21st Century Living Essay -- essays research papers

The 21st Century is just around the corner and with it will come many changes in today’s modern society. Changes occur daily, yet taken into view yearly these changes become extremely noticeable. The people of today’s society are changing everyday, and therefore so is the world. This report will express personal beliefs on what will occur in the 21st century. Within it are examples such as, crime rates, personalities, religion, and living environments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 21st Century will bring crime rates to a substantially high rate. In today’s society we have a high crime rate. Day by day more crimes are committed, and taken year by year the numbers rise hugely. This only shows that the police department’s system is not working the way expected. This system has not been modified to any extent, and therefore the numbers will not change. By the time the 21st Century comes along the numbers will have risen to a point where society will be terrified to leave their homes for fear of being attacked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The on patrol system has not stopped criminals from committing another crime. Criminals who were once imprisoned come out different people searching for a new life. When these ex-criminals find that their previous record stops them from retrieving the dream they were told they could have, they return to the life of crime. The system takes into effect only the emotional changes of the criminal and has never reflected upon the actual ch...

Plastic Water Bottles, Are they safe? Essay

People these days use plastic bottles filled with water since it is durable and light to carry. Many colorful plastic water bottles out in the market today which are trendy, and perfect for active lifestyle. Those colorful bottles are made with polycarbonate plastics. However, majority of the plastic water bottle users did not know that it may cause serious health hazards because of the materials used in making the plastic water bottles. The harmful material which makes up the plastic bottle is the lexan polycarbonate resin. Research found out that this type of plastic polymer is accidentally developed by General Electric in 1953. Variety of products over four decades like compact discs and DVDs, bullet-proof windows, computers, mobile phones, baby bottles and water bottles were made up of lexan polycarbonate resin. People think that if it doesn’t change the flavor of the liquid inside the plastic bottle it is safe. A discovery by Dr. Patricia Hunt in 1998, those plastics which are made from polycarbonate resin can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), BPA is known endocrine disruptor, which is a xenoestrogen that disturb the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Heat exposure, like leaving your plastic water bottle in your car, back pack, sitting the plastic water bottle on your desk is not also safe. The attractive colorful plastic bottles made with polycarbonate plastics may leach BPA. This chemical can be leached into the water bottles contents through wear and tear, exposure to heat and cleaning agents. This is also found in epoxy resin and other polycarbonate plastics that may damage the reproductive organs and have negative effects on tumors, prostate development by reducing sperm count and breast tissue development. BPA is also linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes and destructive to babies and young children. Plastic water bottles are only good for singe use. After using them it is better to dispose or have it recycled. The toxins in the plastic bottles bring harmful effects to every user, and those harmful effects are slowly killing the organs in our body. These days those types of plastic bottle which contains BPA are now banned due to its bad effects to our health. There are ways for us to keep away from harm and to avoid exposure to BPA. Instead of using plastic water bottles, switch to stainless steel water bottle, but still you have to be careful because many products on the market are lined with epoxy finish. Another means, is to use glass bottles even they are a bit heavier, but are good and safe to use. Works Cited Medical News Today. http://www. medicalnewstoday. com/articles Polycarbonate Plastics and Bisphenol. http://www. bisphenol-a. org/human/polyplastics. html Water and Hydration Bottle Health. http://gearjunkie. com

