Psy 1010

Psy 110, portions chap 5, 6 & 7M. Dwyer Fall 2009/ Exam #3 Chapter 5 1. What are the four kinds of reinforcers mentioned in your book? Define them and be prepared to give an example of each. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS INFORCE A STIMULI NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IS TO REMOVE A STIMULI POSITIVE PUNISHMENT IS WHEN A TARGITED BEHAVIOUR IS REMOVED BY PRESENTING A STIMULAS shouting at the dog NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT IS WHEN TARGET BEHAVIOUR BY REMOVING A STIMULAS toy removal 2. What are the four schedules of partial reinforcement we discussed? Which produces the highest rate of responding and the most resistance to extinction and why?FIXED INTERVAL reward every 5 mins FIXED RATIO reward every 5 responses VARIABLE INTERVAL an avg. every 3 mins and varied VARIABLE RATIO an avg. every 5 behaviours 3. What is the significance of latent learning and observational learning? How did discovery of these two important types of learning change our definition of psychology? OBERVATIONAL LEARNING learning by l ooking at others by observing LETENT LEARNING learning that is not directly observable 4. Define conditioned taste aversion, instinctual drift, subliminal learning, discovery learning, direct instruction, learning styles.TASTE AVERSION it is when we recognize a taste and in the future we try to avoid it due to its effect to us INSTINCTUAL DRIFT is the tendency of an organism to revert to instinctive behaviors that can interfere with the conditioned response SUBLIMINAL LEARNING sub means below and luminal light it is the theory that states that a person can learn even with little information which if is continuously repeated DISCOVERY LEARNING is when we learn after experiencing something for our self DIRECT INSTRUCTION learning through given instruction e. g. ectures not experiments LERNING STYLE it the type of style that best fits a individual Chapter 6 5. When we have a memory of an event it is a reconstruction of the event. Explain what that means. What information goes into our reconstructions of the past? Previous info Trace memories of the event Past experiences Context of the person asking the question 6. What are the functions, span(capacity), and duration of each of the three types of memory processes? Sensory memory Short term memory Long term memory 7. What happens in sensory store? What does it mean when we say that these processes are preattentive?PREATTENTIVE –SO FAST WE DON’T KNOW WE ARE DOING IT IMAGE IS CREATEDLD WE SCAN IMAGE AND PICK UP INFORMATION THAT WE WANT FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS 8. The three types of processes that go on in short term memory (working memory) are.. I listed them .. beginning with the match-mismatch identification of incoming information, maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal—be able to give a number of examples of the latter†¦ GATHER INFO REHERCE INFO REHERCE IT TILL IT IS STORED IN LONG TERM MEMORY 9. What are proactive and retroactive interference? Be able to give examples.RETRO ACTIVE ability to recall something that you have learned in the past after lerning something new PROACTIVE ability to learn second lesson after learning the both lessons 10. Be able to name and give examples of all the different types of long term memory. SEMANTIC OUR KNOWLOGE ABOUT FACTS FO THE WORLD EPISODIC RECOLLECTION OF EVENTS OF OUR LIVES EXPLICIT MEMORIES WE RECALL INTENTIONALLY AND WHICH WE HAVE CONSTANT AWARENESS IMPLICIT MEMORIES FOR HOW WE DO THINGS PROCEDURAL ABILITY TO IDENTIFY A STIMULAS MORE EASILY OR QUICKLY AFTER WE ENCOUNTER SIMILAR STIMULI 11.Define encoding, storage and retrieval. ENCODING IS THE PROCESS OF GETTING INFORMATION INTO OUR MEMORY BANKS STORING IS THE PROCES OF KEEPING INFORMATION IN OUR MEMORY REVIVAL IS THE REACTIVATION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF EVENTS FROM OUR MEMORY STORAGE 12. What are the different forms of retrieval? Be able to identify one of each in the items on your test.. RECALL – IF U TRULY LEARN IT RECOGNITION- MULTI CHOICE SKETCHY INDERSTAN DING 13. What are the three ways in which the concept of â€Å"specificity of cues† apply to memory retrieval. RELEARN -REAQUIRING KNOWLOGE THAT WE PRVIOUSLYLEARNED BUT FORGOTTEN OVER TIME RECALL-GENERATING PREVIOUSLY GENERATED INFORMATION RECOGNISATION- SELECTIONG INFO FROM ARRY OF INFO THAT WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY LEARNED 14. What do we mean by levels of processing? MARE DEEP REPETITION PROCESS MARE BRAIN MARE 15. What are semantic networks, lexicons, and schemas? (define them). 16. Name five study tips that would improve student test performance. 20 MIN BREAK LONG TERM NO CRAMMING SAME STATE SIT IN SAM SEAT 17. How do we distinguish between false memories or true memories? MORE REHERSAL CONSIDER THE PROBE DISTINCT BW BIAS Chapter 7: 18. What is language?Define it and be able to discuss its basic components. PATTERN OF SIGNALS GENERATIVE AND IS COMPLECATED SYMBOLS WORDS GESTURES RULE BOUND ENCODING AND DECODING IT IS ARBITUARY 19. What are the early stages of language developmen t? The early stages comprise of babbling in children where they utter parts of words which they cannot pronounce but as the early stages pass gradually the child starts to utter words in a more meaning full pattern and the later on in life they interpret words give them meanings this type of behavior is coved in behaviorism where learning is done by observing. 0. Define phonemes, morphemes, babbling, syntax (Of surface and prescriptive grammar, which of these two is taught to us by our elementary and high school teachers? ) Phonemes is the smallest unit of sound Morphemes are composed of phonemes and a number of them to create meaning Babbling is the experimentation of noise making by the child trying to speak making vovel sound 21. Familiarize yourself with and be able to critiques the four theories of language development covered in your book.

Martha Stewart’s Loss Reputation Essay

Martha Stewart is a well-known and respected woman who represents the successful women that made it on their own in today’s society. Not only is she a stock broker, but her fashion, style, good taste, TV show and her line of house wares is what got her the popular publicity among many. When allegations against Martha Stewart surfaced many questioned her ethical actions. Due to allegations her profit reduces and the MSO dropped. Martha Stewart’s main target consisted of women who were attracted by her charisma. Let’s face it Martha was good at what she did, and women wanted to be like her by purchasing her products. Martha’s customers trusted her products and believed in its purpose. When the accusations rose against Martha, many started to question her ethical actions and wondered if they knew the real Martha and what she stood for. As days passed Martha continued to take the highlight of top new, at the same time her revenue reduced tremendously. As the profits went down, investors were getting ready to pay less and less for the shares of MSO. After doing some research on MSO financial statement I realized that MSO revenue has rapidly increasing before her reputation was harmed. In 1999 MSO total revenue was $232,314 and in 2001 it was $295,627. You can defiantly see the increase in the numbers. Even though the economy and MSO competition I would assume that the revenue would keep on rising if Martha’s reputation weren’t harmed. According to MSO financial statements, even though the MSO total revenue dropped to $212,433 in 2005, but by 2007 it was already up to $327,890. Based on total revenue predictions I would assume that the same would happen with the stock price. If Martha’s reputation was not harmed the stock price would have kept on increasing. Regardless of legal actions, in my view Martha was ethically wrong. When the allegations first rose if Martha was innocent she should of came forward and defended herself. At the same time complying with police investigation would of helped with her reputation. To a person like Martha Stewart $45,673 would not have been a good motivation to break the law and most importantly damage her reputation. If she didn’t do anything wrong she could of donated that money to charity, which will show her well intentions. Martha also could of made a donation to a local community at need. Insider training is not only illegal but it’s also unethical. Everyone deserves a chance at fair opportunity to make investment decisions. Regardless of Martha Stewart’s actions I still believe she was unethical and her actions is what caused harm to her reputation. Texaco: The Ecuador Issue â€Å"Around 1964 Texaco Inc. started operating through a subsidiary company TexPet in the Amazon region of Ecuador† (Brooks & Dunn, 2010). TexPet was a minor owner of the project and its partner was Petroecudar. Petroecuador is a government owned oil company. Overtime thanks to TexPet’s operations Ecuador greatly benefited, however at the time no one saw the bigger picture and long-time damages. Not only did Ecuador receive â€Å"approximately 98 percent of all money generated† (Brooks & Dunn, 2010), but it also helped the economy by providing more then 2,800 job positions. At this time it looks like Texaco was ethically wrong. They were doing their business, which they were very successful at. At the same time they are able to help out country at need. For the short-term everyone seemed to be perfectly okay with Texaco doing oil business in Ecuador. But then what happened? Even though Texaco has pulled out of the consortium in 1992, three big lawsuits were filed against them. By 1998, the $40 million remediation project was completed, which included clear lands were replaced, contaminated soil was remediated, and producing water systems were modified. This right here shows that Texaco had some kind of moral and ethical consideration towards their actions. â€Å"In 1994, a cancer study released by the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York confirmed the health problems in the region† (Gillis, 2011). After reading this article written by Gills, I would say that Texaco was ethically wrong for what they did, and Ecuador had every right to sue them in United States. There had to be some kind of truth behind Texaco knowing what the possible negative effects were going to be, and someone has to stop the companies from unethical behavior. In situation where oil spills were caused by natural disaster the company should not be held liable. If there was a documented earthquake and Texaco could prove that the oil spill damages were cause by the earthquake then they should not be held responsible. Every company should have procedures in place to prevent from oil spills in case of natural disaster and try to control the action as much as possible. They way there is always a plan A, B and C in place. While the three lawsuits had significant points, I must say that Texaco’s argument showed evidence of concern. After all they did spend $40 million on remediation project. This act shows that they were concerned about the outcome of their actions. But was it already late for their generosity? Their actions did not match their concerns at all, which makes my point more valid that they acted unethically. Where Were the Accountants? Norm, is a graduate student who is about to apply to an accounting firm for a job when he notices few issues that are bugging him. After applying what he has learned and the rules and regulations of GAAP, Norm came to conclusion that the actions taken were unethical and wrong. Considering that he is second guessing himself about becoming a professional accountant I would remind him what he has learned, what his beliefs are, and what the rules and regulations were of GAAP. First of all I would make sure to point out to Norm that he is a great accountant already for noticing those issues. Maybe those mistakes were made on purpose but maybe they were done by error with a poor judgment. Norm’s knowledge is fresh and he has so much to offer to every accounting firm that they would be lucky to have him. Next to his brilliance are his morals, which I would remind him of. The fact that he notices something wrong in those articles is big. But what is even bigger is that he is willing to do something about it. Trust is very big when it coms to accountants and its clients. Norm needs to keep in mind that he needs to establish a relationship based on trust with his future clients. Last but not least I would remind Norm that the best he can do is at all the time follow the rules and regulations of GAAP. If he sticks to the rules and regulations he will not have to worry about being in same position as those articles were. Anyone can do the job, but not everyone can do the job the right way. With that being said I would remind Norm of all the curses we took together and how we aced on all of them. Norm doesn’t need any help on figuring out what to do with his career. What he needs is a gentle reminder of what he knows and where his ethical stand is. As someone who went to school with Norm, I would make sure to tell him that I believe he would be a good accountant. Reference Brooks, L., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business &professional ethics for directors, executives & accountants. (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western. Form 10-k: Martha stewart living omnimedia inc-mso. (2008, March 17). Retrieved from http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/96/960/96022/items/284892/10-K_as_Annual-Report.pdf Gillis, C. (2011, April 27). Ecuador vs. chevron-texaco: A brief history. Retrieved from http://www.counterspill.org/article/ecuador-vs-chevron-texaco-brief-history

