Concepts of Learning

According to George Kimball, learning Is the result of a reinforced practice which results in a change in behavior. However, learning may not necessarily demonstrate itself in a change in behavior, but through the acquisition of knowledge. In other words, after learning, the individual will have new knowledge or be capable of doing something they would not have been able to do otherwise (Olson & Hermann, 2013). For example, when a child Is being potty trained, he learns how to use the toilet; his behavior will change from using a diaper to using the toilet o relieve himself.To further explain the concept of learning, we will look at the role of behavior in relation to learning, classical and operant conditioning, and the relationship between learning and cognition (Olson & Hermann, 2013). Role of Behavior In Relation to Learning According to Simile's deflation of learning, there are several ways In which learning can only be inferred from an observable modification in behavior. In ot her words, learning must be translated into observable behavior (Olson & Hermann, 2013).However, a change in behavior may not be observable immediately, that is, there may e a potential to act differently tat later time. Lastly, according to Kimball, learning in the form of experience or practice, which must be reinforced, will result in a change in behavior (Olson & Hermann, 2013). With the exception of B. F. Skinner, most learning theorists agree that the learning process can only be assumed from modifications in behavior. However, not all changes in behavior are the result of learning.Some changes in behavior could be the result of a temporary state, such as illness, fatigue, or drug use (Olson & Hermann, 2013). Some behaviors do not need to be learned, such as breathing or sweating. These behaviors are called homeostasis mechanisms. Their purpose Is to regulate a physiological stability. Humans are also born with reflexes. These reflexes, along with homeostasis, are necessary fo r survival. Learning Is often Identified through a relatively permanent change in behavior (Olson & Hermann, 2013).Types of Learning There are two primary types of learning In terms of a procedures that can modify behavior: classical controlling and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning was first developed by Ivan Pavlov when he accidental discovered that his dogs had earned to associate the sound of a bell with dinner time, which caused the dogs to salivate (Olson & Hermann, 2013). There are two requirements to classical conditioning. There must first be a natural reaction to an existing stimulus, such as an event or object. Next, the unconditioned stimulus that elicits a natural response Is paired with a new or â€Å"neutral† stimulus.The result Is that the formerly neutral my mom believes that giving her dog a high five before leaving the house makes her lucky because she won a couple of times at the casino after doing so. This prestigious behavior is a common examp le of classical conditioning in everyday life (Olson & Hermann, 2013). The second form of conditioning is operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning. Operant conditioning is a term first developed by B. F. Skinner, who used an apparatus he called the Skinner Box. The Skinner box was used to introduced a reinforce to condition a desired response (Olson & Hermann, 2013).Operant conditioning differs from classical conditioning in that the organism must act in a specific way before it is reinforced; in other words, enforcement is reliant on the organisms behavior. With classical conditioning, the reaction is considered to be involuntary (Olson & Hermann, 2013). The most important aspect of operant conditioning is that a reinforce is used to strengthen a behavior. There are four different types of reinforces: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment (Olson & Hermann, 2013).Positive reinforcement is the addition of something agreeable or pleasant to strengthen a behavior. For example, giving the dog a treat after performing the trick properly. Negative reinforcement is the amoeba of something negative or unpleasant from the situation to strengthen the behavior. For example, when the students are well-behaved the teacher removes the essay question from the test (Olson & Hermann, 2013). Now, positive punishment is the addition of something the organism views as unpleasant to decrease or weaken a behavior.For example, when the students are misbehaving, the teacher adds an essay question to the test. Lastly, negative punishment is the removal of something pleasant from the situation to weaken the behavior. When a child is misbehaving, taking away his or her favorite toy (Olson & Hermann, 2013). Relationship Between Learning and Cognition Cognition and learning are closely associated and are codependent on one another. Without cognitive processes, learning cannot exist. The cognitive processes cons ist of thinking, remembering, knowing, and problem-solving.Other cognitive processes involve storing, receiving, processing, and using information learned by the individual (Olson & Hermann, 2013). Learning is the manner in which an individual gains knowledge or skills through experience and practice, which causes a change in behavior. Learning requires the use of many cognitive processes. Cognition is classically thinking, but not everything a person thinks about will be stored in their long-term memory for later use. In order to learn, a person must store the new knowledge into their long-term memory, usually done through repetition (Olson & Hermann, 2013).How memory processes information varies on an individual basis. Some people are able to recall information after Just one experience, others need to repetition or practice to be able to recall the same information (Olson & wants to keep for retrieval at a later time. For example, when I was a child I watched a dinosaur movie for the first time, and did to have the knowledge to identify â€Å"the monsters†. Once my mother identified the monsters as dinosaurs to me I now had the cognitive experience of â€Å"dinosaur. I loved the movie and the idea of dinosaurs so much that over the next few months I read as much as I could about dinosaurs. Through reading and looking at pictures, I gained the ability to identify many different species of dinosaurs. Eventually, I became able to identify other reptilian animals of various sizes. Conclusion In summary, learning is the product of practice and experience that has been reinforced which results in a behavior modification. On the other hand, learning does not always reveal itself in a change in behavior, but through the procurement of knowledge.However, most learning theorists believe that the learning process can only be presumed from a change in behavior. A relatively permanent change in behavior is a good indicator if learning has taken place. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Are two primary types of learning in terms of a processes that can modify behavior. The difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning is that in operant conditioning is that the organism must act in a specific ay before it is reinforced; in classical conditioning reinforcement is reliant on the organisms behavior.Learning and cognition have a close relationship and are codependent on one another. Without cognitive processes, learning cannot exist. In this paper, we looked at the concept of learning, we looked at the role of behavior in relation to learning, classical and operant conditioning, and the relationship between learning and cognition. References Olson, M. H. & Hermann, B. R. (2013). An introduction to theories of learning (9th deed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Comparing and Contrasting Detective Stories Essay

The Blue Carbuncle written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in pre 1914 and Indemnity Only from the V I Warshawski series written by Sara Paretsky in 1987 are good examples of the evolution of detective stories. The character, setting, genre and language have changed completely over this large period of time. But each story was very interesting to the people of that time so obviously something would be different. The detective genre has been going for ages now since crime started and it has changed over time because of what a detective does and what crimes are committed. The Blue Carbuncle is one of the short stories for the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and as you already know is was written very long ago but Indemnity Only was only written a few years ago and is still well known. In the olden days detective stories would involve a person who would leave different clues to make a puzzle but nowadays we just find the clues and catch the criminal so there is less suspense involved in the plot. The characters in The Blue Carbuncle are very different to the characters in Indemnity Only because in pre 1914 most people involved in a detective story were aristocrats and were very posh. But nowadays people in a detective story tend to have more casual people. In the Blue Carbuncle the main character is Sherlock Holmes who is known for being quite posh. He is very secretive and serious about things while the main character in Indemnity Only is V I Warshawski is very open and can be sarcastic during a case. Holmes seems to be a very wise detective but V I Warshawski seems to be just a normal gather the clues and crack the case detective. But I think the reason for that is because nowadays there is more technology to help solve the crime than there was in pre 1914. In Indemnity Only the setting is in Chicago in United States of America so it is quite a known area. The Blue Carbuncle is set in the countryside but does not state where. Sometimes the reader finds it helpful to know where the setting is. Chicago is well known for its industries and pizzas but sometimes for crime while the countryside is known for peace and beautiful scenery so a crime story is quite difficult to build in the countryside. Also technology was not as advance. Often crimes involve hi tech gadgets and top of the range cars while the equivalent in the olden days would have been a musket and a horse carriage. Language has changed quite a lot. Nowadays there seems to be more comedy in the story than n pre 1914. In Indemnity Only V I Warshawski seems very funny and sarcastic while Sherlock Holmes would rarely put a feeble joke. But both stories build up suspense. In Indemnity Only it build up suspense by repetition and short sentences while in The Blue Carbuncle it builds up suspense by Sherlock Holmes interviewing each suspect and each of them giving him something interesting. Also in Indemnity Only it uses sensational language. This is language that appeals to the five senses.  In my conclusion it is obvious that there has been a lot of change during many years to detective stories and these mainly because of the evolution of Earth over that period of time. But some detective stories now are like the ones in pre 1914 because the author is old or was brought up during the olden days.

Religion and Dance Essay

Do you see any similarities between the rituals of primitive societies and rituals that we have in today’s society? Society today does use dance in religious ceremonies or occasions but not necessarily in a ritualistic form that earlier primitive societies would use per say. However, dance in both today and past societies used basic, everyday motions and movements to form dances, where some of these dance practices are still used even today. How might one’s moral, religious and ethical values influence their thoughts and opinions on art? Discuss specific examples in relation to the question. Some religions might view dance as promiscuous or offensive with mere basic body movements such as a hip sway or that of similar movements. For example, most people generally view a traditional form of dance, the belly dance, in the Islamic culture as â€Å"sexual† yet that is not the sole purpose of it whatsoever. Even in today’s society, people are aware that the image of sex is everywhere and can even be seen in the modern day dance culture. Regardless of a person’s religious background, values, or beliefs, anyone can decide on what they consider to be art. All of these factors can influence one’s decision on what art is to them. Can you think of any works of art, in addition to the ones mentioned, that were not readily accepted by the society in which they were created, but held in high regards years later? John Singer Sargent’s â€Å"Madame Pierre Gautreau†, created in 1884, caused a huge uproar over the reddish pink color used on the woman’s ear lobe. At the time, it was considered far too suggestive and supposedly ruining the reputation of high-society. What do you think is meant by the final statement â€Å"†¦an audience’s response to a dance says as much about the audience as it does the dance,† and do you agree or disagree with this statement? The statement basically says that the way an audience reacts to a dance explains and gives a representation of their interpretation of the piece. Meaning both as individuals and as a whole audience. I personally agree with the statement, mainly because it is true. The viewers are just as important as the dance itself because they are the one’s that give meaning to a dance or any work of art for that matter.

Policy makers

This also refers to both the dynamic discussions that continuously take place across a idà ©e range Of curricular issues and the evolutionary thinking about concepts and approaches in curriculum development. Changes in society constantly demand new knowledge and skills and require the continuous development of our educational system. This book focuses on the following questions: How do processes of curriculum of curriculum development evolve? What actually is curriculum? And how to ensure the quality of curricular products?This book also provide the teachers, educators, policy makers and other parties involved in educational development with a clear and concise introduction onto the tricks of the trade of curriculum development. CHAPTER 1 CURRICULUM AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT The very short definition of curriculum as â€Å"a plan for learning†, used by the American Hills Tab in 1 962 is reflected by related terms in many languages, including the classical Dutch term learn wh ich permits all sort of elaboration for specific curricular levels, contexts and representations.A first, extremely useful, distinction appears to be a specification of the level of curriculum and curriculum development namely: SUPRA, MACRO, MESS, MICRO, ANNA. A second, clarifying distinction concerns the different forms in which curricula can be represented in the following three levels: intended, implemented and attained. The core and the nineteenths of the so-called Spider Web refers to the ten parts of the curriculum, each concerning an aspect of learning and the learning programmer for learners.The components: Rationale, Aims and Objectives, Content, Learning Activities, Teacher Role, Materials and Resources, Grouping, Location, Time and Assessment are basis for curriculum design and innovation. Curriculum Development is focused on the improvement and innovation of education. During this process, desires and ideals are incorporated in a cyclic process of design, implementation, and evaluation to achieve concrete results in practice.This chapter describes the processes of curriculum development at three levels within the educational system: national level (macro), school level (mess), and pupil level (micro). Curriculum development at macro level focuses on the development of generic curricular frameworks. An important challenge in the development of these frameworks is to meet with the great diversity of societal demands on education.Schools build on synergy between curriculum development, teacher development and school organization development. For curriculum innovation to be successful, it is important that the school's innovation ambitions are in line with the teachers' commitment and their willingness to change, the abilities of the different teams, the culture and the infrastructure of the school. Curricular products that are developed at micro level include lesson trials and resources.For teachers who strive to put the innovation into practice, less on materials that are exemplary are important carriers of the intended innovation. The quality of education is often subject for debate. There are different ways in which people assess the quality of curriculum: relevance, consistency, practicality and effectiveness. The quality criteria more or less build on one another. Whether a curriculum effective will also depend on the practicality – can it be implemented as intended? ND On the relevance and consistency of the intended objectives and content components. In the list of quality criteria a distinction has been made between the expected and the actual practicality and the effectiveness of a curriculum. Concerning teaching materials, for example, the expected practicality and effectiveness can be assessed through screening of the materials by teachers. In order to develop a high-quality curriculum, evaluation is of great importance.During the curriculum development process, the emphasis on implementation reveals itself on t he following ways: analysis of lessons from past and of current use in practice, intensive deliberation with the target group and other stakeholders, formative evaluation of preliminary designs, assessment in an increasingly wide circle of schools, formulation of recommendations for the professional support of teacher and the other team, and contribute to the professional development of educational us providers of institutions that can organize activities.Moreover, the placement of the school's organization and culture is also essential to ensure sustainable curriculum changes within the school. Collaboration among all sections and levels in and around the school is an important precondition for sustainable educational development. Harvests and Shirley (2009) also draw attention to the importance Of broad ownership and the shared responsibility for sustainable innovation. The active involvement of relevant social organizations- from parents to trade and industry – will also f oster broad public support for and commitment to innovations.