External Failure and Internal Failure Cost

Definition and Explanation of Quality Costs: The concept of Cost Of Quality (COQ) has been around for many years. Dr. Joseph M. Juran in 1951 in his Quality Control Handbook included a section on COQ. The Quality Cost Committee under the Quality Management Division was established by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in 1961. However it was Philip B. Crosby who popularized the use of COQ because of his book Quality is Fre in 1979. Several current quality system standards, ISO 9000, QS-9000, AS-9000, reference the use of COQ for quality improvement. The concept of Cost of Quality is confusing.It does not refer to costs such as using a higher grade leather to make a wallet or using 14K gold instead of gold plating in jewelry. Instead the term quality cost refers to all of the costs that are incurred to prevent defects or that result from defects in products. What is being referenced are the costs due to the lack of quality or costs to ensure quality is produced. We understand them as the costs that are associated with preventing, detecting, and correcting defective work. Some authors refer to these costs as â€Å"Cost of Poor Quality†. Sometimes poor quality costs refer only to the â€Å"failure† costs.Crosby refers to the COQ costs as â€Å"Price of conformance† (the prevention and appraisal costs) and the â€Å"Price of non-conformance† (the failure costs). These are divided into conformance and non-conformance costs, also called control costs and failure of control costs. Figure 1 Quality costs can be broken down into four broad groups. These four groups are also termed as four (4) types of quality costs. Two of these groups are known as prevention costs and appraisal costs. These are incurred in an effort to keep defective products from falling into the hands of customers.The other two groups of costs are known as internal failure and external failure. Internal and external failure costs are incurred because defects are produc ed despite efforts to prevent them therefore these costs are also known as costs of poor quality. However, we will be focussing on the internal costs failure and the external costs failure for this assignment. The non-conformance costs come into play when the software does not conform to the quality requirements. These costs are divided into internal failure costs and external failure costs. Types of quality costs are explained below : Internal Costs Failure:Failure costs are incurred when a product fails to conform to its design specifications. Failure costs can be either internal or external. Internal failure costs result from identification of defects before they are shipped to customers. These costs include scrap, rejected products, reworking of defective units, and downtime caused by quality problem. The more effective a company's appraisal activities the greater the chance of catching defects internally and the greater the level of internal failure costs. This is the price tha t is paid to avoid incurring external failure costs, which can be devastating.On the non-conformance side, we have fault removal costs that can be attributed to the internal failure costs as well as the external failure costs. This is because if we found a fault and want to remove it, it would always result in costs no matter whether costs in an internal or external failure. Actually, there does not have to be a failure at all. Considering code inspections, faults are found and removed that have never caused a failure during testing. It is also a good example that the removal costs can be quite different due to the different techniques.When a test identifies a failure, there needs to be considerable effort spent to find the corresponding fault. During an inspection, faults are found directly. Fault removal costs also contain the costs for necessary re-testing and re-inspections. External Cost Failure: When a defective product is delivered to customer, external failure cost is the re sult. External failure costs include warranty, repairs and replacements, product recalls, liability arising from legal actions against a company, and lost sales arising from a reputation for poor quality. Such costs can decimate profits.In the past, some managers have taken the attitude, â€Å"Let's go ahead and ship everything to customers, and we'll take care of any problems under the warranty. † This attitude generally results in high external failure costs, customer ill will, and declining market share and profits. External failure costs usually give rise to another intangible cost. These intangible costs are hidden costs that involve the company's image. They can be three or four times greater than tangible costs. Missing a deadline or other quality problems can be intangible costs of quality.Internal failure costs, costs and intangible costs that impair the goodwill of the company occur due to a poor quality so these costs are also known as costs of poor quality by some persons. External failure also cause support costs. These are all costs connected to customer care, especially the effort from service workers identifying the problem. Finally, compensation costs could be part of external failure costs, if the failure caused some kind of damage at the customer site. We might also include loss of sales because of bad reputation in the external failure costs but do not look at it in this paper because it is out of scope.Costs of quality assurance (Compiled from Gavett 1968, Adam and Evertt-1998) Prevention Costs| Appraisal Costs| Internal Failure Costs| External Failure Costs| †¢ Quality planning†¢ QC administration and systems planning†¢ Quality related training†¢ Inspection of incoming in process and final product†¢ Processes planning†¢ Design review†¢ Quality data analysis†¢ Procurement planning†¢ Market research†¢ Vendor surveys†¢ Reliability studies†¢ System development†¢ Quality m easurement and control equipment†¢ Product Qualification†¢ Qualification of material| †¢ Incoming Inspection†¢ Testing†¢ Inspection in process†¢ Quality audits†¢ Incoming test and laboratory tests†¢ Checking labor†¢ Laboratory or other measurement service†¢ Setup for test and inspection†¢ Test and inspection material†¢ Outside endorsements for certification†¢ Maintenance and calibration work†¢ Product reengineering review and shipping release†¢ Field testing†¢ Final testing| †¢ Rejections†¢ Scrap at full shop cost†¢ Failure analysis†¢ Scrap and rework, fault of vendor†¢ Material procurement†¢ Factory contact engineering†¢ Machine down†¢ QC investigations of failures†¢ Material review activity†¢ Repair and troubleshooting†¢ Excess inventory| †¢ Recall†¢ Complaints handling†¢ Goodwill loss†¢ Warranty costs†¢ Bad publicity†¢ Field maintenance and product service†¢ Returned material processing and repair†¢ Fall in market share†¢ Replacement inventories†¢ Low employees morale†¢ Strained distributor relation| References 1. Jones, Capers, Patterns of Software Systems Failure and Success, International Thompsom Computer Press, Boston, Mass. , 1996. 2. Crosby, P. , Quality Improvement Through Defect Prevention, Philip Crosby Assosiates, 1985. 3. Beecroft, G. Dennis, What is Your Quality Costing You? IIQP Newsletter, Winter 2000. 4. Campanella, Jack (Ed. ). Principles of Quality Costs (Third Edition). ASQ Quality Press: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1999. 219pp. 5. Harrington, H. J. , Poor Quality Costs, Mercel Dekker, Inc. , 1987. 6. Morse, Roth, and Poston, Measuring, Planning, and Controlling Quality Costs, National Association of Accountant, 1987.