Sustainability of Debt Finance Management

Chief Executive of ICAEW proposed the finding that a more sustainable pattern of British companies are to survive the financial management and learning  with less debt (Malcolm & Edwards, 1998). But whether this finding is convincing is unknown. Evaluation of the debt finance statement is needed to implement in this essay.It is apparent for this essay to focus on two aspects of the comment from ICAEW, one is whether the financial management of UK businesses is experiencing a more sustainable situation and the other is the actual debt development and the development situation of UK businesses. And this essay is going to argue this finding with the framework of literature review, assumptions and financial analysis. This essay is going to pick Tesco Plc for subject of analysis.1.1 Literature review Literature review is helpful to comment the findings from ICAEW about the impact of the sustainable model of financial management on debt conditions of UK businesses. The framework of the l iterature review consists of advantage (importance) and disadvantages (risks) of debt financing and impact factors affecting the debt finance management.The importance of the debt management for the corporations To many entrepreneurial organizations, debt is tempting and is glamorous genre of financing. It is widely accepted that external debt are close companions of external equity, and since the equity is necessary for the entities, debt are indispensable for the companies (Pratt & Morris, 1987). Besides, many advantages are generated from the debt financing of the company. Firstly, debt financing is an efficient leverage tool for shareholders of the companies to produce profits with the help of debt capitals (Ruud, 2012).Although the debt capitals are used at the price of financial interest or costs, namely that it is possible to reduce earnings before tax, shareholders still take this risk to use the debt leverage financial tool to add more value of their capital amount and keep sufficient internal funds available to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities. What is more, debt financing is helpful in reducing agency costs of free cash flows (Michael, 1986).Because agency cost is an eternal paradox in the corporate management, shareholders and managers are playing intra beneficial game with each other. Shareholders want to improve value with as small amount of own capitals as possible and mangers would like to  use safer capitals from shareholders and boost their bonus. Any failure from misuse or inefficient use of capital from shareholders by managers is agency cost and the positive debt finance is a way to balance this situation.Risks of debt financing for the entrepreneurs Even though debt financing is of great advantages and is very important for the entrepreneurs, risks still exist in the debt financing management. The main risk of the debt financing is the high rate of interests from the debt. It is clear that financial costs are mainly from the debt financing and the costs come after the operating interest (Robert, 1974), the number of the costs need to be controlled so that the earnings before tax are positive, namely that the profits are truly generated from proper use of debt.Furthermore, debt financing will place risk on the cash flow management of the companies (Davis, 1995), because the contradiction of the maturity of loan and fluctuation of the operating, investing or financing situation may lead to the breakage of the cash flows. Finally, the defaults from the debt financing the corporations manage may exacerbate the loss of reputation and integrity (Davis, 1995). This reputational loss will deter the chance for the corporations to borrow money.The impact factors of debt managementDebt financing management is influenced by different factors. It may be affected by the scale of the corporations. Generally speaking, it is more comment for small businesses to finance debt for operation (Acs, 1999). Because s mall businesses rather than large scale of businesses have less reputation and competitiveness to attract external equity or equity capital, small entrepreneurs have to turn to help of the financial intermediaries such as commercial banks and lender companies to borrow external capital to back up the operations of the organizations.On the other hand, large companies have privileges to finance capital by capital funding, shareholder investment and stakeholder investment. What is more, debt financing management is close related to the managerial style, or the governance, of the companies. For risk-averse managers, who are prudent in producing profits with safer and cheaper capital, they will prefer to manage finance  by receiving shareholders’ funding rather lenders’ (Amihud & Lev, 1981).1.2 Assumption and argument for this debt financing findings from ICAEW Based on the literature review, it cannot primarily reach the conclusion about the debt and the survival situati on of UK businesses. Before this essay expends the argument of whether the more sustainable model of financial management are currently using by UK business and they are survive with less debt, it is important to set the assumption for the argument. And the assumptions are as follow. The first assumption is that UK businesses discussed in this essay are those running on their track rather the new start-ups or newcomers who are eager in need for external debt or equity.The second assumption is that the capital structure of the UK businesses discussed is operating at least one kind of debt.The third assumption is that the debt change (accent or decent) are not caused by the managerial style or the scale of the corporations.1.3 Financial ratio analysis for the debt financing situation of the chosen listed company1.3.1 Debt financing performance According to the assumption preset above, this essay choose the listed company Tesco Plc in UK to testify the comment of ICAEW. Calculation and explanation of relevant ratios over a five-year period will be presented as follow. Referring to the long-term liabilities, the absolute number of long-term liabilities experiences a big rocket and a fluctuation from 2008 to 2012. Long-term liabilities in 2008 were  £5,972 million in 2008 and rose by more than one times to  £12,391 in 2009 than in 2008. Although the absolute number of long-term liabilities dropped a little in 2010, they increased to  £12,731 in 2012.When it comes to the short-term and long-term debt, they showed a consecutive up and down from 2008 to 2012 (See appendix two). One of the very important aspects of detecting debt financing situation of a certain company of UK is the average debt/asset ratio (Allen & Gregory, 2003). This ratio of can show the ability of debt to making  contribution to adding assets. From appendix one, although a slight rise of 2.36% occurred in 2009, a decent trend of average debt/asset ratio is irresistible from 52.82% in 2008 to 46.23% in 2012. The situation imply the decreasing trend of debt financing in the whole system though the absolute value of the debt is in a growth Another method for evaluating the debt financing is to assess the liquidity ratio of the target company.This is a method to assess the short-term debt of Tesco Plc (Gombola, 1983). From the liquidity ratios such as current ratio, acid test ratio and operating cash flows to maturing obligations, a lot of insight can be incorporated into the present cash solvency of the firm and the firm’s ability to remain solvent in the event of adversity. Firstly, the current ratio presents the degree of current assets covering the current liabilities. It was interesting to see from 2008 to 2012 the current ratios of Tesco Plc first increased by 29.57% and kept decreasing by 5.97%, 4.55% and 1.23% in the consecutive three years, but the current ratios were in a growth in the whole picture from 0.58 to 0.67. The situation implies that the syste matic risks of covering the short-term debt are decreasing.Acid test ratio illustrates the liquidity excluding inventory. The acid test ratio of Tesco Plc experienced a drop variation trend from 0.35 to 0.48 by an accent of 53.26%.But it cannot disprove the endeavor made by Tesco Plc to decrease acid test ratio consecutively from 2009 to 2012. The other financial ratio for testifying the long-term debt situation is the ratio of financial gearing. Financial Gearing is the ratio presenting the efficiency of using debt to generate profits. Financial Gearing includes debt equity ratio or leverage (D/E), and interest coverage ratio (Harrington, 2004). Debt equity ratio or leverage (D/E) demonstrates the same development details as the liquidity ratios do. Tesco Plc increased from 0.50 to 0.77 by 70.35% (first increased by 90.03% in 2009 then decreased from 2010 to 2012 in a row).The original soar in D/E may results from the overestimated optimism for the economic environment and over bor row long-term debt, and it takes time to lower the high percentage of debt. On the other hand, interest coverage ratio illustrates the coverage of earnings before interests and taxes to financial interests. From 2008 to 2012, the interest ratio of Tesco Plc dropped from 11.16 to 9.20 and it seems Tesco Plc has less competitive ability to cope with interest costs from debt financing. However, after the two-year decrease in this ratio,  interest coverage ratio rise by more than 20% in two consecutive years from 2011 to 2012.1.3.2 Operation performance But even the debt financial level is decreasing from the financial analysis above, it is important to evaluate whether Tesco Plc has better survive with less debt. So the assessments of the profitability of profitability, efficiency and shareholders situation of Tesco Plc are necessary (Cunningham, 1995). In the aspect of profitability, ROE of Tesco Plc was experiencing a fluctuation from 2008 to 2012. Tesco Plc decrease from 18.08% in 2008 to 15.85% in 2012 by 12.61%. During the 2010 to 2011 duration, Tesco Plc had risen by 0.93% in the ratio of ROE, however, this increase could not turn around the decent situation. Return on capital employed of Tesco Plc experienced a similar fluctuated decreasing rate (similar with ROE) from 15.69% in 2008 to 12.17% in 2012.From the perspective of efficiency ratios, they are ratios measurement of the effectiveness of assets performance of the Tesco Plc (Fraser, 2004). Efficiency ratios includes inventory turnover (days) and creditors' turnover (days). Inventory turnover present the efficiency of Tesco Plc to manage the inventory. As can be seen from Appendixes, the numbers of days for Tesco Plc increased from 20.31 days to 22.15 days by a rate of 9.41%, namely that Tesco Plc performed more slowly than before (circulating the same number of stocks with more time). When it comes to another efficiency ratio, debtors’ turnover (days), demonstrates the average number of days for which receivables are outstanding before retrieve.The debtors’ turnover for Tesco Plc increased from 10.12 days to 15.03 days by a rate of 42.63%. And it turned out that the debtors’ turnover of Sainsbury Plc was circulated from every 4.22 days in 2008 to 4.68 days in 2012. The situation of Shareholder can be assessed by the dividend per share, dividend payout ratio, earnings per share and operating cash flow per share. Dividend per share presents a different development trend for Tesco Plc. The dividend per share rose from 0.08 in 2008 to 0.10 in 2012 by 29.78%. Similarly, EP of Tesco Plc demonstrated an increase of 27.66% from 0.27 to 0.33 and dividend payout ratio of Tesco increased by 2.41% (0.28 to 0.29).1.3.3 Systematic debt financing performance Based on the financial analysis on both debt financing and operations, systematic debt financing is semi-match the opinion of ICAEW. Firstly, the ability of coping with short-term and long-term debt is more competit ive even though the total volume of debt is increasing. But this is not â€Å"less debt† as the saying goes in the opinion of ICAEW. Secondly, even though the â€Å"less debt† refers to more competitive ability to handle debt, the operations of profitability and assets ability are still failed to improve or say few evidence can prove the company with less debt can better survive. Thirdly, the improvement in shareholders situation is one symbol that implies better survival of Tesco Plc but the paradox between profitability and shareholders is need to further explained. In addition, as the forth point, policies are connective with the coping ability with debt. From 2010 to 2012, Tesco Plc procurement policy provides robust and consistent debt selection.Conclusion In conclusion, debt financing plays an important part in organizations but it also hide risks when corporations employ this tool. But doubts arise from the opinion that UK businesses can survive with less debt p ublished by ICAEW. After the analysis of financial ratios on debt and operations performance in Tesco Plc among UK businesses from the consecutive five years based on the assumptions, this essay cannot get the conclusive conclusion about the relations of survival and less debt. But if debt financing here refers to the improve ability to cope with debt rather volume of debt, it may be concluded that some of the UK companies at least Tesco had worse-off profitability and efficiency with less debt. And whether the sustainability model of debts financing in UK is sustainable is needed to be further explained.Question 2 Evaluate the role of finance director in an organization Introduction Financial director, as another name of CFO (Chief Financial Officer), is the main character in the organization to control the financial situation. Since the financial director wears the critical responsibility, it is meaningful to find out what kind of responsibilities or roles are for financial direct or. This essay focuses on exploring the roles of financial director from aspects of literature review and the scenario (Tesco Plc) comparison between different kinds of job roles, and what kind of sources, or information, or evidence in the financial report can prove the described roles above.2.1 Literature review of roles of finance director Financial director is an important role in the system of management in an organization and scholars in the academic or industry has many researches into the topic about financial director. And the framework this essay establishes is a reorganization of the theoretical and practical pinions on financial director.Compiling financial reports A competitive financial director is like a doctor who is engaged in safeguarding the healthiness of financial situation of the organizations (Michael, 1999). This safeguard role is quite different from other related financial occupations, since the largest financial burden is laid on the shoulder of finance di rector. Although financial director lead a team to perform the job about financial reports, he fulfills the solo responsibility of the accuracy of the financial reports (Roles of finance directors, 2013). During the financial work performance, finance director has to manage a financial team as well. And finance director act as the company's treasurer to keep the accuracy of the financial results, because one mistake is a mile in many aspects, such as capital structure, earnings per share or EBIT.Perform analysis on financial reports There is too much information in the financial reports and some of the information is hard to understand without translation. Financial director uses financial and non-financial ratios or conclusive and simple information, which other managers, shareholders and stake holders need, to present the key information of the financial situation of the organization (Keith &Falshaw, 1999).Besides the interpretation of the financial reports,  finance director de tects problems through the horizontal and vertical analysis on the financial reports in order to figure out approaches to achieve the perfect financial condition and try endeavors to maximize profitability. After the financial analysis on the financial report, financial director proposes an analysis report on historical data, positions the financial goals and objectives, and make the prospective strategy for the organization.Help operating the company and