The Significance Of The English Language English Language Essay

The Significance Of The English Language English Language Essay English language is really considered as a significant language since it has been used for communicating worldwide. Therefore, learning English is very common in many countries and language learning styles, especially reading styles are learned differently by students in globalization. More importantly, language learning styles are the core factors that help decide how the students learn a foreign language. In the article by (Rebecca, 2003), a foreign language is a language studied in an environment where it is not the major vehicle for every day communication and where input in the language is classified. In an article by Mulalic et al. (2009), students learning styles have been unnoticed as an irrelevant module in the learning process. Apparently, once lecturers become aware that different students learn various styles, they try to accommodate those learning styles in the classroom. When looking into lecturers teaching practices, it is possible to understand that the majority of the lecturers are not sensitive with their students learning styles. The problems occur when lecturers are not aware of the significance to create and explore learning styles. In second language teaching or learning situations for academic goals, especially in higher education in English universities which make far-reaching use of academic materials written in English, reading is vital. Surely, without reading proficiency, second language readers cannot achieve at levels they study. Consequently, successful reading in a second language is important. Also, professional in second language education should take into consideration with approaches which can develop the learners reading skills. Interactive approaches to reading are crucial for recognizing the complicated nature of reading, specifically when it happens in a second language and culture (Carrell, Devine Eskey, 2000). In the beginning of 1970s, researchers became aware that learning strategies, styles, and personal characteristics could have significant influence in language acquisition. Michael OMalley and Anna Chamot and their colleagues conducted a lot of learning strategies (reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, etc) and grouped them into three main categories. The first category was metacognitive strategy, which included organization, comprehension, and evaluation in gaining knowledge. The second category is cognitive strategy, which emphasized in learning assignments and its applications. The third one was socioaffective strategy, which focused on interpersonal interaction and social-mediating activity (Brown, 2000). In a globalized world, reading serves as a primary medium for information transmission and communication. Beneficially, reading improves cognitive capacity, sharpens critical thinking ability and enhances problem-solving skills, and it may even transform the development of individuals. Stanovich (1986) suggested that good readers will read more and read better while poor readers read less, and in turn obstruct further growth in reading ability. Since English language has been introduced in Cambodia, EFL students learning styles have adapted to the language acquisition. In the past students were likely to get knowledge through listening to the teachers while teachers lacked specific training about teaching methodology. In the study by (Nguyen 2001), the learning style of Cambodian students is typically memorization at the expense of realistic purpose. Consequently, they would rather learn grammar and reading than on listening and speaking. Specifically, most Cambodian learners feel more comfortable and enjoyable with having things which are written on the whiteboard in order that they can write them down and study at home. Hopefully, students hope to get handouts of summaries or lecture outlines. Furthermore, some Cambodian learners reveal that they face a lot of pressures of how to adapt the new cultural environment and how to get on with their peers in class. Some feel lonely because the ways they dress or talk are so diff erent. As for the case of EFL Cambodian classrooms, Keuk (2009), found that most teachers use practical habitual teaching methods such as vocabulary translation from second language to first language. As a result, students are taught to remember chunks of English language with mainly focused on grammar and vocabulary. 1.2 Research Problems Without recognizing proper learning styles, particularly reading styles students seem not to achieve better results in their academic performance and their English proficiency seems to be slow. Furthermore, students are less likely to improve their language acquisition very quickly, as they do not know the effective learning reading skills. In spite of the variety of academic courses which the EFL undergraduate students take in English, and the tough efforts universities and lecturers apply to develop students language skills, the students language performance, unfortunately, has been tedious. This could be recognized to the diverse learning styles and habits which are used by students in studying English, including preferring having things written on the whiteboard to listening to the lecturers explanation, nervousness of speaking in classroom, preferring working individually and personally to working in pairs or groups, and translating the words they do not know into their own lang uage while reading the text. Frequently, encountering new words in reading is common for learners, especially L2 learners. It may not obstruct the general understanding of the text, but if too many words are not known, then intellectual capacity might suffer a lot. Pedagogically, most of the lecturers practice traditional teaching method, grammar translation method form first language to second language while teaching English language. The final noticeable problem is that large classes pose some significant challenges in class room setting and reduced effectiveness of classroom management. In a study by Nuttal (1982), students learning English seem to be slow due to the fact that they do not have opportunities to read a lot. Most of the class time is devoted to learning about the language, that is learning grammar and learning to read through translation. Students are taught in a traditional way. They approach their reading assignment by putting all their effort and concentration into the passages they read. They carefully read the passage word by word. When reading and encountering an unfamiliar word, they stop reading and look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary. This reading behavior not only slows down their reading speed, but also hinders their reading comprehension. 1.3 Objectives of Study This study aims specifically to identify the learning reading of EFL undergraduate students in Cambodia. An additional aim of the research is to explore the affects and the outcomes of undergraduate students in learning reading in English as a foreign language. 1.4 Research Questions This research aims to investigate the effective factors in learning reading skills in English as a foreign language. The following research questions can be formulated for the study. Are there any differences in learning reading among Cambodian undergraduates? Is there a correlation between learning styles and learning outcomes? 1.5 Significance of Study As a part of educational development, this study is significant for four reasons. First, exploring students learning styles in reading in English in Cambodian higher education will help improve students language acquisition. Second, the study will shed light on the effective learning reading of EFL successful Cambodian undergraduates, which can be used as a model of learning reading in English. Third, this research will help to contribute to the usefulness of appropriate reading teaching and learning techniques in order to promote reading skills, particularly in EFL Cambodian context. In addition, from a methodological perception, it is also hoped that the findings from this study will be useful for providing second language reading and several strategies for reading comprehension based on Brown (2001). More importantly, the findings will help to develop the students capability of dealing with unknown words in their English vocabulary learning process, help to improve their reading c omprehension, and conduct more beneficial suggestions for both English teaching and English learning. 1.6 Definition of Terms In an attempt to better understand this study, some key terms are defined as follows. EFL students learning styles mean techniques, behaviors, actions, habits and steps employed by learners learning English as a Foreign Language to improve and develop their different language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Moreover, the term learning style refers to the general approach preferred by the student when learning a subject, acquiring a language, or dealing with a difficult problem (Oxford 2001; Reid 1998) Extensive reading refers to the improving well habitual reading, increasing knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and motivating a connecting in reading (Richard Schmidt, 2002: 193-194). 1.7 Proposed Chapter This paper will be chronologically composed of five main chapters. Chapter one is the introduction, consisting of background of the study, researcher problem, research objective, research question, significance of the study, and definition of key concepts. Chapter two is literature review, which discusses on the problems and solutions of the study. Chapter three is methodology, which consists of research design, participants, method, instruments, tools data collection, data analysis, ethnical consideration, strengths and limitation of research. Chapter four is discussion and findings, presenting the findings related to the effective learning reading skills to make students learn effectively. Chapter five is conclusion and recommendation, summarizing the problems and findings of the study and suggesting some strategies to help improve the weaknesses. Moreover, these five chapters are followed systematically by references and appendices. 1.8 Conceptual Framework Since English has become popular and international language for communicating, many learning styles are applied in a broader educational context in Cambodia. In Cambodian universities, students learning reading skills inside and outside the classroom are identified as follows: skimming and scanning, semantic mapping or clustering, previewing and predicting, strategies for reading comprehension, interactive reading model, three-part model of reading, extensive reading. Cambodian undergraduate students learning reading skills Skimming and Scanning Previewing and Predicting Strategies for Reading Comprehension Interactive Reading Model Three-part Model of Reading Extensive Reading Metacognitive Knowledge and Self Monitoring Teaching Second Language Reading Skills The Affects of Students Learning Styles and Learning Outcomes CHAPTER2 LITERATURE REVIEW Reading involves a variety of factors which may have an impact on learners reading ability. Weaver (1988) defined reading as the process of constructing meaning through the energetic interaction among the readers existing knowledge, the information recommended by the written language, and the situation in reading context. In a study by (Miller Yochum, 1991; Donnell Wood, 1999), maintained that the reading difficulties students face may be related to inaccurate knowledge of the reading process, lack interest and motivation, fluency, concept density, organization, and difficult vocabulary. Heffernan (1999) as cited in Aqel (2006), determined that many studies on language learning styles applied and gained differently base on motivation and outcome, level of language , years of learning language, teaching methods, difficult content, and students background and sex. He also added that successful language learners use various styles in learning language, and the teacher can help in increasing learning styles through teaching strategies that probably help weak students to choose the appropriate learning styles for dissimilar educational tasks. 2.1 Reading Skills 2.1.1 Skimming and Scanning In their book More Reading Power, Mikulecky Jeferies (1996) stated that skimming and scanning are the two important strategies. Skimming is high-speed reading which can save students a lot of time. Students skim to get the broad idea or gist of a text or a book, the main topic, and some of the supporting ideas. Students should read the words which help them gain the sense of the passage. Also, teachers can train students to skim passages by giving those 30 seconds to look through a few pages of material, close their books and then tell you what they learned. More importantly, there are three effective strategies for skimming: (1) Read quickly as you can; (2) keeping in mind the reason for skimming; (3) be flexible while you are skimming the passage (pp.132-133). Scanning, however, is very high-speed reading. Students should have a question in their mind when they scan the text; they do not read every word, only the words which answer the question. Practicing scanning will help students learn to skip over insignificant words in order that they can read more rapidly. For example, teachers ask students to look for names, dates, to find a definition of a key concept or to list a certain number of supporting details. For academic English, scanning is absolutely essential. In general English, scanning is important in dealing with genres like schedules, manuals, forms, etc (pp.15-16). 