Malcolm X :: essays research papers

Malcolm XIn the U.S there have been a lot of people whove had political influence in our government, and the person that enkindle me the most was Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a African American civil rights leader who fought so African Americans could drag the same rights like everyone else. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Before, his name was Malcolm Little, but later changed it to Malcolm X when he amounted the Nation of Islam. Like many political leaders, Malcolm X had his own rule of how he thought was the right action to use to get his objective. To accomplish the goal of desegregation and equality of black people, he believed that black people should get their rights by any means necessary He criticized nonviolence and opposed those who favored or used it. Malcolm X went throughout the North and the South do speeches about his ideas and what he thought was right, and he encouraged all black people to bid for their rights and protection. As he became mor e popular and well know by everyone, he influenced people by giving black people the courage to stand up for themselves and agitate back, made a lot of them marriage him with his ideas, and criticized the government for all the bad things it was doing.In his speeches, Malcolm X spoke about fighting back against those who were hurting them or were in the way. One way that he enlightened them was, Malcolm made blacks feel good about themselveshe allowed them to have self-esteem and convinced them they had power. In order for all black people to fight back and demand their rights, they had to have high self-esteem and make them feel they had power in order for them to put up a good fight and give them motivation to fight, and he did this through his speeches. He also made them fight against white people by exposing the white man for the devil he was. By making white people look bad, it would make more black people to want to fight for their rights and use violence if they were threat ened. All this was lot of his method of any means necessary.Another way he had political influence was, he convinced and made a lot of people to join him and his ideas as to accomplish their goals. One way he convinced people was by preaching about his beliefs from the Nation of Islam and why they where the right ideas.

Child Abuse: An Inexcusable Crime Essay -- Violence Against Children

tiddler abuse occurs in families of all different social classes and of all different cultures. consort to the Heritage Foundation, abuse and neglect of Ameri locoweed children has increased 134% since 1980 (The Child Abuse Crisis). No excuse for child abuse exists. Children are among the intimately defenseless group of people in society, and to harm those who are defenseless is simply unacceptable. Abusers may make excuses for their actions or even deny they are harming the child, but they are wrong. Child abuse causes significant damage to the victims physical and psychological health, the victims behavior and social skills, and society as a whole.The most obvious form of child abuse is physical abuse, which involves physical harm or injury to a child (Smith and Segal). While physical abuse can come through the form of neglect, inaction on the leavens part is not the only issue. Other common examples of physical abuse allow in actions such as the following Chocking, shoving, pinching, spitting, hair pulling, arm twisting, pushing into or pulling out of a car, banging someones head, pinning against a wall, punching, attacking, and even harming to the point of death. According to Dr. James Kent, there are four different categories of physical abuse these categories are termed flashpoint, spare the rod, you asked for it, and who needs it. The term flashpoint refers to the parents need for psychotherapy to address the root of the problem. The term spare the rod refers to the parents need for help in acquisition alternative discipline methods. The term you asked for it refers to the parents need for help in actually managing the childs behavior and the need to address the parents or parents lack of economic stability.... ...buse Suffer Long-Term Consequences. Family Violence. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. emotional Abuse. Emotional Child Abuse Definitions of Child Neglect and Other Emotionally Abusive Behavior. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.Grapes, B. . Child Abuse Contemporary Issues Companion. Greenhaven Press, Inc., Print.National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. meagreness Is the Leading Cause of Child Abuse. Child Abuse. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from Child Abuse and Poverty. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. Ed. Lawrence Robinson. Help Guide, Aug. 2013. Google. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

To Believe or Not to Believe, Modern Urban Legends Essay -- essays re

To Believe or Not To BelieveModern Urban Legends      more people have heard the tale of the dotty grandmother who tried to dry off her damp poodle by placing it in the microwave oven. The get across exploded, sad to say the least , and Grandma has never been quite the same since. The story is not true it is an urban legend, circulating by word of babble out since the 1970s (Brunvand, 108). Urban legends are popular stories alleged to be true and transmitted from person to person by oral or written communication. Legends consort to arise spontaneously and are rarely traceable to a single point of origin. They spread primarily from individual to individual through various communication, and tho in atypical cases through mass media or other institutional means. Every culture has its folktales, including modern America. However, instead of involving gods and goddesses or princes and princesses, modern societys legends involve " both(prenominal) guy my sister s best friend knows" or "someone who woke up in a motel room." They happened, supposedly, to real people, usually recently, in a crabbed emerge. They touch the close sensitive nerves of human minds with ironic twists, gross-out shocks, and moral lessons learned the hard way. However, the most remarkable thing about these stories is that so many people imagine them and pass them on. Why does an audience take the storytellers word at face value, instead of recognizing it as an urban legend? The most obvious reasons as to wherefore this happens are how the story is told to an individual, the relationship between the teller and the listener, and in the case of horror legends, the fear invoked through the moral of the story.     There are many particular elements of an urban legend that play an enormous role in how it is interpreted by the public. They are usually characterized by a combination of humor, horror or a warning. The two types of urban leg ends are cautionary, usually having a moral to the story or a warning to stay "safe", and non-cautionary, which have no cautionary or moral element at all (Harris, 1). The details or beef of these legends are the primary factors that make them so believable. A good employment is the " totallyigators in the Sewer" legend. The setting of this legend is usually a large city, in which a reptile-loving fanatic de... ... of a legend, and the details provide a intense image for the mind to weave. Like numerous other cultures in history, the modern human is searching for answers to questions. However, these questions cannot be answered by the means that exist in the twenty-first century, so they return to the intellectual way of explaining events through their own perception, which are then created into stories and later evolve into legends and myths. Urban legends hold a significant place within the worlds cultures, dating back to time beyond remembering, and are likely to be told and believed well into the future.References     Brown, Yorick. The 500 Best Urban Legends Ever New York metropolis I Books, 2003.     Brunvard, Jan Harold. Too Good to Be True The Colossal Book of UrbanLegends. New York W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 180, 240-249.     Harris, Tom. Howstuffworks How Urban Legends Work. 2001. 1 Mar. 2004..     Roeper, Richard. Urban Legends The Truth Behind All Those DeliciouslyEntertaining Myths That Are Absolutely, Positively, 100% Not True. New YorkCity Career P, 1999. 179-182.

Masculinity, Femininity and Simone Benmussa’s Singular Life of Albert N

masculinity, Femininity and Simone Benmussas Singular Life of Albert NobbsThe semiotics of traditional theatrical phase reinforce an oppressive patriarchal system. The physical body becomes the catalyst by which gender is assigned and expected. This emphasis on the body is amplified in the theater. Simone Benmussas playact The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, adapted from the short story by George Moore, deals with issues of femininity and masculinity and how these are portrayed within the theater as well as how theater is formed by the traditional patriarchal gaze. This play also deals with issues of class and how class status is intrinsically tied to gender, gender performance and sexuality. through the example of this play it is seen that a form of theater which creates and maintains the woman as subject rather than object (as Sue-Ellen Case proposes) cannot be truly realized until the performative record and many issues inherent in masculinity are acknowledged and processed. Here also is an excellent case study of how the politics of the theater are deep rooted in body politics and gender essentialism. All of these factors contribute to the plays overall complexity in matters surrounding and pertaining to the performative nature of masculinity and the manner in which masculinities are brought forth on stage and how that differs from femininity on stage. One of the central themes of theatrical form is identity and the catalyst by which identity is formed is the body. In using the body as the site of formation of individual identity, women are uniquely identified with their anatomy and specifically the move of their anatomy that differ from that of men (Callaghan 30). Because women are thus defined by their relation ... ... femininity and female masculinity are brought under scrutiny. Works Cited Butler, Judith. grammatical gender Trouble. parvenue York, Routledge. 1990Callaghan, Dympna. Shakespeare Without Women Representing Gender and Race on the Re naissance Stage. New York, Routledge. 2000Case, Sue-Ellen. Towards a New Poetics. from Feminism and Theater. New York, Methuen. 1988Gardiner, Judith Kegan. Introduction. from Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory. (also ed.) New York, Columbia University Press. 2002Halberstam, Judith. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. from Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory. ed Judith Kegan Gardiner. New York, Columbia University Press. 2002Hopkins, Patrick D. Gender Treachery Homophobia, Masculinity, and Threatened Identities. Kano, Ayako. Acting Like A Woman in Modern Japan Theater, Gender, and Nationalism. New York, Palgrave. 2001

Negotiations and Decision-making Essay -- Negotiating

A multitude of data can be found online when searching for visible on decision-making. Likewise, the same can be stated regarding the search for information pertaining to negotiations and decision-making. For example, a Google search of the key words negotiations/decision-making garnered over ten million results Reviewing a tenth of that information would take a great deal of time and energy, so this paper will narrow the scope and focus on quaternity negotiation/decision-making types zero-sum game, win-win, satisficing solutions and fixed pie. In addition, a brief discussion on how each of the types has been applied will ensue.Prior to this class I had never perceive of the zero-sum negotiation type. When researching the ideology, I came across a website created by Robert Korn (Korn, 2010) called Truth Pizza, and I found his take on the subject quite interesting. He explained the zero-sum games negotiations type as one party pursuing an action that satisfies their needs whil e a comparable party equally misses an opportunity. Korn offered several examples to explain the method in a way that was easy to understand and relatable.To convey a couple of scenarios Korn disclosed, he wrote about the zero-sum game as it relates to insurance companies. Each month people suffer premiums to provide protection from what may come. People buy flood insurance to protect from rising water, auto insurance to protect from accidents and theft, life insurance to payment out in an untimely demise, and so forth. Society-at-large pays monthly, semi-annual or annual premiums in hopes that they will never need the services they are paying for. For the most part, the property we get back from insurance is considerably less than what we pay in (Korn, 20... ... negotiation feeling as though their issues were addressed and important to the compromise. This fosters better transaction and improved camaraderie for those involved.Works CitedBusiness Dictionary. (2010). Satis ficing. Retrieved November 15, 2010, from Business Dictionary http//www.businessdictionary.com/definition/satisficing.htmlKorn, R. (2010, April 25). Zero-sum Games. Retrieved November 15, 2010, from TruthPizza.org http//www.truthpizza.org/logic/zerosum.htmMenard, R. (2009, November 17). What Does Win-Win Negotiation Mean? Retrieved November 15, 2010, from Ezine Articles http//ezinearticles.com/?What-Does-Win-Win-Negotiation-Mean?&id=3281520Spangler, B. (2003, October). Positive-Sum, Zero-Sum, and Negative-Sum Situations. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from Beyond Intractability http//www.beyondintractability.org/essay/sum/

Negotiations and Decision-making Essay -- Negotiating

A multitude of data can be found online when searching for material on decision-making. Likewise, the same can be stated regarding the search for information pertaining to negotiations and decision-making. For example, a Google search of the key words negotiations/decision-making garnered over ten million results Reviewing a tenth of that information would take a great deal of time and energy, so this paper will narrow the scope and focus on four negotiation/decision-making types zero-sum game, win-win, satisficing solutions and fixed pie. In addition, a brief discussion on how each of the types has been applied will ensue.Prior to this class I had never heard of the zero-sum negotiation type. When researching the ideology, I came across a website created by Robert Korn (Korn, 2010) called Truth Pizza, and I found his take on the subject quite interesting. He explained the zero-sum games negotiations type as one party pursuing an achieve that satisfies their needs while a compa rable party equally misses an opportunity. Korn offered several examples to explain the method in a way that was easy to understand and relatable.To get a couple of scenarios Korn disclosed, he wrote about the zero-sum game as it relates to insurance companies. Each month people pay premiums to provide protection from what may come. quite a little buy flood insurance to protect from rising water, auto insurance to protect from accidents and theft, life insurance to pay out in an untimely demise, and so forth. Society-at-large pays monthly, semi-annual or annual premiums in hopes that they will never need the services they are paying for. For the most part, the money we get back from insurance is good less than what we pay in (Korn, 20... ... negotiation feeling as though their issues were addressed and important to the compromise. This fosters better relations and improved camaraderie for those involved.Works Cited task Dictionary. (2010). Satisficing. Retrieved November 1 5, 2010, from Business Dictionary http//www.businessdictionary.com/definition/satisficing.htmlKorn, R. (2010, April 25). Zero-sum Games. Retrieved November 15, 2010, from TruthPizza.org http//www.truthpizza.org/logic/zerosum.htmMenard, R. (2009, November 17). What Does Win-Win Negotiation Mean? Retrieved November 15, 2010, from Ezine Articles http//ezinearticles.com/?What-Does-Win-Win-Negotiation-Mean?&id=3281520Spangler, B. (2003, October). Positive-Sum, Zero-Sum, and Negative-Sum Situations. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from Beyond Intractability http//www.beyondintractability.org/essay/sum/

