An Officer and a Gentleman essays

An Officer and a Gentleman essays An Officer and a Gentleman was made in 1982. It stars Richard Gere as Zack Mayo, Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki, and Louis Gossett, Jr. as Sgt. Emil Foley. I think that the cast is amazing. Louis Gosset, Jr. won best supporting actor for his role, and Debra Winger was nominated for best supporting actress for hers. I think that this movie was a good jumping off point for Richard Gere, his work in this movie was great. I think that it was a great movie for its time. It definitely couldnt be done now because we are too caught up with special effects. I am a hopeless romantic, so for me this movie stands out for its romantic qualities more than anything else. I think that the reason An Officer and a Gentleman will be one of those movies that will last forever is because a good story will last forever and as long as there are hopeless romantics in the world, these types of stories will last for all time. Zack Mayo is the unwanted son of a sailor father (also an alcoholic and womanizer). Mayo has had it less than fair; his mother killed herself when he was just a boy. He was then sent to live with his father in the Philippine Islands on top of a brothel. After graduating from college Mayo decides to join the Naval Officer Candidate School (despite his fathers mockery) to be a jet pilot. When he joins he is a loner; he cares only about himself. He has no friends, no girlfriend and feels that he can do everything by himself. His drill instructor Sgt. Emil Foley shows him that he lacks character. Through a couple of their encounters Mayo realizes that Sgt. Foley is right and begins to change himself. It is not only Sgt. Foley that helps him discover himself. Throughout the thirteen-week training he becomes good friends with his bunkmate, Sid (David Keith), and falls in love with a local girl, Paula. Sid and Paula also have valuable life lessons to teach Mayo. He and Sgt. Foley have a moment at the en...

Ethics and Deception in Psychological Research Essays

Ethics and Deception in Psychological Research Essays Ethics and Deception in Psychological Research Paper Ethics and Deception in Psychological Research Paper When conducting research studies many code of ethics come into play. A researcher has an obligation to follow the code of ethics. Many ethical standards must be followed when dealing with research. When conducting research as well as gathering data there are several ways to do so. Depending on whom you ask some ways are considered ethical and appropriate and some are unethical and inappropriate. Using deception to obtain information is a debatable issue on whether it is ethical or unethical by obtaining data in such a manner. The following paper will define what ethics is along with, discussing the concept of risk/benefit ratio, describing exactly what deception in research is, as well as evaluating the impact deception in research has on psychological research. Deception occurs whenever participants are not completely informed of procedures and goals of the research. According to Wikipedia, ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about mortality, how moral values should be determined, how a moral outcome can be achieved in a specific situation, how moral capacity or a moral agency develops and what its nature is, and what moral values people actually abide by (Wikipedia). Ethics deals greatly with morals. What is considered to be morally wrong depends on the individual you are speaking with. Morals describe how individuals should act and the principles that reflect what is good for individuals. Another factor that is used to determine ethical standards is the risk/benefit ratio. The risk/benefit ratio is a subjective evaluation of the risk to a research participant relative to the benefit both individual and the society of the results of the proposed research. (Shaghnessy, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, 2009) The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) reviews all psychological research in order to protect the rights and welfare of the individuals participating in the research studies (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, 2009). In order for research to be approved benefits must outweigh the risks. The IRB will not approve research where the risks outweigh the benefits. There are several potential risks that one may run across in psychological research and these risks need to be observed to find out whether or not it will harm the participants of the study. Each individual will not be the same, what may be a risk for one participant may not be a risk for the other participants. The types of injuries may vary from those that are physical, social, or mental (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, 2009). No matter how small a risk may be, researchers should try to minimize the risks and protect each individual. When there happens to be a potential risk, researchers need to use informed consent procedures for all participants involved (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, 2009). Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given. Impairments to reasoning and judgment which would make it impossible for someone to give informed consent include such factors as severe mental retardation, severe mental illness, intoxication, severe sleep deprivation, Alzheimers disease, or being in a coma. (http://psychology. wikia. com/wiki/Informed_consent). Researchers are ethically obligated to describe the research procedures clearly, identify any potential risks that might influence individuals willingness to participate, and answer any questions participants have regarding the research (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, 2009). There are several ways to gather data and information on a research or study. One way is to use deception or misrepresent oneself in research. In a classic study known as the Miligram Obedience Study of 1961, Stanley Miligram recruited 40men using a newspaper ad. In exchange for their participation, each person was paid $4. 50. Milgram developed an intimidating shock generator, with shock levels starting at 30 volts and increasing in 15-volt increments all the way up to 450 volts. The many switches were labeled with terms including slight shock, moderate shock and danger: severe shock. The final two switches were labeled simply with an ominous XXX. Each participant took the role of a teacher who would then deliver a shock to the student every time an incorrect answer was produced. While the participant believed that he was delivering real shocks to the student, the student was actually a confederate in the experiment who was simply pretending to be shocked. As the experiment progressed, the participant would hear the learner plead to be released or even complain about a heart condition. Once the 300-volt level had been reached, the learner banged on the wall and demanded to be released. Beyond this point, the learner became completely silent and refused to answer any more questions. The experimenter then instructed the participant to treat this silence as an incorrect response and deliver a further shock. ( http:// psychology. about. com/od/history of psychology/a/milligram. htm). Miligram wouldnt have come to the conclusions he did if he didnt misrepresent himself to the participants. If Miligram told the 40 men what he was doing the participants probably would not have cooperated with him. Deception and misrepresenting oneself for psychological research is very controversial and has a huge impact on research today. Deception has caused a great deal of harm to subjects all around the world, due to this informed consent has been put into place. The subjects are not aware of the real reasons of the study due to misrepresentation. When its all said and done, ethics is a big issue in conducting studies and research. Researchers are held accountable while conducting these studies and the have an obligation to follow the code of ethics during them. I personally feel that any type of deception should be labeled as unethical and should not be used. Furthermore, there are individuals that feel it is okay to use deception as long as it doesnt cause any harm to the individuals. Ethics is a large part of conducting research and every researcher needs to conduct himself in an ethical manner.

