Extremely Disturbing Accident Essay

There was an extremely disturbing accident a couple of years ago. I will never be able to forget that scene which made Daniel lost his words and made him stay in the darkness for such a long time. Daniel was a wonderful man who cared about his family more than anything else. He had a lovely wife who was called Mary and between them, he had the most adorable daughter. I have never seen such a caring and loving family who knows to take care about their neighbors as well. They were especially kind to me who was living next door, old and alone. They knew I had no relatives so they often invited me at dinner and on the special occasions such as Christmas and Birthdays. They regarded me as a member of the family. We used to sing every night and, oh, I remember, the family was very fond of reciting poems. Therefore, we had this party in which all had to recite favorite poems very often. Daniel used to write the poems by himself and the poems were always about love in the family and each time, we were touched and impressed by high qualities of them. However, the happiness did not last long. On Daniel’s 40th Birthday, Mary and her daughter, Kate, and I planed to surprise him by taking a birthday cake and a lot of nice food to share with his friends to where Daniel was working. In spite of the fact that Daniel was very angry when we once visited him long time ago, he said the place is too dangerous, we were taking food to where Daniel was working. Having thought back about what he said, he was right; He did a lot of physical works for building up the structures and the place where he worked was very dangerous indeed. Kate was singing, excited with joys, she couldn’t wait to see her dad’s smile at her little- hand made birthday card. She was running down the hill and at the same time, I just realized that she is not safe any longer at that distance. Mary and I were running after her, shouting to stop, but it was too late. By accident, one of the workers dropped a huge-hard wooden material from high floor of the building, and Mary was hit by it so hard that even before the ambulance came to help her, she was already gone to the other world. Daniel thought her death was his fault and he quit the job. He acted like an insane person and people started to avoid him, even his wife gave up trying to turn him back to normal. At last, they got divorced in few months. I didn’t see Daniel for a few months around his house, and then I found him in his garden. I asked him whether he feels better and he always nodded at my questions. I noticed he became the person I used to know, the person before faced his daughter’s death, but I knew something was wrong. He was quiet, too quiet. His eyes were always full of sorrow and made my heart broke. They reminded me of Mary who was gone long ago. I did my best to make him to speak again, not out of pity, but I felt I am the one relative left to take care of him. He hardly got out from his room; it was so hard to make him to get along with people, to get socialized again. I thought it would be impossible to make him speak again unless Mary comes back to him. One day, I have succeeded to take him to the poetry club where he used to love to go and listen to the poems. I thought this rally was the last chance I have and played to God desperately. That, that was a miracle; he was listening the poems quietly and suddenly, he stood up. After a while he started to mumble something and soon he made a perfect sound. I was frozen, alert. The people around him listened to him. He found the music of speech which was concealed in this heart deeply for a long time. ‘When he is done, before the applause, we observed the flower’s silence. A thrush sings and the daffodils are flame†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Identified

The Struggle life of a Mexican-American In today's society, racial profiling is not unheard of, actually it is quite common. It is still at debate whether the act of racial profiling in moral or not. In the essay â€Å"Exile. El Paso, Texas†, Saenz describes his personal experience of discrimination due to his ethnic background. Saenz is a Mexican-American and because he lives in El Paso, which is a border town, he is often mistaken for an illegal immigrant by other Americans. Throughout the essay, Saenz’s feeling about his identity as an American had changed.He feels like he is always being judged by Americans sorely on his appearances. Towards the beginning of his essay, Saenz feels like he belonged to America and he had a positive view about everything around him, special is the nature throughout his desk view. Saenz says, â€Å"I looked out my window and stared at the Juarez Mountains. Mexican purples – burning. † (p. 20). We can see that Saenz is enjo ying his desk view. He goes further in describing how he feels, â€Å"All this color, all this color, all this color beneath the shadow of the Juarez Mountains.Sunset Heights: a perfect place with a perfect name, and a perfect view of the river. † (p. 20). These colors, especially the purple, represent the beauty of El Paso for him. At this point, it is easy for Saenz to find the beauty of El Paso. But later, Saenz's feeling had changed because Saenz is stopped on the streets of his neighborhood and questioned by the border patrol officers. When she first saw him, she suspected that Saenz was not American. She asked him where he came from and later she repeated the question in Spanish because the thought Saenz could not understand English.Even thought Saenz said he was a U. S citizen, she still kept her suspicious about his identify and kept asking him some questions to make sure. Despite the rude questioning of the female border patrol officer, Saenz tried to stay friendly a nd appeasing. Afterwards, Saenz regreted the way he handled the situation saying, â€Å"I was embarrassed, ashamed because I'd been so damned compliant like a piece of tin foil in the uniformed woman's hand. † (p. 22). At the same time Saenz becomes annoyed and says to himself, â€Å"pretty soon I'll have to carry a passport in my own neighborhood. â€Å"( p. 22).Because he thinks when people stops him and starts to ask him the same questions, he would show them the passport to confirm that he is American then they cannot be mean to him. Besides, Saenz was affected by the questions of the border patrol officer and the attitudes, so he tried to do anything to get these questions out of his mind. As the result, he went for a run, he kept running until he could no longer hear â€Å" Are you sure you were born in Las Cruces? †. The next encounter, the border patrol officers still had doubt about him and they asked him some question such as: â€Å"Do you live in this nei ghborhood? , â€Å"Where down the street? † (p. 23). But in this encounter, he became more confident for his answers and with each pursuing officer Saenz becomes more aggressive. He replied they:† are you planning on making a social visit? â€Å"(p. 23). Couple months later, he was stopped again and be asked by the similar questions:† where are you from? † (p. 24). Saenz was so upset and he asked them to leave him alone. In another day, when he was in Juarez with his friend, Michael, the custom officer asked them to declare their citizenship.After they answered that they was U. S citizens, the officer kept asking Saenz about where he was born in America and did not ask Michael. In this situation, Saenz noticed that his friend did not be asked about the identity because he had blue eyes, white skin which makes him look like an American. Thus, Saenz feels like he was being discriminated against because his appearance. Saenz's total shift is completed in his f inal confrontation of the essay. In this run in with the border patrol Saenz's defiance is most blatant.Saenz is pushed past his threshold and snaps, saying to the officer, â€Å"Read me my rights, throw me in the can, or leave me alone. â€Å"(p. 26) The reader is able to view Saenz's change in attitude. Saenz feeling of annoyance turns to pure hatred. Saenz states, â€Å"He hated me as much as I hated him. â€Å"(p. 26). We can see the feeling of Saenz had changed from the beginning through the end of the essay. When the first meet up with the female border patrol officer, he did not get upset about what she acted to him and her rude questions.Nevertheless, his feeling had changed day by day because of the behavior of the officers that makes him feel like he is separated from his neighborhood. Saenz’s lifestyle has been an ongoing struggle for him because of all the harassments and discrimination he encountered in El Paso. He realized that people judged him sorely based on his appearance and treats him different than his other American friends just because he doesn’t look like an ideal American. Throughout the essay he becomes less and less aware of his identity and who he really is.

