Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Accounting Strategies Essay

Accounting Strategies Essay Accounting Strategies Essay 4.Accounting strategy employed by management& incentives 4.1Accounting strategy employed by management Amcor’s management seems to be incented to take a long-term view, and to implement the corporate strategies in acquisition and innovations. Hence, appropriate accounting strategies would be employed by management. There are two examples to support our assertion. 4.1.1 Acquisition & Goodwill (AASB 3) Under the permission of AASB, the consolidated entity can renew the fair value of net assets acquired and goodwill in one year from acquisition date. In order to reflect new information of fair value at acquisition date, the Amcor’s management employs this accounting policy. For example, the fair value of net identifiable assets acquired from Aperio Group, which was acquired on 11 May 2012, on 30 June 2012 has been declined $17.2million to $118million at 30 June 2013. As a result, goodwill has been increased $20.5million to $122.9million from this acquisition activity at 30 June 2013. 4.1.2 Innovation & Development (AASB 138) Amcor Group’s objective is building innovation to drive growth, which the innovation is related to recognition of research & development expense. The Group does follow by AASB, Which recognized of expenditure about research as a cost, which the amount is $68.1million and $65.6million for FY12 and FY13 respectively. However, capitalized development expenditure, which the adjusted amount is $13.2million and $4.8million, at 30 June 2012 and 2013 respectively. In addition, Amcor amortized the development cost on a straight-line based over the period of time during which the pattern of future benefit is uncertain, instead of other amortized methods. Therefore, the amortized charge for development is $0.1million per year. 4.2 Management’s incentives behind its choices of accounting

Friday, November 22, 2019

Whats the Deal with Improving Sentences and the Essay SAT Writing Guide and Advice

What's the Deal with Improving Sentences and the Essay SAT Writing Guide and Advice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you ever wondered what the SAT is looking for when they ask questions that are confusing? Look no further! In this post, we reveal the goals of the SAT Essay and IdentifyingSentence Errors question types. What’s the Deal with The Essay? This one’s simple: writing requires a multitude of subtle skills, from logic to word choice. But the SAT can’t score them all, so it chose a few: organization, evidence, vocabulary, thesis, sentence structure, and grammar. That leaves out factual accuracy, creativity, and a number of other subtle factors that make writing good or not-so-good. Thus, the SAT Essay is a beast unto itself, because those left-out aspects of writing actually turn out to be kind of important. See, they’re not trying to find out if you’re a good writer;they’re trying to find out if you’re a competent writer, which means you can write on a specific topic with no preparation in a somewhat organized fashion. This means that things like vocabulary and complex sentence structure only get you points if you use them appropriately.For example, many students’ essays substitute the word â€Å"lucid† for â€Å"clear,† when â€Å"clear† can actually mean many more things than â€Å"lucid† can: â€Å"lucid† only means â€Å"easy to understand.† So when students write â€Å"it is lucid that people need good jobs,† they are misusing the word: clear can mean obvious, but lucid can’t. The takeaway here is this: the test only cares about staying on topic; using good, concrete examples; and organizing your thoughts in a logical way. Everything else is too much work for their graders to assess in one or two minutes, so they ignore all of it. This â€Å"everything else,† notably, includes the accuracy of facts: as one recent New York Times article explains, â€Å"you can tell them the war of 1812 started in 1945,† and it won’t hurt your score one bit. What’s the Deal with IdentifyingSentence Errors? These questions in the Writing section give you a sentence with four underlined parts and a â€Å"No error† option. Then they ask which underlined portion of the sentence contains an error, like so: The Florida sunset being(A) best viewed from(B) the West Coast on a clear day(C)in the summer(D). No error. (E) Again, the College Board has come up with a relatively clumsy waytotest writing skills without carefully reading millions of essays. Because they have specific errors they wantto test, and it’s sometimes hard to do that in a realistic way,IdentifyingSentence Errors questionsoftenlook like something nobody would ever write. In the example above, they’re trying to test verb forms (‘being’ should say ‘is’). This is a common high schoolers’ error, and someone in high school might make it in a sentence like this: The main problem with swimming being that I can’t text while I’m doing it. But that error would be too easy, so theyinclude other things that students think are errors (but are actually correct), and end up with weirdsentences about Florida. This is where SAT prep can come in handy: it helps you apply strategies like the one I’m about to explain. Here’s the key: don’t look at these like normal sentences; look at them like word equations, in which each underlined portion must be isolated and deciphered. The Florida sunset being(A) best viewed from(B) the West Coast on a clear day(C)in the summer(D). No error. (E) (A): This word is a verb: does it agree with its subject? Yes. Does it work as the only verb in the sentence? No. Mark it as a possible error until you’ve looked at all the choices. [B]: Is this the right word to use here? Can a sunset be â€Å"viewed from† somewhere? Yes it can. Moving on. [C] Does this makes sense? Are all the words correct, and do they fit together correctly? Yes they do. [D] Is this the right way to say during the summertime? Yes, it is. Now go back to the one(s) you think could be the answer(s). How sure are you that [A] is wrong? Since an â€Å"-ing† verb can never be the only verb in a sentence (it needs a helping verb, like â€Å"is doing† or â€Å"can be seeing†), you can be sure it’s wrong. Mark it! Other Posts You May Be Interested In: What is a good SAT score? A bad SAT score? SAT Writing Guide Part I: Improving Paragraphs: SAT Writing Guide Part III: Improving Sentences

