Modules Work Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modules Work - Coursework Example Additionally, I would try to confirm the note with the customer including the balance due, interest rate, date of the note, date due and also the collateral pledged (Kinney, 2011). Basing on aging analysis and subsequent collection (WP 3.B) and discussion with the credit manager, an allowance of $600000 is reasonable and adequate (I examined correspondence and also discussed with the credit manager; explanation of audit legend) The late recording of the vouchers and early recording of the sales seems to be intentional earning inflation devices. This include vouchers 12458 and 12459 and sales invoices 33003, 33004, 33006, 33007, and 33009. Considering Biltrite’s internal controls relating to shipping and receiving, unintentional errors of this type and magnitude are not likely to appear (Kimmel, 2011). Suppose the auditor does suspect misrepresentation, consideration should be given to possible lowering of individual item materiality threshold. More so due to 3 million dollars check ‘kiting’ and misrepresentation of the Lawton related party loan in the previous module IX. 1. Lucas has satisfied some of the objectives of searching for unrecorded liabilities but not all. She has been able to determine whether additional invoices received and not un-vouchered are for charges pertaining to the year being audited. Additionally, she has determined whether the client included these charges in liabilities. This has been done by examining 2010 un-vouchered invoices and tracing 2009 charges contained therein to the client’s 12/2/09 Adjustment for unrecorded invoices. However, Lucas did

Advertisement Essay Essay Example for Free

Advertisement Essay Essay Anywhere a person looks; there will always be some form of advertisement. Billboards, posters, fliers, and other forms of media are visible almost everywhere. Advertising is a mass communication in the world today, and has been around since 1841. Whether people agree with it or not, it’s not going anywhere. Advertisements are essentially everywhere. No one can go anywhere without seeing at least one advertisement. They’re placed on radios, TVs, magazines and even billboards. Advertisers pay media companies to place their ads in such places and therefore the media companies make money off their ads. Advertiser’s main purpose is to influence the consumer to buy their product. They may lie about the product to make it sound better so more people would want to buy it. It can mislead the consumers to believe that any given product can make them popular, or beautiful. I don’t necessarily like advertisements, but I don’t like them either. Advertisements are everywhere, and it’s your choice to read and believe them or not read and not believe them. I agree, they are misleading but how else would people know about a new product or new improved or additions? Advertising exerts a large impact on us, bringing about good and bad consequences in people’s life. An example would be, if you were looking through the summer edition of a magazine and you see a Hollister advertisement on a page and the models are in bathing suits, in which they are all fairly skinny. If you were a little meatier than them you would probably think to yourself â€Å"I wish I was that skinny.† Or â€Å"I wish I looked like that.† That’s the bad consequence about advertising. There’s a huge impact on teens while looking through their favorite magazine or even watching TV. Another reason I feel advertising isn’t the best is, it can mislead the consumer into wasting money on something that either doesnâ₠¬â„¢t work or will end up breaking. The good side to advertising is it can let people know about free clinics, blood drives, and events coming up in the area. Of course, it’s not going to tell you everything about the event or clinic because an advertisement is  something brief about it, and they’re trying to get you to be interested about it. Some companies sponsor charity events or sport events to advertise with blimps, airplane signs; on-screen ads and even t-shirts in exchange for free advertising. If you were to think about every ad you’ve read, there really isn’t a limit to it. They really don’t care how vulgar or misinterpreting it could be, they’re getting paid for it so whatever they have to do to get your attention, they will. Advertisement should have a limit of what they can put on ads.

Essay on The Holy Bible - Suffering and The Book of Job -- Holy Bible

Suffering and The Book of Job      Ã‚   Life is difficult. "Suffering...is not an exception to the human condition, it is the human condition" (Gomes 405). The question of why life can be unjustly cruel is asked today and has been asked since the beginning of time.    And where is God in the midst of hardship? Is He non-existent, as the pagan statement, "It's Chance alone that moves and rules our lives" implies (Neiman 442). Or is God only partially in control of situations, as Harold Kushner concludes, writing, "there are some things God does not control" (462). Is all suffering a direct result of our own actions, as David Neiman offers ("He who is suffering and believes in a God of justice, must also blame himself for his state of being"" (438). Moses Maimonides prefers to view the question by focusing not on the external life that surrounds us, but on the internal condition of the heart. He argues that good and evil have their own reward and punishments within the spiritual realm and outward appearances are inconsequential (Behrens and Rosen 434).    For those who believe in a God who is living and active and who believe in the sanctity of the scriptures, the question of God's justice in the Bible does seem a contradiction at times. As Neiman observed, The Book of Proverbs presents a formula for life, promising blessings to the man who lives a moral life (436). But is The Book of Proverbs a collection of promises or is it the wise man's observations of probabilities? One can see the unpleasant consequences of poor choices, as well as the good fortunes of those who have lived a "clean" life, but sometimes this moral law breaks down. As Neiman states, "experience has led men to realize that ... ...t out of self-interest'" (460). Love is not self-seeking. Love is illustrated by a mother who cares for her newborn baby and expects nothing in return. She continues to love and nurture, until the child is an adult, in anticipation of the beautiful person the child will be. God wants us to anticipate the day when we will be made perfect, and trust His ways, like a child trusting its mother. Works Cited Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen, eds. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 7th ed. NewYork: Longman, 2000. -Gomes, Peter. "The Bible and Suffering." 400-405. - Kushner, Harold S. "When Bad Things Happen to Good   People."   452-462. - MacLeisch, Archibald. "God Has Need of Man."  Ã‚   474-480.   - Neiman, David. "An Introduction to Job 435-444. The Bible. Revised Standard Version. 2nd ed. Dallas: Melton, 1971.

Eveline´s Decision in Eveline by James Joyce :: essays research papers

In the short story â€Å"Eveline â€Å" by James Joyce, Eveline, the protagonist is given the opportunity to escape from her hard unendurable life at home and live a life of true happiness at Buenos Ayres with Frank, her lover. Throughout the story, Eveline is faced with a few good memories of her past from her childhood and her mother, but she also faces the horrible flashbacks of her mother’s illness and her father’s violence. In the end, she does not leave with Frank, Eveline’s indecisiveness and the burden of her family’s duties makes her stay.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By not taking that opportunity, Eveline probably missed a life of exploration with Frank. Eveline would have had the chance to know what independence feels like and she would have had the chance to experience individual freedom. Instead, her life afterwards is a life of regret and imprisonment with her family. Being an only child, she is bound by her family’s actions and their duties. Eveline has taken on an incredible part of the burden in keeping the family together. Her father is an overbearing and unfair man who takes his daughters earnings for himself; and rather than appreciating her sacrifices, he ridicules her. As she now lives with her dad and her two brothers, she feels tired and frustrated with her dad’s commands and her everyday life. Everyday, she sadly waits for frank to come back into her life once again and fill her life with happiness. Eveline may possibily in the future live her freedom when her controlling father passes away, but p erhaps it will become too late for her to experience the freedom she wanted.

Legal Law Reform

It could be argued that both the international and the Australian domestic legal systems have both been effective in responding to the need for law reform in modern society. There are four key conditions that have been identified as influencing the need for change to law. Both the parliament through statute law and the courts through common law have important roles to play in bringing about effective change. One important condition that gives rise to law reform is the changing of social values. This means reforming laws to suit the changes in society. Social values are standards that guide people in the direction of wrong or right. The similar views society holds upon these standards is a reflection of public morality. Therefore, in order for the law to be abided and relevant to society it needs to reflect the social value of the people. An example of law reform in this area is seen amongst same-sex relationships. Changing social values led to same-sex couples being recognised as de facto relationships. This led to the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW). Therefore it is evident that the domestic legal system is effective in responding to changing social values. Another important condition that gives rise to law reform relates to new concepts of justice. As social values change, so does the idea of justice. New concepts of justice come in when the law is incapable of delivering just outcomes to individuals and the community. An example of law reform in this area is seen in the case of capital punishment. The concept of justice shifted from retribution (a life for a life) to rehabilitation. This comes to show the effectiveness of the domestic legal system in responding to concepts of justice. Law reform is also influenced by new technology. As technology advances, pressure is placed upon the need for the law to keep up. This is due to its continuous development. An example of law reform in this area is seen in the introduction of motor vehicles, where the law changed regarding safe driving and road safety rules. On a positive note, the introduction of DNA testing machines, have helped to solve many criminal matters. It is therefore seen that the domestic legal system if effective in keeping up with technological advancements. However, technology continues to advance and in order for the law to remain effective it needs to keep up with these changes. A fourth condition that gives rise to law reform is the failure of existing laws. If a law is not being effective, there is a need for law reform. In order for there to be a law reform, a current law must be broken. An example of law reform is this area is seen in the case of AVO’s. Prior to reform, stalking wasn’t a part of putting can AVO on someone. After a woman was killed because of being stalked, the law changed and stalking was added to the AVO. The two agencies that are most influential in carrying out law reform are the parliament and the courts. In relation to the parliament, statute law refers to laws passed in parliament. This entitles the state, territory and federal governments to all have the right to change the law. One example of recent law reform in relation to statute law in Australia, relates to ‘bikie gangs’ and making them illegal. These new laws provide police with powers to search ‘bikies’. It allows them to make court orders regarding the members that associate together. The courts are another important agency of law in Australia. Common law refers to laws passed by courts. The doctrine of precedent is utilised whereby judges must resolve disputes on the basis of decisions made in similar cases. This alone deems the law effective in providing equality to society. One recent example of common law in action relates to Christian Rossiter, a man with spastic quadriplegia after being hit by a car. He argued with the Supreme Court to allow him to refuse the food he is fed by his carer. In doing this, he agreed to understand the consequences of dying, but to Christian dying was better than staying alive in pain. The law reform commission (LRC) in both NSW and Australia plays an important role. The role of the LRC is to provide and improve access to justice, modernise and simplify the law, eliminate problems in the law, suggest new ways of administrating the law and providing justice and removing out dated and unnecessary laws. At the present time, the LRC is involved in many current projects which are helping in changing the law for the better. It is currently working on areas in bail, penalty notice offences, jury directions in criminal trials and people with cognitive and health problems in the criminal justice system. A case that determines a mechanism of law reform relates to Skye’s Law in NSW. This this case the existing law appeared to be failing. In December 2009 a 19-month-old baby, Skye Sassine was killed in a road rage accident. Police were on a high speed chase after two alleged robbers in Sydney’s southwest. The law which was put in place by the NSW cabinet stated that anyone who leads a high speed chase will face jail terms of up to five years. Therefore it can be seen that both statute law and common law have been effective in allowing the legal system to respond to the need for law to make the legal system function in a more effective manner.