Oedipus and the Sphinx Essay

â€Å"Know Thyself† is sage advice. â€Å"All Things in Moderation† is also a wise saying. King Oedipus, subject of the most tragic story ever written, brought about his own downfall because of his excessive obsession to know himself. And, try as he might, the more he tried to escape his tragic Fate, the closer it got†¦ Thus, some say that the moral of the story is, Even if you try to thwart your destiny, you won’t succeed. The concept of predestination plays a large role here. For example, if the gods know what will happen, and events are pre-ordained, how can people make free choices or have any semblance of free will? If the gods put challenges in our way that we fail to rise to, are we responsible for the consequences? Would knowing the future, as Oedipus does, cause us to act or behave any differently? The ancient scribe Sophocles wrote â€Å"Oedipus the King† (between 441-427 B.C.E.) for the annual festival where playwrights competed for prizes. These festivals were major civic occasions, with attendance expected of all noted writers. In his play Sophocles goes out of his way to present Oedipus as an extremely capable, beloved ruler. It should be noted that Sophocles never suggests that Oedipus has brought his destiny on himself by any â€Å"ungodly pride† (hubris) or â€Å"tragic flaw† (hamartia), common themes in Greek tragedies. Sophocles also makes a special effort to explain that Oedipus killed King Laius in self-defense, and a major theme in the tragic play is whether one can believe in oracles and seers. The title of the play, from which is derived the story, is often given in its Latin translation (â€Å"Oedipus Rex†), rather than in its original Greek (â€Å"Oedipus Tyranneus†), since the Greek term for king is the English â€Å"tyrant†, which means a monarch who rules without the consent of the people. THE TRAGEDY BEGINS Laius and his wife Jocasta (or Iocasta) were King and Queen of Thebes, a prosperous and famous city state in ancient Greece. King Laius, as many people did those days, consulted Apollo’s revered oracle of Delphi for advice and to find out what the future held for him. What the oracle announced shocked the royal couple — The Delphic oracle said that the King’s son would grow up and kill him! To make matters worse, it was prophesized that the son would marry his mother and produce offspring by her. King Laius and Queen Jocasta were understandably aghast! A short time later Queen Jocasta became pregnant and gave birth to a darling little baby boy. Remembering with fear the oracle of Delphi’s words, the royal couple of Thebes had the infant’s feet pierced and tied together — that’s the meaning of the name Oedipus, â€Å"swollen feet†. (Myth Man’s note: this mythical detail makes no sense. It must have been introduced to expla in the hero’s name. (Hold everything, I stand corrected. Here is an informative note sent by reader Adam Johnston on July 1, 2011.) Hey there, Just thought I’d let you know that the ‘pointless mythical detail’ about Oedipus’ feet being pierced and tied together actually has dual function. It was to ensure that the baby would not survive when exposed to the wilderness. But, more importantly, it is a detail that helps him decipher the answer to the sphinx’s riddle later in life. He is a crippled man who walks with a cane, and scholars see this as the assistance he needed to understand the part of the riddle regarding the 3 legs. Just thought you should know! ~Adam (Many thanks to Adam for taking time to bring this to my attention.) Laius and Jocasta knew that their baby son had to be destroyed, but they didn’t have the heart to do so themselves. They instructed their most trusted slave to expose the hapless baby on Mount Cithaeron, a wild and beast-filled place where the infant surely would perish. In those days, it was usual to leave an unwanted or defective baby in the wilderness. However, the slave glanced down at the innocent child and took pity on it. Knowing that the royal couple of the nearby city state of Corinth was childless, and desperately desired a son, the slave left the crying infant, its feet still pierced and bound by a pin, in a place sure to be found. Sure enough, a kindly shepherd discovered the baby and brought the foundling for adoption to King Polibus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus was raised as a son by Polibus and Merope and grew to be a handsome, clever and brave young man, even though he walked with a slight limp from the wounds he suffered when his real parents pierced his feet. One day, while playing with his adolescent friends, he got into an argument with them. They insisted, as mean children sometimes do, that he was a fake son, and not the real child of Polibus and Merope. When Oedipus confronted his â€Å"parents† about this, they denied that he was adopted and swore that he was their legitimate child. They told Oed ipus to forget what the mean kids had said, but now he was intrigued. To discover the truth for himself, Oedipus journeyed to Delphi and asked of the oracle, â€Å"Who am I?† The oracle, cryptic as always, replied: â€Å"You are the man who will kill his father and breed children by his mother.† Confused and devastated, the young man started to head back home. Nearing the crossroad, Oedipus decided never to return to Corinth and go to Thebes instead. He dearly loved his parents and thought that by never returning home he would keep them safe and thus overcome his Fate according to Apollo’s oracle. As he was approaching the crossroad between Delphi, Thebes and Corinth, distraught and deep in thought, Oedipus came upon an old man in a chariot, escorted by a few attendants. It was a narrow passage between two rocks and hard to navigate safely. The crabby old man in the chariot shouted: â€Å"Get lost! Go away! Get off this road!†, striking Oedipus with his long scepter. Adding further injury, the rude, regal old man ran over the young man’s sore foot with his chariot wheel. Oedipus angrily grabbed the staff from his tormentor’s hands and hit him on the head, killing the old man. The same fate befell the attendants, who tried to attack and arrest Oedipus – he valiantly fought and killed them too, save for one servant, who ran away in panic when the battle broke out. Hey, he just wanted to cross the narrow passage, that’s all! Besides, Oedipus was simply defending himself, and he got there first! Little did Oedipus suspect that the old man he had just slain was his own father, and that the first part of the oracle’s prophecy had come true†¦

Explain how the existence of externalities (whether from congestion or Essay

Explain how the existence of externalities (whether from congestion or pollution) cause a less than optimal allocation of resources in road transport - Essay Example The resource allocation changes through externalities since the market fails to completely fund the external belongings caused by economic actions. Markets prices tend to reflect a price based on the original personal utility, while disregard the payback on the third parties. Therefore, personal costs may deviate from social costs as the pricing means fall short to replicate the social economic actions. When the demand for road uses rises above a given level, additional costs (externalities) such as congestion, pollution may result in increased costs such as increased fuel consumption, increased journey times and other running costs as shown below. Additionally pricing arrangement results in a sub-Pareto, most select allocation of resources as the marginal cost of an action equals its marginal private cost where equals its cost due to the failure of all relevant effects. The actual price of a product does not entirely resolve its allocation and consequently the purpose of the market to resourcefully distribute resources based on their accurate prices breaks down consequential in a misallocation. Lastly, according to Schmidtchen (2009, p.30), the continuation of externalities leads to sub-optimal allocation since both too many resources used in processes presenting and uncompensated collective repayment while the return maximizing production is less than the socially best

Phase3 DB International Business Disputes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Phase3 DB International Business Disputes - Essay Example This assignment provides a compressive discussion on the consequences that a business would face for operating within states that have not agreed with the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. It also gives detailed information on whether a business should or should not engage in business with nations that have not conformed to the requirements of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. One of the major consequences for transacting business with states that have not conformed to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is that only the contract laws of such nations will apply (Ferrari, 2012). This implies that an enterprise that wishes to engage in such business in capable to inadequate treatments in accordance with the laws of the state that has not agreed with the terms of the CISG. The contract law of such a nation may not be accommodative to foreign businesses. It is for this reason that such nations may be weaker in ensuring that the contractual balance between foreign and indigenous businesses is maintained. Businesses that wish to operate within states that have not agreed with the terms and conditions of the CISG may have to face importation or exportation restrictions according to the governing laws. It is important to note that different nations have different laws governing the importation and exportation of certain goods. However, the CISG standardizes the importation and exportation of goods across borders. Therefore, a business that wishes to transact business with states that have failed to embrace this international law may have to face the restriction of the importation or exportation of certain goods. According to article 68 of the CISG, the risk of damage of goods is passed to the buyer once the goods have been delivered. However, an enterprise engaging in business

Cubas Government before Communism Research Paper

Cubas Government before Communism - Research Paper Example Several people believed that to publicize information that exhibits that pre-Castro Cuba was accurately an emergent country was a way of justifying the actions of Batista. The reality is that Cuban advancement of the period was basically as a consequence of the efforts indulged in all these sectors of the nation, as it marked the 57th years of the republic. In the year 1950, two years before Batista’s were granted the second credibility to power. It was fortunate as the Cuban Peso has the same monetary value as the U.S dollar. Given suggestion not only by the authorized press inside the island, and also by Radio Havana Cuba, a nationalized- run radio station that relays information globally in various languages, and by the authorized information organization Prensa Latina, the movement made outstanding prominence on the financial woe and misery under which the island theoretically lived. The campaign made exceptional emphasis on the economic wretchedness under, which the island hypothetically lived, and on the economic control that the United States had exercised over it. This section of the campaign was meant to help validate the continuation of a communist novelist, whose goals and ambitions helped him to renovate the deep transformations in the nation. These social renovations were termed as items of diminishing poverty (Urlich, 99). Those who believed in the Castroism propaganda had a depiction that Cuba was a nation with a 40%literacy level, within the gluttonous hands of multi-national US Corporation controlling every aspect of the national economy. Cuba was a country that had no enough doctors, workers of farmers, due to the high level of redundancy, and with houses of prostitution and gaming casinos on each corner. Cuba was an underdeveloped country and its resources distributed equally among all the people (Urlich, 100).  