Immunization: Health Care Delivery

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of malady or infirmity (WHO). Nowadays, this is one of the global issues that experts are trying to solve on how they can help each individual to attain this stage, which in the closing they across of finding ways on how an individual exit be able to make this goal. That is through immunization. Immunizations are used to protect the human corpse against preventable diseases. Immunizations are usually condition in the form of a shot or vaccine.When one gets immunized, the body develops the ability to fight off a given disease. Immunizations safeguard the body from illnesses and death caused by certain infectious diseases. Some immunizations are given to prevent a single disease, while others will take care of two or three diseases. Immunizations help control infectious diseases that were once common. They keep reduced, and in many cases, eliminated, diseases that routinely kil conduct or harmed infants, children, and adults.However, the viruses and bacterium that cause vaccine-preventable disease and death still exist and can be passed on to people who are not immunized. Children need immunizations to protect them from dangerous childhood diseases. How can this be possible for eachbody? That was answered by land Health Organization, when they initiated the Expanded Program on Immunization in May 1974 with the objective to vaccinate children throughout the universe.Ten eld later, in 1984, the WHO established a standardized vaccination schedule for the original EPI vaccines Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DPT), oral polio, and rubeola. Increased knowledge of the immunologic factors of disease led to new vaccines being developed and added to the EPIs list of recommended vaccines Hepatitis B (HepB), yellow fever in countries endemic for the disease, and Haemophilus influenzae meningitis (Hib) conjugate vaccine in countries with h igh onus of disease.In 1999, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) was created with the sole purpose of improving child wellness in the poorest countries by extending the reach of the EPI. The GAVI brought together a grand coalition, including the UN agencies and institutions (WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank), public wellness institutes, donor and implementing countries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, the vaccine industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and many more.The creation of the GAVI has helped to renew interest and maintain the importance of immunizations in battling the worlds large burden of infectious diseases. The current goals of the EPI are to ensure full immunization of children under one year of age in every district, to globally eradicate poliomyelitis, to reduce maternal and neonatal tetanus to an incidence rate of less than one case per 1,000 births by 2005, to cut in half the number of measles-relat ed deaths that occurred in 1999, and to extend all new vaccine and preventive health interventions to children in all districts in the world.In addition, the GAVI has set up specific milestones to achieve the EPI goals that by 2010 all countries have routine immunization coverage of 90% of their child population, that HepB be introduced in 80% of all countries by 2007 and that 50% of the poorest countries have Hib vaccine by 2005. In each of the United Nations member states, the individual national governments create and implement their own policies for vaccination programs following the guidelines set by the EPI.Setting up an immunization program is multifaceted and contains many complex components including a reliable cold chain system, transport for the delivery of the vaccines, maintenance of vaccine stocks, rearing and monitoring of health workers, outreach educational programs to inform the public, and a means of documenting and recording which child receives which vaccines.A t the local level, implementation of the health care delivery system has been given greater responsibility to the local government Unit (LGU) by virtue of the Local Government Code of 1991, the Magna Carta for health workers for Republic Act 7305 in 1992, and the barangay health workers benefits in Incentives Act of 1995. The latter act provides for schooling volunteer workers as well as minimal incentives to convince them to help run barangay health stead or centers. This volunteer will assist in clerical tasks and minor health procedures, such as weighing and measuring patients and malnutrition mitigating activities.However, this workers do it in this setting that the study was conceptualize the results of the study may provide an assessment of the status of the health care delivery system and immunization status of children whose ages are 0 to 12 months old in Barangay San Juan- San Ramon of Municipality of Camaligan, Camarines Sur. The research finding can be a basis and inpu ts to the Local Government Units of Camaligan and Barangay San Juan- San Ramon in planning and implementation of barangay health care delivery system.Furthermore, allocation of Local Government Units (LGUs) budget or expenditure priority can also be guided towards a more responsive allocation level of health divine services. Results of the study may also contribute towards awareness building and educating the barangay residence about preventive health care. In terms of capacity building, the Local Government Unit (LGU) and the National Government will be given one basis for their technical support and training program for the health care workers to better improved the capacity to perform their jobs.After all, an empowered and well trained social health care work tweet will improved the delivery of community health care and reduce the number of children from preventable illnesses such as measles, malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and acute respiratory infection. Providing care for th e children is truly important. They will live to grow into adulthood and eventually become the future adult citizens. To ensure a productive future for these children, they must be protected from heavy childhood diseases which can be prevented through immunization.Presidential Decree No. 996 stated about providing for compulsory basic immunization for infants and children below 8 years of age. Immunization is one of the intimately important preventive management that should be done and given to infants in the first few months of his life. Estimates reveal that diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, and measles are responsible for the deaths of about 5 million children every year in developing countries.These diseases are preventable through immunization with a handful of vaccines that can be given within the first year of a childs life. Immunization has been recognized and accepted as one of the most important components in the prevention and control of comm unicable diseases. Immunization is a basic health service therefore it is integrated into the healthcare delivery service of the ministry of health. With the assistance of UN childrens fund and WHO, the ministry of ealth launches the expanded program on immunization objective of reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of the EPI mentioned by increasing the symmetricalness of fully immunized children in their first year of life. The researchers are fully aware and knowledgeable about the immunization that will provide maximal underground to Expanded Program on Immunization diseases before a childs first birthday. The respondents are well exposed to immunization activities for they have volunteered and participated in the communitys activity program. Thus, they can well undertake the study.

Privatization vs Public Sector

What is privatization? It is the process of transferring ownership of a moving in, enterprise, agency, public service or public property from thepublic sector(a regime) to theprivate sector, either to a origin that operates for a profit or to anon-profit organization. The term pot also mean government outsourcingof services or functions to private firms, What is public sector task? In India, public sector undertaking (PSU) is a term used for a government-owned corporation (company in the public sector). From my point of view, privatization is going to be a remedy for the financial ailments of our public sector undertaking.Lets discuss some factors about these two types of organizations. 1. Performance. Public sector undertaking tends to bebureaucratic. A governmental government may only be motivated to improve a function when its poor performance becomes politically sensitive. 2. Increased efficiency. Private companies and firms have a greater incentive to produce moregoods and servicesfor the sake of reachingcustomer satisfactionand hence increasing profits. A public organization would not be as productive due to the lack of financing allocated by the entire governments budget that must consider other areas of the economy. . Specialization. A privatebusinesshas the ability to focus all relevant human and financial resources onto specific functions. A public sector undertaking does not have the necessary resources to stipulateits goods and services as a result of the general products provided to the greatest number of people in thepopulation. 4. Corruption. A public sector undertaking is prone to subversive activity decisions are made primarily for political reasons, personal gain of the decision-maker, rather than economic ones.Corruption in a public sector undertaking affects the ongoing asset stream and company performance, whereas any corruption that may occur during the privatization process is a one-time event and does not affect ongoing cash flow o r performance of the company. 5. Accountability. Managers of privately owned companies are accountable to their owners/shareholders and to the consumer, and can only exist and thrive where needs are met. Managers of publicly owned companies are postulate to be more accountable to the broader community and to political stakeholders.This can reduce their ability to directly and specifically serve the needs of their customers, and can bias enthronisation decisions away from otherwise profitable areas. 6. Goals. A political government tends to run an industry or company forpoliticalgoals rather thaneconomicones. 7. Capital. Privately held companies can sometimes more easily raise investment capital in the financial markets. public sector undertaking industries have to compete with demands from other government departments and special interests. 8. Lack of market discipline.Poorly managed public sector undertaking companies are insulated from the analogous discipline as private compan ies, which could go bankrupt, have their management removed, or be taken over by competitors. Publicly owned enterprises in competitive environments would not perform better than privately owned companies in the same circumstances in terms of profitability, Privatization reduces the net transfer to public sector undertaking from government as unnecessary subsidies. These transfers become positive if the government rattling starts collecting taxes from privatized firms. Thank you.

Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna 10/3/2013 Outline Australias unique works and zoology Australia has a mammoth variety of unique industrial plant and fauna spread all over the continent, from coast to coast, including in the ocean. More than 80 per cent of the countrys flowering plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs ar unique to Australia, along with most of its freshwater fish and almost half of its birds. Australia is home to more than 140 species of unique marsupials, including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and the Tasmanian devil, which is straightway found only in Tasmania. There atomic number 18 55 different species of kangaroos and wallabies, natural to Australia.Australias marine environment is home to 4000 fish species, 1700 coral species, 50 types of marine mammals and a wide range of seabirds. Most marine species found in southern Australian waters occur nowhere else. Australia has over gigabyte species of Wattle and around 2800 species in the Myrtaceae family, (gum trees and eucalypts). Describe the threats to Australias flora and fauna Extinction Since European settlement of Australia began, a little over two hundred years ago, 18 species of Australian mammals and about 100 species of native plants have become extinct.Currently about 40 species of mammals and many hundreds of species of plants are threatened with extinction. These figures are among the welt in the world. Extinction is a natural ongoing process. However at the moment the majority of extinctions are caused by reality. We can clearly tell that it is the humans that are doing the damage, because of the unusually fast rate of extinction. The current rate of extinction in Australia is 100 times the background rate (naturally occurring rate of extinction). There are many things that cause extinction, close to of these are * Habitat loss Natural causes (flood, fire, drought) * Introduced species Picture Caption This image shows the crisis that Australian flora and fauna are short in. In this image the more red the region is, the more species in region are thought to be endangered and threatened. As we can foregather the species under the most threat reside around the capital cities and the coastal regions. This is because home ground has been cleared around the capital cities and higher numbers of threatened species. besides over 50% of Australia is uninhabitable so many plants and animals live in coastal areas because they cannot survive in central Australia.That is also why we might shape higher threatened species rates on the coasts of Australia. Habitats under threat Habitat loss is currently the main cause of species extinction in Australia. The main causes of habitat loss in Australia are agriculture, clearing for urban living, logging and mining. When an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities, it may no longer be able to stick out the food, water and shelter all animals need to survive. Ein truth day there are fewer places left, wildlife can call home. Most native species cannot exist foreign a natural ecosystem.Australia is one of the top ten land clearing nations in the world. While clearing rates are starting to decline, we are motionless clearing more vegetation then we are planting or are able to regrow naturally. This continuous trend threatens Australias environment and flora and fauna species. In addition clearing land appends the chances of erosion and sedimentation of waterways and reduces water quality, also dramatically affecting our flora and fauna. Introduced species One of the greatest threats to Australias Flora and Fauna is introduced species. Australia has a large number of introduced mammals and birds.Introduced frog species, have caused extinction of many native species, due to a massive change in the food pyramid. A prime example of an animal that is greatly modify Australias native species is the Cane toad, which was introduced originally to destroy the harmful cane beetle. It is damaging Australias native species, because larger animals see cane toads as prey and therefore hunt them. When cane toads are ingested, a poisonous toxin is put into the pirana causation rapid heartbeat, excessive salivation, swelling and eventually death. The animals that commonly suffer are native reptiles, snakes and crocodiles.Risk of natural hazards It isnt only humans that are causing the irreversible damage to Australias native species. A very small threat to our animals is natural causes. These causes hold fire, erosion, floods, drought, landslide and cyclones. many an(prenominal) of these things are a very common occurrence in Australia. One of the main natural hazards that Australia faces often is fire. Tens of thousands of animals died in the capital of Seychellesn bushfire. Not including the many thousands that had to be euthanized afterwards, due to severe burn and dehydration. Most are small, non-flying animals that could not escape the flames.Insect populations t ook the worst hit. Natural factors usually occur at a slower rate and therefore cause a low extinction rate. Human activities occur at a faster rate and cause higher extinction rates. Human activities are mostly prudent for the present extinction rates. Current policy position Different governments around Australia have various pieces of decree that protect Australias flora and fauna. The state governments are responsible for the bulk protection and sustainability of flora and fauna, while the federal government has little power over matters relating to flora and fauna.Many rules/laws on these legislations are very alike and have a few small differences to fit each state/ territorys needs. However all legislations commit to protect all native species from harm, minimise the loss of habitat and to prevent extinction. These types of flora and fauna legislations are in place in all states/ territories around Australia. An example of this type of legislation is the Victorian Flora a nd Fauna Guarantee Act from 1988, which was the first Australian legislation to deal with issues relating to flora and fauna. The Flora and Fauna Guarantee act Victoria (1988) is designed to * Protect species Protect genetic material and habitats, * Prevent extinction and * Allow maximum genetic diversity within the state of Victoria. Future feat plan There are many individuals, groups and governments that are having big impacts on the state of Australias flora and fauna. Some of which are positive and roughly are negative. The majority are positive however there are more steps that individuals, groups and governments could take to ensure a brighter future for Australian native species. Individuals Wildlife Tourists Wildlife tourerry is watching wild animals in their natural habitat.Australia has a large bill of wildlife touristry due to our unique flora and fauna species. These include kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, dingos, platypuses, wallabies and wombats. Animal tourism in A ustralia is very beneficial not only for the tourists but also for the animals. When tourists come to Australia, they are educated about the animals, their habitat and how important it is to protect these animals. The tourists views and opinions are then changed and they walk away caring more for the animals and plants, as well as the importance of maintaining biodiversity.Secondly a proportion of the revenue elevated from tourism goes towards more educational projects as well as conservation projects, which are very beneficial to all animals. Wildlife Tourism has many positives and the Australian wildlife tourism is moving in the right direction, but there are more highly important steps that need to be taken by the Australian tourism industry, to protect flora and fauna. When building accommodation for tourists, animals homes and habitats are often knocked d testify, causing disturbance to animals and leading to increased vulnerability.As explained earlier habitat loss is one of the major causes of extinction and should be minimised as much as possible. Instead accommodation should be constructed away from animals habitats, where it does not affect them too much. Secondly stricter rules should be in place to prevent the feeding of animals by tourists. Feeding of wildlife by tourists can have severe consequences for friendly behavior patterns. Artificial feeding can also result in a complete loss of normal feeding behaviors. When feeding of animals stops some animals are unable to locate their natural food sources. HuntersHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife or feral animals, by humans for food, recreation, or trade. Although hunting is not very common in Australia, it is still having a big impact on Australias flora and fauna. Hunting is seen by some as good for the environment as well as flora and fauna, because it keeps feral pests in check and gives native animals a chance. The majority of animals hunted, are feral. Th ese include non-native animals much(prenominal) as rabbits, hares, feral goats, pigs, buffalo, feral donkeys, horses and camels, which have been proven to endanger our native animals.Also the taxes from hunting activities go to the state or federal governments for such purposes such as enhancing wildlife habitat and managing and maintaining matter parks. These things are beneficial, however it is quite clear, in the case of hunting the negatives outweigh the positives. The main reason is hunters are only allowed to keep abreast specific species. Some environmentalists argue that hunting creates an imbalance in the natural elements of the environment. For instance, if an animal that is typically a predator is hunted to lower numbers, their prey lead increase in number.Nature has a delicate balance and hunting can have an impact on that natural balance. Opponents to hunting claim that animals have their own ways of population control and humans are not needed to aid that process. Groups WIRES WIRES are the largest wildlife rehabilitation charity in Australia. It is not for profit establishment that provides rescue and rehabilitation for all native Australian fauna. All animal rescuers and carers are volunteers. WIRES mostly respond to individual public reports of sick, injured or strip native wildlife. WIRES volunteers will rescue a sick animal, foster it and release it back into the wild.WIRES also educate kids about the importance of native animals and how to act and look after them to ensure they remain happy, healthy and in abundance. After rehabilitation of animals, WIRES releases animals back into the environment. However as we know, animals have a lower chance of survival after being released as they are not adapted to plastered ways of living, predators and finding food. They may also be hunted. This is why WIRES needs to reveal reserves where the animals can be released and monitored. With no roads and anti-poaching patrols, to ensure the best chance of survival.Green Groups (Australian bush heritage fund) There are many different super acid groups across Australia, dedicated to protecting Australias diverse environment, especially its unique Flora and Fauna. One of these is the Bush Heritage Fund, which is a national, independent, non-profit organisation thats aim is to preserve Australias biodiversity by protecting the bush. It is Australias most widely supported environmental national organisation. The Australian Bush Heritage Fund has a very unanalyzable yet effective scheme of protecting the biodiversity of flora and fauna.They do this through the creation of reserves on cloak-and-dagger land. The land the fund purchases are private and protected, meaning that no one can hunt/degrade habitat on the land. This means animals can live naturally, without harm. For example, the fund now owns Naree station. This reserve in Naree protects many native and impotant plants and animals. These include Animals on protected o n the Naree property * Brolga (vulnerable) * Freckled duck (vulnerable) * Little red flying fox * Pied honeyeater (vulnerable) * sight harrier (vulnerable) Brown treecreeper (vulnerable) * Kultarr (endangered) The reserve also protects iconic plants such as * Coolabah tree * Bimblebox * Leopardwood * Beefwood * Supplejack * Belah The things the fund is doing are great and very beneficial for the flora and fauna of Australia. However, the fund could be doing many other things to protect our native flora and fauna. Firstly they should be conducting more research on the flora and fauna of Australia, to ensure they are purchasing the most important pieces of land, where the most vulnerable species are located.Secondly the fund should introduce education schemes for land owners, teaching them how to best answer their land to protect flora and fauna, as they have more land than the fund and therefore bigger impact on the flora and fauna. Zoos Zoos are specify as a facility in which ani mals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they are bred. However nowadays zoos are much more than that. Many zoos have now set up conservation societys, such as the Taronga conservation society. There are a number of things zoos conservation societies do to help protect animals.This includes educating people about animals to help them make better decisions, breed animal populations that are endangered/ critically endangered, to increase their numbers and give the species a better chance of survival and help sick/ unwell animals to recover with vetinary care. These things are all important, however there is so much more zoos could be doing to ensure the preservation of animals. Firstly when they release animals into the wild, they may become sick or hunted again. Zoos should therefore establish protected reserves where no hunting/ poaching is allowed and all animals especially re-released ones are safe.Secondly zoos should establish anti poaching patr ols to make sure a minimal amount of animals are hunted in the first place. Lastly zoos should lobby for better legislation concerning poaching and habitat destruction, as they have a much bigger voice and authority than many other people/groups. Government National parks/ state parks National/State Parks are large areas of public land set aside for native plants, animals and the places in which they live. They also protect places important to Aboriginal people.Because the area in National parks is protected, no habitat is allowed to be cleared as the land is owned by the government. This ensures there is not a loss of habitat leading to vulnerability of certain species of animals and plants. National parks also educate visitors, both adults and children alike, about the importance of Australias native flora and fauna and what steps need to be taken to ensure they can survive. The education scheme also teaches about how individuals, even children can have an impact on the native spe cies of Australia. These things are all antic and there was nothing to fault about national arks, until recently. Unfortunately within a few months, we will start seeing hunters being allowed to hunt in national parks. This should be stopped as it is a danger to tourists and native animals that live in the national parks. Also this type of activity will crack up the natural food chain that has developed in national parks. This will also mean tourists will be more hesitant to visit national parks due to hunting, leading to less people being educated about Australias flora and fauna and smaller amounts of money being raised, to fund vital environmental schemes.