2.1.2 Previewing and Predicting Mikulecky et.al (1996), students should make a difference before they read. They can get some ideas about what they are going to read. As a result, they will start to process the information faster as well as they will be able to catch the ideas of the writer better. Even though it takes two or three minutes to preview and predict, those minutes are well invested. Later, they will find that they save lots of time in reading and improve comprehension. Here are the hints for previewing and predicting about language text: (1) read the title of the passage; (2) decide what sort of the text it is; (3) look at the organization of the text; (4) read very fast the first line of each paragraph or sub-division; (5) notice repeated names, numbers, dates, and words; (6) read rapidly the very last few sentences in the last paragraph. 2.1.3 Strategies for Reading Comprehension Comprehension or reading strategies show how readers conceive of a task, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when they do not understand. In short, such strategies are processes used by the learner to improve reading comprehension and conquer comprehension failures (Singhal, 2001). In a second language study, Hosenfeld (1977) used a think-aloud procedure to identify relations between certain types of reading strategies and successful or unsuccessful second language reading. The successful reader, for instance, kept the meaning of the passage in mind while reading and skipped less important words but the unsuccessful reader lost the meaning of the sentences when decoded and seldom skipped unimportant words. In an article by Youngmee Suh (2005), one of the helpful strategies for reading comprehension is to be aware of the purpose in reading. Teachers should direct students how to get information through reading, to follow directions to do a task, for pleasure, to get in touch with friends and classmates, to know what is happening around the world, to discover out when and where things are, and for being interested about a topic. Furthermore, clear recognition of the intention in reading something is necessary for effective reading. Doing this, we know what we are finding out and we are not disturbed by other information. Consequently, it is compulsory for English reading lecturers to make sure students know their purpose in reading something. 2.1.4 Interactive reading model Whilst a reader constantly moves from a top-down approach to guess feasible meaning to bottom-up approach to prove all the details in interactive reading, interactive-compensatory model. Based on the study by Stanovich(1986), any stage functions interactively with any other stage. Readers are thought to increase the reading processes efficiently. In this model, less-automatic processes cooperate recurrently, and automatic processes activate independently. Therefore, reading difficulties are overcome by both interaction and compensation. According to Youngmee Shu (2005) stated that the reader brings information, knowledge, emotion, experience, and culture to the text. There are two types of schemata, content schemata and formal schemata. Content schemata include our knowledge about people, the world, culture, and the universe, however, formal schemata include knowledge about discourse structure such as illustration, cause-effect, or comparison are broadly studied because reading comprehension is a subject of developing proper, proficient comprehension strategies. Some of the strategies are associated with bottom-up processes and others with the top-down processes, each of which can be practically applied to classroom techniques 2.1.5 Three-part Model of Reading According to Song et.al (1999), there is a positive relationship between reading strategies and successful reading. Moreover, a reading class should be planned focusing on three-part model of reading with interactive activities. Lecturers should present different techniques to teach effectively reading in three various levels of reading, pre-reading, while- reading, and post-reading. Based on Youngmee Shu (2005) identified that In pre-reading level, schema of the text should be activated. Teachers often introduce a topic and ask questions about the text. Students skim the text for an overview of main ideas. Students tune in to the context and topic of the text and consider how the while-reading activity will be done. While-reading is for purposeful reading. Students work on certain facts or rhetorical devices to have a sense of purpose for reading 2.1.6 Extensive Reading In their book Extensive Reading in the Second Language classroom, Day and Bamford (1998) state the following characteristics for the Extensive Approach: reading as much as possible, book after book, where the meaning is the focus, students select their own readings, students cover a variety of materials and topics, students read for pleasure, information and general understanding, reading is its own reward, reading materials are within the range of the students linguistic competence, reading is individual and silent, reading speed is usually fast, reading teachers are guides and facilitators, and teachers are role models of a reader for students. This approach can be very beneficial and rewarding to student readers. Day and Bamford mention the following benefits: developing good reading habits, encouraging a liking for reading, developing structure and vocabulary, increasing general second language competence, developing automaticity, enhancing background knowledge, improving compreh ension skills, and promoting confidence and motivation. In an article by Ming-yueh Shen (2008), reading extensively is to expose students to a great amount of reading materials, enhance students reading fluency, and develop a good reading habit. 2.1.7 Metacognitive knowledge Metacognitive knowledge and self monitoring are the significant elements of fluent reading skills. Knowledge about cognition including knowledge about language, relating to identifying patterns of structure and organization, and using appropriate strategies to achieve specific goals (e.g., comprehending texts, remembering information). Connected with reading this will consist of recognizing the vital information in a text; adjusting reading rate; using context to deal with a misunderstood part; skimming portions of the text; previewing headings; pictures, and summaries; using search strategies for finding specific information; formulating questions about the information; using a dictionary; using word formation and affix information to guess word meanings; taking notes; underlining; and summarizing information. Monitoring of cognition regarding to recognizing problems with information presented in the texts or incapacity to accomplish expected aims. In addition, the ability to use me tacognitive skills successfully is broadly recognized as a critical component of reading skills. The Affects of Studentslearning Styles and Learning Outcomes Since the learning of students is likely to accomplish the better outcomes, there are some effective learning styles and strategies are applied to students learning. As stated by Youngmee shu (2005): Bottom-up models are based on text- or data-driven operations. In bottom-up processing, the letters, words and language features in the text are decoded while reading, and through this process, readers understand intensive and local meaning of the text. The reader is considered as a scientist with a magnifying glass examining the details. On the other hand, top-down models are based on meaning- or conceptually-driven operations. The reader is compared as a person with an eagles eye view of a landscape below. Schema (prior) knowledge for prediction is an important operation for a reader to understand and infer the meaning of the text. More recent research on teaching reading has shown that a combination of top-down and bottom-up processing called interactive reading is important. The interactive model suggests that the reader constructs meaning by the selective use of information from all sources of meaning (graphemic, phonemic, morphemic, syntax, semantics) without adherence to any o ne set order. The reader simultaneously uses all levels of processing even though one source of meaning can be primary at a given time. CHAPTER3 METHODOLOGY 3.1Research design Unlike the qualitative approaches, quantitative research is conducted to test the theory of natural setting (Fraenkel Wallen, 2000). Since the intent of this study significantly is to identify the differences of learning reading skills of Cambodian undergraduate students, the researcher will use a cross-sectional survey research. The researcher will explore the learning reading styles of EFL Cambodian undergraduate students. 3.2 Participants The target population in this study will be students in three private universities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The simple random sampling will be employed in order to obtain information. The participants will be selected through the help of table of random numbers. The sample consists of 100 students, who are studying English Literature in those universities. Also, the researcher will choose 40 female and 60 male students. Before conducting interviews, the researcher will make an appointment and notify the reasons of visit to the Rector of University. 3.3 Research instruments With the purpose of getting trustworthy information, the researcher will use written questionnaire and structured interview to obtain data from participants. The questionnaire will consist of 2 parts. In part 1, there are 42 Likert Scale items. The students will be asked to provide their responses about learning reading both inside and outside classroom. As for part 2, there are four open-ended questions, which a researcher will use to ask them to provide their answers based on their ideas. To ensure content validity, the researcher discussed the problem with the English language teachers who have had experience in teaching English. Reading test will be used to measure to outcomes of the students and questionnaire contains the common learning reading skill of students. Apart from this, interview will be utilized to get information about perception of students on a variety of students learning style. 3.4 Data collection The pilot test will be distributed to participants before conducting interview. Prior to carrying out the interviews, the researcher will ask permission from university rector and students. The researcher expects interview will take 30 minutes and occur in the universities or outside the universities. The options for selecting site for interview will be provided for the participants because it helps reduce the participants difficulties. Moreover, the study objective will be verbally informed to participants before conducting interviews. The researcher might ask different participants to answer the questions based on their preferences. The students will be asked to provide their responses about the learning reading of EFL Cambodian undergraduate students based on their ideas. 3.5 Data analysis After collecting data from the field setting, the researcher will identify any information about the number of members of participants who will not return the survey or response in any questions in order to prevent any respondent bias. The data will be carefully analyzed through SPSS in an attempt to explore scores, percentages and means of students reading skills. The scores of students will be converted into mean in order to compare students with students who use different styles of learning and their learning outcomes. 3.6 Ethical consideration To successfully conduct this study, the researcher will take into consideration about some safeguards. First, the consent form will be given to the participants to sign if they really agree to join in the study. Second, the purpose of this study will be clearly informed to participants in order to build mutual understanding and rapport. Third, the researcher will profoundly tell the participants that their participation will be voluntary and stopping from interviews will be the participants choice. Finally, the researcher will keep data collected in secret place which no one besides researcher will have access to get it. Furthermore, I will bring together the names of participants but keep them confidential. Personal identifiers will be released to the public in a way that protects the identification of participants. 3.7 Limitation of research This study is guided with the following limitations, which affect the generality of the finding. First, the study focuses three universities English students in Department of English. Second, the study may be limited in its analysis or generality as it will be conducted in three private universities, in which 100 students will be selected randomly. Third, since this study will mainly explore only important learning reading, some points might be ignored. However, the purpose of this study is not to provide the broad generalization but to explore the learning reading of Cambodian undergraduate students in three universities in Phnom Penh. Therefore, the above-mentioned compounding circumstances might limit understanding and evaluation; however, these are generally overwhelmed and controlled by the research design.