Free Essays on Alcohol Consumption And Risky Sexual Behaviors

Now more than ever, both teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are at the forefront of social awareness. Because of this, now, more than ever, people should be viewing the effects of alcohol not just in terms of driving, but in terms of risky sexual behaviors as well. One such risky sexual behavior is unprotected sex, a practice that increases the possibility of negative outcomes such as unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (Jones, Jones, Thomas, & Piper, 2003). Research has shown that that there is a statistical correlation between amount of alcohol consumption and the likelihood of having sexual relations with someone whom one normally wouldn’t (Leigh & Schafer, 1993). This is a fairly common sense in a populous environment, where one is surrounded by strangers in bars, and there is some sense of anonymity. It is also especially true for people around college age. â€Å"Adolescents who have been drinking before sex reported significantly more risky sexual behaviors than those who had not been drinking† (as cited in Corbin and Fromme, 2002). In fact, around 90 percent of college students are sexually active, and many have sexual relationships with more than one person during a given time period (Corbin and Fro mme, 2002). I plan on taking this a step further, however, and researching the effects of alcohol on sexual activity in a smaller community, where you know most of the people you’re surrounded by while drinking, and the social consequences of these mistakes can be almost as great as the health consequences. I plan to use an anonymous survey method to gather data. I feel this is the best approach, because in an interview environment, people will likely feel embarrassed when certain questions are asked, perhaps making them less honest. Method Participants Data were collected from 50 undergraduate psychology students at a small liberal arts college consisting of mainly white, mid... Free Essays on Alcohol Consumption And Risky Sexual Behaviors Free Essays on Alcohol Consumption And Risky Sexual Behaviors Now more than ever, both teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are at the forefront of social awareness. Because of this, now, more than ever, people should be viewing the effects of alcohol not just in terms of driving, but in terms of risky sexual behaviors as well. One such risky sexual behavior is unprotected sex, a practice that increases the possibility of negative outcomes such as unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (Jones, Jones, Thomas, & Piper, 2003). Research has shown that that there is a statistical correlation between amount of alcohol consumption and the likelihood of having sexual relations with someone whom one normally wouldn’t (Leigh & Schafer, 1993). This is a fairly common sense in a populous environment, where one is surrounded by strangers in bars, and there is some sense of anonymity. It is also especially true for people around college age. â€Å"Adolescents who have been drinking before sex reported significantly more risky sexual behaviors than those who had not been drinking† (as cited in Corbin and Fromme, 2002). In fact, around 90 percent of college students are sexually active, and many have sexual relationships with more than one person during a given time period (Corbin and Fro mme, 2002). I plan on taking this a step further, however, and researching the effects of alcohol on sexual activity in a smaller community, where you know most of the people you’re surrounded by while drinking, and the social consequences of these mistakes can be almost as great as the health consequences. I plan to use an anonymous survey method to gather data. I feel this is the best approach, because in an interview environment, people will likely feel embarrassed when certain questions are asked, perhaps making them less honest. Method Participants Data were collected from 50 undergraduate psychology students at a small liberal arts college consisting of mainly white, mid...

Free Essays on Emerson

Born May, 25, Ralph Waldo Emerson came from a long line of merchants on his mother’s side and preachers on his father’s side. It is possibly this unique conglomeration of life experiences that lead Emerson to be possibly one of the greatest and most influential essayists and thinkers of all time. Emerson was taught at a very young age not to be dependent on others (a corner stone in his transcendental beliefs) but rather to believe in himself. His grandfather once said, â€Å"I pray every night that none of my descendants might ever be rich.† As a boy, Emerson was serious and some what withdrawn from the world of play. He did not interact with other children with the exception of his three brothers who were all very close. Emerson’s first experience with a teacher like figure was his aunt, Mary Moody. She said he was born to be educated. Mary always expressed her greatest joy that Ralph would be a scholar or orator of some kind. Emerson credits Mary with b eing able to stimulate his! intelligence in that direction. Ralph Waldo Emerson was always placed in the best scholastic environment available to him, which is ironic because later Emerson says education comes from personal experience rather than what a text book says. After several independent private schools and college prepatory schools, Emerson entered Harvard. Emerson later says of Harvard, â€Å" It has done little for me on the whole.† If this is true at least Harvard is where he says his, â€Å"...mind commenced its characteristic and beautiful activity.† Over the years Emerson became interested in the church and eventually enrolled in divinity school. In 1829 Emerson married seventeen year old Ellen Tucker, however seven months later, she died of â€Å"consumption.† With Ellen’s death, Emerson’s and most tender and loving relationship was lost. It is possible that this tragedy was a mitigating factor in Emerson’s satirical summation of humanity. A year later w ith the... Free Essays on Emerson Free Essays on Emerson Born May, 25, Ralph Waldo Emerson came from a long line of merchants on his mother’s side and preachers on his father’s side. It is possibly this unique conglomeration of life experiences that lead Emerson to be possibly one of the greatest and most influential essayists and thinkers of all time. Emerson was taught at a very young age not to be dependent on others (a corner stone in his transcendental beliefs) but rather to believe in himself. His grandfather once said, â€Å"I pray every night that none of my descendants might ever be rich.† As a boy, Emerson was serious and some what withdrawn from the world of play. He did not interact with other children with the exception of his three brothers who were all very close. Emerson’s first experience with a teacher like figure was his aunt, Mary Moody. She said he was born to be educated. Mary always expressed her greatest joy that Ralph would be a scholar or orator of some kind. Emerson credits Mary with b eing able to stimulate his! intelligence in that direction. Ralph Waldo Emerson was always placed in the best scholastic environment available to him, which is ironic because later Emerson says education comes from personal experience rather than what a text book says. After several independent private schools and college prepatory schools, Emerson entered Harvard. Emerson later says of Harvard, â€Å" It has done little for me on the whole.† If this is true at least Harvard is where he says his, â€Å"...mind commenced its characteristic and beautiful activity.† Over the years Emerson became interested in the church and eventually enrolled in divinity school. In 1829 Emerson married seventeen year old Ellen Tucker, however seven months later, she died of â€Å"consumption.† With Ellen’s death, Emerson’s and most tender and loving relationship was lost. It is possible that this tragedy was a mitigating factor in Emerson’s satirical summation of humanity. A year later w ith the...

Acceptance Of Homosexual Marriage Essays - LGBT History, Free Essays

Acceptance Of Homosexual Marriage Essays - LGBT History, Free Essays Acceptance Of Homosexual Marriage 29 Nov. 1999 Same Sex Marriage, Acceptance in the United States Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one another. Marriage entitles financial responsibility, as well as authorized financial benefits. It is the institution that provides automatic legal protection for the spouse, including medical visitation, inheritance of a deceased spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. Society has become accustom to what they believe is normal by their traditions and religious beliefs. Many people believe that same-sex marriage is not normal. The simple fact is that banning same-sex marriage is discrimination. Marriage is the basic human right that should not be denied to anyone. Marriage among minorities has come a long way in becoming accepted as normal in the eyes of society. Interracial marriage was prohibited, and unacceptable in the United States, until the Supreme Court ruled such bans unconstitutional in 1967. There is no reason that the federal government, or anyone for that matter, should restrict marriage to a prede fined heterosexual relationship. Because it is the right of the homosexual legally, socially, and economically, matrimony between lesbian and gay couples should be accepted in the United States. Because our country has been founded on the Constitution, in which all men are created equal; we cannot deny the basic human and legal right of marriage to a class of individuals due to their sexual preference. Banning same-sex marriage has already been declared a violation of the constitution in the state of Hawaii. The case began in 1991 when three same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses, by the Hawaii Department of Health, brought a lawsuit to the state court against the director of the department. Hawaii law required couples wishing to marry Ramirez 2 to obtain a marriage license. New York Times reporter David Dunlap notes that while the marriage license did not explicitly prohibit same sex marriage at that time, it used terms of gender that clearly indicated that only heterosexual couples could marry.... In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a refusal to grant marriage licenses violated the state constitution (18). Even though the court found that the state of Hawaiis constitution had discriminated against homosexuals, which should legalize marriage nationally, presently there have been no same-sex marriage license that have been issued anywhere in the United States. Conversely, an Online US News columnist acknowledges that one state court should not dictate marriage laws for the entire nation: If gay marriages become legal in Hawaii, other states may have to recognize them, as well, because the U.S. Constitution requires each state to grant full faith and credit to the acts of other states. But, he argues, many states do not want to recognize same-sex unions, and should not be forced to do so by a few judges in Hawaii. The bill [allowing other states to ban same sex-unions] introduced in congress would preserve the right of the other 49 states to determine their marriage laws.(Pros and Cons of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage) Although some may believe it would be unfair for Hawaii to begin the process of recognizing same-sex marriage licenses, Article IV, Section One of the United States Constitution avers, Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records and proceedings of every other state(Madison et al.). Therefore, regardless of whether or not certain individuals believe it is fair for one state to begin the process of same-sex marriage, the law is the law. Similarly, lawyers specializing in the constitutional and civil rights laws said the legislation could be fought in two ways: either by arguing that same-sex marriages must be allowed to full faith and credit clause requiring states to recognize the laws of other states (Roane 7). The Ramirez 3 case is very similar to the ban of interracial marriage, which was declared unconstitutional just a few decades ago by the Supreme Court. Interracial marriage was struck down as a violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees all persons the equal protection of the laws. Even though marriage should not be denied legally to gay and lesbian couples, matrimony between same-sex couples should be accepted socially. Andrew Sulivan, a former editor for the New Republic magazine comments; Homosexuals are in many ways

What is the Sapir-Worf' Hypothesis How does Zizeks joke articulate Essay

What is the Sapir-Worf' Hypothesis How does Zizeks joke articulate this idea Can you provide examples from outside sources which also illustrate this idea - Essay Example The hypothesis’ seemingly simple characterization of our thought process in relation to culture and vice versa has been meet with various criticisms for the very same reason that it’s simplistic. Researchers developed two main frameworks that are embedded in the concept. These are (1) linguistic determinism and (2) linguistic relativism. These two primary views sparked debates among linguists, academicians and have even spread to other realms such as psychoanalysis and the like. The first idea espouses that the language you speak determines the way that you will interpret the world. It is essentially considered to be a form of determinism because many, if not all, cognitive processes are directly affected by the extent of language that we know or lack. In this sense, thought is highly dependent upon the kind of language one acquires. The second framework in Sapir-Whorf’s theory is an extension of the first proposition. But while the first is absolute by virtue of determinism, the second frame of thought takes the stand of relativism; hence called linguistic relativity. This could simple be understood as the ability of people who are speaking differently consequentially sees and interprets the world differently too. To further illustrate, a renowned joke had been circulated to exemplify the Sapir-Whorf’s theory. The joke goes like this: â€Å"A Czech worker is transferred to Siberia. He knows that when he will write letters from Siberia to his friends at home they will be read by the censors and so he tells his friends : "Lets establish a code: if a letter you receive from me is written in normal blue ink, its true; if it is written in red ink, its false." After a month, his friends receive a letter written in blue ink: "Everything is great here in Siberia: the shops are full, there is plenty of food, there are great