Fudged Accounting Theory

Fudged explanation theory and Corporate Leverage Audra Ong and Roger Hussey Abstract This paper is a follow-up of the article Fudged Accounting Theory Evidence from the UK in the ledger of Management investigate (Ong, 2003). In that article, an synopsis of the flexibility within the UK regulations, which allowed companies to use different eyeshade treatments for nonphysical assets, was illustrated to support fudged accounting theory (Murphy, 1990).This paper extends that earliest elaborate by examining the tie-up mingled with corporate supplement and accounting choice in the UK at a layover when the extant accounting standard for good will, SSAP22 Accounting for grace of God (ASC, 1989), permitted two very different accounting treatments. As a result, other nonphysicals, in particular brands, could avoid the regulative strictures. For the defend sight, a series of hypotheses relating to corporate supplement and capitalization of intangible assets were tested.The r esults of the present study support fudged accounting theory by providing evidence that thither is a descent between the widespread capitalization of thanksgiving/brands and the relationship with supplement. The results demonstrate that financial managers will tend to adopt accounting practices that result in stronger symmetry canvas tents. Keywords Leverage, Fudged Accounting, impalpable Assets, Brands/ state of grace, Food/Drink/Media Industries, International AccountingIntroduction The importance of Fudged Accounting Theory in understanding the accounting treatment of intangible assets has been discussed in an earlier paper by Ong (2003) in the Journal of Management Research. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether there is statistical evidence that companies benefit intangible assets for the improvement of their vestibular sense sheet of papers in a period of lax accounting regulations or ambiguity in regulations. This has been identified as fudged accounting theory (Murphy, 1990 Tollington, 1999).Audra Ong Roger Hussey University of Windsor, Odette business concern School, 401 sundown Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4 Canada In this study, the UK was chosen because accounting for goodwill was regulated under SSAP 22 Accounting for Goodwill issued by the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) in 1984, which was later revise in 1989. This standard allowed contradictory treatments companies could either write goodwill directly against reserves in the balance sheet thus bypassing the profit and loss account or capitalize it as an asset on the balance sheet subject to amortization.To add to the confusion, the standard did non apply to other intangible assets and several(prenominal) companies chose to distinguish brands from goodwill and treat them as permanent items on the balance sheet with no amortization (Barwise et al. , 1989 Paterson, 2003). This presented a stronger balance sheet with no partake on the income statement. T o conduct the study, the yearly reports and accounts for the five-year period 1993-97 for 143 companies listed on the capital of the United Kingdom Stock Exchange were analyzed. Using the earlier train of Archer et al. (1995), a series of hypotheses were realized and tested.As the sample is relatively small and is non-parametric in nature, the chi-squ ared test using Yates correction was employed to test the hypotheses. After a brief review of the literature, the research rule of this study is explained. The main part of the paper, falling under the heading of Results and Discussion, is concerned with testing a number of hypotheses. Previous Research Consideration of intangible assets has been prevail by uncertainty over the appropriate accounting treatment of goodwill (Egginton, 1990). In the UK, the somewhat acrimonious debate is fuelled by strong opinions rather than facts.The perspicacity and range of opinions has been well documented in the academic literature (Damant, 19 90 Napier & Power, 1992 McCarthy & Schneider, 1995 Hussey & Ong, 1997, Ong 2001 Oldroyd, 1998 Joachim Hoegh-Krohn & Knivsfla, 2000 Cravens & Guilding, 2001) as well as in professional reports (Coopers & Lybrand, 1990 Tonkin & Robertson, 1991 Hussey, 1994). The publication of SSAP 22 did little to composure the debate. Under that standard, companies faced the unpalatable alternatives of writing off goodwill against reserves and weakening their balance sheets or amortizing against earnings.Consequently, intangible assets such as brands and publication titles began to shape up on the balance sheets of a number of well-known companies. Identification of such items as intangible assets, separate from goodwill meant that they did non fall under the requirements of SSAP 22. The intangible assets could remain on the balance sheet indefinitely, unless there was a permanent impairment in prise. This contention that the appearance of brand valuations on the balance sheet had been motivated by the desire to correct or improve the balance sheet has been evident in several studies.Emanating mainly from the debt covenant approach and the archaean work of Zmijewski and Hagerman (1981), studies have found support for the debt covenant dead reckoning (Mather and Peasnell, 1991) and evidence that a participations decision to Volume 4, Number 3 declination 2004 capitalize brands was influenced by London Stock Exchange rules on eruditenesss and disposals (Muller, 1999). There has been some debate on the importance of intangible assets in private debt contracts (Citron, 1992 twenty-four hour period and Taylor, 1995).The study which most closely relates to the present research and shares the same theoretical foundation was published by Archer et al (1995) and was base on work conducted on 71 annual reports of UK and French companies for the period 1988-92. This earlier research concluded that a group with high leverage is more likely to capitalize goodwill and/or brands than a group with low leverage. The results, however, were stronger where goodwill and brands were amalgamated although it is possible that the differing regulations in the two countries may have distorted the data.Research Design The annual reports and accounts for the five-year period 1993-97 of 143 companies in the pabulum, drink and media industries were obtained. Such period of time is chosen as the debate on the most appropriate accounting treatment for goodwill and intangible assets was at its greatest and accounting practices were the most varied during this period. It as well immediately preceded the changes to accounting introduced by FRS 10 Goodwill and intangible asset Assets issued by the ASCs successor, the Accounting Standards Board (ASB, 1997) and FRS 11 Impairment of Fixed Assets and Goodwill (ASB, 1998).Industries for the study have been chosen whose products are highly branded and also where companies in the industries have been strong in acquisitive activities . The company profiles and published financial information of these 143 companies were checked to see which companies capitalized intangible assets for the entire five-year period 1993-97. The germane(predicate) population, which capitalizes intangible assets, is 15 food and drink companies and 28 media companies, resulting in a total of 43 companies.It should be noted that the remaining 100 companies either did not capitalize intangible assets in any one year, or only capitalized intangible 157 assets for part of the five-year period post -1993. Care has been taken above in explaining the sample utilize in this study because of its relatively small size. Although this may be regarded as a limitation of the subsequent analysis, a non-parametric test is used in the analysis of individual industries and this is generally regarded as defensible and acceptable in such circumstances.Yates correction has also been applied to the chi-square tests to achieve conservatism in establishing s ignificance so that the results can be regarded as conservative and less likely to overstate the importance of the findings. Correlation tests are only conducted on the pile up sample of some(prenominal) industries. The leverage ratio was defined as debt expressed as a percentage of capital employed (Reid and Middleton, 1988) because this definition was used in old studies and it provides a high degree of precision.Results and Discussion Leverage and Capitalization The following two hypotheses were established in respect of the possible association between leverage and brands H1 A company with high leverage is no more likely to capitalize intangible assets than a company with low leverage. H2 A company with high leverage is no more likely to capitalize goodwill/brands than a company with low leverage. To test these hypotheses the median leverage was established for the assemblage of companies capitalizing intangible assets, and for those companies not capitalizing the same.In so me instances the median leverage did not provide a division of the sample to provide a sufficient number in each cell. In those instances a cut-off leverage level was selected to ensure cells of sufficient size and this is explained where it occurs. Contingency tables were constructed for the chisquared test and the results are described below. In all instances, Yates correction was applied. Media application Hypotheses 1 and 2 were tested separately on the Media industry and on the Food and Drink Industry. The results for the media industry for all intangible assets are shown in fudge 1.In this test, the median leverage for the media industry was 28%. The chi-square test was significant at the 0. 01 level with a chi-square factor of 6. 86447 and 1 degree of freedom. The null shot can whence be rejected and we can accept that high-leveraged companies are more likely to place intangible assets on the balance sheet than low-leveraged companies in the media industry. Table 2 carrie s out the same test for the same industry but analyzes only those companies capitalizing goodwill and/or brands. In this instance the median leverage was 31% and this was increased to 32% to ensure cells of adequate size.The chi-square test was significant at the 0. 01 level with a chi-square factor of 7. 286 and 1 degree of freedom. The null guesswork can therefore be rejected and we can accept that high-leveraged companies are more likely to place goodwill/ brands on the balance sheet than low-leveraged companies in the media industry. Table 1 Contingency Table for Media Industry Showing Leverage and Capitalization of all Intangible Assets Capitalizing Leverage 28% Leverage ? 28% sight judge Observed Expected 914. 26 1913. 74 Not capitalizing 1812. 74 712. 6 follow 27 26 158 Journal of Management Research Table 2 Contingency Table for Media Industry Showing Leverage and Capitalization of Goodwill and/or Brands Capitalizing Leverage 32% Leverage ? 32% Observed Expected Observ ed Expected 59. 93 149. 07 Not capitalizing 1813. 07 711. 93 Total 23 21 Table 3 Contingency Table for Food and Drink Industry Showing Leverage and Capitalization of all Intangible Assets Capitalizing Leverage 26% Leverage ? 26% Observed Expected Observed Expected 510. 74 104. 26 Not capitalizing 4842. 26 1116. 74 Total 53 21Table 4 Contingency Table for Food and Drink Industry Showing Leverage and Capitalization of Goodwill and/or Brands Capitalizing Leverage 18% Leverage ? 18% Observed Expected Observed Expected 59. 80 72. 20 Not capitalizing 5348. 20 610. 80 Total 58 13 Food and Drink Industry The next two tables are concerned with the Food and Drink Industry. The median value for leverage was reason at 18% for all intangible assets and in the following table an arbitrary cut-off point of 26% has been selected to ensure cells of adequate size and Table 3 shows the result for those companies capitalizing all intangible assets.The chi-square test was significant at the 0. 01 lev el with a chi-square factor of 11. 292 and 1 degree of freedom. The null hypothesis can therefore be rejected and we can accept that highly leveraged companies are more likely to place intangible assets on the balance sheet than low-leveraged companies in the food and drink industry. Table 4 shows the results for those companies capitalizing goodwill and/or brands in the food and drink industry. In this instance the median leverage level of 18% was live for the calculations. Volume 4, Number 3 celestial latitude 2004 The chi-square test was significant at the 0. 1 level with a chi-square factor of 7. 604 and 1 degree of freedom. The null hypothesis can therefore be rejected and we can accept that highly leveraged companies are more likely to place goodwill/ brands on the balance sheet than low-leveraged companies in the food and drink industries. Capitalization as a Function of the Level of Leverage Two further hypotheses had been established based on the enter explored by Arche r et al. (1995) that the value of intangible assets was a function of leverage, in other words the higher the leverage ratio the higher the value of intangible assets.H3 The value of intangible assets will be associated with the level of leverage. H4 The value of goodwill and/or brands will be associated with the level of leverage. 159 These hypotheses have been tested in previous research with somewhat contradictory results. It was considered that this study with its larger sample and separate focus on two industrial sectors might provide more conclusive results. Additionally, it was decided to extend the variables. Earlier studies have concentrated only on the absolute value of intangible assets i. e. the absolute amount appearing in the balance sheet. For the resent study a new variable of relative value was introduced and to test these hypotheses two aspects of the value of intangible assets were considered i. e. a) its absolute value, i. e. the amount capitalized in the balanc e sheet (INTASS) b) its relative value, calculated by expressing intangible assets as a percentage of total heady assets (INTFIX). Both Industries Table 5 shows the correlation based on our 43 companies, which capitalize all intangible assets Table 5 Leverage as a Function of All Intangible Assets (Both industries) hawk Gear 1. 0000 (43) P=. .0179 (43) P= . 909 . 3229 (43) P= . 035 Intass . 0179 (43) P= . 09 1. 0000 (43) P= . .1876 (43) P= . 228 Intfix . 3229 (43) = . 035 . 1876 (43) P= . 228 1. 0000 (43) P= . appears to have stronger explanatory power. It is therefore possible to state that a relationship does exist between the level of leverage and the relative value of intangibles. In addition to looking at the sample of companies capitalizing all intangible assets, the same analysis has been conducted on the sample of 31 companies capitalizing only goodwill and/or brands. The results are shown below in Table 6. Table 6 Leverage as a Function of Goodwill / Brands (Both Industri es) Gear Gear 1. 0000 (31) P= . -. 0176 (31) P= . 24 . 3275 (31) P= . 067 Intass -. 0176 (31) P= . 924 1. 0000 (31) P= . .1573 (31) P= . 390 Intfix . 3275 (31) P= . 067 . 1573 (31) P= . 390 1. 0000 (31) P= . Intass Intfix Intass once again, Table 6 does not demonstrate a significant relationship between leverage and the absolute value of goodwill/brands. However, the association between leverage and the relative value of intangible assets is significant at 6. 7% level. It is therefore possible to state that a relationship does exist between the level of leverage and the relative value of goodwill/brands although it is less strong than that with all intangible assets.The above testing of the four hypotheses provides evidence that there is a relationship between leverage and the capitalization of intangible assets and there are differences between the two industries used in this study. The present research has also extended previous work of Archer et al b y introducing a new variable INTFIX and demonstrating that capitalization of intangible assets is a function of the relative value of intangible assets to fixed assets. The evidence from this study therefore provides support for the fudged accounting theory. IntfixTable 5 does not demonstrate a significant relationship between leverage and the absolute value of intangible assets. However, the association between leverage and the relative value of intangibles is significant at 3. 5% level. This would suggest that the measure of relative value 160 Journal of Management Research Implications The International Dimension Given the debate on the appropriate accounting treatment of intangible assets and the obvious deficiencies of the provisions of SSAP 22, it is not impress that the national accounting standard body in the UK was compelled to introduce a substantial regulatory change.FRS 10 and FRS 11 have replaced SSAP 22. Essentially, FRS 10 requires goodwill and intangible assets to be recognized and capitalized over 20 years. This presumption can be rebutted, however, and a longer smell or an indefinite life can be selected. In these circumstances, an annual impairment review must be conducted as specified under FRS 11. At the international level, goodwill and intangible assets were first addressed by IAS 22 Business Combinations and IAS 38 Intangible Assets by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) respectively. IAS 22 was issued in 1993 and revise in 1998.IAS 38 was issued for the first time in 1998. In March 2004, however, the IASB published IFRS 3 Business Combinations (which supersedes IAS 22) together with related amendments to IAS 36 and IAS 38 as part of Phase 1 of the IASBs project on Business Combinations. IFRS 3 contains some significant differences compared to FRS 10 (Simmonds and SleighJohnson, 2003) as the former proposes that goodwill will only be subject to impairment testing and must not be amortized. In addition, goodwill and other identified intangibles, w hich are similar in nature, will be subject to different accounting treatments.This reduces comparability and reliability and creates a serious risk of accounting arbitrage or fudged accounting. The current IASB proposals in IFRS 3 represent only Phase 1 and, thus, the ASB will consider replacing UK standards only when both Phases 1 and II are complete. Therefore, UK companies should not have to change to the IFRS 3 based on Phase 1. Although IFRS 3 differs from FRS 10, the former achieves a high degree of convergence with FAS 141 Business Combinations (FASB, 2001) and FAS 142 Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (FASB, 2001) in the US.With respect to managers, the introduction of IFRS 3 is expected to have important implications for brand managers and owners as well as the way trademarks are valued and accounted for (Haigh and Rocha, 2004). In particular, the separate recognition of trademarks and other acquired intangibles, together with annual impairment tests, will require comp anies to establish robust valuation methodologies for intangible assets in order to withstand increased scrutiny in the market.Conclusion This study compares practices in accounting for intangible assets in two industries known for their propensity to capitalize those assets in their balance sheets. The study covered the period from 199397 when the debate and uncertainty on appropriate accounting treatment was at its height. The annual reports of 143 UK companies were selected to investigate whether there was an association between leverage and capitalization of intangible assets. The results demonstrate that companies with high leverage in both industries are more likely to capitalize intangible assets, particularly goodwill and brands.A relationship between capitalizations of intangible assets as a function of leverage when the absolute value of intangible assets is used was not established. However, the present study added to our knowledge by demonstrating that the use of the rel ative value of intangible assets to fixed assets as a variable reveals that capitalization is a function of leverage. The findings from this study both confirm and extend the earlier research by Archer et al. It demonstrates that the topic of capitalization of intangible assets remains a fruitful area for the accounting researcher.The present study establishes that there are industry differences and one can speculate that these may be due to a number of factors such as acquisition activity within the industry, marketing strategy in relation to brands and financial structures and motivations. An extension of the work using the variable Volume 4, Number 3 declination 2004 161 INTASS could lead to illumination of the underlying reasons. A study of present practices in the same industries may reveal what changes, if any, have occurred References following the adoption of FRS 10 and FRS 11.For future research, it would also be interesting to see the effects of IFRS 3 and the applicabil ity of fudged accounting. Accounting Standards Board (1997), FRS 10 Goodwill and Intangible Assets, London. Accounting Standards Board (1998), FRS 11 Impairment of Fixed Assets and Goodwill, London. Accounting Standards Committee (1989), SSAP 22 Accounting for Goodwill, London. Archer, S. , Alexander, D. , Collins L. , and Pham, D. (1995), The Treatment of Goodwill and Other Intangibles Theory, Standards and form in France and the UK, Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW,) London. Barwise, P. Higson, C. , Likierman, A. and Marsh, P. (1989), Accounting for Brands, ICAEW/London Business School. Citron, D. (1992), Accounting Measurement Rules in UK Bank Loan Contracts, Accounting and Business Research 23(89) 21-30. Coopers and Lybrand (1990), Intangible Assets A Survey of Businessmens Views, London. Cravens, K. and Guilding, C. (2001), Brand Value Accounting An International Comparison of Perceived Managerial Implications, Journal of International Accounting, Au diting and Taxation 10 197-221. Damant, D. (1990), Brands, the Balance Sheet and guild Value, Accountancy, October 29. Day, J. and Taylor, P. 1995), Evidence on Practices of UK Bankers in Contracting for Medium-Term Debt, Journal of International Banking Law 10 (9) 394-401. Egginton, D. (1990), Towards Some Principles for Intangible Asset Accounting, Accounting and Business Research 20 (79) 193-205. Financial Accounting Standards Board (2001) FAS 141 Business Combinations, Connecticut. Financial Accounting Standards Board (2001) FAS 142 Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Connecticut. Haigh, D and Rocha, M. (2004), The Standards nonplus Landed, Managing Intellectual Property, June 1 1. Hussey, R. , Undervalued Intangibles (London Touche Ross, 1994) Hussey, R. nd Ong, A. (1997), Food, Drinks and the Media Accounting for Goodwill and Intangible Assets, The Journal of Brand Management 4 (4) 239-247. International Accounting Standards Board (2003) IFRS 3 Business Combinations, Londo n. International Accounting Standards Committee (1998), IAS 22 Business Combinations, London. International Accounting Standards Committee (1998), IAS 38 Intangible Assets, London. Joachim Hoegh-Krohn, N. and Knivsfla, K. (2000), Accounting for Intangible Assets in Scandinavia, the UK, the US and by the IASC Challenges and a Solution, The International Journal of Accounting 23 243-265.Mather, P. and Peasnell, K. (1991), An Examination of the Economic Consequences Surrounding Decisions to Capitalize Brands, British Journal of Management 2 151-164. Muller, K. (1999), An Examination of the willing Recognition of Acquired Brand names in the United Kingdom, Journal of Accounting and Economics 26 179-191. Murphy, J. (1990), Brand Valuation Not Just An Accounting Issue, ADMAP (April) 36-41. Napier, C. and Power, M. (1992), skipper Research, Lobbying and Intangibles A Review Essay, Accounting & Business Research 23(89) 85-95. Oldroyd, D. 1998), Formulating an accounting standard for bran ds in the market for excuses, The Journal of Brand Management 5(4) 263-271. 162 Journal of Management Research Ong, A. (2001), Changes in Brand Accounting for UK Companies, Journal of Brand Management 9(2) 116-126. Ong, A. (2003), Fudged Accounting Theory Evidence from the UK, Journal of Management Research 3(1), April 23-30 Paterson, R. (2003), Hidden Strengths, Accountancy, June 98-99. Reid, W. and Myddelton, D. R. (1998), The Meaning of Company Accounts, Gower Publishing, Aldershot, UK. Simmonds, A. and Sleigh-Johnson, N. 2003), Fundamentally impaired, Accountancy, June 100-101. Tollington, T. (1999), The Brand Accounting Sideshow, The Journal of Product and Brand Management 8(3) 204-218. Tonkin, D. & Robertson, B. (1991), Brands & Other Intangible Fixed Asset in Financial Reporting 1990-91, ICAEW, London p. 328. Zmijewski, M. and Hagerman, R. (1981), An Income Strategy Approach to the Positive Theory of Accounting Standard Setting/ Choice, Journal of Accounting and Economics 3 1 29-149. Volume 4, Number 3 December 2004 163 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Marketing Debate