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Introduction As seen above, a large number of people live below poverty line and over one-half of these people depend on agriculture. These rural households may not be directly involved in the agricultural labor but their income sources are linked with the success of the agricultural production. They may be exposed to the financial risks following natural disasters or climate change, which affect the products of agriculture. 1. Agriculture in India and Major Risks 1.1. A review of Agriculture in India This section covers the significant government policies that aimed at the promotion of agricultural development. There were many principle changes that have been introduced since the Independence of India. At the time of Independence, the agricultural sector consisted of a stagnant backward economy with low resource availability, inadequate government support and most importantly, severe poverty. Daniel Thorner, a well-known economist remarked â€Å"India was left with perhaps the world’s most refractory problem† (ANTHONY P. D'COSTA). Land reforms were introduced as an immediate measure to deal with the skewed distribution of land and the reforms led to the abolition of intermediaries and giving land titles to farmers. Along with these reforms, the Community Development Programme was set up in 1952 (NAYAR, 1960). This programme aimed at the development of the rural people by the co-ordination of the activities related to agriculture, animal husbandry and irrigation, which was executed and evaluated by officials at district level to village level. National Extension Service was also introduced along with the Community Development Programme, which also aimed at the initiati on of rural development activities under the sponsorship of the ... ... their chances of default either by borrowing money from lenders at atrocious interest rates or by selling their assets alongside poor investment in future seasons. Therefore, yield risk is one of the most important agricultural risks. Rainfall is a major yield risk factor especially in the Indian economy, as it is heavily dependent on monsoon. A recent study has shown that there is a positive correlation between rainfall and the crop yields in rural India (Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, 2012). Hence, the risk is more dominant in certain regions such as arid regions when compared to high rain-fed regions. High temperature also affects plant growth and decreases the yield significantly. 1.2.2 Market/Price risk: Agriculture is subjected to many uncertainties and this even includes the price of the agricultural products. The input and output prices are volatile in nature.

Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited Group case study [pic] Tutor: Dr. Mahesh Joshi Group members: JIN CHEN 3350416 MINGFENG CHI 3316768 JINGHAN REN 3365087 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive summary3 Introduction4 Source of Finance and financial segments4 Industry and competitor analysis5 Key highlights of financial and operational performance5 Highlights and change of financial performance5 Highlight of operational performance5 Change in accounting policies6 Assets – PPE and Intangibles6 eased assets and liabilities9 Auditor and auditor report11 Reference13 Executive summary Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd, a public company, is one of the most successful retail companies in Australia. They use a unique franchise model with granting franchises to independent business operators, and there are approximately 700 franchisees in Australia. As a retailer, their products include electrical, bedding, computers & communications, bathrooms & home improvements, furniture, small appliances, carpet & floor ing and lighting.In recent years, the company has begun expanding the international market, and there are an increasing number of Harvey Norman stores in New Zealand, Ireland, Slovenia, Malaysia and Singapore. The aim of this report is to show an overview of Harvey Norman’s business based on the 2011 Annual Report of Harvey Norman. This report will mainly focus on their core business, industry, operating activities, financial performance, PPE & intangible and leased assets & liabilities. Finally, independent auditor’s report will discuss their compliance with the AASB standard.COMAPNY Introduction Being a leader in retail stores of electrical, computer, furniture, entertainment and bedding goods, Harvey Norman was founded in 1982, Australia. At first, it is only a single store which sells electrical goods and appliances; however, the opening has proved to be a great success. With more and more stores open, Harvey Norman changed its operation into superstore format at t he beginning of the 1990s. After that Harvey Norman has been expanding its business globally and keepsincreasing the diversity of its products.In the financial year of 2011, Harvey Norman has gained an after tax net profit of 252. 26 million. And this makes it to be ranked at the 126th position out of 2000 large companies in Australia. (IBIS World, 2011) Source of Finance and financial segments Harvey Norman Holding LTD generally generates its revenue from those four segments below: †¢ Franchisee: with holding 195 franchise stores in Australia, it contributes the largest part to its company’s sales revenue. This revenue is consisting of the franchise fee and interest of franchise loans.However, due to the downturn of the whole economic environment, the franchisees themselves are struggling to keep their business alive. In my opinion, it is dangerous for Harvey Norman to be too rely on the franchising revenue. †¢ Retail store: excluding the 195 franchise outlets with in Australia, the company is running 96 complexes department by the time of 30 of June 2011, which are 26 more than 2010. †¢ Property: the property income Harvey Norman LTD is mainly coming from the rental of the franchisees and some other outlets who are renting their complex. Other businesses: as a public listed company, Harvey Norman also earns a good amount of revenue from trading its listed securities. Industry and competitor analysis As the main services the company is retailing. The industry it involves would be retailing industry of computer and software, household appliances and furniture. However, as the integrating of online services and strength of Australiandollar, the retailing industry has been very much affected. Even the chairman of Harvey Norman had commented the macro-environment to be challenging and difficult.Fortunately, as introduced above, although retailing has always been the core business activity of the company, it does not constitute the major part of its financial performance. The diversity of business activities leads a multiple option of financial growth. The main competitors of Harvey Norman Holding LTD is the group of J B HI-FI, who has declared a sales revenue from 2. 73Bn to 2. 96Bn as an increase of 8. 3% (P. 2, JB HI-FI annual report 2011), compares to the increase of 9% of Harvey Norman.According to the figure,it seems Harvey Norman is doing better than J B HI-FI, but the business segment for J B HI-FI is much less diversified than Harvey Norman, therefore, J B HI-FI is actually doing better in just viewing the computer and software segment. Key highlights of financial and operational performance †¢ Highlights and change of financial performance There is no significant increase or deduction in terms of financial performance. There is a slightly downturn showing in the franchising sales revenue from 5. 9bn to 5. 08bn contributed by almost the same amount of outlets. Basic earnings per share have increased from 21 . 78c to 23. 75c whilst a decrease of 2c in dividend per share compared with 2010. After closing date of report, the company announced 7 Clive Peters and Rick Hart may close and the rest of 18 stores will be changed into Harvey Norman format. The shutdown of 7 stores is to estimate to incur a charge around $10 million in the financial report of 2012. †¢ Highlight of operational performanceA very significant key operational activity occurs after the reporting date of 2011, which is Harvey Norman, launched its online retail store in the October of 2011. The company has fully confidence in this action and believes it will make a good difference in the financial report of 2012 Change in accounting policies According to Australian Accounting Standards, a few accounting policies have been put out recently but have not yet shown its effect on the report of 2011 will result an impact on 2012. Assets – PPE and Intangibles PPE 1. The carrying amount of each class of PPE, at report ing date, of Harvey Norman a. PPEIn accounting system, property, plant and equipment are belong to tangible asset and recorded as non-current asset if they are kept for more than one year or beyond the normal cycle of the entity. According to AASB116, if the cost of an item can be measured reliably and the future benefit will flow to the entity, then the items of property, plant and equipment can be recognized as PPE. b. Each class of PPE It can be seen from the HN’s note 12 that the PPE of HN was classified into: (1) Land and Buildings; (2) Plant and Equipment; (3) Lease make good asset. And the carrying amount of each class of PPE is showed in the below table: Category |Land and buildings | Plant and Equipment ($’000) |Lease make good asset |Total | | |($’000) | |($’000) |($’000) | |Year | | | | | |2010 |230,595 |206,563 |1,875 |439,033 | |2011 |257,765 |254,714 |500 |512,479 |According to the table, the total amount of PPE was about $512 million in 2011, which was much higher than the amount of 2010 about 73 million. 2. The accounting policies relating to PPE adopted by Harvey Norman. HN used cost model, under the AASB116. 73, to disclose items on PPE that each item was measured at historical costs or deemed costs less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. (Statement of Significant Accounting Police 1(d)(v)) The land and buildings were measured at fair value, then less the accumulated depreciation.After that, the impairment loses were recorded when the revaluation was done. Besides, the straight- line method was used to calculate the asset’s depreciation during the estimated useful life. According to AASB116. 