Selling product Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selling product - Assignment Example Other elements such as the size and the aesthetic appearance will also be significant. In addition, the audience has a high level of expertise in making a choice between the different technological devices that are capable of satisfying their needs depending on the wide range of choices in terms of their usage. They have a wide range of experience as they have purchased several phones before in the effort to upgrade the products once they are released into the market. This is becaue their level of prejudice is high and they only go for what works best for them since they need devices that provide convenience as well as an easy mode of communication.    Every day, there is a change in technology that makes everyone want to be in a position to conduct all activities in the comfort of their homes. Latest technology dictates that there should be an improvement on the latest models or products to suit the needs of the customers. This product will not only make it possible to receive information, but also share the fun with friends. The conduction of research and development helps in the production of items that best suit the needs of the market. It thus helps to produce competitive products that are not only acceptable but also preferred in the market.  It is important to perform a lot of research to help in the development of the products to suit the needs of the customers. Despite the fact that it will lead to the increase in prices it will also lead to more sales.  The best technological device or product is that which creates satisfactory feelings in the customer and makes them have convenience when performing different operations. If it also helps them to feel confident and gives a feeling of belonging, then it is the most appropriate product to use. It will be possible to beat all the other related products in the market and attain customer

Oil Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Oil Market - Essay Example This application, in intermediaries’ purchasing patterns, may also play a role in determining the prices of crude oil from exploration companies (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries 5). Oil supply Global supply of oil has been another significant factor in the oil market. A review of growth rate in the produced volume by different regions identifies volatility in supply volume with a significantly lower growth rate in the year 2013. Supply growth rate in America increased from the year 2011 to the year 2012 but the rate, while positive, reduced in the year 2013. Growth rate in Europe, in the past three years has however been negative with a reducing rate, an indication that oil productivity in the region is declining. Even though at lower rates than those reported in non OPEC European countries, countries in Pacific Asia have similarly reported negative percentage growth rates in the past three years. Other oil producing regions such as other parts of Asia, †Å"Latin America,† â€Å"Middle East,† â€Å"Africa,† and FSU have however registered minimal changes in produced volumes with more negative percentages and the trend in the non-OPEC countries indicating a general reduction in oil supply in the past two years (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries 34). A slight increment in supply volume has however been forecasted among non-OPEC oil producing regions. Oil supply from OECD countries has however been increasing while supply volumes from developing counties has registered a reducing trend between the years 2010 and 2012 by assumed an increasing trend in the year 2013. Supply volumes from former Russian States and other non-OPEC regions have also reported increasing... This paper describes oil prices, oil supply, demand, determinants of oil price, personal opinion. According to the paper trend in global oil prices has remained volatile over the past six months. Data from OPEC identifies three measures for oil prices over the period and the measures, though not equivalent over the time shows a consistent trend to support the hypothesis that prices in the oil market are relatively volatile. Global supply of oil has been another significant factor in the oil market. A review of growth rate in the produced volume by different regions identifies volatility in supply volume with a significantly lower growth rate in the year 2013. Demand is another significant factor to the oil market. The global demand has a predictable trend that can be used to forecast future levels of demand. Price mechanism is also significant to understanding the oil market through factors that determine the prices and the factors’ interaction to dictate the prices over time. Region of utility is one of the factors to oil prices and the level of industrialization determines price volatility by regions with demand shock as the key moderator. Oil prices in developing countries responds quickly and faster to demand shock as compared to prices in developed countries and this knowledge can be instrumental to oil distributers. The oil market is a competitive market that is majorly regulated by demand and supply forces. Data also indicates massive utility in OECD countries, especially in America, and significance of developing countries in determining global prices. Consistency in the market’s data trend means that it can be used to guide investment decision and a potential market is identifiable in America that has high demand for oil. Analysis of the market in developing countries is also necessary for predicting prices towards investment decisions.

Managing Diversity and Equal Opurtunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Diversity and Equal Opurtunity - Essay Example According to this theory, discrimination is categorised into realistic, social and consensual discrimination. Realistic competition refers to a type of discrimination is driven by self-interest, which a person or group of people intend to obtain things like food, shelter, customers or territory among others. This form of discrimination is perpetuated when one group, which is often advantaged favours its members to enable them receive or obtain more same resources as compared to the others (Blank and Citro, 2004, p. 57). Social competition on the other hand is a kind of discrimination driven by desire for self esteem. The intention of this discrimination is to achieve positive social status for members of one group or groups as compared to other disadvantaged groups. Finally, consensual discrimination refers to a kind of discrimination based on desire to be excellent or accurate. This type of discrimination reflects legitimate and stable hierarchy status of a specific group of people. Example of this form of discrimination is racism, where certain race feels more superior as compared to the others. It is worth noting that discrimination can be perpetrated anywhere by any person or group of persons. ... evident during hiring and firing, compensation, classification of employees or assignment, recalling, laying off, promotion, transfer, testing and recruitment of employees. It is also evident during utilization of company’s resources, apprenticeships and trainings, pay, fringe benefits, retirement plans or disability leave of employees. Discrimination behaviour or action is evident when bosses become harder on certain employees than others based on irrelevant characteristics such as gender, race, height, weight, sexual orientation, physical disability or age. This is unethical especially if one losses or suffer damage like not getting well deserved promotion or pay hike. Discrimination takes many forms and are based on what Cahn (2002) refer s to as irrelevant characteristics such as age, disability, genetics, religion, race/ colour, sex or nationality. Examples of different forms of discrimination are listed as follows. If a person decides to donate to help disadvantage membe rs of the society like helping the orphans, but decides to donate less to others out of racist attitude, the person acts discriminately even if he benefits the recipients. Excluding students from an educational institution, training program, loan, student group, opportunities or scholarships on the basis of age or colour is some form of discrimination. Excluding people from housing, contracting/leasing or obtaining a loan on the basis of sex or age is also discrimination (Lucas, 2009). Refusal to give (advance) credit or perpetuating unequal loan terms for people because they are people from a different religion or gender is also discrimination. In the past, the government of the day in countries like South Africa and Papua New Guinea develop policies of racial discrimination during the era of

How do African American Women with Hypertension verbalize their Article

How do African American Women with Hypertension verbalize their understanding to their condition - Article Example In evidence based medicine (EBM) recommends that clinical questions should be formulated in terms of problem or population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO). PICO questions are important in conducting search regarding a hypothesis that is relevant to the researcher’s practice (Huang, Lin, Demner-Fushman, 2006). It describes a process that is useful in making a suitable research question. In designing a research question, one must hypothesize how the topic affects the search for relevant information. A researcher should be able to think of a wider context of the topic and do explore preliminarily to find out relevant scientific aspects. The topic can then be narrowed to a specific group or condition which is a population such as a study based study on African Americans. Narrowing the search is strategically done by understanding the causal efficacy of a clinical intervention. In research question development, the researcher should ask a good question and choose the r ight study design (Bragge, 2010). First, the problem was identified among African American women with hy. These were the chief attributes used in the search. The other aspect is how they verbalize their understanding to the condition. This is also important since the researcher aims to find the relationship between chronically elevated blood pressure and their verbal expression of their understanding to their condition. It is important since it can help medical practitioners help the patients manage their condition. This study was aimed to develop a research question using PICO so as to perform a database search for relevant literature. In developing a good question, the second step is intervention where one needs to identify what they plan to do for the patient. In order to manage the condition among hypertensive African Americans, the best intervention is to determine how they understand their condition

Fiji Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fiji - Essay Example (Source: http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj/). There is data available to show the population of Fiji in 2013 and how it relates to the total World Average. The Population of world averages at about 7,137 million people and to this number, Fiji adds about 0.9 million which is the total population of the republic. The projected population of Fiji is within the range of 1.1 million while the projected population statistics of the world is marked at about 9,727 million. According to this data, details show that the Crude Birth Rate is 21 in Fiji; it is higher than the world average. This would mean that more people get born as compared to the projected demographics. The total rate of fertility is recorded at 2.6 in Fiji that is a slight difference from the figure projected in average across the world at 2.5. This would mean that many more people are to be born because the crude birth rate and death rate are one point higher than the world average. Fiji, as a country is not fully developed and so it can be considered as a developing country. The proof of this is that the TFR (total fertility rate) of Fiji at the range of 2.6 which is somehow close to the world TFR and this makes Fiji one of the greatest reflections of the general rates of population growth expected from the entire world. The economy of this developing country is, however, still not fully developed because it relies on the tertiary industry to help facilitate the development of the economy to the levels that can be said to compete with other developing or developed countries in the world. The data presented to support this fact comes from the International Merchandise Trade Statistics whereby they showed provisional data for October 2013 which showed that the total imports were at $447.6 million while the total exports were shown to stand at $228.7 million. When comparisons are made with

Medical beliefs of pre-literate and pre-historical peoples made little Research Paper

Medical beliefs of pre-literate and pre-historical peoples made little logical sense - Research Paper Example The societies in the past believed in supernatural and natural ways of curing and treating diseases. This means that, some diseases were believed to originate from supernatural evil spirits, sorcery or gods while others were believed to originate from the society (Lalita, 1984, p. 80). The medicine men in those days believed that the evil spirits were fabricated by sorcerers, and this could hamper a person’s body and result to illness. This spirits could only be removed from a person through the skull and not from any other body organ because they believed that the spirits were held in the brains. Among many other treatments done to the people possessed by the spirits, ‘Shaman’- the medicine man was supposed to trephine the skull (Edited Guide Entry, 2001). Today, anthropologists have developed an intimate understanding of the beliefs, that the society could not invent medicines and drugs to cure and heal the diseases. This is because the treatment of the diseases was not based on body tests of the sick, but from the beliefs. This made the victims to be subjected to treatments that they did not deserve, and hence was a serious threat to their survival. Some treatments like trepanning, which involved drilling of holes into the human skull to expose the ‘dura mater’, are extremely crucial to the anthropologists and scientists. They can clearly understand the era or the human evolution stage and hence understand the number of years that the place was inhabited. However, such practices have been used as a benchmark for developing safe human skull surgery by scientists (Dayrit et al, 2003, p. 89). From the studies done in the past by the anthropologists, it is evident that different ailments and diseases that were common in the prehistoric period are not prevalent today. Diseases like osteoarthritis were caused by lifting heavy materials, which

Case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Case study - Assignment Example However, the author also notices that there are situations that fixing may not be a good option, when the employee shows disinterest in the duties and underperforms, this may affect the other employees performances and the department or company’s position (46). In this case, firing is the better option. An effective employment termination plan should include these three key things. First, the plan should have a way that prevents the employee from seeking delay or postponement of the process by seeking help from the authority above the immediate manager or to other departments (52). This is avoided by having the communication about the termination received and supported by the supervisors above you and other departments such as human resource approval. Secondly, the plan should include activities immediately to secure the companys assets that were under the employee (53). This is done through change of passwords, repossession of rights and materials and escorting of the terminated employee to make sure he or she leaves the compound as fast as possible. The third requirement of the plan is to have administrative support and presence in the termination process (55). This helps to have a witness and to indicate that the decision has been made with the involvement of all the administrat ion. Underperformance in any business is costly and brings the company down in an effort to reach their goals. This is the main reason the managers should always monitor the employees’ performance and make decisions related to fixing or firing employees. Some employees however may try to rationalize their underperformance. First, the underperforming employees may appear to follow the example of another employee who underperforms and the company or the manager does nothing about it (46). They, therefore, feel that the level of performance demonstrated by this employee is acceptable. Secondly, the employees may use the

Leading and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leading and Leadership - Essay Example The term â€Å"vision† suggests a mental picture of what the future organization will look like† (Leading and leadership). What is more difficult is to make people trust your forecasts. This task is not easy, thus the main purpose of the article titled â€Å"Goals† is to explain to the leaders how to make people trust them. A leader must be energetic and beam positive emotions. The team should consider a leader to be a winner; no one would like to follow a looser. It is essential to make people aware of where the company is going and what the main purposes are. The success can be reached only through teamwork, it is impossible to reach the goals alone. The leader should remember several rules: (a) it is essential to set realistic goals; (b) the goals should be directed on the improvements (c) people should take an active part in the process of setting purposes; (d) each goal should be achieved through a thorough plan. When the vision is developed, a leader should share it with a team and it is the task of a team to build a strategy that will help reach the goals (Hackman & Wageman, 2005). In order to build a right vision, that it the most difficult task, it is recommended to use the principle of the economist Vilfredo Pareto, who encourages leaders to think not about the great number of effects, but to pay more attention to the small number of causes. â€Å"Some leaders fall into the time wasting trap of going after the 80 percent of items that only have a value of 20 percent of the total net worth. Your visions need to picture the 20 percent that will have the greatest impact on your organization† (Leading and leadership). After the goals are already set, the next step is to make people achieve them. In order to make people do something, it is essential to inspire them. They should know what results they should have and what improvements their actions will bring. The leader should be passionate, involve employees in decision-making

A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism Assignment

A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism - Assignment Example A Passage to India through the Lens of Orientalism In A Passage to India, the author bases his story on the complex interactions between British colonialists and the Indian society, setting the story against the backdrop of the independence movement in India and the British Raj. The story revolves around Dr. Aziz, an Indian, and his British friends, including Miss Adela Quested. When Dr. Aziz is accused of assaulting Miss Adela (Forster 55), the run-up and aftermath of the trial bring to the fore common prejudices and racial tensions between the British rulers and indigenous Indians. This paper will seek to understand the events in A Passage to India through the lens of prevalent themes in Orientalism. One of the central themes in Orientalism is that knowledge about the East in Western society consists of preconceived archetypes, rather than reality or facts, which envisions Eastern societies as all similar to each other and, most importantly, radically dissimilar to the West (Forster 21). This apparent a priori knowledge in Western society about the East as being antithetical to Western society is also prevalent in A Passage to India, which turns consistently to the perspective of India as a country that is so exotic, diverse, and vast that Western people cannot understand it. Indeed, the characters compare and contrast India with England, in which the latter is presented as a charming and small island that does not overwhelm its people because of its neat lakes and valleys.