Organizational Security and Expansion Assessment Essay

As director of security for this company I will ensure a threat and vulnerability assessment to protect the company and remain profitable in business. In preparing to expand my security company in the Middle East and Africa there are several things that I must consider. Some of them are threats, threats of other security companies trying to buy me out, internet hacking, surveillance system, personnel, and how to secure the perimeter when a natural disaster strikes. When it comes to human threats you have to worry about your staff who is working for the company that you are security. What kind of staff do you have? Can they be trusted? Some staff member may use your security system to block up other things that don’t pertain to your security business. By using the computer to look at other sites you are leaving your sites open to other websites that don’t pertain to your job. They may be able to log in to your security system to find out about it. If your staff member don’t do this, they may be asked by a member of the working company staff to do it. They may offer to pay them a lot of money or to do favors to get what they want from the security staff. Secondly, there are threats of other security companies trying to buy you out. They may place a bid to that same company you are trying buy out. Their bid maybe lower company than yours or they may promise better security for the company. They may say that theirs is better because they offer more. Their ways of securing the company from threat than you. Their technology maybe more up to date than yours, with extra features. They may say that not only can they charge you less, but that they can use less people on the staff to get the job done. There is also the threat of other people or companies hacking your security system. There are people who sit at their and keep putting in codes until they can open it, they go in to see what kind of damage they can do your system to hurt your company or representation. Next, you will have to deal with your surveillance system. Is your system strong enough to keep out hackers, threats from other humans or terrorists? How can you keep out these unwanted threats? You have to make sure that your system is able to pick up the smallest thing that may go wrong at that company. Make sure that your security system covers enough of the outer perimeter, as well as enough surveillance to cover the inside of the perimeter. Make sure that there is nothing that may keep your motion sensors from working properly. Be sure the company has adequate amounts of air blowing to keep your system working properly. Let the company know that your security personnel is your 24/7 force, and your video monitoring system and motion detector will be alarm at all times, which will be for business hours, weekends, and holidays. Your security personnel will do routine perimeter checks on the inside, as well as the outside of this company. Finally, another threat of securing a company in the Middle East and Africa is securing the company during natural disasters. By natural disaster I’m referring to floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and when lightning strikes. Some companies consider fires air quality, and medical outbreaks as a natural disaster. With any kind of natural disaster there is the chance of losing your security system or other important information. Your systems maybe destroyed because no backup power outage, damage to the building structure, equipment, inventory, and other parts of the property. While a fire is considered a natural disaster, they may also be considered an accident. Depending on what type of company you are securing, there may be chemical that can destroy your security system. Fires and combustible chemicals may cause internal damage, injury or death. To be successful when it comes to natural disaster, you should have a plan of approach to counter act these threats. This may also lead to a smooth flow of operations for your security system. In conclusion, there are many threats that you may consider when trying to start a security business in the Middle East and Africa. Some of these threats are natural disaster, your surveillance system, internet hacking, threats by humans, from other security your system and the company in general. A natural disaster can be anything from a tornado, to a flood, a hurricane, or when lightning strikes. A fire is considered both an accident and a natural disaster. Damaging winds may cause damage the company as well as your security system. These natural disasters may also cause harm or damage to the company, injury or death. My surveillance system is equipped for video surveillance and it has motion sensors. These are important when securing a company. With this quality in a surveillance system, I’m able to secure both inner and outer perimeter. Also to help combat the threat of my surveillance system, I will have security personnel on 24/7. My security personnel will work on weekends, business hours, and holidays to secure the company. They will also make inner and outer perimeter checks routinely. Also to combat the surveillance of my security system, my personnel will make routine check of the system. With my security system of the Middle East and Africa, the security personnel will not be allowed to surf the web. If they are caught doing it they will be reprimand, fired, or both. This will keep other internet surfers from hacking into the security system. It will also keep other website users from opening up the company desktop and keep the security system from network infections. The personnel will not be able to share any information with other co-workers or any personnel of the company. Another threat to a security to a security system in the Middle East and Africa is human threat. By human threat I mean internal employees, contract employees, and visitors to the facility. Employees can get hired who may get mad with the owner. Thinking that by selling products or important information about the company they make more money, even get back at the owner. There are also risk of accidents on the job. Human threats can happen with trained and untrained staff members. It may be either intentional or non-intentional. Accidents may cause a great deal of damage and cost to the employer of a company. They can also cost the security system a lot of money. Humans also may cause the threat of bombing a company. Other security companies a threat by under biding you for security of the company. They may offer equipment or security that you don’t have. Sometimes this is helpful to the company and sometimes it is not. No person or persons will have access to the company pass the lobby of the B uilding without an appropriate employees or visitor badge. The badges will be color coded, depending on the level of clearance granted to them. The visitors will require an escort unless they are approved or cleared through security ahead of time. The badges will be programmed to only allow access to those with proper clearance for restricted areas. The employees of my security system will be subject to random searches, drug screenings, and a thorough background investigation check before and after employment. Personnel who bring electronic devices into the facility without prior approval from the security manager will not be allowed. Security personnel will be prohibited from bringing any cell phones, tablets, cameras, flash drives, or any electronic devices that may hurt my security system. I will also monitor my employee’s internet access to combat any type of cyber-attacks. When it comes to my security system I will make sure that only the security manager and the security supervisor will have access to security information. This security information will be kept in a safe place. Only the security manage and the security supervisor will be given the combination to the safe. By understanding what kind of threats your security system may face in Africa or Middle East, I can find ways to better stop this from happening. I may even be able to eliminate others from counteracting them. The company will also implement an employee health and wellness programs. My security system will always keep up with latest antivirus software and will monitor for internal and external cyber- attacks.

Quality Management Tools & Techniques Assignment - 1

Quality Management Tools & Techniques - Assignment Example By visually observing the histogram, it is possible to determine whether or not the process is in control. In this paper, the capability analysis for individual variables is applied using Minitab. This analysis yields a process capability report even when the data for the variables are not normally distributed. In this case, the manufacturing process produces a single hard drive using three distinct processes, hence the application of this method is suitable in order to evaluate each process independently. As such, histograms of the data for each process will be generated, which will help to verify whether or not the processes are in control. In this case, three main measures will be used to evaluate the capabilities of the three processes including Cp, Cpk and PPM. The measure Cp is an index that measures potential capability of a process; that is, the capability of a process in meeting certain conditions. For a capable process, Cp should be greater than one. The measure Cpk, on the other hand, is a measure of whether or not the process is conforming to the required specifications (Bass, 2007). For a perfectly centered process, Cpk should be equal to Cp. The measure PPM (parts per million) represents the number of defectives in every one million parts manufactured. By visually observing figure 1, the data is not normally distributed. Indeed, the data seems to be both bimodal and right-skewed. However, the data values are within the specified limits. The value of Cp = 1.41 is greater than one, which indicates that the process is capable. Additionally, the value of Cpk = 1.30 is almost equal to that of Cp hence the process is centered. On the overall performance, for every one million hard drives produced by the manufacturer, 18.29 parts will exceed the specified limits on the lower specification limit (LSL) side while 238.83 parts will exceed the limit on the upper

Statement of purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Statement of purpose - Essay Example My application to the university of xxxx Masters Program in Law is informed particularly by the university’s mission of preparing its graduates to compete globally. My interest in the field of law started developing during my childhood mostly because of my family background which has many of lawyers. I started appreciating and desiring the work done by lawyers as a child and went on to work hard in school especially in language subjects knowing there are pre-requisite to pursuing professional law. My father particularly has been a great source of inspiration for me; he kept encouraging working hard so as to achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer and strived to see me get the best quality education. At school especially high school level, joined the debating clubs and really enjoyed debating issues with a lot of passion. My teachers noticed my desire to pursue law as a professional and encouraged me to achieve good grades that would enable to me further my studies. My hard work paid and I was able to score grades that saw me secure a chance to pursue college education. It is during my undergraduate studies that my interest in becoming a lawyer became intense. My interactions with the course materials, lecturers and other students on campus made me understand a great deal how law as a profession plays in our everyday lives. Also my internship apart from the invaluable work experience and other skills gained made me appreciate the work of lawyers in resolving our issues in business, families and other facets of society. It is then that I made a resolve to pursue a Master degree in law so as to gain more knowledge, grow my professional outlook as a lawyer and apply my knowledge of law resolving problems in my society which I believe will give me a satisfaction of having participated in the transformation of society. Am a very outgoing

Compare and contrast the transport planning models for passenger and Research Paper

Compare and contrast the transport planning models for passenger and freight transport - Research Paper Example Through such  information estimates are made about the effect of new  developments on  the amount of required  parking space and local  traffic volumes (Litman, 2012). Economic models focus on identifying  and comparing  the benefits  of certain  transportation improvements, like  the advantage  of expanding  a roadway or  improvement in public transit service.  They endeavor to  compare multifarious  classifications  of benefits and costs. They concentrate on  a comparatively  limited set of advantages.  For instance  they  often overlook  vehicle ownership cost savings and parking considerations that arise  due to  switching of travelers  from automobile travel to other  modes (TRB-Transportation Research Board). These models aim at anticipating the impact of  transportation improvements on land use patterns like the kind of  location and  development that  will evolve as a consequence of  improvement of  highway or transit service.  These are deemed to be  the best tools for analyzing  transportation programs and  policies (Litman, 2012).   The purpose of these  models is to  predict the effect of certain  vehicle  transport policies and projects on  fuel consumption  and pollution emissions. However  it is observed  that  traditional models mostly underscore  emission reductions and expansion of roadways while they  undermine  TDM strategies (Slack, 2013). Transport planning models for freight transport  focus more  on quantitative factors like  operating costs,  travel speed  and crash rates etc while planning models for passenger transport give more consideration to  qualitative factors like  travel convenience,  security and comfort of passengers (Slack,

The Financial Analysis of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Research Paper

The Financial Analysis of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group - Research Paper Example   The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Group) carries out its business activities in the United Kingdom, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, with more than thirty mullion customers. Large corporations, institutions, and individuals are among the customers, that the group provides its products to (RBS Group, 2013). Despite the adverse effects of the financial and economic crises that faced the world and the United Kingdom, banks and the economy of the United Kingdom began this year with a stronger position, compared to last year (Accenture, 2012). The last five years have been characterized by poor performance among many companies. In the United Kingdom, the banking industry is unique. This is because it is large and diversified, accommodating a large international industry (Accenture, 2012). As a result, competition is great, and individual banks have to analyze their strategies to ensure superior performance in the financial markets, given the volatile, current and future economic conditions. Income Statement Analysis From the common size income statement of the Royal Bank of Scotland, it is evident that revenue has been decreasing each subsequent year, for the last three years. For instance, the bank’s revenue for 2012 was 17, 941 Million, compared to revenue of ?24,651Million earned in 2011 and 31, 798 Million earned in 2010 (RBS Group, 2013, p, 45). This trend shows that revenue has been decreasing significantly. Subsequently, the Bank’s operating loss increased significantly, over the three years. In 2010, the Royal Bank of Scotland had an operating loss of 469 Million. In 2011 the operating loss increased to   1,190 Million, while it further increased to 5,165 Million in 2012. The same trend was recorded in loss after tax of the Royal Bank of Scotland for the three years of analysis. For instance, the Royal Bank of Scotland recorded a loss after tax of 1,033 Million in 2010, while the figure increased to 2,317 Million and 5,806 M illion for 2011 and 2012 respectively (RBS Group, 2013). This resulted in a loss for the period of 1,666 Million in 2010, which increased to 1,969 Million in 2011 and 5,806 Million in 2012 (RBS Group, 2013, p, 45). The Royal Bank of Scotland has never made any dividend payment for the last three years, probably because it has been making losses from its business. Given that the Royal Bank of Scotland has been making losses for the last three years, the earnings per share portray a negative value. For example in 2010, the earnings per share for the Royal Bank of Scotland were -5.00p, while in 2011 and 2012 recorded earnings per share of -2.13p and -53.70p, respectively (Hargreaves Lansdown, 2013).  Ã‚  