73 (e), each class of PPE should disclose a reconciliation of the carrying amount at the beginning and end of the period, and the changes include additions, disposals, impairment and amortization. In the HN’s report, the assets’ residual values, useful lives and amortization methods were adjusted in the end of financial year.Intangible assets 1. The intangible assets reported by Harvey Norman and their composition and relevance to this company’s business. Intangible assets are usually treated as non-monetary assets without physical substance. Therefore, they must be separately stated in company’s financial statement. By following the accounting standard, HN’s intangible assets are classified into three categories: (a) Computer Software; (b) Goodwill; (c) Licence Property; Category |Computer Software ($’000) |Goodwill |Licence Property |Total | | | | |($’000) |($’000) | |Year | |($’000) | | | |2010 |23,745 |11 |473 |24,229 | |2011 |57,791 |9 |494 |58,294 |HN’s report demonstrated that there was about $58 million in intangible assets in 2011, which showed a huge increase when compared to $24 million in 2010. Besides, it is clearly showed in the table that the Computer Software took the most part of t he intangible asset 2. The accounting policies relating to Intangible Assets adopted by Harvey Norman. All the disclosed intangible assets should comply with the AASB 138. 3/4/9, and the intangible asset which has an infinite useful life cannot be amortized in the annual report, based on AASB138. 107. Furthermore, in accordance with AASB 136. 08, an entity is required to test an intangible asset with an indefinite useful life for impairment by comparing its recoverable amount with its carrying amount annually or there is an indication of impairment. In the annual report, the intangible assets of HN in its annual report consist of two parts: (a) Identifiable intangible assets:Computer Software and Licence Property (which have a finite life and are amortised using the straight-line method over the useful lifes, computer software is no greater than 7. 5 years). (b) Unidentifiable intangible assets: Goodwill which accounts for only a little proportion of its total intangible assets. Goo dwill is not amortised, but it should be tested about impairment on an annual basis). The gains or losses from both two kinds of intangible assets are measured as the difference between the net disposal amount and carrying amount. 3. The items of impaired PPE or Intangible Assets of Harvey Norman According to AASB116, under cost model, the carrying amounts of assets should be reviewed during every financial reporting period to determine whether there is impairment. An impairment gain or loss should be recognized immediately if the carrying amount is lower or higher than the recoverable amount. PPE (a) Impairment of Plant and EquipmentUnder this standard, a review of the recoverable amount of assets resulted in an impairment gain of $968,000. Intangible Assets The computer software has a finite life and is amortised over the useful life, but goodwill has an infinite life, then, it is only subject to impairment test if there is an indication of impairment. (a) Impairment of Computer S oftware Under this standard, a review of the recoverable amount of assets resulted in an impairment loss of $674,000. leased assets and liabilities The lease liabilities consist of finance leases, AASB 117 – par 11, and operation leases, AASB 117 – par 12.This paper will analyze finance leases first, and then followed by operation leases. Firstly, the detail of the finance leases, numeric disclosure required by AASB117. In 2011 are: [pic] (Annual Report 2011, p104, p105) Secondly, the detail of operating leases, numeric disclosure required by AASB 117. In 2011 are: [pic] (Annual Report 2011, p105) Finance lease receivables are reconciled to amounts receivable in respect of finance leases as follows: [pic] (Annual Report 2011, p77) According to the information illustrated in 2011 Annual report page 63, amounts due from lessees under finance leases are recorded as receivables.Finance lease receivables are primarily recognized at amounts equal to the present value of any unguaranteed residual value expected to accrue at the end of the lease term plus the minimum lease payments receivable. Finance lease payments are apportioned between reduction of the lease receivable over the term of the lease and interest revenue so that it can reflect a constant periodic rate of return on the net investment outstanding in respect of the lease (Annual Report 2011, p63). Leases where the lessor retains substantially all the rewards and risks of ownership of the asset are recognized as operating leases.Initial direct costs incurred in negotiating an operating lease are added to the carrying amount of the leased asset and recognized over the lease term on the same basis as the lease income. Operating lease payments are classified as an expense in the income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term (Annual Report 2011, p63). Auditor and auditor report Ernst & Young is the independent auditor which is appointed to Harvey Norman Ltd. They have high reputat ion to satisfy the credible auditor requirements. We can find the auditor’s opinion on page 140 of annual report.According to the content in the auditor’s report and opinion issued by the auditor. This annual report is definitely an unqualified report because the auditor claims in their report that the financial report of Harvey Norman Ltd complies the Corporations Act 2001 and Australian Accounting Standards by giving a true and fair view of the company’s financial position. The financial report is also in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. An unqualified opinion also represents that any differences between management and auditor with accounting matters have been resolved to the auditor’s satisfaction.Conclusion This report states a lot of important information about the business performance of Harvey Norman, which can be compared with competitors and within the retail market. As one of the most successful retail companies in Au stralia, Harvey Norman’s core business include leasing properties, granting franchises to independent business operators who retail all kinds of products for home and office. In the financial year of 2011, Harvey Norman has gained an after tax net profit of 252. 26 million. Its financial statements complied with the accounting standards and the accounting methods were generally discussed.PPE and Intangible assets were also explained to associate with all the related requirements of AASB involving their disclosures. Moreover, the company followed the Corporations Act as well as International Financial Reporting Standards, and disclosed all the information required, which can be proved by unqualified auditor report issued by Ernst& Young. All the information given by 2011 Annual report can be relied by public to make decision on general purpose. Reference Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd, IBIS World (2011) Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd-Premium Company Report Australia, viewed 20 August 2012,J B HIFI, J B HIFI (2011) J B HIFI ANNUAL REPORT 2011 P. 2, viewed 20 August 2012, < http://www. jbhifi. com. au/documents/reports/110_2011-09-09_4-04-34. pdf> Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited Australian Packaging Covenant Action Plan 2010 – 2015 Revised March 2012, viewed 23 August 2012, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, Company Profile, viewed 23 August 2012, Australian Standard Aboard, AASB 116, 117, 136, 138 2011 Accounting standards, viewed 23 August 2012, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, Annual report 2011, p63, p77, p104, p105, viewed 22 August 2012,

Mechanical Engineering Degree Online A Flexible Degree in the Field of Engineering 2019

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, students entering the work force with an undergraduate mechanical engineering degree earn starting salaries well above holders of bachelors degrees in other professions. With over 17 specialties to choose from, a mechanical engineering technology degree may be the perfect option for the inquisitive, analytical, detail- oriented student. What is Mechanical Engineering? The discipline of mechanical engineering applies the principles of physics to the designing and creation of mechanical systems. One of the broadest of the engineering specialties, mechanical engineering is responsible for the construction of everything from individual motors to entire power plants. A professional with a mechanical engineering degree is involved in the process of producing tools, machinery, and engines at the research, development, design, manufacturing, and testing phases. Potential Career Paths with a Mechanical Engineering Degree A professional who has earned a mechanical engineering degree online (or through any other means) may be employed in manufacturing, agriculture, maintenance, or technical sales. Some professionals with a mechanical engineering degree may also become administrators or managers of productions operations in various industries. Projects with which mechanical engineering degree graduates may be involved include electric generators, escalators and elevators, refrigerators and air-conditioning, and robots used in manufacturing. .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19:active, .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u6a3572756454698bfbd0a086eb953e19:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Online Criminal Justice Master DegreeRequired Education to Practice Mechanical Engineering All 50 states require a license to practice mechanical engineering. Typically, a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering is required to meet the standards for licensure. Some students are choosing to earn a mechanical engineering BS degree online through schools such as Kennedy-Western University. Kennedy-Western Universitys online Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering focuses on both thermal sciences and machine design, giving graduates exposure to the entire field of mechanical engineering before deciding on a specialty within the discipline. Job Outlook for Mechanical Engineering Degree Holders Professionals who earn a mechanical engineering degree can expect to see jobs grow between 9 and 17% through the year 2018. The demand for mechanical engineering degree graduates in manufacturing industries should increase because of the desire for better, more efficient machinery. Biotechnology, materials science, and nanotechnology should also create new job opportunities for professionals with a mechanical engineering degree. .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40:active, .