Social Security College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Social Security College - Essay Example Economic Security in America, para. 2). One of the first Americans to propose a system of economic security for U.S citizens was Thomas Payne in his 1795 writing titled "Agrarian Justice". It provided sums for citizens reaching the age of 21 and then a yearly payment to those reaching 50. Payne's idea was to pay for it by means of a property inheritance tax. In 1862, a Civil War pension program was enacted. "Following the Civil War, there were hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans, and hundreds of thousands of disabled veterans. In fact, immediately following the Civil War a much higher proportion of the population was disabled or survivors of deceased breadwinners than at any time in America's history. This led to the development of a generous pension program, with interesting similarities to later developments in Social Security" (DeWitt, sect. Civil War Pensions, para. 1). The program evolved, starting with benefits only to those disabled in combat or to their surviving families. As time passed, veterans disabled for any reason could receive payments. After that, aged veterans were added. Later, disability and old age benefits were extended to include family members. Former Confederate soldiers were not allowed any benefits. The last payments to surviving widows of Civil War veterans were made in 1999. With the advent of the Industrial Age a... State Old-Age Pensions, para.1). Prior to the passage of the original Social Security Act in 1935, thirty states had adopted some form of old-age pension plan. Only about 3% of the elderly were actually collecting benefits under the state plans. There was lack of implementation of the laws. The plans allowed insufficient funds. The elderly faced restrictive plan entry rules. The receipt of benefits was stigmatized as "welfare". Throughout the early 1930's and spurred by the Great Depression, movements arose that advocated a federal old-age pension system. Huey Long, Governor of Louisiana, proposed the "Share Our Wealth" plan in which the rich would pay for the poor and the aged. Francis Townsend devised the "Townsend Old-Age Revolving Pension Plan". It proposed that all upstanding citizens over 60 receive a monthly benefit that must be spent within the U.S. and within 30 days. There were numerous plans proposed from every direction during those years, some of them of questionable economic merit like Robert Noble's "Ham & Eggs" plan. It suggested that states should issue a currency to be called "scrip" to the unemployed and aged. The validity of the currency and by what economic backing it would be issued were very hazy indeed. Still, it was part of the social movement demanding the creation of a form of economic security for the masses. Most of the plans had benefits that were based on economic need. When Franklin Roosevelt became President in 1932, he changed the face of the economic security discussion from welfare to social insurance. He proposed "a work-related, contributory system in which workers would provide for their own future economic security through taxes paid while

Ned Kelly Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ned Kelly Business Plan - Essay Example Budgeting in business is beneficial not only because it enables projecting the yearly expenses to be incurred while following a certain plan, but it also allows to determine how costs will incur and how can they be controlled resulting in efficient operations (Dury, 2008; Albrecht et al., 2008). As for instance, without doing any budgeting of the business activities, an entrepreneur may only be able to visualize to a certain extent that what expenses will be incurred and how they will be financed and what revenues would be required to keep the business profitable. But, on the other hand, with budgeting the entrepreneur is in fact able to foresee that what expenses will be incurred and how much revenues will be required to cover those expenses and at the end make profits. This in turn allows not only setting up targets for revenue generation, but also allows ascertainment of cost controlling techniques (Jiambalvo, 2010; Horngren & Harrison, 2009). In this regard, cash budgeting is con sidered as one of the most beneficial and important procedure to forecast the results of a certain business approach or plan on monthly basis (Horngren & Harrison, 2009). ... Keeping in view these benefits, cash budget can also be prepared for taxi business and revenues and expenses can be forecasted, which can be then used to ascertain the required working capital to be raised. Apart from this, as it has been noted that the owner of the taxi business requires the amount of money required to be taken from bank to be ascertained prior to starting the business. In this regard, it is pertinent to ascertain the cash inflows and outflows expected from a year’s operations and the net profit or loss which will be earned by the business. Having taken into consideration the information provided for the case, income statement and cash budget has been prepared and presented as follows for the business to be started by Ned Kelly. Income Statement The income statement forecasted for Ned Kelly’s business has been presented as follows: Forecasted Income Statement Amount Sales ? 417,312.00 Less: Â   Diesel (15 % of Total Sales Revenue) - ? 59,875.20 Mainte nance Costs (? 120 per taxi per month) - ? 4,320.00 Annual Road Tax and Licence Fee (3 x ? 600) - ? 1,800.00 Drivers' Salaries per Month (9 x ? 24,000 / 12) - ? 216,000.00 Drivers' Social Security (10 % of Gross Annual Salary) - ? 21,600.00 Cost of Sales - ? 303,595.20 Gross Profit ? 113,716.80 Depreciation - ? 12,000.00 Office Staff's Salaries per Month (4 x ? 16,000 / 12) - ? 64,000.00 Office Staffs' Social Security (10 % of Gross Annual Salary) - ? 6,400.00 Utility Costs - ? 6,000.00 Rent - ? 18,000.00 Local Property Tax Charges - ? 5,000.00 Drawings - ? 30,000.00 Advertisement - ? 6,000.00 Net Profit - ? 33,683.20 Sources: (Albrecht et al., 2008; Dury, 2008; Horngren & Harrison, 2009; Jiambalvo, 2010) It can be observed