Google and Competitors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Google and Competitors - Essay Example Working with a mission 'to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful', the expert team of Google community diligently maintains an index of websites and other content, which can be searched by anyone having an internet connection. Though Google is known mainly for it search engine, but there are a number of other services like Google mail, Google Earth, Google News, Google Finance etc. being offered to the net-community. The concept came up in the mid-nineties when Stanford university graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page stuck upon the idea of providing a search engine which could return relevant information without wasting much time. Though there are a number of players in the fray giving competition to Google, but the key competitors of Google include Yahoo and MSN. Yahoo is mainly devoted on the search engines besides having the stake in other services as well. But for MSN, the primary focus area is the software development and of cours e. But the difference in the strength and popularity of Google and its nearest rival Yahoo can be gauged from the fact that during the fiscal year ended December 2006, while Google recorded revenues of $10,604.9 million, Yahoo could mop up about $6,425.7 million. Goog (Datamonitor, 2008a). Google is considered a leader in search engine technology offering search results in 158 domains and more than 100 languages (Datamonitor, 2007). The strength lies in its innovative format and the speed with which it comes out with relevant topics. As per the figures given out by Datamonitor (2007), in March 2007, Google sites captured 48.3% of the US search market, while the corresponding figures for Yahoo stand at 27.5%. Some of the key strong areas of Google include; Strong Market position: Google far outnumbers its rivals as far as popularity of its search engine is concerned. Well established brand identity: Brand identity forms a key strength in today's context, where visibility in media and easy identification features help in propagating the business prospects of the company. It is indeed quite surprising that Google, basically a service providing company, has even overtaken many well established product identity companies like, Microsoft, GE, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, IBM etc. According to Miillward Brown's 2007 ranking of brands2, Google is the topmost brand with a brand value of $m 66,434. Google has worked on its brand quite consistently is apparent from the fact that the brand value has undergone a change of about 77% from the previous years. On the other hand Yahoo ranks a distant 42nd with a brand value of $m13,201, registering a decline of 6% in its brand value. According to market research firm Miillward Brown, Google is the world's top ranked brand, overtaking Microsoft and some other wellestablished brands like General Electric Company, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart Stores and IBM. Proprietary technology and technological infrastructures: The search engine technology of Google has indeed provided the company an edge over its rivals. Based on its proprietary PageRank technology, the search engine is having the largest searchable index amongst all (Datamonitor, 2007) AdWords and AdSense programs: Google works up its online advertising programs with the help of its unique concept of AdWords and AdSens

Contradictions in International Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Contradictions in International Trade - Essay Example Market is a medium that allows trade. In the olden days trade was called barter, where people used to exchange mostly goods directly. But with the invention of money (and credit, non-physical money and paper money very much later on), trading has now become convenient and been made easier. There are many reasons why trade exists. People trade for other products because of specialization and division of labor, concentrating on small factors of production. Another, different regions have a relative advantage in terms of producing of some exchangeable products. Mass production is allowed owing to the regions' size. That's why both locations benefit from trading at market prices. Trading could also be applied to the action done by the traders and agents in the stock markets. (Bond, E. W., and Syropoulos C., 1996) In the prehistoric times, trade began with the advent of communication. People there bartered goods and services from each other. In the Egyptian times, materials used for making jewerly had been bartered since 3000 BCE. (Wikipedia contributors 2006) A financially lucrative commerce began in during the Greek civilization until the fall of the Roman Empire. It brought spice to Europe to the Far East. In the Roman Empire, commerce there flourished. Instability to Western Europe and a near downfall of the trade network brought about by the downfall of the Roman Empire and the following Dark Ages. The Vikings and the Varangians made trades as they sailed to and from Scandinavia. Vasco de Gama carried on the spice trade in 1498, which became a major economic importance. Holland became a hub of free trade during the 16th century, encouraging free flow of commodities and burdening with no exchange controls. In 1776, in his paper "An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith criticized Mercantilism, and debated that both country and firms could both benefit from economic specialisaton. Free trade was originated in the 19th century, and was based on national ascendancy and its self-interest to open its doors to imports. (Smith, A. 1776) John Stuart Mill argued that a nation could operate and manipulate the terms of trade (which are defined as "the ratio of the price of an export commodity/-ies to the price of an import commodity/-ies.") through keeping tariffs (Bagwell, K, Staiger R. W. 1998), and that the result to this might be repayment in trade policies. he so-called "infant industry" outlook by Mill came after and foretold the New Trade Theory which states that the state had a "responsibility" to protect young industries. This theory became the system in many countries trying to outdo English exporters. (Watson, P. 2006) The major economic recession was brought by the Great Depression throughout the 1920's-1930's, causing a great decline in trade, and others in the economic areas. The lack of free trade was viewed by many as the chief reason for the depression and the Second World War. During the war 44 nations signed the Bretton Woods Agreement, which was made to avoid national trade

Comparison between EDF group (lectricit de France) and E.ON S E from Assignment

Comparison between EDF group (lectricit de France) and E.ON S E from an investor's perspective point of view - Assignment Example It is assumed that the reader has basic knowledge of these tools of analysis. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) According to Rai University: â€Å"The CAPM was developed to explain how risky securities are priced†¦CAPM aims at a more practical approach to stock valuation.† The assumptions of CAPM include: 1. Investors hold diversified portfolios 2. Single-period transaction horizon 3. Investors can borrow and lend at the risk-free rate 4. Perfect capital market (Rai University, 2013) Capm reflects that investors need to be compensated in two ways Time Value Of Money Risk (Investopedia, n.d.) The risk-free (rf) rate in the formula represents the time value of money invested at a minimum rate while the other half of the formula represents market risk applicable to the company. CAPM is in the view that the expected return of a stock is equal to the rate on a risk-free stock plus a risk premium. If the expected return does not match or meet the required return then any such investment is termed to be not feasible and is not to be carried out. The betas calculated in the attached working represent the risk of the specific company in relation to the market. When coupled with the market equity risk premium and the risk free rate, we can establish a minimum rate of return that would be required by the shareholders in relation to risk and returns in the market The calculated ROE of both companies is in the 5%-7% range showing that the companies’ shareholders require a minimum return of 5% as compared to the risk and return level they face in their investment in the company’s stock. CAPM is not an absolute model as it faces many limitations. It assumes markets are information efficient and all investors preferences are the same. These assumptions may not hold true in the actual market place and so, there are other models to calculate required return on equity, such as the gorden growth model or the earnings multiplier model. The major assumptio n in CAPM relates to perfect capital market and the assumption of all perfect information being available to investors. This introduces the concept of efficient market hypothesis. Efficient Market Hypothesis - EMH Many different theories state that it is simply impossible to beat the market. This is mainly due to the fact that market efficiency leads share prices to reflect all relevant information at any given time. The Efficient Market Hypothesis believes that all the stock traded always hold their fair value hence it is impossible for the buyer to purchase undervalued stocks or for the seller to sell at an overvalued price as stated by Malkiel, 2003. Due to this the only way that any investor may get a higher return is by getting hold of high risk stocks or a balanced portfolio (Pesaran 2010) On the other hand people against the hypothesis highlight the example of Warren Buffet beating the market consistently over fairly long periods (CBS, 2012). â€Å"Beating the market† is considered impossible under the efficient market hypothesis. Another aspect highlighted by those against the theory is events of 1987 during which the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than one fifth in a day. This gives proof that the prices of stock may show a deviation from their fair values. Efficient Marke

Serving size of carrots and snap peas(presentation) Assignment

Serving size of carrots and snap peas(presentation) - Assignment Example Nutrition experts have come up with a recommended serving size of both carrots and pretzels which we are advised to adhere to. For carrots, we should at least consume half a cup of cooked carrot sticks, which translates to about 75g (100–350kJ). This is the recommended serving size of carrots that we ought to consume. Pretzels on the other hand are not essential and ought to be served in small quantities. Nutrition experts recommend that we should consume it once in three days and avoid addition of honey and other sugary products. Pretzels serving size is 20 minis which is 30g and contains 110 calories. Meaning we ought to consume more of carrots than pretzels in order to maintain good dietary practices. Snap peas is another example of a highly nutritious food, doctors advocate that we ought to take them in large quantities. Personally I am big fan of snap peas because of their sweet taste. Snap peas contain little concentration of cholesterol, sodium and fats. In addition it is rich in Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium. Besides, I would recommend you to increase the consumption of snap peas because they are rich in fiber which is vital for the body. Its serving size is half a cup of cooked snap peas which is 80g translates to 60 calories. Unlike snap peas, chips fall under junk food and have varied adverse effects on our health. For instance, they contain too much calories and cholesterol. Junk food has been identified globally as a source of bad cholesterol which causes complications such as heart disease and stroke. My advice to you is to reduce or avoid the consumption of chips to avoid bad cholesterol and the risks associated with