Emotional intelligence and its role in leading, performance and Essay

Emotional intelligence and its role in leading, performance and wellbeing 2211 - Essay Example Intelligence, of any kind cannot be measured; however it can be assessed by asking different questions. Similarly in the case of EI as well, the most feasible way of measuring an individual’s emotional understanding capabilities is by asking different questions. Psychologists are often seen to follow this technique to understand and map the emotions of patients and understand exactly what kind of emotional problems they are undergoing. Different parameters are set and the responses provided by individuals are compared against the responses provided. It is then estimated whether the emotional intelligence quotient of individuals are high or low. Individuals must themselves be able to understand their emotions well so that they can accurately recognize the emotions of others (Schutte, et al., 1998). According to the studies conducted by Salovey and Mayer, emotional intelligence can be described as the sophisticated mental process whereby information regarding one’s own and others emotions are understood and meanings are derived. Emotional intelligence helps perceiving the feelings and thoughts of others and accordingly adapt with the people around. Understanding the emotions of others plays a significant role in the manner we behave and respond to them (Mayer, Caruso and Salovey, 1999). The ability model of emotional intelligence was proposed by Salovey and Mayer. They had developed an EI model describing the development of emotional intelligence from childhood to adulthood. The model is based on four branches. These are described as follows: Perception- Emotional intelligence requires an individual to perceive the emotions present in themselves and in others in a highly accurate way. Identification of emotions is seen to enhance and positively benefit the behavioural conduct of an individual. Perception involves understanding the body language, facial expressions, tone and manner of speaking so that adequate

The Chicago Police Department Essay Example for Free

The Chicago Police Department Essay The organizational situation that will be the focus of this paper is the recent appointment of a civilian Superintendent of Police at the Chicago Police Department. It has been over fifty years since a civilian was appointed as â€Å"top cop’ in the City of Chicago. Unfortunately, three of the last four police superintendents have left their position under scrutiny or an ensuing scandal. In 2006, the mayor of the City of Chicago Richard M. Daley publicly announced that a nationwide search for the next Chicago Police Superintendent will be conducted. After a seven month search, the front runner was a 35 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Mayor Daley’s decision to re-evaluate the participants and continue the nationwide search for the position of superintendent proved to be a major blow to police morale. Ultimately, the mayor appointed retired FBI Director Jody Weis as Superintendent of Police. The Superintendent is the commanding officer for the CPD. Under the direction of the Superintendent, the CPD is organized into the First Deputy’s Office and five bureaus each commanded by a Deputy Superintendent. The five bureaus are Investigative Services, Patrol Division, Strategic Deployment, Crime Strategy and Accountability and Administrative Services. Within each of these major operating units are patrol officers, investigative staff, support staff and administrative staff. There are approximately 120 subunits which work under these six operating units. There are approximately 13,400 sworn personnel and 1,850 civilians employed by the CPD (Chicago Police. org n. d). The Chicago Police Department’s patrol and investigative geographical area are broken down into five Investigative Areas (1-5) and each area is broken down into 25 local police districts (1-25). Each district is broken down into beats numbering anywhere from 12-15 beats per district. The CPD is entering a new era of police administration and will undergo major restructuring as a result of police corruption and misconduct, political pressures, and a loss of community trust. According to Bolman and Deal (2003), â€Å"restructuring is a challenging process that consumes time and resources with no guarantee of success† (p. 83). Organizations usually embark on a path to change when they feel compelled to respond to major problems or opportunities (Bolman Deal, 2003). Unfortunately in the case of the CPD, major problems are the cause for change. Reorganization is often the first step a new leader makes to leave his stamp on the organization. The CPD is an old fashioned public bureaucracy that has remained stagnant in its operation for over fifty years of â€Å"insider† control. Promotion from within the ranks is expected. The appointment of an â€Å"outsider† is an effort by the mayor to shake things up with a focus of weeding out misconduct and corruption. Holloway (2002), defined police corruption â€Å"as the abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gain† (p. 1). The CPD has had its fair share of corruption and official misconduct. Externally, acts of police misconduct can be reported by those affected to a civilian investigative organization or to an internal police unit known as Internal Affairs. Internally, acts of police misconduct and corruption may be dramatically under-reported if reported at all. According to Ivkovic (2003, when a police administrator engages in reform and invests resources for the purposes of corruption control without having all the necessary information regarding the extent and nature of the corruption, the administrator will most likely be fighting a â€Å"losing battle† (p. 594). This losing battle in fighting corruption is the main issue that Jody Weis will encounter in his new position. Weis is seen as an â€Å"outsider† and even worse, an ex-federal employee. When a police officer is accused of committing acts of misconduct or corruption, the officer is likely to face federal charges and placed under arrest by a Federal Agent. Weis is considered an enemy, and unless he is part of the inside police culture, he will never have full access to internal police information on the existence of misconduct or corruption. The complex phenomenon of police corruption needs to be addressed from an ethical and moral standpoint. To truly address the problem, it is necessary to work not only with the officers and the community, but also with professional policing organizations† (Johnson Cox, 2004 p. 67). The lack of community trust is a major factor in restructuring the CPD. Community policing was the first major step in forming a collaborative partnership with the community. It allowed the police and community to work side by side to help each other to save neighborhoods from crime and disorder. Ethics, morals, and professionalism are just a few ways in which the communities trust can be gained. Johnson and Cox (2004), defined â€Å"ethics as the moral behavior of an individual or group in its surrounding† (p. 69). Northouse (2007) further added that â€Å"ethics concerns itself with the morals and values that the society or an individual finds appropriate† (p. 342). A 1996 study by Delattre, (as cited in Johnson Cox, 2004) contends that those who maintain a position of public authority and trust should prescribe to a higher level of moral standards than civilians. The community deserves the right to feel safe and protected. The community is a powerful force that can organize and demand change by putting pressure on the elected officials. Political pressure is the last of the four factors that affected the change needed in the CPD. The appointment of the Superintendent of Police was orchestrated by the mayor of the City of Chicago. The mayor stated that the CPD was in desperate need of a â€Å"change agent. † The mayor was looking for someone that was going to restore the communities trust in the CPD and institute organizational change. The â€Å"politicos† were not happy with an â€Å"insider† being promoted to Superintendent of Police. Political pressures dictated that the search for a Superintendent of Police continue. Following the appointment of Jody Weis, major organizational and personnel changes were instituted. One of the most critical factors that affected the actual implementation of the change was the change of personnel. After approximately two months of being on the job, Weis removed and appointed 21 of 25 new District Commanders and replaced numerous exempt rank Deputies and Chiefs of units. Never in the history of the CPD had anyone made such drastic and unpopular changes. The changes in personnel were made by use of the Chicago Police Department’s meritorious promotion system. This system had for a long time been associated with political clout and nepotism rather than true merit. According to Boseman (2008), leaders are given the opportunity to lead not because they are merely appointed by managers, but because they are seen as leaders. On the contrary, Leonard (2003) contends that many employees select future leadership primarily for their technical skills rather than their interpersonal or people leadership skills. Faced with the current status of the CPD, change was inevitable. With change comes resistance to change. The leader must have a plan to institute change and remedies to quell the fears of change (Kouzes Posner, 2002). Conclusion A basic assumption throughout this analysis has been that the CPD is in need of major policy, procedures, programs, and organizational change. A strong argument in favor of this point is the low police morale and community distrust of the CPD. Adhering to the basic principles of the police code of ethics and moral values, police can create a service based on consent and participation. Overall, the transformational leader must create a vision, get subordinates to buy in, and manifest honesty and integrity. The problems that affect the CPD are not situations that can be easily fixed. Over time, hard work and a dedicated collaborative effort between an enthusiastic leader and the community can bring about change. Further research is needed in the area of the complex phenomenon of police corruption. Change can be a good thing.

Ideas of Ethnicity from the Concept of Nation Essay Example for Free

Ideas of Ethnicity from the Concept of Nation Essay In order to start this question, it is necessary to try to explain some of the phrases within it. Multi-culturalism, nation and civic are all concepts that intertwine in different ways. Ethnicity and civic ideas in the nation can exist together and one incorporates the other. Multiculturalism is the civic nation in so far as a nation is a modern, liberal concept but as a general rule, the states attempt to assimilate immigrants and national minorities into the culture of the dominant ethnie (multi-culturalism) have been met with little success. For example, the state has managed to establish a national system of education and compel most minorities and immigrants to put their children through its uniform schooling system but on the otherhand, modern nations are civic and ethnic which constitutes multi-culturalism. Modern nations are both civic and ethnic and therefore multi-cultural in theory however we shall see that multi-culturalism as a theory does not work to its full definition. The term,Multi-cultural for Kymlicka represents a broader way to encompass a wide range of non-ethnic social groups which have been excluded or marginalised from mainstream society. 1 For the purposes of this essay it means multi-clturalism which arises from national and ethnic difference. ENTER PG NO Another form of multi-culturalism is when different cultures insist that all citizens have the same relationship with the state which is a model that allows for a degree of diversity in terms of language and culture rather than seeking to assimilate different ethnic groups. (Wieviorka 1998. ) The theory of the national state has generally assumed a civic form of nationalism. The ideal of the sovereignty of the people has always had a clear vision of the nature and boundaries of the people who make up the citizens of the state. When one brings the idea of ethnicity into the debate, a conflict arises from the internal contradiction at the heart of the national state between a universal conception of citizenship with its uniform rights and a conception of the people and the ethnic basis where national minorities demand their own rights as members of a community that shares a history which marks themselves off from the dominant ethnie. Thus causing a difficulty in forming a multicultural nation. It is often assumed that ethnic communities in the nation breeds exclusiveness and intolerance to the concept of nation however there is no one to one relationship between ethnic nationalism and exclusiveness for some ethnic groups live peacefully alongside one another such as the Catalan and Czech movements. (Smith. )