Modern Ethical Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Modern Ethical Theories - Essay Example It suggests that all our acts are motivated by our self interest. People act selfishly to promote happiness and foster their self interest. Thomas Hobbes, a believer of psychological egoism, emphasized that people are selfish unconsciously. They do things for their own interest or for their own survival. With this statement, it cancels its real essence if we talk about doing things for others. If we do things for other people, does it always means that we did it for our own interest That's the big argument now. According to Hinman, there are two interpretations about psychological egoism, it's either people act for selfishness or they act for their own interest. It may sound the same but between these two interpretations, there is a difference. It actually depends upon one's motive or the consequence the person gets doing things for other people. If we intend to do something good for other people, we did it because it satisfies us inside. It rarely happens for a person to act genuinely for it self. They even sometimes hide what's the real them. Instead, people act apparently in their self-interest. What is more vocal of a person is when it acts for a certain motive. The essence of psychological egoism cancels out when intentions comes in. It falsifies its real meaning if we consciously do something or intend something. If there are two interpretations of psychological egoism there are also two versions of ethi... l to promote one's good, it is essentially never moral not to do so-that is, there may be conditions in which the avoidance of personal interest may be a moral action. There are personal, individual, and universal ethical egoism. The first implies that a person does only his self interest and disregards the other person's behavior. The individual ethical egoism states that all people should serve my own interest and universal ethical egoism means that all persons should act exclusively for their self-interest. Among the three, the personal ethical egoism is the weakest. This kind of ethical egoism is not recommendable to others for what is important is your own interest. The strongest among the three is the universal ethical egoism. This states that you should only pursue your self-interest exclusively. Psychological egoism and ethical egoism is two different things. Psychological egoism emphasizes that human beings are selfish in nature. They don't notice it because it is subconscious. In contrast to this, ethical egoism is a kind of egoism which states that a person's action is done by the person's best self-interest. It may harm or benefit others. Ethical egoism is defined by an inherent desire to perform altruistic acts while psychological egoism is defined by inbuilt selfishness of all acts. Ethical egoism doctrines states that all persons must act to their own interest while the doctrines in psychological egoism stresses that a human's motivation of every voluntary action is a need for humans own happiness. The difference is between fact for psychological egoism and value for ethical egoism. With the two kinds of egoism we have there is a thin line between what is selfish and what self-interest is. We can say that humans are being selfish because we claim for

