Describe and evaluate its role in understanding the psychology of Essay

Describe and evaluate its role in understanding the psychology of adult learning of Personality - Essay Example a greater understanding of the psychology of learning and development, as applied to educational contexts. Adult education promotes the development of adults in a variety of domains--cognitive and intellectual, social and emotional. Psychology has an important role in the field of adult education. The word Psychology originated from the two Greek words ‘psyche’ and ‘logos’ which means soul and science respectively. Psychology was the study of soul earlier. Then it was modified as study of mind and now it is the study of behavioral changes. According to the modern psychologists, behavior includes all those activities of an individual which can be observed by any person with or without the aid of an instrument. Psychology has several branches of study. General psychology, abnormal psychology, Industrial psychology, Development psychology, Child psychology, Adult psychology, Clinical psychology, Educational psychology are some of them. It is interesting to note that adult educators have, traditionally, been interested in understanding the different â€Å"styles† or modes of learning that adults demonstrate much more so than they have been in understanding or assessing cognitive and intellectual abilities. This has taken place despite the fact that the psychological research fails to find compelling evidence for quantitative as opposed to qualitative differences in these learning styles. There is no evidence to support some adult educators’ claims that instruction which is designed to capitalize upon an individual’s preferred manner of learning. Still, as adult educators have often pointed out, psychologists have generally been more concerned with understanding the â€Å"average† or â€Å"typical† performance of a group of learners rather than focusing on the phenomenological experience of the individual learner. And, historically, psychologists have

Critically discussed the ethical, legal, and social issues arising Essay

Critically discussed the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from the use of assistef reproductive technologies - Essay Example ough fertile couples can also undergo the processes due to genetic, sex selection or health considerations such as risk of infecting the child with AIDS. Methods used in ART include Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), which involves engaging a males sperm into a womans uterus via a tube. In Vitro Fertilization is another process in ART where sperm and eggs from the couple are taken and incubated to form an embryo with steps such as stimulation of egg maturation, egg recovery, fertilization and embryo transfer with assistance from a physician. There is also the third party assisted ART such as the use of a sperm donor, egg Donor, surrogates and gestational carriers. Even as these methods have been effective in enabling many couples achieve the dream of being parents, there have been debate over the ethical legal, social and ethical issues surrounding processes used to achieve this goal. This research paper highlights some of the ethical, legal and social arguments presented in support or opposition to ART. Ethical issues in ART surround the practice of implanting multiple embryos at one time to cut on expenses for couples since there is no insurance coverage to support this form of treatment. For the process to be successful at a lower cost even when more than one attempt is undertaken couples are encouraged to fertilize many eggs at once and implanting multiple embryos while hoping one among them will be carried to term. Success rate in ART also depends on the years of women involved in the process (see the graph below). Multiple fertilization of these eggs leads to the problem of multiple pregnancies with parents facing the prospect of giving birth to more than one baby. When this happens, couples especially mother and their offspring face increased social, psychological and medical problems. Research has indicated that multiple pregnancies results in a number of health complications especially those related to obstetric complications, prenatal morbidity,

Effect of New Labour on Social Policy for Children

Effect of New Labour on Social Policy for Children The Preventive State. How far has New Labour changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and families? New Labour has reformed the scope and direction of social policy in the United Kingdom indelibly. These changes have permeated every level and shade of social policy related to children and families. The tax credits system, and in particular the Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit system has been introduced; fathers have gained more extensive paternity rights; parents with young children and parents with disabled children now enjoy the right to ask employers for more flexible working hours and a minimum wage has been introduced. This essay will explain the various social policy initiatives which have been formulated by New Labour and will attempt to explain the impact these have had upon children and families. An examination of how far New Labour has changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and families necessitates an examination of how the Labour Party traditionally dealt with policy in this area, and inevitably the transition from Old Labour to New Labour will have to be looked at since this has probably represented the single biggest catalyst for political change relating to social policy. In this way the question of how far New Labour have changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and young families will be evaluated and answered. Also, the question of whether the social policy objectives of New Labour allow one to characterise New Labour as the ‘Preventive State’ will be addressed throughout the essay. What is ‘New Labour’? New Labour was the name given to the Labour Party under