Negative Effects Of Divorce On Children

Negative Effects Of Divorce On Children Divorce is the worst situation that a child experiences in the growth and development life which they have to cope up with. The effects divorce has on children depend on age of the child when divorce occurs. Other factors that determines the effects the divorce impacts on children depends on childs personality and the gender, the support offered by other family members and relatives besides the frequency of conflicts and disagreements between parents determines the magnitude of the effect. In consideration of age, young children who are below two years of age are less affected by divorce although this might not be the case when there is a close relationship between the children and the parent (s). These infants do not get to understand the nature of the conflict but nevertheless they react to the changes that accompany divorce. When such a situation is prone to happen, the concerned parents should make special and prior arrangements on childcare and parenting to reduce the negative i nfluence their separation would impact on children (Alison and Cornelia 34). Children who are yet to join school (preschool children) usually takes the blame incase divorce and separation occurs. This is facilitated by their fear of been abandoned and left alone by parents separation. However if separation through divorce occur, preschoolers responds by turning to be uncooperative, angry and depressed. Their personality is also greatly affected and they change completely from their initial socialization when they become aggressive and disobedient towards any adult near them while living a life of denial that nothing happened (DeBord 12). Divorce has the greatest and long lasting effect on school aged children than the young ones. Their personality and emotional attachment to their parent is so strong that they find it extremely difficult to cope up and adjust with the new situation of loneliness of either parent. The difficult situation experienced by elementary children who are school age results from their maturity to understand every bit of situation that is happening with their parents. This age is mature and old enough to comprehend and feel the pain associated with separation from divorce of their parents. The unfortunate part that school age children undergo is the inability they have to control the internal pain caused by divorce (Mary 1). The manifestations associated with effects of divorce on this age group of children are resentment, grief, intensive anger, embarrassment, resentment and divided loyalty. They also tend to be isolated from other children and may develop total withdraw from other childrens activities like creative playing and games. These children live with a hope that their parents will still return together; in case of otherwise, these children feel rejected by the parent who left. Apart from personality and emotional effects, divorce at this age may affect the health of children who may frequently complain of stomachaches and headaches (Eileen and Josephine 23). When divorce occurs during adolescent stage of children, its effects are more severe than any other stage in childs development. Some teenagers feel abandoned, guilt and a sense fear. Their emotional set up is severely disrupted by divorce; they experience loneliness, depression and anger towards other people and mostly their parents especially the one who has left. During this age, the children are mature enough to handle some family responsibilities. However they feel punished and burdened especially when they are responsible for the childcare of their younger siblings. Their response is always swift and they try to fill the gap by assuming adult responsibilities due to high levels of stress and low energy levels with their parents. Some teenagers struggle with sexual desires since they have no one to confine to and experience low self esteem of handling marriage and getting married. Since teenagers understood well the causes and situations surrounding their parents separation and subsequent divorce, their stability in education greatly declines due to lack of concentration and stability, in addition, they are not in a position to deal with future changes occurring in their family life. Children in this age bracket gets themselves in a confused state of mind since they are unable to decide which parent to accept over the other (Hughes 12). The pressure they experience on deciding who to blame for the cause of divorce stress them up affecting negatively their academic life declining in performance since they spend much of their school time evaluating and thinking about the situation back at home. They are also occupied with many thoughts especially if they have assumed responsibilities to take care of their younger siblings. Their emotional status is greatly affected since they experienced whatever happened with their parents; they lose confidence with marriage institutions and do no longer have ability and confidence to handle their family life (Mary 1). Based on gender, children who are raised by parent of the opposite sex are greatly affected by divorce more than boys raised by fathers and girls raised by mothers after divorce. Children raised by opposite sex tend to develop aggressive behaviors and resentment. Emotional disorders are common to children brought up by opposite sex parent while those raised by same sex tends to be responsible and respond to their environments more quickly. Although age, gender and other factors have been identified as influencers of the extent to how children respond or/ and affected by divorce, the most determining factor is the parent to children relationship (Alison and Cornelia 43). However, children should be assisted to adjust to divorce situations in their life. The parent in custody of children should consistently maintain communication and discussion of divorce regardless of how painful it is to the children to help them overcome it. This process will also assure their confidence and adequately prepare them for the future especially the adolescent group who requires understanding in a more detailed manner than younger ones. To recover quickly and reduce the effects of divorce, conflicts and aggressiveness of parents after divorce should be minimized and avoided if possible. Finally disruptions of children should be kept at low levels always and parents should have proper plans of how to deal with after divorce events. Work Cited Alison Clarke and Cornelia Brentano, â€Å"Divorce: causes and consequences,† Yale: Yale University Press, 2006 DeBord Kennedy, â€Å"Focus on Kids: The effects of divorce on children,† North Carolina, Cangage Learning, 1997 Eileen Hetherington and Josephine Arasteh,† Impact of divorce, single parenting and step parenting on children, New York: Routledge, 2001 Hughes Recker, â€Å"Parenting on your own:† Illinois, Routledge, 1999 Mary Temke, â€Å"The effects of Divorce on Children: Family and Consumer Resources,† Retrieved on April 5th 2010 from: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache%3AQPgXCQMt0pcJ%3Aextension.unh.edu%2FFamily%2FDocuments%2FDivorce.pdf+The+negative+effects+of+divorce+on+childrenhl=engl=ke

