Saturday, December 28, 2019
Target Diversity Target s Diversity Initiative - 754 Words
Target s Diversity Initiative Diversity is becoming a more increasing and ever changing dynamic to the business environment. Organizations can either embrace and grow with diversity or be left behind and die out. One of the organizations that is growing with diversity is Target. This paper will look at Target in depth on what they are doing right and wrong, what makes them a leader in diversity, and what leadership is doing to encourage diversity. Background Founded in 1902, Target has been continually growing and expanding their organization. With their growth, Target has opened multiple stores and began to give back to the community as soon as financially responsible (Target, 2015). Their main goal has always been to improve the community and grow with the changes. History Target was founded in 1902 first named Dayton Dry Goods Company by founder George D. Dayton (Target, 2015). After a lot of expansion and growth, Dayton Dry Goods was renamed to Target in 1961 after a mass marketing move to cater to value-oriented shoppers that wanted high quality items. In 1962, the Target bullseye symbol was adopted (Target, 2015). Over the years Target began to expand and grow throughout the entire United States. In 1983, Target was recognized for their community involvement (Target, 2015). Target has grown with technology as being the first mass merchandiser in 1983 to implement UPC scanning in their stores and distributors. In support of education, TargetShow MoreRelatedTypes Of Diversity Protected Under Federal Laws886 Words à |à 4 Pages Types of Diversity There are six main categories of diversity protected under federal laws. They are gender, age, race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and disabilities. Each diversity brings something new and different to an organization s culture. Gender Gender diversity is the proportion of women to men in any particular workplace or team (gender diversity). It can range from a department to the board of directors. Women bring trustworthiness and legitimacy to work teams (genderRead MoreTarget Corporation Practices Support Social Responsibility945 Words à |à 4 PagesTarget Corporation practices support social responsibility statement Target Corporation s social responsibly commitment area for the employees, customer and communities are creating positive shopping experience, making Target Corporation a great place to work, and support the community. Positive experience includes selling clean natural products and organic and sustainable product better for human beings. The ââ¬Å"Simply Balancedâ⬠is certified organic food that will not contain harmful Tran-Fats orRead MoreGlobal Diversity Management at Ericsson1598 Words à |à 7 PagesIntroduction In response to the growing diversity in the workforce around the world, many companies have instituted specific policies and programs to enhance recruitment, inclusion, promotion, and retention of employees who are different from the privileged echelons of society. The privileged groups may vary from one country to the next. The workforce of the world is a dynamic environment, and in order for this dynamism to be put to use for the benefit of organizations, they must develop an effectiveRead MoreThe International Journal Of Intercultural Relations1530 Words à |à 7 Pageslies the crux of the problem. Racism is such a complex societal issue that there is no single answer. According to a study published in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations: ââ¬Å"A more complex view of racial attitudes may strengthen diversity training programs, especially those aimed at education, which assumes that ignorance (alone) is the root of most intolerance. The fact that different factors clearly exist, whether one accepts the present structure or one of the others establishedRead MoreThe Diversity And Cultural Diversity Management1634 Words à |à 7 PagesïÆ'Ë Which advantages do Cultural Diversity and Cultural Diversity Management have ? The complexity of the current economic climate demands creative and innovative business approaches and presents the opportunity for growth in developing markets by addressing unexpected or counter-intuitive consumer needs. Shifting demographics, increasing purchasing power of non-traditional segments and a trend towards customization present a compelling case for viewing MasterCardââ¬â¢s business efforts through a diverseRead MoreWhat Success Will Look Like755 Words à |à 4 Pagescompliant with permits - Frequency of service interruptions attended within target timeframes - Attendance, restoration of service interruptions are within target timeframes - Extensions and connections to the two services are within target timeframes - All relevant operations are compliant with Environment Protection Authority licenses - Renewable energy targets are in line with the Climate Change Sector Agreement Key initiatives that support our strategies: - Infrastructure operation - ElectricityRead MoreI Joined Nextgen Information Services, Inc.870 Words à |à 4 Pagespromotions to establish ââ¬Å"The New NextGen.â⬠With a consistent and coexistent message we began unfolding layers of activity. We began by creating a new look mirroring the energetic NextGen corporate office and culture. A strategic plan was constructed to target new clients with a formalized approach, generate leads, gain new business and to keep existing clients engaged. Collateral materials were created to support the sales team. Advertising and Public Relation campaigns were launched to build name recognitionRead MoreHershey Scorecard1507 Words à |à 7 Pagesagainst the goals published in our 2009 CSR Report as well as against newer targets established to further advance our priorities. Within this scorecard, we use the following to indicate our progress: ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" ââ" Achieved. We have met the target within or ahead of the time frame specified. On track. We expect to achieve the target within the time frame specified. Under development. We are working to further define this target. Needs improvement. We have made some progress but either lack sufficientRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra1558 Words à |à 7 Pagesroles and responsibilities, shared leadership, effective external relations, style diversity, and self-assessment, while high-performance teams are created through participative and shared leadership, alignment on purpose, effective communication, future-orientation, task-focus, creative talents, and rapid response. In addition, some industry articles suggested the following criteria for effective teams: diversity, clear goal, effective communication, trust, ownership, job competencies, leadershipRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra1546 Words à |à 7 Pagesroles and responsibilities, sh ared leadership, effective external relations, style diversity, and self-assessment, while high-performance teams are created through participative and shared leadership, alignment on purpose, effective communication, future-orientation, task-focus, creative talents, and rapid response. In addition, some industry articles suggested the following criteria for effective teams: diversity, clear goal, effective communication, trust, ownership, job competencies, leadership
Friday, December 20, 2019
The Black Panther Party Essay - 813 Words
The Black Panthers arenââ¬â¢t talked about much. The Panthers had made a huge difference in the civil rights movement. They were not just a Black KKK. They helped revolutionize the thought of African Americans in the U.S. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Black Panther had a huge background of history, goals, and beliefs. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, Ca 1966, founded the Panthers. They were originally as an African American self defense force and were highly influenced by Malcolm Xââ¬â¢s ideas. They were named after Lowndes County Freedom Organization or LCFO. The Panthers had many goals like; giving back to the ghetto, protecting blacks from police brutality, and to help blacks get freedom and jobs. They also had many beliefs like;â⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦This made it a lot easier to achieve their goals. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; There were many events in the Black Panther Party wither many people that did them. Here are some of them. In 1968 Bobby Seale was charged with inciting riots during a Democratic Party National Convention. While in prison Seale was also charged with the murder of Alex Rackley, a former police officer. The trial was held on May 25th, 1971, but left with a hung jury. The judge ordered all charges to be dropped. Stokely Carmichael was also important to the Panthers. Carmichael was arrested 35 times for his part in the civil rights movement, and eventually left the U.S. for an African country called Guinea. In 69ââ¬â¢ Carmichael resigned from The Black Panthers. Huey Newton also had a big impact on the civil rights movement. On October 28th 1967 Huey P. Newton was charged with killing a cop while he was currently in the hospital suffering from a wound. A year went by and it was finally certain that Newton is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. When released B obby Seale and Huey renounced political violence. By now The Panthers had made a huge impact on the civil rights movement, here are some of the things they did. The Panthers helped many blacks with self-defense. They had taught kids to defend themselves against the whites. They also convinced kids that violence getsShow MoreRelatedThe Black Of Black Panther Party1314 Words à |à 6 PagesThe Black Panther Party did this through many different ways such as food banks, newspapers, free food and clothing. Led by many influential and powerful people, such as Martin L. King, Bobby Seale , and Huey Newton. Even though the Black Panthers were considered radical because of their use of force to protect the African American communities, their actions were just because their goals were to receive equal rights and opportunities as the white community had obtained. The Black Panther Party membersRead MoreThe Black Panther Party711 Words à |à 3 PagesNext, the Black Panther Party provided a variety of social services and programs designed to meet the needs of the black community. Often times overlooked, these services have been virtually absent in the mainstream mediaââ¬â¢s coverage of the Panthers. Often times ââ¬Å"the governmentââ¬â¢s myopic perception of the party as a glorified street gang, clouded substantial analysis of their social programs by outside observersâ⬠(Kirby). The Panthers were known to offer a ââ¬Å"wide range of health and social servicesRead MoreBlack Panthers. The Black Panther Is A Group Or A Party1007 Words à |à 5 PagesBlack Panthers The Black Panther is a group or a party of African Americans that was formed to protect blacks from the white law enforcement. Established in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The two leading revolutionary men created the national organization as a way to collectively combat white oppression. Dr Huey Percy Newton (February 17 1942-August 22, 1989) was born in Monroe, Louisiana. He was the youngest of seven children of Armelia Johnson and Walter Newton, a sharecropper and BaptistRead MoreEssay on Black Panther Party2252 Words à |à 10 PagesFounded on October 15th 1966 in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense was an organization opposed to police brutality against the black community. The Partyââ¬â¢s political origins were in Maoism, Marxism, and the radical militant ideals of Malcolm X and Che Guevara. From the doctrines of Maoism they saw the role of their Party as the frontline of the revolution and worked to establish a unified alliance, while from Marxism they addressed the capitalist economic system, and exemplifiedRead MoreThe Black Panther Party : A Revolutionary Party Essay2152 Words à |à 9 PagesThe Black Panther Party was a revolutionary party that was for the encroachment and prolongation of the Black community and the freedom of their social and economic rights that come with finally being recognized as first class citizens. The head of this revolution, Huey P. Newton, started the party along with Bobby Seale in order to set the path for the Black people to follow, even long after they pass. The constant struggle for social and economic freedom among the Black community would soon endRead MoreThe Black Panther Party Essay1064 Words à |à 5 PagesBlack Panther Party ââ¬Å"We knew, as a revolutionary vanguard, repression would be the reaction of our oppressors, but we recognized that the task of the revolutionist is difficult and his life is short. We were prepared then, as we are now, to give our all in the interest of oppressed peopleâ⬠(Baggins). Radical and provocative, the 60ââ¬â¢s was an era of complete political and social upheaval. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had banned the discrimination of people based on race, color, religionRead MoreThe Impact Of The Black Panther Party 1156 Words à |à 5 PagesNick Smith J. Buergel Civil Rights 5/11/16 The impact of ââ¬Å"The Black Panther Partyâ⬠ââ¬Å"We knew, as a revolutionary vanguard, repression would be the reaction of our oppressors, but we recognized that the task of the revolutionist is difficult and his life is short. We were prepared then, as we are now, to give our all in the interest of oppressed peopleâ⬠(Baggins). Radical and provocative, the 60ââ¬â¢s was an era of complete political and social upheaval. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964Read MoreThe Black Panther Party Formed1313 Words à |à 6 Pages The Black Panther Party formed as a result of Black Nationalism which came from a multitude of events that began to form decades before any mention of The Black Panther Party. To even begin to understand a group such as this, one must first attempt to grasp the historical context which lies behind them. Blake (1969) asserts that the initial onset began back in 1619 when the first of the colonial settlers accepted a number of captured Africans which were to be used as servants leading to the period Read More Black Panther Party Essay1538 Words à |à 7 Pages The Black Panther Party My survey paper for Assignment 4 is on the Black Panther Party. I will discuss the rise and the fall of the Black Panther Party and how Huey Newton and Bobby Seale met. I will also discuss some of the goals of the Black Panther Party, the good the party did for the black and poor communities. I will also discuss what they hoped to achieve from their movement. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Oakland, California in 1966. The originalRead MoreEssay on The Black Panther Party1549 Words à |à 7 Pagesagency in order to be free? If we can free ourselves, what type of agency is used? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;These questions are the basis for my paper. I plan to present examples of control and oppression through the film Panther that shows the struggle of the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense. The film takes place in the 1960s and it shows the struggles that the members had to go through in order to form some type of agency to free themselves from the control and oppression that the government
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Auditing and Assurance Australian Auditing Standard
Question: Discuss about theAuditing and Assurancefor Australian Auditing Standard. Answer: Introduction There exists a risk that an Auditor can express an inappropriate opinion based on the financial statement of the entity this is known as Audit risk. The Australian Auditing Standard (ASA) 200 in Para 32 states that audit risk is the accumulation of risk due to material misstatement and detection risk. In Para 34 of the same standard it is stated that the material misstatement exist at the two levels the first is at the overall financial reporting level and second risk is of ascertaining the classes of transaction, disclosures and account balances. The Auditing Standard ASA 315 requires that the auditor should perform risk assessment procedure in order to identify the risk of material misstatement. In the given case awesome fitness, Limited is engaged in the business of distributing gym equipments in Australia. The majority sales of the business are in cash. The fitness centre is planning to expand its business and for that purpose, it has applied for the loan in the bank. The unaudited figures of the financial statement showed that the revenue has increase by 20% and Gross profit by 5%. The accountant of the fitness centre adopts an aggressive accounting practice in order to show an inflated figure of the financial information as required by the management. In the given case, there is a risk of material misstatement because the accountant of the fitness centre has violated the fundamental ethical principle of objectivity. The fundamental principle of objectivity requires that the decision and work of the accountant should not be affected by the external circumstances (Carlon et al. 2015). In this case, accountant adopted an aggressive policy to make the financial statement pre sented in a manner as required by the clients. Therefore, it can be said that the situation is risky because the accountant may provided inflated figures so that the financial statement are prepared as per the requirement of the client. The aggressive accounting practice of the accountant of awesome fitness centre affects the overall financial statement and different accounts. The financial statement is prepared with the aim not to provide the correct accounting information but to meet the expectation of the client. This accounting practice has impact on the different accounts of the fitness centre. The aggressive financial practice has resulted in 20% increase in revenue from the previous year. This increase in revenue means the sales account has been affected. The sales has been overstated to show to the bank that the awesome fitness limited has a growing and expanding business so that loan can be granted to the awesome fitness limited. The case also states that there is only 5% increase in profit. The increase in profit increases the tax liability therefore top reduce the tax liability the cost is also overstated. The accounts that are affected by this aggressive accounting practice of the awesome fitness centers are sales account and direct expenses account. This also has affect in the tax liability of the company. The audit risk of material misstatement will affect the auditing procedure undertaken by the auditor. The planning of audit requires establishing an overall audit strategy and development of an audit plan as per the Auditing standard ASA 300, in Para 2. The audit planning helps the auditor to provide appropriate attention to the important areas. The proper audit planning is also helpful in resolving problems in a timely manner. It also helps the auditor to manage and organize audit engagement so that the audit functions could be performed in an effective and efficient manner. An appropriate audit plan also involves selection of appropriate members of the audit team so that they can respond to the audit risk in a proper manner. In this case, the audit risk is material misstatement of revenue accounts and the direct cost account. This audit risk will affect the overall audit plan of the auditor. The audit procedures are useful for testing the financial statement assertions. In order to address the specific audit risk of this case it is important that the address perform the specific audit procedures for verifying the sales and the cost figures. In order to verify the sales figures the auditor should check the bills raised by the client and in case of cash sales, whether cash has been received. The movement of inventory should be appropriately tracked to establish that the transaction and event has actually occurred. This movement of inventory can be tracked by choosing few sales through sampling technique and then tracking back to their sources. This audit procedure will help to identify whether the increased sales shown in the account is actual. The auditor should also perform the other audit procedures to identify the costs that have been overstated. The auditor in this case should following the vouching procedure. The auditor should check the bills and verify the expenses using other audit procedure to establish that the expenses made are actual and pertain to the audit period. The Audit risk is the aggregate of risk of material misstatement and detection risk. In this case Super Tech limited is engaged in the manufacturing of the hardware. The company has adopted a new costing system for its cost sensitive product. Others have utilized this system in the industry but super Tech limited has not verified the adequacy and inherent risk of the system. The staffs and employee of the company are not confident about the new system, as they are not adequately trained. One of the competitors of the company has also introduced a product that is superior to the current of the company therefore increasing its competition. The control risk is the risk of material misstatement in the financial statement of the entity due to absence of the relevant controls within the entity. In this, the company has not verified the control within the system. The organization should have adequate internal control system to detect and then prevent the cases of fraud and error. If an enti ty does not have appropriate internal control system in place to prevent fraud and error in the financial statement then it is control risk. In case of small entities the control risks are higher than in large entities. In this case, the risk is that the company has not tested the adequacy and the control risk of the new system. The staff and employee of the company has not been adequately trained to adopt the new system so there is a risk that the staffs will not be able to implement the new system properly. The competition faced by the company has also increased by the launch of new advanced technological product by its competitors. This technological advancement may force the staffs and employees of the company to adopt the new technology without properly understanding and assessing its implications. The adoption of new technology in the process without proper training of its employees and staff members will affect the operation of the business. Due to inadequate training, there will be inefficient utilization of capabilities and resources under this system. This inefficient utilization and lack of training will affect the operation cost of this system. The analysis of the operating cost of the system provides an overview of the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the entity. The investors and lenders therefore analyze the operating costs of the company before making the investment and lending decisions. The profit of the company is also affect by the operating costs. The inefficient operation will increase operating costs and thereby decrease profit. On the other hand, the efficient operation will decrease the operating costs and increase the profit. The operating cost therefore affects the accounts of cost and profit. The new technological advancement of the compet itors would force the company and its employees to hide its lack of knowledge of the new system (Lye et al. 2014). The increased operating costs will reflect the inefficiency in operations so there is a possibility that the operating costs will be understated to provide a healthy positive picture to the investors and lenders. The audit plans are affected by the assessment of risk. In this, case there is a risk that the inefficiencies in the operations will be hidden by reducing the operating costs. This assessment of risk requires that the audit plan made for verifying the cost should be of adequate details. Therefore, the auditor should undertake substantive audit procedure. The substantive audit procedure helps the auditor in obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to support the audit assertions. The substantive audit procedure