make the prospective strategy for the companyFinancial director not just theoretically analyze or improve the financial situation using the historical data from consecutive financial reports (Grant, Roman & Sidney, 2014). He incorporates the financial information into financial operation in the company. Overseeing payroll activity for staff and participants in order to avoid fraud; monitoring the banking activities of the organization to ensure sufficient liquidity to meet daily needs; Investigating cost-effective production approa ches in the production line. Besides the internal financial events, he represents the company to meet government in order to control the rhythm of the tax payment or government funding. What is more, he also takes an informative and advice supportive part in marking, operation, financing and investment decision making.2.2 Roles of finance director of Tesco Plc and comparison of other job advents 2.2.1The evaluation of roles of financial director of Tesco Plc Laurie McIlwee has been taking the position of Chief Financial Officer (Finance director) of Tesco Plc since 27 January 2009. As a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a member of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors, Laurie McIlwee has experienced years of finance director responsibility in Tesco UK and Pepsico. His horizontal international finance management is impressive. But it is important evaluate whether he meet the roles of the financial director while working in Tesco Plc.Ordinary Financial enga gement Besides composing the financial statements and financial reports for the board of directors and shareholders, Laurie McIlwee is responsible for utilizing financial and non-financial ratios to analyze the historical data from 2010 to 2012 (Financial Report, 2012) and select key ratios, present then as clear graph and report them in the financial report in order to keep the financial reports usable for the users.He also monitors any external financial issues, such as relationship with government and tax bureau. And He is responsible for establishing and maintaining a strong working relationship with outside consultants, bank representatives and insurance and bonding representatives. What is more, Laurie McIlwee affects the continued operation of the company by positioning the financial boosting strategy in the foreseeable future. His duties also include managing, maintain and forecasting the company's cash requirements and cash flow. He also reviews and signs all financial repo rts, tax returns and audit reports.Financial Team Management Laurie McIlwee is of course unlikely to cope with the actual receipt of income or the paying of bills in person, he wisely leads a team on all kinds of financial jobs (Financial Report, 2012). The chief finance officer Laurie McIlwee oversees all accounting personnel within the financial team.His mentor and develop the accounting team and manage their tasks and processes, training and performance evaluation He regulations to ensure compliance with current and future Management Accountants Society of practices and procedures to govern the financial director of an appropriate internal control safeguards and requirements Hundred Group Business Development and Strategy DutiesThe CFO Laurie McIlwee directs financial strategy, including borrowing and investment strategies (Financial Report, 2012). He also establishes and monitors budget planning and forecasts. He works with CMO, COO and the heads from other department. Finance i s expected to incorporate other strategic objectives. In order to meet their specific objectives closely with vice president of information technology, development tools, and the president and providing important financial and operational information systems to CEO.2.2.2 Other jobs advents for comparison CEO Philip Clarke is the CEO of Tesco Plc for more than 3years until today. He is mainly responsible for developing company goals (Financial Report, 2012). He formulated the objectives, designed the progress to achieve these goals. In determining the direction of the company in the process, he defined the specific market, observe competitors and determine how the company will come to the fore.In addition, Philip Clarke build a competitive team to assist him in the operation of Tesco Plc. Philip Clark uses the best part of the individual team and solve the senior team and the members of the corporate culture differences between a company's values through the establishment. Setting bu dget is an important role of the CEO, the CEO is only when the budget is set for a certain strategy, CFO or Finance Director may adjust the budget implementation plan. Finally, CEO Philip Clarke have functional public relations. Under many circumstances, it is CEO that pre builds the client relationship before CMO can keep the continuous relationship with the client.CMO Min Mason is the CMO of Tesco Plc. His job is different from finance director Laurie Mcllwee and CEO Philip Clarke. He launches research and development in order to determine the potential need for a product or service based on current market demand (Financial Report, 2012). Moreover, he cooperate with Lanrie Mcllwee to make an available financial R & D budget. Secondly, Mim Mason is responsible for making promotion strategies by managing the overall marketing and advertising campaign and analyzing effectiveness of a campaign and what types of modifications. For example, the promotion of â€Å"Everyday Big sale† in Tesco Plc designed specifically for women and let them feel satisfactory. Min Mason has to manage not only public relations, but also the three aspects mentionedCOO Kevin Grace is a COO in Tesco. He was the main contact with the other officers of the Board. Kevin Grace manages the daily functions of the company, reporting to the CEO and the board regarding the company needs or  performance, make a final decision in many daily problems (Financial Report, 2012). If a company could find a COO like Kevin Grace who is a reliable manager, COO can become into the role of CEO in situations where the board realizes that a current CEO will be retirement. In addition, the role of the COO has been changed. COO need to learn the CEO position. COO becomes an alternate, not a partner. The responsibilities of COO will begin to take on the role of the CEO over time. When Kevin Grace stepped down as South Korea, he was promoted to be the CEO of Poland and UK Property Director.2.3 Effective ev aluation of availability of sources of information All the role information is truly comes from the 2012 Tesco Plc annual report, and it is presented dispersively in the financial report. With the evidence of financial statements, notes of financial statements, clear graph, convincing declarations from the board of directors, the truth and effectiveness can be proven to support the role evaluation of the roles of different directors (Financial Report, 2012). ConclusionIn conclusion, this essay centers on the role evaluation of finance director by demonstrating literature reviewing, citing roles of finance director in Tesco Plc, comparing the roles of finance directors and CEO, CMO and COO in Tesco Plc, and evaluating the effectiveness of evident used to citing examples. Question 3Evaluation for the usefulness of budgeting and budgetary control in Tesco Plc Introduction A budgeting control is a mechanism assisting senior managers in setting the adequate spending limits. It is importa nt since risks of expenditure exceeding from the potential budget are what corporation cannot bear and the risks will have an unfavorable impact on corporate profits. So in order to count on the importance to focus on the budgetary control, this essay is going to throw literature control in the budgetary control to see what accomplishment that scholars achieve in this field, and introduce the empirical example of implementing budgetary control in a corporation by citing Tesco Plc.3.1 Literature review in budgetary control Scholars in academic field have been doing many researches in the field of budgetary control. They refer the budget control to almost all aspects in the business operation. But after reorganization, this essay reframes the outline of the literature review in budgetary control. Businesses of different kind of scales require different kinds of basic financial concerns and monetary limits in order to keep cost-effective efficiency. Budgetary control is indispensable i n the business operation. Cost controllingThe main objective of budget control is to control the cost. Capitals are limited in one organization (Ariratana, Treputtarat & Tang, 2013). Smart and appropriate cost of using is good for cost-effectiveness to save. Through the full use of the capital budget, managers take effective measures to save money. The definition of the budget is a list of intended or expected expenditures of money and proposed to satisfy these expenditures. By presenting the amount of money that will be used for different projects to satisfy different strategy, the managers can handle different assignment with an elastic budget boundary, because decision-makers can see exactly what they are spending their capital on.Perspective planning Budgetary control can lead a perspective planning in the business. It is indispensible in the management style of making strategy based on the limited capital or the style of organizing capitals for budget for the decisive planning (Dariya & Klaus, 2013). All businesses have the requirement to balance its short-term expenditures with savings and investments that they can use enough jetton to meet the long-term developmental expand or take advantage of special opportunities. Budgetary management is designed with the changeable need from business opportunities coverage and allows a business to monitor necessary spending along with the capital and earnings in order to generate positive profits. Financial statement compilingBudgetary control serves a significant practical role by assisting accountants and auditors to compile financial reports for report users. For the reports in internal use within the organization, budgetary controlling can provide information of costs controlling, strategy positioning and internal operation (David, 1998). For the reports use by publicity such as regulators, industry analysts, stockholders and investors, budget controlling presents the comparison of the original planning of the l imited capital and the ability for the business to implement actions to spend money and achieve the original goals. The budget controlling is also important in helping managers to handle the corporate profits and corporate cash flows.Business success evaluation Budgetary control gives comprehensive evaluation of the availability of and the success of specific efforts in the businesses (Yanwu & Fei-Yue, 2014). In other words, the link of budget control reflect the input and output in the changing business activities, such as staff training. However, if the future budget show that due to the employees’ mistake, training programs and its cost recovery issues more significant decline would be reasonable. Similarly, if the new forms of consumption can have a negative impression of the future budget, it will be eliminated, maybe it is good to use with similar goals.3.2 Budgetary control in Tesco Plc This paragraph is going to evaluate the usefulness of budgeting and budgetary contr ol in Tesco PlcUse budgetary controlling tools as policy document Firstly, Tesco Plc smartly uses the budgetary controlling as a policy document to protect important projects. The importance of a budget used as part of policy considerations is to generate enough capital for profitable but vulnerable projects. According to the announcement in early 2012, Tesco Plc plans to substantially increase investment in the shopping trip – particularly in the UK with a limited and special budget.On the one hand, Tesco Plc anticipate minimal Group trading profit growth for the year 2012, namely that Tesco has considered the possible opportunity costs in the budget when implementing the project. On the other hand, Tesco Plc reduces levels of old capital expenditure when it modifies its policy of expansion.  To further protect the project, Tesco Plc establishes another policy that no bonus will be paid to Executives unless performance is greater than budget, representing year-on-year grow th in profit.Financial awareness Budget Control provides financial awareness of business expenses and income. In the case of Tesco Plc, it needs to take into account tax expenses, thus setting the budget report. When a new tax resolution passed by Congress, which adjust their tax budget accordingly. The budget outline shows the number of business from sales and additional revenue in one month. It shows how much companies spend on operating costs even as revenue. Operational budget should also display a given assets and liabilities Tesco plc in the current time. This reveals whether a company's financial position is positive or negative. Tesco's financial situation reveals the budget showed that the business is profitable or create monthly debt.Business Opportunities One advantage of having a financial budget for Tesco Plc is to recognize opportunities that can help market and expand the business. The budget reveals the amount of profit the business can put aside each month. Tesco Pl c uses the profit to expand the business and market it in new ways by attending conferences and joining marketing campaigns with larger businesses. Informing the funding available can help the business owner plan ahead and market the business in new and creative ways.For example, Tesco Plc did researches in 2012 and found out the challenging year for consumers in many of Tesco Plc markets are suffering tight budget in household management by inflation, austerity and high fuel price. That would possibly reduce the enthusiasm of consuming in Tesco Plc. But considering the tight budget Tesco Plc also is facing, Tesco Plc transfers to the international businesses and performed this switch strongly. Thanks for the wise business opportunities, Tesco Plc delivers an 18% increase in profits, which helped to compensate for the reduction in trading profit in the UK.Communication Tool Through monthly, half-yearly financial budget statements or reports budgetary  control tools communicative a cts each year. When held for budgetary control will be discussed from time to time to collect the director, directors can share the latest ideas and mentality, improve the efficiency of the method and the target budget. With the discussing, budget is essentially a communication tool, because it shows how the enterprise works and how the smart money used.Budgets are discussed in Board, Executive Committee of Tesco Plc regularly and the risk management proposal will be shared in order to improving the efficiency of budgeting. In order to control the budget better, All business sectors in Tesco Plc has stretched the budget based on the Balanced Scorecard and KPI's steering system and performance indicators are monitored on an ongoing and regular basis to the BoardFinancial planning Tesco Plc implements regular review of strategy, risks and financial performance by Board and Executive Committee, with external advice as required and makes consistent operational plans and budgets develope d throughout the Group to ensure delivery. What is more, Broad of directors in Tesco Plc approves the budget and long-term plan for the Group. The budget controlling reveals the assets and liabilities in Tesco Plc so that it can have better evaluation of itself when making business decision. Budget controlling can help Tesco Plc create a financial plan as mentioned above so the liabilities can be addressed before the debt becomes uncontrollable.ConclusionIn conclusion, budgeting control is really important in the aspect of costs controlling, perspective planning, financial statement compiling, and business success evaluation according to the literature reviewing. After citing the example of Tesco Plc, further information about budget controlling containing Use budgetary controlling tools as policy document, financial awareness, business opportunities, communication tool and financial planning.