Understanding Financial Reporting

Financial reports allow the organization to communicate information about their performance to the â€Å"outside world†. So, financial reports provide summarized information about an organization†s transactions for external decision makers. (e. g. Investors). Financial reports can be used by employees and trade unions, government, creditors and lenders, customers, shareholders and investment analysts. All these users may need different statements of financial accounts but the most important statements which they need is the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow account and the income statement. The two main regulatory bodies of financial reporting are the â€Å"Law† and the â€Å"Accounting Profession† with the Accounting Standards Board usually known as ASB. In UK, most of the legislation related to the publishing of accounts is embodied in the Companies Act 1985 and 1989 which are concerned with the accounts of the limited liability companies only. The Companies Act 1989 is the main frame which the companies and accountants have to follow. All the financial statement drawn up under the act 1989 must present a true and fair view and its function is to protect all the users of the financial reports and statements. The second and the most important regulatory body is the accounting profession. The standard setters should be aware of the information needed by all users of financial reports and should know the impact and the outcome of a different accounting method on the needs of those users. The standard setters should also be able to resolve the conflicts which exist between the needs of different users. So, they have to find an alternative way which best satisfy user needs and this could be achieved by choosing the improvement of the â€Å"social welfare† instead of welfare of individuals. We know that Accounting Standards Board is the main accounting standard setter. Because the ASB is composed of professional accountants, they may be unfamiliar with the user needs. So , when there is a need for a change in accounting standard the ASB prepare and publish a draft standard called the FRED (Financial Reporting Exposure Draft). After the publishing of these drafts the comments from the public is invited and in the light of these comments the FRED is changed (or unchanged). Now the FREDs are issued as FRS (Financial Reporting Standard). The main disadvantage of this system is the ASB members are unfamiliar with the different user needs and the comments from the general public may not be equally represented. There are four things that standards in financial reporting supply people using it. The first one is â€Å"Comparability†; financial statements must allow people to compare one company with another one and evaluate the management†s performance without spending time and money adjusting them to a common format and common accounting treatments. It is essential that users of financial reports or investment decision makers be supplied with relevant and standard financial reports which have been regulated and hence standardized. The second thing that standards and regulations supply is called â€Å"Credibility†. Because all this standards and regulations exist accountants have to treat every company in the same way. If the accountancy profession permitted companies experiencing similar events to produce financial reports that disclosed markedly different results simply because of a freedom to select different accounting policies they would lose all of their credibility. So, the standards should be composed of rigid rules and should not be broken. The third thing is â€Å"Influence† that means, setting up the standards has encouraged a constructive appraisal of the policies being proposed for individual reporting problems and has been a stimulus for the development of a conceptual framework. The last thing that the standards have to supply is â€Å"discipline†. Companies left to their own devises without the need to obey standards will eventually be disciplined by the financial markets. But in the short run investors in such companies may suffer loss. The Financial Reporting Council is aware of the need to impose discipline because most of the company failures in recent years are because of obscure financial reporting. Why should the Accounting Standards set? As we argued before, an important role of the regulations is to increase the comparability of accounts by limiting the choice of alternative accounting methods and to supply standardized accounts. This standardization can be achieved only by uniform accounting practice. If all accounting methods were standardized, two organizations which began the year with same balance sheets and which made the same transactions during the year, they would report the same balance sheets and the same profit and loss account at the end of the year. In addition to these advantages of regulations in financial reporting, there are also some more useful functions. Regulations can help to reduce the influence of personal biases and political pressures on accounting judgments. They can increase the level of user confidence in, and understanding of, financial reporting by clarifying the basis on which all accounts are prepared and presented. Finally, they can provide a frame of reference for resolving accounting problems which are not mentioned in legislation or accounting standards. As we argued earlier although the regulations in financial reports have very advantages it has many disadvantages too: One if these disadvantages is the â€Å"Adverse Allocative Effects†, this could occur if the ASB did not take into account of the economic consequences of the new standard or regulation they have issued. For example, additional costs could be imposed on preparers of accounts and suboptimal managerial decisions might be taken to avoid any reduction in earning or net assets. â€Å"Consensus-seeking† can be another disadvantage and this means the issuing of standards that are over-influenced by those with easiest access to the standard-setters. Most of the time this could happen with complex subjects.