Is Consumer Behavior More a Function of a Persons Age or propagation? MKT 6661 strategical Marketing vigilance Troy University Introduction A heavily debated issue between marketers is what drives consumer behavior? There be two noted positions in this debate, i that believes that age differences are the deciding factors of a consumers wants and needs and others make the case that cohort and generation effects are better suited to release the consumers desires. Marketers have a major responsibility to identify and reach out to the marketplace and find out what acts an individuals purchasing decisions.Rather these decisions butt be sorted based on a group of individuals shared experiences or by simply bunching these individuals into their respective generations but a system has to be in place to provide insight to what is the best way to channel into the consumers buying methods. So whats all the Fuss About? The capitulum that we are trying to answer is, is consumer behavior more a function of a persons age or generation? There has been inclusive research on the driving forces of what drives consumer choice.A pattern has been discovered that people who make similar purchases may also share other specific social-economical similarities. This gives way that at that place is some background to be learned about these purchasing groups. Cohorts, or Aged-Based Marketing, tend to share a significant number of experiences, goals, and values. (Bidwell 2009) The main principle tush a cohort is that individuals make purchasing decisions based on events that they experienced through their lives, such as their childhood, adolescents, early adulthood and so forth.These events, called defining moments, influence attitudes, preferences, values, and buying behaviors, and these attitudes, values, and buying-behavior motivations for each cohort remain virtually the same throughout their lives. (Bidwell 2009) In product line to cohorts, on the other side of the debate, the method of evaluating consumer behavior by placing consumers in a group of individuals born and living about the same time. This is the practice of multi-generation marketing. Each generation has unique expectations, experiences, lifestyles, values, and demographics that influence their buying behaviors.Multi-Generational marketing has a broader platform in which individual consumers are placed. Some specifics of these two marketing segments can draw some contrast between the two. To use the cohort modelling most effective there must be a combination of peoples ages and information about their particular life stages. Some examples of unlike life stages are empty nesters, retirees, young families, and your careerist. (Bidwell 2009) Most consumers life stages are fairly predictable so it provides for their purchasing habits to be predictable.There can be contrast amongst different cohorts as well, depending on the unique events that an individual shared with others in the same coh ort. According to Charles D. Schewe, a professor of marketing at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and consultant to numerous companies, there are seven American cohorts. The first cohort being the Great Depression cohort, born between the geezerhood of 1912 and 1921 and exemplify approximately seven percent of the U. S. population, secondly is the World War II cohort born between the years of 1922-1927 and represent about five percent of the U.S. population, the third cohort is known as the post WWII cohort, this group was born between the years of 1928-1945 and represent about twenty three percent of the U. S. population, succeeding(prenominal) are the Baby Boomers I and Baby Boomers II cohorts, they represent together about forty three percent of the U. S. population and were born between the years of 1946 to 1964, the sixth cohort are the Generation Xers who were born between the years of 1966 and 1976 and make up approximately twenty two percent of the U. S. opulat ion, and finally there are the N-Gens, born from 1977-1987, and make up twelve percent of the U. S. adult population. ( Bidwell 2009) Though these cohorts span over a number of years they are all linked by a series of events that follow a chronological order. Even though a cohort places consumers in segments based on lifestyles but the time in which these events occurred can have drastic effect on their purchasing choices. Looking at the metrics of generational marketing on surface can resemble age-based marketing very closely.This is not an intentional consequence to be vague in practice or by rendering but help narrow the message down that the marketer is trying to relay. Take a look this table that depicts the six U. S. Generations. Generation Date of get Number Age (in 2010) Pre-Depression Before 1930 12 MM 81 and above Depression 1930-1945 28 MM 65-80 Baby Boom 1946-1964 80 MM 46-64 Generation X 1965-1976 45 MM 34-45 Generation Y 1977-1994 71 MM 16-33 Generation Z After 1994 29 MM Less than 16 (Marketing to the Generations 2010)Looking at the table, generation analysis and Cohort effects follow a very similar chronological order and demographics but generation analysis is a lots broader form of marketing intelligence. At best we have put a group of consumers at the same place at the same time victimization this method. By knowing the generation the consumer was born it does help the marketer pin point the most effective way to communicate with the consumer taking a big overlook of the consumer. Based on what generation a consumer was born in gives insight of how techno savvy or financially conservative, education level the consumer received.Conclusion As I really think about the original question and look for the answer it seems to me that these two methods work in tandem with each other. The bigger picture is cause the holistic approach to getting your message across the consumer. Cohort is a much more defined process, in that it outlays the needs o f the consumer at different measure in their lives but knowing the generation that the consumer helps to point the marketer in the right direction when extrapolating data from individual.Undoubtedly to me both are instrumental in a effective and efficient marketing information system References Bidwell. 25 March 2009 Cohorts Age-Based Marketing. http//www. bidwellid. com/resources/white_papers/Bidwell_ID_Cohorts. pdf Williams, K Page,R 2010 Marketing to the Generations http//www. aabri. com/manuscripts/10575. pdf Kotler, P. , & Keller, K. (2012). In K. Keller, & P. Kotler 14th ed, Marketing Management

LTG. Timothy J. Maude.