Comparison between EDF group (lectricit de France) and E.ON S E from Assignment

Comparison between EDF group (lectricit de France) and E.ON S E from an investor's perspective point of view - Assignment Example It is assumed that the reader has basic knowledge of these tools of analysis. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) According to Rai University: â€Å"The CAPM was developed to explain how risky securities are priced†¦CAPM aims at a more practical approach to stock valuation.† The assumptions of CAPM include: 1. Investors hold diversified portfolios 2. Single-period transaction horizon 3. Investors can borrow and lend at the risk-free rate 4. Perfect capital market (Rai University, 2013) Capm reflects that investors need to be compensated in two ways Time Value Of Money Risk (Investopedia, n.d.) The risk-free (rf) rate in the formula represents the time value of money invested at a minimum rate while the other half of the formula represents market risk applicable to the company. CAPM is in the view that the expected return of a stock is equal to the rate on a risk-free stock plus a risk premium. If the expected return does not match or meet the required return then any such investment is termed to be not feasible and is not to be carried out. The betas calculated in the attached working represent the risk of the specific company in relation to the market. When coupled with the market equity risk premium and the risk free rate, we can establish a minimum rate of return that would be required by the shareholders in relation to risk and returns in the market The calculated ROE of both companies is in the 5%-7% range showing that the companies’ shareholders require a minimum return of 5% as compared to the risk and return level they face in their investment in the company’s stock. CAPM is not an absolute model as it faces many limitations. It assumes markets are information efficient and all investors preferences are the same. These assumptions may not hold true in the actual market place and so, there are other models to calculate required return on equity, such as the gorden growth model or the earnings multiplier model. The major assumptio n in CAPM relates to perfect capital market and the assumption of all perfect information being available to investors. This introduces the concept of efficient market hypothesis. Efficient Market Hypothesis - EMH Many different theories state that it is simply impossible to beat the market. This is mainly due to the fact that market efficiency leads share prices to reflect all relevant information at any given time. The Efficient Market Hypothesis believes that all the stock traded always hold their fair value hence it is impossible for the buyer to purchase undervalued stocks or for the seller to sell at an overvalued price as stated by Malkiel, 2003. Due to this the only way that any investor may get a higher return is by getting hold of high risk stocks or a balanced portfolio (Pesaran 2010) On the other hand people against the hypothesis highlight the example of Warren Buffet beating the market consistently over fairly long periods (CBS, 2012). â€Å"Beating the market† is considered impossible under the efficient market hypothesis. Another aspect highlighted by those against the theory is events of 1987 during which the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than one fifth in a day. This gives proof that the prices of stock may show a deviation from their fair values. Efficient Marke

Nokia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nokia - Case Study Example The commerce groups are Mobile Phones, Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Networks. The straight groups are Customer and Marketing Operations and Technology Platforms. The Nokia mobiles are intended to tender a wide variety of business users elastic access to Oracle Collaboration Suite, via text message, browser, or over-the-air harmonization of calendar and speak to in rank. The effect is endeavor mobility that is both influential and reasonable, enabling IT departments to offer omnipresent admittance to in sequence athwart their organization In current years supply chain management (SCM) has received a huge deal of trade press and academic concentration. For numerous chief executive officers (CEO) the time has come to shift notice to their supply base and hug the principles of SCM. The resource-based approach to planned management suggests that spirited advantage can be found in the varied resources and ability a firm controls. Resources that are valuable, rare, hard to duplicate, and can be browbeaten by the organization can create sustained competitive benefit and earn over standard financial performance. Numerous management specialists propose that companies that learn to get bigger their organizational supply chain management will have a spirited advantage. These learn looks at the conquest that Nokia has had in organization supply chain in Turkey (Bashein, B. J., 2004, 7-13). In a globe where products are copie... For this reason, there is a brawny link amongst how firms manage their people and the financial results achieved. Results from studies of five year staying power rates of initial public offerings; studies of output and stock price in large samples of corporation from manifold industries; and thorough research on auto, clothing, and other industries shows that substantial gains of about 40% can be obtained by implementing high performance management practices. An additional purpose of this paper is to increase about to happen into supply chain ability and the factors that get better its growth. If members of a supply chain are to flourish together they must admit that a learning environment improves the overall efficiency of the supply chain as well as the aptitude of the entity members (Stump, R. L., 2001, 29-48). One significant management practice for lots of companies is the association that they have by means of their suppliers. Supply chain partnerships are relationships flanked by two or more self-governing entities in a supply chain to achieve exact objectives. Basically, these partnerships are usually created to add to the financial and operational presentation of every channel. These objectives are talented from side to side reductions in total costs, reductions in inventories, and greater than before levels of shared information. Over a period of time these partnerships can develop and lead to better service, technological novelty, and product design. Strategic Management Including Mission With leadership comes enormous liability. As the primary company in our industry, Nokia also strives to be a leader in environmental routine. Upcoming generations are relying on us to shelter and conserve the usual environment (Antonelli, C. (2005). Usually, they

Reaction Paper Related on Business Communication Essay Example for Free

Reaction Paper Related on Business Communication Essay Further, to fully use new pedagogical possibilities offered by ICT, profound changes in managers conceptions of learning and knowledge are required. Technical expertise alone is not sufficient for exploiting new pedagogical possibilities provided by ICT; insofar as ICT is used in the educational system as a purely technical innovation, it is not likely that significant pedagogical progress will be achieved. Several cognitive researchers (e. g. , Salomon, 1997; Salomon ; Perkins, 1996; Scardamalia ; Bereiter, 1994) have pointed out that many applications of educational technology support only lower-level processing of knowledge. Yet new pedagogical models of using educational technology, and particularly computer-supported collaborative learning environments, promise to provide new opportunities for solving pedagogical problems in the schools. Scardamalia and Bereiter (1994; in press), and others, have proposed that to meet the future challenges, schools be transformed into communities where productive working for advancing communal knowledge is a primary goal of both students and managers. Knowledge building refers to a process of advancing understanding by setting up, articulating, and answering research questions, searching and exploring information, and generating and evaluating explanations. In the present study, the sustained processes of advancing and building of knowledge characteristic of scientific inquiry and knowledge-creating organizations are called progressive inquiry. Several, concurrent, cognitive research projects share a common goal of fostering such research-like processes of inquiry in education.