Fifth Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fifth Business - Essay Example The snowball that hit Mary Dempster caused the premature birth of Paul and the insanity of Mary. This episode in his childhood had brought Dunstan an unending guilt that had enveloped him all through his life. There were several people whom Dunstan had met that helps him understand his roles as well as let himself loose of the burden of guilt he had felt since that eventful day with Staunton and Mary Dempster. Myth finds a place in the heart of Dunstan and teaches him to grow. Magic is the escape of yore that Dunstan seeks and successfully rediscovers. Religion, myth, and magic are intertwined in Dunstan Ramsay's life, crucial for the completion of Ramsay as a person through the wonder they inspire. (http://www.geocities.com/echomyst/literature/fifth_business.html, para 1) Being a saint and being a mad person depend entirely on how people thought of one's personality. The religious practices and influences of one person according to his or her beliefs affect how people would see one's perception towards him or her. Dunstan Ramsay's taking full responsibility of Mary Dempster had taught him the saintly versions of life. She had shown him several miracles that had brought him closer to her that he regarded Mary as more than his friend, but a spiritual guide - a fool-saint who has nurtured his soul. His feelings towards him were even more than the maternal love he had felt towards his own mother. The miracles that Mary had shown her were those when she brought his brother back to life, that she appeared to him in his own war (World War I) related illness, and that she converts a dirty tramp into a minister - Surgeoner, whose life Mary changed forever and now heads the Lifeline Mission. (http://www.geocities.com/fossilfreak/books/fifth.html, para 3 & 15) However, Dunstan attitudes towards Mary were contrasted by the society such that they regard her as a "mad" woman that even her husband sees her a his "heavy cross." He had a totally different view of Mary's personality even though his innocence ked him to see her sexuality as "madness," he was still able to accept her as a "wise woman" and as a "saint." ("Dialectic") This situation in the novel only shows that a saintly representation of someone else to another person may sometimes be a madness to other people as dictated by his or her religious beliefs and the people he or she is associated with. Furthermore, these representations or views towards other people changes as one encounters other situations that might lead him to discovering new worlds of manly desires and characters. Conclusion There is therefore a thin line separating personal mythologies such as being a saint and being a mad person as perceived by other people. These perceptions are based on how one's personality is able to influence the life of another in a way that would relieve the burdens that a person carries in his life and grow maturely as a person. (http://www.geocities.com/fossilfreak/books/fifth.html, para 23) Works Cited: Dialectic, Morality and Deptford Trilogy. http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/SCL/bin/get.cgidirectory=vol12_1/&filename= LoVerso.htm. December 12, 2006. _______. http://www.geocities.com/echomyst/literature/fifth_business.html. December 12, 2006. Fifth Business Introduction The various religions present in the society encompass various beliefs as well. But