helps the auditor to identify the material misstatement in the accounts. The substantive procedure includes examination of journal entries, testing the classes of transactions and checking of the financial statement with the notes to accounts. The substantive audit procedures are included in the audit plan. In this case, in order to identify if the operating costs are understated, it is important to perform vouching of all the important transactions related to the op erations. The selection of transactions should be based on random sampling basis in order to avoid biases and for obtaining an objective result. Then after obtaining the understanding about the adequacy of transaction, it is important to compare the actual results of the operation with the budgeted result. This comparison would help the auditor to identify the inefficiencies in the operation. In this, case the Coolworths is a growing super market chain in Australia. The business of the company has grown and expanded over the years as a result the financial director pro[posed an internal audit department of the company. The other members of the company are not aware of the benefit so they are not interested in the proposal. The Chief executive officer of the company does not agree with the proposal for setting up of an internal audit departments and believes that the funds could be better used for expansion. The internal audit is important for an organization because it offers the following benefits to the organization: It helps to keep the employees alert about their work performed as the functions are verified by the internal audit department. This helps in timely detection of errors and frauds so the management could take the corrective actions in appropriate time. It helps to check and improve the efficiency of the staff of the organization. The internal audit is helpful in detecting errors and frauds in the books of accounts in an early stage. As the performances are evaluated, so the moral of an honest employee improves by this process. The importance of internal audit is therefore unparallel for efficient and effective operation of the business. In this case, the senior executive does not see any advantages of the internal audit this gives rise to risk of error and fraud (Carson et al. 2013). The internal audit would be helpful in detecting error and fraud so the absence of the department will increase the risk of material misstatement. The internal audit department is not mandatory for an organization. It provides certain additional advantages to the organization so that the management can improve the functioning of an enterprise. The internal audit department becomes particularly important for organization that has large and scattered operation. In such cases, it is important that in order to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the business an overview of the system is necessary. The absence of an internal audit department in a large organization can lead to misstatement and omission at the multiple levels. This could result in overstatement and understatement of profit and cost. Therefore, in this case there is a risk of material misstatement in the financial accounts of the company. The risk of material misstatement will affect the audit plan of the auditor. If there had been an internal audit department of the organization then the external auditor would not be required to perform the extensive audit procedure. It is because the internal audit will verify the authenticity of the of the financial transactions, it conforms the balances of liabilities that have been incurred by the organization, it facilitates the early detection of fraud and error. The internal audit is useful for establishing an efficient administration of operations (Contessotto and Moroney 2014). This function of the internal audit department reduces the risk level as a result the audit procedure performed also becomes less extensive. It is to be noted that it is the responsibility of the management to provide the financial information and it is the responsibility of the external auditor to provide opinion on the truth and fairness of that information. The internal audit does not dissolve the responsibility of the external auditor. The only function it does is that internal audit provides sufficient checks and balances so that auditor could avoid time consuming in depth extensive procedures. In this case, as there is no internal audit department so the auditor is required to perform detailed audit procedure. Reference Carlon, S., McAlpine-Mladenovic, R., Palm, C., Mitrione, L., Kirk, N. and Wong, L., 2015.Financial Accounting: Reporting, Analysis and Decision Making. John Wiley and Sons Australia. Carson, E., Simnett, R. and Vanstraelen, A., 2013, September. Auditing the auditors: An international analysis of the effectiveness of national inspection regimes on audit quality. InThe University of Auckland Business School Seminar. Contessotto, C. and Moroney, R., 2014. The association between audit committee effectiveness and audit risk.Accounting Finance,54(2), pp.393-418. Lye, J., Dunn, L., Kenny, J., Lehmann, J., Kron, T., Oliver, C., Butler, D., Alves, A., Johnston, P., Franich, R. and Williams, I., 2014. Remote auditing of radiotherapy facilities using optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters.Medical physics,41(3), p.032102.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Termination Risk and Multiple Exercises â⬠Free Samples to Students
Question: Discuss about the Termination Risk and Multiple Exercises. Answer: Introduction: This assignment represents how an auditor digs in to the financial statements of the company to extract crucial information regarding the operational efficiency of the company and also the possible anomalies that are taking place in to the activities of the company(Christensen et al.,2012). In this assignment an audit report has been prepared to identify the accounting accuracy with respect to the major items of the financial statements in order understand the financial health of the company and also to identify the areas where possible fraud can happen. DIPL-Ratio analysis year 2013 2014 2015 Printing Industry bench mark ratios (Gleeson, 2017) Comments Items Current Assets 5385938 7509150 9600929 Current Liability 3780000 5120250 6397500 Gross Profit 6004500 6079500 6604500 Net sales 34212000 37699500 43459500 Income from operating activities 6780000 7230000 8308088 Net income before interest and tax 3454650 3357037 3867337 Net Assets 9150000 10783650 12250491 Debt 7500000 Equity 9150000 10783650 12250491 Interest expense 84379 83663 808038 Ratios liquidity ratio current ratio[current asset /current liability] 1.424851 1.466559 1.500731 1.53-1 On an average the DIPL has 1.4 units of current assets for paying 1 unit of current liability, but the industry standard requires that a business in printing industry should have 1.53 units of current assets for each units of current liability(Higgins, 2012) Profitability ratio Gross Profit Margin[gross profit/net sales] 18% 16% 15% Gross profit earned out of every dollar of revenue is declining over time Operating Profit Margin[operating profit/net sales] 20% 19% 19% 15.63% Though the operating profit earning out of every dollar declining over time, but still it is above the industry standard Return on Asset[Net income /total asset] 38% 31% 32% percentage of income generated out of total asset declining over time Capital structure ratio Debt/Equity 0 0 0.61222 2.4-1 There was no presence of the interest bearing liabilities in 2013,2014,In 2015 some amount of interest bearing liabilities has been generated Debt /Asset ratio 0 0 0.61222 The interest bearing liabilities are not recognized as debt ,Therefore DIPL appears as a company that only runs on equity capital Debt servicing ratios Interest coverage ratio[EBIT/Interest expenses] 40.94206 40.12571 4.786083 ratio declined drastically in 2015,implies sudden huge increase in the debt burden of the company has increased suddenly Table-1: DIPL-Ratio analysis The key findings that are extracted from the above ratio analysis are as follows: The current ratio of the company has increased from 1.4 to 1.5 during the period 2013-2015.But the current ratio of the company is still below the benchmark ratio of the global printing industry. The gross profit margin ratio of the company has declined from 18% to 15% during the period 2013-2015.This indicates that the gross profit generation capacity out of the sales revenue earned is declining over period for the business. This indicates that the cost of goods sold by the company is increasing over time The operating profit margin ratio of the business has declined from 20% in 2013 to 19% in 2015.This indicates a deteoriation in the operational efficiency of the company. However the ratio of the business is still better with respect to the bench mark ratio of the global printing industry (15.63%). The Return on Asset Ratio has declined from 38 %( 2013) to 32 %( 2015); this describes that the income generation capacity out of the total asset has declined steadily for the company over years(Costello, 2011) The debt-equity ratio and the debt-asset ratio of the company describes that up to 2014 DIPL was a solely equity based company. In 2015 the company has acquired huge amount of interest bearing loan probably due to reduced capacity of generating profit income from assets in possession and sales revenue earned by the company(McCue and Nayar, 2009). The interest coverage ratio describes that it has reduced drastically from 40.94(2013) to 4.8(2015) as the company borrowed huge amount of loan in 2015.This indicates the weak strength of the current operating income of the company for servicing the interest bearing liabilities of the company. Impact of crucial financial information over financial planning: The holding of liquid asset of the company should be enhanced and new investments will be done in such a way so that the business is left with sufficient liquid assets that can be readily converted in to cash for repaying the shorter liabilities that are to be paid within one year from 30th June,2015 The business should work on enhancing the operational efficiency of the company as well as the work force before going in to any new venture. Any new investment decisions should be taken while considering the fact that business has bear the burden of a loan of 7.5 million for which they have to maintain a strong current ratio of 1.5 The company should strengthen their debt collection mechanism so that the provision of doubtful debt can be reduced to a great extent and the revenue earning mechanism of the company can be enhanced substantially. In order to bring transparency inventory should be valued on FIFO basis as it is revealed in the auditors note that there is much volatility in the current method of inventory valuation. To avoid any kind of fraudulent activity and to ensure compliance with the applicable accounting standard revenue earned from sale of E-book will be recognized as per the stage of completion Inherent risk factors associated with the business operation of DIPL: DIPL is generally involved in printing of books, magazines and advertising materials that are ordered by the clients who are mainly from the publishing, educational and advertising industries. Once the order is placed and confirmed by the client, then the accounts department of DIPL check the credit record of the client and if there is no problem then the business has to deliver the job within the predefined time limit given by the client. The time with in which the publishing job has to be completed often appears to be quiet short and any failure in delivering the job on time or a delivery of an erroneous job will be considered as a breach of trust or fraud on behalf of the ordering client for which DIPL may lose the business reputation or may end up paying heavy financial penalty(Bushman and Williams, 2012). Thus there appears a high risk of failure if DIPL accepts a publishing order without making the proper calculation regarding whether the available resources are sufficient for completing the