Personal Reflection on a Film: Awakenings

Personal Reflection on a Film: Awakenings Allison Bartha Writing Assignment #1: Awakening The film Awakening relates to the study of medical humanities we have learned about and provides numerous examples of how emerging different actives into the patients lives to benefit the patient, family and Doctor. Therapeutic actives demonstrated in the film allows for reaction and response from the patients that is clear to the audience watching. I think this film can be beneficial to anyone who wants to learn more about medical humanities and the purpose behind the treatment. In out text Health Humanities Readers we read about the different types of therapy such as art, music and literature. We see the use of intersection approach throughout the film in relation to the patients health and health care as discussed in the first module of this course. Awakening shows through medical humanities the ability to communicate between non-responsive patients and the provider. Thoughout the film we see the social interaction between the Doctor and his patients. We see the importance of a go od professional patient and provider relationship. When the patients family and the patient trust the Doctor, it allows for tests and different treatment plans to take place in the best interest of the patient. Using medical humanities allows for better care from the provider in result to a purpose for the patients. In this case, catatonic patients are benefiting from humanities. This film was released in 1990 starring Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Dr. Sayer discovers certain stimuli reactions beyond the catatonic states they appear to be in. Activities such as catching a ball and music start to reveal the patient response. One patient Leonard Lowe learns to communicate through the Ouija board with Dr. Sayer. Dr. Sayer learns about the drug for Parkinsons disease called L-Dopa and believe there could be a breakthrough for his patients. He believed there could be a breakthrough for his patients to be recovered from their disease. Lowe is first in the trail run for this theory, which completely awakens him from his catatonic state. This inspired Dr. Sayer to seek out founding to help his other patients experience awakenings back to reality. The founding went through and soon all the catatonic patients woke up to a new reality. Lowe was the first to be on the drug, though the film we see him adjust to is new lifestyle. After being on the drug for a while side effects start to occur facial and body tics that are hard for him to control, shortly after the side effects occur Lowe returns to his catatonic state. Patients start to fear the side effects as they watch Lowe return to his disease. Shortly after all the patients start to go back to their original states regardless the increased dosages of L-Dopa. Although the awakening did not last there was an appreciation of the value of life. Dr. Sayer went right back to the Ouija board in communicating with Lowe. The movie Awakenings shows a very committed, patient, caring bedside manor by Dr. Sayer. Dr. Sayer is very persistent and courageous, despite his criticism and put down he never gives up on his hypothesis. I think this is something we look past in todays culture. We live now in very fast past society where medical providers seem to be busy, moving from one patient to next. Working at a Doctors office, I schedule patients, I see first-hand the intensity and fast pace our providers go through in order to meet their quote of patients for the day. Someone like Dr. Sayer would be hard to come across in todays reality. Dr. Sayer never gives up on his patients and he fights for them when other Doctors disagree with his theory. His motivation is the success of treating his patients, not the social recognition. Dr. Sayer learned about his patients and their conditions before treating them. Human touched is so important throughout this film. This movie shows views a glimpse of mental health il lness and inspirational insights on the human behavior. We see change in the behavior of the employees before the awakening happens and their behavior after. Prior to the awakening, the workers were just going through their everyday motions without any emotions. However after it is clear they connect with the patients and are joyful. Awakenings is a life-affirming movie that provokes deep thought into the value of our lives. This movie made me think about the important things I have in my life, my family, a good job and being able to attend college. Without a good health body, I would not be able to maintain a job or even be successful in school. Seeing in this film the patients in catatonic state of mind, they have restrictions like going on outside, even a set eating time. They will never be able to interact in a way that we can. Watching this movie really made me appreciate more my health and family. This movie has set me back to be more grateful for what I have and to appreciate the simple things like, work, my job and life. I notice today people do not know how to live and they struggle with appreciating the simple things. This movie was heart breaking when the side effects came Lowe returned to his catatonic state. We need to be grateful. I found the part of film when Lowe tries to gain his freedom to inspi ring. Lowe explains his feeling about the simple things in life like going for a walk most of us take for granted. Time is limited but we are infinite. Everything we do leads to our life we choose to live, and it is our choice to make our life meaningful. Awakening was a great refresher to its audience that we are often too much caught up with negatives aspects in our life. We forget and take for granted the things we do have. Something as simple as brushing my hair, I am capable of doing, yet someone with catatonic or other unfortunates are struggling to just hold a brush. Things we consider normal like reading the newspaper, going for walks, even access to social media sites that we are bless with, some people see those as a struggle. Watching this film, I can express my feelings of gratitude of just being thankful I am happy, healthy and alive. This film reminded me of the little things I need to stop and appreciate more often. I watched this film with my little brother and it was interesting to see his reactions throughout. My little brother is 13 and can be found on his phone most of the time. By the end of this film, he was struggling to stay awake as it was a school night but asked me if I could leave it there so he could finish it the next day. He ended up staying up to watch it before going to bed and we talked about it the next day. I am glad I watched it with him to hear his in take on the film giving me someone else to talk to about their reactions. I was honestly shocked as to how much information he picked up. He understood the different things the Doctor was doing to get a reaction from the patients like with the ball and music. I was surprise he noticed the clip where Dr. Sayer made the dose stronger as he kept upping and upping it. This was the first time my younger brother has been expose to someone with such disability so he was asking my dad many questions. Questions like, how does someone get like that, are they born that way, do they have to stay in that hospital forever, can they understand people just not respond? Hearing the thoughts of a 13 year old throughout the movie I feel made it a better watch. Watching this movie could not have come at a better time, and it is funny how I happened to choose this film over the other ones. I walked into the video store with the list and told the worker I need one of these films for a class, I dont care which one. Awakening caught his eye, as he knew they had it, so that is what I rented. This week was a rough week at work. Typically, boss issues and schedule not working out for fall class was having me stressed. I was struggling with the idea that my work may not work around classes and I could potentially lose my job. I kept thinking life is just not fair and that I do not have a backup plan I need to just figure it out. After watching Awakening I take back everything I said about my struggles. This movie made me take a step back and look at my life in a completely new perspective. I should grateful for things I have and not take for granted my job. I am finding it so hard to explain this in this paper the importance it is to just be gratef ul for things we have, because some people are just struggling to make it to tomorrow. This movie has such a powerful impact on the appreciation of life and the value of meaning and purpose. When I was watching this film, I looked it up to read some information on it and found it to also be a novel. I do intend to purchase the novel and do some summer reading. I also learned that this movie is based on a true story! When I think of watching a film or a class this is not what I had in mind. I will forever remember this movie and its impact it has left on me. When am struggling and having a bad day, I will appreciate what I have.

Divorce in America Essay -- Divorcing Research Paper Effect Cause Essa

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Divorce rates in the United States have increased dramatically in the past 25 years. Over 40 percent of the marriages among young Americans will end in divorce. There is a lot of stress on all the people involved. The man has to deal with, usually, not seeing his children, being alone, and the responsibility that is accompanied with much of the legal process. The wife has to go through, maybe, entering the work force for the first time. Children are often viewed as a back burner issue but more often than none they are the center piece of discussion. The children may begin feeling inadequate around their friends and even in personal esteem. Feeling like it is their fault they might get depressed or perhaps even rebellious. Regardless, divorce is an activity that has become common place in today's family structure, behavior, and morality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When two people meet and decide their love is strong enough to carry them to the next level marriage is usually the out come. Sometimes they decide to have children and sometimes they don't, but when they do, it usually brings them closer together. All parents have desires and hopes for their children. The way in which parents achieve these ends can differ. Researchers do not agree on which of the child-raising practices is best. But it is known that parents provide role models for their children and that children rely on their parents to teach them about the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a culture's values and traditions undergo a rapid change it becomes difficult to decide which attitudes and beliefs children should be taught. As one researcher has stated, ?today's children are the first generation to be raised amid doubt about the role prescriptions that have long gone unchallenged. This makes their socialization especially difficult. Traditionally, socialization was a process of raising the young to fill major roles in society when the present incumbents vacated them. Yet today we do not know what type of society our children will inherit, nor the roles for which they should be prepared. ?(pp.34) Divorce along married couples is the most well-documented and studied of the various ways relationships end. According to Dworetzky:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Divorce rates in the United States have increased dramatically in the past 25   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  years. According to current assessments, over 40 percent of marriages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ... ...ability to function as parents diminishes. ?Although children may fare well in single-parent families, the chances increase that they will face problems. There are many stresses associated with divorce. These include the disruption of bedtimes and eating schedules, the effects of the parents emotional state, and the lessening of adult contact. Also, the level of income in the household usually decreases, and this may produce more stress. Less income may require the parent to move, which in turn may cause the child to behave to change of schools or move to a poorer neighborhood with a higher rate of crime and delinquency.?(pp. 170-174)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Divorce is happening every day to couples in the United States. The only problem, is that the couple thinks they are the only ones going through it when almost twenty-two percent of adult America is also. When parents get divorced the children get divorced too. Children and adolescents face a lot of stress during their lives, but divorce is very confusing, speaking from personal experience. It can be too much stress to peoples' lives but they also present opportunities to form new relationships and to strengthen existing ones.