the leadership of Tony Blair. New Labour swept to power with a landslide victory over the Conservatives in 1997. Prior to 1997, Labour had not been in power since James Callaghan’s Labour party lost power to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party in 1979. Historically, the Labour Party in Britain has been the main left wing political party, and was built upon strong association with the trade union movement (Minkin, (1991))[1]. The historical concerns and ideology of the Labour Party, before the transition to New Labour has been set in context by Bevir (2005): ‘The leading figures in the early Labour Party Keir Hardie, Philip Snowden, and Ramsay MacDonald condemned capitalism in much the same terms as had the ethical socialists. Snowden condemned the competitive market for bringing out our animal instincts not our moral ones; it makes men hard, cruel, selfish, acquisitive economic machines†¦..Snowden followed Webbs theory of interest as analogous to land rent, arguing that just as the landlord gets an unearned income from the increase in the value of land, so the capitalist gets an unearned increment from improvements in productive methods and in other ways not the result of his own efforts or abilities. MacDonald followed the Webbss denunciation of the uncoordinated nature of the market, arguing that whereas capitalism relied on a haphazard and chaotic clash of individual interests, socialism would eliminate waste by organising economic life on a scientific basis†¦[2]’. Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party in 1994, after the death of John Smith, and gradually came to realise that ideological reform of the foundations of the party, as expressed above were necessary if Labour were to be regarded as a credible party in the eyes of voters. Therefore, ‘New Labour’ came to represent this ideological shift which rejected the old democratic socialist underpinnings of the Labour Party in favour of neo-liberal policies, which had proven so popular under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. This ideological shift drew the Labour Party further to the centre-right, and led to much division among the ranks of Labour Party members who saw this development as positive and progressive and those who regarded it as incongruous with the traditional function of the Labour Party. Therefore, Labour, as a party has undergone considerable change in the last two decades, and this process of change can mainly be attributed to the transition from Old Labour, with its focus on traditional socialist values, to New Labour, a party whose ideologies had shifted towards the centre-right and which seem to be driven more by political pragmatism than by any particular allegiance to ideology. The writings of Denver et al. (1998) give us more guidance on the rationale and impetus for this transition to New Labour: ‘†¦After private polling immediately following the 1992 general election and again at the end of that same year revealed that, among wavering Conservative voters, the Labour Party was regarded as too old fashioned, too tied to the past, too linked to minorities rather than majorities, and too associated with old images of the trades unions, Hill wrote that the party lacked clear identity and was the party of the past.†¦.The view that, notwithstanding any opinion poll leads Labour might gain, the party would not win an election unless it reassessed itself in a fundamental manner was held among a group of party modernisers, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman, Peter Mandelson, and Philip Gould. The 1992 defeat confirmed these modernisers view that fundamental changes were necessary†¦.Their target included both the left and the right of the party. Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Crosland, and Tony Benn were all equally identified with the flawed politics of old Labour. In Blairs view, â€Å"Labour needed a quantum leap to become a serious party of government again.†¦.His project, as first publicly articulated in his 1995 party conference speech, was to eradicate all aspects of party doctrine and ethos, of policies and strategies, that were of the past†¦.[3]’. The changes to the ideological foundations of the Labour Party, brought about principally by Blair, have in turn precipitated wide reaching change to the social policy which is now espoused by the Labour Party, and these changes have arguably impacted upon families and children more sharply than they have impacted upon any other groups or sectors. The next sections will chart these changes to the social policy perspective of the Labour Party under Blair and will attempt to relate this discussion to the situation of families and children. In a wider sense, this discussion will address the issue of whether New Labour can be regarded as a ‘preventive state’. New Labour in Power New Labour has changed the face of social policy which can be seen to have a direct effect upon the family and children. The introduction of the minimum wage in 1999; the revolutionary idea of allowing fathers paternity rights and the ideas about flexible working arrangements for women, parents with children and disabled people have all had the effect of bringing the institution of the family in the UK into the modern era. Labour have worked to reduce poverty and to improve working arrangements for those with families, partly as an expression of commitments to ‘popular’ politics, but also as a necessary series of measures to ensure that the UK complies with the requirements of European Union. This section will examine these measures, how they have come about and how effective they have been at changing the direction and scope of social policy within the UK. When Labour took power in the 1997 General Election, they promised to radically reform government policy to make it appeal more to the average voter, they promised to eliminate ‘sleaze’ which had been a central flaw in the previous Conservative administration, and they also promised to radically reform their