ordered job in time or not. The impact of this risk is that if an order is cancelled then the business will not only lose their reputation but there is a huge scope of material misstatement. Because when a certain amount of resources are sanctioned for an order, on cancellation of the order those partially unutilized resources may wrongfully will not be accounted with respect to the inventory and this will lead to erroneous valuation of inventory as well as mis-statement of asset in the balance sheet. More over if the cancellation of order is not recorded properly then there lies a possibility that the cancelled order may worn fully be included under credit sales which may inflate the revenue earning of the company Valuation of raw materials inventories at an average cost is another risk factor inherent to the nature of operation of DIPL.DIPL is involved in a business where it is essential that predefined jobs are to be completed with a in the limited time. Therefore in order to maintain an undisturbed production process it is essential that the business should keep up-to-date their required stock of inventories and should also keep a tap on the required cost of purchasing the inventories that accounts the maximum share of the total expense made by the business. But if the inventories are valued at average cost when the actual cost of inventories are much below the average cost then such valuation will lead to wrong estimation regarding the expenditure that has actually been incurred for acquiring the inventories(Leung and Sircar, 2009). Thus miscalculation of inventory acquiring cost is a huge risk in itself as it can lead the business to operate out of budget at any point of time especially w hen huge orders are placed to the business. The impact of this risk is that there is a possibility of erroneous recording of expenditure amount under the head of inventory purchase in the profit and loss statement and possible error may also take place in case of recording the amount with respect to the cost of goods sold in the balance sheet. Thus this risk may lead to the above mentioned material misstatements in the financial statements as well as financial reports. Identification of the two key fraud risk factors: Fraud Risk Factor-1 Year 2013 2014 2015 Accounts Receivables 2482500 4320000 5073309 Account Receivable (As stated by auditor) 2647500 453000 5313309 Gap 165000 -3867000 240000 Inventories 2256188 2671362 4180500 Inventory (As stated by auditor) 2362500 2797238 4180500 Gap 106312 125876 0 The above table-2, describes that there is a substantial difference between the numerical values that has been stated in the financial statements the statements made by the auditor after making the financial audits(Jans et al.,2010). In 2013 the balance sheet of the business reported the amount of accounts receivable by 165000 units less compared to what stated by the auditor. In 2014 the balance sheet reported the amounts of accounts receivable by an amount which is higher than the respective statement of the auditor by an amount of 38, 67,000.Again in 2015 the balance sheet accounts statement with respect to the accounts receivable is lesser by an amount of 2, 40,000 with respect to what has been stated by the auditor. Thus it can be seen that in each year from 2013-2015 there is an anomaly with respect to the amount that has been reported against the head accounts receivable as per balance sheet and as per the audited amount as presented by the auditor. Therefore it should be suspected that DIPL is susceptible to the fraudulent accounting as risk identified by the differences in the report of balance sheet and the report of the auditor with respect to Accounts receivable. Again discrepancy can be observed with respect to the amount reported against inventory in the balance sheet and the amount reported by the auditor. In 2013 the balance sheet amount of inventory is less by an amount of 1, 06,312 compared to what stated by the auditor, in 2014 the balance sheet amount of inventors is less by an amount of 125876 compared to that of auditor. However in 2015 both the reported amounts with respect to the auditor as well as balance sheet match for inventory(Norman et al.,2010). Therefore it should be suspected that DIPL is susceptible to the fraudulent accounting risk as identified by the differences in the report of balance sheet and the report of the auditor with respect to Accounts receivable and inventory. The above inspection reveals a crucial fact that the accounting discrepancy or inaccurate accounting has taken place almost each year under consideration [2013-2014] with respect to the two most important items of the balance sheet namely Accounts receivable and inventory. When an accounting error with respect a particular item is repeated each year then it should be considered as an act of deliberate error or fraud and therefore it can be said that DIPL is exposed to accounting fraud risk and the management of the business should take some preventive measures for protecting the company from such risk. Another major misstatement can be observed in the balance sheet with respect to the description of the capital structure i the year 2015.As per the finance information of the business in 2015 DIPL take an interest bearing loan of 7.5million from BDO Finance Ltd but still the balance sheet of the company represented the entire asset of the company in the form of equity. This can be considered as deliberate act of omission or fraud which has been done to show that IDPL is a financially healthy company and can efficiently run without taking any interest bearing loan(Brazel et al.,2009). This risk has been identified while ratio analysis has been done and both values of debt-equity ratio and debt-asset ratio appear to be same [0.61] for the year 2015.Thus it can be seen that DIPL is exposed to fraud risk of misrepresentation of capital structure which is often done to attract the investors by concealing the real financial condition of the business. Impact of the risk factor over Audit: Identification of these possible fraud risk factors will make the audit process more detailed and stringent. As presence of any fraud will do long term harm to the business.Thus now it is recommended that a further deep audit should be conducted for identifying the other operational malfunctions that may have taken place in the business and thus hampering the financial performance of the business(Soh et al.,2011). Conclusion: The above assignment describes a deeper analysis of the financial statements as made by the auditor can catch every progress or deteoriation in the financial health of the company as described above. The ratio analysis reveals that the declining gross profit as well as operating profit generating efficiency of the business out of the sales revenue earned when the company is moving from 2013 to 2015(Hodgdon et al., 2009).The ratio analysis also reveals that the business is exposed to the risk of misrepresentation of capital structure in terms of the financial statements so that investors consider this company as an attracting one for investment. In the context of the above revelation it can be recommended that rigorous corporate governance should be practiced by DIPL for protecting the business from the risk of the identified frauds and the same time new strategies will be formed for enhancing the operational efficiency of the company. Reference: Brazel, J.F., Jones, K.L. and Zimbelman, M.F., 2009. Using nonfinancial measures to assess fraud risk.Journal of Accounting Research,47(5), pp.1135-1166. Bushman, R.M. and Williams, C.D., 2012. Accounting discretion, loan loss provisioning, and discipline of banks risk-taking.Journal of Accounting and Economics,54(1), pp.1-18. Christensen, B.E., Glover, S.M. and Wood, D.A., 2012. Extreme estimation uncertainty in fair value estimates: Implications for audit assurance.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,31(1), pp.127-146. Costello, A.M., 2011. The impact of financial reporting quality on debt contracting: Evidence from internal control weakness reports.Journal of Accounting Research,49(1), pp.97-136. Gleeson, E. (2017).Seven Key Printing Industry Ratios. [online] www.piaa.org. Available at: https://www.piaa.org.au/verve/_resources/The_Seven_Key_Printing_Industry_Ratios_(Benchmarking)_from_2014.pdf [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017]. Higgins, R.C., 2012.Analysis for financial management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Hodgdon, C., Tondkar, R.H., Adhikari, A. and Harless, D.W., 2009. Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards and auditor choice: New evidence on the importance of the statutory audit.The International Journal of Accounting,44(1), pp.33-55. Jans, M., Lybaert, N. and Vanhoof, K., 2010. Internal fraud risk reduction: Results of a data mining case study.International Journal of Accounting Information Systems,11(1), pp.17-41. Leung, T. and Sircar, R., 2009. Accounting for risk aversion, vesting, job termination risk and multiple exercises in valuation of employee stock options.Mathematical Finance,19(1), pp.99-128. McCue, M.J. and Nayar, P., 2009. A Financial Ratio Analysis of For?Profit and Non?Profit Rural Referral Centers.The Journal of Rural Health,25(3), pp.314-319. Norman, C.S., Rose, A.M. and Rose, J.M., 2010. Internal audit reporting lines, fraud risk decomposition, and assessments of fraud risk.Accounting, Organizations and Society,35(5), pp.546-557. Soh, D.S. and Martinov-Bennie, N., 2011. The internal audit function: Perceptions of internal audit roles, effectiveness and evaluation.Managerial Auditing Journal,26(7), pp.605-622.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
4 Tips for Writing a Stellar Boston College Essay
4 Tips for Writing a Stellar Boston College Essay SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Ranked among the top 50 colleges nationwide, Boston College is an excellent choice for college, especially if you're hoping to attend a Jesuit institution.As part of the application process, you'll need to submit a Boston College essay. So what should you write about in your essay to raise your chances of getting admitted here? In this guide, we closely analyze all Boston College essay prompts, providing you with our best tips and advice.We then take a look at real Boston College essay examples to give you an idea of what a successful Boston College essay can look like. What Is the Boston College Essay? In addition to the statement you must write for the Common Application, Boston College requires all first-yearapplicants to submit a separate essay as part of the Boston College Supplement (on the Common App under the heading "Writing Supplement"). With this writing supplement, you have four possible essay prompts to choose from: 1. Great art evokes a sense of wonder. It nourishes the mind and spirit. Is there a particular song, poem, speech, or novel from which you have drawn insight or inspiration? 2. When you choose a college, you will join a new community of people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and stories. What is it about your background, your experiences, or your story, that will enrich Boston Collegeââ¬â¢s community? 