Health care reform to address access Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health care reform to address access - Essay Example Nevertheless, it will enhance access to affordable healthcare for children, cancer patients, and underserved communities, through drug discounts propelled by 340B programs. Moreover, the legislation stands to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare by availing medical services to all individuals in America and especially those who have joined Medicare and Medicaid. There will also be sustainable efforts to improve the delivery of care and support research, which will inform clients on issues relating to patient outcomes, and patient models will be developed and distributed. Health care practitioners and patients residing from rural areas will recognize the tremendous improvements together with advancements in payment accuracy. In addition, there will be improvements in access to innovative medical therapies through innovation and biologics price competition. With the establishment of the legislation, FDA will be in a position to license biological products that are shown to be either biosimilar or interchangeable to reference product (Kaiser, 2014). The basic values that underlie the approach to solving the access to health care problems include; focusing on provisions to expand medical cover for individuals and families in the United States, enacting measures to control health care and related medical costs to make it affordable to all individuals in America, and continuous improvement health care delivery system. The stated values do not align to any specific political perspective, but instead touch on the health benefit of every American citizen. As a policy maker, I would use the following approach to ensure success, establishment of market reforms, creating of insurance market places, and expansion of Medicaid programs (Healthcare.gov., 2014). This is because; every state requires compliance with market reforms to ensure access to cover for young adults, provision of

Difficult and Glorious History of Boeing 747 Research Paper

Difficult and Glorious History of Boeing 747 - Research Paper Example Boeing 747-100 Iran development of 747 occurred during the rapid growth of air traffic in the 60's. Boeing 707, which dominated at that time in the U.S. airline market, already struggling to cope with the increasing flow of passengers. Prior to that, the Boeing Corporation has worked to develop a large transport aircraft for the U.S. Army, but then lost the draft Corporation Lockheed - C-5 Galaxy. â€Å"Nevertheless, the most loyal Boeing customer - the airline Pan American - has developed requirements for the giant passenger plane which was supposed to be more "707" twice. In 1966, the Corporation introduced a new configuration of the aircraft, the designation "747". Initially, the project is a fully double-deck aircraft, but with this configuration, there were some difficulties, and the scheme was abandoned in favor of the "hump". From the first series of 100 aircraft, Pan Am ordered 25. Hess, R. A., and Wells, S. R. At that time it was thought that such giants will soon be superseded by supersonic aircraft. Therefore, the "747" was originally developed as a transport aircraft. Over time, it was planned even a complete refurbishment of all aircraft into freighters. The cockpit was placed on the upper deck specifically to be able to convert the nose of the plane in the cargo ramp. It was assumed that the market does not need more than 400 aircraft of this type, however, despite the criticism and tough competition in 1993, was built thousand aircraft. Only in the first decade of XXI century sales "747" began to fall. Construction of aircraft has been associated with some difficulties: the Boeing plant did not have capabilities to produce such huge aircraft. To do this in a small town Everett, Washington had built a new factory, which became home to a new family of aircraft. Company Pratt & Whitney has developed a huge turbofan engine with a high pass ratio - JT9D, which was originally used exclusively for the "747". In order to improve safety and flying qualities of aircraft on the "747" were set back four hydraulic systems and slotted flaps, which are allowed to use the aircraft on the runways of standard length.

Evergreen’s administrators Essay Example for Free

Evergreen’s administrators Essay Windows Server 2003 is a better and a more efficient version of Windows 2000 such that it takes its best features and creates a system that is easier to manage and use. This paper will discuss some of the benefits that Windows Server 2003 will bring to a large organization such as Evergreen Health. Discussion Evergreen is a big organization that provides health insurance throughout the state. It is bigger now after acquiring several other smaller health insurance providers. Therefore, it needs a system that is reliable and friendly enough to cater to such an organization. Windows Server 2003 will benefit Evergreen in a number of ways. First of all, Windows Server 2003 is highly dependable and easily available. The Microsoft Cluster service now has around eight-node clusters that are divided geographically (Microsoft, 2008). This is beneficial because no matter what branch of Evergreen requires the system, it will be available and guaranteed to work reliably. Windows Server 2003 is easy to install, use, and handle. It has a similar interface to that of Windows 2000, a server already used by the staff. A wizard makes setup very easy even for servers that do not have a dedicated administrator (Microsoft, 2008). This is especially important for Evergreen because its employees have little knowledge about newer systems. It will be easy to use by anyone. Active Directory is the server’s directory that helps to store information about objects on the network. It becomes easier for administrators to find this information because it becomes logically organized. This will be very convenient for Evergreen’s administrators. Connecting the different areas and locations of Evergreen through intranets and extranets make security very vulnerable and hence, vital. Windows Server 2003 provides a number of measures to provide this kind of security. It has software restriction policies and easily encryptable data that can be used to prevent viruses and other malicious code. The damage caused by these can be immense. The Windows Rights Management Services prevents unauthorized access anywhere. A big pro for Evergreen is that this server’s Intelligent File Storage allows the firm to increase document protection and it makes them more available. Users can access earlier files easily with the use of the server’s new shadow copy restore feature. This is big for Evergreen because it must have millions of records that need handling and more importantly, protection. It also facilitates backup which is very important for an insurance organization. In today’s fast-paced business world, in order to remain competitive today, it is extremely essential to have an efficient and secure system. Windows Server 2003’s Web server IIS 6. 0 provides improved security and a steady design that offers application segregation (Microsoft, 2008). It also provides XML Web Services that will allow the firm to easily discover Web services and other programmatic resources. Conclusion In conclusion, the Window Server 2003 will be a valuable investment for Evergreen Health because this firm has to deal with millions of people and their essential records. Windows Server 2003 will greatly facilitate the organization, storage and backup of these records securely and reliably. Other than that, it is easy to use which is indispensable for Evergreen’s employees. For this reason, Evergreen should go for it. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Microsoft (2008). Top 10 Benefits of Windows Server 2003. Retrieved June 26, 2008 from Microsoft. Website:http://www. microsoft. com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/whyupgrade/top10best. mspx 2. Microsoft (2002). Windows Server 2003: Product Overview. Retrieved June 26, 2008 from Microsoft TechNet. Website: http://technet. microsoft. com/en-us/windowsserver/bb429524. aspx