Reducing Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Costs Essay

Reducing Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Costs Here is the report you requested January 30 on Electrovision’s travel and entertainment costs. Your suspicion was right. We are spending far too much on business travel. Our unwritten policy has been â€Å"anything goes,† leaving us with no real control over T&E expenses. Although this hands-off approach may have been understandable when Electrovision’s profits were high, we can no longer afford the luxury of going first class. The solutions to the problem seem rather clear. We need to have someone with centralized responsibility for travel and entertainment costs, a clear statement of policy, an effective control system, and a business-oriented travel service that can optimize our travel arrangements. We should also investigate alternatives to travel, such as videoconferencing. Perhaps more important, we need to change our attitude. Instead of viewing travel funds as a bottomless supply of money, all traveling employees need to act as though they were paying the bills themselves. Getting people to economize is not going to be easy. In the course of researching this issue, I’ve found that our employees are exceedingly attached to their first-class travel privileges. I think they would almost prefer a cut in pay to a loss in travel moderation. One thing is clear: People will be very bitter if we create a two-class system in which top executives get special privileges while the rest of the employees make the sacrifices. I’m grateful to Mary Lehman and Connie McIlvain for their help in collecting and sorting through five years’ worth of expense reports. Their efforts were truly Herculean. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work on this assignment. It’s been a real education. If you have any questions about the report, please give me a call. This report analyzes Electrovision’s travel and entertainment (T&E) costs and presents recommendations for reducing those costs. Travel and Entertainment Costs Are Too High Travel and Entertainment is a large and growing expense category for Electrovision. The company spends over $16 million per year on business travel, and these costs have been increasing by 12 percent annually. Company employees make roughly 3,390 trips each year at an average cost per trip of $4,720. Airfares are the biggest expense, followed by hotels, meals, and rental cars. The nature of Electrovision’s business does require extensive travel, but the company’s costs appear to be excessive. Every year Electrovision employees spend more than twice as much on T&E as the average business traveler. Although the location of the company’s facilities may partly explain this discrepancy, the main reason for Electrovision’s high costs is the firm’s philosophy and managerial style. Electrovision’s tradition and its hands-off style almost invite employees to go first class and pay relatively little attention to travel costs. Cuts Are Essential Although Electrovision has traditionally been casual about travel and entertainment expenses, management now recognizes the need to gain more control over this element of costs. The company is currently entering a period of declining profits, prompting management to look for every opportunity to reduce spending. At the same time, rising airfares and hotel rates are making travel and entertainment expenses more important to the bottom line. Electrovision Can Save $6 Million per Year  Fortunately, Electrovision has a number of excellent opportunities for reducing its travel and entertainment costs. Savings of up to $6 million should be achievable, judging by the experience of other companies. American Express suggests that a sensible travel-management program can save companies as much as 35 percent a year (Gilligan 39-40). Given that we purchase many more first-class tickets than the average company, we should be able to achieve even greater savings. The first priority should be to hire a director of travel and entertainment to assume overall responsibility for T&E spending. This individual should establish a written travel and entertainment policy and create a budget and a cost-control system. The director should also retain a nationwide travel agency to handle our reservations and should lead an investigation into electronic alternatives to travel. At the same time, Electrovision should make employees aware of the need for moderation in travel and entertainment spending. People should be encouraged to forgo any unnecessary travel and to economize on airline tickets, hotels, meals, rental cars, and other expenses. In addition to economizing on an individual basis, Electrovision should look for ways to reduce costs by negotiating preferential rates with travel providers. Once retained, a travel agency should be able to accomplish this. Finally, we should look into the alternatives to travel. Although we may have to invest money in videoconferencing systems or other equipment, we may be able to recover these costs through decreased travel expenses. I recommend that the new travel director undertake this investigation to make sure it is well integrated with the rest of the travel program. These changes, although necessary, are likely to hurt morale, at least in the short term. Management will need to make a determined effort to explain the rationale for reduced spending. By exercising moderation in their own travel arrangements, Electrovision executives can set a good example and help other employees accept the changes. On the plus side, cutting back on travel with videoconferencing or other alternatives will reduce the travel burden on many employees and help them balance their business and personal lives much better. Electrovision has always encouraged a significant amount of business travel, believing that it is an effective way of operating. To compensate employees for the inconvenience and stress of frequent trips, management has authorized generous travel and entertainment (T&E) allowances. This philosophy has been good for morale, but the company has paid a price. Last year Electrovision spent $16 million on T&E–$7 million more than it spent on research and development. This year the cost of travel and entertainment will have a bigger impact on profits, owing to changes in airfares and hotel rates. The timing of these changes is unfortunate because the company anticipates that profits will be relatively weak for a variety of other reasons. In light of these profit pressures, Dennis McWilliams, Vice President of Operations, has asked the accounting department to take a closer look at the T&E budget. Purpose, Scope, and Limitations The purpose of this report is to analyze the T&E budget, evaluate the impact of recent changes in airfares and hotel costs, and suggest ways to tighten management’s control over T&E expenses. Although the report outlines a number of steps that could reduce Electrovision’s expenses, the precise financial impact of these measures is difficult to project. The estimates presented in the report provide a â€Å"best guess† view of what Electrovision can expect to save. Until the company actually implements these steps, however, we won’t know exactly how much the travel and entertainment budget can be reduced. Sources and Methods In preparing this report, the accounting department analyzed internal expense reports for the past five years to determine how much Electrovision spends on travel and entertainment. These figures were then compared with average statistics compiled by Dow Jones (publisher of The Wall Street Journal) and presented as the Dow Jones Travel Index. We also analyzed trends and suggestions published in a variety of business journal articles to see how other companies are coping with the high cost of business travel. Report Organization This report reviews the size and composition of Electrovision’s travel and entertainment expenses, analyzes trends in travel costs, and recommends steps for reducing the T&E budget. Although many companies view travel and entertainment as an â€Å"incidental† cost of doing business, the dollars add up. At Electrovision the bill for airfares, hotels, rental cars, meals, and entertainment totaled $16 million last year. Our T&E budget has increased by 12 percent per