3. Boston College strives to provide an undergraduate learning experience emphasizing the liberal arts, quality teaching, personal formation, and engagement of critical issues. If you had the opportunity to create your own college course, what enduring question or contemporary problem would you address and why? 4. Jesuit education considers the liberal arts a pathway to intellectual growth and character formation. What beliefs and values inform your decisions and actions today, and how will Boston College assist you in becoming a person who thinks and acts for the common good? Each essay prompt expects you to give specific details and a unique, compelling story of who you are, how you came to be this way, and what you hope to do with your education at BC. Regardless of the essay prompt you choose, your Boston College essay must be no longer than 400 words, making it a little shorter than a typical college essay, which is 500-600 words long. But how can you choose the best essay prompt for you? Read on as we examine all the Boston College essay prompts, one by one. All Boston College Essay Prompts, Analyzed In order to submit a great Boston College essay, youââ¬â¢ll need to know what each prompt is asking you to do and which one will work best based on your personality, experiences, and/or interests. Below, we offer a close analysis of all four Boston College essay prompts. Boston College Essay Prompt 1 Great art evokes a sense of wonder. It nourishes the mind and spirit. Is there a particular song, poem, speech, or novel from which you have drawn insight or inspiration? This first Boston College essay prompt is all about art, specifically a piece of art that's had a major impact on you. Although this essay prompt lists just four types of art- songs, poems, speeches, and novels- you may write about, if you were inspired by a different form of art, such as a painting, sculpture, dance, or piece of architecture, you will most likely be fine writing about that instead. If possible, though, it's best to try to stick with the four options in the prompt; this way you can rest assured youââ¬â¢re correctly answering it. You also want to avoid rattling on and on about the art piece and why itââ¬â¢s so great. Instead,focus on why this piece of art has affected you to such a degree and how this impact has manifested in your life. Should You Choose This Prompt? This essay prompt is ideal for applicants who intend to major in a creative field, such as music or creative writing, due to its emphasis on inspiration and what kind of art has impacted your own approach to creativity. Even if you donââ¬â¢t plan to major in a creative field or have no idea what you want to major in, this is a good prompt to respond to if you can easily think of a piece of art that has changed you in some critical way.If you canââ¬â¢t, another prompt would probably be better suited for you. Tips for Answering This Prompt Avoid writing about a super famous piece of art. While it's OK to focus on something you read for school, don't go with extremely famous and cliched works, such as The Great Gatsby or Harry Potter. Focus on you more than the piece of art. The point of this essay is to explain what creative work has greatly inspired or impacted you, not why this work is so great, famous, or valuable in general. Think about the qualities or goals you now have because of your exposure to this piece, and concentrate on those and how you developed them in your essay. Be clear about how this artwork has affected you. For example, perhaps the first time you listened to the English medieval song "Bryd One Brere," which is thought to be the oldest love song on record, you felt so moved by its lyrics that you decided to learn more about medieval England; now, youââ¬â¢re thinking of majoring in history. Boston College Essay Prompt 2 When you choose a college, you will join a new community of people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and stories. What is it about your background, your experiences, or your story, that will enrich Boston Collegeââ¬â¢s community? This second Boston College essay prompt is a diversity essay prompt: it wants to know what kinds of qualities, experiences, and/or perspectives you personally will bring to the Boston College community.In short, what makes you special? For this essay, youââ¬â¢ll want to focus on one specific trait, experience, or quality you have, ideally one that's an integral part of your identity. For example, if you come from an ethnic group that historically was forced to conceal its traditions and customs, you could discuss in your Boston College essay how being able to freely express and embrace your cultural roots has made you want to encourage others to do the same. Should You Choose This Prompt? There are many categories of diversity that, if you fall under, you may choose to write about for this prompt. Here are just some examples: Your cultural group, race, or ethnicity Your religion Your socioeconomic background Your sex or gender/gender identity Your sexual orientation Your values or opinions A club, group, or organization you're part of Your local community Your hometown or home country A unique experience, struggle, or moment from your life You donââ¬â¢t need to fall under a strictly defined category of people. For example, you could write about a unique circumstance in your life or a specific event that was particularly meaningful to you and significantly affected your perspective on something. Tips for Answering This Prompt Try to avoid trite topics that can apply to many applicants. If you come from a family of immigrants, for instance, you could certainly write about this; however, this topic isnââ¬â¢t super unique, so be sure youââ¬â¢re focusing on something specific and impactful from your life, such as the time someone accused you of being an illegal immigrant. Focus on one defining quality. Even if you fit into multiple categories above, itââ¬â¢s best to stick with just one unique quality, as this will help keep your essay tight and focused. Be clear about how your experience will enrich Boston Collegeââ¬â¢s community. It should be obvious how your perspective will positively affect those around you. Maybe you plan to start a club or promote a volunteering effort, for example. Donââ¬â¢t write about something that isnââ¬â¢t meaningful to you. If your experience didnââ¬â¢t have much of an effect on you when it happened and doesnââ¬â¢t matter much to you now, definitely choose something else to write about. Donââ¬â¢t exaggerate the significance of anything, or else youââ¬â¢ll risk coming across insincere and inauthentic. Boston College Essay Prompt 3 Boston College strives to provide an undergraduate learning experience emphasizing the liberal arts, quality teaching, personal formation, and engagement of critical issues. If you had the opportunity to create your own college course, what enduring question or contemporary problem would you address and why? With this prompt, youââ¬â¢re essentially being asked what kinds of academic fields or social issues youââ¬â¢re interested in and why youââ¬â¢d like to study them. This essay is a great opportunity for you to delve into a specific idea or problem you want to learn more about in college.The topic you choose for your essay can be pretty much anything, from an ancient philosophical theory to the modern-day phenomenon of cell phones. In short, what excites, interests, or captivates you intellectually? And why? Take time to considerwhat youââ¬â¢re passionate about, whether this is a question in an academic field you want to study or a contemporary social issue. Should You Choose This Prompt? Most applicants have an idea of what they want to study in college.Therefore, if thereââ¬â¢s a particular field youââ¬â¢re interested in, you can use this as a jumping-off point to narrow your topic so youââ¬â¢ll be discussing a specific interest, question, or idea. For example, ifyou plan to major in psychology, you could think of questions you have regarding a specific idea or theory in the field. You can also approach this prompt from a more social perspective.Are there any problems in contemporary society that you believe need to be addressed more or in a new way? For example, perhaps youââ¬â¢re not a fan of the way women of color are represented in schools' history textbooks and you'd like to look for fair and effective ways to remedy this problem. Other possible issues you could talk about include the following: Environmental issues or climate change Political/economic instability or other problems in a country/area Discrimination, stigmas, or other issues relating to inequality Potential challenges facing technology, science, the arts, specific industries, etc. Tips for Answering This Prompt Explain why you are so invested in this problem. Have you had any direct experience with the issue youââ¬â¢re focusing on? How did (or does) it make you feel? Maybe youââ¬â¢re curious about how we could improve public access for people with physical disabilities, and the reason you developed an interest in solving this problem is that, as a kid, you often watched your friend struggle to find alternative entryways besides stairs. Include a (creative) title for your course. While thereââ¬â¢s no need to get overly creative, make sure your class's name is concise and accurately reflects the proposed content. If you were writing about the topic described above, you could title your course something like "Public Access for People with Disabilities: Barriers and Solutions." Boston College Essay Prompt 4 Jesuit education considers the liberal arts a pathway to intellectual growth and character formation. What beliefs and values inform your decisions and actions today, and how will Boston College assist you in becoming a person who thinks and acts for the common good? Boston College is a highly ranked Jesuit institution, so itââ¬â¢s not surprising that the school is curious about applicants' values.The purpose of this prompt is for Boston College to see how your own values will fit with and further promote the key Jesuit principles of ethics and community service. This essay prompt can be broken down into two basic questions: What are your beliefs and values regarding your role in your community? How will Boston College fit with these values and allow you to grow as a person? Should You Choose This Prompt? If youââ¬â¢re applying to Boston College, you likely already know that itââ¬â¢s a Jesuit institution, meaning it strongly values qualities such as morality, service, and interdisciplinary learning. If you have strong values that align with these Jesuit principles, have a clear reason for wanting to attend a Jesuit institution, and can readily envision how you plan to use your BC education for the "common good," this would be a great prompt for you to choose. Some values you could write about in your essay include the following: Honesty Morality/ethics Empathy/compassion for others Selflessness Tips for Answering This Prompt Focus on one specific value/quality you have. For instance, if honesty is important to you, you could discuss a time you had to decide between telling the truth or telling a lie, and how this choice impacted how you perceive honesty and its significance in everyday life. Explain how Boston College will help you develop this value you have. You could talk about specific classes, extracurricular activities, clubs, volunteering opportunities, etc. For example, maybe youââ¬â¢re thinking of making a club to help local disadvantaged families. Boston College Essay Examples Now, let's take a look at two real Boston College essay examples, written by admitted applicants. Note that since the Boston College essay prompts change every year or so, these essays might not correspond directly to one of the four prompts listed above. Boston College Essay Example 1 This first Boston College essay weââ¬â¢ll look at could have easily been written for the second prompt described above (the diversity essay prompt) as it focuses on the applicantââ¬â¢s unique multicultural background. Note that this sample essay is more than 550 words, whereas the current Boston College essay requirements state that essays may not exceed 400 words. Here is the essay: "Happy birthday!" "Feliz cumpleanos!" "Kol sana wa enta tayyab!" After my family sings me happy birthday in English, Spanish, and Arabic, I blow out the candles on my cake amidst thunderous cheers that reverberate throughout the five boroughs of New York City. My birthday celebrations, likened by my friends to United Nations assemblies, feature my one, cohesive, yet ever so dissimilar, family, stepping out of their respective Ecuadorian and Egyptian roles to further thrust upon me their expectations. Some would fold under this pressure, but I embrace this trust. While they have not always been able to put me in optimal positions, it has all congregated to a driving force in my cultured and diverse mind. My never ending quest to achieve success for my family began at a young age, through my trips to Ecuador and Egypt. I not only