Economic Value of Sustainable Development

Economic Value of Sustainable Development Introduction The generation living presently should leave the enhancement of air, water and soil resources as normal, as pure and not polluted as they found it to be for the future generations. Its quiet impossible to achieve such intergenerational equity given global environmental problems that emanate through human activities. Therefore following the Brundtland (1987) view, Sustainable Development implies meeting developmental needs of present human beings without compromising/sacrificing the needs of future generations. Sustainable Development is an injunction not to satisfy ourselves by depriving our successors (future generation) a pure ecosystem, particularly of finite resources. Environmentalist/Ecologists typically argue that archiving sustainable development requires treating natural resources (exhaustible and non-exhaustible) with care as they form part of all human productive activities. Whilst on the other hand, Economists believe that individual consumers will automatically adopt env ironmental preferences such that it leads towards environmental preservation, in other words: the market will solve all problems. Sustainable Development has arguably been the centre of debate amongst different schools of thought, particularly between the Neo Classical school of thought and the Ecological school of thought (as we can see the different approaches used by the schools in the above paragraph). The environments capacity to accommodate human activity is questionable given the arising problems of unsustainable development that’s enhanced by the rate at which humans devalue certain environmental amenities and also by the rate in which humans discount future costs and benefits for present costs and benefits. This assignment is particularly aimed at exploring, how valuing and discounting of the ecological system by humans relate to sustainable development. The rationale behind discounting by individuals is the preference for consumption now as opposed to sometime in the future (time preference). This preference may be composed of factors associated with the risk in delaying consumption, with the fact that increased wealth in the future might reduce the relative worth of the postponed consumption, and with possibly irrational, â€Å"pure† time preference (Tim Cowards, 1997: 28-39). Whilst on the other hand R. Kerry Turner, Jouni Paavola,†¦, (2003; 493-510) believe the rationale behind valuation is not having a defined monetary price tag on environmental goods but rather to express the effect of a marginal change in ecosystem services provision in terms of a trade off against other things people value. Theoretical Analysis of the Discount Rate Sustainable Development As defined earlier, discounting future environmental benefits for present environmental benefits has resulted in large controversies and can have severe implications on policy formulations that seek to strengthen abatement levels in achieving sustainable development. Environmentalists typically despise the act of discounting as it impoverishes the ecological well-being of future generations thus resulting to unsustainable development. In understanding the concept of discounting, John Quiggin (1997: pp. 65 – 90) applies a basic example where; if a 1 dollar benefit subject to arise in thirty years, comprising a discounted current value of 10 cents, an individual consumer in thirty years will therefore have at margin, a weight of 10 cents relative to an individual born today. This basic example shows how future generations can be made worse off due to present human activities. Therefore we can clearly see that policies which seek to enhance present consumption coupled with resour ce depletion such that there’s predominantly scarcer finite resources in the future is associated with discounting procedures. Therefore the discounting procedure in-relation to sustainable development hampers strategic aims of intergeneration equity that seeks to distribute finite resources equally for both current and future generations. Tom Crowards (1997, 28-39) stipulates that the rationale behind discounting by the society is that they face a preference on whether to consume now or to consume in the future (time preference). Such that this factor is associated with risk of delaying consumption, as the value of the worth in the future might be relatively worth less in present terms. Given that we can clearly see that there’s an opportunity cost associated with present consumption, which is said to be the return that society might derive by delaying consumption. Computation of the discount rate: The most common method to use when computing the discount rate is the Ramsey Rule. The Ramsey Rule enables us to get an efficient discount rate that is made equal to the interest rate, which measures the opportunity cost of funds in the economy. The discount rate is given by r: r = ÃŽ ´ + ÃŽ ·g Where ÃŽ ´: Measures the time preference faced by the society which was slightly discussed in the above section. This time preference stipulates the extent to which the society discounts future welfare. Such that the higher the value of ÃŽ ´, relatively implies less abatement measures today as less weight is being put to future damages. Sterner Martin (2007, 07-37) argued that some economists use a very low time preference value anticipating the risk that future generations might not be alive to witness environmental problems particularly of climate change. Where ÃŽ ·: is the marginal elasticity of utility to income thus measuring the curvature of the utility function. The higher the value on the marginal elasticity of utility to income relatively implies the richer we become in the future. Therefore the higher the value of ÃŽ ·, higher abatement levels will be taken as a higher ÃŽ · results to higher environmental damages. Where g: Ressembles the growth rate for a particular eceonomy. Most economists tend to fix it to one given implications and technicalities it may lead us to when trying to find the discount rate. Discussion Analysis of Discount Rates: There has been large controversy amongst various authors such as Ralph Winkler (2009), Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2012) over the extent to which the current generation discount future environmental benefits. Ralph Winkler (2009) analyses optimal investment in environmental protection and believes that human beings engage in hyperbolic discounting which is derived from the shortcomings of exponential discounting. Hyperbolic discount rates suggest that the discount rate of the society declines overtime due to three factors; Firstly, Empirical evidence suggests policy makers utilize a declining discount rate rather than a constant discount rate when making decisions about abatement levels for future environment (Frederick et al 2002., Gintis, 2000). Secondly, implications of uncertainty relating to the state of the world in the future leads to certainty-equivalent discount rate (Azfar, 1999, Gollier, 2002, Weitzman, 1998). Thirdly, it is believed that declining discount rates are consistent with intergenerational equity (Li Lofgren, 2000, Chichilnisky, 1996). Hyperbolic discount rate has its limitations such as its failure to be time-consistent; therefore Ralph Winkler assumes a non-overlapping generation which is represented by a single agent. He believed the limitations of hyperbolic discounting will be eliminated by assuming the above and given that hyperbolic discounting stems from the societies uncertainty over the future, than there’s no issue of time-inconsistencies’ if plans about the environment are updated as new information becomes available. On the other hand, the view of a high discount rate by Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2007) stems from the Stern Review (2006) which was a discussion paper aimed at providing policy makers input on the impact of climate change. Thomas Sterner Martin Persson based their strong criticism over the low discount rate and non-market damages of climate change that are underestimated in the Stern Report. The two authors believed taking into account relative price could change the composition of the discount rate as changing relative prices (particularly of environmental goods) due to climate change can have severe impacts on the economy. Given that, the Stern Review made use of the Ramsey Rule when computing the discount rate as shown by the following equation: r = ÃŽ ´ + ÃŽ ·g Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2007) modified the Ramsey Rule that gave a low discount rate and rather made use of the DICE model which takes into account changing relative prices between market goods and environmental goods such that they arrive to the following equation: Taking into account relative prices (particularly the environmental component denoted by ÃŽ ³E) will result to a high discount rate such that policy makers will strengthen abatement measures of the dealing with the impacts of climate change. The figure below presents a scenario where after relative prices are taken into account policy makers’ intern take severe abatement measures of dealing with climate change which can be significantly reduced by minimizing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. As we can see in the above figure, initially the Stern discounting (low discount rate) comprises a low carbon dioxide emissions compared to Sterner Martin’s discounting (high discount rate) but in the long-run the high discount rate results to low carbon dioxide emission compared to a low discount rate given changes in relative prices of environmental goods. This effect illustrates that taking relative prices into account can enhance necessary abatement levels that’s in the same order of magnitude as changing the discount rate. Theoretical Analysis of Economic Valuation Sustainable Development It is believed that predominant sustainable development is coupled with the extent to which the society values the environment and the extent to which the society is willing invests current environmental benefits to future generations. Environmental valuation is believed to be the process by which the society attaches monetary values on environmental goods and services. Environmental goods and services can be complex in-terms of breaking them down and attaching monetary values as many of which have no easily observed market prices, this includes environmental goods and services ranging from coral reefs, scenic views, biodiversity, mountain vistas, etc. The benefits of having an environment are believed to have value only if they enter an individual’s utility function or a firm’s production function, such that environmental benefits that fail to meet the two conditions are said to have no economic value (Nick Hanley, Clive L. Spash, 1488-1490). Therefore the rationale be hind monetary valuing the costs and benefits of environmental goods and services is to allow for monetary comparison between market goods and non-market goods. Richard B. Howarth Richard B. Norgaard (1992, 473-477) stated that the imperfection of the environmental market is a major source of societies overexploiting the availability of natural resources such that, if the value of these resources are known then optimal efficient levels would emanate. It’s further emphasized that environmental value towards achieving sustainable development is interdependent upon each generation’s commitment towards transferring to the next sufficient natural resources and capital assets to make development sustainable. Therefore, Richard B. Howarth Richard B. Norgaad (1997, 473-477) explicitly states the existence of a relationship between intertemporal allocative efficiency and intergenerational asset distribution towards understanding how valuing affects sustainable development. This explicit relationship is depicted by the graph below: In the above figure, we can see that the vertical axis measures utility of future generations and the horizontal axis measuring the utility of current generations. The 45* degree line represents the substitutability threshold between future and current generations. Each point on the utility possibility frontier represents an efficient allocation of resources. If initially the economy is inefficient at point A, environmental valuation could possibly move the economy to point B (on the utility possibility frontier). Neither of the two points are sustainable given that future generations are made worse-off by the actions of current generations. Policy and implementation of intergenerational equity within the economy could possibly move the economy to point A* which is inefficient but sustainable. A society that values environmental amenities would enhance a sustainable and efficient allocation of environmental resources such that the economy is at point B*. Approaches to environmental valuation: Economists define valuation based on an anthropocentric, utilitarian approach, which focuses on measures of individual well-being. The economic value of changes in environmental goods and services is derived from measuring the effects of these changes on human welfare (Lee, J.F.J., M. Springborn, S.L Handy, J.F. Quinn and F.M. Shilling, 2010, Pp.123). Economists typically argue that the multiple values of the ecosystem can be best represented by the total economic value (TEV) framework which comprises use values and non-use values. Use values are regarded as values related to environmental features associated with an individual. The use-values can be direct or indirect; to such an extent that direct use-value involves human interactions with the environment, whilst direct use-values can be classified into consumption and non-consumption uses. Consumption-uses involve the extraction of resources from the ecosystem for human consumption (consumable resources such as, fish, food, timber, etc.). While on the other hand, non-consumption uses are environmental goods not directly associated with the day-to-day consumption activities of humans (these include, wild-life viewing, hiking, scenic vistas, etc.). Indirect uses are derived from environmental functions such as groundwater recharge and the option of keeping use-values at a later stage respectively. Non-use values are the remaining values aside from consumption and non-consumption uses. This includes existence value, such that people benefit by having knowledge of the existence of a particular environmental attribute. The distinction made can be best summarized by the following figure below: Figure 3: Classification of total economic value and valuation methods Methodologies for valuating environmental goods services There’re two broad categories for evaluating environmental goods and services, according to Lee, J.F.J., M. Springborn, S.L Handy, J.F. Quinn and F.M. Shilling (2010, Pp.123) these two categories include revealed preferences and stated preferences. Both categories can be used to capture use-values but stated preference is more adequate in measuring non-use values. Revealed Preferences This approach is fairly dependent upon the connection between market goods and non-market goods such that advantage can be taken by the amount of money paid for market goods .e.g. the connection between local water quality and residential housing. Revealed preferences generally involve choices that humans make in the market. Revealed preferences include methods of evaluation such as: Recreational demand, Hedonics, Market prices, and averting behaviour. Recreational Demand Method: Recreational components of environmental typically include wildlife viewing, boating, hiking, etc. therefore the quality of the environment can arguably affect these recreational opportunities at site. There’re two basic models used to value recreational components provided by the environment, they’re; standard travel cost models and the random utility model. The standard travel cost model identifies the number of visits to particular environmental site and random utility model considers the individuals choice of selection from a range of environmental sites. This method of valuation can be best applied if an environmental attribute of concern influences recreational use. Hedonic Models: Explains price differences using data on the different characteristics of a marketed good. These are implicit prices of attributes and are revealed to economic agents from observed prices of differentiated products and the specific amounts of characteristics associated with them (Rosen 1974). If the Hedonic price function is estimated accurately then estimates represent an individuals’ marginal willingness to pay for the environmental quality. This method is commonly used if an environmental attribute directly affects the price of marketed goods. Market Prices Method: When environmental goods or services can be purchased in the market then market prices can be directly used to evaluate environmental attributes. This process is regarded as the production function approach as it considers the environmental conditions as an input in the production of marketed goods. In other words, environmental attributes contribute to the production of marketed goods. This application of this approach is mostly present in habitat and fishery linkages. Averting behaviour Models: Averting behaviour models asses the individual’s willingness to engage in defensive behaviour in an attempt to eliminate morbidity risk by achieving a desired level of health while accounting for the cost of defensive behaviour. In other words, averting behaviour models asses the individuals’ act of protecting health and the general well-being. Stated Preferences Here economists generally consider intentions made by the individuals in hypothetical market situations. Stated preference methods are based upon surveys that distinguish values that individuals place on goods or services. Stated preferences comprises of two segments, namely contingent valuation and conjoint analysis which both comprise the adoption of simulated markets. This sort of valuation methods are the only ones capable of capturing non-use values as they’re mostly used when collecting information on the value placed on environmental attributes by those who value their existence. Contingent Valuation: A contingent valuation basically describes an environmental scenario and therefore estimates the value attached to the particular environmental change scenario. Individuals would therefore reveal their willingness to pay (WTP) for the change. In other words, this sort of method evaluates an individual’s willingness to pay or accept a specific change in environmental attribute. In order for the survey to be effective, respondents a required to understand what’s being valued and have a sense on how they would be willing to trade off between changing environmental attribute and income. Conjoint Analysis: This statistical method is typically used in determining the value of a set of environmental attributes. Researchers generally identify a set of environmental attributes of which individuals/respondents are expected to rank these environmental attributes to a specific value. This method has been projected useful when dealing with environmental evaluation questions that cover multiple dimensions which vary over a range. As conjoint† analysis considers trade-offs among different dimensions, this method can be used to rank policy options that would have various impacts over multiple attributes of the environmental† amenity of concern. Conjoint Analysis and Contingent Valuation are similar when applied accept that conjoint analysis doesn’t ask respondents to disclose their willingness to pay for environmental amenities.

Cruel World :: essays research papers

Cruel World During the twentieth century, many Haitians lived a life full of poverty and terror; do to the many wars and epidemics that were established in the country. Throughout her novel Krik? Krak!, Edwidge Danticat depicts the violence, brutality and cruelty her people suffered during that time. In her first two stories, we get a glimpse of the horror in which the Haitian culture had to endure. Whether it was a group of protesting students getting gunned down, a young women being gang raped, or an innocent women being sentenced to life in prison because she was believed to be a witch, the terror and horror seemed endless. How could a human being treat another in such a manner? How could a Haitian treat another Haitian with so much cruelty and have that kind of malice for his own people? Danticat shows us the pain of her people through her words and demonstrates their healing power through her various short stories. In her first short story, "Children of the Sea" we are introduced to two young adults who are in love with one another but who are separated because of the terror which existed in their Haitian society. Because they feared for their lives, they had to part in hopes that they would stay alive to see each other once again. The society in which they lived was became incredibly violent due to the Haitian army trying to rid the country of anyone who was against the government or who they thought was a traitor. The army or macoutes, as they were referred to, were cruel and ruthless. One of the young narrators in the story wrote in her journal "a group of students got shot in front of fort dimanche prison today†¦. our neighbor madan roger came home with her son's head†¦. the macoutes by the house were laughing at her. they asked her if it was her dinner" (p.7). The mascoutes mocked and laughed at helpless women carrying around the head of her dead son, who they had previously shot. They shot him because he didn't agree with the government and its policies. But the mascoutes did not stop at just taunting Madan Roger, they also severely beat her. "the soldiers came looking for her son. madan roger was screaming, you killed him already †¦. he hated you like I hate you criminals. you killed him.