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Business Ethics - Essay Example So let’s get done with it and legalize it! The violence that resulted in the prohibition of drugs is not new. It is usually the case when something is banned. The same was the case when alcohol was still prohibited. The more you ban it, the more people will want it! When alcohol was legalized, violence associated with alcohol consumption become virtually non-existent. Violence becomes a natural consequence of a prohibitive policy because it creates black markets where the law cannot supervise where shady characters make money from it. Instead of spending too much money stopping it which government cannot do, government can instead tax it! Legalizing drugs actually makes sense. Cato Institute reported in its study in April this year that policies that prohibit the use of drugs is usually â€Å"based on speculation and fear mongering rather than empirical evidence on the effects of more lenient drug policies† (Szalavitz). The fear that legalizing illicit drugs will only exacerbate the drug problem did not actually happen such as in the case of Portugal and it is just all in the mind. Portugal in fact â€Å"had the lowest rate of lifetime drug use in people over 15 in the E.U† (Slavis). So let’s legalize drugs and benefit from it. Legalize drugs if you want a country of drug addicts. Legalize it and this country will be reduced to drug dependents who cannot even think straight. It creates dependency and addiction that is not only unhealthy but also kills. Substances such as shabu or Methamphetamine literally â€Å"fries† the mind that it deteriorates cognitive thinking. Other drugs that hav also the same destructive effect on the mind and body that they are too long to mention. The trouble with drugs is that it is not only unhealthy to the body, but to the society as well. Due to their addiction and unhealthy state of mind and body, drug dependents no longer are productive or have minimal

An investigation into the potential of implementing Cause Related Literature review

An investigation into the potential of implementing Cause Related Marketing in Barnados charity in the UK - Literature review Example In the social marketing, the management takes much consideration of the customers’ needs with much concern on the needs of the wider society. Cause Related Marketing is a significant ingredient of this marketing mix (Stein, 2009; pg. 56) Cause-Related Marketing is describe as a commercial activity through which businesses and charities form a partnership for the purpose of marketing a product, an image or a service for a shared benefit. It is a tool that addresses the current social issues by providing resources and funding. Additionally, this tool addresses important business objectives. The Cause Related Marketing began getting its full attention recently. It was not until the CRM was much steamed to the marketers by the American Express, which had devised a promotion which promoted donations of a cent to restore the funds for the Statute of Liberty at every single time a customer made use of the American Express card (Lindsey, 2003; pg.67).   The campaign also included ot her elements like a one dollar donation to fund every new American Express account that had been approved. A true corporate partnership establishes openings for every party to develop joint business opportunities. In an investigation, a link with Barnardo’s, which is one of the UK’s best known charity brands, is found to do that (Petticrew & Roberts, 2005; pg. 87). It is a well know children’s charity organization. There would be numerous benefits on establishing cause-related marketing in Barnardo’s as this would become a simple and an effective way of increasing sales and customer loyalty. This can also promote a positive PR coverage and provide an increasing significant link for ethical customers to align themselves with the charitable cause. Involvement with this charity would create opportunities for a great PR and marketing. The Barnardo’s charity can assist in the promotion for the partnership through their network of close to ten media and communication managers situated in London regional offices and headquarters. This is a prominent national charity that has excellent links to local and national radio and television stations, as well as, with national and regional media. Cause Related Marketing is found to influence customer perceptions and their buying habits. This makes it a vital weapon in the marketing strategy which enhances corporate reputation and increases loyalty. It can build sales and benefit the society thus, becoming an intrinsic tool of the marketing strategy. The Cause Related Marketing has its strength over the traditional forms of marketing as it can provide the emotional and the racial engagement of the consumers (Neyland, 2008; pg. 78). It also incorporates the customer’s heart and their mind thus, giving it the potential to build an enduring and stronger relationship. So many companies in the UK have recognized the potential in the holistic management and corporation of the relationship of all stakeholders that will support the development of successful companies. Cause Related Marketing provides a high profile and an effective way for brand owners to strengthen their relationships, not only with the customers but with all stakeholders including the employees, suppliers, distributers, shareholders, opinion formers as well as a broad relationship with the wider community. Due to the interdependence between the wider communi

See attachments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

See attachments - Essay Example United States also used Gemini capsules to set out weapons and do surveillance of the outer space and the earth. This task highlights the endeavors taken by the United Nations in securing the use of the space. This task looks at the possibility of having the future war in the space. With the increased superiority struggle between different states over control of the space, there is a possibility that, indeed, the future war could be in the space. Satellites follow definite paths as they go around the earth. Likewise, other celestial bodies that move around other bodies follow regular pathways. Classification of orbits takes different approaches depending on the position of the orbit. They can be classified based on a number of considerations. Astronauts have devised taxonomy of orbits based on Centric Classifications, Inclination Classifications, Altitude Classification in Geocentric Orbits, Classifications based on Eccentricity, Synchronicity Classifications, Classifications based on galaxies and Galaxy Models, Pseudo-Orbital Classifications and other special classifications3. Special taxonomy of orbits classifies orbits into sun synchronous orbits and moon orbits. Sun synchronous orbits are those that combine inclination and altitude in such a manner that the satellite on the orbits passes over a particular point on the surface of the planet at the same local solar time. Such orbits place a satellite on a constant sunlight exposure and are useful for spying, imaging and as weather satellites. Moon orbits have the orbital traits of the Earth’s Moon. They lie at an average altitude of 238,857 miles and are elliptically inclined. Pseudo-Orbit Classification classifies orbits into Horseshoe Orbits, Lunar Transfer Orbits (LTO), Retrograde Orbits, Prograde Orbits and Halo Orbits4. To a ground observer, a Horseshoe Orbit appears to be orbiting another planet while in real sense they usually co-orbit another

Online Travel Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Online Travel - Case Study Example The possibility of spreading the reach of the business overseas is made possible by the practically zero marginal cost incurred by online travel companies in extending their marketing to foreign countries. Europeans have actually been observed to travel more than their Americans counterpart, averaging four weeks of vacation annually while Asian travelers such as Chinese and Indians have posted a notable increase int heir frequency of travel due to the improved number of middle class consumers (Tracy). Subscribers of online travel have benefitted from the dominance of market economy and market system as we observe prices become competitive due to the presence of of more online travel service suppliers such as Kayak and Sidestep (Bhargava) . This leaves an experience of intense competition for the big three companies such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, practically showing the validity of Adam Smith's theory of self-interest- that in the pursuit of business of many, self-interest can bring important sociopoliticsal evolution and economic growth (Robert B. Ekelund Jr.) Last minute dot com resides in an industry where consumers are task-oriented and highly price conscious, with many experienced travel deal seekers searching for the best deals on air fare, hotels and car rentals with the competition being concentrated mainly in two areas-the corporate travel and the package deals(Bhargava). Currently, the way of handling the travel business have been very innovative as we see site like FlyerTal being flocked by most online travelers being consumer discussion driven, having posts from travelers helping each other, trading discount certificates and talking about customer service experiences. TravelAdvisory is also one of the most trafficked sites being due to its high rankings in a location or hotel-based keyword search (Bhargava). Obviously, the industry is taking on a different phase of competition especially as the technology develops more. The use of dot travel domain has also been introduced recently but has been used slightly with hyatt.travel and solmelia.travel as the only notable sites. Lastminute.com, on the other hand, has refused to activate a dot travel domain with the belief that the dot com domain is central to its brand (Nelson). The industry is expected to tread upward in terms of usage and sales, with the many facets of technology being adapted specifically in the marketing aspect. As one of the articles in the Harvard Business Review in Management says, "if tops management wants to find ways of improving profits and growth, it must actively participate in the development of marketing plans by challenging their underlying assumptions and by contributing alternative ideas on strategy and programs (Ames). Effect of Current Political and Economic Issues Starting in 1998, last minute.com was well managed by owners Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane-Fox, expanding its services to holidays, hotels, car hire, restaurants, theater and spa. In 2005, it was purchased by Travelocity, becoming part of Saber family of travel companies (Last Minute Network Limited). The buy-out of Saber Holdings of Lastminute.com has made its share soar from "45.4 per cent, to 153.25p, putting a value of pounds 522m on the company" (Reece). The decision by Hoberman and Lane-Fox to renounce leadership of the company was made after its financial struggle, experiencing an over-all loss of pounds