grew fond of their eloquent languages, but of their modest values. On my first trip to Ecuador as a toddler, my Uncle Guillermo was found dead in an alley one morning, no cause, no explanation. Instead of shielding me from the forlorn passing of one of my heroes, my relatives used this as an opportunity to develop my value for awareness. They told me that Guillermo's death was linked to his severe alcoholism. He had been afflicted for decades, all while selling away the family's possessions to fuel his addiction. He, like many from the impoverished, drug ridden country, knew no better. Some would view a traumatizing event like this as an excuse to end up along a similar path, but it immediately ingrained in me the farsighted principles that I maintain to this day. There are no excuses for me to approach education halfheartedly, for I have witnessed the malevo lent effects of ignorance. When my grandma, Anisa Saad, told me that she views my future with the same reverence that she views the Egyptian Revolution of 20, I finally realized how delicate my actions are. I knew that making something out of myself meant just as much to my family as it did to me. The Egyptian Revolution was the first time since 1981 that Egyptians had a voice. As they overthrew President Hosni Mubarak, they created an irrevocable identity. They proved that regardless what comprises your past or your background, your impact on the world is only what you make of it. My grandma told me that all she could think about as she cast her vote in the first ever democratic election was that she was changing the world. She said that if a 78-year-old widow living with three of her children and a bad back could change the world, a prioritized pupil with a keen understanding of different societies has boundless potential. In New York City, the quintessential hub of culture, I found it easier to expand on my expectations and values. I am most people's culturally passionate friend rather than the kid whose ethnicity is indeterminable. I am a New Yorker's idea of a New Yorker; an assiduous product of the "melting pot." No idea is too farfetched to believe, no goal too unattainable. With my grandma's words in mind, I face any problem that the Concrete Jungle throws at me. I seek to make sure the Salazar's of Ecuador and the Badran's of Egypt finally have significant names in the world. I want to blow out my birthday candles with a family proud that I made it, not hoping that I do. Source Here's what makes this Boston College essay work: It has a compelling hook. The first few sentences about the applicant's multicultural and multilingual family immediately draw us in. It makes you want to learn more about why this applicant gets told happy birthday in three languages, and what this means for their values. Itââ¬â¢s highly specific and detailed.We're given people's actual names, from Uncle Guillermo to Anisa Saad. These concrete details ground us readers in the story while highlighting clear connections between the applicant's life experiences and values. Zoom in on the details for your Boston College essay. Boston College Essay Example 2 This next real Boston College essay example is less focused on diversity and more on community service, a major Jesuit value that Boston College would be more than happy to read about in your essay! Atjust under 400 words,this essay should help give you an idea of about how long your Boston College essay can be. "Can you teach me how to tie my shoes?" I looked down. There was Miguel. He pointed at his untied shoelaces. "Come sit down over here," I said as I pulled over a chair. "Just remember this: Loop, Swoop, and Pull." I tied his shoelace. "Now you try on the other." He bent down. "Loop ... Swoop, and ... Pull." He completed a perfect bow. Later on in that day, Thomas came over to me. "Can you help me tie my sneaker?" Miguel was next to me. I was helping him learn the letters of the alphabet. "I think Miguel can help you." I looked down at him and he nodded. He brought Thomas to the side. "Just remember, Loop, Swoop, and Pull." In-between studying for the SATs and preparing for my varsity basketball season, I volunteered in a local preschool for Head Start and Special Needs Children in the summer before my junior year. I worked with students who were attending their first year of the school during that year. I was invited back to volunteer again the next summer. I was with the second-year students and Miguel and Thomas were again in my class. "Do you want to see me write my name?" Miguel asked the first day of my second summer at the school. He used a purple marker and a blank piece of white paper and clearly wrote "Miguel." Thomas approached me. "Look, I can tie my shoes now." He bent down. "Loop, Swoop, and Pull," he whispered as he completed a perfect bow. "Itââ¬â¢s great to see you guys again. Iââ¬â¢ll be here the whole summer." The goal of the program is to prepare the students for success in kindergarten. The best thing about going to the school for two years was to see the progress Miguel, Thomas, and the other kids made. I saw the children walk on the stage at the graduation ceremony at the end of the summer term. I know they will be able to excel in kindergarten. I began to visualize Thomas and Miguel being at the top of their class in kindergarten next year. I am proud of the work the school does for the children and the progress the children make in the school. I look forward to returning to volunteer next summer. Source Hereââ¬â¢s what makes this Boston College essay work: It tells a detailed, interesting story. Many students have volunteered at schools or helped out younger children, but this Boston College essay lets readers really see the uniqueness of the applicant's experience. We learn about two children, Thomas and Miguel, and how the experience of helping them positively impacted the applicant. Itââ¬â¢s highly focused. No part of this essay feels extraneous or as if it doesn't belong. It uses a well-organized structure thatââ¬â¢s easy to follow. We also learn through small details that the applicant successfully maintains other commitments, too, such as varsity basketball. It focuses on a key Jesuit value: giving back to others. If you plan to respond to Prompt 4, this is a great essay to look to for tips. Itââ¬â¢s all about helping the common good and highlights, especially with its last line, the applicantââ¬â¢s desire to continue helping the community. How to Write a Great Boston College Essay: 4 Tips Before we wrap up, here are four general tips to help you write a great Boston College essay. #1: Be Clear and Specific Your Boston College essay should be clear, with specific, concrete details that tell a compelling narrative about you and what you value.Your essay will have more personal impact if you can incorporate critical details, such as the names of people, your reactions/emotions to events or actions, etc. In addition, make sure your story is focused and doesn't meander onto less relevant, less interesting, or less significant topics. For instance, if youââ¬â¢re writing about how you enjoy volunteering at retirement homes, there's no point in elaborating on other values you have or other service projects youââ¬â¢re involved in since doing so will take away from the main focus of your essay. #2: Use an Honest Voice While Embracing Jesuit Values As with any college essay, try to channel an authentic voice.Exaggerations in your emotions or reactions are generally pretty easy for admissions committees to detect, so don't bother trying to make a particular experience in your life seem more significant than it really was. Be honest with yourself: what is important to you?What do you believe Boston College must know about you?And what do you feel defines who you are and what you want to do? Remember that Boston College is a Jesuit school that strongly values specific qualities, including morality, honesty, and community service. If you have a strong passion for any Jesuit values and often exercise them in your life, make sure youââ¬â¢re clearly touching on these in your essay so you can further emphasize how Boston College is an ideal fit for you. #3: Donââ¬â¢t Repeat What You Wrote for the Common App Essay All Boston College applicants must write, in addition to the essay weââ¬â¢ve talked about in this article, a separate personal statement that responds to one of the Common App prompts. Since many of these prompts are similar to the Boston College essay prompts listed above, itââ¬â¢s critical that you do not repeat any major themes or topics in your two essays. Each essay is meant to showcase a different side of you, and if youââ¬â¢re simply repeating yourself in both essays, you wonââ¬â¢t be revealing anything unique or interesting about yourself- which will not impress the Boston College admissions committee at all! #4: Edit and Proofread a Lot Youââ¬â¢ll want to spend a good amount of time editing and proofreading your Boston College essay. The best way to do this is to write a rough draft and then put it away for a few days.After some time has passed, take out your essay so you can look it over with a fresh perspective.Note any areas that are irrelevant, awkward, or grammatically incorrect. Once youââ¬â¢ve done this a few times, give your essay to someone else to read, such as a teacher, parent, or older sibling.Ask for feedback on what you can improve in terms of flow, organization, and overall story. You should now have an excellent Boston College essay ready to submit! Whatââ¬â¢s Next? If you're applying to Boston College, you're likely applying to other colleges on the East Coast, too. Check out our expert guides to the Duke essay, the Tufts essays, and the Harvard essay. Need help writing your Common App essay? Our tips will show you how to write a Common App essay guaranteed to make you stand out from other applicants! To learn more about Boston College, including what GPA and SAT/ACT scores you'll need to get in, check out our Boston College admission requirements page. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. 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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Death in Vienna essays
Death in Vienna essays The holocaust, which took place between 1941 and 1945, refers to the organized genocide of millions of jews in Nazi controlled Europe. An efficient system was established to see through what is known as the final solution. Prior to the end of the war, many Nazis knew of the impending punishment for their crimes angainst humanity and fled. Others were able to effectively cover their tracks and continue to live normal lives indifferent of the atrocities in which they were active participants. A Death in Vienna is a novel about how the crimes of the holocaust reverberate in the modern day. While the holocaust kills approximately 6 million european jews, it did not successfully kill them all. When the war comes to an end many of the survivors are left with no family, in the middle of remote places. Instictively, many of these people decide to return home only to find that other people have come to inhabit their home. Among these people is Max Klein. A talanted violinist, Max manages to survive the holocaust and move back to his home in Vienna. Max lives there for the rest of his life and in his elderly years frequents a coffee shop where he discusses politics with another patron, Henirich Vogel. Klein, however, recognizes Vogel as a commander at a concentration camp who mercilessly killed innocent people. Klein is hurt that vogel is not forced to face repurcussions for his actions. Although Vogel may have commited the crime many years ago, and although vogel is now a changed man, klein is disturbed that such heinous crimes would go unpunished. The effects of the holocaust are not limited to victims themselves but also the desendants of victims. The main character, Gabriel Allon, decides at first to find out who Vogel really is (as his identity has been changed) for max klein. Later, Allon recognizes Vogel from his mothers artwork as the man who had threatened her life and killed her best friends. Allon blam ...