Transactional And Transformational Leadership

Transactional And Transformational Leadership Max Weber was the pioneer in developing theory of transactional and transformational leadership, but the theory was further explored by James MacGregor Burns (1978) to Bernard Bass (1985). According to Kuhnert and Lewis (1987), this theory is to explain how personality differences in leaders lead to either transactional or transformational leadership styles (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). According to Burns (1978) as cited by Kuhnert and Lewis (1987), transactional leadership occurs when one takes the initiatives in making contacts with others for exchanging something valued. Whereas transformational leadership occurs when one focuses the needs, the beliefs, and the values of followers. According to Yukl (1981) as cited by Kuhnert and Lewis (1987), transactional leadership involves exchange of information between superior and subordinates and influences each other reciprocally so that each derives something valued. In other words, it is a win-win situation for both superior and subordinates in getting something they valued. Kellerrmen (1984) as cited by Kuhnert and Lewis (1987) claimed that both the transactional leaders and followers engage in mutual dependence in which the contributions of both sides are acknowledged and rewarded. However, leaders are still influential in making decision and the range is in the best interest of the followers. To be an effective transactional leader, they must regularly fulfill the needs and expectation of their followers. Thus an effective transactional leader is able to respond to the reactions and meet the expectation of their followers (Kellermen, 1984) in (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). Although transactional leadership is described as exchanging valued outcomes, some literature review suggested that not all exchanges are equal. Graen et al. (1982) in Kuhnert and Lewis (1987) studied the impact on both high-quality and low-quality exchange relationship had on turnover rate of employees in an organization. The result of the study is that employees who engage in exchanging emotional support and resources (high-quality) were less likely to leave an organization compared to employees who engage in exchanging contractually agreed upon elements such as eight hours schedule per day (low-quality). Graen et al. (1982) suggested low-quality exchanges are based on goods or rights. In contrast, high-quality exchanges are based on interpersonal bond between leaders and followers. However in these exchanges, transactional leaders have to clarify the roles and task requirements followers must complete in order to reach to their personal goals and in the same time fulfill the missi on of the organization (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). Kuhnert and Lewis (1987) also indicated that transformational leadership originates the personal values and beliefs of leaders, not involving any exchange of commodities between leaders and followers. Both Bass (1985) and Burns (1978) as cited by Kuhnert and Lewis (1987) stated that transformational leaders demonstrate their deeply held personal value systems that include such values as justice and integrity. Burns (1978) refers these values were not exchangeable or negotiated between individuals. By expressing their values and specific standards, transformational leaders are able to unite followers and change followers goals and beliefs thus achieve organizational goals. This form of leadership results in higher achievement of performance among individuals (Bass, 1985) in (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). Kuhnert and Lewis (1987) stated that transformational leaders gain their influence by displaying important personal characteristics. These personal characteristics in a leader were described by Bass (1985); some of them are intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and level of charisma. According to Dionne et al. (2003) in Ismail et al. (2011), intellectual stimulation is viewed as a leader who cares about intelligence, rationality, logic and careful problem solving in an organization. Leaders stimulate followers to re-examine ways of doing things, use of rational thinking before taking actions. In addition, individualized consideration is viewed as leaders concern about their followers needs. Leaders encourage followers reach to their full potential through proper coaching and mentoring and link followers need to the organizational strategy and goals (Ismail et al., 2011). Thus, successful transformational leaders are able to articulate goals, build an image, demonstrate confidence and inspire followers. These behaviors can convince and motivate followers without exchanging for goods or rights, which characterizes transactional leaders (Kuhnert Lewis, 1987). 5.2 Interactions between Transactional and Transformational Leadership According to Hamilton (2010), Bass (1985) proposed that: there are situations in which the transformational approach may not be appropriate, [and that] organizations need to draw more on the resources of charismatic leaders, who often can induce followers to aspire to and maintain much higher levels of productivity than they would have reached if they had been operating only through the transactional process (Bass, 1985, p. 40) in (Hamilton, 2010). Bass (1999) also indicated that there are plenty of works needed to be done in order to have confidence in full range of transactional and transformational leadership (Bass, 1985, p. 10) in (Hamilton, 2010). To show how transformational leadership and transactional leadership interact with one another, a research has been conducted by Corrigan and Garman (1999) as cited by Hamilton (2010). This study was about how the two (transactional and transformational leadership) interact within the realm of team leadership. Researchers explored how transformational and transactional leadership skills are needed to develop team cohesion. In this study, team leaders needed to have transformational skills: inspiration and charisma, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Corrigan et al., 1999, p. 304) in (Hamilton, 2010) that allowed them to inspire team members and help the team move forward with creative problem solving. This motivational need and focus requires the leaders to not only exhibit transformational skills but transactional skills. In making transactions, the leaders had three goals which are clarifying expectations, motivating improvement, and recognizing achievement s (Corrigan et al., 1999, p. 308) in (Hamilton, 2010). Transactional skills are needed to help maintain effective programs. The interaction between transactional and transformational skills were valuable for leaders in which they utilized skills, which allowed them to meet both present and future needs of team members and organization (Hamilton, 2010). It was concluded that a manager can be both transformational and transactional leader depending on various situations. It results in more effective leadership behaviour of leaders in an organization (Hamilton, 2010). 5.3 Transformational and Transactional Leadership on Organizational Commitment 5.3.1 Employee Attitude and Customer Satisfaction Mowday et al. (1979) as cited by Emery et al. (2007) found that organizational commitment reflects employees identification and involvement. To be more specific, it holds three dimensions: a strong belief in and acceptance of organizations goals and values; a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization; and a strong desire to maintain membership in an organization (Mowday et al., 1979) in (Emery et al., 2007). According to Emery et al. (2007), there are several findings indicated there are positive relationship between a persons willingness to participate in quality improvement efforts and organizational commitment. Morris (1995) in Emery et al. (2007) found that employee job satisfaction is one of the critical factors in delivering satisfaction to customers. In addition, it also concluded that employee job satisfaction comes from: the job itself, supervisor relationship, management beliefs, future opportunity, works environment, pay/ benefits/ rewards, and co-worker relationships (Morris, 1995) in (Emery et al., 2007). Another study of retail banking industry, Brown and Mitchell (1993) in Emery et al. (2007) found that job dissatisfaction of customer contact personnel was positively correlated with lower customer satisfaction. In addition, there is a similar research has been conducted by Atkins et al. (1996) in Emery et al. (2007), authors examined level of customer satisfaction by nurses services at a major Midwestern hospital, the correlation between nurses job satisfaction and patients recommendation of which units they preferred was .85 (Atkins et al., 1996) in (Emery et al., 2007). 5.3.2 The correlation between Leaderships and Organizational Commitment According to the research done by Emery et al. (2007), the purpose of this study is to examine the connection between transactional and transformational leadership and job satisfaction and employee commitment. The results indicated that transformational leadership was found to have higher correlation with job satisfaction and employee commitment compared to transactional leadership. Bass (1985) as cited by Emery et al. (2007) indicated that transformational leaders are likely to find more acceptances in an organization, where receptivity to change and a propensity for risk taking are available. However, leaders who question the status quo of an organization which bound by tradition, rules and sanctions may be viewed as too unsettling or anxious thus perceived as inappropriate. Thus, open to creative suggestion, innovation and risk taking may be more conducive to transformational leadership compared to challenge the status quo of an organization (Emery et al., 2007). Bass (1985) suggested that transactional leadership are preferred over in service sectors such as banking sector. However, Emery et al. (2007) found that the employees in banking sectors preferred transformational leadership. It could be explained that the system of reinforcement in mechanistic organization is so thoroughly entrenched in the organizational structures, which leaders do not need to provide contingent reinforcement. Emery et al. (2007) found that charisma is preferred beyond contingent-reward behaviour in relation to leader effectiveness. These findings are consistent with other researches done by Hater and Bass (1988) and Waldmen et al. (1987) as cited by Emery et al. (2007) where it had demonstrated the importance of charismatic leadership in level of organizational commitment. However, Emery et al. (2007) failed to support that the charisma is only important at the highest management levels. It is due to lower-level managers somehow comply with the decisions of the higher-level charismatic leaders by receiving contingent rewards. Another finding by Emery et al. (2007) indicated that there are no gender differences in terms of magnitude and preference of particular leadership styles. Female managers are equally display transformational style as males, both males and females managers exhibit similar level of charisma, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. This study by Emery et al. (2007) supports the use of transformational leadership to increase job satisfaction and organizational commitment of customer contact personnel. These findings become more significant as service corporations attempt to empower their employees and strive to retain customers through relationship strategies. Another evidence is that result indicated that transformational leadership and particularly charismatic is preferred by employees although they received low paid in an organization. According to Emery et al. (2007), employees place a great deal of trust in their leaders judgment; they adopt leaders values and form strong emotional ties to the leader. Leaders personal characteristics are directly support the dimension of service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1988) in (Emery et al., 2007). According to Bass (1994; 1999), Howell and Avolio (1993) and Ismail et al. (2010) as cited by Ismail et al. (2011), since it is an era of global competition, many organizations shift the paradigms of their leadership styles from transactional to transformational leadership as a way to achieve their strategies and goals. Transformational leaders are effective leaders that develop their followers full potential, higher needs and motivate them to unite, link their goals to organizational goals and beliefs (Ismail et al., 2011).

Boys Girls Clubs Of America

Boys Girls Clubs Of America Socialization is generally thought of as being an essential part of human development in that its importance is often times disregarded. However, understanding socialization can be a complicated and enduring process. Sociologists use the term socialization to refer to the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture (Macionis, 2011, 68). Humans need social experience to acquire the skills needed to learn their culture and for survival. Social experience is also the basis of personality, a persons fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking and feeling. We build a personality by internalizing taking in our surroundings (Macionis, 2011, 68). When an individual is lacking social experience, personality seldom develops. People usually rely on others for assistance when their children are growing physically and emotionally but most importantly as their personality is developing. Many theorists have focused on childhood as being the most c ritical time when personality is formed; however, Erik H. Eriksons eight stages of development have set apart that focus and places emphasis on socialization throughout the life course as being the most influential (Macionis, 2011). Erikson centralized that challenges are faced throughout the life course fluctuating from infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, preadolescence, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood to old age even though not everyone faces these challenges in the exact order (Macionis, 2011). In summary, Eriksons stages of development model calls attention to how several factors, including the family, school and peer groups, shape our personalities. Since socialization is a learning process that begins after birth and is learned throughout an individuals life span, a common question is how can people be socialized? Looking around the world, we see that different cultures used different techniques to socialize their children both formal and informally through school and peer groups. As we age, we enter new statuses and need to learn the appropriate roles for them. Across America, there are many national organizations that have been organized to provide programs for young people that help with maintaining socialization skills that have been embedded amongst our youth. The Boys Girls Clubs of America is a national organization of local chapters which provide after-school programs for young people (http://www.bgca.org). The first Boys Club was founded in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860 after a group of women noticed how young boys from needy families would hang out on the streets after school because they didnt have anywhere else to go. The club was created to provide them with a safe place to play. By 1906, there were fifty-three independent Boys Clubs that came together in Boston for form a national organization known as the Federated Boys Clubs. After many years, the organization renamed itself Boys Clubs of America and in 1990 renamed itself to Boys Girls Clubs of America. There are currently over 4,000 autonomous local Clubs, which are affiliates of the national organization and serve over four million boys and girls. Clubs can be found in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and on US Military Bases. In 2010, member percentages included: 65% are from minority families, 5% are 5 years old and under, 43% are 6-10 years old, 19% are 11-12 years old, 21% are 13-15 years old, 12% are 16-18 years old, 55% are male and 45% are female (http://www.bgca.org). The Boys Girls Clubs are a safe place to learn and grow. It is the place where great futures are started each and every day (http://www.bgca.org). The goals set forth by the Boys Girls Clubs of America basically includes their mission statement which reads to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens (http://www.bgca.org). The organization gives young people a safe and supervised environment, an especially important task as more and more families have needed to work multiple jobs and cannot be home for their children. They also encourage kids to get involved in activities, learn team skills, and associate with people they might not meet at school or in their neighborhood. Many clubs offer an after school program as well as an extended summer program, giving kids a real opportunity to make friends and be involved in the programs and services offered at the clubs (http://www.wisegeek.com). The ir core beliefs are for The Boys Girls Club to aspire to provide all young people with a safe place to learn and grow, and establish ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals by providing them with life enhancing programs and character development experiences (http://www.bgca.org). There are many strategies that have been implemented by The Boys Girls Clubs of America each help youth in distinctive ways. The Education Career Programs which help youth create aspirations for the future, providing opportunities for career exploration and educational enhancement. The Character Leadership Programs which help youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills for participating in the democratic process. The Health Life Skills Programs in which those initiatives develop young peoples capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and live successfully as self-sufficient adults. The Arts Programs which are programs in this core area that enable youth to develop their creativity and cultural awareness through knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts, crafts, performing arts and creative writing. The Sports, Fitness and Recreation Programs which help develop fitness, a positive use of leisure time, reduct ion of stress, appreciation for the environment and social and interpersonal skills. The Specialized Programs in which these initiatives focus on meeting the significant and specific needs identified within the Boys Girls Clubs. This broad scope complements several or all of their core program areas within the organization. According to Kidzworld, the Boys Girls Clubs are community based and building centered. Since 3:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. is the time of day when children are usually unsupervised, The Boys Girls Clubs run their programs after school, and on weeknights and weekends (http://www.kidzworld.com). The Clubs provide a safe and affordable place for these programs to run; all the while, clubs do charge a monthly or seasonal fee and some assistance may be available to families in need (Ellis, 2003-2012). The Clubs are led by trained, paid youth-development professionals. Signing your child or young friend up for the club can make a positive impact in every area of their life. The Boys Girls Clubs of America provide young people with a safe learning environment and opportunities to build new skills that raise each childs belief that he or she can succeed and receive recognition for personal accomplishments. They also assist in building ongoing relationships with caring adults and connections to new friends in a positive environment, reinforcing a sense of belonging, personal accountability, civility and civic responsibility. Finally, they offer generation-changing programs that support a commitment to learning, positive values, healthy habits and high expectations for success as an adult. Many people credit The Boys Girls Clubs with changing their childrens direction in life or teaching them vital skills. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Boys Girls Clubs of America number one among youth organizations for the 13th consecutive year, and number 12 among all nonprofit organizations (http://www.bgca.org).