Ethical case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical case study - Essay Example She took the initiative to consult Jeffrey Anderson and was well prepared with the accounting manual of the parent company and the plan for valuation of the assets that belong to the company. Since, Jeffrey Anderson was a respected individual in the company, having served for more than a decade Lisa expected that he would have advised her on the way to approach the issue professionally to find a solution and to maintain confidentiality and integrity. The acquired company and the parent company are the main stakeholders in the issue that Lisa is trying to get solutions for. Lisa finds herself unprepared for the cultures within the corporate, and she did not believe that the acquired firm had used the appropriate financial rules and regulations. She was tasked to make sure that the assets of the corporate she was working for were secure. Lisa noted that the employees were more concerned in securing their jobs. Workplace ethics are some causes that make employees sacked especially during such strategic transitions that Lisa is encountering (Lawrence & Weber, 2013). According to the IMA guidelines that are used for ethical conflict resolution, Lisa is supposed to maintain confidentiality and ensure that she discusses it in details with the Controller. The reason why ethical standards should be maintained in businesses is to ensure that there is smooth flow and function of the advanced market economy. In addition, if there were no ethical standards in business, so many aspects would suffer particularly the economy and the people who depend on it for goods, services and jobs (Lawrence & Weber, 2013). Lisa provides clear, accurate and concise evidence to support her discoveries regardless of being turned down three times by Mr. Anderson. Lisa is keen not to abandon the ethical standards in the company as the finance manager. In her line of work, Lisa focused on the acquired assets and noted

Pakistan's need for economic growth focusing on solar energy and Research Paper

Pakistan's need for economic growth focusing on solar energy and working water filtration plants - Research Paper Example Energy is required to operate any institution in the modern world. On the other hand, the management of energy and its efficient use can reduce the demand of energy. Energy efficient devices and appliances save a lot of electrical units. Electrical energy is mostly generated by utilizing the fossil fuel resources. With the passage of time, the fossil fuel resources are becoming short due to the depletion in the fossil fuel reservoirs. As, the supply is becoming short the demand of the fossil fuel resources is rising and thus the value of the fuel resources is increasing. It is a general concept that fossil fuel based generated power is considered the costliest power as compared to hydro power or solar or wind. A research designed to evaluate the water shortage in the world depicts that about 1.3 billion people worldwide suffer from water shortage. People, in the underdeveloped and developing regions of the world, are more likely to catch the diseases that are transferred from contami nated water. Water contamination kills more people in underdeveloped regions than cancer, aids and other such diseases. People are less aware of water filtration and treatment. Small scale water filtration plants can solve the problem and prevent diseased water from entering the human body. Low energy consuming filtration plants based on solar distillation, RO filtration or other water purification methods can be utilized that consume less energy and still maintain the acceptable quality of water. Pakistan shows the similar conditions as other under developed countries due to the lack of the clean drinking water, lack of electrical energy, lack of heath services and lack of economic stability. A deep study depicts that the cost of electrical energy in Pakistan is 13 times the cost of electrical energy in Saudi Arabia. There is a need to develop a small or a large scale power generation units by utilizing the solar energy in Pakistan to bring economic stability. On the other hand, it is equally important o provide people with safe drinking water by utilizing the small scale water filtration plants. Research Questions Can solar energy and small working water filtration plants bring economic stability is Pakistan and how women can play their part in he economic stability of the Country? Body of the Paper The maintenance cost of the fossil fuel based power plant is considerably high. Moreover, a fossil fuel based power plant can be only 40% efficient, as the major part of the fuel converts to waste heat. Besides the environmental perspective, it is also economically less feasible to utilize coal, oil or gas for power generation. On the other hand, in future the fuel will cost more than the current price due to its short supply in the future. The need of the time is to utilize the alternate resources for the generation of energy1. Solar and wind energy have more potential than our current needs. Solar energy can be utilized to generate power directly by utilizing t he solar photovoltaic panels. It can be adopted individually or on a large scale. It is an efficient way to generate energy. Economic Evaluation of Solar energy Solar energy converts solar radiation into electrical energy. Solar energy has two contents; one is light energy and other content is thermal energy. Solar Photovoltaic cells are capable of converting solar light into electrical energy that can be stored in batteries and can be utilized in night. Solar energy can be harnessed for individual as well as industrial demand. Solar PV panels only consume sun radiations to generate energy. Solar light is free of cost and it will remain till the solar system remains2. The

College Is Not for Everyone Essay Example for Free

College Is Not for Everyone Essay College is not for everyone, but for these three high school students that is all they believe in. Most students’ think about boys, girls, prom, sports, etc. the list could go on in a teenagers head, nothing about their future or college. So when talking to an uplifting student such as Philippian about her education, it gives hope to educators, and inspires others to take their education seriously. Philippian Chatman a 17 year old senior, who attends Aldine Senior High School, is very passionate about school. â€Å"If you want to pursue your career and goals, college should be one of your main priorities, my parents have instilled in me to go to school and college, they worked hard to provide a life for me so that I can have an opportunity to go to college. † Said Chatman Education is such a big deal to many people but for Chatman it is her main priority. â€Å"I want to major in debate, teaching, and photography. I really like photography because people always see action in movies but photography you can say a lot without words. † Said Chatman. When asking what college’s Chatman was looking into, she had set high standards for her to achieve. â€Å"I would love to go to Duke, University of Texas, or PV. â€Å" Wondering why not Texas Southern University, she said â€Å" It’s a nice campus but just not for me, I would rather go away from home and venture out on my own. † Statistics shows total number of high school drop outs annually is 3,030,000. The numbers increase every year, especially for male students. Education is the future for today’s students, yet little take so seriously. For Edwin Rebollar, a 16 year old senior at Aldine high school, works very hard to make his education his first priority as well. He talks highly about going to college and goes out his way to make good grades. He also speaks highly about his parents pushing to go further with his education. â€Å"I feel like college can open so many opportunities for me, and I want to be something in life. † Rebollar said â€Å"my parents are really strict on my education, if I didn’t go to college they would be very disappointed to let my education go to waste. † Said Rebollar â€Å"I am really interested in films and that is what I want to go to college for. † Rebollar said. Also another great student who attends Eisenhower, is 15 year old McKenzi Pope, who talks nothing but about college, was very excited about what Texas Southern had to offer for their annual high school day. â€Å"I feel like everyone should go to college because it help expresses them, and also it’s a new beginning of getting to know who you are. † McKenzi said. â€Å"My family is so proud of what. I’m trying to do. † My mom always said my speech is going to take me far and I’m trying to let it take me all the way to Harvard University. I want to major in communications, I’m going to become something that my family will be proud of. â€Å" One thing that all students had in common was their passion for their education and the support of their parents to back them up. There is also the educators who always want to teach their students and making sure their retaining all the knowledge that they are giving out. Most teachers feel as though if there is no family support nor the want to learn then the student will be just another statistic and drop out. Omar Peters who is a Media teacher at Jack Yates High school, feels highly strong about his students learning and making sure they are able to go out and use it in the real world. â€Å" I make sure they understand the fundamentals. † I wanted my students to understand this is a very competitive field, and if you do not understand the technical side of this business you will not make. † I have gotten most of my students internships, jobs, e.