Cubism Essay -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

Cubism is an art period that followed after the art period Fauvism. Cubism is one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century. It was begun by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, by Cezanne's influence in 1907. The leading artists in the cubist period were Pablo Picasso, Georges Brack, Paul Cezanne, Jean Metzinger, Fernand Leger, Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes and Matisse. These artists all contributed to the cubist art movement in their own individual way. Cubism sprung from a comment made by French Painter Paul Cezanne. Cezanne claimed "All nature is made up of the cone, the cylinder and the sphere". Cubists liked this idea. So therefore they decided to focus on the forms Cezanne was talking about, and they painted the world and objects as if they were really made up of geometric shapes. At first, their works shocked people. It was unrealistic and quite unlike traditional art styles. The cubists were interested in the way we look at the world. They noticed how things take on different shapes when we see them from different view points, for that reason cubists in some artworks painted many views of the same object together in one painting. Through this technique Cubists found a new way of capturing the 3D world on a flat artists canvas. In cubism the subject matter was broken up, analysed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. It was made of simplified forms and geometrical shapes broken into panes wi...

The Issue of Territorial Exspansion Sparked Considerable Debate in the Period 1800-1855.

Gregory Ortega Big bang Scientist around the world studies the stars and planets to learn more about the past or to learn how that and our planets are alike. But then there are other scientist who got even deeper and learn what created the planets and stars these scientist are called astronomers and we have learned so much from the science and research they do every day. One major theory from the scientist is that the universe was created by the mixture or gases and matter. And the gases and matter collided into each other until a huge explosion occurred that form suns and giant rocks that later formed into stars and planets. According to the big bang theory a great explosion occurred over 13. 5 billion years ago because of the mixture of dark matter and gases. The fusion occurred when the universe was a small as a period at the end of a sentence. This spark created the planets, stars, and galaxies we know and learn about now. We also know this because of random glows from all around the universe left from the big bang these glows are known as cosmic background information. The planets were first asteroid like blocks that collided with one another to create planets this happened over many years and formed planets all around the universe. The Doppler effect is a part in showing us more about the universe and waves it produces the Doppler effect is A change in the observed frequency of a wave, as of sound or light, occurring when the source and observer are in motion relative to each other, with the frequency increasing when the source and observer approach each other and decreasing when they move apart. The motion of the source causes a real shift in frequency of the wave, while the motion of the observer produces only an apparent shift in frequency. Also a another thing that’s shows us waves from space is when u turn on a TVs and static would show or when u used a radio and static would come up between the stations the waves that shows are called electromagnetic spectrum. When u looks up into space you see many doted stars that cover the sky these dots are stars that are much father from our usual sun. he father the star is the redder it will be the closer the bluer these color differences are called the red and blue shift. Our solar system holds all 7 planets and sun including our earth our solar system is very special because it keeps our earth at a perfect temperature and the force form our sun isn’t to major to the point that we get burnt alive just by rotating around it, the sun does a major part because it uses its gravity to keep us in place rotation around it and the sunlight produces energy we use for appliances. all these things are in our galaxy.

How Far the Press Should Be Free to Report

Discuss how far the press should be free to report what they want There are obvious reasons for restrictions on the freedom of the press. Many of these are to do with the fact that clearly there are many stories which are damaging to individuals and will have a negative effect on the life of a person or group of people. The argument that is often put forward that it is in the public interest to know what is going on and that secrets should not be kept from the public is a valid one, but there has to be a line drawn between the public interest and what the public are interested in.That line was not necessarily crossed in the publication of the photos of prince William, as it is not inconceivable that he might be the future king of England and therefore it can almost be seen as a warning of how it is and isn’t acceptable to behave for somebody in the public eye. Although there are occasions when the press report stories that they shouldn’t, it must be taken into account t hat newspapers organisations have to make money, and therefore they have to be able to write stories which will sell copies and, if they are not given that right, the general public could become bored by newspapers.The Sun’s dominance in the journalism world of Britain is all the evidence needed to prove that the public are not looking to be informed, but to be entertained, and the most entertaining stories are usually the sensational ones. Another reason why the press should not be restricted is that Britain is a democracy and so the people at the top of society should not have omnipotent powers over what can and cannot be reported to the public.If you look at the fascist dictatorships of the past, one of the greatest crimes has been the lack of freedom of speech and this is what oppresses people more than anything. I am not saying that this is a position which Britain is nearing, but we must bear in mind that one of the fundamental components of a democracy is the freedom o f speech, and as such you cannot justify taking this right away from anybody, whether they are talking to a friend or writing it in a newspaper.

Consumer behaviour in Cambodia Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Consumer behaviour in Cambodia - Dissertation Example This section will comprise the justification and description of the research methods that are to be put into practise in order to determine the consuming behaviour in Cambodia. The methods that will be adopted have been explained in detail so that a suitable pathway can be determined. The chapter will shed light on the research design, the methods and the philosophical approaches of the study. The chapter then proceeds to highlight the sampling method and the sample size of the study. The target population or the intended participants who will be approached will be also highlighted. In addition, this chapter will also emphasize on the process of data collection and how the collected data will be analysed in the subsequent section. Lastly, the study will state the ethical issues associated with the study and the limitation of the study. 3.2 Research Philosophy It is necessary for a researcher to make certain assumptions regarding the nature of reality which is to be studies (Daniel, 2 010). Apart from that, assumptions are also made about the knowledge produced and the research perspective. Figure 1 The figure above summarizes the approaches that can be used by the researchers in a research study. The approaches have been summarized in the form of epistemology, ontology, theory, perspective, techniques and methods. Each of these different approaches entails to a different way of performing the research. In general there are two research philosophies namely interpretivists and positivist (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006; Guba and Lincoln, 2005). Positivism is a philosophy of research which is based on the view that sociology must use the natural methods (Tobin and Joseph, 2006). However, that does not mean only use of experiments as there are several problems associated with experiments. The biggest one comes in the form of ethical violations. The researcher who believes in positivist philosophy believes that research works must be conducted with the help of quant itative methods. They principally aim to measure the social structures (Mehrens and Lehmann, 1987). On the other hand, interpretivists or anti positivists takes the other way round. According to their point of view, human being perceives and reflects on that basis and scientific studies are not appropriate for the study of society. They also believe that unlike objectives human being has the ability to alter their behaviour. Hence, the inference is that in order to understand the social action, it is necessary to understand the meaning and reason people perceive about the environment around them (Abbott, 2010; Connaway and Powell, 2010; Gordon, 2007; Snieder and Larner, 2009; Wilson, 2010). Another important finding of the study is that researchers who follows interpretivism philosophy believes that social research must be conducted with the help of qualitative method (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009; Browne, 2006). This study seeks to investigate the consumer behaviour pattern of Cambodia and hence it clearly

Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics Paper - Essay Example Many people rudely refer to this disability as retardness. People also have the tendency to discriminate those that they feel to be different from them (Anon, 2013). It is important to pay attention to mental disability as one of the many types of disabilities present in the school system alongside other disabilities in identifying how to school counselors help these students. Poor performance is one of the vast amounts of negative attributes that students may develop while in the school system and it is important to recognize that in some situations, it is deemed as a disability that some kids are born with. It is imperative to understand that the treatment for these behaviors varies over a wide range. However, prescription medication should come as the last way to solve this menace. The most important aspect is for the school counselor to understand reasons the student behaves in a particular nature and what are the present optimal means for the resolution of the problem. One of th e best ways to resolve this problem is through the application of cognitive counseling where the school counselor has the student undergoing various general tests to identify the cause of the disability and figure out how to assist the student to deal with it effectively (Jackson, 2012). In the school environment, it is important to understand that the counselor uses various means to understand the thinking of a student and it is also important to understand that most students are shy and thus do not associate well with teachers in order to improve their learning. It is vital to go through an example whereby in this case there is the school counselor, Richard having an interaction with a troubled student who has mental disability. The student does not perform well in class and is also poor in socializing. In the year 2002, the ASCA released a model framework for school programs such as the school disability act to ensure that school counselors do their best in counseling. Under FERP A, the US Department of Education also released regulations that are important for protecting the students’ confidentiality (FERPA, 2011). The manner in which the framework would work is by ensuring the presence of award ceremonies that would offer gifts and acknowledgements to institutions that had the highest number of positive resolved cases with regard to assisting students with disabilities. This is one way through which ASCA has assisted in dealing with disabilities through school counselors (Stone, 2009) Credibility is alleged by the student through the counselor's ability to be well informed about what the client or patient is facing, and by their enthusiasm to tell their knowledge and information to the patient or client. School counselors employ various mechanisms to deal with disability in the school system. One is reliability. Regardless of the type of disability that a student has, the school counselor has the responsibility of showing reliability through compass ion to the disabled students and acting in a dependable manner towards them. This consideration should be made for all children, including those with disabilities and whose parents have concerns that are unique to their disabilities (Taub, 2006). There is the counselor's motivation and objectives. The student counselor should ensure that he sets out his objectives and

Compare or Contrast two buildings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare or Contrast two buildings - Essay Example B. Ariel Rios Federal Building’s sweeping facade. III. Subtle Artistic Design. A. U.S General Services Administration Building’s Indiana limestone facing. B. Ariel Rios Federal Building’s limestone clad. Outline Page Neo-Classical Architecture Thesis: U.S General Services Administration Building and Ariel Rios Federal Building showcase massive architecture, uncluttered appearance, and subtle artistic design comparing two samples of America’s Neo-Classical architecture. I. Massive Architecture defines U.S General Services Administration Building’s E-shaped configuration, and Ariel Rios Federal Building’s semicircular facade reflecting Neo-Classical architecture. A. U.S General Services Administration Building’s E-shaped configuration encompasses large courtyards promoting free airflow. B. Ariel Rios Federal Building’s Semi-circular facade entails monumental columns and dentils supporting the building. II. Uncluttered Appearance e laborates U.S General Services Administration Building’s organized flat and long facade and Ariel Rios Federal Building’s sweeping facade detailing the building’s commanding presence. A. ... A. U.S General Services Administration Building’s Indiana limestone facing covering the whole of the building’s exterior. B. Ariel Rios Federal Building’s limestone clad enables sculptures and carvings to be curved onto the exterior. Essay Neo-Classical Architecture Introduction Neo Classical architecture is an architectural style derived from classical Greece and Rome; though a common style in American Capitols, it derives from Andrea Palladio, an Italian architect. Neoclassical architecture focuses more on the walls than the sculptural volumes because it focuses more on having a commanding presence. Its planar features are usually autonomous and individually articulated features. Though some of these buildings are known to have domed roofs, not all of have this feature; some have flat and horizontal roofs. For example, U.S General Services Administration Building and Ariel Rios Federal Buildings showcase massive architecture, uncluttered appearance, and subtle artistic design comparing two samples of America’s Neo-Classical architecture. Massive Architecture defines U.S General Services Administration Building’s E-shaped configuration, and Ariel Rios Federal Building’s semicircular facade reflecting Neo-Classical architecture. For example, U.S General Services Administration Building’s E-shaped configuration encompasses large courtyards promoting free airflow. The E-shaped configuration allows for natural lighting because of the amount of glass covering the wall surface. The E-shaped configuration allows for cooling breezes in the offices because the open spaces allow for free flow of air in the courtyards. The natural lighting enters the building because the wall surface on the street