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u0708f53a49f672d064320064668c0d40:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Accelerated BSN Option Take a Leadership Position in the Field of Nursing as a Case ManagerQualities Necessary for Success with a Mechanical Engineering Degree Because mechanical engineering degree graudates typically interact with a variety of professionals, it is necessary to have good oral and written communication skills. Graduates must also be able to work effectively in a group setting to successfully complete projects in the professional world. Mechanical engineering degree holders will be most successful if they are creative, inquisitive, analytical, and detail-oriented, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prospective students may contact Kennedy-Western University for more information on earning an online Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. College-Pages.com, the education and career resource, is another valuable source of information with an extensive list of available programs and educational resources. Related ArticlesThe Career Builder A Masters Degree in Computer ScienceEducation in the Computer Science FieldThe Relationship Beteween Computer Science and EngineeringEarning a Computer Technology DegreeSchools, Colleges, and Institutes of TechnologyGeneral Engineering Degree Make Use of Technical and People Skills as a Sales Engineer .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90:active, .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u01d1053aa0a 8408673c6f682757c8b90 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90 .postTitle { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u01d1053aa0a8408673c6f682757c8b90:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Criminal Justice Associate Degree Kaplan Graduates Improve the Lives of Women in the Criminal Justice System

The Canadian And Us Banking System Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3733 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? The Canadian banking system began as a nationwide system, which encompassed a miniscule number of banks with numerous branches and allowed for diversification on a larger level. In contrast, American banks were prohibited from nationwide branch banking and from diversifying their portfolios. Many Canadian and American observers have come to view the two systems as distinct and believe that stability is a valid reason as to why the American system should adopt a nationwide banking system as well. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Canadian And Us Banking System Finance Essay" essay for you Create order While the Canadian Banking system has proven to be economically stable, it is associated with high barriers to entry and a costly charter that holds an excessive amount of economic power. Regardless of their distinct government regulations and differing response to situations brought about by financial crises, there has been little attempt to compare both systems over a long period. This paper will examine the differences between the United States and the Canadian banking systems. In particular, it will discuss the forces, which spurned the creation of these economic entities; as well as evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of each system to stand firmly during periods of economic depression. Early banking in Canada suffered from the rippling effects of the Mississippi and South Seas Bubble, which convinced Canadians that paper currency was worthless and could not be trusted. As discussed in class, prior to 1763 paper money issued by the French government in Quebec was not valued; the fall of Quebec in 1759 pushed the situation over top. Staying true to their nature, British aristocrats and seigneurs in Quebec were intolerant of merchants and traders alike and were uninterested in finance or trade.Canada demonstrated little interest towards the idea of a central bank for the half of the 19th century following Confederation. Before Confederation, branch banks were established with little funds and very little skill than required for independent banks. Branch banks served the nations needs for more than a century and Chartered banks printed money required for circulation and met the needs of seasonal or unpredictable demand. The new Dominion Government was granted authority over banking, currency, interest and other related matters under the British North America Act of 1867. A comprehensive act was drafted to replace the expired bank charters of the four original provinces in 1871. The Minister of Finance John Rose, under the Macdonald government, desired a banking system that mirrored the American free banking system. Such a system would allow provinces to hold more power than the federal government, something Macdonald did not want. According to Joe Martin The political goal was financial stability, and the managerial challenge was to create the institutional and regulatory framework to carry it out. (Martin, 2011, p. 22) The first bank of United States - championed by Alexander Hamilton in 1791 in Philadelphia and was built on the view that in order to have a prosperous and powerful nation, an established banking system was necessary. The structure mirrored that of the bank of England and served as both a commercial and central bank. The establishment of the first bank was significant as it served as a model for the Canadian Banking System and mimicked each word and section of the from the banks charter. The constitution on 1787 failed to address whether banking was governed under federal or provincial legislation; this eventually became the deciding factor between the American and Canadian banking system. The constitution did address the right to issue and regulate silver and gold coinage to the Federal government but specifically prohibited the printing and circulation of paper money. The agrarian forces aligned against Hamilton were bankers in New York and Boston who were against the location of t he bank and were suspicious of the northeast elite. Thomas Jefferson was particularly against the notion of a bank and preferred that the United States refrain from navigation or commerce. (Martin, 2011, p. 27) Apart from incorporating the First bank of the U.S., the act also provided a route the government utilize to retain control of the state charted banks. When Jefferson and his supporters came into power, they refused to renew the bank charter in 1811, partly because the bank had accomplished so much. The Second bank of the United States was established in 1816, but was allowed to die after its twenty-year charter had expired. With the absence of a central bank, Americans failed to inject liquidity into the banking system and in turn, failed to combat the economic crisis of the early 1900s. At the time, J.P Morgan, one of the leading financiers of the Era, took on the role of the central bank and single-handedly rescued the nation. Jefferson and his supporters established the F ederal Reserve in 1913 after realizing that a country with such a large economy would not stand on its own without a central bank. According to author Charles Freedman, the Canadian financial system was constructed around five principal pillars: trust and loan companies, the co-operative credit movement, life insurance, securities dealers and chartered banks. (Freedman, 1998) These pillars were characterized by core business activities and government jurisdiction, under which they were incorporated and supervised. Additionally, different institutional types were traditionally separated by functionality, which increased penetration into each others primary focus of business. Trust and loan institutions tend to specialize in residential mortgages and term deposits, whereas Canadian life insurance companies were headed by the federal jurisdiction; meaning that they invested the proceeds of life-insurance in mortgage portfolios and financial assets, such as bonds and equities. (Freedman, 1998) On the other hand, Canadian securities dealers operated under the jurisdiction of provincial legislation. Incorporated and s upervised under federal legislation, Canadas chartered banks remained the dominant deposit taking institution with long involvement in commercial lending. Another major difference between the Canadian and U.S banking system encompasses the sunset clause. The sunset clause is clause that requires the Canadian government to conduct periodic assessments and updates of laws governing its banking system. This re-assessment done once every decade, builds on the present Act by improving the framework to ensure that the objectives of promoting competition more efficiently and effectively are met. (OECD Economic Surveys, 2010) The Sunset Clause gave birth to important legislative amendments in 1980, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002. (Allen and Engart, 2007) Consequently, this has led to the creation of more diversified and market oriented activities on the part of Canadian Banks, such as the entry of foreign banks into Canada. Initially, entry by foreign markets into Canada was limited by strict regulations. By allowing foreign banks into Canada, there would be a requirement to implement new regulations and procedures, which may be misaligned with Ca nadas system. This is a distinct phenomenon particularly because a safe and efficient financial system is important for the development and longer-run growth of the economy. (Allen and Engart, 2007) A third distinction in the Canadian banking system is the lack of interest rates on deposits. In Canadian banks, there was an absence of ceiling on interest rates and deposits as well as the elimination of ceiling rates on loans. Having established controls on interest rates, any financial deposits into the United States banking system escaped. As Canadian banks did not have such controls, any deposits made toward the Canadian financial system remained within the country. By the twenty first century, the amount of U.S debt financed outside the country outweighed the internal debt within the traditional financial system. Majority of financing which spawned from short-term deposits could easily turn tail and flee at the first sign of deteriorating investor confidence. (Doren, 2011) The United States has restrictions on the rates of interests that could be paid on deposits. According to Bordo, Rockoff and Reddish, although working to increase profit rates , U.S banks were made sensitive to the dangers of losing deposits when market rates rose which forced them to maintain more reserves. (Bordo, Redish Rokoff, 1994) The low risk of failure in Canada made it possible for the Canadian banks to hold smaller amounts of non-interest bearing assets and to precede to higher asset equity ratios. In