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Active Directory - a Contemporary Network Management Techniques Research Paper

Active Directory - a Contemporary Network Management Techniques - Research Paper Example The network administrator can have right of entry for the majority trees in the forest together with a definite end user's domain. On the other hand, the end user, at the same time as capable to access his/her personal domain is not capable to access additional trees. The whole discussion outlines that active directories are an enormous method to systematize a huge organization’s computers data and network. Without the utilization of an active directory, the majority end users would have computers that would require to be updated separately and would not have right of entry to the main network where data can be processed and reports can be produced. Despite the fact that active directories are tremendously technical and have need of many skills to find the way, they are indispensable to keeping information and data on networks. Mostly large organizations handle right of entry to their employee network and security policies by means of Microsoft Active Directory. Several are satisfied with the system, however a number of states it's complicated and also hard to employ. â€Å"One confront is having the time and capabilities to actually describe Active Directory consequently it's reliable and facilitates   the organizations to put group rules that work for IT and the users," stated Mark Cardono, an IT expert for the Shore Educational Collaborative, a Chelsea, Mass.-based special needs school serving 10 districts in Massachusetts. The AD provides the network management facility is a hierarchical arrangement, as well as this arrangement, is typical changes into 3 major groups, those are given below: - Network resources. The resources can be printers or some other hardware. - Services. These services are for the end-users like that web-based email servers. - Objects. These objects are the major functions of the network domain. In this scenario, when this takes place wrongly, the Active Directory arrangement is not extremely tolerant. Setting the incorrect rights in the incorrect hands could guide to an entire reconstruction of an organization’s network domain.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Prescription Drug Monitoring and Drug Abuse Article

Prescription Drug Monitoring and Drug Abuse - Article Example With high rates of abuse of opiate analgesics among teenagers in the United States, a particularly urgent priority is the investigation of best practices for treating pain in adolescents as well as the development of prevention strategies to reduce diversion and abuse." This addresses the issue of the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs. Determining whether or not a person is abusing or is addicted to a prescription medication can be a daunting task for officials. This is particularly true for patients receiving chronic pain relievers such as opioids (Compton, Darakjian, and Miotto, 1998). Prescription drugs that are commonly prescribed for this purpose include fentanyl, hydromorphone, meperidine, morphine, and oxycodone. Opioid analgesics appear to be the prescription drugs most commonly abused (Weaver and Schnoll, 2002 and Zachny, et al, 2003). "In 2002, opioid analgesics accounted for 9.85% of all drug a... identifying the causes and sources of diversion, without interfering with legitimate medical practice and patient care" (Gilson, Ryan, Joranson, and Dahl, 2004, pg. 1). Search Strategies Since this manuscript is academic in nature, only academic journals were used as reference material. An Internet search was conducted utilizing a keyword search of 'prescription drug monitoring and drug abuse.' When the results were returned via the Google search engine, 'scholarly resources' for the keyword string was chosen and the resources were carefully picked from that subcategory according to content and relevance. Background/Significance According to Bedell (2000, pg. 2129), "Misuse of medications is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Few studies have examined the frequency of, and factors associated with, discrepancies between what doctors prescribe and what patients take in actual practice. Discrepancies among recorded and reported medications were common and involved all classes of medications, including cardiac and prescription drugs. Older age and polypharmacy were the most significant correlates of discrepancy. The pervasiveness of discrepancies can have significant health care implications, and action is urgently needed to address their causes. Such action would likely have a positive impact on patient care." Chronic, nonmalignant pain is often treated with opiate drugs. Due to the addictive nature of opiates, this practice is quite controversial. One study on the problem took place at Seattle's VA Medical Center. It was designed to "create opiate abuse criteria, test inter-rater reliability of the criteria, apply the criteria to a group of chronic pain patients, and correlate the risk of opiate abuse with the results of alcohol and drug testing" (Chabal,