year for the past five years. Compared with the average U.S. Business’s travel expenditures, Electrovision’s expenditures are high, largely because of management’s generous policy on travel benefits. $16 Million per Year Spent on Travel and Entertainment Electrovision’s annual budget for travel and entertainment is only 8 percent of sales. Because this is a relatively small expense category compared with such things as salaries and commissions, it is tempting to dismiss T&E costs as insignificant. However, T&E is Electrovision’s third-largest controllable expense, directly behind salaries and information systems. Last year Electrovision personnel made about 3,390 trips at an average cost per trip of $4,720. The typical trip involved a round-trip flight of 3,000 miles, meals and hotel accommodations for two or three days, and a rental car. Roughly 80 percent of the trips were made by 20 percent of the staff–top management and sales personnel traveled most, averaging 18 trips per year. Figure 1 illustrates how the travel and entertainment budget is spent. The largest categories are airfares and lodging, which together account for $7 out of every $10 that employees spend on travel and entertainment. This spending breakdown has been relatively steady for the past five years and is consistent with the distribution of expenses experienced by other companies. Figure 1 Airfares and Lodging Account for Over Two-Thirds of Electrovision’s Travel and Entertainment Budget Although the composition of the T&E budget has been consistent, its size has not. As mentioned earlier, these expenditures have increased by about 12 percent per year for the past five years, roughly twice the rate of the company’s growth in sales (see Figure 2). This rate of growth makes T&E Electrovision’s fastest-growing expense item. Figure 2 Travel and Entertainment Expenses Exceed National Averages Electrovision’s Travel Expenses Exceed National Averages Much of our travel budget is justified. Two major factors contribute to Electrovision’s high travel and entertainment budget: †¢With our headquarters on the West Coast and our major customer on the East Coast, we naturally spend a lot on cross-country flights. †¢A great deal of travel takes place between our headquarters here on the West Coast and the manufacturing operations in Detroit, Boston, and Dallas. Corporate managers and division personnel make frequent trips to coordinate these disparate operations. However, even though a good portion of Electrovision’s travel budget is justifiable, our travelers spend considerable more on travel and entertainment than the average business traveler (see Figure 3). Figure 3 Electrovision People Spend Over The Dow Jones Travel Index calculates the average cost per day of business travel in the United States, based on average airfare, hotel rates, and rental car rates. The average fluctuates weekly as travel companies change their rates, but it has been running about $1,000 per day for the last year or so. In contrast, Electrovision’s average daily expense over the past year has been $2,250—125 percent higher than average. This figure is based on the average trip cost of $4,720 listed earlier and an average trip length of 2.1 days. Spending Has Been Encouraged Although a variety of factors may contribute to this differential, Electrovision’s relatively high T&E costs are at least partially attributable to the company’s philosophy and management style. Because many employees do not enjoy business travel, management has tried to make the trips more pleasant by authorizing first-class airfare, luxury hotel accommodations, and full-size rental cars. The sales staff is encouraged to entertain clients at top restaurants and to invite them to cultural and sporting events. The cost of these privileges is easy to overlook, given the weakness of Electrovision’s system for keeping track of T&E expenses: †¢The monthly financial records provided to management do not contain a separate category for travel and entertainment; the information is buried under Cost of Goods Sold and under Selling, General, and Administration Expenses. †¢Each department head is given authority to approve any expense report, regardless of how large it may be. †¢Receipts are not required for expenditures of less than $100. †¢Individuals are allowed to make their own travel arrangements. †¢No one is charged with the responsibility for controlling the company’s total spending on travel and entertainment. During the past three years, the company’s healthy profits have resulted in relatively little pressure to push for tighter controls overall aspects of the business. However, as we all know, the situation is changing. We’re projecting flat to declining profits for the next two years, a situation that has prompted all of us to search for ways to cut costs. At the same time, rising airfares and hotel rates have increased the impact of T&E expenses on the company’s financial results. Lower Profits Underscore the Need for Change The next two years promise to be difficult for Electrovision. After several years of steady increases in spending, the Postal Service is tightening procurement policies for automated mail-handling equipment. Funding for the A-12 optical character reader has been canceled. As a consequence, the marketing department expects sales to drop by 15 percent. Although Electrovision is negotiating several promising R&D contracts with nongovernmental clients, the marketing department does not foresee any major procurements for the next two to three years. At the same time, Electrovision is facing costs increases on several fronts. As we’ve known for several months, the new production facility now under construction in Salt Lake City, Utah, is behind schedule and over budget. labor contracts in Boston and Dallas expire within the next six months, and plant managers there anticipate that significant salary and benefits concessions may be necessary to avoid strikes. Moreover, marketing and advertising costs are expected to increase as we attempt to strengthen these activities to better cope with competitive pressures. Given the expected decline in revenues and increase in costs, the Executive committee’s prediction that profits will fall by 12 percent in the coming fiscal year does not seem overly pessimistic. Airfares and Hotel Rates Are Rising Business travelers have grown accustomed to frequent fare wars and discounting in the travel industry in recent years. Excess capacity and aggressive price competition, particularly in the airline business, made travel a relative bargain. However, that situation has changed, as weaker competitors have been forced out and the remaining players have grown stronger and smarter. Airlines and hotels are better at managing inventory and keeping occupancy rates high, and high occupancy translates into higher prices because suppliers have les reason to compete on price. Last year saw some of the steepest rate hikes in years. Business airfares (tickets most likely to be purchased by business travelers) jumped over 40 percent in many markets. The trend is expected to continue, with rates increasing another 5 to 10 percent overall (Phillips 331; â€Å"Travel Costs Under Pressure† 30; Dahl B6). Given the fact that airfare and hotel costs account for 70 percent of Electrovision’s T& E budget, the trend toward higher prices in these two categories will have serious consequences on the company’s expenses unless management takes action to control these costs. By implementing a number of reforms, management can expect to reduce Electrovision’s T&E budget by as much as 40 percent. This estimate is based on the general assessment made by American Express (Gilligan 130-140) and the fact that we have an opportunity to significantly reduce air travel costs by reducing or eliminating first-class travel. However, these measures are likely to be unpopular with employees. To gain acceptance for such changes, management will need to sell employees on the need for moderation in travel and entertainment allowances. Four Ways to Trim Expenses By researching what other companies are doing to curb travel and entertainment expenses, the accounting department has identified four prominent opportunities that should enable Electrovision to save about $6 million annually in travel-related costs.