addition, Canadian mortgages have fixed rates for a maximum of only five years thus eliminating the problems inherent in linking shorter-term deposits with long term loans. (Doren, 2011) In essence, interest rates paid on deposits were generally higher in Canada, interest income received on securities was slightly higher, interest rates charged on loans were similar and net rates of return to equity were higher in Canada than in the United States. (Bordo, Redish Rokoff, 1994) In contrast, the United States banking system has been fragmented for most of its history; directly pertaining to a Supreme Court case in 1839, which restricted the establishment of bank branches across America. This fragmentation did not support the needs of national corporations or industrialization and was instead reinforced by unregulated financial and commercial paper markets. There are numerous issues surrounding the United States and the limitations surrounding its nationwide banking arrangement. The first reason concerns the fragility of individual banks, in that their portfolios were too small and lacked diversity. This made it difficult to transfer funds across the country. As a result, the system would usually fail during difficult economic times when rural banks attempted to protect themselves by withdrawing funds from their correspondents, which would in turn discourage the crisis. Prior to World War I, the United States experiences major economic crises. These occurrenc es were essentially accredited to the usage of reserved holdings and heavy reliance on securities market to finance investments. (Bordo, Redish and Rokoff, 2008) In the nineteenth century, many communities in the United States became one-bank or few-bank towns because of branching restrictions and consequently, charged monopoly loan rates. (Bordo, Redish and Rokoff, 1994) This was a disadvantage to customers because of the higher costs association. On the other hand, the individual banks were benefiting large sums of money from its inefficient banking arrangement. The nation was in dire need for branch banking arrangements particularly in the interest of the consumers. Both the legislative and regulatory environment heavily influences the banking structure of Canada and the U.S. These characteristics play a part in determining the efficiency and stability of a banking system; in fact, from the 1920s to the 1980s many economists argue that Canadas banking system was more proficient in both stability and efficiency when compared to the United States. This belief was largely due to the prohibition of nationwide (interstate) branch banking in the U.S., which has destroyed the nations ability to successfully combat major issues without experiencing bank failures.ÂÂ   Tailored to nationwide service Canadian banks proceeded to establish an oligopolistic financial system with limited entry. Because of this, Canadian broker-dealer and securities market systems were limited in expansion, as banks possessed the financials capable of sustaining industrial development. Although many economists refer to the mid-1800s as a period of free banking in the U.S, this is somewhat of a misnomer, as the reference was less literal and more towards several banking systems founded on free banking regulations. Banks were prohibited from establishing branch networks and had to either purchase or yield eligible securities from banking authorities in order to secure notes. The depreciation of securities, including authorized government bonds were deemed the source of bank failures during this period. This restriction on nationwide branch banking gave way to discounted bank notes at fluctuating rates the further they travelled from their sources. In summary, the defective banks and their supply of paper money proved the imminent danger of unauthorized and romantic ideas of regulation. Current regulation outlined by the McFadden Act of 1927, the Banking Act of 1933 and the Bank Holding Act of 1956 permits individual states to create its own policies regarding the allowance of outer state banks to operate within its borders. Prior to the 1907, as a contingency tool branch banking was used to minimize the occurrence of future economic downturns but lost to the establishment of a central bank. The 1907 post-panic debate involved three distinct parties: New York banks, Midwestern city banks and country banks; of these three groups, only the Midwestern banks were in favor of positive structural reform. (Horowitz Selgin, 1987) This group dominated the American Banking Association (ABA) and proposed deregulation through reform and interstate branch banking. The goal of New York banks was to maintain the status quo and aimed to accomplish this by preventing a transfer of power to midwestern banks. On the other hand, country banks were adamant on prohibiting any branch ban king scheme that would have them competing with the city banks; in turn they ironically aligned themselves with Wall Street which preened any reform actions proposed by the ABA. Supporters of branch banking promoted economists and authors who believed that the panic of 1907 was preventable if interstate banking was allowed. Many highlighted the successful avoidance of crises in Canadian systems, where nationwide banking was encouraged. Thought regulations approved in 1913 favored Federal Reserve Banks, central banking was a compromise erected in response to the New York banks desire for continued hegemony. (Horowitz Selgin, 1987) This became evident when the depression of the 1930s unveiled the instability of the banking system. In 1933, during a nationwide commercial bank failure and the Great Depression Senator Carter Glass and Representative Henry SteagallÂÂ  championed the Glass- Steagall Act. (ValueClick Inc, 2003) This act divided and forestalled commercial and investment banking activities in order to prevent future economic crises. During this period, the stock market crashed due to improper banking activities carried out by commercial banks and their excessive involvement in the stock market. Commercial banks became greedy and took big risks by investing large amounts of capital into assets; buying new issues and reselling them to the public. Banks granted fallacious loans to companies with which they owned a stake and clients were encouraged to invest in those stocks. As a solution, a regulatory firewall was established, separating commercial and investment banks by controlling their activities. Banks had to make a choice between specializing in commercial or investment banking and only ten pe rcent of commercial banks total income could stem from securities. (ValueClick Inc, 2003) Directly targeted and forced to reduce their services, numerous financial giants such as J.P Morgan and Company, lost their main source of income. Over a period of extended prosperity in the early 1900s, a significant percentage of unit banks failed due to declining agriculture prices. Although Canada practiced branch banking and its financial structure for commercial banking mirrored that of the United States, the nation did not encounter significant bank failures. Glass eventually concluded that little banks were hazardous to stable banking and contributed to the condemnation of depositors. Glass also desired an integrated banking system supervised by the Federal Reserve and claimed that the dual system (shared by state and federal authorities) was an abomination to the nation. As part of Federal Reserve Act, all national banks were required to become members of the Federal Reserve System, wh ereas commercial banks had the option to join in or opt out. (Wessel, 2009, p. 97) This was to minimize the competing views of regulators governing the affiliated and unaffiliated banks. In addition, the Act was delayed until Glass adjusted the legislation to prohibit nationwide branch banking within states that encourage this. Proposals made by larger banks were considered attempts to sabotage the state banking system that provided financial services to small towns. This resulted from the anxiety to preserve the dual banking system between the state and federal authorities. Unfortunately, these small towns accounted for ninety percent of failures in the U.S and deposit insurance arose as a hasty alternative to branch banking, which would ensure the safety of the banking system. (Wessel, 2009, p. 50) Deposit insurance was not a new concept and had been around since the panic in 1907; however, in each case problems quickly arose following its introduction to several states. First, by asking banks to deposit their assets into a fund, an incentive problem emerged. Banks began to hold more risky portfolios because they held only a fraction of risks contributing to failures. Second, deposit insurance could contribute very little to save banks when the economy took a turn for the worst. Despite the negativity ass ociated with deposit insurance plans, unit banks claim that there is a possibility for effectiveness when handled properly. Now that we have highlighted several differences within each system and discussed the forces behind this historic establishment, we will now examine the efficiency and effectiveness of both systems to combat economic depression and inflation. As previously mentioned, the structures of both the United States and Canadian banking systems substantially differ. However, an efficient banking system is important in order to maintain long-term growth and productivity within the economy. The Canadian banking system has remained relative stabile throughout history despite the concentration of the overall banking industry. In contrast, the relative fragmentation historically rooted in the United States banking industry, has led to a sharp decline of commercial banks by approximately forty five percent over the last eighty-five years. (Mayer, 2004, p. 57) However, the fact that the United States is more market concentrated than Canada, means that U.S banks do not heavily influence the nations f inancial industry. There are numerous opinions on both the economic and political reasons, some generally shared, about why the financial crisis occurred. Governments failed to properly regulate markets and minimize a financial meltdown. Many observers suggested that various government policies aided the emergence of the crisis and credits fours main factors to this: (1) accessibility of credit resulting from artificially low rates, (2) government policies favored housing and in turn prompted subprime risk-taking, (3) government regulations related to corporate policies in large financial institutions and (4) failure to supervise the economy. (Roberge, 