Florida Conquistadors :: essays research papers

The New World A land where people could prosper. A land with plenty of opportunity for quick advancement in the Spanish military and diplomatic careers. Coming to the end of the fifteenth century; there were thousands of daring men and women who would be crossing the ocean to conquer just within a few centuries what had taken the Indians thousands to years to inhabit! The discovery of Gold in Mexico and Peru caused many Spanish men to join the army; Leading a successful colonial mission could get them the funds to build a castle instead of the younger sons of the nobility inheriting a small part of the family estate. There were also those who came for spiritual reasons. More than just priests and church leaders, the eternal blessing of God would be earned by turning the Americas into Catholic lands. Through 1516 and 1561 Florida had been explored by many Spaniards. Two Including: Ponce De Leon and Panfilo De Navareaz†¦ Juan Ponce De Leon Known as the original discoverer of Florida. He was the grandson of a famous war hero. Trained as a soldier and a public servant. Joining Columbus' second voyage with his family they went to retire in the Dominican Republic. Columbus had been made military governor for life, but with his death someone new had to be appointed, Spanish authorities refused to grant it to his son Diego. The Crown had Ponce de Leon of course chosen. His first task was to colonize Puerto Rico; it was accomplished with a few men and a greyhound that scared the natives. Diego Columbus was unhappy and decided to take his claim to the courts in Madrid. He was given his rights. Then becoming military governor, Ponce De Leon was removed from office. He felt his name was damaged and refused to serve Diego. He then was given title to explore the Upper Bahamas and areas to the north. In the Beginning of March in 1513, Ponce de Leon sailed to the Bahamas and headed toward Florida. He was seeking a spiritual rebirth in the Fountain of Youth. March 27, 1513, Easter Sunday, his crew sighted land. Six days later he reached the Florida coast and kept sailing northward to land near St. Augustine. He named the place "Pescua Florida", "the place of flowers,† in honor of Easter Sunday and all the beautiful flowers that bloomed in spring. On their return voyage he met up with the Indians of Jupiter Inlet and took note of the important features on the East Coast. Florida Conquistadors :: essays research papers The New World A land where people could prosper. A land with plenty of opportunity for quick advancement in the Spanish military and diplomatic careers. Coming to the end of the fifteenth century; there were thousands of daring men and women who would be crossing the ocean to conquer just within a few centuries what had taken the Indians thousands to years to inhabit! The discovery of Gold in Mexico and Peru caused many Spanish men to join the army; Leading a successful colonial mission could get them the funds to build a castle instead of the younger sons of the nobility inheriting a small part of the family estate. There were also those who came for spiritual reasons. More than just priests and church leaders, the eternal blessing of God would be earned by turning the Americas into Catholic lands. Through 1516 and 1561 Florida had been explored by many Spaniards. Two Including: Ponce De Leon and Panfilo De Navareaz†¦ Juan Ponce De Leon Known as the original discoverer of Florida. He was the grandson of a famous war hero. Trained as a soldier and a public servant. Joining Columbus' second voyage with his family they went to retire in the Dominican Republic. Columbus had been made military governor for life, but with his death someone new had to be appointed, Spanish authorities refused to grant it to his son Diego. The Crown had Ponce de Leon of course chosen. His first task was to colonize Puerto Rico; it was accomplished with a few men and a greyhound that scared the natives. Diego Columbus was unhappy and decided to take his claim to the courts in Madrid. He was given his rights. Then becoming military governor, Ponce De Leon was removed from office. He felt his name was damaged and refused to serve Diego. He then was given title to explore the Upper Bahamas and areas to the north. In the Beginning of March in 1513, Ponce de Leon sailed to the Bahamas and headed toward Florida. He was seeking a spiritual rebirth in the Fountain of Youth. March 27, 1513, Easter Sunday, his crew sighted land. Six days later he reached the Florida coast and kept sailing northward to land near St. Augustine. He named the place "Pescua Florida", "the place of flowers,† in honor of Easter Sunday and all the beautiful flowers that bloomed in spring. On their return voyage he met up with the Indians of Jupiter Inlet and took note of the important features on the East Coast.

Happiness in Aldous Huxleys Brave New World Essays -- Brave New World

When we look to define happiness, many different ideas come to mind. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary uses three definitions for happiness: good fortune, a state of well being and contentment, and a pleasurable satisfaction. In Brave New World, Aldus Huxley argues that a society can redefine happiness through the government’s manipulation of the environment and the human mind itself. The government accomplishes this by mind conditioning throughout the process of maturing, keeping a caste-based society, and obliterating problems. The government thus defines happiness as the absence of all conflict. This differs from happiness as the American society sees it: the ability to pursue and enjoy individual desires.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The conditioning of minds allows the government to impress its ideas upon maturing children. The process used is hypnopà ¦dia, or repetition of sayings during sleep. After many repetitions of one phrase, the idea is hardened within the human mind, proving most difficult to undo. Evidence of this method to provide artificial happiness surfaces in both Lenina and Bernard’s actions. Huxley states this coldly during Lenina’s trip home with Henry Foster, â€Å"‘What a hideous color khaki is,’ remarked Lenina, voicing the hypnopà ¦dic prejudices of her caste† (62). Khaki is a color worn by lower castes in the society and the higher castes are taught not to associate with them. Bernard’s hypnopà ¦dic lessons did not work as well as most. He sees everything in this artific...