Isabella of Gloucester

Isabella of Gloucester Isabella of Gloucester Facts Known for:  married to the future King John of England, but put aside before or as soon as he became king, never considered a queen consortTitles: suo jure Countess of Gloucester (in her own right)  Dates:  about 1160? 1173? – October 14, 1217 (sources differ widely on her age and birth year)Also known as: Variations on her name include Isabel, Hadwise, Hawise, Hadwisa, Joan, Eleanor, Avisa. Background, Family: Mother: Hawise de Beaumont, daughter of Amica de Gael and Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of LeicesterFather: William FitzRobert, son of Mabel FitzRobert and Robert FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of Henry I of England, who had been a strong supporter of his half-sister, Matilda, in her claim to the throneSiblings: Robert FitzWilliam, who died at 15; Mabel FitzWilliam, who married Amaury V de Montfort; and Amice FitzWilliam, who married Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford.   Robert died before his father did, and the estates and titles fell to the three sisters as co-heirs. The title of Gloucester eventually passed to Amice’s descendants. Marriage, Children: Husband: John, son of Henry II: betrothed 1176, married 1189, annulled 1199; John was also called John Lackland and was the fifth and youngest son of Henry IIHusband: Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex: married 1214; he died 1216Husband: Hubert de Burgh, later Earl of Kent: married 1217; Isabella died a month later; he had already been married twice and would remarry again after Isabella’s deathChildren: Isabella had no children Isabella of Gloucester Biography: Isabella’s paternal grandfather was an illegitimate son of Henry I, made 1st Earl of Gloucester. Her father, the 2nd Earl of Gloucester, arranged for his daughter, Isabella, to marry the youngest son of Henry II, John Lackland.   Betrothal They were betrothed on September 11, 1176, when Isabella was between three and 16 years old and John was ten.   It was soon after his brothers had combined to rebel against their father, so John was at the time his father’s favorite.   She was a wealthy heiress, her only brother having already died, and the marriage would make John wealthy when, as the youngest son of many, he might not inherit much from his father.   The agreement for the marriage excluded Isabella’s two sisters who were already married from inheriting the title and estates.   As was the custom for couples where one or both was so young, they waited some years before the formal marriage.   Her father died in 1183, and king Henry II became her guardian, taking the income from her estates. John’s three oldest brothers pre-deceased their father, and his brother Richard succeeded as king in July of 1189 when Henry II died. Marriage to John The official marriage of John and Isabella took place on August 29, 1189, at Marlborough Castle.   He was given the title and estate of Gloucester in her right.   John and Isabella were half-second cousins (Henry I was great-grandfather of both), and at  first the church declared their marriage null, then the pope, probably as a favor to Richard, gave them permission to marry but not to have marital relations. At some point the two traveled together to Normandy.   In 1193, John was arranging to marry Alice, the half-sister of the French king, as part of a conspiracy against his brother, Richard, then held in captivity. In April of 1199, the 32-year-old John succeeded Richard as king of England when Richard died in Aquitaine, his mother’s duchy he had also inherited.   John very quickly moved to get his marriage to Isabella annulled – he had probably already fallen in love with Isabella, heiress to Angoulà ªme, and married her in 1200, when she was between 12 and 14 years old. John kept Isabella of Gloucester’s lands, though he granted the title of Earl to Isabella’s nephew.   It reverted to Isabella at her nephew’s death in 1213. He took Isabella under his guardianship. Second and Third Marriages In 1214, John sold the right to marry Isabella of Gloucester to the Earl of Essex. Such right to sell remarriages was limited by the Magna Carta, signed in 1215.   Isabella and her husband were among those who rebelled against John and forced him to sign the document. The Earl died in 1216, from wounds sustained fighting in a tournament.   King John died the same year, and Isabella enjoyed some freedom as a widow.   The next year, Isabella married for the third time, to Hubert de Burgh, who had been John’s chamberlain and became Chief Justiciar in 1215, and was a regent for the young Henry III.   He had been loyal to King John during the rebellion, but had urged the king to sign the Magna Carta. Isabella died a month after her third marriage.   She was at Keynsham Abbey which had been founded by her father. She was buried at Canterbury.   The Gloucester title went to her sister Amicia’s son Gilbert de Clare.