2010) Like other countries, Canada was impacted on some level by the global financial crisis over the past few years. Thanks to the equilibrium of systems within the financial service sector and the nature of its policies, Canada managed to emerge in good shape. As mentioned earlier, Canada financial structure is divided into several jurisdictions. The Federal government is in charge of banks; securities and investment firms as well as trust companies are under provincial authority; insurance is governed by both jurisdictions. The late 1900s and onwards brought with it drastic change to the Canadian system. A system once operated according to pillars was dismantled in 1987, allowing banks to own firms in investment, insurance and trust. As a result, large five banks dominated across all pillars due to changed policies. Under federal jurisdiction, there was a simultaneous centralization of political, supervisory and regulatory authority within Canadian banks. (Roberge, 2010) The 1980s witne ssed the last bank failure in Canada and the system has remained stable ever since, thanks to the oligopolistic banking system in Canada. Canadas response to this crisis was threefold. First, both definitive and pragmatic measures were established to ease the credit crunch. The government purchased $125,000,000 worth of mortgage bonds to increase their lending capacity. Second, the Federal government amended the Bank Act of Canada, which provided banks more power to manage the financial crises. Regulating investment contracts with guaranteed rates and guarantying investors that no money would be lost on their assets, was also part of the effort. Third, the Canadian government seized the opportunity and established a national securities board. Canada remained under control whereas other countries, such as the U.S., required major bailouts. Canadas resilience to this event is largely attributed to the structure and workings of their policy network within the financial sector. This policy networks mode of operation in the financial sector has remained generally small and obstinate, despite the networks expansion. The Fina ncial Institutions Supervisory Committee (FISC) is compromised of all important government personnel and ensures that lines of communication that exist across sectors remain clear. The Canadian system has one potential weakness, the absence of a definite authoritative figure overlooking the stability of the financial services sector. The tenacity of the Canadas policy network becomes increasingly evident when compared to the United States. Because of such cohesiveness and stability Canadas only experience with controls occurred in the late 1970s as a response to relatively high inflation rates. Controls are any type of government policy, which influences the overall pricing and wage structure in the economy. These controls place extensive restrictions on the maximum rate of which wages and prices can increase during various periods. Two characteristics that distinguish price controls from other types of government controls are: (1) these policies are adopted for the sole purpose of controlling inflation, not to accomplish economic efficiency or equity; (2) they influence numerous economic sectors rather than focusing on primarily one market. The anti-inflation act created by the Federal government spelled out a three-year control system. (Wirick, 2012) Firms with 500 plus employees were restricted by wage guidelines; these guidelines also applied to federal as well as a majority of public-sector employees. Price restri ction and cost markups were restricted by controls placed on large corporations. Overall, the controls program helped to restrict high inflation and keep it below certain levels. The historic background of Wall Street has demonstrated the obscure relationship between the government and the financial markets in the U.S., particularly the relationship between Washington and Wall Street. With division among regulatory and supervisory authority, an opportunity to pit one regulator against another showed itself. Following the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929, the United States entered into, what is now called The Great Depression. This period was marked by a series of bank failures and high unemployment, reaching as high as 25% in 1932. (Woodward, 2000, p. 72) In response to this great economic crisis, the newly elected Roosevelt administration began The New Deal, a series of economic programs, reforms, and regulations enacted between 1933 and 1938. Some of these programs included the Social Security Act, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which provided millions of dollars in relief operations, and the Works Progress Administration, which made the fed eral government the single largest employer at the time. The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble in 2006 and current ongoing global recession has led to the worst financial crisis in the United States since The Great Depression. Under the Bush administration, the United States government issued a limited bailout of the housing market, giving out close to a trillion dollars in loans with over half going to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Wessel, 2009, p. 178) Moreover, the United States has experienced a recessionary period every twenty years

The Survival Rates Of Breast Cancer - 1373 Words

Breast Cancer is the most common misfortune in women and second leading cause of death by cancer. Today, woman with breast cancer have a 90% chance of surviving for five years post-diagnosis. However, African American women have a national survival rate of 79%. Socioeconomic barriers and lack of access to health services have crippled African American women in breast cancer advancements. Studies have show that African American women tend to be diagnosed with a higher-stage of cancer because of the delay of being tested until it is late in the stage. African American women in contrast to their white counterparts generally have a more aggressive stage of breast cancer and therefore a shorter survival rate. These startling statistics bring†¦show more content†¦Much advancement has been made for the treatment of breast cancer, yet the object of the matter is its utilization. â€Å" Lack of recommendation for screening mammography, poor access to health care and cultural beliefs discouraging women from seeking care for a potential breast problem have each been linked to disparate breast cancer outcomes between African American and White women.† (American Association for Cancer Research) Even though race-based disparities have been explored in breast cancer outcomes, direct evidence linking these disparities to social injustice is deficient. Few studies have been reported examining the correlation between breast cancer disparities and racial discrimination. Yet, there are evident reasons to suspect that racial prejudice contributes to the African American disparities in breast cancer mortality. Studies have suggested that social injustice maybe be linked to unequal access of breast cancer treatment. Caplan et al. reported that, â€Å"African American women had greater difficulty scheduling follow-up appointments than did White women, which resulted in delays in breast cancer diagnosis.† (AACR) This utilization of treatments illustrates a drasti c and distant mortality rate overtime between White and African American women.

Sterilization Of Water Using Bleaching Powder free essay sample

STERILIZATION OF WATER USING BLEACHING POWDER A CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROjECT ANSHUL KUMAR PANDEY XII B [THIS PROJECT LOOKS AT THE TECHNIQUE CALLED STERILIZATION OF WATER USING BLEACHING POWDER WHICH IS USED TO PURIFY WATER AND MAKES IT FIT FOR DRINKING. ] INDEX I. Introduction -Need of Water -Purification of Water -Need for a stable purification technique II. Theory -History of Water purification -Bleaching powder and its preparation -Use of Bleaching powder in Sterilization of water III. Experiment -Aim -Pre-Requisite Knowledge -Requirements -Procedure IV. Result V. Bibliography I. Introduction Need of water Water is an important and essential ingredient in our quest for survival on this planet. It is very essential for carrying out various metabolic processes in our body and also to carry out Hemoglobin throughout the body. A daily average of 1 gallon per man is sufficient for drinking and cooking purposes. A horse, bullock, or mule drinks about 11 gallons at a time. standing up, an average allowance of 5 gallons should be given for a man, and 10 gallons for a horse or a camel. An elephant drinks 25 gallons, each mule or ox drinks 6 to 8 gallons, each sheep or pig 6 to 8 pints. These are minimum quantities. One cubic foot of water = 6 gallons (a gallon = 10 lbs. ). In order to fulfill such a huge demand of water, it needs to be purified and supplied in a orderly and systematic way. But with the increasing world population, the demand for drinking water has also increased dramatically and therefore it is very essential to identify resources of water from which we can use water for drinking purposes. Many available resources of water do not have it in drinkable form. Either the water contains excess of Calcium or Magnesium salts or any other organic impurity or it simply contains foreign particles which make it unfit and unsafe for Drinking. Purification of Water There are many methods for the purification of water. Some of them are: 1. Boiling 2. Filtration 3. Bleaching powder treatment 4. SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) And the list goes on†¦. Boiling is perhaps the most commonly used water purification technique in use today. While in normal households it is an efficient technique; it cannot be used for industrial and large scale purposes. It is because in normal households, the water to be purified is very small in quantity and hence the water loss due to evaporation is almost negligible. But in Industrial or large scale purification of water the water loss due to evaporation will be quite high and the amount of purified water obtained will be very less. Filtration is also used for removing foreign particles from water. One major drawback of this purification process is that it cannot be used for removing foreign chemicals and impurities that are miscible with water. SODIS or Solar Water Disinfection is recommended by the United Nations for disinfection of water using soft drink bottles, sunlight, and a black surface– at least in hot nations with regularly intense sunlight. Water-filled transparent bottles placed in a horizontal position atop a flat surface