own party, not just ideologically but in terms of a general democratic function, which they argued had put too wide a distance between Government and groups including families and children[4]. Therefore Labour was committed to make the party more geared towards the concerns of contemporary voters who saw issues relating to family and children as important. These were all rhetorical promises, of course, yet nonetheless they can be regarded as being of particular significance to the core social policies which were to emerge following the election of the fledgling Labour Government in 1997. The appointment of Frank Field in 1997, as Welfare Reform Minister communicated the first message that the object of this radical rhetoric was to be social policy, in particular. Field identified flaws in the social policy system which had been inherited from the Conservatives, and these problems, according to Field emanated from the antiquated system of means testing for benefits. Mainly, Field objected to the fact that the social security system, in particular the system of means testing seemed to create disincentives for those returning to work, after a period of dependency on benefits. This flaw, in particular, affected children and families because many families with young children faced the decision either to return to work, or to remain on benefits with an adult in the home to look after the child or children. However, Field’s rationale in regards to means testing did not find favour with the Government. However, Field’s proposals for reform of the youth employme nt policies fared a little better. The New Deal for eighteen to twenty four year olds was introduced as a way of addressing wider social concerns about youth unemployment and a link between crime or ‘anti-social’ behaviour and young people leaving education with few qualifications or prospects. This policy was arguably the main social policy reform introduced during the tenure of Frank Field[5]. The New Deal was first publicised in October 1997, as part of the Government’s ‘Welfare to Work’ strategy, and was a policy directed at providing work opportunities for young people leaving school at eighteen, and was also intended to indirectly benefit those families who had young people living in the family home just after that young person had left education. The New Deal was not a new conception. As a policy, it was first introduced by F. D. Roosevelt to deal with the consequences of the depression in America, in the early 1930s. However, the Labour Government of 1997 adopted the ‘New Deal’ brand to communicate a policy which was targeted towards young people, and was intended to operationalise New Labour’s social policy objective of encouraging young people aged 18-24 to enter the UK workforce. In this sense, the social policy initiatives which were products of the tenure of Frank Field can be regarded as ‘preventive’ since they recognised the problems which disillusioned youths might pose to society if they were not encouraged to follow a smooth transition from schooling to the world of work. However, Field’s tenure as Minister for Welfare Reform was thwarted by Cabinet feuds and grassroots suspicions (in particular from backbenchers) that a radical reform of the social security system would disenfranchise those within the Labour Party who remained loyal to socialist ideology[6]. Therefore, although it is true that Frank Field did not precipitate radical reform of the social security system or wider social policy, he did lay the foundations for Labour’s social security policy focus which was pivoted upon encouraging individual self sufficiency and recognition that working was more beneficial than reliance upon the support of the social security system. Ironically therefore, although Field’s title as Minister for Welfare Reform would have suggested otherwise, Field’s ideas were regarded as too revolutionary, and even as subversive by some. The translation of Field’s reform ethos was arguably stunted while he was in power, for many reasons , but principally because, during this time New Labour struggled to repudiate old socialist ideological ideas, which traditionally and historically were central to the Labour Party. The reform of means testing became government policy in 1998[7], and the conception of welfare rights coupled with ‘responsibility’ reflected a wider rationale which encouraged people on welfare to regard state support as a mechanism which might be relied upon where an option to support oneself was impossible as opposed to undesirable. We have seen this rationale continue into 2006, with the recent reform of Incapacity Benefit, which is now more difficult to claim. These reforms of the social security system, although some have not been specifically targeted at children and families, have indirectly benefited children and families in significant ways. However, if one looks to the reform of the tax credit system, New Labour’s direct concern to change the circumstances of families and children, by implementing the rationales which have been explained above can be seen more sharply. The Child Tax and Working Tax Credit System The 2000 Budget communicated the Government’s plans to revise the benefits system, and this process resulted in the creation of the tax credits system, which was intended to be a singular system which would provide social welfare support to families, disabled people, low income employees and children which had previously been available through a plethora of complex individual benefit schemes. In particular, the system replaced the WFTC (Working Family Tax Credit) and the DPTC (Disabled Person Tax Credit) systems. The tax credit system was aimed at operationalising New Labour’s commitment to eradicating poverty and social exclusion, especially poverty among children and families. Tax credits were also intended to target relief towards those who were in need of it the most, and financially reward families for choosing to work. A special tax credit was also introduced and this was