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Piet Mondrians Work and His Insistence on Primary Colors Essay
Piet Mondrians Work and His Insistence on Primary Colors - Essay Example While Composition clearly exhibits a strong amount of originality, (Form and Organization) Mondrian is guided by a set of principles that he and fellow De Stijl founders outlined. One can see how all these tenants are evident in Composition. All colours are, ââ¬Å"primary colours as this gives the painting a more stripped-down and pure feelâ⬠(Art Book, p. 120). The rectangular planes and prisms are evident in the picture as seems to avoid characteristic types of symmetry, instead opting for abstract positioning of figures that still retain a functional appeal to the human senses. The aesthetic balance in the picture is achieved through opposition; nowhere do we see two of the same colours connected. (Artist Intent) While Mondrian has been derided as an intellectual artist, too concerned with formalist principals, his actual intentions were much more organic. In Neo-Plasticism in Pictorial Art Mondrian wrote, ââ¬Å"... this new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance, that is to say, natural form and colour. On the contrary, it should find its expression in the abstraction of form and colour, that is to say, in the straight line and the clearly defined primary colourâ⬠(De Stijl). (Expert) Since Mondrianââ¬â¢s style is ââ¬Å"non-representational and linked to a spiritual element in his lifeâ⬠, it seems the theoretical underpinnings of neo-plasticism and Mondrianââ¬â¢s own theosophical beliefs are evident in Composition (Deicher, p. ix). (Personal Reaction) Upon viewing Mondrianââ¬â¢s earlier experimental work where colours do, in fact, stand next to each other, itââ¬â¢s clear why he later chose to disregard such placements, as they take away from the beauty of the work. The viewer is immediately struck by the sparseness of designs and the purity of forms. Itââ¬â¢s easy to imagine how Mondrianââ¬â¢s pure geometric shapes share much with the idealized Platonic forms, where the pure essential nature of the object exists in direct relation to the soul and the universe.à Ã
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Business and Informtion Systems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Business and Informtion Systems - Case Study Example Thus new sources of competitive dvntge--coordinting nd integrtion skills--become strtegic wepon tht is not rooted in trditionl fctors. The requirements of globl sourcing, rel-time informtion shring, mss customiztion nd virtul clustering of ctivities redefine ntionl competitiveness--nd the links between firms nd their home territories--in wys significntly different from those envisioned erlier. Current pper presents n overview of orgniztionl business strtegy in terms of ITC inititive to support business nd build competitive dvntge. Prticulrly, the cse of Tesco grocery is provided to cover the issues of corporte informtion nd communiction strtegy. s well s operting in the UK, it hs stores in the rest of Europe nd si. It lso provides online services through its subsidiry, Tesco.com. The UK is the compny's lrgest mrket operting under four bnners: Extr, Superstore, Metro nd Express. Tesco sells pproximtely 40,000 food products in its superstores, s well s clothing nd other non-food lines. The compny's own-lbel products re t three levels, vlue, norml nd finest. Own brnd ccounts for pproximtely 50% of sles. s well s convenience produce, mny stores hve gs sttions. The compny hs become one of Britin's lrgest petrol independent retilers. Other retiling services offered in the UK include Tesco Personl Finnce nd Tesco.com. Tesco Personl Finnce is joint venture with the Royl Bnk of Scotlnd. It hs over 3.4 million customers, nd provides vrious finncil products nd services. The compny hs opertions in the rest of Europe, including the Republic of Irelnd, Hungry, Polnd, Czech Republic nd Slovki. (Finch 2005) Tesco's Republic of Irelnd business opertes in the region of 82 stores, nd round 60 stores in the Hungrin mrket. Tesco's Polish opertions include former HIT operted stores. It opertes round 66 hypermrkets nd supermrkets in this country. In the Czech Republic nd Slovkin mrkets, Tesco opertes 22 nd 23 hypermrkets respectively. (Flvin, 2005) Tesco lso opertes stores in si, including Thilnd, South Kore, Mlysi nd Tiwn. The compny opertes 64 stores in Thilnd nd 28 stores in the South Koren Mrket, while in the Tiwnese nd Mlysin mrkets it hs three stores in ech ntion. Business Strtegies of Tesco Tesco core competencies When speking of compny's core competencies it is mter of discussing compny's competitive dvntge tht differentite it from the list of competitors. The most importnt trget for Tesco is to set the competent position between businesses on the mrket nd sustin its mrket power through long period of opertions nd ctivities. There theory sttement s for the mtter of sustinble development nd core cmpetences of the business where Tesco opertes is the on tht dvises the compny to dpt in ccordnce to chnges in compny's enverinment; it should be flexible nd evolve over time. Therefore, Tesco needs to dpt to new rpidly chnging circumstnces nd opportunities, so its core competencies will hve to dpt nd chnge. The exmple of this ws when the compny hs lunched its loylty crd nd went into bnking. Core competences cn be shped within the frmework of following three fctors: Provision of potentil ccess to wide vriety of
Monday, November 18, 2019
Organizational development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Organizational development - Assignment Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is XYZ Company that deals with textile design. It has 2,000 employees. The company designs and makes clothes for various customers in Europe, Asia and North America. The company supply its products to different countries specifically designed according to preferences and demand of the market. Last year, XYZ ventured into African market with various customers demanding various designs that fits African cultures. In light with this, the company saw the need for the establishment of new outlets in three African countries which have an interest in using XYZ products. The human resource department resolved that the company has to transfer some employees from the U.S offices to the newly established offices in Africa. However, the move to diversify market to the African market was as a result of the downward trend in sales from the already existing markets. When employees were notified about the intentions to be transferred to the new market, over 100 employees resigned their positions as employees of EYZ Company. However, the situation deteriorated with more resignation letters flowing into the human resource office daily. At first, the human resource manager thought that the employees were afraid of being transferred to work in the new market. As some investigations were conducted, it was noticed that the employees left the company because of bad working conditions. Amazingly, those that had left were hired by XYZââ¬â¢s main competitor whose working conditions were more enticing than those of XYZ. Intentions to open new offices in the new market were temporarily suspended until some organizational development was realized in the existing market. Statement of the problem Since its establishment in 2000, XYZ has been leading in textile design. At first, XYZ operated in the U.S market only. Its marketing strategies and employee relations were perfect, something that led to the establishment of new outlets in the European marke t. However, since the retirement of its human resource manager in 2008, the company performance has been deteriorating year after year. It has been argued that employee wellness and reward system has been ignored by the new management since 2008. Employees have not been proactive as there before, thus poor performance of the company. It is argued that employees are one of the best capitals an organization can ever have (Jex 245). Therefore, their wellness is vital as it help retain and motivate them. Once employees are motivated, they tend to perform their duties effectively. Due to this fact, XYZââ¬â¢s profit margins have gone down to the extent of failing to take care of its liabilities including payment of its employees. This is what prompted the management to think of opening up new markets in the African market. The presumption was that there was a decrease in demand and stiff competition of their products in the existing markets. However, it is believed that a company is ab le to have a competitive advantage in markets with stiff competition only after employing all necessary measures including employee wellness. It is apparent that if XYZ fails to intervene on the matter, it is highly unlikely to remain in the market. In the short term intervention, it would be essential for XYZ to find ways of retaining the current employees by addressing their grievances at hand. This way, it is highly likely that the company will be able to uphold its present performance without going on a downward trend. Nevertheless, it is equally important to employ long-term measures, which would enable the company improve and survive the highly completive market. Objectives of intervention The main objective of this intervention is to use a reward systems intervention to help XYZ improve its performance Specific objectives To propose appropriate re-structuring of the XYZ organization To propose reward systems to XYZ that would help retain and motivate its employees Scope of in tervention Since XYZ company
Friday, November 15, 2019
Case study Mental Illness and Addiction
Case study Mental Illness and Addiction Describe substance abuse and how it differs from substance dependence. Substance abuse is when an individual Overindulgences in an addictive substance (New Oxford American Dictionary. According to the Neurobiological Causes of Addiction, substance abuse is a Maladaptive pattern of drug use leading to impairment or distress presenting as one or more of the following in a 12 month period of time (Erickson Wilcox 2001): Recurrent use leading to failure to fulfill major obligations Recurrent use which is physically hazardous Recurrent drug-related legal problems Continued use despite social or interpersonal problems and the person has never met the criteria for substance dependence (Erickson Wilcox 2001). A person that has a substance dependence is when an individual uses a substance despite the negative affects that may occur, such as: withdrawal, and compulsive behavior. According to Erickson, Drug dependence is a maladaptive pattern of drug use, leading to impairment or distress, presenting as three or more of the following in a 12 month period (Erickson Wilcox 2001): Tolerance to the drugs actions Withdrawal Drug is used more then intended Inability to control drug use Effort is expended to obtain the drug Important activities are replaced by drug use Drug use continues in spite of negative consequences When an individual has a dependence to a substance the individual has a psychological and physical attachment with the substance. It is this link between the drug and the body / mind that can have devastating and lasting effects on the individual who has the dependence. 5 pts Some recovery/treatment programs stress total abstinence as a goal, while other advocate harm reduction. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each approach? Abstinence is like to what it sounds the individual is not allowed to partake in the substance that they are addicted to, and these types of programs are effective, but the individual has to be willing to devote themselves to the program. Some of the advantages of abstinence can include getting the individual healthy physically and mentally. The positive side of abstinence is that the individual is no longer destroying personal property and committing crimes to finance their addiction. Therefore, abstinence keeps people out of the legal system including serving time for criminal crimes and dealing with the court system for loosing custody of their children. 12 step recovery groups such as AA and NA advocate for abstinence to give people what they call, Recovery and a change for a better life that is free from active addiction (Personal communication, Wright. J, 2010) Abstinence provides a support group that allows the addiction to be normalized, and allow the individual to link up with other people who are slaves to a dependency. The individual is able to have an since of empowerment by being surrounded by others, who are able to keep the individual in check on their addiction and personal goals. The disadvantages of abstinences, Are most disturbing is the way abstinence can segregate mentally ill persons from being able to engage in treatment. This is because many people have diagnoses that require Benzodiazepines, Amphetamines and even Methadone which treatment providers believe to be highly addictive. There is a theory that a person in treatment can engage in services if they are high on prescriptions (Personal communication Wright. J. 2010) The main program for abstinence is AA or NA and they are based on spirituality, this could be a conflict for some of the individuals who are in treatment, because there religion may contradict that of the programs. It is also important to remember that the individual has to want to change their life for this program to work. AA and NA also tell the individual that they have no power over their addiction, it does not allow the individual to have a feeling and since of empowerment. It seems to take the power away for the individual and p uts all the focus on the addiction. Also AA and NA preaches the idea that you have to go to the meetings every day and that you will always be an addict and that you can never be without the addiction and that you can never over come the addiction. Also they have to be willing to alter their lives and commit themselves to the program: fully. Harm reduction is a good alturnative to abstinence for individuals who cannot stop their use because they are psychologically dependance to the substance. Harm reductions can include such ideas and concepts like, using the substance less, using the drug every Wednesday or even changing out their needles for clean ones. Some of the following are advantages and disadvantages according to the 2007 Journal of Drug Issues in English and American Drug Clients (K. Phillips, h. Rosenburg A. Sanikop). Harm Reduction Advantages and Disadvantages Interventions Advantages Disadvantages Methadone Reduces/eliminates/stabilizes illicit drug use facilities detox/relives withdrawal More addictive and worse withdrawal then heroin, Substituting one addiction for another. Substitute Amphetamines Known potency, Content.Decrease need for street drugs. Crime reduction Could encourage to use more on top and OD Diversion to black markets. Needle Exchange Disease Prevention, Removes temptation to share or reuse (needles) Disease Prevention Lower rates of AIDS and STI Community harm/inappropriate disposal, Makes it easier to inject. Encourages use Drop in Centers Safer environment NOS, OD prevention/ Prevents harm treatment facilitation Encourages drug use/Risk compensation. Place where drugs can be sold. Lofexidine Eases pain of withdrawal non-opiate alternative Encourages detox/eases withdrawal Doesnt help enough with the withdrawal symptoms Drug has specific side effects Naltrexone Temptation resistance Relapse prevention because use is waste of money Relapse Prevention/ helps user quit, blocks the effects of Heroin Can be used as a weapon, Clients wont take it In the states, Harm Reduction therapy has a stigma attached to it that some clinical practices and professionals have attached to it, detouring individuals with substance abuse issues to use Harm Reduction. This type of therapy also does not assist with co-occurring dependancies that the individual may have. It tends to focus on the chemical that the individual is addicted to and not the cause of the dependancy. It does not allow for the individual to isolate and get to the root of the problem, however, it does save money in the medical and prison systems. The needle exchange, was started after the out break of HIV and AIDS and the number of individuals who were diagnosed with HIV and AIDS has gone down since the needle exchange was influenced. As well as the number of individuals who are in prison for substance abuse has gone down because there are treatment programs that include methadone that can help the individual come off their addiction to an opiate. 