in strong sunlight for around five hours will kill microbes in the water. The process is made even more safe and effective if the bottom half of the bottle or the surface it’s lying on is blackened, and/or the flat surface is made of plastic or metal. It’s the combination of heat and ultraviolet light which kills the organisms. The major drawback of this purification technique is that it cannot be used in countries with cold weather. Also, the time consumed for Purification process is more and it also needs a ‘blackened’ surface, much like solar cookers. Need for a stable purification technique Therefore we need a purification technique which can be used anytime and anywhere, does not require the use of any third party content and which is also economically feasible on both normal scale and large scale. Hence we look at the method of purification of water using the technique of treatment by bleaching powder commonly known as â€Å"Chlorination†. II. Theory History of water purification in different parts of the world. In 1854 it was discovered that a cholera epidemic spread through water. The outbreak seemed less severe in areas where sand filters were installed. British scientist John Snow found that the direct cause of the outbreak was water pump contamination by sewage water. He applied chlorine to purify the water, and this paved the way for water disinfection. Since the water in the pump had tasted and smelled normal, the conclusion was finally drawn that good taste and smell alone do not guarantee safe drinking water. This discovery led to governments starting to install municipal water filters (sand filters and chlorination), and hence the first government regulation of public water. In the 1890s America started building large sand filters to protect public health. These turned out to be a success. Instead of slow sand filtration, rapid sand filtration was now applied. Filter capacity was improved by cleaning it with powerful jet steam. Subsequently, Dr. Fuller found that rapid sand filtration worked much better when it was preceded by coagulation and sedimentation techniques. Meanwhile, such waterborne illnesses as cholera and typhoid became less and less common as water chlorination won terrain throughout the world. But the victory obtained by the invention of chlorination did not last long. After some time the negative effects of this element were discovered. Chlorine vaporizes much faster than water, and it was linked to the aggravation and cause of respiratory disease. Water experts started looking for alternative water disinfectants. In 1902 calcium hypo chlorite and ferric chloride were mixed in a drinking water supply in Belgium, resulting in both coagulation and disinfection. The treatment and distribution of water for safe use is one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century. Before cities began routinely treating drinking water with chlorine (starting with Chicago and Jersey City in US in 1908), cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and hepatitis A killed thousands of U. S. residents annually. Drinking water chlorination and filtration have helped to virtually eliminate these diseases in the U. S. and other developed countries. Meeting the goal of clean, safe drinking water requires a multi-barrier approach that includes: protecting source water from contamination, appropriately treating raw water, and ensuring safe distribution of treated water to consumers’ taps. During the treatment process, chlorine is added to drinking water as elemental chlorine (chlorine gas), sodium hypochlorite solution or dry calcium hypochlorite. When applied to water, each of these forms â€Å"free chlorine,† which destroys pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms. Almost all systems that disinfect their water use some type of chlorine-based process, either alone or in combination with other disinfectants. In addition to controlling disease-causing organisms, chlorination offers a number of benefits including: Reduces many disagreeable tastes and odors Eliminates slime bacteria, molds and algae that commonly grow in water supply reservoirs, on the walls of water mains and in storage tanks Removes chemical compounds that have unpleasant tastes and hinder disinfection and Helps remove iron and manganese from raw water. As importantly, only chlorine-based chemicals provide â€Å"residual disinfectant† levels that prevent microbial re-growth and help protect treated water throughout the distribution system. For more than a century, the safety of drinking water supplies has been greatly improved by the addition of bleaching powder. Disinfecting our drinking water ensures it is free of the microorganisms that can cause serious and life-threatening diseases, such as cholera and typhoid fever. To this day, bleaching powder remains the most commonly used drinking water disinfectant, and the disinfectant for which we have the most scientific information. Bleaching powder is added as part of the drinking water treatment process. However, bleaching powder also reacts with the organic matter, naturally present in water, such as decaying leaves. This chemical reaction forms a group of chemicals known as disinfection by-products. Current scientific data shows that the benefits of bleaching our drinking water (less disease) are much greater than any health risks from THMs and other by-products. Although other disinfectants are available, bleaching powder remains the choice of water treatment experts. When used with modern water filtration methods, chlorine is effective against virtually all microorganisms. Bleaching powder is easy to apply and small amounts of the chemical remain in the water as it travels in the distribution system from the treatment plant to the consumer’s tap, this level of effectiveness ensures that microorganisms cannot recontaminate the water after it leaves the treatment. But what is bleaching powder and how is it prepared? Bleaching powder or Calcium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with formula Ca(ClO) 2. It is widely used for water treatment and as a bleaching agent bleaching powder). This chemical is considered to be relatively stable and has greater available chlorine than sodium hypochlorite (liquid bleach). It is prepared by either calcium process or sodium process. Calcium Process 2 Ca(OH)2 + 2 Cl2 Ca(ClO)2 + CaCl2 + 2 H2O Sodium Process 2 Ca(OH)2 + 3 Cl2 + 2 NaOH Ca(ClO)2 + CaCl2 + 2 H2O + 2 NaCl But how can this chemical be used to sterilize water? This chemical can be used for sterilizing water by Using 5 drops of bleach per each half gallon of water to be purified, and allowing it to sit undisturbed for half an hour to make it safe for drinking. Letting it sit several hours more will help reduce the chlorine taste, as the chlorine will slowly evaporate out. A different reference advises when using household bleach for purification; add a single drop of bleach per quart of water which is visibly clear, or three drops per quart of water where the water is NOT visibly clear. Then allow the water to sit undisturbed for half an hour. What are the actual processes involved in disinfecting and purifying water? The combination of following processes is used for municipal drinking water treatment worldwide: 1. Pre-chlorination – for algae control and arresting any biological growth 2. Aeration – along with pre-chlorination for removal of dissolved iron and manganese 3. Coagulation – for flocculation 4. Coagulant aids also known as polyelectrolyte’s – to improve coagulation and for thicker floc formation 5. Sedimentation – for solids separation, that is, removal of suspended solids trapped in the floc 6. Filtration – for removal of carried over floc 7. Disinfection – for killing bacteria Out of these processes, the role of Bleaching powder is only in the last step i. e. for Disinfection of water. III. Experiment Aim To Determine the dosage of bleaching powder required for sterilization or disinfection of different samples of water. Requirements Burette, titration flask, 100ml graduated cylinder, 250ml measuring flask, weight box, glazed tile, glass wool. Bleaching Powder, Glass wool, 0. 1 N Na2S2O3 solution, 10% KI solution, different samples of water, starch solution. Pre-Requisite Knowledge 1. A known mass of the given sample of bleaching powder is dissolved in water to prepare a solution of known concentration. This solution contains dissolved chlorine, liberated by the action of bleaching powder with water. CaOCl2+H20 I Ca(OH)2+Cl2 2. The amount of Chlorine present in the above solution is determined by treating a known volume of the above solution with excess of 10% potassium iodide solution, when equivalent amount of Iodine is liberated. The Iodine, thus liberated is then estimated by titrating it against a standard solution of Sodium thiosulphate, using starch solution as indicator. Cl2+2KI i 2KCl+I2 I2+2Na2S2O3 i Na2S4O6+2NaI A known Volume of one of the given samples of water is treated with a known volume of bleaching powder solution. The amount of residual chlorine is determined by adding excess potassium iodide solution and then titrating against standard sodium thiosulphate solution. From the readings in 2 and 3, the amount of chlorine and hence bleaching powder required for the disinfection of a given volume of the given sample of water can be calculated. Procedure 1. Preparation of bleaching powder solution. Weigh accurately 2. 5g of the given sample of bleaching powder and transfer it to a 250ml conical flask. Add about 100-150ml of distilled water. Stopper the flask and shake it vigorously. The suspension thus obtained is filtered through glass wool and the filtrate is diluted with water (in a measuring flask) to make the volume 250ml. The solution obtained is 1% bleaching powder solution. 2. Take 20ml of bleaching powder solution in a stoppered conical flask and add it to 20ml of 10% KI solution. Stopper the flask and shake it vigorously. Titrate this solution against 0. 1N Na2S2O3 solution taken in the burette. When the solution in the conical flask becomes light yellow in color, add about 2ml starch solution. The solution now becomes blue in color. Continue titrating till the blue color just disappears. Repeat the titration to get a set of three concordant readings. 3. Take 100ml of the water sample in a 250ml stoppered conical flask and add it to 10ml of bleching powder solution. Then add 20ml of KI solution and stopper the flask. Shake vigorously and titrate against 0. 1N Na2S2O3 solution using starch solution as indicator as described in step 2. 4. Repeat the step 3 with other samples of water and record the observations.