aimed at assisting families with young children with childcare costs, which arose because a parent needed to work. The tax credit system was seen by many as the Government’s response to the criticism that families who worked were not much better off financially than families who did not work and sought financial support from the social security system. The system of tax credits was also seen as a way to eliminate the problem with the previous means testing approach to welfare calculation which tended to heavily penalise those families and individuals who had savings. The tax credit system was operationalised alongside targets to reduce child poverty rates and specifically to deal with the fact that Britain was criticised as having one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe. However, the tax credit system is a transitional policy initiative and has suffered from various criticisms which have resulted directly from the transitional nature of the system. Current criticisms of the tax credit system point to the persistent problem of over payments which have to be recovered from low income families. The bureaucracy of the system has also encountered heavy criticism, in much the same way as the Child Support Agency has under New Labour. Also, under New Labour the Housing Benefit and Council tax systems have remained largely untouched, and this can arguably be criticised as an inconsistent social welfare policy approach. The rationale for this particular critique is that the problems which prompted reform of the social welfare system and the resultant introduction of the tax credit system still exist, albeit in different niches within the social welfare system, giving rise to an inconsistent and inadequate reform focus. Children and Anti-Social Behaviour New Labour has also been radical in dealing with concerns about anti-social behaviour in children. Their approach has arguably been to impose a more paternalistic and authoritarian culture upon young children, while at the same time increasing the responsibilities and duties which parents owe to their children, and those children in their care. These trends have taken shape in the form of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, which has classified littering, causing criminal damage, vandalism, noise, hoax calls and street drinking amongst other things as anti-social behaviour. New Labour: The Preventive State? New Labour can be seen to have assumed the mantle of the ‘preventive state’ given the focus it has directed towards, dealing with the ‘causes[8]’ of crime and dysfunction in the youth sector and in relation to the family. This focus, coupled with New Labour’s focus on trying to eradicate poverty through the welfare initiatives which have been explained above, and the attempts which have been made to make youth transition from the end of education to the beginning of employment more smooth (i.e. the New Deal initiative) has cast Labour as being concerned with preventing problems associated with the family and children before they arise. In this sense, New Labour can certainly be seen as a ‘preventive’ state. Their concerns are paternalistic in the context. However, one only has to turn to the provision of social services within the UK to see the converse of new Labour’s role as a preventive state. In particular, the death of Victoria Climbie provoked criticism that the social services system, under the supervision of the Blair administration was grossly inadequate and fraught with flaws which undermined the institution of the family and endangered to position of children by failing those vulnerable individuals who either need assistance from the state to help them support children, or those individuals who are children and indirectly need to state to provide this support to those caring for them. The next section of the essay will examine this critique of the New Labour Government. Children and Social Services in the UK New Labour has implemented a series of legislative initiatives aimed at protecting the situation of the child in the UK. A Children’s Minister (currently Beverley Hughes) has been appointed to oversee the needs of children. The Children’s Act 2004 and the Every Child Matters agenda were aimed to improve and modernise the protections available to children within the UK, a system which had been highlighted as containing serious flaws, particularly in the aftermath of the death of Victoria Climbie, an eight year old child who died following systematic abuse inflicted by her carers, which was not identified by the social services whose ultimate role it had been to oversee Victoria Climbie’s care. These initiatives were aimed at bolstering the protections offered by The Children Act 1989 and responding to a climate of deep unhappiness about New Labour’s handling of the social support mechanisms available to children and families of children who needed to avail of such support. The area of the social services and how these actors assisted families and children was a policy concern largely ignored by the Labour administration when it assumed power. Labour’s concerns, as has been explained above were mainly ideological in focus and concerned ‘bigger picture’ issues which included education, crime, social exclusion, poverty, employment, welfare and other such issues which existed as inter-related and intersecting socio-legal and socio-political policy concerns. It is possible to make an argument therefore that New Labour’s concern for these ‘bigger picture’ issues has resulted in relative neglect of issues which concern policy niches, and policy concerns which exist at a more micro, but nonetheless critical level. Among these niche issues are the services provided to children and families through the social services. Lord Laming’s enquiry into the needs of children in care was established after the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000. Laming published his report in January 2003, and it heavily criticised the government for not having enough