Enhancing traffic police performance in Egypt Essay Example for Free

Enhancing traffic police performance in Egypt Essay Vision My vision is that of a public service (traffic police) with a performance culture, client-focused (Public) and results oriented (more organized economy) and to decide and examine its current performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, and according to the current performance situation, we will try to determine the factors that leads to this situation and also the means to recover or maintain such situation. Where are we now? Many pubic servants are unclear about what the overall objectives are and just what is expected of them. Just to concentrate on traffic police performance, lets first explain the meaning of performance. Job performance ( ) is measured as the quantity and quality of tasks accomplished by an individual or group. This definition urges us to know what factors determine individual performance. In answering this question, the following individual performance equation is a good starting point:- Performance = Ability x Support x Effort We have to handle each of the above three elements, to identify the current points of weakness and strength in traffic police performance and determine whether there is a current inefficiency and/or effectiveness or not. First: Ability Ability establishes an individuals capacity to perform at a high level of accomplishment. By examining this factor on traffic police soldiers and representatives, we may find that many of them lake the appropriate and effective ability to work in police. I believe that many of them are doing their work in a careless way, a way that no one feels responsible toward his work. You can say they are working under pressure and stress of their superior, where, fear and expectation of punishment and insulation is the only dominate on their behavior which in return affect their performance, so they pretend that they are doing their work by checking the car, driving licenses and other traffic regulations but actually there is no concentration and no sense of responsibility control their performance. You can find the way police officers treat their soldiers or subordinates, you will find it a very aggressive way, also you can conclude the reflection of this treatment on their behavior, for sure this treatment has a negative effect on their behavior and attitude toward their work and they will continuously try to do their work in a manner that prevent their officers not to repeat such treatment. Second: Support Every one needs support, even if his work is of high performance, support can be represented in motivation, no stress, encouragement and the most important thing is the persons feeling that he will be rewarded for this work performance. I would like to give an example for this:- Once when I was waiting in traffic sign and before it turned green to pass, at that time I remembered that I have forgotten to lock the seat belt and I found a police representative coming to me to check my driving license and to charge me with a penalty which was EGP 50, I told him that I forgot to lock the seat belt and this was the first time but he pretended that he did not hear to me and started to write a penalty, at that time I hint to him that I will give him EGP 10, actually he caught the money in a certain manner that I am sure that he tried it many times in order not to be seen by his officer or any one else, then I passed by the car without any penalties. Examples for this kind of behavior are many and actually they are common in traffic police stations as I am Manager of Tax dept. and Car pool section , my subordinates in car pool section who are responsible for making car licenses and its renewal usually come and told me that they pay bribe for the employee who handle the cars file, the Engineer who make the inspection of the car, the person who is assigned to choose the car number and the metal board, and even the person who hang the metal board on the car. So no one work for his salary that he is being paid at the end of the month. That is what I intend to mean when I said that every one should feel that he is rewarded for his performance so that every one will try to do his best in order to be paid additional income or incentive or bonus to be encouraged to improve his effectiveness in his work. Also there is lack of technology, new technology must be founded in order to assist and support police officers to improve their work performance efficiency. I am sure that you will agree with me when I remembered you with the computer system used in the traffic police station, is it effective? Many times when I go to the traffic police station to renew my car license, I found that the computer system is out of order and I have to stay for an hour or half an hour till its being repaired. Third: Effort Any person should only work in the place he loves, so as to give it the maximum effort he can, this means that traffic police officers, representatives and soldiers as well must believe in the job they do and should recognize that they work in a so critical area that no exception, no cautions can be applied in its regulations. Once the person believes in that, he will exert as much effort as he can in order to perform effectively and efficiently. Through the above, do you determine now where we are? Using an expired license for two years, during which the traffic police checked it 6 times and returned it back without taking any regulatory procedure, for sure there is lake of ability as the police working while they are not working indeed so they are not effective, also there was lake of support as they are not feel satisfaction that they should be provided and supported by their work so that they are performing ineffective. Finally there was lake of effort as they do not believe in the objective of the work they do to exert effort for it so their performance is inefficient. What is expected in the future? I think that the first step in the improvement process is the selection of right people, as any organizations success is ultimately determined by the quality of its workforce, the right people not only can execute the tasks needed to achieve the organizations objective, they also are a product of and are motivated by the supporting people who provide clear regulations and instruction and maintain gentle relation and communication with the whole workforce, in addition to compensation and reward according to the work performance. The most important change that I hope to be effected in the future is the launch of new technology in the traffic police system, which I think it will reflect remarkable advancements in the efficiency and increased productivity to provide more traffic law enforcement with the same staff and at less inconvenience to the public. Virtual Partner: A Mobile technology Solution A new technology used by Delray Beach Police Department, Virtual Partner is an efficient, timesaving, easy-to-use application that increases efficiency and productivity in several areas. The software was designed and developed by those who stood to benefit the most from the technology, the police officers themselves. These officers, in their quest, exceeded the boundaries  of ordinary operations by developing a technology that has incredible output in terms of efficiency, adaptability, productivity, and ease, at nominal cost. The Virtual Partner application consists of four program components. The automated response system provides quick responses to queries made by officers to the National Criminal information Center (NCIC) and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). Ever mindful of officer safety, the developers included a voice response function that verbally relays information in response to queries entered by the officers. In terms of officer safety, Delray Beach feels the voice response capability was a major breakthrough. Using voice response, an officer can remain focused on the offender and the offenders vehicle without looking at a computer screen, thereby increasing the officers safety and eliminating distractions. The voice response provides the officer with specific information needed such as tag and drivers license status as well as color, make and model of the vehicle. The officers also customized the program to their needs so that it would eliminate unnecessary information and only relay pertinent information requested by the officers. The program confirms warrant hits by signaling the officer with an audible alert tone. The program verbally relays back case numbers, dispatch time, and other requests made by the officer, as well as gate codes to any of the secured gated-communities. The system is also equipped with a two dimensional barcode capability that reads the drivers license information on licenses from other states that have a magnetic strip for so-called swipe capability. The information generated from any of these inquires can be automatically entered onto forms commonly used by police officers. The capability of the program continued to develop after the officers determined the utility and performance they needed from technology. Through their efforts, several components to the system have been engineered that unequivocally changed Delray Beachs technology from a hindrance to an asset. Also its a very important tool needed to enhance the performance effectiveness of traffic police, Traffic Police organization should develop a quality control system for traffic information dissemination to the public. Currently, there is no organized way of monitoring the accuracy of information disseminated to the public. Development of a quality control system will require the following:- 1. Identification of all types of information being disseminated, the source of each type of information, and the means of dissemination. 2. Establishment of procedures for checking the accuracy of each type of information. 3. Establishment of policies regarding the frequency with which information is to be verified. 4. Identification of personnel to monitor information quality. The way by which the information is delivered to the public is very important to think of, and give it the priority, as people needs to aware of what they usually forget as a result of occupation in their life needs.

Multiprogramming And Time Sharing

Multiprogramming And Time Sharing In a multiprogramming and time sharing environment, several users share the system simultaneously. This situation can result in various security problems. What are two such problems? Ans1. (a) In Multiprogramming and time sharing environment multiple users share the data and system so these are following two problems which might occur There can be the case of pilfering of data, which can result in various problems. It means after gaining illegal access in somebody system and thieving the data is a problem One more problem can be, no proper accounting of resources, it means if somebody is using the resource without maintaining proper accounting data, is a serious problem. Can we ensure the same degree of security in a time shared machine as in a dedicated machine? Explain your answer. Ans1. (b) We cannot assure same level of security as it is presented in dedicated machine. Because in time sharing environment, multiple users are accessing the system, so it is somewhat difficult to implement because if we are planning to use a high-level encryption for the sharing environment, than it will be difficult to implement that security. Each and every security system made by human can be broken by another human. Under what circumstances would a user be better off using a time sharing system rather than a PC or single user workstation? Ans2. There are two types of basic working environments Time sharing environment Dedicated resource environment In time sharing environment, multiple users are sharing the system and resources and this type of environment is useful when the tasks which are to performed are big or large and hardware resources are fast efficient. The full power of the resources can be consumed for the user problems. Dedicated environment is useful when the tasks which are to be performed are small level. This environment is preferred when hardware resources are sufficient to handle the users problem. In the designing of the operating system there are two approaches modular kernel and layered approach? How are they different? Ans3. Both modular kernel and layered approach are the approaches of the designing of the architecture of operating system. Layered Approach: Layered approach follows the concept of design in the form of different layers. In this the operating system is divided into layers in which core layer is hardware resources and the topmost layer is User-Interface. The layers which are in-between interact with the layer below it and finish the tasks. In this all the subsystems are to be executed in strict order. Modular Kernel Approach: This approach divides the operating system designing into modules of various levels. Like for e.g. in modules various different fields like booting, process, jobs, etc are divided and they run their modules in random manner. In a single module a group of various tasks are specified. Difference between both these designs is that layered approach imposes strict ordering of other layers; lower layers are not allowed to invoke operations corresponding to upper layer operations, whereas in the case of modular approach various modules can invoke each other without any constraint. Part B There is guest operating system and a host operating system like VMware? List all the factors in choosing the host operating system? Ans4. The factors which affect the selection of host operating system are: The host operating system should be of upgraded version which you are using as using as guest operating system. Hardware resources get shared in case of guest operating system, so care must be taken off. Because if the resources scarcity occurs both the OS will hang. Operating system used must be stable. It more depends upon security and speed. The kernel is responsible for a action with the processes. Search through the action of kernel and describe what the action is? Ans5. Kernel is known as the heart of the Operating System. Kernel is the main task handler of the OS. It represents as a bridge between applications and the data processing which is performed at hardware level. The actions of Kernel are : Kernel sets up an address space for the program, loads the files containing the programs code into memory and executes it. Multi-tasking kernels are able to give the user the virtual view that the number of processes running simultaneously is higher than the maximum number of processes the computer is actually running. Kernel uses scheduling algorithms to determine which process is running next and how much time it will be given. The algorithm chosen may allow for some processes to have higher priority than others. The kernel generally also provides these processes a way to communicate; this is known as inter-process communication. Kernel is responsible for communicating the hardware resources with the software components. Co-operative multitasking, where each process is allowed to run uninterrupted until it makes a special request that tells the kernel it may switch to another process. Such requests are known as yielding. Q6. Considering both the system level and the programmer level. Consider the advantage and disadvantage of the following structure. Synchronous and asynchronous communication. Ans (a) Synchronous communication is direct communication. In which the communication is time synchronized. It means all the users are involved in the communication are present at the same time. Asynchronous communication does not require that all the users involved in the communication should be present at the same time. For e.g. e-mails, blogging. Asynchronous is useful when the communication is done at far scale means online. Automatic and explicit buffering. Ans (b) Automatic buffering provides a queue which of infinite length, which will never block the user while waiting to perform a task. Disadvantage: In this large amount of memory space is wasted while allocation. Explicit Buffering asks explicitly that how much memory must be allocated as the available queue. In this user can be blocked while it is performing some task Advantage: Less Memory space will be wasted with explicit buffering. Send by copy and send by reference Ans (c) Send by copy, in this type of method original value of the variable is never changed throughout the program or task. Whereas in the case of send by reference, address of the original variable is passed and any changes made in the reference value will be reflected in the original value. Fixed-sized and variable-sized messages. Ans (e) This concept is used at the time of allocation of space of the buffers. In fixed-sized, fix amount of memory is allocated to buffer which will create a problem at the time of memory allocation and forms a memory blockage. Because it can hold limited number of tasks/messages only. Whereas in variable sized the buffer memory can be reallocated and resized at any place. In this the buffer-size is not pre-known.