Does the theories of ecquivalence play a useful role in professional Essay

Does the theories of ecquivalence play a useful role in professional translation - Essay Example These theorists have studied equivalence in relation to the translation process, using different approaches, and have provided fruitful ideas for further study regarding this topic. Our first study is on the theory introduced and expounded by Nida and Taber about formal correspondence and dynamic equivalence. Formal correspondence focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content, unlike dynamic equivalence which is based upon "the principle of equivalent effect" (1964:159). A more detailed explanation of each type of equivalence is provided in the second edition (1982) of their work, but a brief analysis will be discussed in this paper. Nida, in consultation with other pioneers in the field, developed the theory of "dynamic equivalence" or "functional equivalence," which stressed the importance of transferring meaning, not grammatical form (Poythress, 2004). Formal correspondence consists of a TL item which represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase. Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a translator seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL wording will trigger the same impact on the TL audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience. (Nida and Taber, 1982: 200) In dynamic equivalence, translation is done by the translator's use of his/her own words and expressing it in the TL, the impact should be the same as it was in the ST. The sentences are not the literal interpretation, but rather a different wording seeking to arrive at the same impact as in the original text. Nida was also concerned of delivering the "fullest meaning" instead of a bare minimum (Nida, 1947, cited in Poythress, 2004). The distinction between the two - formal correspondence and dynamic equivalence - is that in the former a word can have an equivalent to an SL word or phrase, whilst in the latter, equivalence is achieved by giving the meaning of the words or phrases from the original. Both can achieve equivalent effect. In formal equivalence, the problem lies in not getting an equivalent word in the two languages. Fawcett (1997) criticizes this theory because he argued that the use of formal equivalents might at times have serious implications in the TT since the translation might not be easily understood by the target audience. Formal correspondence distorts the grammatical and stylistic patterns of the receptor language, and hence distorts the message, so as to cause the receptor to misunderstand the message (Fawcett, 1007: 201). Nevertheless, Nida and Taber argue that "the form of the original text is changed; but as long as the change follows the rules of back transformation in the source language, of contextual consistency in the transfer, and of transformation in the receptor language, the message is preserved and the translation is faithful" (p. 200). Nida is in favour of the application of dynamic equivalence, as a more effective translation procedure, considering that he has been into Bible translation. Nida is much more interested in the message of the text or, in other words, in its semantic quality. He strives to make sure that this message remains clear in the target text (hence, dynamic equivalence). But herein lies the contradiction as far as Bible translation is concerned.