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Arguments on Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Arguments on Utilitarianism Essay Which is more valuable: a game of push-pin or the study of Latin? Which has greater worth: the life of a single young girl or the lives of an entire community? These are the sorts of questions raised when dealing with the matter of utilitarianism. According to Jeremy Bentham, the father of the theory, the ultimate moral goal of human beings should be to increase pleasure and to decrease pain. To maximize the amount of time spent in content, and minimize the times of depression. And he has a point. Simply stated like that, everyone can agree that that is definitely something they want to achieve. But when his theory is applied to real-life conditions, the varying answers and resulting situations arent always applicable with such a cut-and-dry cure-all. Contrary to Benthams theory, just because doing something may seem to create an overall better situation than not doing something, it doesnt necessarily mean that it should be done. When he states his place, Bentham seems to have taken into account all of the variables. He affirms that the standards of right and wrong, and the chains of cause and effect, will influence what exactly promotes pleasure and prevents pain (306). He also recognizes that the quantity of people being affected is a contributing factor as to whether something is ultimately beneficial or detrimental (311). Drawing upon these recognized facts, Bentham goes so far as to create a virtual mathematical equation for determining utility; Including intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, and purity as factors of what qualifies as happiness, and thereby, righteousness (311). But this in itself is absurd, as it is impossible to gauge the properties he proposes. He does not, and can not, provide a scale with which to measure how certain, how intense, or how pure the goodness level of something is. Nor is he able to quantify the overall amount of utility one law or reason offers to an entire population under government; which is what he suggests at the end of his theory (312). It can be conceded that the utility of a rule should be considered during its establishment, as in general rules should be for the greater good and therefore the greater happiness. But there are other factors that come into play that Bentham neglects to recognize. In Ivans Challenge, Fyodor Dostoevsky suggests a striking situation in which utility is obviously not the lone factor in determining its morality (333). He conjures up a circumstance where a small, young girl is to be sacrificed for the edifice of human destiny, the ultimate aim of which is to bring people happiness, to give them peace and contentment at last? (333). With her death, the salvation of the entire community is achieved. At first glance, and in Benthams eyes, its a simple equation. One is lesser than infinity. Her death would be justified because the lives of so many others would be saved. But, he fails to consider human emotion. Living with the fact that a young child had to have died in order for themselves to live may not necessarily be a life of cheerfulness. Furthermore, by calling this a justified situation, Bentham is putting a price on human life. This action in itself is immoral. Also, its an example of a situation where its not really a matter of increasing happiness. Putting a value on a human life is an action in which no party is gaining or losing contentment directly. It doesnt fit into Benthams equation, and apart from it, is an immoral action that should not ethically be able to exist passively beside his main theory of morals by utility. In addition to this flaw, Bentham fails to acknowledge the notion that all pleasures are not created equal. In his first writing, The Principle of Utility, he only manages to recognize the aspect of quantity, and it is in a second, Push-Pin and Poetry, that he proceeds to debunk the possibility of varying qualities of pleasure. To Bentham, there are different kinds of pleasure, but one is not greater or better than another. He breaks them down into two different categories: 1, arts and sciences of amusement and curiosity, and 2, arts and sciences of simple and immediate utility (200). Those of amusement he associates with the fine arts, such as poetry, painting, or architecture, and are generally appreciated aesthetically (200). Those of curiosity he associates with sciences and history, such as the study of foreign languages or biology (200). Those of simple utility are more basic, such as a game of push-pin (200). They are ordinary things that can be enjoyed by anyone. He goes on to say that, prejudice apart, the game of push-pin is of equal value with the fine arts and sciences of music and poetry (200). His only concession is that if music and science are placed above a game of push-pin in utility, it is only because those individuals are more difficult to please (200). Nowhere does he acknowledge that those difficult individuals are correct or justified in wanting a more stimulating source of excitement. Nowhere does he consent that the thrill of curing a disease through the study of medicine overpowers the brief amusement of a board game. But, John Stuart Mill, a supporter of the philosophy of utilitarianism, does. He begins by citing a major criticism of utility, which is that many people feel that the idea of life having no higher end besides pleasure? no better and nobler object of desire and pursuit is degrading and dishonorable (201). His rebuke is that it is only degrading if the accusation supposes human beings to be capable of no pleasures except those of which swine are capable (201). This is obviously not the case. We would not be content simply rolling in mud and gorging ourselves on tangerine rinds. Humans require more stimulation and excitement in order to achieve happiness than an animal, such as swine, with lesser faculties. It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied (Mill 203). To be able to fully appreciate and understand the higher pleasures, such as love and friendship, is so much more rewarding than the simple contentments of physical gratification. Despite the truth that a fool or a swine may lead a more content life, it is only because they require less to achieve contentment. This supplements Benthams statement of a person who prefers poetry to push-pin being more difficult to please. Bentham just fails to see that human beings in their usual healthy, intelligent forms are all difficult to please. All in all, the philosophy of utilitarianism is an acceptable standard of morality? on most occasions. There will always be situations where what is truly moral does not fully satisfy the idea of existence exempt from pain and rich in enjoyments. And, contrary to Bentham, there are pleasures that are of higher quality than others, just as there are pains more severe than others. Works Cited Bentham, Jeremy. Push-Pin and Poetry. Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994. 199-200. Bentham, Jeremy. The Principle of Utility. Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994. 306-312. Mill, John Stuart. Higher and Lower Pleasures. Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994. 201-205. Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Ivans Challenge. Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Oxford University Press: New York, 1994. 332.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Emily Dickinson’s This was a Poet- it is That Essay -- Poet Poem Poeti