Lieutenant General Timothy Maude was killed on September 11th 2001 in Pentagon attack. He had been serving as Deputy Chief of staff for Personnel in the army. He was born on 18th November 1947 in Indianapolis in India. His broad char behaveer of understanding human spirit will never be forgotten.According to him, the well being of civilians, veterans, families, retirees, and soldiers was determined by the concept of readiness in spite of appearance the force. The success within the army with a component of oneness was a standard that defined human nature which fostered a salient attribute to him in providing and understanding of this phenomenon. According to him, the current young generations were aimed at providing a greater capacity than oneself which could oblige them in the aspect of duty as their most dreadful endeavor for the country. (http//www.maudefoundation.org/aboutTim.html)The future of the US army is to be influenced by his contributions and value in support of human ity founded on the influence of the army personnel. He had great love for his soldiers which even led to great sigh of devotion in the deepest and most genuine capacity. His long love trailed in the soldiers, the army and the whole country. In every of his action, commitment for his duty was cheerfully reflected. His death left many of his compassionate activities, contributions and values he exercised for the good of the country.His contribution as a G-1 officeholder remains remarkable in remembrance. He had a vision for the people in providing transformation through giving adequate standards for the persons providing human resource in the army. This is an aspect worth of emulation by others. (http//www.maudefoundation.org/aboutTim.html)Hes adequate affection and love of the people, army and country is perhaps the greatest epoch of values which the future commanders and army personnel should emulate. He serviced the cost of his roles with integrity which was occupied by his great will of revolution to provide the will and the good role of the country. According to him, his generosity in duty performance served to support the fundamental objectives allied to the G-1 occupation well being, the force and the personnel. Generally, it was great for the Maude and the future army activity should emulate his advocacy.As a warrant officer 1 in the army the actions, values and contributions of Maude should never be evaded. At one level, his love for the country, the army, the soldiers and the families should act as an example to other warranty officers. Elsewhere, his transformation attitude for the army personnel to a better personality is a key element of emulation. Nevertheless, he had a great vow in developing the human resource capacity through a good leadership model which should also be a character and value of emulation by other personnel.Bibliography.The Maude Foundation. About Tim. Retrieved on 22nd March 2008 from, http//www.maudefoundation.org/aboutTim. html

Jominy End Essay

To determine the hardenability of plain carbon firebrand. Theory Hardenability is the ability of a steel to be hardened and form martensite during quenching. Hardenability indicates the reason of hardness which is obtained from quenching process, and it is very important to the components of machine especially tool steel. One of the methods to determine the hardenability of steels is Jominy End-Quench Test. Hardening usually involves quenching where the steel is heated to austenite microscope stage and fast cooling in the quench medium such as water, oil, salt solution, or air to produce microstructure of martensite.The martensite gives hard and brittle properties of steel. Usually, for heavy steel components, the hardness decreases at the affectionateness of component because the microstructure formed is ferrite and pearlite. While at the surface of the component have higher hardness. The difference of the hardness between the core and surface flock be explained by Continuous C ooling Transformation or CCT diagram of the steel. If the cooling rate of steel does not cross the teddy curve of the diagram, then the hardness on the whole steel can be obtained.CCT diagrams allow prediction of the final microstructure of the steel taking into account the uninterrupted nature of the process during cooling of austenite. Other than that, CCT diagrams take into consideration continuous cooling during quenching the cooling curve assumes a constant cooling rate. As we can see from the diagram, martensite form at the temperature below than 200? C, it mean that the specimen with faster cooling rate will able to form more than martensite and higher hardness. Continuous Cooling Transformation diagram The above diagram show the time-temperature isothermal transformation diagram for the plain carbon steel machine Specimen of plain carbon steel, furnace, Jominy End-Quench Unit, and Vickers Harness Tester. Experimental Procedure (a) Heat the specimen to temperature of 850 C and soak at that temperature for 20 minutes.After that, its remain approximately constant while the distance increase. In our experiment, there are some test errors where we are having small rise in our reading of the hardenability value which speculate decrease continuously. This is due to the uneven surface of the tested specimen or cause by the unbalanced cooling rate throughout the specimen. (b) Gives your opinion on the correlation between cooling rate of specimen and the graph obtained. The cooling rate at the end of the plain carbon steel are more higher compare to the.Thus, in the graph it shows the highest hardness at the early stage and then slowly decreases when approaching to the core of the steel. We also can reckon that, at the end of the steel has the highest hardness which cause by the high content of martensite. However, the content of the martensite and hardness will drop when approaching to the centre of the steel. We can conclude that the cooling rate decre ases from the end-quench to the centre of the steel, resulting in decreasing of the hardness.

Logical Reasoning Ability

I have known Mr. Avvijit Tandon as my student for the past iodin year. He is basic exclusivelyy a notional person, always trying to present his ideas in a creative manner. He has a good arranged reasoning energy and will always try to solve problems efficiently. In addition,he has demonstrated excellent powers of observation, and has the ability to communicate and suggest changes that were effective upon implementation. From the beginning of the course,he began to re-define our expectations of a good student leader.He regularly discussed with his fellow students close the subjects and brought in new ideas. Without prompting or precedence he spent some(prenominal) days functional odd hours on his projects . Along the course he had an excellent sense of perception well-nigh the different subjects too, and improving the flow from one subject to the other and one concept to another concept every(prenominal) to the great praise of both the staff and the fellow students in his cl ass. He had also observed something about a common aspect of the learning process that was applicable to all subjects at our department.He has written several assignments on our subjects, some of which have been excellent. He is always valued for his contribution and the skill and sensitivity with which he presented his ideas. Mr. Avvijit has also demonstrated his logical and analytical abilities in last one year. Being the COST history teacher for Mr. Avvijit, I have seen him grow in communicative abilities tremendously over the last one year. His attentive listening and great enthusiasm has helped him overcome any language limitations.He is both self- confident and independent, and has a great sense of humor that has helped him form strong relationships peers, and members of our staff. In all of these areas, Mr. Avvijit has gone beyond expectations, and has out-shined all others in his peer-group at our college. He is a very admirable and ambitious person. I have no doubt that he will be a serious and enthusiastic student, and someday a prosperous person that you would be proud to call him an alumni. I wish him all the best in his high education and strongly recommend him for Masters at your esteemed university.

An introduction to working with children Essay

Nurseries tolerate feel for and education for kidren under the age of five in my area by offering free initiateing and bet sessions which take place in the mornings and afternoons. Instead of a nursery just being a place where your churl plays, a nursery provides education by qualified mental faculty and professionals who encourage a nipper to learn as well a play while still providing care. vacation play schemes is a place where clawren over the age of five go and can assorticipate in versatile different types of activities which are both educational and play sessions, the activities range from reading books and watching educational programmes/videos/videodiscs to kidskinren playing on game consoles. The room is divided into areas of various types of play experiences. These areas take, large and microscopic construction sets, imaginative play dressing ups, home corner, mark making, Hama beads, dance mats, games machines, pool table, small world, football table. We al so have two adjoining areas where kidren can access messy/art and craft activities and liberate in the quiet area, reading books or watching various videos/DVDs. http//b refinebeginnings tiddlercare.co.uk/playscheme 11.11.11A Child-minder is a someone who looks after a parents children in their own home, child-minders usually look after children under the age of five, they provide care and education by component part the child with school work such as homework, fighting(a) in educational games or activities with them or generally playing games with them, baking or watching programmes with them.Nurseries fetch to support children and their families by building a strong partnership with parents/ races because the setting and the childs defender want what is best, and for the child to achieve. If a nursery did not have a solid alliance with parents/ rushs and so there isnt any trust or respect so if an issue is raised for display case the child is underachieving and the nurs ery thought it is best for that child to receive extra support, a parent/career could take offence to it and then the situation could escalate. But if the nursery had a good positive relationship with parents and careers then a discussion could take place about the child receiving additive support, because it is important that you include the parent or career in discussions about their child otherwise they could feel that they are not valued or respected, and it is also their right to make decisions about their child, so if a nursery overlook a parent or career regarding a situation with their child the parent or career could feel disrespected.It recognises that parents and carers need to be fully involved in discussions about their childs additional support needs. Where necessary, they should be given support by their school or nursery to take part in meetings and be included fully in decisions that affect their child. Establishments and parents/carers may not always chequer on what is in the best interest of the child, but by developing good relationships, and through good communication, it is expected that most problems and disagreements will be solved at school/nursery level.http//www.clacksweb.org.uk/learning/aslfamilies/ 18.11.11Holi sidereal day play schemes offer children a wide range of different activities from rock climbing to extra-curricular lessons such as additional english, maths or science, but the way these extra-curricular lessons are integrated into the activities do not face like they are lessons, but the children are subconsciously learning new things which would help them throughout school because they can relate back to these activities. This supports children because they are providing a ripe and secure place where they can obtain and be happy, make new friends and learn new skills and play schemes provide for all children so all child is included, they are also supporting the child by teaching them new things or helping them w ith specific work by integrating it into an activity. Holiday play schemes support families by ensuring their child is in a safe, stimulating learning environment while they are unable to look after the child because they are at work etc.Play workers also can pick the child up from their school so the parent/career will not have to worry about beguile for the child. Holiday play schemes are run by play workers. Play workers are responsible for be after activities to help children learn, play and relax with their friends. Play workers will often pick up children from local schools. http//www.youngsouthampton.org/parentsandcarers/childcare-schoolaged/ spend -play-schemes.asp 12.12.11 Child-minders aim to support children and their families by providing a safe and stimulating for the child/children they are caring for, child-minders chiefly care for a child in a domestic environment such as the childs home. Child-minders become a valued member of a family because they pay such a hu lking role in the childs breeding. A child-minder usually takes the child on day trips to museums or animal parks such as zoos, they are usually educational day trips where the child can learn something.Arranging stimulating and therapeutic learning activities such as finger painting, cooking, reading, dress-up games or even celebrating cultural events which could include making Christmas or Eid cards or creating their own Easter egg. all these activities support children because they are learning new skills which they will need in life, they all acquire the child to use their fine and gross motor skills which will help them develop, and also their language and intellectual development. They do this in a domestic setting (normally their own home) for paymentto ensure they provide a safe and stimulating environment for the children that they care for. Registered child-minders are usually self-employed and run their own business. Although every day will be different, a child-minder s typical day may include visiting a park, museum, library or playgrouparranging fun and stimulating learning activities, such as dressing-up, creative play, reading, and celebrating cultural events from around the world providing meals and snacks for the children, involving them in food preparation and menu choices taking children to and from school or clubs running(a) with other local child-minders to organise group activities.http//www.ncma.org.uk/childminders/become_a_childminder/what_childminders_do.aspx 12.12.11The Human Rights interpret 2000This act ensures all children have a right to the protection of private and family life, this means in practice all childrens personal life is always kept private, this includes any information that is disclosed from parents or carers about a child, also anything that is revealed during placement. The right to education, this means that every single child has the right to have an education no matter of their race, gender, close or back background knowledge whether it is at a statutory or private sector. To discriminate against children because of their race, sex, culture, background etc is outlawed . The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. http//www.elc.org.uk/pages/lawarticleshra.htm14 16.12.11 These are some of the rights that The Human Rights Act 2000 allows children to have, this polity overall supports the rights of children because it ensures children have the right to equality, dignity and to be respected.The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001This act supports the rights of children because it states that it is unlawful for educational providers such as teachers to discriminate against pupils with a special educational stultification or need. It influences working practices in the setting because if a teacher discriminated a child which was physically disenable and in a wheel chair by not making sure they had access to everything they needed, additional care, help or support then they could be prosecuted because it is against the law.The Equality Act 2010This act supports the rights of children because it states the legal responsibilities of macrocosm sectors such as schools to provide equal opportunities for everyone. This act influences working practices in the setting by arduous to ensure that everyone is treated equally no matter what ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc. A staff member could not treat a child differently to the other children because of their religion, for example during a seasonal period such as Christmas and the children are creating Christmas cards and one of the children is Muslim and their parents have asked the staff for their child not to take part in activities like that, the staff could not just isolate the child and give them nothing to do, the staff should either set a different piece of work of that child to do which does not involve Christmas activities or send them to a different class where they are doing a different activity so that child does not feel left out or isolated.

Intellectual Property Right Essay

1. Do you value that the transnational business community is being too lax about the abuse of dexterous property expert? Are international companies simply afraid to speak out for fear of jeopardizing access to attractive markets?In our opinion, the international business community is not being too lax about the abuse of intellectual property skillful. It is because there is a great incentive to abuse intellectual property rights since it provided legal right to the inventor of the product. Those countries are not neglecting the anti-piracy regulations and any other legal rules related to intellectual property rights further they cannot control the increase of production and distribution of counterfeit products that spread widely especially in Asian nations. Because of that, local governments of those countries are having difficulty to handle and manage the actual infringement situations.Actually, it is hard for a soil that lax antipiracy rules to fight against the piracy case s since it can damage the business relations with others. We do not think that they afraid to speak out for fear of jeopardizing access to attractive markets but it is due the fact that sufficient safeguards and proper actions for piracy have not been taken so far and some areas of law affect to be reinforced. Based on many cases regarding piracy, intellectual property laws and regulations are fine but short(p) enforcement is to blame for high rates of piracy and some nations regulatory body hold a counterfeiter to remove an infringing trademark and still sell the substandard goods. This proves that some countries take it softly as they find the situation is common and they have no advantage to against it.

Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Four

THE reality GRINNED. YOU MAKE that sound uniform a bad thing.I made a scene and get a li conduct rearward up into the techno-bag with new appreciation. Whats way out on?Im the messenger. I equitable string errands for Mr. Mazur.Is that a nice way of verbalise you spy for him? Find come on every singles dirty secrets so that he peck use them against throng and hang on playing his plot of lands? Abe swallow the appearance _or_ semblanceed to k direct everything nigh every adeptespeci consentaneousy royal politics. How else could he manage it with divulge having eye and ears everywhere? Say, at Court? For all I knew, he had my room wired with microph iodins.Spyings a harsh word. I nib the guy didnt deny it. Besides, he pays well. And hes a good boss. He turned from me, job done, hardly gave one conk warning. Like I verbalizeits sequence sensitive. Read the none as soon as you can.I had half a mind to throw it at the guy. I was pro unyieldingting used to the nous of beingness Abes daughter, exclusively that didnt say of I expected to get tied up in both(prenominal) wacky scheme of his. A bag of hardware seemed foreboding.Nonetheless(prenominal), I hauled it back to my suite and emptied the contents onto my bed. in that respect were a few sheets of paper, the top one being a typed c over letter.Rose,I foretaste shade was able to get this to you in a timely manner. And I hope you werent too mean to him. Im doing this on behalf of nighone who essentials to speak to you closely an urgent study. However, its a conversation that no one else must hear. The laptop com fixer and sa checkite modem in this bag will spare you to exact a private discussion, so pertinacious as youre in a private location. Ive included step-by-step instructions on how to configure it. Your showdown will take place at 7 a.m. on that point was no name at the bottom, entirely I didnt need one. I set the letter down and stared at the jumble of stack s. Seven was less than an hour away.Oh, come on, elder man, I exclaimed.To Abes credit, the accompanying papers did put one across very basic directions that didnt withdraw a computer engineers insight. The precisely problem was, there were a weed of them, detailing where each cord went, what password to log in with, how to configure the modem, and so on. For a moment I considered ignoring it all. Yet when close toone alike(p) Abe used the word urgent, it made me think peradventure I shouldnt be so headlong in my dismissal.So, bracing myself for some technical acrobatics, I set to following his instructions. It took almost the entire time I had, save I managed to hook up the modem and camera and access the secure program that would allow me to video-conference with Abes mysterious contact. I finished with a few minutes to spare and waited the time out by staring at a black window in the middle of the screen, wondering what Id gotten myself into.At but seven, the window c ame to life, and a fami prevaricatorbut unexpected mettle appeared.Sydney? I takeed in surprise.The video had that resembling, nearly jerky feel most Internet feeds had, but nonetheless, the face of my (kind of) friend Sydney Sage make a faced back at me. Hers was a dry-hu more thand smile, but that was typical of her.Good morning time, she utter, stifling a yawn. From the state of her chin-length blond hair, it was likely shed righteous gotten out of bed. heretofore in the poor resolution, the golden lily tattoo on her cheek gleamed. All Alchemists had that alike tattoo. It consisted of ink and Moroi blood, imparting Moroi good health and longevity to the wearer. It also had a bit of compulsion entangled in to keep the Alchemists secret society from revealing anything they shouldnt about vampires.Evening, I verbalise. Not morning.We can lay out your messed-up unholy schedule some other time, she said. Thats not what Im here for.What are you here for? I asked, silent astonished to see her. The Alchemists did their jobs almost reluctantly, and while Sydney liked me seemter than most Moroi or dhampirs, she wasnt the type to take a shit friendly phone (or video) calls. Wait you cant be in Russia. Not if its morning I tried to think about the time change. Yes, for humans over there, the sun would be down or about to be even up now.Im back in my native country, she said with mock grandeur. Got a new post in immature Orleans.Whoa, nice. Sydney had hated being assigned to Russia, but my impression had been she was stuck there until finishing her Alchemist internship. Howd you manage that?Her small smile turned to an expression of discomfort. Oh, well. Abe, um, kind of did me a favor. He made it happen.You made a deal with him? Sydney must have really hated Russia. And Abes influence must have really been deep if he could mask a human organization. What did you fall through with(predicate) him in return? Your soul? Making a joke like that to som eone as religious as her wasnt very appropriate. Of course, I think she persuasion Moroi and dhampirs ate souls, so maybe my comment wasnt too out there.Thats the thing, she said. It was kind of an Ill let you know when I need a favor in the future arrangement.Sucker, I said.Hey, she snapped. I dont have to be doing this. Im actually doing you a favor by lectureing to you.why are you talking to me exactly? I cherished to question her more about her open-ended deal with the d ugly but figured that would get me disconnected.She sighed and brushed some hair out of her face. I need to ask you something. And I swear I wont tell on you I just need to know the truth so that we dont waste our time on something.Okay Please dont ask me about Victor, I prayed.Have you broken into any place lately?Damn. I kept my face perfectly neutral. What do you mean?The Alchemists had some records stolen recently, she explained. She was all business-serious now. And everyones going crazy attempt to fig ure out who did itand why.Mentally, I breathed a sigh of relief. Okay. It wasnt about Tarasov. Thank God there was one criminal offense I wasnt guilty of. Then the full meaning of her words hit me. I glared.Wait. You guys get robbed, and Im the one you suspect? I thought I was off your inclination of wrong creatures?No dhampir is off my list of evil creatures, she said. That half smile of hers had returned, but I couldnt tell if she was joking or not. It faded quickly, showing what a big deal this was for her. And believe me, if anyone could break into our records, you could. Its not smooth. Practically impossible.Um, thank you? I wasnt sure enough if I should feel flattered or not.Of course, she continue scornfully, they only stole paper records, which was stupid. Everythings backed up digitally nowadays, so Im not sure why theyd go digging through dinosaur filing cabinets.I could give her a lot of reasons why someone would do that, but rise uping out why I was her number-on e suspect was more important. That is stupid. So why do you think Id do it?Because of what was stolen. It was breeding about a Moroi named Eric Dragomir.Iwhat?Thats your friend, right? His daughter, I mean.Yeah I was almost speechless. Almost. You have files on Moroi?We have files on everything, she said proudly. But when I tried to think who could commit a crime like this and would be interested in a Dragomir well, your name popped into my head.I didnt do it. I do a lot of things, but not that. I didnt even know you had those kinds of records.Sydney regarded me suspiciously.Its the truthLike I said before, she told me, I wont turn you in. Seriously. I just command to know so that I can get people to stop wasting time on certain leads. Her smugness sobered. And, well, if you did do it I need to keep the maintenance off you. I promised Abe.Whatever it takes for you to believe me, I didnt do it But now I want to know who did. What did they steal? Everything on him?She bit her lip. Owing Abe a favor might mean shed go behind her own peoples backs, but she apparently had limits on how ofttimes shed betray.Come on If youve got digital backup, you have to know what was taken. This is Lissa were talking about. An idea came to me. Could you send me copies?No, she said swiftly. Absolutely not.Then please just a hint of what they were about Lissas my best friend. I cant let anything happen to her.I fully braced myself for rejection. Sydney didnt seem very personable. Did she have friends? Could she understand what I felt?Mostly bio stuff, she said at last. Some of his narration and observations wed made.Observ I let it go, deciding I really didnt want to know more than I had to about Alchemists spying on us. Anything else?Financial records. She frowned. Particularly about some large deposits he made to a bank account in Las Vegas. Deposits he went out of his way to cover up.Las Vegas? I was just there. Not that it was relevant.I know, she said. I byword some Witch ing Hour security tapes of your adventure. The fact that youd run off like that is part of why I suspected you. It seemed in character. She hesitated. The guy with you the tall Moroi with sombre hair is that your boyfriend?Er, yeah.It took a long time and great effort for her to concede the next statement. Hes cute.For an evil creature of the night?Of course. She hesitated again. Is it true you guys went there to elope?What? No These stories get to you guys too? I shake my head, almost laughing at how ridiculous this all was, but knowing I needed to get back to the facts. So, Eric had an account in Vegas he was moving money into?It wasnt his. It was some womans.What woman?No onewell, no one we can track. She was just down as Jane Doe.Original, I muttered. Why would he be doing that?That we dont know. Or really care about. We just want to know who broke in and stole our stuff.The only thing I know about that is that it wasnt me. Seeing her scrutinizing compute, I threw up my hands. Come on If I treasured to know about him, Id just ask Lissa. Or steal our own records.Several moments of quiet down passed.Okay. I believe you, she said.Really?Do you want me to not believe you?No, it was just easier than I thought convincing you.She sighed.I want to know more about these records, I said fiercely. I want to know who Jane Doe is. If you could get me other filesSydney shook her head. Nope. This is where I cut you off. You know too much(prenominal) already. Abe wanted me to keep you out of trouble, and Ive done that. Ive done my part.I dont think Abes going to let you go so easily. Not if you made an open-ended deal.She didnt acknowledge that, but the look in her brown look made me think she agreed. Good night, Rose. Morning. Whatever.Wait, IThe screen went black.Damn, I growled, shutting the laptop more forcefully than I should have. Every part of that conversation had been a shock, scratch line with Sydney and ending with someone stealing Alchemist records abou t Lissas father. Why would anyone care about a dead man? And why steal the records at all? To learn something? Or to try to efface information? If that last one was true, then Sydney was right that it had been a failed effort.I replayed it all in my head as I got ready for bed, staring at my denunciation while brushing my teeth. Why, why, why? Why do it? And who? I needed no more capture in my life, but anything involving Lissa had to be treated seriously. Unfortunately, it soon became clear I wouldnt figure out anything tonight, and I fell asleep with all those questions spinning around in my head.I woke up the next morning feeling a little less overwhelmedbut still short on answers. I debated whether or not to tell Lissa about what Id learned and finally decided I should. If someone was gathering information on her father, she had a right to know, and besides, this was hardly the same as rumors about hisA thought floor me in the middle of scrubbing shampoo into my hair. Id bee n too tired and surprised to string together the pieces last night. That guy at the Witching Hour had said Lissas protactinium was there a lot. Now Sydneys records describe that hed made large deposits into an account in Las Vegas. Coincidence? Maybe. But as time went on, I was starting not to believe in coincidences anymore.Once presentable, I set out toward Lissas side of Courtbut didnt get very far. Adrian was waiting for me down in my buildings foyer, slumped back into an armchair.Its early for you, isnt it? I teased, coming to a stop in front of him.I expected a smile in return, but Adrian didnt look particularly cheerful this morning. In fact, he appeared kind of bedraggled. His hair lacked its usual styling care, and his clothingunusually fancy for this time of daywas wrinkled. The scent of c sexual love cigarettes hung around him.Easy to be early when you dont get much sleep, he responded. I was up a lot of the night waiting for someone.Waiting foroh. God. The party. Id t otally disregarded the party his mother had invited me to. Abe and Sydney had distracted me. Adrian, Im so sorry.He shrugged and didnt touch me when I sat down on the arm of his chair. Whatever. I probably shouldnt be surprised anymore. Im starting to realize Ive been deluding myself.No, no. I was going to go, but then you wont believe whatSave it. Please. His representative was weary, his eyes bloodshot. Its not necessary. My mom told me she saw you over at Dimitris questioning.I frowned. But thats not why I missed the party. There was this guyThats not the point, Rose. The point is that you managed to make time for thatand a visit to his cell, if what I heard is true. Yet, you couldnt bother showing up at something you said youd do with meor even send a message. That was all you had to do regulate you couldnt go. I waited over an hour for you at my parents house before giving up.I started to say he could have tried to contact me, but honestly, why should he have? It wasnt his r esponsibility. I was the one whod told Daniella Id reckon him there. It was my fault for not showing up.Adrian, Im sorry. I clasped his hand, but he didnt squeeze back. Really, I meant to, butNo, he interrupted again. Ever since Dimitri came back no, scratch that. Ever since you became obsessed with changing him, youve been torn over me. No matter whats happened between us, youve never really given yourself over to our relationship. I wanted to believe what you told me. I thought you were ready but you werent.Protests rose to my lips, but once more, I stopped them. He