5 pts Alcoholism has been described as a bio-psycho-social disorder. If you were performing an assessment of a defendant what factors would you look for in the client history? Bio-psycho-social is broken down into the following: Biological Addiction: is addiction that runs in the families and there maybe genetic involved in the process of addictions, but some of the individuals have a biological predisposition to addiction Psychological Addiction: That addiction is a learned behavior. This can include, domestic violence and learning how to use a drug. One becomes obsessed by the PLEASURE that the substance can provide. Social Aspect: Environments that individuals grow up in and that environment may reinforce addictive behaviors. It is these concepts that create the bio-psycho-social theory, it is an idea that is steeped in the theory of person in environment. It takes in account the individuals biology, psychological health and social wellbeing and support to fully understand the root of the persons addiction. According to the Handbook of Forensic Mental Health ( D. Springer A. Roberts 2007 p. 350-352) the following are questions and information that you have to gather in order to be able to fully complete an assessment: Presenting Problems: Record current problems as reported by the youth, family, referral source and any pertinent others, Include the history and development of the problem, circumstances surrounding the problem and the previous attempts to solve the problem. Development (birth to current age): describe prenatal care, birth, achievements of developmental milestones, delays and birth defects. Family Background: describe the family constellation, family functioning and communication. Include socioeconomic, educational and occupational information. Describe family childrearing and parenting tactics. Academic History: Describe previous diagnoses and the history of psychological problems and services. Include medication history and any history of self-injurious behaviors and or suicide attempts. Psychological History: Describe previous diagnoses and the history of psychological problems and services include medication history and any history of self-injurious behaviors and or suicide attempts. Substance Abuse History: Describe the youths use and abuse of all substances; include the length, method, and location of use and the families history of substance use. Juvenile Justice or Legal History: Describe previous encounters with the juvenile justice system and the history of illegal behaviors and status offense. include timeline, type, and circumstances of offense as well as the family history of legal problems. Violence and Abuse History: Detail psychological, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse of the youth and include a timeline. Identify perpetrators and describe whether the abuse occurred in or outside of the family. Describe any family or dating violence that the youth perpetrated. include any other traumas that the youth was exposed to. Medical History: Describe the history of medical conditions diseases and medication of youth Include the family history. Cultural History: Identify the ethnicity and rase of the youth and family include any issues noted regarding bicultural identity, immigration status, language barriers, acculturation and discrimination. Lethality: Clearly identify any concerns with lethality of the youth either towards him or herself or others and describe the plan for addressing this lethality. Bio-psycho-social is a holistic approach when dealing with an individuals addictive behavior. It is based on a continuum approach, that is supported by a since of empowerment. It allows the individual to understand why they many have started to be addicted to a substance that is plaguing them, and gives them the tools that is needed to understand their addiction and how to prevent themselves from relapsing. 5 pts Historically, a number of theories or models of alcoholism have evolved. What are these models and what is their relevance for today? These models give a guideline and help create an understanding in why people become addicted to specific substances. These models range from biological reasoning to environmental, but they are all linked in trying to discover why people become addicted to substances: they all strive to create a public understanding of addiction. They do not try to make excuses for those who are addicted, but they try to understand why addiction occurs. Theoretical Models of Alcohol/Drug Abuse From the Concepts of Chemical Dependency by: H. Doweiko Moral Model Temperance Model Spiritual Model Dispositional Disease Model Core Element The individual is viewed as choosing to use alcohol in problematic manner This model advocates the use of alcohol in moderate manner Drunkenness is a sight that the individual has slipped from his or her intended path in life. The person who becomes addicted to alcohol is somehow different from the nonalcoholic. The alcoholic might be said to allergic to alcohol Educational Model Characterological Model General Systems Model Medical Model Core Element Alcohol problems are caused by a lack of adequate knowledge about harmful effects of this chemical Problems with alcohol use are based on abnormalities in the personality structure of the individual Personal behavior must be viewed within context of social system in which they live The individual use of alcohol is based on biological predispositions such as his or her genetic heritage brain physiology and so on. (Harold Doweiko. 2009. pp. 30) The models that have the most relevance for today has to be the medical model and the general systems model. Because by looking at the person in a holistic way we can understand that the individual is affect by addiction in three ways: biologically, psychologically, and socially and those two theories envelop those ideals. I think that when you understand the individuals biological and social characteristics, you will understand there addiction. 5 pts In describing the neurobiology of addiction, the term neuroplasticity is used to describe what brain process? Neuroplasticity is when the brain is altered due to chemicals, and it is forced to change in order to adapt to the chemical. When the chemical has been removed from the individual withdrawal starts to occur, because the brain has a difficult time functioning without the substance it has been forced to adapt to. Because the brain is good at making adjustments the body is capable of adapting to the toxic chemical, and the body learns how to function with the additive. Without the chemical the body has to alter itself to relearn how to function without the chemical. 5 pts Dr. Eugene Prochaska has developed a treatment approach based on Stages of Change. What is the thinking behind this model and how it is used in treating substance abusers? The purpose of this model is to understand how the cognitive and behavioral approaches affect the individual who is addicted to chemicals. According to Porchaska the, Purpose (of) the transtheoretical model (TTM) of health behavior seeks to bridge the cognitive and the behaviorist approaches by positing a series of stages in modifying behavior; in only some of these are cognitive processes pertinent and The model includes four main constructs: the sequential stages of change; processes which people typically use to facilitate change; decisional balance, which predicts whether change will occur; and self- efficacy, the persons confidence they can make changes (Prochaska. 1985. pp. 1). Stages of Change Stages of Change and the Transtheoretical Model By: E. Prochaska Stages Description Pre-contemplation The person has no intent in changing the behavior, usually within the next six months. This maybe due to lack of information or confidence. The person is unmotivated and will resist discussing or thinking about making the change. They are not ready for interventions. Contemplation The person expresses and intention to take action within six months. They are aware of the benefits and cost of making the change and this balance may keep them in the phase for a long time. They are not ready for an intervention that expects immediate action. Preparation The person intends to take action in the immediate future. They typically have a plan of action and they have taken some preparatory action. They are ready for traditional action interventions Action The person has specific changes to their lifestyle Maintenance The person works to prevent relapse; during this phase their confidence increases as they continue with their new lifestyle. Termination In principle the maintenance stage will lead to a phase in which the person is no longer tempted to revert to their former behavior and the change is complete. This model suggest that in order to over come an addiction you have to go though a linear model. I do not think that the individual with the substance abuse has to go though all these steps in order to kick the habit. I also believe that this model places all the blame on the individual because it does not take into account the individual biology and or the environment that the individual is surrounded by. The thinking behind this model is that these are the stages that an individual who has a substance abuse dependency must go though in order to become clean and if they are able to follow this model they will finally be able to kick the habit. 5 pts How is crystal meth different from other stimulants such as cocaine? What are some of the long-term effects associated with meth use? According to the Powerpoint provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (SHMHSA) the differences between methamphetamine and cocaine are: à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Cocaine effects: 1 to 2 hours. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Methamphetamine effects: 8 to 12 hours. More intense rush or initial pleasure (I would add.) à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Withdrawal from methamphetamine can cause more intense symptoms and last longer. The Long term psychological effects of using meth are: à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Confusion à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Loss of ability to concentrate and organize information à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Loss of ability to feel pleasure without the drug à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Paranoia à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Insomnia and fatigue à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Mood swings à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Irritability and anger à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Depression à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Anxiety and panic disorder à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢Reckless, unprotected sexual behavior The more sever psychological effects can include: Hallucinations Severe depression that can lead to suicidal thoughts or attempts Episodes of sudden, violent behavior Severe memory loss that may be permanent The chronic physical effects are: Tremor Weakness Dry mouth Weight loss/malnutrition Increased sweating Oily skin Sores Headaches Severe problems with teeth and gums Sever Physical: Seizures Damaged blood vessels in the brain/stroke Damaged brain cells Irregular heartbeat/sudden death Heart attack or chronic heart problems Kidney failure Liver failure Tweaking Infected skin sores 5 pts â⠬à ³Ã¢â ¬Ã µÃ¢â ¬Ã ¯Ã¢â ¬Ã ³Ã¢â ¬Ã µ Citations Department of Health and Human Services. SHMHSA.(Year unknown) Session 4: methamphetamine and cocaine, TCRIM 361 Summer 2010. University of Washington Tacoma. Doweiko, H. (2009). Concepts of chemical dependency: psychological models of substance use disorders. Brooks/cole cengage learning. Belmont CA. ISB: 13-978-049550580-8 Erickson, Carlton K. and Wilcox, Richard E.(2001) Neurobiological causes of addiction, journal of social work practice in the addictions, 1: 3, 7 22 DOI: 10.1300/J160v01n03_02 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/ J160v01n03_02 Phillips, K., Rosenberg, H., Sanikop, A. (2007). English and american drug clients view of the acceptably, advantages and disadvantages of treatment and harm reduction interventions. Journal of Drug issues, 37(2), 377-402. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Prochaska, J. (1985). Stages of change and the transtheoretical model. Springer W., Roberts A., (2007) Handbook of forensic mental health with victims and offenders: assessment, treatment, and research. Springer Series on Social Work. New York. ISBN: 0826115144 Wright. J. (2010, Aug. 8). Personal communication. University of Washington.
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