Emily Dickinson’s This was a Poet- it is That Emily Dickinson was an unrecognized poet her whole life. Her close family members recognized her talent, and her needs to write poetry, but the literary establishment of her time would not recognize her skill. Even though she was unrecognized, she was still quietly battling the established views through her poetry. Her literary struggle was exposed after her death since, while living, only five of her poems were published. Many of her poems were a reaction to the rejection of many publishers and other literary critics. This particular poem’s character comes from Dickinson’s reaction to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s statement that â€Å"poets are thus liberating gods.† Here she is challenging the established literati by questioning popular Emersonian views. In particular, this poem is a reaction to Emerson’s belief that â€Å"the poet is the sayer, the namer, and represents beauty.† Basically, it is a reaction to the idea that the poet is the creator of beautiful words, liberating the common people by giving them words they would not have access to. This was a Poet  ­ It is That by Emily Dickinson This was a Poet  ­ It is That Distills amazing sense From ordinary Meanings - And Attar so immense From the familiar species That perished by the Door - We wonder it was not Ourselves Arrested it - before Of Pictures, the Discloser  ­ The Poet  ­ it is He  ­ Entitles Us  ­ by Contrast - To ceaseless Poverty - Of Portion  ­ so unconscious - The Robbing  ­ could not harm - Himself  ­ to Him  ­ a Fortune - Exterior  ­ to Time  ­ In the first stanza the author is describing the role of the poet. The poet is one who recreates an irregular view, or creates a s... ...nd the commoner, both victims of the relationship they have with each other. Although she does agree with Emerson that the poet is a namer, she disagrees with some of his other thoughts. Through this poem, Dickinson is setting herself apart from the Poets of her time. She does not consider herself a robber baron of words. She also chooses to deny that the poets are liberating gods because she feels that the poet is in fact dominating the ordinary person, not liberating them. Instead, Dickinson chooses to categorize herself with the ordinary people. She is criticizing Emerson’s obvious belief that the poet is above the ordinary man. He calls himself a liberating God because he is a poet when Dickinson just wants to be a normal person who is a poet. Dickinson does not want to be above the ordinary person in a condescending way, but wants to be among them.