Benefits of the International Reporting Standards

Benefits of the International Reporting Standards 2. 0 Literature review 2.1 Introduction Literature abounds in polarising this subject matter the benefits of the international reporting standards. Looking back at the last quarter of the 20th century it will no longer be seen as an evolutionary period global financial market in a bit to introduce a single set of standards that will be generally acceptable in financial reporting. International reporting standards have revolutionized the domestic accounting system to a more capital oriented system (Hope et al, d Archy 2001). Lantto (2007) states that the information provided by the IFRS is more reliable and relevant. Darke and Deske (2006) highlights that the disclosure quality has increased tremendously since the adoption of the IFRS. Furthermore, Ding et al (2006) states that the adoption of the IFRS has made a great impact in bridging the differences in the use of the domestic standards among the countries. In justifying the theories, there are opinions as well as oppositions on the advantages of the international reporting standards. What becomes evident although arguably is that the movement from the domestic standard of reporting to the international standard of reporting is of great benefit to financial reporting to the shareholders, firms ,organizations and also global economy as it will place the whole countries in the same reporting field. This chapter will review this report from the historical background of the international financial reporting standards, the Implementation and enforcement then to the benefits of the adoption of this standard. 2.2 Financial Reporting. In the beginning financial reporting can hardly be called external (Alexander, Britton and Jorissen, 2003: 22) rather it was a way by which the owners were informed on their income and capital. This is because the owners and managers of the company were not separated. Until in the 1800s when they started encountering the agency problems it becomes evident to separate ownership (management) from capital supply. Then external wreporting was introduced in order to provide information outside the borders of a specific country. Hence, financial reporting emanates from internal to external reporting. Financial reporting provides information to the users for making economic decisions (Iqbal 2002). Gilmore and Wilmot (1992) states that reporting has developed over time in a bid to stress the need for investment decision making and also to attract investors into the company. Hegarty (1997) opines that the range and varieties of this reporting regime is as a result of an evolution which shows the uniqueness in the economic, cultural and legal jurisdiction. As a part of the revolutionary process financial reporting has changed over time (Crowther 2000). The change is a result of a need for a good financial reporting system that will communicate real value an d risk to the users of the reports (Damant 2000) .Hence, the quality of a financial report is dependent on the reporting standards. 2.3 Why Standards? According to (Perks 1994,p.137),Accounting standards may be seen as the professions rules, which supplement companies Act requirements that are intended to restrict directors freedom of manovoevre and to ensure that the financial statements are presented on a more comparable, consistent and standard basis. Perks (1994) reporting standards is also important in order to prevent scandals, abuses, financial collapsing in the companies and creative accounting that may jeopardize the profession. Also, Elliot and Elliot (2008) highlight some reasons for standard this includes: Comparability: Financial statements should be able to allow users make predictions on future cash flows and also evaluate managements performance. Credibility: For financial information to disclose information that will give a true and fair view, uniformity is therefore essential. Influence: To be able to stimulate a development of the conceptual framework the process at which the standards are formulated should be able to give a constructive appraisal of the policies proposed for the individual financial reporting. Discipline: A mandatory standard is necessary as it structures a regulation that will be systematic and ongoing thereby enforcing a disciple in the financial markets for all organizations listed in the stock exchange. The usefulness of a reporting standard cannot be overemphasized although there are some arguments on this. Harvey and Keer (1983) argued that information produced using financial standards could be unreliable at times and the standards might be bureaucratic and inflexible. Also, there may be adverse allocative effects . Consequently, there might be consensus-seeking and standard overload . Lets take an illustration of a of two companies; Enron and Ahold to further explain why we need standards. Enron is the seventh largest US based company falling into bankruptcy as a result of an overstated profit of $500 million and the Ahold the third largest US grocer had their earnings overstated for the past two years by $500. 2.3 How National differences affects reporting. Given that the environment differ from country to country, the types of decisions to be taken and information needed in decision making differs from one country to another. Hence, accounting system is environment specific. (Iqbal 2002). Adhikari and Tondkar (1992) reported that financial accounting reporting and disclosure standards and practices do not develop in a vacuum but reflect the particular environment in which they are developed (p. 76). The culture of a country affects its method of accounting and financial reporting. For example, Gary (1988) in his books illustrated one of the ways by which cultural differences affects countries financial reporting; a country with a high uncertainty avoidance and low individualism will tend to be more conservative in their income measurement than in a country with low certainty avoidance and high individualism. Although the measures of cultural attributes may be indistinct and not direct in financial reporting compared with the other factors that affect financial reporting.Also, the nature of accounting regulations in a country is influenced by the general system of law applicable in that country. For example Jaggi and Low (2000), notes that companies in the common laws countries tends to have a high level of disclosures than countries in a codified Roman law system. La Porta et al. (1998) argues that common countries have investors with a strong legal protection than the Roman law countries do. Moreover, the differences in the types of business organization and ownership also affect financial reporting. Elliot and Elliot (2008) further explains this stating that in a country like the UK the business structure indicates a separation of the ownership and the management while in the French business the structure differentiates the ownership from the managers.. According to Nobes and Parker (1 998, p.21):The difference in the providers of finance (creditors/insiders) versus (equity/ outsiders) is the key cause of international differences in financial reporting. Although there is an increasing scale, companies firms had to find extra capital to finance growth. (Alexander, Britton and Jorrisen 2003). Roe (2003), further argues that political differences are the major cause of the differences in corporate structures in the developed western countries. Also the accountancy profession is another determinant of the differences in financial reporting. Nobes and Parker (2006:36) emphasizes that the strength, size, and competence of the accountancy profession in a country affect the type of financial reporting that will be obtained in that country. So with these differences the financial analyst cannot be able to make a headway there is therefore a need for a uniform reporting standards. 2.4 Why the call for international reporting standards Over the years it becomes apparent for an ever increasing worldwide competition. The globalization of the markets and companies increased as a result of the cross-border securities market listings and capital raising.. Thus, there was no cross-border investments, investors therefore prefer to invest in companies whereby there will are more comfortable with their system of accounting . 2.5 Background of the International Reporting Standards. Financial reporting standards for international applicability became prevalent in the 1970s. International Accounting Standards committee (IASC) was set up in the 1973 in order to standardize the reporting differences in international investment communities. The establishment of the International Accounting Standard committee is seen as a response to the call by the accounting profession for a greater co-ordination of accounting rules among the various nations of the world (Kraayenhof 1960).The need was expressed in the international congresses of Accountants held in September, 1972 in Sydney. Chetkovich (1979, p.13) emphasizes that at each of these congresses, there was a demand for a better communications and closer cooperation among accountants on a worldwide basis; and also for greater harmonization of accounting standards. This statement led to the establishment of the IASC on June 29, 1973. The objectives of IASC are: to formulate and publish in the public interest, international standards; also to promote their acceptance and observance world-wide, and to work generally for the improvement and harmonisation of regulations, accounting standards and procedures relating to the presentation of financial statements. (IASC, 1983, Preface to Statements of International Accounting Standards, p.1). This is the first step towards the achievement of a globally recognised standard .The members of the IASC accept that adopting of international accounting standards (IAS) will improve the quality of financial statements (IASC ,1995). How far did this go or were there criticisms to this standard? IASC helped in solving the problem of uniformity although the purpose of it enactment was far from being realised. One of the weaknesses is that the standard issued by IASC has many objectives thereby making it difficult to achieve the purpose of consistency in recognition, measurement and presentation of transactions (IASB section 4). The standard is also too broad and allowed the use of several alternative accounting treatments. Atiken and Wise (1984) emphasizes that the IASC gives more attention to the multinational companies and investors in the multinational businesses more than it emphasizes on the harmonization of all spheres of the organization globally. Therefore emphasizing that IAS C was set up for the harmonization of accounting on a worldwide basis in order to improve the financial reporting and decision-making capability of multinational businesses, and investors in multinational businesses.(p.176). The second criticism to the use of IASC is that of the mandate. The statement starts with the phrase to formulate and publish in the public interest international standards†¦. (IASC). Hence they act in the interest of the public by a way of enforcing the rules which may not be favourable to the public. This absence of democratic legitimacy has been the major reason by which the IASC standards have not been enforced. Besides , this the structure and the membership composition of the IASC lacked the requirements needed for a global standard setting organization which includes the independence of its members, technical expertise and the decision making bodies representatives. McKinnon and Janelle (1983, p.33) argued that IASC has only succeeded in codifying generally accepted practice, in serving as a neutral source of standards ,and in influencing groups with the enforcement powers. Consequently, the IASC was restructured from the year 1998 to 2000 to International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IASB is an independent London-based standard accounting body privately funded. The first IFRS was issued in the year 2003 with a membership of 19 countries but it has tremendously grown to 70 countries now with the EU mandating that all listed companies should use the IFRS in their financial reporting effective from the year 2005 (EC,2002). IASB has two member bodies the standard setting board and the member board of trustees .The IASB establishment is allied to that of the international federation of Accountants worldwide (IFAC).. The International Accounting Standards Board is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements in addition, the IASB co-operates with the national accounting standard-setters to achieve con vergence in accounting standards around the world. (IASB, 2002, p.1). IASB has taken corrective measures in removing the accounting alternatives thereby ensuring that firms give a report that will reflect a true position and economic performance of the firm. IASB also aims at promoting global consistency in application and enforcement. It has also met the requirement that the business which operates in multiple bodies have a uniform financial statement which will be understandable in the countries whereby they operate. 2.6 International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) versus FASB? Norwalk agreement in the year 2002 by the Financial accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board was signed by both bodies after the need for a high quality, consistent and a comparable information which will be applicable to both domestic and the cross border financial reporting was recognized. Jacob and Madu (2009, p.3) the cited that both FASB and the IASB has pledged to use their best efforts in making their existing financial reporting standards fully compatible as is practicable and to coordinate their future work programmes to ensure that once achieved compatibility is maintained. This was also confirmed in their meeting in October 2005 of the two bodies reaffirming their commitments to converge US GAAP to IFRS. In a Concept Release, the SEC(2000) notes, Establishing and maintaining high quality accounting standards are critical to the US approach to regulation of capital markets, which depends on providing high quality information to facilitate informed investment decisions. (Jacob and Madu 2009).SEC released a proposal on July 13 2007, which states that US should recognize financial statements prepared using the IFRS from the foreign private issuers without reconciling them back to GAAP [2].furthermore, SEC informs all the investors that IFRS is the only set of standards with a high quality accounting standards that is more informative, useful for preparing financial reports compared with the US GAAP. This recent move to IFRS suggest that ,IFRS is the only standard that is of high quality and globally recognized and also has a potential to improve comparability of the financial statements despite of the country whereby they are domiciled. Despite all these efforts to converge to IFRS some academic literature still opines this stating that there are still material differences between the IFRS and the US GAAP. More so, the information contained in reconciliation is evident in the investment decisions made by the US investors. for example ,Culter and Neidemeyer (2009) argues that the major challenge why US did not want to adopt the IFRS is that there are differences in regulation and the manner at which these rules are been interpreted. IFRS is principal based regulatory system; which means that the rules are already set. On the other hand US GAAP is ruled based, whereby a detailed guidelines and principles is already laid out. Delliot (2007) emphasized that the principle based rules focuses more on the objective not relying more on the detailed rules. Deming (2005,p.4) gives a conclusive report pointing out that IFRS has more of a common law approach, than the US GAAP which is more of a civil law approach Furthermore, in the number of standards, IFRS has forty nine sta ndards while and nineteen interpretations and this consist of an approximate of two hundred pages (Delliot 2009) while the US GAAP has twenty thousand page (Mitra 2009).Other notable differences are seen in the financial reporting using the US GAAP and the IFRS. This will be comprehensively reviewed in the subsequent chapter. 2.7 Implementation and Enforcement of Financial Reporting Standards The credibility of a standard relies on its smooth implementation by countries that adopts it. Enforcement is a difficult concept to quantify and measure (Nobes and Parker 2006). The enforcement process differs from one country to another. Even at the international level there is still no genuine enforcement process. Moreover, some accounting bodies set standards and leaves enforcement to other bodies while others do both. For example US Securities and Exchange Commission sets laws and enforces it while IASC, Accounting Standards board (ASB) sets and develops standards and do not have the power to enforce these standards For the set rule of IFRS to be achieved an enforcement body has to be set up with powers to enforce the standards (Lamfalussy, 2001; Committee of European Securities Regulators [CESR], 2003a). Nobes and Parker (2008) states that the most determining factor for a successful adoption of this standard as a global standard is in the approach taken by the financial regulating bodies in the countries that adopts it. Giner and Rees (2005), Brown and Tarca (2005 )and Ball(2006 ) affirms that the purpose of IFRS is to provide a high quality financial reporting which can only be achieved with vigorous enforcement by the regulatory bodies (Schipper 2005 and Ball et al. 2003.The enforcement has not been easy certain factor has affected the effective enforcement of the law. Some of them vary from the cost, regulators interest and whether the businesses or accountants really need them. Watts and Zimmerman (1986), opines that the value of regulation is an empirical question, more apprehensive of ho w the regulatory authorities can value the costs and benefits of regulation. For example in the EU countries the structure and the organization that is in charge of the oversight of the requirements in the financial reporting varies among the EU countries. Also some countries do not have institutional oversight of financial reporting (FEE, 2001a, p.10).The EU regulation therefore mandates that the member states are to take appropriate measures in order to ensure compliance with IFRS. (European Commission EC], 2002, n.16). As a result of this the need for a country to produce a multiple financial statements was eliminated. Lafferty (1981) noted that no enforcement mechanism ever existed in reality. Perks (1993), expressed in his opinion that, without a legal backing it is not easy for the reporting standards to be enforced. Enforcing of the accounting standards therefore may require statutory audit, an effective sanctions and monitoring by supervisory bodies and for it to be implemen ted. Thus, there will be continuous reformations and changes in these standards. IFRS AND EU The European Parliamentary on enacted a legislation 0n 14 March 2002 requiring all companies listed in the European stock exchange to publish their financial statements with in accordance with the International financial reporting standards. There is also an endorsement mechanism which ensures that IFRS meets the needs of the EU listed countries. 