sure youll do better next time.Friend 1: I hope so. Im sick of this job.Friend 2: Every job has its ups and downs.Friend 1: Isnt that the truth!Friend 2: Lets have a beer.Friend 1: Thats something that never disappoints.Friend 2: Youre right about that. Role Play Exercise: At the Office Colleague 1: Excuse me, Peter. Could I talk to you for a moment?Colleague 2: Sure, what can I do for you?Colleague 1: Why didnt you inform me of the situation with Andrew Ltd.?Colleague 2: Im sorry about that. I thought I had the situation under control.Colleague 1: You know I had high hopes for this account.Colleague 2: Yes, I know and I apologize that it didnt work out.  Colleague 1: Yes, well, how were you supposed to know they would try to change everything in the contract.Colleague 2: If only they had given us more time to come up with a different solution.Colleague 1: OK. Well, please make sure to keep me in the loop on future situations like this.Colleague 2: Certainly, Ill be more proactive next time this happens.  Colleague 1: Thank you, Peter.Colleague 2: Of course.