Monday, November 11, 2019

U.S. Bank Remitance Program Case Essay

U. S. Citizen: Bank Remittance Program I believe it is ethical for U. S. Citizen Bank to continue their remittance program and to continue to allow the matricula consular card as a proper form of identification. My argument will be that it is more ethical for U. S. bank to offer business to immigrants, even if they are illegal immigrants, but I believe that the argument that the matricula card is a valid source of identification is false. The matricula consular card is a source of identification that is issued by the Mexican government to help them keep better track of their citizens who are abroad, mostly for tax purposes.A Mexican citizen can only obtain this card if they provided an original birth certificate, photo identification and proof of residency within the United States, such as a utility bill. In 2001 Wells Fargo began accepting matricula cards as a proper form of identification along with U. S. Bank a month later. It was not long thereafter where U. S. Citizen Bank joine d in with heavy marketing to draw in to the untapped marked of the increasing population of Hispanics in the United States.With the acceptance of these cards the banks were now allowed to offer remittance services to Mexican immigrants where they could send money back to an account in Mexico, which is an issue I will be discussing later. In 2002, thirteen states accepted the matricula as a valid form of identification, including 800 sheriff offices. In my perspective, the idea that not only banks but many states and hundreds of sheriff offices accept a Mexican issued form of identification which proves valid U. S. citizenship just by representation of a utility bill is absolutely ludicrous.In my opinion there is no way that any entity or governmental agency actually thinks that a utility bill presented to a consular office of the Mexican government can prove that you are a United States citizen. If you are a United States Citizen you should have some other source of legal identifica tion on you that is issued by the United States. This proves that banks, states and sheriff offices all know that there are some people who possess this card that are not legal residents of the United States.This shows that with the matricula card being deemed a valid form of identification by banks, it is going to be easier for illegal immigrants who possess the card to get banking services. This leads to the ethical question of is it ethical for banks to knowingly offer banking services to potential illegal immigrants possessing the matricula card? To this question I answer, yes. As questioned in the case, I believe that it U. S. Citizen’s corporate duty to obey the laws of the United States and support the values of our country.This leads to many people arguing that they these banks are going against what the United States wants in keeping illegal immigrants out of our country. It is proven that the United States government spends millions of dollars each year on border pa trol to keep illegal immigrants out of our country. However, once the illegal immigrants get into our country the United States government seems to take a completely different stance and their view almost seems to switch to the complete other side. Once the illegal immigrants hop the border it almost seems like the government is more worried about helping them.We have states accepting illegitimate forms of identification as being valid and in October of 2001, the U. S. PATRIOT act instructed the Secretary of the U. S. Treasury to provide regulations for certain customer identification that banks needed to obtain before they could open an account and they never did. We also have the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, who was also a former regulator, commenting on the matricula, saying that the banks are doing â€Å"good business† and he mentioned that accepting it as valid identification was â€Å"good policy. The banks are doing their corporate duty to ou r nation by continuing to accept the matricula as proof that these immigrants are U. S. citizens because in my opinion, if they United States government was against it, they would be stopping it! It is also in the banks best interest to do business with these immigrants. They saw a huge untapped opportunity in the market of increasing Hispanics and they decided to pursue it. It has ultimately affected their bottom line showing a substantial amount of profits through their business.I am going to make the assumption that by the banks offering their services to immigrants that the customers are doing more overall good than bad and that there is an extremely low number of customers who are actually using this money to fund drug cartels or to transfer money to terrorist funds and here is why. The profit of banks relies a lot on trust. Banks need to trust the customer that they will pay them back. As mentioned in the article it says that when customer wanted banking services they would of ten go and sit down to with a banker to go through their products. I believe that this face to face interaction weeds out many of the â€Å"terrorists† and â€Å"drug smugglers† of the group. Also, I believe that the banks are truly helping people that are in need. These are immigrants who are coming to America and looking for a better way of life than what they had before. They may have left their family and friends to get away from a terrible way of life in their foreign country.The banks are helping these people understand how to manage their money, and they are giving them the ability to send some of the money they are making back to their foreign country to help support their family or whoever they so please. They no longer have to sit or hide bundles of cash leaving them bigger targets for robbery. Again, making the assumption that the banks customers are doing more harm than good, I believe that this benefits our society as a whole. In society, we want all of ou r people to have a fair chance and that is exactly what the banks and the United States are doing.They are giving the 45-55% of Hispanics who’ve never had a banking relationship a fair chance at success. Where my biggest issue lies in this case is in the hypocrisy of the United States. I believe with the matricula being accepted by many states and sheriffs throughout the United States that it certainly acceptable for U. S. Citizen to accept it as valid identification as well, being that they are looking to make money and that they are certainly helping out a Hispanic population.However, the United States should make a stand on either side of this issue, because you most certainly can’t have both. You can’t set up border patrol to keep Mexicans out than say that a card issued by the Mexican government proves that they are a United States citizen and let them stay in our country. Although they are not forced to pay taxes, and we as American are financially hurt be cause we are forced to pay more taxes on them, this small financial loss to our society is outweighed by what should be our willingness to help people that are in need.Now it is probably true that a few of these banks may be allowing the certain aid of drug cartels or other illegal acts. But who says that if I go to a bank and apply for a loan that they know that I won’t use that money to buy an immense amount of drugs? I work for a bank and we recently had a transaction where we thought we had a legitimate customer and we ended up funding the mob based out of Chicago. It is the banks duty to offer services to those in need if they believe that they are a valid customer and are meeting their compliance guidelines which U.S. Citizen has. The United States should not accept this card as valid identification because for the easy answer, it is not valid identification. We have conflicting agencies, one being the FBI saying that the card is not valid and sheriff offices saying tha t it is. But as long as the United States is accepting it as valid I. D. than the banks should too because they are certainly doing more good than harm by offering their banking services to these immigrants.The United States needs to eliminate this card and come up with a better way and system to make the illegal immigrants citizens of our beautiful country. Right now American are seeing a portion of our taxes going to illegal immigrants so that their kids can go to a public school and that we can provide them with health care. This is not beneficial to our society as a whole and that I believe that if they want to come in to our country that they should have the same duties as Americans to pay taxes and to continue to better this country.In conclusion I believe that U. S. Citizen Bank is doing the right thing by allowing the Mexican immigrants a chance at banking service even with the acceptance of the illegitimate source of identification in the matricula consular card. It is bene fitting not only the bank but it is helping out those that are in need of these services and giving them a chance to help their friends and family at home that may be struggling. The basis of this decision to continue is solely because of the United States government acceptance of the card and not because the card is valid.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Discussed from Paperco, Inc. Essay