Adoption of Ifrs

ADOPTION OF IFRS: IT`S BENEFITS AND IMPACTS ON FIRMS AND COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD The IASB was established in 2001 and since have assumed the responsibility of the standard setting from its predecessor body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and began issuing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS has recently been dominating the regulatory changes in accounting for listed companies around the world. Through the years, over 100 countries have adopted IFRS reporting, some of which include Australia, the European Union, India, Japan, South Africa, Russia and most recently Canada.In addition, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are working towards the final element of a work plan to incorporate IFRS into the U. S. financial reporting jurisdiction. In November 2007, the SEC voted to allow foreign issuers that report in IFRS to file their financial statements with the SEC without reconciling to U. S. generally accepted accounting st andards (GAAP). Accounting standard setters anticipate that the use of IFRS will improve the comparability of financial statements, improve reporting transparency, and increase the quality of financial reporting which in turn will lead to greater investor confidence.From an economic perspective, some believe that it’s challenging to perceive that such expectations will be achieved as a result of converting to IFRS. However according to proponents of IFRS, publicly traded companies believe that applying these principles will allow for a single set of high quality accounting standards as this will contribute to better functioning of the capital markets (Quigley 2007).In the following paper I will discuss the reasons why firms around the globe have adopted IFRS in relation to the financial reporting and disclosure quality, comparability across firms and countries, and the costs and benefits associated with reporting improvements. Most countries are in favor of adopting IFRS, fro m the viewpoint that IFRS standards are more capital market oriented, which in turn provides higher quality information that will benefit constituencies of financial statement users as supposed to local GAAP (Daske and Gebhardt 2006).If this statement is true, one way to validate it is through recommendations by empirical studies that suggest firms engaging in IFRS implementations should see an increase in market liquidity followed by a decrease in the firm’s value of cost of capital. According to Leuz and Wysocki (2008), they have provided some evidence in relation to the effects of reporting quality on market liquidity. They indicate the issue regarding information asymmetry, where investors who possess less knowledge of a firm’s reporting structure or policies, are concerned about trading with the better informed investors.They indicate how these non-informed investors are to lower the price at which they are willing to buy, to protect themselves from losses incurre d from trading with better informed investors. Hence investors that possess less information about a stock are less likely to trade. These effects of adverse selection and information asymmetry reduce the liquidity of securities market. Therefore, IASB strongly encourages essential financial disclosure. This will alleviate the adverse selection problem and will result in increased market liquidity by leveling the playing field among all market participants.In addition, other studies have shown that improvements in financial reporting and disclosure can affect the cost of capital in a variety of ways. Some of which include, investors that require a higher return from less liquid securities and lower estimation risk as this makes it easier for the investor to estimate a firm’s future cash flow. This in turn, will improve risk sharing in the economy by making investors aware of certain securities or by making them more willing to hold them (Leuz and Verrecchia, 2004). Hence redu cing the cost of capital.As important as it can be for firms to disclose essential information to investors, other firms can also benefit from these disclosures for the purpose of decision making and will help reduce the agency problem existing between shareholders and management. For example, â€Å"disclosure on operating performance and governance arrangement provides useful benchmarks that help outside investors to evaluate other firms managerial efficiency or potential agency conflicts and, in doing so, lower the costs of monitoring† ( Leuz and Wysocki, 2008).In addition, the information environment has improved as firms switch over to IFRS, which has also contributed to the increase in higher quality financial reporting. According to Mary E. Barth (2006) firms that voluntarily adopted IFRS generally seek lower earning management, lower cost of capital, and more value relevant of earnings. All of which interpret evidence of higher accounting quality. Barth indicates that the accounting quality could be mproved by removing other accounting methods that are not reflective of a firm’s performance and which are used by managers to manage earnings. As part of his testing, he compared firm’s earnings management between those firms reporting under IFRS and firms reporting according to their local GAAP. As a result of his study, it was indicated that after firms had adopted IFRS, they had larger volatility swings in net income, increase ratio of variance in cash flows, higher correlation of accruals and cash flows, small positive net income, and increased occurrence of larger losses.Opponents argue that a single set of internationally accepted high quality financial reporting standards may not be appropriate for certain firms as they are exposed to different cultural, political and legal differences as this might continue to impose major obstacles in the progress towards the harmonization of standards. These differences however may not provide for any greater value relevance and reliability. For example a study conducted by Ball (2006) indicates that pension accounting may be subject to earnings management in countries that have less developed pension systems.Another empirical study indicates that managers can take advantage and use different assumptions to manipulate financial statements (Soderstorm and Jialin Sun, 2006). Proponents of IFRS argue that using common accounting standards across countries will make it more cost efficient for investors to identify earnings management. When accounting standards are uniformed and relevant disclosure is provided, investors are more likely to understand the different assumptions used by management to calculate such pension accounting, which will limit the chances of management to engage in earnings management.The second important factor as to why countries have chosen to adopt IFRS, is mainly because of its increase in accounting comparability across firms. The advantage of a gl obal movement towards IFRS reporting makes it easier for investors and stakeholders to compare different firms and the relevant information to help them assess the company objectives. Comparative reporting will enable users of financial statements in identifying which firms are more or less profitable.Firms that are exposed to high or low risk of return as a result, will reduce investors information asymmetries and lower estimation risk. Moreover, the improvement in comparability across firms allows for increase market liquidity and reduces firms cost of capital (Luez et al. 2008). Studies have suggested that prior to adopting IFRS, firm’s local GAAP standard which were tailored to the needs of analysts and investors would in theory reduce biased information and build investor confidence.A study conducted by Tan, Wang and Welter in 2009, indicated that once firms had adopted IFRS, their foreign analysts had increased significantly more for those who had the greatest level of GAAP differences. There have been a number of studies conducted to test whether IFRS adoption does in fact increase comparability. The outcome of these studies are mixed. Bielstein et al. (2007) concluded that IFRS adoption, results in greater foreign investment for countries that have strong reliability and comparability.Other empirical studies claim that cultural, political and business differences continue to impose significant obstacles in increasing the comparability of accounting information. Lang Maffet and Owens (2010) find that accounting comparability does not improve for IFRS adopters relative to a control group of non-adopters. The two conclude that there is little evidence that IFRS adoption increases comparability. Overall, from the research obtained, there is little empirical evidence proven on the effects of reporting comparability than reporting quality.The third important factor for countries adopting IFRS, are the costs and benefits associated in producing high qu ality accounting standards and the improvement in comparability across firms. As mentioned previously, the ultimate benefit a firm receives by adopting IFRS reporting is from the increase in market liquidity followed by a lower cost of capital. In order to achieve this high standard, there are costs that a firm is exposed to. Such incurred costs include transitional costs, ongoing costs of compliance to the firms, and enforcement costs relevant to government agencies (Standish, 2003).Standish summarizes his findings in relation to cost and benefits of firms moving to IFRS that will tend to see lower transaction costs when preparing financial reports. They will only be reporting against a single set of accounting standards instead of multiple sets. In addition, he makes note of a â€Å"positive network externality† that arises through the use of a single set of accounting standards by all constituencies. This will save market participants from requiring additional time and ene rgy of having to learn, apply and understand multiple sets of standards.Other benefits that result from the transition to IFRS will improve comparability between firm’s financial statement for investors and shareholders. Thereby, making investment decision’s easier. According to Leuz and Wysocki (2008), there are direct and indirect costs associated with improving reporting. The direct costs include preparation, validity and circulation of accounting reports. These costs can vary and increase significantly. In addition, firms will require assistance and hire consultants that have expertise in IFRS reporting.These specialists help train key personnel in the organizations so that they are able to produce financial statements that are in accordance to IFRS reporting. The costs tend to be more difficult for smaller companies to finance such activities for disclosures and reports, as their profitability margins are small. Disclosure costs have characteristics of indirect co sts. Whereby a firm can reduce its monopoly power by providing too much detail to the market, as sensitive profitability information is assimilated to its competitors.Other empirical studies have noted that with these costs and cost-benefit trade-offs that firms are undergoing, it may not be suitable for them to obtain high quality reporting. Rather, encourage firms to provide certain disclosures which the cost of disclosing such information does not exceed their benefit. Moreover, it is of importance that the standard setters recognize the net benefits obtained from the high quality reporting and comparability, as they differ across firm industries and countries (Leuz and Wysocki, 2008).It’s relatively evident why most companies would like to switch over to IFRS due to the number of benefits that are associated with the transition as described above. One would automatically presume that a single set of accounting standards that are used universally by most firms within diffe rent countries would deliver comparability, increase reporting transparency, allow for foreign investments, hence increasing market liquidity and low cost of capital. However, there is very little empirical evidence that claim these characteristics as being true after conversion.Having said that, Ball (2006) has noted that IASB has been successful in serving the public by developing comprehensive set of high quality standards that have convinced over 100 countries to adopt these principles for the purposes of financial reporting. There are some advantages of having a single set of accounting standards unified. As such, these standards contain characteristics of a â€Å"public good†, for example, the investor can use this information in an annual report without eliminating its usefulness to other investors. In other words, the marginal cost for another investor viewing these annual reports would be zero.A second advantage of unifying accounting standards and disclosure practic es is to reduce management from using their own judgement in financial reporting, by reducing the risk of altering the reports to mislead capital market participants. Moreover, these uniform standards provide protection for auditors against firms. These standards are to also be enforced by auditors, whereby the firm has very little opportunity to shirk, hence reducing information asymmetry and increasing investors and stakeholder’s confidence of the firm. Lastly, unifying these standards will increase the accounting comparability across firms.If each firm or country were to implement different local accounting standards, this can impose high costs for both the firm and its external users, such as investors as this will create negative externalities and will reduce domestic investments which can impact countries trade volume profitability, where the majority of countries main source of income is driven from. Opponents of IFRS adoption feel that a single set of accounting stand ards do not benefit all firms and countries. These differences in countries arise from cultural, economic, political and legal systems.For example, firms may have to respond to political pressures from the government due to balance sheet volatility, as a result of fair valuing. The IASB should review accounting standards as they are released to eliminate the possibility of political pressures on countries that are exposed to such tight regulation. One of the main reasons why countries and firms around the world adopt IFRS is due to the results achieved from reporting quality and disclosure practices. However, IFRS can occasionally produce ineffective reporting quality and disclosure.For instance, IFRS can lack in setting descriptive details in their guidelines that make it difficult for countries to follow. Some countries find their local GAAP easier to read and understand due to the level of detail and examples provided. These complexities in the rules creates havoc for firms that would like to report in IFRS, but find it challenging to exclusively follow these guidelines outlined by the IASB. As a result, this can lead to poor financial reporting quality. Other countries and firms conclude that fewer rules and guidelines will encourage management to produce effective accounting policies that will rompt them to make appropriate judgement calls. Information asymmetry and agency costs play a significant role in relation to the disclosure and financial reporting quality. The key motivating factor for any firm is, the more disclosure provided will create a positive signal to investors and hence, will reduce the information asymmetry and agency costs. Companies will see increases in investor confidence while earning high profitability levels. Moreover, firms adopting IFRS, chances are that they are subject to fewer opportunities to part take in earnings management or deceive investors.Studies have indicated that countries which have adopted IFRS do not all achieve the same degree of benefit. The study implies to those countries which have a weak structure in place for investor protection, will tend to see the most benefits from adopting of IFRS. In contrary, countries that have a strong structure in place for investor protection will see marginal benefits. The increase in benefits received by a country whether small or large will improve investor protection and provide for more comparable and comprehensive financial reporting.The cost and benefits of a firm converting to IFRS can be substantial depending on how one views it. The benefit driven through the implementation of IFRS will include lower cost of capital, increases firm value and creates a stable level of investors’ confidence. In addition, as discussed above, the benefits will also increase as a result of better financial reporting quality and cross country comparability for foreign investors, auditors and other constituencies. These benefits obtained through adoption of IFRS are not free. The cost of implementing such an accounting standard can cost firms millions.There are various types of costs that are incurred in the different processes a firm undergoes. The transition costs can be significant in relation to auditing fees. The cost of auditing work will increase, due to testing and validating accounting data as most of the assumptions used by firms are judgemental. Other costs involve training key personnel to apply applicable standards in practice. Companies tend to have shortages of staff that have ever been exposed to IFRS accounting, this is more apparent in Canada. As a result, these companies struggle as they need to learn and apply these new standards.Moreover, the cost related to the risk involved of manipulation of accounting standards, as these standards do not provide strict reporting rules for companies to follow, can impose a huge cost on the firm, if the auditor refuses to provide an unqualified opinion on the firm. Overall, the costs are generally higher during the first couple of phases through the transition. In the long run, costs tend to decline as employees are more aware of the standards and a basic foundation has been developed by IFRS consultants and auditors. At the present moment IFRS reporting is widely used by many countries across the globe.Based on the studies gathered above, countries and firms are optimistic about replacing their local GAAP to IFRS accounting standards. By moving towards a universal set of high quality accounting standards this will lead to improving the firm’s performance, by increasing shareholders wealth though investors’ confidence, lower cost of capital hence reducing information asymmetry. In addition, other benefits include comparability across all nations, this will help facilitate in better understanding by investors of accounting information released in public financials.Comparability will result in an increase of auditors understanding in the types of po licies and assumptions companies implement. This will help ensure that companies are not partaking in earnings management. Comparative accounting standards can be most beneficial to analysts. This will enable analysts to predict the firm’s future forecast of cash flows in comparison to the industry average. As mentioned above, the IFRS accounting standards are costly to implement. Studies have made reference to these transition costs as extremely pricy to develop, however, in the long run their costs tend to decline.This may in fact be true, however, for those companies that have incorporated IFRS standards, will continue to see new accounting pronouncements issued by the IASB, as they work to improve their guidelines. As a result, firms will continue to spend in areas of training and seeking professional advice on how these new standards will impact their firm. References 1. Bielstein , 2007. How the IFRS movement will affect financial reporting in the U. S. : Article: KPMG 2. Daske andGebhardt, 2006. Discussion of Daske and Gebhardt, Journal ofAccounting Finance and Business Studies. 3. Lang, Maffet and Owen, 2010. Earnings Movement and Accounting Comparability, the Journal of Accounting Research 4. Leuz and Verrecchia , 2004. Firms Capital Allocation Choices, Information Quality and the Cost of Capital 5. Luez and Wysocki, 2008. Economic Consequences of Financial Reporting and Disclosure Regulation, Journal of Accounting Research 6. Mary E. Barth, 2006. Accounting Quality : International Accounting Standards, The Journal of Accounting Research 7. Ray Ball, 2006.International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): Pros and Cons for Investors, Journal of Accounting Research 8. Soderstorm and Jialin Sun, 2007. IFRS Adoption and Accounting Quality: A review, The Journal of Accounting Research 9. Standsih, 2003. Evaluating National Capacity for Direct Participation in International Accounting Harmonization, Journal of Accounting Research 10. Tang, Wang and Welkor, 2011. Analyst Following and Forecast Accuracy After Mandated IFRS Adoption. Journal of Accounting Research. 11. William R. Scott, Fifth edition , 2009. Financial Accounting Theory