2.4 International Standardization, Harmonization and Uniformity. The move towards greater harmonization of professional accounting practices has been traced back 1904 and the first accounting congress in St Louis, Missouri (Samuels and Piper, 1985, p.59, Mueller, 1979, p.7). Samuels and Piper (1985 p.59) states that international issues were not important while Mueller (1979 p.7) states that there is a need to pay attention to International harmonization. Combarros (2000), also argues that there is a need for harmonization of the accounting. Harmonization and standardization are used synonymously by some authors (Tay and Parker, 1990). While other researchers has differentiated the two. Tay and Parker (1990, p.73) defined harmonization as a movement away from total diversity of practice and standardisation is seen as a process which involves a movement towards uniformity. Saudagaran (2001:32), futher emphasized that the rationale for harmonization is that it will enhance comparability of financial statements [therefore] making it easier to use acr oss countries While other proponents is of the school of thought that harmonization will is not be practicable or truly probable. Rudhede and Wahlberg (2003) emphasizes that the lack of accounting harmonization will give difficulties to the investors in understanding the accounting principles which varies among the countries. Walton. Moreover, harmonization is a way to put processes in place to be able to reduce the obstacles inherent in international comparability. Hulle (1993, p.73) stated that the objective of harmonization is the comparability of accounts. All the efforts of the EU towards harmonization of these accounting standards have been challenging and slow. 2.4.2 Merits of international harmonization. An argument in favour of international harmonization is, efficiency in trans-border transactions. (Walton, Haller, Raffournier, 1998, p.9). Although lack of uniformity in the reporting procedures and the comparability of the accounting information is another barrier to cross border investments. This comparability of the financial postions across national bodies is seen as one of the most important reason for harmonization (Cummins 1975). This will help to reduce lack of trust and non reliance on the financial statements. With this there will be a flow of international investment in the capital market. Turner (1983 p.58) in his studies affirms that the second advantage of harmonization is to consolidate divergent information when more than one set of report is required to comply with different national laws or practices; further stating that accounting diversity is the major cause why companies spend unnecessarily cost. According to Houston and Reinstein (2001), harmonization of the a ccounting standards will reduce the cost of business, more particularly across national borders, than it will contribute towards greater efficiency of the market regulations. Not only will that harmonization reduce the costs inherent in conducting financial statements analysis and investments in international context. Another advantage of international harmonization of the accounting standards is saving of resources (Muller 1961, Spacek 1971). Further arguments is that international harmonization of the accounting standards can advance capital market efficiency(Ramanna and Sletten 2009) while Ball et al., 2000; Ball Et al 2006 envisaged that if the international market does not go along with the associated capital market institutions can be expensive. Finally, harmonization of the international accounting standards will help in improving management decisions in the multinationals. (Hauworth 1973). 2.4.3 Demerits of international harmonization International harmonization if faced with some criticisms, Some of which are economic while others are political. One of the criticisms is that it cannot carter for a wide range of national circumstances, legal systems, stages of economic development, and cultural differences (Samuel and Piper, 1985, pp 100-109). Atiken and Islam refuted this stating that the nature of the economic transactions and the methods by which they are accounted for does not vary in essence. Walton, Haller, Raffournier, (1998) argued that harmonization distorts social balances that have not been tackled over a long period of time. In the readings of Blake and Hossain (1996) International harmonization of reporting standards especially IASC is less respectful of local particularities; in regards to this context options will be seen as to be bad ,methods are termed either good or bad and costly reconciliations is likely to be imposed. Kenny and Larson (1993) further argued that large professional organizations protect their selfish interest in the standard setting process. Also the absence of a strong professional accounting body is a major obstacle to harmonization of accounting standards. 2.10 Arguments for international reporting. The essence of international reporting standards is to give a universal reporting standard that will be comprehensive and transparent thereby improving investors confidence as well as also creating market integrity. (Hope et al., 2005; dArcy, 2001). In this section we looked at the benefits of international reporting standards to the investors, firms, and also to the global economy. Gordon (2008, p. 3) cited the speech of Levitt (1997) which stating that for international reporting standards to gain acceptance three key objectives must be in place: The standards should include a core set of accounting pronouncements that constitute a comprehensive, generally accepted basis of accounting. The standards must be of high quality – they must result in comparability and transparency and they must provide for full disclosure. The standards must be rigorously interpreted and applied. Financial Reporting quality and transparency under IFRS The question has been if the accounting figures reported under this standard will give of high quality compared to those under domestic standards?. Also will IFRS show transparency in disclosure for an informed decision for investment? Barth et al., (2007) states that this is an extremely intricate question to answer as the application of any given standard has exhibited the effects of the features of the financial reporting system, its standards, as well their interpretation, enforcement and litigation. As these affects the competence of the financial prepares and users. Tarca (2004) said that international accounting standards are one way of improving transparency in financial reporting. Ashbaugh and Pincus (2001) elaborate that since the adoption of IFRS there has been improvement in the forecast accuracy by the analyst. As a result of this analysts cost of information acquisition also reduces. Cuijpers and Buijink (2005) from his sample of firms domiciled in the European Union pr ovide evidence that the analyst following has increased. Also Barth et al (2003) and Barth et al (2007) reveal that higher value relevance for firms is higher since the adoption of the IFRS as compared with the pre adoption period. IFRS therefore reduces the estimation of risk in market returns. Hence we will say that the quality of the IFRS in financial reporting is therefore inestimable in countries that adopt IFRS than those that use the locally recognised standards. Although we have affirmed that IFRS is associated with a high accounting quality there may be oppositions to this. Firstly, where there is an intrinsic flexibility in the principles based standards; this may present opportunities for firms to manage their earning thereby reducing the accounting quality. Also, in a bit to limit the managerial discretion which relates to the accounting alternatives will also reduce the ability of the firm to report accounting measurements that will give a reflection of what the true po sition and economic performance of the company is. Thus, accounting regime affects the quality of the information thereby affecting the cost of capital. Cost of capital and IFRS Adoption There are various propositions on the whether the adoption of IFRS reduces liquidity and lower cost of capital. Before the adoption of IFRS investors have to spend some time and effort in translating the standards in a way they can to understand. This process wastes efforts time and incurs transaction cost. The cost of capital determines how risky an investment would be. The higher the cost of capital the more risky the investment will be. According to (Coffee 2002), findings on bonding theory there is a lowered cost of capital. Deske (2006) affirms that this associated reduction in information cost is the main benefits by which IFRS is being adopted. There will be a reduced cost since the same standard will be used by all countries not regarding where the countries are domiciled. Aras and Crowther (2008) argued that the reduction in the cost of information in the adoption of IFRS and an assured consequent reduction can only benefit the countries whose legal, cultural, and economic s ystem is the same with the nations which are involved in setting IFRS, hence other countries which are not beneficial to this may incur increased cost compliance. Although, Barth (2007); Marquez-Ramos (2008) emphasized that IFRS reduces information cost of an economy as capital flows and trade becomes globalised. Improved comparability of the accounting reports: The use of IFRS eliminates the lack of comparability of financial statements. Choi et al. 1999, p. 249 states that comparability eliminate the current misunderstandings of the investors on the reliability of foreign financial statements and this removes one of the most main impediments affecting the flow of international investment. It also makes it easier for companies to compare financial results of different reporting entities from different countries. Global recognition Globalization of the business activities has increased creating a need for comparability of financial information between firms of different countries .Most of the companies are going globalized therefore the use of national accounting rules is increasingly impairing effective communication both in internal and external reporting. In a recent study by the international federation of Accountants(IFAC) most accounting leaders all over the world has agreed that adopting IFRS will be vital for economic growth in their countries. It is also significant as it will make it easier to compare human capital needs of companys subsidiaries all over the world since professionals will be more mobile. IFRS improves profit figures: The movement from the domestically recognized standards to the internationally recognized standards has resulted to a tremendous increase in the net profit figures of top most countries financial reports although the balance sheets have deteriorated. It is noted already that IFRS requires a comprehensive reporting than the domestic standards. IFRS has determined the various accounting methods by which profit figures will be derived from and reported by the firms (Aras and Crowther 2008). Impact of IFRS on financial reporting Examining financial statement implications is important because, †¦ the only direct effects †¦ are changed financial statements †¦ (Hung and Subramanyan, 2004, p.4) Pijper (2009), further examines how IFRS has affected the reporting of financing on the balance sheet. In GAAP the put option were disclosed in a footnote as an off balance sheet figure, but with the IFRS the put options which is held by minorities are now treated as a financial liabilities. Prior to the adoption of IFRS most companies were very conservative in their depreciation rates and this was affecting the business profits in that some assets will still be in use and there is no report on the expense incurred against those assets in the income statements but now the IFRS has reduced the distortions b these excessive prudent nature of depreciation rates .From the studies of (Hung and Subramanyan 2004) IFRS emphasized that fair value should be used for balance sheet valuation. Barth et al (2005) from hi s studies discovered that companies that uses IFRS experienc Benefits of the International Reporting Standards Benefits of the International Reporting Standards 2. 0 Literature review 2.1 Introduction Literature abounds in polarising this subject matter the benefits of the international reporting standards. Looking back at the last quarter of the 20th century it will no longer be seen as an evolutionary period global financial market in a bit to introduce a single set of standards that will be generally acceptable in financial reporting. International reporting standards have revolutionized the domestic accounting system to a more capital oriented system (Hope et al, d Archy 2001). Lantto (2007) states that the information provided by the IFRS is more reliable and relevant. Darke and Deske (2006) highlights that the disclosure quality has increased tremendously since the adoption of the IFRS. Furthermore, Ding et al (2006) states that the adoption of the IFRS has made a great impact in bridging the differences in the use of the domestic standards among the countries. In justifying the theories, there are opinions as well as oppositions on the advantages of the international reporting standards. What becomes evident although arguably is that the movement from the domestic standard of reporting to the international standard of reporting is of great benefit to financial reporting to the shareholders, firms ,organizations and also global economy as it will place the whole countries in the same reporting field. This chapter will review this report from the historical background of the international financial reporting standards, the Implementation and enforcement then to the benefits of the adoption of this standard. 2.2 Financial Reporting. In the beginning financial reporting can hardly be called external (Alexander, Britton and Jorissen, 2003: 22) rather it was a way by which the owners were informed on their income and capital. This is because the owners and managers of the company were not separated. Until in the 1800s when they started encountering the agency problems it becomes evident to separate ownership (management) from capital supply. Then external wreporting was introduced in order to provide information outside the borders of a specific country. Hence, financial reporting emanates from internal to external reporting. Financial reporting provides information to the users for making economic decisions (Iqbal 2002). Gilmore and Wilmot (1992) states that reporting has developed over time in a bid to stress the need for investment decision making and also to attract investors into the company. Hegarty (1997) opines that the range and varieties of this reporting regime is as a result of an evolution which shows the uniqueness in the economic, cultural and legal jurisdiction. As a part of the revolutionary process financial reporting has changed over time (Crowther 2000). The change is a result of a need for a good financial reporting system that will communicate real value an d risk to the users of the reports (Damant 2000) .Hence, the quality of a financial report is dependent on the reporting standards. 2.3 Why Standards? According to (Perks 1994,p.137),Accounting standards may be seen as the professions rules, which supplement companies Act requirements that are intended to restrict directors freedom of manovoevre and to ensure that the financial statements are presented on a more comparable, consistent and standard basis. Perks (1994) reporting standards is also important in order to prevent scandals, abuses, financial collapsing in the companies and creative accounting that may jeopardize the profession. Also, Elliot and Elliot (2008) highlight some reasons for standard this includes: Comparability: Financial statements should be able to allow users make predictions on future cash flows and also evaluate managements performance. Credibility: For financial information to disclose information that will give a true and fair view, uniformity is therefore essential. Influence: To be able to stimulate a development of the conceptual framework the process at which the standards are formulated should be able to give a constructive appraisal of the policies proposed for the individual financial reporting. Discipline: A mandatory standard is necessary as it structures a regulation that will be systematic and ongoing thereby enforcing a disciple in the financial markets for all organizations listed in the stock exchange. The usefulness of a reporting standard cannot be overemphasized although there are some arguments on this. Harvey and Keer (1983) argued that information produced using financial standards could be unreliable at times and the standards might be bureaucratic and inflexible. Also, there may be adverse allocative effects . Consequently, there might be consensus-seeking and standard overload . Lets take an illustration of a of two companies; Enron and Ahold to further explain why we need standards. Enron is the seventh largest US based company falling into bankruptcy as a result of an overstated profit of $500 million and the Ahold the third largest US grocer had their earnings overstated for the past two years by $500. 2.3 How National differences affects reporting. Given that the environment differ from country to country, the types of decisions to be taken and information needed in decision making differs from one country to another. Hence, accounting system is environment specific. (Iqbal 2002). Adhikari and Tondkar (1992) reported that financial accounting reporting and disclosure standards and practices do not develop in a vacuum but reflect the particular environment in which they are developed (p. 76). The culture of a country affects its method of accounting and financial reporting. For example, Gary (1988) in his books illustrated one of the ways by which cultural differences affects countries financial reporting; a country with a high uncertainty avoidance and low individualism will tend to be more conservative in their income measurement than in a country with low certainty avoidance and high individualism. Although the measures of cultural attributes may be indistinct and not direct in financial reporting compared with the other factors that affect financial reporting.Also, the nature of accounting regulations in a country is influenced by the general system of law applicable in that country. For example Jaggi and Low (2000), notes that companies in the common laws countries tends to have a high level of disclosures than countries in a codified Roman law system. La Porta et al. (1998) argues that common countries have investors with a strong legal protection than the Roman law countries do. Moreover, the differences in the types of business organization and ownership also affect financial reporting. Elliot and Elliot (2008) further explains this stating that in a country like the UK the business structure indicates a separation of the ownership and the management while in the French business the structure differentiates the ownership from the managers.. According to Nobes and Parker (1 998, p.21):The difference in the providers of finance (creditors/insiders) versus (equity/ outsiders) is the key cause of international differences in financial reporting. Although there is an increasing scale, companies firms had to find extra capital to finance growth. (Alexander, Britton and Jorrisen 2003). Roe (2003), further argues that political differences are the major cause of the differences in corporate structures in the developed western countries. Also the accountancy profession is another determinant of the differences in financial reporting. Nobes and Parker (2006:36) emphasizes that the strength, size, and competence of the accountancy profession in a country affect the type of financial reporting that will be obtained in that country. So with these differences the financial analyst cannot be able to make a headway there is therefore a need for a uniform reporting standards. 2.4 Why the call for international reporting standards Over the years it becomes apparent for an ever increasing worldwide competition. The globalization of the markets and companies increased as a result of the cross-border securities market listings and capital raising.. Thus, there was no cross-border investments, investors therefore prefer to invest in companies whereby there will are more comfortable with their system of accounting . 2.5 Background of the International Reporting Standards. Financial reporting standards for international applicability became prevalent in the 1970s. International Accounting Standards committee (IASC) was set up in the 1973 in order to standardize the reporting differences in international investment communities. The establishment of the International Accounting Standard committee is seen as a response to the call by the accounting profession for a greater co-ordination of accounting rules among the various nations of the world (Kraayenhof 1960).The need was expressed in the international congresses of Accountants held in September, 1972 in Sydney. Chetkovich (1979, p.13) emphasizes that at each of these congresses, there was a demand for a better communications and closer cooperation among accountants on a worldwide basis; and also for greater harmonization of accounting standards. This statement led to the establishment of the IASC on June 29, 1973. The objectives of IASC are: to formulate and publish in the public interest, international standards; also to promote their acceptance and observance world-wide, and to work generally for the improvement and harmonisation of regulations, accounting standards and procedures relating to the presentation of financial statements. (IASC, 1983, Preface to Statements of International Accounting Standards, p.1). This is the first step towards the achievement of a globally recognised standard .The members of the IASC accept that adopting of international accounting standards (IAS) will improve the quality of financial statements (IASC ,1995). How far did this go or were there criticisms to this standard? IASC helped in solving the problem of uniformity although the purpose of it enactment was far from being realised. One of the weaknesses is that the standard issued by IASC has many objectives thereby making it difficult to achieve the purpose of consistency in recognition, measurement and presentation of transactions (IASB section 4). The standard is also too broad and allowed the use of several alternative accounting treatments. Atiken and Wise (1984) emphasizes that the IASC gives more attention to the multinational companies and investors in the multinational businesses more than it emphasizes on the harmonization of all spheres of the organization globally. Therefore emphasizing that IAS C was set up for the harmonization of accounting on a worldwide basis in order to improve the financial reporting and decision-making capability of multinational businesses, and investors in multinational businesses.