This case study is discussed from Paperco, Inc. point of view of whether they should avail the tax benefits and cost savings in replacing the mechanical drying equipment. Recommendation Based on the analysis below in this memo, Paperco should purchase new mechanical drying equipment now in advance in anticipation of the passage of new tax legislation. Purchasing the equipment now maintains a positive Net Present Value for the capital project if the legislation is not enacted, or if the new legislation is enacted and the capital project is contracted early enough so that it is grandfathered in. With tax legislation grandfathered, the project gets the benefit of the new lower corporate tax rate and the old ACRS depreciation method. Although when presented with this project one year ago in 1984, Paperco was able to be postponed this capital project since it was merely â€Å"moderately attractive†. The prospect of new tax legislation being enacted as rumored makes the Net Present Value of the project comparatively more positive if the tax law changes are enacted, so Paperco should act now before tax law changes make this project infeasible. Background In November 1985, Jane Rogers a marketing representative of Pressco, Inc. approached Paperco, Inc. to sell its mechanical drying equipment at a price of $2.9 million. This new equipment would replace less efficient facilities that had been placed in service late in December 1979. According to Roger, the total cost saving (exclusive of depreciation charges) from the proposed installation of new equipment amounted to $560,000 per year. Of this amount, $360,000 in savings was expected to come from more efficient fuel utilization. One year earlier, Rogers had been unsuccessful in interesting Paperco’s management in purchase of new equipment. Paperco felt that the investment in  new equipment as moderately attractive at that time. However, beginning 1986, new tax legislation had been rumored to: (1) eliminate the investment tax credit for new equipment; (2) extend depreciation lives for new equipment, and (3) reduce the corporate tax rate from 46% to 34%. Paperco’s senior management was concerned that the basic thrust in the firm’s sales of mechanical drying equipment. Paperco’s management suddenly expressed significant interest in moving forward with the purchase of new equipment and seemed anxious to sign a binding contract. Discussion and Analysis We need to analyze when is the best situation for Paperco, Inc. to replace the old facilities with new drying equipment that will enable the Company to avail greater tax benefits and cost savings. There are three alternative courses of action available to Paperco, Inc. to decide whether to buy the new drying equipment or not. I. Buy the new equipment yet no legislation is enacted Advantages Continue to use a 5 years ACRS depreciation model with higher depreciation expense Efficiency in operations due to new equipment Disadvantages Retain all tax credits due to using 5 year ACRS depreciation model in equipment with useful life of 7 years Tax rate continued at 46% II. Buy the new equipment when the new tax proposal is enacted and bind the contract soon enough to be grandfathered or before the enactment of the law Advantages Continue to use a 5 years ACRS depreciation model with higher depreciation expense Efficiency in operations due to new equipment Investment tax credit that will reduce Paperco’s taxes Tax rate reduced to 34% from 46% Disadvantages Depreciation life of the equipment will not be extended III. Buy the new equipment when the new proposed tax is enacted but do not bind the contract in time to be grandfathered or after the enactment of the law Advantages Efficiency in operations due to new equipment Tax rate reduced to 34% from 46% Depreciation life of the equipment will be extended by 2 years Disadvantages MACRS depreciation model will generate lower depreciation expenses than the ACRS depreciation model No investment tax credit due to binding the contract after the law was enacted Option I in which the rumored tax proposal is not enacted and that the new equipment replaces the old equipment in December 1986. Paperco would retain all tax credits due to the fact the machine has been in service for 84 months, and use a 5-year ACRS depreciation model for the new equipment. This option has a positive NPV of $2,619,745. Option II in which the new tax proposal is enacted. The new equipment is installed in December 1986. Paperco signs a binding contract soon enough to be â€Å"grandfathered†, this allows Paperco to receive the 8% tax credit and use ACRS depreciation. At the same time, their tax rate would fall to 34%. Paperco would benefit from this more favorable â€Å"grandfathered† tax approach. Option II has a positive NPV of $3,414,104. Option III in which the new tax proposal is enacted and Paperco installs the new equipment in December 1986, but they do not sign a binding contract in time to be â€Å"grandfathered† and receive the 8% invest ment tax credit and use ACRS depreciation. The company will use MACRS and a depreciation period of 7 years. The NPV of the project with this timing and structure is $3,228,044. Without the â€Å"grandfathered† tax allowance, the new tax legislation makes the project unattractive based on lower Net Present Value. Calculations Re-affirmation There are three options available to Paperco, Inc. with respect to this capital investment: Option I: New legislation is passed and Paperco qualifies for â€Å"grandfathering,† Option II: New legislation is passed and Paperco does not qualify for â€Å"grandfathering,† Option III: Buy the new equipment when the new proposed tax is enacted but do not bind the contract in time to be grandfathered or after the enactment of the law Last year (1984) investment in new drying equipment pursuant to Option I was not pursued despite its attractiveness as a viable capital project, perhaps because it was possible that a better alternative might arise. However, given the impending tax legislation, the possible alternatives are now known, and they are not good. Under the new tax legislation without grandfathering, the project is not viable. Paperco should invest in the new equipment (with binding contract) because not doing so soon enough, the project will not a viable alternative, while investing in the equipment is a viable alternative (i.e., the Net Present Value of the project in Option II is higher than other alternatives).