Reagan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Reagan - Essay Example Ronald Reagan’s major focus during his first term was reviving the economy his administration inherited, which was plagued by a new phenomenon known as stagflation (a stagnant economy combined with high inflation). His administration fought double-digit inflation by supporting Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker’s decision to tighten the money supply by dramatically hiking interest rates. Economist Milton Friedman said, â€Å"Reagan understood that there was no way of ending inflation without monetary restraint and a temporary recession†. Friedman feels there were three key elements inherent in Reagan’s fiscal policy. Which was primarily designed to curb social spending and increase defense spending. Reagan according to Friedman, accomplished this in three ways:(1) by slashing tax rates and so cutting Congress’s allowance. (2) by being willing to take a severe recession to end inflation. In the opinion of Friedman, no other post-war president would have been willing to back the Volcker Fed in its tough stance in 1981-82. I can testify from personal knowledge that Reagan knew what he was doing. He understood that there was no way of ending inflation without monetary restraint and a temporary recession. As in every area, he stuck to his guns and looked to the long term.(3)and in some ways the least recognized, by attacking government regulations. The federal Register records the thousands of detailed rules and regulations that federal agencies churn out in the course of a year.... and his detractors did not have such a regal assessment of his policies; "Reagan's theory was really 'trickle down' economics borrowed from the Republican 1920's (Harding- Coolidge-Hoover) and renamed 'supply side'. Cut tax rates for the wealthy; every one else will benefit. The supply side rhetoric 'was always a Trojan horse to bring down the top rate'. Many middle-class and poor citizens figured it out, even if the reporters did not". (Greider) Two years into Reagan's presidency, the United States experienced its worst recession since the Great Depression, with unemployment peaking at 10.8 per cent. Rather than take responsibility, Reagan attempted to blame the 1982 recession on his predecessor, Jimmy Carter. -Ronald Reagan, nationally televised campaign speech, October 24, 1980-(federal deficits totaled #252 billion under Carter. By the end of the Reagan presidency, federal deficits would total $1.4 trillion. Early in his presidency, Reagan chose as his economic advisors a group that espoused a radical economic theory called "supply-side". The supply siders told Reagan that if he gave tax cuts to the top brackets (the wealthiest individuals) the positive effects would "trickle down" to everyone else. Tax cuts they argued, would produce so much growth in the economy that America could just outgrow its deficits. Reagan bought into the supply side theory, which is why in 1981 he predicted that there would be a "drastic

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Project management - Essay Example Each project undertaken is unique in terms of its timeline, cost, objectives, roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders and participants, issues and constrains and this requires the use of the right approach or methodology. The main challenges of project management are satisfactory achievement of goals and objectives and overcoming all project constrains. These constrains include time, project scope and budget. There is also a challenge of integrating and allocating necessary inputs. This means that a successful completion of a project and the attainment of its goals and objectives requires the use of the right approach or methodology and the utilization of appropriate project management tools and techniques. According to Ireland (2006), project management techniques refers to the ways in which we communicate, gather information and get things done in the most effective and efficient ways. Project management tools are helpful in the efficient organization and management of a pro ject. Generally, the project management tools and techniques should have an overall effect of ensuring that the particular project does not over run and that it operates within its allocated budget. They are also important for the quick spotting of delays so that necessary steps are taken to rectify them (Ireland 2006). Wysocki (2007) defines project management methodology as a set of practices and processes that are repeatedly carried out throughout the project in order to deliver the expected outcomes. The chosen methodology gives a clear process of managing the undertaken project. After customizing to the project environment, the project methodology directs on what should be done, how, in what order and by when. A project methodology can therefore be used create a project roadmap, control change and scope, monitor quality, time and cost, manage staff and supplies, and minimize project risks and issues. Popular project management tools, techniques and methodology in market Project management tools The most popular project management tools in the market are Gantt chart, PERT chart, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Logic Network and Product Breakdown Structure (PBS). A Gantt chart is a chart that illustrates the schedule of a project. The chart tracks tasks across time hence it indicates the starting and finishing dates of the projects’ terminal elements (Wallace and Gantt 1922). Some Gantt charts are able to illustrate precedence network or dependency relationships between various project activities. Most importantly, it is possible to use a Gantt chart to show a projects current schedule status. This is done using a vertical TODAY line and percent-complete shadings. A Gantt chart is important in tool for showing resources, tasks, phases and milestones required as part of a project. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart is a project management tool used for the analysis of all tasks involved in the completion of a particular project. This mainly includes identifying the time required to complete each project task and the total project. According to Malcolm et al (1959), a PERT chart gives a graphic representation of a project as a network diagram composed of numbered nodes linked by directional lines. The numbered codes represent project events or milestones while the directional lines represent proje