(p.176). The second criticism to the use of IASC is that of the mandate. The statement starts with the phrase to formulate and publish in the public interest international standards†¦. (IASC). Hence they act in the interest of the public by a way of enforcing the rules which may not be favourable to the public. This absence of democratic legitimacy has been the major reason by which the IASC standards have not been enforced. Besides , this the structure and the membership composition of the IASC lacked the requirements needed for a global standard setting organization which includes the independence of its members, technical expertise and the decision making bodies representatives. McKinnon and Janelle (1983, p.33) argued that IASC has only succeeded in codifying generally accepted practice, in serving as a neutral source of standards ,and in influencing groups with the enforcement powers. Consequently, the IASC was restructured from the year 1998 to 2000 to International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IASB is an independent London-based standard accounting body privately funded. The first IFRS was issued in the year 2003 with a membership of 19 countries but it has tremendously grown to 70 countries now with the EU mandating that all listed companies should use the IFRS in their financial reporting effective from the year 2005 (EC,2002). IASB has two member bodies the standard setting board and the member board of trustees .The IASB establishment is allied to that of the international federation of Accountants worldwide (IFAC).. The International Accounting Standards Board is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements in addition, the IASB co-operates with the national accounting standard-setters to achieve con vergence in accounting standards around the world. (IASB, 2002, p.1). IASB has taken corrective measures in removing the accounting alternatives thereby ensuring that firms give a report that will reflect a true position and economic performance of the firm. IASB also aims at promoting global consistency in application and enforcement. It has also met the requirement that the business which operates in multiple bodies have a uniform financial statement which will be understandable in the countries whereby they operate. 2.6 International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) versus FASB? Norwalk agreement in the year 2002 by the Financial accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board was signed by both bodies after the need for a high quality, consistent and a comparable information which will be applicable to both domestic and the cross border financial reporting was recognized. Jacob and Madu (2009, p.3) the cited that both FASB and the IASB has pledged to use their best efforts in making their existing financial reporting standards fully compatible as is practicable and to coordinate their future work programmes to ensure that once achieved compatibility is maintained. This was also confirmed in their meeting in October 2005 of the two bodies reaffirming their commitments to converge US GAAP to IFRS. In a Concept Release, the SEC(2000) notes, Establishing and maintaining high quality accounting standards are critical to the US approach to regulation of capital markets, which depends on providing high quality information to facilitate informed investment decisions. (Jacob and Madu 2009).SEC released a proposal on July 13 2007, which states that US should recognize financial statements prepared using the IFRS from the foreign private issuers without reconciling them back to GAAP [2].furthermore, SEC informs all the investors that IFRS is the only set of standards with a high quality accounting standards that is more informative, useful for preparing financial reports compared with the US GAAP. This recent move to IFRS suggest that ,IFRS is the only standard that is of high quality and globally recognized and also has a potential to improve comparability of the financial statements despite of the country whereby they are domiciled. Despite all these efforts to converge to IFRS some academic literature still opines this stating that there are still material differences between the IFRS and the US GAAP. More so, the information contained in reconciliation is evident in the investment decisions made by the US investors. for example ,Culter and Neidemeyer (2009) argues that the major challenge why US did not want to adopt the IFRS is that there are differences in regulation and the manner at which these rules are been interpreted. IFRS is principal based regulatory system; which means that the rules are already set. On the other hand US GAAP is ruled based, whereby a detailed guidelines and principles is already laid out. Delliot (2007) emphasized that the principle based rules focuses more on the objective not relying more on the detailed rules. Deming (2005,p.4) gives a conclusive report pointing out that IFRS has more of a common law approach, than the US GAAP which is more of a civil law approach Furthermore, in the number of standards, IFRS has forty nine sta ndards while and nineteen interpretations and this consist of an approximate of two hundred pages (Delliot 2009) while the US GAAP has twenty thousand page (Mitra 2009).Other notable differences are seen in the financial reporting using the US GAAP and the IFRS. This will be comprehensively reviewed in the subsequent chapter. 2.7 Implementation and Enforcement of Financial Reporting Standards The credibility of a standard relies on its smooth implementation by countries that adopts it. Enforcement is a difficult concept to quantify and measure (Nobes and Parker 2006). The enforcement process differs from one country to another. Even at the international level there is still no genuine enforcement process. Moreover, some accounting bodies set standards and leaves enforcement to other bodies while others do both. For example US Securities and Exchange Commission sets laws and enforces it while IASC, Accounting Standards board (ASB) sets and develops standards and do not have the power to enforce these standards For the set rule of IFRS to be achieved an enforcement body has to be set up with powers to enforce the standards (Lamfalussy, 2001; Committee of European Securities Regulators [CESR], 2003a). Nobes and Parker (2008) states that the most determining factor for a successful adoption of this standard as a global standard is in the approach taken by the financial regulating bodies in the countries that adopts it. Giner and Rees (2005), Brown and Tarca (2005 )and Ball(2006 ) affirms that the purpose of IFRS is to provide a high quality financial reporting which can only be achieved with vigorous enforcement by the regulatory bodies (Schipper 2005 and Ball et al. 2003.The enforcement has not been easy certain factor has affected the effective enforcement of the law. Some of them vary from the cost, regulators interest and whether the businesses or accountants really need them. Watts and Zimmerman (1986), opines that the value of regulation is an empirical question, more apprehensive of ho w the regulatory authorities can value the costs and benefits of regulation. For example in the EU countries the structure and the organization that is in charge of the oversight of the requirements in the financial reporting varies among the EU countries. Also some countries do not have institutional oversight of financial reporting (FEE, 2001a, p.10).The EU regulation therefore mandates that the member states are to take appropriate measures in order to ensure compliance with IFRS. (European Commission EC], 2002, n.16). As a result of this the need for a country to produce a multiple financial statements was eliminated. Lafferty (1981) noted that no enforcement mechanism ever existed in reality. Perks (1993), expressed in his opinion that, without a legal backing it is not easy for the reporting standards to be enforced. Enforcing of the accounting standards therefore may require statutory audit, an effective sanctions and monitoring by supervisory bodies and for it to be implemen ted. Thus, there will be continuous reformations and changes in these standards. IFRS AND EU The European Parliamentary on enacted a legislation 0n 14 March 2002 requiring all companies listed in the European stock exchange to publish their financial statements with in accordance with the International financial reporting standards. There is also an endorsement mechanism which ensures that IFRS meets the needs of the EU listed countries. 2.4 International Standardization, Harmonization and Uniformity. The move towards greater harmonization of professional accounting practices has been traced back 1904 and the first accounting congress in St Louis, Missouri (Samuels and Piper, 1985, p.59, Mueller, 1979, p.7). Samuels and Piper (1985 p.59) states that international issues were not important while Mueller (1979 p.7) states that there is a need to pay attention to International harmonization. Combarros (2000), also argues that there is a need for harmonization of the accounting. Harmonization and standardization are used synonymously by some authors (Tay and Parker, 1990). While other researchers has differentiated the two. Tay and Parker (1990, p.73) defined harmonization as a movement away from total diversity of practice and standardisation is seen as a process which involves a movement towards uniformity. Saudagaran (2001:32), futher emphasized that the rationale for harmonization is that it will enhance comparability of financial statements [therefore] making it easier to use acr oss countries While other proponents is of the school of thought that harmonization will is not be practicable or truly probable. Rudhede and Wahlberg (2003) emphasizes that the lack of accounting harmonization will give difficulties to the investors in understanding the accounting principles which varies among the countries. Walton. Moreover, harmonization is a way to put processes in place to be able to reduce the obstacles inherent in international comparability. Hulle (1993, p.73) stated that the objective of harmonization is the comparability of accounts. All the efforts of the EU towards harmonization of these accounting standards have been challenging and slow. 2.4.2 Merits of international harmonization. An argument in favour of international harmonization is, efficiency in trans-border transactions. (Walton, Haller, Raffournier, 1998, p.9). Although lack of uniformity in the reporting procedures and the comparability of the accounting information is another barrier to cross border investments. This comparability of the financial postions across national bodies is seen as one of the most important reason for harmonization (Cummins 1975). This will help to reduce lack of trust and non reliance on the financial statements. With this there will be a flow of international investment in the capital market. Turner (1983 p.58) in his studies affirms that the second advantage of harmonization is to consolidate divergent information when more than one set of report is required to comply with different national laws or practices; further stating that accounting diversity is the major cause why companies spend unnecessarily cost. According to Houston and Reinstein (2001), harmonization of the a ccounting standards will reduce the cost of business, more particularly across national borders, than it will contribute towards greater efficiency of the market regulations. Not only will that harmonization reduce the costs inherent in conducting financial statements analysis and investments in international context. Another advantage of international harmonization of the accounting standards is saving of resources (Muller 1961, Spacek 1971). Further arguments is that international harmonization of the accounting standards can advance capital market efficiency(Ramanna and Sletten 2009) while Ball et al., 2000; Ball Et al 2006 envisaged that if the international market does not go along with the associated capital market institutions can be expensive. Finally, harmonization of the international accounting standards will help in improving management decisions in the multinationals. (Hauworth 1973). 2.4.3 Demerits of international harmonization International harmonization if faced with some criticisms, Some of which are economic while others are political. One of the criticisms is that it cannot carter for a wide range of national circumstances, legal systems, stages of economic development, and cultural differences (Samuel and Piper, 1985, pp 100-109). Atiken and Islam refuted this stating that the nature of the economic transactions and the methods by which they are accounted for does not vary in essence. Walton, Haller, Raffournier, (1998) argued that harmonization distorts social balances that have not been tackled over a long period of time. In the readings of Blake and Hossain (1996) International harmonization of reporting standards especially IASC is less respectful of local particularities; in regards to this context options will be seen as to be bad ,methods are termed either good or bad and costly reconciliations is likely to be imposed. Kenny and Larson (1993) further argued that large professional organizations protect their selfish interest in the standard setting process. Also the absence of a strong professional accounting body is a major obstacle to harmonization of accounting standards. 2.10 Arguments for international reporting. The essence of international reporting standards is to give a universal reporting standard that will be comprehensive and transparent thereby improving investors confidence as well as also creating market integrity. (Hope et al., 2005; dArcy, 2001). In this section we looked at the benefits of international reporting standards to the investors, firms, and also to the global economy. Gordon (2008, p. 3) cited the speech of Levitt (1997) which stating that for international reporting standards to gain acceptance three key objectives must be in place: The standards should include a core set of accounting pronouncements that constitute a comprehensive, generally accepted basis of accounting. The standards must be of high quality – they must result in comparability and transparency and they must provide for full disclosure. The standards must be rigorously interpreted and applied. Financial Reporting quality and transparency under IFRS The question has been if the accounting figures reported under this standard will give of high quality compared to those under domestic standards?. Also will IFRS show transparency in disclosure for an informed decision for investment? Barth et al., (2007) states that this is an extremely intricate question to answer as the application of any given standard has exhibited the effects of the features of the financial reporting system, its standards, as well their interpretation, enforcement and litigation. As these affects the competence of the financial prepares and users. Tarca (2004) said that international accounting standards are one way of improving transparency in financial reporting. Ashbaugh and Pincus (2001) elaborate that since the adoption of IFRS there has been improvement in the forecast accuracy by the analyst. As a result of this analysts cost of information acquisition also reduces. Cuijpers and Buijink (2005) from his sample of firms domiciled in the European Union pr ovide evidence that the analyst following has increased. Also Barth et al (2003) and Barth et al (2007) reveal that higher value relevance for firms is higher since the adoption of the IFRS as compared with the pre adoption period. IFRS therefore reduces the estimation of risk in market returns. Hence we will say that the quality of the IFRS in financial reporting is therefore inestimable in countries that adopt IFRS than those that use the locally recognised standards. Although we have affirmed that IFRS is associated with a high accounting quality there may be oppositions to this. Firstly, where there is an intrinsic flexibility in the principles based standards; this may present opportunities for firms to manage their earning thereby reducing the accounting quality. Also, in a bit to limit the managerial discretion which relates to the accounting alternatives will also reduce the ability of the firm to report accounting measurements that will give a reflection of what the true po sition and economic performance of the company is. Thus, accounting regime affects the quality of the information thereby affecting the cost of capital. Cost of capital and IFRS Adoption There are various propositions on the whether the adoption of IFRS reduces liquidity and lower cost of capital. Before the adoption of IFRS investors have to spend some time and effort in translating the standards in a way they can to understand. This process wastes efforts time and incurs transaction cost. The cost of capital determines how risky an investment would be. The higher the cost of capital the more risky the investment will be. According to (Coffee 2002), findings on bonding theory there is a lowered cost of capital. Deske (2006) affirms that this associated reduction in information cost is the main benefits by which IFRS is being adopted. There will be a reduced cost since the same standard will be used by all countries not regarding where the countries are domiciled. Aras and Crowther (2008) argued that the reduction in the cost of information in the adoption of IFRS and an assured consequent reduction can only benefit the countries whose legal, cultural, and economic s ystem is the same with the nations which are involved in setting IFRS, hence other countries which are not beneficial to this may incur increased cost compliance. Although, Barth (2007); Marquez-Ramos (2008) emphasized that IFRS reduces information cost of an economy as capital flows and trade becomes globalised. Improved comparability of the accounting reports: The use of IFRS eliminates the lack of comparability of financial statements. Choi et al. 1999, p. 249 states that comparability eliminate the current misunderstandings of the investors on the reliability of foreign financial statements and this removes one of the most main impediments affecting the flow of international investment. It also makes it easier for companies to compare financial results of different reporting entities from different countries. Global recognition Globalization of the business activities has increased creating a need for comparability of financial information between firms of different countries .Most of the companies are going globalized therefore the use of national accounting rules is increasingly impairing effective communication both in internal and external reporting. In a recent study by the international federation of Accountants(IFAC) most accounting leaders all over the world has agreed that adopting IFRS will be vital for economic growth in their countries. It is also significant as it will make it easier to compare human capital needs of companys subsidiaries all over the world since professionals will be more mobile. IFRS improves profit figures: The movement from the domestically recognized standards to the internationally recognized standards has resulted to a tremendous increase in the net profit figures of top most countries financial reports although the balance sheets have deteriorated. It is noted already that IFRS requires a comprehensive reporting than the domestic standards. IFRS has determined the various accounting methods by which profit figures will be derived from and reported by the firms (Aras and Crowther 2008). Impact of IFRS on financial reporting Examining financial statement implications is important because, †¦ the only direct effects †¦ are changed financial statements †¦ (Hung and Subramanyan, 2004, p.4) Pijper (2009), further examines how IFRS has affected the reporting of financing on the balance sheet. In GAAP the put option were disclosed in a footnote as an off balance sheet figure, but with the IFRS the put options which is held by minorities are now treated as a financial liabilities. Prior to the adoption of IFRS most companies were very conservative in their depreciation rates and this was affecting the business profits in that some assets will still be in use and there is no report on the expense incurred against those assets in the income statements but now the IFRS has reduced the distortions b these excessive prudent nature of depreciation rates .From the studies of (Hung and Subramanyan 2004) IFRS emphasized that fair value should be used for balance sheet valuation. Barth et al (2005) from hi s studies discovered that companies that uses IFRS experienc