Thursday, November 7, 2019

monroe doctrine essays

monroe doctrine essays The nineteenth century was an exciting and vibrant era that not only dramatically altered the physical face of our nation due to the rapid development of large cities and manufacturing facilities, but also helped modify and shape the values that have come to define our American character. Unlike the relatively slow-paced lifestyle maintained during agrarian times, which required communal generosity and cooperation in order to weather difficult times, the Industrial Revolution dramatically altered the condition of society, in that qualities such as ambition, avarice, and unmitigated competitiveness came to be required to get ahead in a burgeoning business world. Similarly, an expansionistic desire to move out West gripped thousands of adventurous young Americans, whose pioneering spirit drove them to uproot entire Native American civilizations in the pursuit of their dreams of wealth and prosperity west of the Mississippi. As our nation became more and more intent upon increasing i ts level of financial, economic, and territorial wealth, the qualities that had affected our country domestically began to be incorporated into the way that it conducted global politics as well. American politicians soon gained a better appreciation for and recognition of the immense power and international prestige that the U.S. held and thus began asserting themselves in the realm of international relations, ultimately leading to the Monroe Doctrine, which propelled our nation on a path of global leadership and involvement that it still follows today. By examining the reasoning behind and historical applications of the Monroe Doctrine, it becomes apparent that many of the global conditions that have contributed to the success of this proclamation in the past no longer exist, and that because of the economically interdependent global society in which we now live, it is in the best interest of the United States and the many other countries of the world to...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Overview and Book List for A Merlin Mission Books

Overview and Book List for A Merlin Mission Books The Magic Tree House Merlin Missions include Books # 29 and up in the wildly popular Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. Like the first 28 books of the Magic Tree House series, each of the books subtitled A Merlin Mission features the magic tree house and time travel adventures of brother and sister Jack and Annie, but there is also a lot thats different. The time travel missions of Jack and Annie are now assigned by Merlin the Magician from Camelot, which is why the subtitle for every Magic Tree House book from book #29 on is A Merlin Mission.  The Magic Tree House, A Merlin Mission books are designed for kids who are ready for more advanced books than those in the first 28 books of the series for young independent readers. What to Expect Books #29 and higher are generally between 105 and 115 pages long, about 40 pages longer than books #1-28. They are also at a higher reading level, mostly between 2.4 and 3.4, and the target audience moves from 6 to 10 to 7 to 10 or 11 for the later books. Jack and Annie have also moved up in age. Jack is 11 now, and Annie is 10. Most of the books have several pages of facts and activities at the end. A chapter from the next book in the series is also provided. Like all of the other books in the Magic Tree House series, Sal Murdocca illustrated books #29 and up, with one or more engaging illustrations per chapter. New secondary characters and more complicated plots are now the norms. The overarching goal of each mission, which takes four books to complete, is more emphasized. For example, in books #33-36, Jack and Annie have to go on four missions, each to a real place and time, to demonstrate that they can use magic wisely. As a result of a successful mission in Venice, Baghdad, Paris and New York City, they receive a special award, the Wand of Dianthus, described as a powerful magic wand that would help them make their own magic. (Source, MTH #39, page 2) However, readers can continue to read and enjoy the books independently of one another, and in the order they prefer. At the beginning of the later books, author Mary Pope Osborne shares information about how her own experiences and interests relate to the books subject. In a portion of her letter to readers in Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Magic Tree House book #40, Osborne explains: While I was writing this book, I combined my memories of watching the penguins at the zoo with my research on Antarctica. And I used my imagination to think about Jack and Annie searching for a secret of happiness to share with Merlin. I always mix these three things together to create a Magic Tree House books: memory, research, and imagination. But theres one other ingredient that goes into my work on this series: joy. I love to write - and I love sharing Jack and Annie s adventures with you. One of the reasons Osborne receives so many letters from young readers is that her letters to readers make them feel that they have a personal connection with her. For more about Mary Pope Osborne and her books, check out these interviews with her: Magic Tree House Series Author Interview and 20th Anniversary of the Magic Tree House Interview With Mary Pope Osborne. As of March 2016, there was a total of 54 Magic Tree House books, with more forthcoming. All Merlin Mission books are first published in hardcover and, then, in paperback. They are also available in library binding and as audiobooks and eBooks. Also, there are 26 Magic Tree House Fact Tracker books, research guides, companion nonfiction books for some of the books in the series. Happily, ever since book #42, a Fact Tracker is published at the same time each new book in the Magic Tree House series is published. For more information about the nonfiction books, see Spotlight on the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Books. List of Magic Tree House Books #29-48 (Merlin Missions) Christmas in Camelot, Magic Tree House, Book #29Haunted Castle On Hallow’s Eve, Magic Tree House, Book #30Summer Of The Sea Serpent, Magic Tree House, Book #31Winter Of The Ice Wizard, Magic Tree House, Book #32Carnival at Candlelight, Magic Tree House, Book #33Season of the Sandstorms, Magic Tree House, Book #34Night of the New Magicians, Magic Tree House, Book #35Blizzard of the Blue Moon, Magic Tree House, Book #36Dragon of the Red Dawn, Magic Tree House, Book #37Monday with a Mad Genius, Magic Tree House, Book #38Dark Day in the Deep Sea, Magic Tree House, Book #39Eve of the Emperor Penguin, Magic Tree House, Book #40Moonlight on the Magic Flute, Magic Tree House, Book #41A Good Night for Ghosts, Magic Tree House, Book #42Leprechaun in Late Winter, Magic Tree House, Book #43A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time, Magic Tree House, Book #44A Crazy Day with Cobras, Magic Tree House, Book #45Dogs in the Dead of Night, Magic Tree House, Book #46Abe Lincoln at Last!, Magic Tree House, Book #47 A Perfect Time for Pandas, Magic Tree House, Book #48Stallion by Starlight, Magic Tree House, Book #49Hurry Up, Houdini!, Magic Tree House, Book #50High Time for Heroes, Magic Tree House, Book #51Soccer on Sunday, Magic Tree House, Book #52Shadow of the Shark, Magic Tree House, Book #53Balto of the Blue Dawn, Magic Tree House, Book #54 The Allure Finding a series your child loves can pay off in helping them to develop their reading skills. The nice thing about the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne is that there are so many choices in terms of subjects and books and children can enjoy the books over time as they build their reading skills. The Magic Tree House books are also popular with teachers, particularly those teaching grades 2-4. Mary Pope Osbornes Magic Tree House Classroom Adventures Program site contains a great deal of information that will be helpful to teachers and parents alike in terms of reading levels and curriculum connections, as well as lesson plans.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Marketing Communications Programme of Adidas Essay