was right. Id said Id give dating him a fair shot. Id even sunk into the comfortable role of his girlfriend, yet the whole time the whole time, part of me had been consumed with Dimitri. Id known it too but had kept living split lives. A weird flashback to my time with Mason popped into my head. Id led the same double life with him, and hed died for it. I was a mess. I didnt know my own heart.Im sorry, I said again. I really do want us to have something. Even to me, the words sounded so lame. Adrian gave me a knowing smile.I dont believe that. Neither do you. He stood up and ran his hand over his hair, not that it did any good. If you really want to be with me, then youve got to mean it this time.I hated seeing him so grim. I especially hated being the reason. I followed him to the door. Adrian, wait. Lets talk more.Not now, little dhampir. I need some sleep. I just cant handle playing this game right now.I could have gone after him. I could have tackled him to the ground. But it wouldnt have been deserving it because I had no answers to give him. Hed been right about everything, and until I could make up my own heterogeneous mind, I had no right to force a talk. Besides, considering the state he was in, I doubted any moreover conversation would have been productive.Yet as he started to step outside, I couldnt help my next words. forwards you goand I understand why you have totheres somethin g Ive got to ask you. Something thats not about us. It affectsit affects Lissa.This slowly brought him to a halt. Always a favor. With a world-weary sigh, he glanced at me over his shoulder. Make it fast.Someone broke into the Alchemists records and stole information about Lissas dad. Some of it was ordinary life history stuff, but there were some documents about him making secret deposits into a bank account in Las Vegas. Some womans bank account.Adrian waited a few moments. And?And Im trying to figure out why someone would do that. I dont want anyone snooping around her family. Do you have any idea what her dad would have been doing?You heard the guy at the casino. Her dad was there a lot. Maybe he had gambling debts and was paying off a loan shark.Lissas familys everlastingly had money, I pointed out. He couldnt have gotten into that much debt. And why would anyone care enough to steal that info?Adrian threw up his hands. I dont know. Thats all Ive got, at least this early in th e morning. I dont have the brain male monarch for intrigue. I cant really picture any of that being a threat to Lissa, though.I nodded, disappointed. Okay. Thanks.He continued on his way, and I watched him go. Lissa lived near him, but I didnt want him to think I was following him. When hed put enough distance between us, I stepped outdoors as well and started to head in the same direction. The faint sound of bells brought me to a halt. I hesitated, suddenly unsure where to go.I wanted to talk to Lissa and tell her what Sydney had told me. Lissa was alone for a change this was the perfect opportunity. And yet the bells. It was Sunday morning. Mass was about to start at the Courts church. I had a lie with about something, and in spite of everything that had happenedincluding with AdrianI had to see if I was right.So I sprinted off toward the church, going in the opposite direction of Lissas building. The doors were shut when I reached my destination, but a few other latecomers wer e trying to quietly slip in. I entered with them, pausing to get my bearings. Clouds of incense hung in the air, and my eyes took a moment to adjust from sunlight to candlelight. Since this church dwarfed St. Vladimirs chapel, it was packed with a lot more people than I was used to seeing at mass. Most of the seats were full.But not all of them.My hunch had been right. Dimitri sat in one of the back pews. A few guardians sat near him, of course, but that was it. Even in a crowded church, no one else had joined him on the bench. Reece had asked Dimitri if hed step inside the church yesterday, and Dimitri had gone one step further, axiom hed even go to Sunday services.The priest had already begun to speak, so I moved down Dimitris pew as quietly as I could. Silence didnt matter, though, because I still attracted a fair amount of charge from nearby people who were astonished to see me academic session next to the Strigoi-turned-dhampir. Eyes stared and several hushed conversations b roke out.The guardians had left some space near Dimitri, and when I sat beside him, the look on his face showed he was both surprised and not surprised by this.Dont, he said in a hushed voice. Dont startnot in here.Wouldnt dream of it, comrade, I murmured back. Just came for the good of my soul, thats all.He didnt need to say a word to convey to me that he doubted I was here for any holy reasons. I stayed quiet throughout the service, though. Even I respected some boundaries. After several minutes, the tension in Dimitris body eased a little. Hed grown wary when I joined him but must have eventually decided Id be on good behavior. His concern shifted off of me and focused on the singing and the praying, and I did my best to watch him without being obvious.Dimitri used to go to the schools chapel because it brought him peace. He had always said that even though the killing he did destroyed evil in the world, he still felt the need to come think about his life and seek forgiveness f or his sins. Seeing him now, I realized that was truer than ever.His expression was exquisite. I was so used to seeing him hide emotions that it was a bit startling for him to suddenly have a host of them on his face. He was indifferent in the priests words, his gorgeous face completely focused. And I realized he was taking everything the priest was aspect about sin personally. Dimitri was replaying all the awful things hed done as a Strigoi. From the despair on his face, youd think that Dimitri himself was responsible for all the sins of the world the priest spoke of.For a moment, I thought I saw hope on Dimitris face too, just a spark of it mixed in with his guilt and sorrow. No, I realized. Not hope. Hope implies that you think you have a chance at something. What I saw in Dimitri was longing. Wistfulness. Dimitri wished that by being here in this holy place and listening to the messages conveyed, he might find redemption for what he had done. Yet at the same time, it was clear he didnt believe that was possible. He wanted it but could never have it as far as he was concerned.Seeing that in him impairment me. I didnt know how to react to that kind of bleak attitude. He thought there was no hope for him. Me? I couldnt imagine a world without hope.I also never would have imagined Id quote back a church lesson, but when the rest of the crowd stood up to take communion, I found myself saying to Dimitri Dont you think that if God can supposedly forgive you, its kind of egotistical for you not to forgive yourself?How long have you been waiting to use that line on me? he asked.Actually, it just came to me. Pretty good, huh? I bet you thought I wasnt paying attention.You werent. You never do. You were watching me.Interesting. To know that I was watching him, would Dimitri have had to have watched me watching him? It boggled the mind. You didnt answer my question.He kept his eyes on the communion line while penning his answer. Its irrelevant. I dont have to forg ive myself even if God does. And Im not sure He would.That priest just said God would. He said God forgives everything. Are you calling the priest a liar? Thats pretty sacrilegious.Dimitri groaned. I never thought Id take joy in tormenting him, but the frustrated look on his face wasnt because of his personal grief. It was because of me being impertinent. Id seen this expression a hundred times on him, and the familiarity of it change me, as crazy as that sounds.Rose, youre the one being sacrilegious. Youre twisting these peoples faith for your own purposes. Youve never believed in any of this. You still dont.I believe that the dead can come back to life, I said seriously. The proof is sitting right next to me. If thats true, then I think you forgiving yourself isnt that much more of a leap.His gaze hardened, and if he was praying for anything right then, it was that the communion process would speed up so that he could get out of here and away from me. We both knew he had to wait this church service out. If he ran out, it would make him look Strigoi.You dont know what youre talking about, he said.Dont I? I hissed, leaning closer. I did it to ingest home my point, but all it did (for me, at least) was give me a burst view of the way the candlelight shone on his hair and how long and lean his body was. Someone had apparently decided he could be trusted to shave, and his face was smooth, showing its wonderful, perfect lines.I know exactly what Im talking about, I continued, trying to issue how his presence affected me. I know that youve been through a lot. I know that you did prankish thingsI saw them. But its in the past. It was beyond your control. Its not like youre going to do it again.A distant, haunted look crossed his face. How do you know? Maybe the monster didnt leave. Maybe theres still something Strigoi lurking in me.Then you need to defeat it by moving on with your life And not just through your chivalrous pledge to protect Lissa. You need to l ive again. You need to open yourself up to people who love you. No Strigoi would do that. Thats how youll save yourself.I cant have people engaging me, he growled. Im incapable of loving anyone in return.Maybe you should try instead of just feeling sorry for yourselfIts not that easy.Da I just barely stopped myself from swearing in a church. Nothing weve ever done has been easy Our life beforebefore the attack wasnt easy, and we made it through that We can make it through this too. We can make it through anything together. It doesnt matter if you put your faith in this place. I dont care. What matters is that you put your faith in us.There is no us. Ive already told you that.And you know Im not a very good listener.We were keeping our voices low, but I think our body language clearly indicated an argument. The other churchgoers were too distracted to notice, but Dimitris guardians were regarding us carefully. Again, I reminded myself about what Lissa and Mikhail had both said. Gett ing Dimitri angry in public was not going to do him any favors. The problem was, I had yet to say anything that didnt make him angry.I wish you hadnt come here, he said at last. Its really better for us to stay apart.Thats funny because I could have give tongue to you once said we were meant to be together.I want you to stay away from me, he said, ignoring my comment. I dont want you to keep trying to bring back feelings that are gone. Thats the past. None of thats going to happen again. Not ever. Its better for us if we act like strangers. Its better for you.The loving, compassionate feelings he had stirred within me heated upto fury. If youre going to tell me what I can or cant do, I growled in as low a tone as I could manage, then at least have the courage to say it to my faceHe spun around so quickly that he might have indeed still been Strigoi. His face was filled with what? Not that earlier depression. Not rage either, though there was a bit of anger. There was more, though a mingling of desperation, frustration, and maybe even fear. Underscoring all of it was pain, like he suffered from terrible, exquisite agony.I dont want you here, he said, eyes blazing. The words hurt, but something about it all thrilled me, just as his earlier agitation at my flippant comments had. This wasnt the cold and calculating Strigoi. This wasnt the defeated man in the cell. This was my old instructor, my lover, who attacked everything in life with intensity and passion. How many times do I have to tell you that? You need to stay away from me.But you arent going to hurt me. I know that.Ive already hurt you. Why cant you understand that? How many times do I have to say it?You told me you told me before you left that you love me. My voice trembled. How can you let that go?Because its too late And its easier than being reminded of what I did to you His control snapped, his voice echoing through the back of the church. The priest and those still taking communion didnt notice, b ut wed definitely gotten the attention of those in the back half of the church. A few of the guardians stiffened, and again, I had to repeat the warning to myself. No matter how furious I was at Dimitri, no matter how betrayed I felt that hed turned away from me I could not risk others thinking he was dangerous. Dimitri hardly looked like he was going to snap someones neck, but he was clearly upset, and one might confuse his frustration and pain for something more sinister.I turned from him, trying to calm my churning emotions. When I looked back, our eyes locked, power and electricity burning between us. Dimitri could ignore it all he wanted, but that connectionthat deep calling of our soulswas still in there. I wanted to touch him, not just with this brushing of my leg but with everything. I wanted to wrap him in my arms and hold him against me, reassuring him that we could do anything together. Without even realizing it, I reached toward him, needing that touch. He sprang up like I was a snake, and all of his guardians shot forward, braced for what he might do.But he did nothing. Nothing take out stare at me with a look that made my blood run cold. Like I was something strange and bad. Rose. Please stop. Please stay away. He was working hard to stay calm.I shot up, now as angry and frustrated as him. I had a feeling if I stayed, wed both snap. In an undertone, I murmured, This isnt over. I wont give up on you.Ive given up on you, he said back, voice also soft. Love fades. Mine has.I stared at him in disbelief. All this time, hed never phrased it like that. His protests had always been about some greater good, about the remorse he felt over being a monster or how it had scarred him from love. Ive given up on you. Love fades. Mine has.I backed up, the sting of those words hitting me as hard as if hed slapped me. Something shifted in his features, like maybe he knew how much hed hurt me. I didnt stick around to see. Instead, I pushed my way out of the gangpla nk and ran out the doors in the back, afraid that if I stayed any longer, everyone in the church would see me cry.