The Breakfast Club – Analysis Essay

The Breakfast Club – Analysis Essay This past weekend I set out to accomplish this extra credit assignment. I viewed the task as just another mediocre film from the 80’s to watch for school. However, I can now say that I am utterly delighted to have viewed the Breakfast Club. This film eloquently covered every serious topic that a high school student has ever pondered: sex, social stratification, tobacco use, parental frustration, marijuana and even suicide.The film begins by an unlikely group of teenagers bound together by collegiate authority in Saturday detention. Each member of the circle brings a different aspect of high school life to light. The â€Å"Breakfast Club† is composed of five members: the athlete, the brain, the princess, the basket case, and the criminal. Although very distinctive character traits, I feel that every high school student could relate to certain aspects of at least one character. Initially, the five students act very typical to the ir assigned social class.The jock boasts, the princess talks about how popular she is, the brain actually begins the assigned 1,000 word essay. The basket case, well acts like she belongs in a home for the mentally insane, and the criminal smokes a cigarette inside. Almost an hour into the film, the characters social guard begins to falter. The group is able to find common ground on certain topics, specifically how all of their parents aren’t perfect, and how they all secretly hate their lives.Even though all of the adolescents come from different backgrounds, they are all going through the same struggles. I felt that this central message speaks to anyone who has ever been in a similar situation, undergoing the process of a changing life and struggling for social acceptance. The most notable aspect of the film was the transformation and unification of the students. They engaged in discussions about sex, suicide and pressures placed on them by their parents, all while under th e influence of marijuana.The gothic â€Å"basket case† emerged into a beautiful woman with the help of the â€Å"princess†. She was once a very shy, compulsive liar but with her new â€Å"preppy† makeover she exuded confidence and ultimately kissed the â€Å"athlete†. Additionally, the divide between the â€Å"criminal† character and â€Å"princess† was completely bridged. The two actually kissed in the school’s parking lot and Princess gave him one of her diamond earrings. Perhaps oversimplified, I still felt that the film called out very important issues for teenagers.I feel that although this film may have included teens, parents should take note of the film’s underlying meaning. What was brought to light in The Breakfast Club could only be interrogated out of teenagers under any other circumstances. This film illuminates the keyhole into the secret lives of teenagers. Personally, I was touched by the transparency of the cha racters and could heavily relate to the frustration they experienced when being forced to deal with their misguided disciplinarian principal. I would most definitely recommend this movie to anyone, especially parents.

Ricardo’s theory of rent Essay

     Ã‚  Ã‚  The term â€Å"rent† comes from the Latin word â€Å"rendita’, which means â€Å"returned†. Rent as an income of one of the factors of land attracted attention since old times. Further, in the economic theory the concept of economic rent as a part of income of any factor appeared and developed. One of the theorists that formed and developed the concept of rent was David Ricardo, who is considered to be one of the fathers of the theory of rent. However, despite the old origins, the theory has been criticized a lot by both theorists and practitioners.   Ã‚   David Ricardo first mentioned rent in his book â€Å"The foundations of political economy and taxes† (1817). In this book, Ricardo defines rent as a part of the land product, which is paid to the landowner for the use of the soil. The logic of Ricardo is quite simple. Given the law of supply and demand, nobody pays for the use of air and water (as well as any other nature’s gift, which is widely available). Thus, any brewer or producer of any good constantly uses air and water to produce their goods. But because the air and water are limitless, they are not paid for. Following this logic, Ricardo comes to a conclusion that rent is paid for the use of soil just because the amount of land is not limitless and the quality of land is not the same. With the rise of the population, the worst land or the lands that are situated inconveniently are also get cultivated. When the cultivation touches the lands of so-called second category, i.e. the worse, the lands of the first category simultaneously form the rent, which depends on the quality of those two types of land.   Ã‚   The peculiarity of Ricardo’s theory lies in the fact that he approached the rent as a concept from only one perspective. Ricardo thought of rent as a solely agricultural one. Moreover, Ricardian rent is a rent for a raw product of agriculture in general, but not the rent for the land given for the one peculiar type of a product. It is considered that the land used as a field cannot be used a pasture; labor and capital change from one piece of land to another, but the use of soil itself remains unchangeable. Because the amount of land is limited, as it was already mentioned, and it is used in a single way, rent is determined by price and not vice-versa. According to Ricardo, the rent is paid because the bread is expensive and not vice-versa. (Henderson, 1922)   Ã‚   Practitioners notice that Ricardo’s theory of rent has also another shortcoming. Ricardian rent is solely the payment for the soil itself. Thus, it excludes any payment for the interest on capital invested by landowner in the form of buildings, drain constructions etc. Moreover, Ricardo’s concept of rent also excludes the income from the wood development or the extraction of any mineral resources on the rented land. There remains the â€Å"pure† rent for soil, which is regarded as the land designed for cultivation and not touched raw material richness, which is though limited in amount and completely specialized on the production of one type of product not considering certain distinctions in placement and fertility.   Ã‚   However, later on Ricardo developed another branch of his theory. According to Ricardo, rent has two sources. If the land is homogenous, its limit provokes the rent of â€Å"rareness†. In this case, rent is a difference between the product of all applied capital and labor and the product of the final input in the form of intensive use of soil. When the land differs in quality, the limited amount of certain quality is the source of so-called differentiated rent. Ricardo thought that Europe of that time had quite substantial amount of land, which didn’t give rent. However, from the perspective of his theory, nothing could have changed, if this had been true. Rent wouldn’t be simply differentiated, but would have remained the rent of â€Å"rareness†.   Ã‚   The important input of Ricardo’s theory is the fact that he proved that the source of rent was the work of labor that cultivated the land. Thus, rent becomes a social phenomenon in Ricardo’s theory. The emergence of rent is connected with the emergence of private ownership for land. The emergence of differentiated rent Ricardo explained from the point of view of the law of value. Differentiated rent in Ricardo’s theory doesn’t arise as the special form of added value, i.e. the exploitation of hired labor, though Ricardo characterizes rent as added product.   Ã‚   Yet, because of the insufficient development of labor theory of value and inappropriate and insufficient understanding of the correlation between value and the price of a product, Ricardo didn’t research the absolute land rent and denied its existence based on the fact that it didn’t conform to the law of value. Ricardo though that because the cost of agricultural products produced under the worst conditions regulate the cost and the price of all the rest of the same products, those lands cannot give any rent, because rent is a difference between the cost of production on the worst pieces of land. Otherwise, rent would be simple margin for the price of a product. Aspiring to retain this basis, Ricardo denied the existence of absolute land rent. Another reason why Ricardo denied the existence of absolute rent was the fact that he didn’t understand the division of capital on constant and variable parts. Thus, Ricardo failed to detect the difference in organic structure of capital in industry and agriculture, and consequently the excess of added value in agriculture, which is actually construct the absolute rent.   Ã‚   In such a way, though Ricardo contributed much to the overall understanding of economic theory and the theory of rent in particular, the latter has many inherent flaws derived from the misunderstanding and fault mixture between the concept of value and the concept of price. The main advantage of the theory is the definition of so-called differentiated rent, i.e. the attempt of the explanation of the economic essence of rent. The foremost fault of Ricardo’s theory of rent on the earliest stages is that he regarded rent as the payment solely for the use of soil, excluding reinvested capital and interest. The second foremost flaw of the theory is the denial of the existence of the absolute rent, thinking that rent can be derived only from those land that are more fertile. However, Ricardo didn’t count the fact that landowners of worse land wouldn’t give this land in temporary usage for free. References Debrah Y. (2002) â€Å"Globalization, Employment and the Workplace† Routledge, London Henderson H. (1922) â€Å"Supply and demand† McGraw Hills, New York March, James G., and Simon, Herbert A., (1958). Organizations. New York: McGraw Hill Moorhead G. and Griffin Ricky W. (1995), Organizational Behavior, 4th ed., Houghton Muffin Company, Boston, MA Shove G. F. Varying costs and marginal net products // Econ. J. 1928. Vol. 38. Jun. P. 258-266 Winters A. (1992) â€Å"International Economics† Routledge, London   