Marketing Communications Programme of Adidas - Essay Example The role of communication audit is to find whether the intended person is decoding the message in the manner, in which the messages were designed when encoded. When this communication audit is done on a real organization like Adidas, it gives interesting perspectives or results of their MarCom strategies. Adidas is the Germany based sports equipment and apparel manufacturing company, and along with Reebok, Taylor Made and Rockport constitutes the Adidas Group. Adidas is the second-biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue and reach, following Nike and when it comes to Europe, it is the largest manufacturer. (freebase.com). Headquartered at Herzogenaurach, Germany, Adidas is known for producing and selling high quality products with the aid of effective marketing strategies to a wide range of customers throughout the world. Although, it also provides its products to its brand endorsers and sponsored teams, its main focus is on the key stakeholder of customers. A didas has a set of stakeholders and according to its website they are Employees at the Adidas Shareholders, Board of Directors Business partners including suppliers, retailers, distributors, service providers, etc. Employees in their suppliers' factories Customers, which include professional sports people and importantly consumer (adidas-group.com). Among these stakeholders, customer segment are the key because, although other stakeholders will also be communicated regarding the company’s operations, the customers will be mainly communicated through various marketing campaigns for their products. The customer segment of Adidas constitutes people, who want to buy sportswear and equipments for their sports activities and also as part of their lifestyle activities. As Borowski (2011, p.7) states, Adidas could focus on the â€Å"middle and upper-class athletics, single and family-households with lifestyle and brand loyalty, whose income allows buying those goods.† When the age aspect is focused, Adidas’ target segment will be mainly in the age group of 14 to 30, however as Hall, Jones and Raffo (2007) states age will not be always a factor, because even people in their middle-ages will buy Adidas products as part of their lifestyle activities. This perspective was validated by Keegan (2009) as well, who stated, â€Å"Adidas still enjoys high brand loyalty among older Europeans†. Thus, the target customer base or key stakeholders of Adidas is slightly broad, and so Adidas has been communicating with all these customer segments through different MarCom strategies. To initiate these customer segment specific marketing campaigns, Adidas in the late 1990’s categorized its brand into three main groups, called Adidas Performance, Adidas Originals and Adidas Style Essentials, with each group constituting a range of products exhibiting a specific focus. This categorization of products