WHAT ARE THE PURCHASING ADDING VALUES TO A COMPANY AND WHAT CORE Assignment

WHAT ARE THE PURCHASING ADDING VALUES TO A COMPANY AND WHAT CORE PURCHASING ACTIVITIES CAN BE DONE TO MAXMIZE COMPANY'S PROFITABLITY - Assignment Example In the manufacturing sector, it is generally accepted that the value of inputs materials forms a high percentage of the ultimate product price – to the extent of as much as 60% and even more in highly competitive industries. In companies that execute major construction projects in the different engineering fields like civil, metallurgical/other process plants, power plants etc. the value of inputs will be equally high. In this background, the importance of economizing and strategizing procurement can not be over-emphasized. This essay examines the various aspects of procurement, developments in this professional activity and the scope for maximizing profits. In a regular manufacturing company, depending upon sales forecast, production plans and budgets are drawn up and these help the Procurement to anticipate and plan the routine as well as non-recurring purchases. Purchasing activities can be broadly identified as tendering, bid evaluation, negotiations, vendor selection, ordering and follow up. Make or buy decisions are taken at strategic management meetings and once a decision is taken to procure an item from vendors, Procurement receives the requests for purchase along with quantities and specifications. Tendering for non-standard purchases is more time consuming and involves calling for quotations based on buyer’s specifications and terms like quantities, delivery schedule, supply conditions, payment terms, guarantees and warranties etc. Quotations are evaluated for technical and commercial comparison and to identify the preliminary list of suppliers for further discussions. Negotiations cover the technical specifications as well as other terms that differ from tender documents and to arrive at mutually acceptable terms of supply. Based on the success of such negotiations, one or more suppliers are selected and the purchase orders for going ahead with the supplies are issued. Regular follow up is part of the

Determinants of Elasticity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Determinants of Elasticity - Assignment Example At the other hand, the focus of this document points out towards the growth in the prices of mattresses, sofas and beds, throughout the world. Rest is one of the basic human needs for sustainable existence (Mei-Se, Shu-Jung, & Hung-Ta, 2009), therefore people are forced to cope with rising prices of this important need, through forgoing other important desires. Mattresses and luxury sofa sets were luxuries during the course of past two decades, but in this modern era, they transformed into necessities for families to maintain their status symbol. At the same time, there is no suitable substitute available for them; along with this, there is a growing social pressure to acquire good to excellent quality sofa sets and mattresses to keep up with the changing trends. Therefore, it is wise to imply that, the demand of mattresses and other similar social necessities is not affected by the change in price largely. In parallel, it is recommended to the governments to provide firms producing these items with subsidies in order to, stabilize prices of their products, so that people can fulfill other desires as well. This paper focused on analyzing the price elasticity of necessities of human life, and painfully noticed that despite of their increasing prices, people are purchasing them. Therefore, governmental intervention is recommended in order to; control inflating price of mattresses and other similar

Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay Example for Free

Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay Q: Why did things on the island fall apart? When the boys landed on the island after their plane crash, they thought it was great and thought it was going to be fun to be without adults. However as the book went on the situation of the island slowly fell apart. There were very early signs in the book that things could fall apart for example Piggy was made fun of for being overweight and he also wore glasses and had asthma, these weaknesses where in my opinion a sign that things could go bad on the island. Further on in the book, when Ralph and Piggy met Jack and the choir, they had a clash of personalities, they didnt separate straight away but you could sense that they could and the clash of personalities was a big factor in things falling apart on the island. You could sense there was a clash in personalities because Jack Merridew was very arrogant and intimidating. this intimidated Piggy, which was straight away a negative thing on the island. As the book progressed Jack got more aggressive and became more obsessive about hunting, this was the major factor in the deterioration of things on the island. Ralph and the others were thinking far more logically by building shelters and building a fire to attract potential rescuers. Jack hunting aggravated Ralph because Ralph believed this was not helpful and wasnt going to get them off the island. Ralph was more concerned about getting off the island whereas Jack was more concerned about harming pigs and hunting. Basically I thought Ralph was using his common sense and saw rescue as most important. This would later become the main reason for why things on the island went so bad. At the start of the book Ralph gets voted Chief of the Island, and part of the rules were that everyone must listen to the person holding the conch. The conch was a symbol of peace, the exact opposite of what Jack represents, which is evil. Jack always wanted to be centre of attention and always wanted to put his point across. The conch prevented him from doing so, if someone said something he didnt agree with regardless whether he had the conch, this bothered Ralph and especially Piggy. The conch meant a lot to Piggy and he abided strictly by the rules of the conch. Jack however didnt want to and would continually break the rules and shout out when people where trying to speak. This lack of respect for the conch would really get to Piggy and Ralph because Jack would continually rebel against the ideas put forward. But no one would say anything because they feared Jack so much. As the book got on Jack became more obsessive about hunting, and even made up his own song Cut the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood This was evidence that Jack was becoming more twisted as an individual, and his passion for hunting started the rows and fights on the island. This aggravated Piggy a great deal, and Piggy confronted Jack by saying You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home Jack eventually retaliated by hitting Piggy. Jack would continually pick on Piggy because he was an easy target. Jack never really liked Ralph on the other hand but they had this mutual respect for each other, which was continually being tested. Jack was building up a kind of respect and following, people feared him, and he gained respect from them, he could do whatever he wanted because no one had the guts to confront him. For example he continued to talk without the conch, which was a rule that seemed not to apply to Jack, this was a sign that things were falling apart because they were forgetting about the rules. The longer they stayed on the island the boys started losing their minds and were becoming less logical. For example Ralph was forgetting his words, and was getting confused with him self. Which wasnt the Ralph we read about in the start of the book, at the start of the book Ralph was confident and was logical e.g. starting the fire etc. However Piggy on the other hand continually thought logically and like an adult, and was becoming aware of the goings on around him. Ralph: Why do you hate me? Ralph realised that Jack hated him and confronted him trying to find out why he hated him; this showed Ralphs courage and strong personality. This is very important because they are two very well respected characters and if one decided to leave then he would take people from the other. Later on in the book Jack tried seizing power in page 139 Hands up, said Jack strongly, whoever wants Ralph not to be chief? There was a silent reaction and no one put their hands up, this humiliated Jack and he left the group. His last few words were interesting, he said Im not going to play any longer. Not with you. This was interesting because he said hes not going to play with them anymore, Golding is reminding us that they are still only kids. Jack separating from the island was the main reason in my opinion why everything fell apart on the island. Jacks hunters where very close to him, and they later left Ralph without telling him, this made a big division in the island and this started the problems, which led to violence and insanity. The separation was like two countries going into battle, which was ironic since the world war was going on at the time of which the book was written. It was like a civil discontent which eventually led to break down of respect for authority and fighting between the two rival powers. There was a great rivalry between the groups and Jacks group invaded Ralphs camp and attacked them, as a warning shot to what could later happen, they also took Piggys glasses as a kind of bait so Ralph and the others would go searching for Jack. This lead to the killing of Piggy, and the death of Piggy left Ralph to fend for his self because Samneric had been taken hostages. The death of Simon and Piggy resulted in Ralph fighting for his life, on his own. Jack and the others decided to set the island on fire and chase after Ralph, this proved they were just savages because they didnt think about the consequences of setting the island alight, this would matter in the end because Ralph escaped the fire along with the littluns and Jack and the others got trapped in the fire. Although the end seemed to cut off short and it took a while to get into the actual story I thought Lord Of The Flies was a great book and well written. I liked the way Golding wove secret messages throughout the book. I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Physics Instrumentation