Human Trafficking Essay

Human trafficking, better known as modern day slavery, has existed within America ever since the government began to look at the world in shades of gray, and not judge people by race, religion, or gender. Thousands of Americans including women, men, and children are victims are human trafficking, and the questions in the minds of people everywhere are what exactly is taking place, why is it taking place, how is it taking place, and also who are the main targets and what can we do to help them. These innocent civilians are victims of something much bigger than just the faces sleeping on the street, selling drugs, and even worse selling their bodies. They are helpless beings of earth not criminals, and their human rights are being mentally, physically, and emotionally abused. â€Å"Combating human trafficking is going to require creativity and collaboration amongst government authorities, law enforcement, social services, academics, and victim advocates† (Thakur). Trafficking of humans seems to be this unrealistic, unheard of problem; however, it is not. â€Å"Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 U.S. States† (National Human Trafficking Resource Center Report). Victims are recruited, transported, transferred, and harbored to America for the purpose of exploitation. They are forced to work in sweatshops, in houses as domestic slaves, farms, and for the commercial sex industry such as prostitution, escorts, and even in pornography. These are in nocent people that are forced to lessen themselves as people, and when law enforcement steps in, looked upon as criminals. Instead of the help and the therapy these beings of life so desperately need, they get throw into juvenile detention, which then forces them to endure more trauma to their lives than they already have been through. In cases like these, victim’s civil rights are completely taken out of the situation and tossed aside for â€Å"appropriate punishment†. Traffickers use particularly contradictive, deceptive ways to manipulate their victims to believe the false promises they propose. Some offer opportunities for a good job, education, or marriage. Since most of the victims happen to be children, the traffickers pose as a boyfriend, caretaker, or protector; however, if the victim refuses or denies, they will not hesitate to use force, threat, fraud, abduction, abuse of power, or even payments and benefits. â€Å"The vast majorities are sold through class ified ads on websites. The Attorney General’s office documented that underage girls were sold through these ads in at least 22 states† (Axtell). Vulnerability plays a huge role in trafficking. Traffickers tend to target younger children mostly because of their immaturity, gullibility, and vulnerability. McMahon 2 The risk in being caught as a trafficker deals with prison time or even death sentence, so is the risk and guilt of trafficking human beings worth all the trouble? â€Å"The National Human Trafficking Resource Center estimates it’s a $32 billion industry, with about 50% of this revenue coming from industrialized countries. This surpasses the sale of illegal arms† (Axtell). Basically, the traffickers are receiving free labor while making billions of dollars. Not to mention when demand is there, supply will follow, and there is an outrageous command for modern day slaves. Unfortunately, when an illegal industry grows so great, it takes an immense amount of time and patience to even get close to putting an end to it. Although it does seem like mission impossible to put an end to the misery, it can happen. Since authorities are beginning to see these people as victims and not criminals government programs are being created all the time. First off, they changed the law so ch ildren could not be incarcerated for their exploitation and abuse. Second, programs such as GEMS (girls education and mentoring service), and SHE (survivor healing and empowerment) are constantly providing support for victims of human trafficking. Stop Child Trafficking Now donated 21,060 dollars to help fund for the prevention of trafficking, and the 2012 Nation Walk raised 210,000 dollars. SCTNow has funded programs such as cyber teams, rescue centers, rehabilitation centers, and special investigation teams. â€Å"The cyber teams are talented, professional men McMahon 3 and women who make Internet pathways safe for children† (SCTNow). They identify and track down cyber predators who pose online as teenagers. Also, they keep all communities aware with the community investigative teams they fund as well. On top of funding programs to stop trafficking SCTNow focus a vast amount of energy of the effort on stopping the demand for human trafficking. With this entire desperate endeavor to stop the abuse on civil rights, one day it might just happen. Even though anyone can be trafficked, traffickers target vulnerable people. Factors that cause vulnerability include lack of opportunities, poverty, unemployment, abusive homes and young age. Although men, women and children are all defenseless, but young women are especially of interest because the traffickers force them into prostitution that financially benefits them. â€Å"At least 12.3 million people in the world are trafficked† (CRS). Out of the 12.3 million people trafficked, 1 million of th em were children alone; however, on average, only one person is convicted for every 800 trafficking cases worldwide. Not even one percent of the children victims are identified. Ages twelve to fourteen are the primary target for traffickers. Most of the young girls who end up in the sex trade come from dysfunctional, abusive homes and they just end up running away; however, some of the children do not have parents at all and have experienced an extremely rough life. They fall into the lies that the traffickers tell them. The traffickers paint them McMahon 4 a picture of a new, happy future, but more often than not they end up dead, an addict, or more miserable then before. In the United States, California has 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas in the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. Modern day slavery, also known as human trafficking has torn apart families, taken away civil rights, caused mental, physical, and emotional damage, and killed innocent people. Ideas are held on why and how people do it, knowledge of who the victims are and what happens to them when in the possession of a trafficker, and the government and other programs are continuously doing the best they can to help prevent, stop, and save victims of human trafficking. â€Å"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves† (Lincoln).

Family Variations and Implications to Children Essay

Family Variations and Implications to Children - Essay Example In contemporary communities such as in the U.K, racial variations, economic factors and family structures portray great influences on behaviors that are adopted by children in different backgrounds, which are also affected by social and economic status of families. Therefore, economic, social, and cultural background of a family has a great impact on the behaviors and the upbringing of a child in the community. Children from single parenting portray different characteristics from children with two parents, with the gender of the child being a factor in determining how the family structure and relationships affects children in particular families. Wright & Chrysalis (2007, 16) argue that the rapidly changing family dynamics result in varying characteristics and behaviors in children, indicating that the structure of a family has a direct impact on the upbringing of a child. Therefore, children adopt behaviors and characteristics that mirror the family cultural and economic backgrounds , and family structures in the society. In this report, the various effects of family structures and their effects on children influenced by the social, economic, and cultural factors will be investigated. Berthoud (2) further notes that in black families, the issue of extended family is more profound, and may include grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, among others. Generally, research in most U.K families portray most traditional family structures are more stable compared to the current marriage structures, which include single parenting and cohabitation forms of marriages (Mooney, Oliver & Smith 2009, 3). Children in stable marriages portray healthy and stable development psychologically, mentally and are in most cases protected from vices experienced by children in the other two forms of marriages (Mooney, Oliver & Smith 2009, 3). Such children are likely to be morally responsible according stable upbringing, or the favorable atmosphere in these families; they have to learn th eir cultural orientations and the expected code of behaviors in the society. These family structures lead to enhanced bonding among the family members that protect children from the effects and influence of cohabitation and single parenting marriages. Hollist & McBroom (2006) in a research study indicated that children from single parent households report poor academic performance, psychological, and social behaviors, which may include early school dropout, risky sexual behaviors, drug abuse, and juvenile delinquency, among others. However, when economic considerations are taken in place, families with two parents and in higher income bracket were found to fair the same with parents with single parenting (Berthoud, 2). This implies that family income in families makes a huge different in portraying variations in children upbringing. However, similar studies on variation of children brought up in different households and their academic performance portrayed no significant difference. Curtis (2007) argues that in U.K, children from low income families are half as likely to attain good grades in their GCSEs, compared to their counterparts in high income families. Curtis further elaborates that these children are more vulnerable in the community, and their probability to leave these schools with better qualifications compared to their counterparts in well off families, with this gap between children in the two social groups widening over time. Curtis further