The Meaning of Mutually Exclusive in Statistics

The Meaning of Mutually Exclusive in Statistics In probability two events are said to be mutually exclusive if and only if the events have no shared outcomes. If we consider the events as sets, then we would say that two events are mutually exclusive when their intersection is the empty set. We could denote that events A and B are mutually exclusive by the formula A ∠© B Ø. As with many concepts from probability, some examples will help to make sense of this definition. Rolling Dice Suppose that we roll two six-sided dice and add the number of dots showing on top of the dice. The event consisting of the sum is even is mutually exclusive from the event the sum is odd.  The reason for this is because there is no way possible for a number to be even and odd. Now we will conduct the same probability experiment of rolling two dice and adding the numbers shown together. This time we will consider the event consisting of having an odd sum and the event consisting of having a sum greater than nine. These two events are not mutually exclusive. The reason why is evident when we examine the outcomes of the events. The first event has outcomes of 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. The second event has outcomes of 10, 11 and 12. Since 11 is in both of these, the events are not mutually exclusive. Drawing Cards We illustrate further with another example. Suppose we draw a card from a standard deck of 52 cards. Drawing a heart is not mutually exclusive to the event of drawing a king. This is because there is a card (the king of hearts) that shows up in both of these events. Why Does It Matter There are times when it is very important to determine if two events are mutually exclusive or not. Knowing whether two events are mutually exclusive influences the calculation of the probability that one or the other occurs. Go back to the card example. If we draw one card from a standard 52 card deck, what is the probability that we have drawn a heart or a king? First, break this into individual events. To find the probability that we have drawn a heart, we first count the number of hearts in the deck as 13 and then divide by the total number of cards. This means that the probability of a heart is 13/52. To find the probability that we have drawn a king we start by counting the total number of kings, resulting in four, and next divide by the total number of cards, which is 52. The probability that we have drawn a king is 4/52. The problem is now to find the probability of drawing either a king or a heart. Here’s where we must be careful. It is very tempting to simply add the probabilities of 13/52 and 4/52 together. This would not be correct because the two events are not mutually exclusive. The king of hearts has been counted twice in these probabilities. To counteract the double counting, we must subtract the probability of drawing a king and a heart, which is 1/52. Therefore the probability that we have drawn either a king or a heart is 16/52. Other Uses of Mutually Exclusive A formula known as the addition rule gives an alternate way to solve a problem such as the one above. The addition rule actually refers to a couple of formulas that are closely related to one another. We must know if our events are mutually exclusive in order to know which addition formula is appropriate to use.

Epidemiology Hepatitis B in Philadelphia, PA Essay

Epidemiology Hepatitis B in Philadelphia, PA - Essay Example Still there are chances that she had ovarian cancer. This implies that acolposcopy tests needs to be administered. According to Omansky (2010), this test is preferred for in abdominal Pap smear. Notwithstanding the cancer history and that of other family, the two tests administered, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, are sufficient since she comes from a family where there are high chances of contracting breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Neil (2011) is of the opinion that a large number of women-more than 1%-are at a higher risk of developing either breast cancer or ovarian cancer. These statistics further shows that 39% of those who inherit the harmful BRCA 1 gene and 17% who inherit the BRCA 2 mutation will develop ovarian cancer at some point. This means that if Shelby takes the, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, her vulnerability of developing either breast or ovarian cancer will be mitigated. It is also notable that Shelby’s uncle died of a proven case of pancreatic cancer. As such, Shelby could also be at risk of developing similar complications. For this case, I would recommend the normal screening to be conducted on the patient. Darity (2008) recommends that when analyzing cases of patients with predispositions of a particular cancer, the case should be taken as a matter of a confirmed case so as to take serious preventive measures. KANDIKO, and BLACKMORE (2012) supports this sentiment by declaring that diabetic patients and healthy individuals with first-degree pancreas cancer relatives are at a higher risk of developing pancreatic

Fetal Heart Monitoring during labor Research Paper

Fetal Heart Monitoring during labor - Research Paper Example Similarly, the paper will discuss the aspects of intermittent fetal heart monitoring and the negative and positive aspects that are included. Additionally, the paper will describe the interview performed on doctors working in Labor and Delivery at the local hospital; their views and opinions will be noted. Last will be a determination of potential problems that could arise without the use of fetal monitoring and provide evidence of the possibility of them occurring. The fetal heart monitoring is the standard method and the most preferred technique to determine the heart rate of the fetus during labor. Determination of the fetal heart rate is vital because it enables the prevention of the fetal distress and fetal death as well as prevention of fetal seizures. Although this procedure is vital for the health of the mother and of the fetus, doctors’ delay in acting when fetal distress detection is shown on the electronic monitor can lead to death of the mother and fetus (Elimian, Lawlor, Figueroa, Wiencek, Garry, & Quirk, 2003). The continuous use of the fetal monitoring electronically has shown a positive impact on the fetal development. The process further reduces the chances of incidences like the fetal failure and eventually fetal death. The continuous fetal heart monitoring is famous in the United States but it has fewer benefits for the pregnant woman or the fetus. Continuous fetal heart monitoring (CEFM) has a negative effect on the labor process in pregnant women. This process can also affect the satisfaction of the maternal delivery by decreasing the maternal mobility, physical contact of the pregnant mother with the partner, and the time period with the nurse or the doctor in comparison to the intermittent auscultation procedure (Bailey, 2009). The intermittent auscultation procedure is known to increase the rate of medical risks. This is chiefly because of the