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Physics Instrumentation TITLE : MRI IMAGE ARTIFACTS MOHAMAD AL-HAFIZ BIN IBRAHIM Name of Student: Mohamad Al-Hafiz bin Ibrahim TABLE OF CONTENTS (Jump to) LIST OF FIGURES 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 MRI ARTIFACTS 2.1 RF leakage 2.2 Aliasing 2.3 Patient motion 2.4 Gibbs Truncation 2.5 Chemical Shift 2.6 Magnetic Susceptibility 2.7 Flow Motion 3.0 CONCLUSION 4.0 REFERENCES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Zipper Artifact may appear as horizontal line across the image Figure 2: The part of the body that outside the FOV is mismapped within the FOV. Figure 3:The appearances of ghost lines at the anterior to the abdominal wall Figure 4: Image shown the effect of head movement or motion during MR scanning Figure 5: Bright and dark lines are visible in image Figure 6: Arrow show dark line at the interface of fat and water . Figure 7: MR image shown massive distortion of magnetic field . Figure 8: (a) CSF pulsation-related artifact in the phase encoding direction in T2-weighted image while (b) show reduction of flow artefact 1.0 INTRODUCTION Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the medical imaging and diagnosis technique which widely used due to its capability to produce high resolution of cross- sectional anatomical images and high tissues contrast. Eventhough MRI has various advantageous features, but still there are numerous sources of artifacts either patient-related, signal processing-dependent and hardware (machine) related (Erasmus, Hurter, Naudà ©, Kritzinger, Acho, 2004). Definitely, artifacts can degrade the image quality and may mimicking pathology or obscure the abnormalities which can lead to misdiagnosis of MRI images. The MRI artifact can be defined as a structure or feature appearing in MRI image produced by artificial means which is not originate within the scanned object (Erasmus et al., 2004). Commonly, MRI artifacts can be caused by RF leakage, aliasing, patient motion, Gibbs, truncation, chemical shift, magnetic susceptibility and flow motion. 2.0 MRI ARTIFACTS 2.1 RF leakage Cause This artifact also known as Zipper artifact. It occurs when there are leakage of RF or electromagnetic energy generated from certain equipment into MRI system (Stadler, Schima, Ba-Ssalamah, Kettenbach, Eisenhuber, 2007). This extrinsic RF came at a certain frequency then interferes with MRI signal produced by patient. The potential sources of the extrinsic RF are due to penetration of the RF into the shielded scanning room especially when the door is open during images acquisition (Ruan, 2013). After that, the RF will be picked up by the receiver chain of the image sub system (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). This RF perhaps generated by radio, illumination or electronic device such as monitoring equipment in the surrounding (Stadler et al., 2007). Remedy In order to overcome this artifact, the operator should identified and eliminate the possible source of the penetration. It can be done by ensure the door of the MR room remain closed during scanning, use only MR compatible MR monitor equipment, and remove the external RF source from the surrounding (Ruan, 2013). Figure 1: Zipper Artifact may appear as horizontal line across the image (Allen, n.d.). 2.2 Aliasing Cause Aliasing or wrap around artifacts can be describe as an artifacts that caused by anatomy that lies outside of field of view (FOV) mismapped within the FOV (Westbrook, Roth, Talbot, 2011). This is because of improper selection of parameter in MR systems especially FOV. The FOV in MRI means the anatomical area that should be covered or imaged during scanning (Morelli et al., 2011). When the selected FOV is smaller than the size of area that should be imaged means the data are under-sampled (Ruan, 2013). Therefore, there are high chances for signals from the outside FOV falsely detect then create an interference with signal within FOV and encode on the reconstructed images thus ‘wrap around’ to the opposite side of image which become aliasing artifacts (Erasmus et al., 2004). Westbrook et al., (2011) state that aliasing artefact can happen along frequency encoding axis (frequency wrap) and phase encoding axis (phase wrap). Remedy Basically, this aliasing artifacts can be eliminated through increase the sampling rate or oversampling along the frequency direction (Westbrook et al., 2011). However, high pass and low pass filter should be used as well in order to filter out frequency outside the FOV which can increase noise in image (Hiroshi, Schlechtweg, Kose, 2009). Besides that, selection of receiver coil which unable to excite or detect the signals from anatomical tissues that lying outside the FOV also important to minimise the artifacts (Ruan, 2013). Lastly, No Phase Wrap (NPW), Phase oversampling or Fold Over supression techniques is also preferred to avoid aliasing artefact by oversamples in phase direction, thus, the phase curve get to extends and cover wider signal producing structures (Westbrook et al., 2011). Figure 2: The part of the body that outside the FOV is mismapped within the FOV and located at the opposite side of the image (Prashant, 2014). 2.3 Patient motion Cause Patient motion artifact is a very most common artefact in MRI. It is caused by movement of anatomical structure during imaging sequence (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). There is a broad range of examples of structure movement such as heart or arterial pulsations, respiration process, peristalsis, tremor (Parkinson’s disease) and gross movement of patient (Stadler et al., 2007). Hence, if there is a scanned anatomical part moved during the scanning, the phase gradient cannot predict and encode the signal, thus, that structures will be misplaced in phased encoding direction. As a result, it will causes MR images shown the appearances of mismapping, blurring and ghosting artefact within it (Westbrook et al., 2011). Remedy There are several ways to eliminate or avoid the patient motion artifacts. The remedies are nullifies signal by applying pre-saturation pulses over the area which have potential to produce artifacts (Stadler et al., 2007). This way is more effective to prevent ghosting during patient swallowing. Besides that, Westbrook et al (2011) proposed that attaching a set of bellows over patient’s chest in respiratory compensation which is also known as respiratory ordered phase encoding (ROPE) might help to minimize ghosting in longer sequences while in short sequences, cooperation from patient to hold their breath during scanning is preferred. Next,cardiac gating also plays role in reducing this kind of artefact. For example, electrocardiogram (ECG) gating used to monitors cardiac motion that trigger the excitation pulse. Hence, each excitation pulse in each slice can be timed and acquired at the same phase of cardiac cycle (Westbrook et al., 2011). In the other hand, asking for patient cooperation for keeping still, clear explanation about procedures, and optimize the patient’s comfortability are important to make them immobilize during scanning (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Figure 3:The appearances of ghost lines at the anterior to the abdominal wall indicate as motion artifact because of breathing (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Figure 4: Image shown the effect of head movement or motion during MR scanning (Hornak, n.d.) 2.4 Gibbs Truncation Cause Truncation artefact also can be called as Gibbs Ringing artefact (Czervionke, Czervionke, Daniels, Hauhgton, 1988). Its happen as result of It is causes by abrupt undersampling of data that results in incorrect representation of high and low signals interfaces (Westbrook et al., 2011). That problems lead to visibility of fine lines in MR image and also respectively caused by incomplete digitization of the echo (Ruan, 2013). However, according to Erasmus et al.,(2004), alternating dark and bright lines may visible in image due to a sharp transition in signal intensity. Remedy In order to correct this type of artefact, there are several ways that can be used. For example, increase the matrix size, 256 x 256 instead of 256 x 128 (Westbrook et al., 2011). Next, applying various filters to k-space data before Fourier transform also should be considered (Erasmus et al., 2004). Besides that, provide more phase encoding steps also preferred to make truncation or gibbs artifacts less intense and narrower (www.mr-tip.com, n.d.). Figure 5: Bright and dark lines are visible in image parallel and adjacent to the outer convexity of calvaria (Prashant, 2014). 2.5 Chemical Shift Cause This type of artifact commonly found in MRI image of abdominal and spine imaging. Since fat and water each consist of hydrogen protons but different combination of molecules, fat contain hydrogen binds with carbon,while in water, hydrogen combine with oxygen (Westbrook et al., 2011). Hence, that different chemical environment exist shown that there are different precession frequency between fat and water which fat has lower precessional frequency rather than water (Erasmus et al., 2004). Based on the Larmor equation, precessional frequency is proportional to the strength of magnetic field (Westbrook et al., 2011). Therefore, this chemical shift can become artifact due to that difference of the precessional frequency between fat and water at higher field of magnetic strengths during the frequency encoding or slice-select directions (Ruan, 2013). That frequency is basically used to encode their spatial positions, thus, any chemical shift can lead to spatial misregistration of the MR si gnal (Morelli et al., 2011). MR images will show the bright or dark outlines at fat-water interfaces as the artefact. Remedy To avoid this artefact , a few remedies should be considered such as perform scanning at low magnetic field strength, increase the receive bandwidth in keeping with good signal-noise-ratio (SNR) (Westbrook et al., 2011) . It is also suggested to use minimum FOV as possible. Lastly, swapping phase and encoding direction also may useful to reduce this artefact (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Figure 6: Arrow show dark line at the interface of fat and water indicate as chemical shift artefact (Javan, Rear, Machin, 2011). 2.6 Magnetic Susceptibility Cause Susceptibilty can be refer as characteristic of substance which be magnetized when exposed to magnetic field (Gary, n.d.). MRI physics explain magnetic susceptibility artifacts normally happens because of substance or material especially ferromagnetic materials and also at air-tissues interface which have different degree of magnetic susceptibility that can distort the external magnetic field when placed in large magnetic field. Besides that, the differences also lead to magnetic field inhomogeneity at the scanner region resulting in spins dephase faster and frequency shift between surrounding tissues (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Artifacts in the image will appear as bright and dark areas with spatial distortion of anatomical structures (Stadler et al., 2007). Remedy Generally, these artifacts can be reduced by ensure all metal objects that attached to the patient has been removed before the scan. Next, spin echo sequences are more preferred to be used instead of gradient echo because it use 180 ° RF rephasing pulse which ideal at compensating for phase differentiation between fat and water (Westbrook et al., 2011). Since fast spin echo techniques also contribute in reduction of this type of artefact, hence, short TE is used along with spin echo (Stadler et al., 2007). Metal Artefact Reduction Sequence (MARS) technique can be used in order to minimize the size and intensity of this artifact which developed by magnetic field distortion by introducing an additional gradient following the slice gradient during frequency encoding gradient is used (Olsen, Munk, Lee, 2000). Figure 7: MR image shown massive distortion of magnetic field due to implanted dental retention system (Schubert, 2012). 2.7 Flow Motion Cause Flow artefact can be categorized as one kind of motion artefact which mainly caused by natural motion of liquids such as blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the body. For example, hydrogen nuclei in blood flow within the scanned slice may trigger excitation from an incoming RF pulse, however, the signal perhaps cannot be readout due to possibility of that flowing blood have left the slice (Hiroshi et al., 2009). As a result, vessels image appear empty or low signal intensity (less bright). Generally, there are reasons of low signal intensity such as intravascular signal void by time of flight effects, first echo dephasing and fast flow (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Nevertheless, this artifacts also can appear bright or high signal intensity. This is because of the slow blood flow (flow related enhancement), even echo rephrasing and diastolic pseudogating (Hiroshi et al., 2009). Remedy The preferred solutions as remedies for flow motion artifacts are by reduction of phase shifts using flow compensation in order to produce gradient moment nulling, suppress the blood signal by apply saturation pulses parallel to slices and synchronization of imaging sequences with cardiac cycle using cardiac triggering (Zhuo Gullapalli, 2006). Figure 8: (a) CSF pulsation-related artifact in the phase encoding direction in T2-weighted image while (b) show reduction of flow artefact with gradient moment nulling (Morelli et al., 2011). 3.0 CONCLUSION It is important for all operators, radiologist and engineers in MRI are able to recognize common MRI artifacts because there are a broad of range of cause that contributing to artefact. Eventhough, artifacts are unable to be totally eliminated but it can be minimized or avoided with specifics remedies in order to improve the MR image quality (Morelli et al., 2011). Therefore, basic knowledge of MRI artifacts should be learned and all MRI system operators should familiar with their MRI unit in department. 4.0 REFERENCES Allen, E. D. (n.d.). Zipper and Related Artifacts. Retrieved May 9, 2015, from http://mri-q.com/zipper-artifact.html Czervionke, L. F., Czervionke, J. M., Daniels, D. L., Hauhgton, V. M. (1988). Characteristic features of MR truncation artifacts. American Journal of Roentgenology, 151, 1219–1228. http://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.151.6.1219 Erasmus, L. J., Hurter, D., Naudà ©, M., Kritzinger, H. G., Acho, S. (2004). REVIEW ARTICLE: A Short Overview of MRI Artefacts. SA Journal of Radiology, 8(August), 13–17. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp1019944 Gary, P. L. (n.d.). What is MRIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯? Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI ). 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