Its the Cake Essay -- Creative Creativity Essays

It's the Cake The title above comes from a comment made by author Jerry Hirschberg. "Creative activity [isn't] the icing on the cake. Human creativity is the cake." Getting a bite of this cake is what proves to be frustrating for some people. Simply put, there isn't one sure-fire method to achieve creative success. However, there are certainly underlying attitudes and patterns that one can perceive in creative people, (and in this most humble of papers), I will attempt to show to you through texts such as Hirschberg's The Creative Priority and my own forays with Madame Creatividad that experiencing creativity is simply a matter of opening yourself up to the world around you. It always seems to me that any measure of creativity starts through something that I have opted to call creative flux, both because I am nerdy and that it happens to fit the concept extremely well. In a nutshell, all creative flux means is that you has to be willing to be open to the surrounding environment, allowing ideas from all possible angles and points to flow into you. Hirschberg illustrates this rather well. A car designer by trade, he started his career at GM, "the supreme icon of power and success for America." He tells us that GM eventually reached a point of stagnation, from lack of competition and from shutting the doors tight on ideas coming from the outside world. GM car design reached a monotone complacency, and it is at this point, Hirschberg says, he began feeling a little bit useless, as his work environment had turned into, "a blinding illusion of security and imperviousness to failure." Hirschberg then makes a transition: he switches jobs to a place of unregulated creative flux. He attributes his later success t... ...hberg calls this process `stepping back from the canvas.' And a gloriously effective technique it turns out to be, "...ideas again started flowing, knotty problem areas unraveled, and the design began to lead the designers, a sure sign that a strong concept was emerging." Something similar to this happened to me in the process of writing this essay, as I acquired a major case of writer's block. Thankfully, I took Hirschberg's advice to heart: I `stood back from the canvas' and succeeded in opening the floodgates of creative flux anew. So is creative flux the path to taking a bite out of the all elusive cake of creativity? Although it is not the only way to approach creative problems, it is the phenomenal openness that creative flux provides that makes for such an exciting tool in one's quest for achieving creative goals. So go ahead, open up and take a bite.

Basketball :: essays research papers

Basketball Basketball is a great game that is one of the most popular in America. In this sport you have to have good aim to shoot, good jumping skills to rebound, you have to be quick, and also have good ball handling skills. In a real game there are only five players on the court, referees, foul outs, and rules like no running with the ball, no fouling, out of bounds and no running over the other teams players on offense. I really enjoy playing this game and I practice a lot outside on my court and play for P.A.L in the winter. I think I am a pretty good player and dream of playing for the NBA one day. Next year I'm going to play varsity for our school instead of wrestling and try my best to help the team win. If I try really hard and practice everyday I could be an extremely good player. I usually play with my friends after school for fun or just to play around and have a good time, practice on my own to practice things I need work on, or practice with my dad and let him give me some pointers. I love watching basketball games on TV and usually watch the Knicks play. Out of all of the 28 teams in the NBA my favorite teams from best to least favorite are the New York Knicks with Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, John Starks, Charlie Ward, Chris Childs, Charles Oakly, and Allen Houston. Then I like the Charlotte Hornets with Anthony Mason, Tyrone Bouges, Glenn Rice, Gladie Divac, and Curry. My third favorite team is the Seattle Super Sonics with Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Schremph, and Perdue. My fourth and final favorite team is the Orlando Magic with my favorite player Anfernee Hardaway, Horris Grant, and Nick Anderson. My three favorite players in the NBA are: 1)Anfernee Hardaway/ nickname: "Penny" 2)Larry Johnson/nickname: "Grandma" 3)Shawn Kemp/nickname: "Rainman" These players have a lot of talent and I enjoy watching them play. For instance Anfernee is a leader for the team and has good passes, good dribbling, and good shooting skills. While Larry Johnson has good rebounding, pretty good shooting, and good dunking skills. Last but not least Shawn Kemp who has great rebounding and spectacular dunking skills including fancy dunks and great allyoops. I think basketball is a great sport and that it will continue to be

Homeless People Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem of homelessness in America is growing dramatically. It's a problem that can strike anyone when you least expect it. Therefore you should address this as a major crisis that affects our society. I feel as Americans we should come together to create solutions to end a growing epidemic of homeless people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statistics show people living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless. Economically they are at a higher risk of losing what little they already have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade. They are among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. They are approximently 40% of people who are homeless. In rural areas the largest group of homeless people are families, single mothers, and children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a 1998 survey of 30 cities, it was found that the homeless population was 53% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic, 4% Native-American, and 3% Asian (U.S Conference of Mayors1998). The ethnic makeup of homeless population varies depending upon geographic location.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homelessness and poverty are closely linked. Poor people commonly are unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Choices must be mad when only their income covers some of these necessities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poor employment opportunities for a large number of the work force increases poverty. Falling incomes and less secure jobs which offer fewer benefits leads to additional financial strain on already financially burdened people. The connection between impoverished workers and homelessness can be seen in homeless shelters, many of which house significant numbers of full time wage earners. A survey of 30 U.S cities found that almost one in five homeless people are employed (U.S Conference of Mayors 1998). Thus, for many Americans, work provides no escape from poverty and homelessness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fewer public assistance is another reason of increasing poverty and homelessness. Until it's repeal in August 1996 the largest cash assistance program for poor families with children was the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The elimination and cut ... ...nd services are important and needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a lot of things that can be done at shelters and other service agencies that is greatly appreciated. For instance filing, sorting clothes, cutting vegetables, etc. Let them know how you can help out and for how long.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some possible tasks are: working at a shelter, helping build or fix up houses or shelters, food drives, reading to the homeless, and just by involving others to help out too.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While the efforts are being made in volunteer work, material help is needed also. The end to homelessness is a long road. In the meantime, homeless people and people running the programs need help every day. Some items that would be great to donate are: clothing, household products, support a homeless person of family, raise funds for a program, give directly, help homeless contact loved ones, and encourage your job to hire homeless people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Efforts to ensure jobs that pay a living wage and have good benefits, your help and others, affordable housing, and access to health care will bring and end to the problem of homelessness.

Criminology Reaction Paper

Lea Harebells Guest Speaker Reaction Paper Principles of Criminology When I began listening to guest speaker, Marie Allen, I knew all the given information on heroin was going to be very informative and important. Vive heard many lectures on how drugs affect a person and what kind of life drugs create for someone. Although, when listening to Marie Allen, I realized that this information was going to be much different than other lectures. What I didn't know was that the Marie Allen was truly going to put an impact on my heart and in my life.Marie Allen presented he class with more knowledge and factual information on heroin then any website or television show could ever tell you. There were many things about heroin and heroin addiction that I have never heard before this presentation. Learning that heroin use usually begins in middle school, 7th and 8th grade, really surprised me. I couldn't imagine seeing such a young person addicted to this awful drug. When I heard this, I remembere d that I have a niece who will be starting 8th grade this year and eventually there may come a time that she is offered to try this drug.I feel that now that I know more information on heroin and addiction that I will be able to pass it onto her so if and when that time comes, she will make the right decision. I have also learned that addiction to heroin does more damage to a person than most drugs; it not only creates addicts but it paralyzes them and their lives. We learned that when a person is addicted to heroin they are not the person they use to be. These people become untrustworthy, and their physical and mental health declines terribly.The effects of heroin go deeper than the surface affecting things such as a persons weight, coordination, and heart rate. Towards the end of Marie Allen's presentation, she informed us about many of the people who have lost their lives to heroin. It was devastating to hear about how many people, and many children, who have lost their lives to this drug. The last thing Marie Allen showed us was a video. This video showed a girl when she was very young until she was in her late teens. At the end of this video we found out that the girl was Marie Allen's daughter.What Marie Allen said next was probably one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever heard. She went on to tell us about her daughter and her life long addiction to heroin. We heard about her struggle to fight the addiction, and the many times she thought her daughter was finally free from the drug. Marie Allen then went on to tell us how her daughter was not able to break free from the drug and she was no longer with us. My heart truly went out to Marie Allen. Hearing this information was definitely an overwhelming moment for me.I have eared so many stories about people who have been addicted to drugs and have not lived to see the rest of their lives, although I have never actually met someone who knew someone addicted to this drug or any drug. In my life I have never been in the situation to see someone go through drug addiction. To meet someone whose daughter suffered from drug addiction made me put addiction into a whole new perspective. After hearing and seeing this presentation from Marie Allen, I feel that I am more interested in what these drugs are doing to people and how they are effecting our country.The last time that I heard a presentation or lecture on any type of addiction or drug use, I was probably in the first years of high school. Before this presentation began I was wondering what the speaker would talk about that I didn't already know. I have been taken back by this presentation and the information that Marie Allen provided us with. I have nothing but respect for Marie Allen and everything she has been through. Now that I have heard this presentation on heroin, I definitely have a new outlook on drugs and addiction.