communication channels open between agencies working within the social services sector separately, while at the same time serving a singular function to provide support to children and families in need to state support. Therefore, one of Laming’s main recommendations was the formulation of a national database where social services actors would be able to access information about children, nationally. Commenting on Lord Laming’s report, the Children Minister, Barbara Hughes has made the following statement, acknowledging the accuracy of Laming’s criticisms: We have seen the tragic consequences that the failure to intervene early can have, as identified in Lord Lamings report on Victoria Climbie. But even in less extreme circumstances, all too often children who need additional help are faced with services which are not joined up. We need to ensure that professionals work together across service boundaries for the benefit of children†¦..These proposals balance the need to do everything we can to improve childrens life chances whilst ensuring strong safeguards to make sure information stored is minimal, secure and used appropriately. Parents and young people will be able to ask to see their data†¦[9]’. It is clear therefore that New Labour has taken Laming’s concerns seriously and the policy response that New Labour has delivered has been open, direct and speedy. However, this does not absolve the Government of the responsibility for failing to foresee the problems that eventually did arise for families and children because the social services sector had been sidelined while the Government dealt with ‘bigger picture’ issues. Perhaps it is arguable therefore that the Labour Government have changed the direction and scope of social policy ideologically, while failing to understand that grassroots issues such as social services provisions, needed ‘on the ground’ were under resourced and outdated. This rationale can account the apparent contraction in terms which emanates from a vision of the Labour Party as a modernising party who changed the face of social policy indelibly and undoubtedly in positive ways, while simultaneously failing in their responsibility to effectively oversee the operation of services on a more micro level. In this sense, the Labour Party can be critiqued as thinking preventively about ideological and holistic policy concerns while only thinking and behaving reactively to grassroots level services for the family and children. It is clear, however, that lessons have been learned from policy failures and policy ‘gaps’, and while these critiques are certainly serious they are ameliorated through the Labour Party’s willingness to accept criticisms, such as those delivered by Laming and to implement far reaching changes as a response to these. Conclusion In conclusion therefore, the New Labour Government, which has been continuously been in power since 1997 has implemented far reaching change within the area of social policy relating to children and the family. These social policy developments have been explained throughout this essay, and an argument has been made that in many ways, New Labour has drastically changed the direction and scope of social policy within the UK. However, as has been one of the central arguments of this essay; this far reaching change has been manifested more at an ideological than at a grassroots level. In this sense, New Labour can be regarded as being a ‘preventive state’ more at an ideological than at a grassroots level. Grassroots services and social policy concerns relating to the family have recently been highlighted as seriously deficient, but as has been another central argument within this essay, these failures have been offset to an extent by willingness on the part of New Labour to accept and respond constructively to political criticism. Bibliography Books Bevir, M. (2005). New Labour: A Critique. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Denver, D., King, A., McLean, I., Norris, P., Norton, P., Sanders, D. and Seyd, P. (1998) New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls. Publisher: Chatham House Publishers. Place of Publication: Chatham, NJ. Minkin, L. (1991). The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party. Publisher: Edinburgh University Press. Place of Publication: Edinburgh. Articles Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. (2002) Educational Inequalities in the United Kingdom: A Critical Analysis of the Discourses and Policies of New Labour. Title: Australian Journal of Education. Volume: 46. Issue: 2. Anonymous. (2005) Better Services for Children as Government acts on Lord Laming Recommendation. Available at: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/3938 >>. 1 Footnotes [1] P192. Minkin, L. (1991). The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party. Publisher: Edinburgh University Press. Place of Publication: Edinburgh. [2] P133. Bevir, M. (2005). New Labour: A Critique. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. [3] P51. Denver, D., King, A., McLean, I., Norris, P., Norton, P., Sanders, D. and Seyd, P. (1998) New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls. Publisher: Chatham House Publishers. Place of Publication: Chatham, NJ. [4] P138+. Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. (2002) Educational Inequalities in the United Kingdom: A Critical Analysis of the Discourses and Policies of New Labour. Title: Australian Journal of Education. Volume: 46. Issue: 2. [5] See Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. ((2002) P138+). [6] See Denver et al. ((1998) P201). [7] Under the supervision of Alistair Darling who had succeeded Frank Field as Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security in 1998. [8] As Blair famously remarked in the 1990s. [9] Anonymous. (2005) Better Services for Children as Government acts on Lord Laming Recommendation. Available at: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/3938 >>.

Rudyard Kiplings The Light Yhat Failed :: Essays Papers

Rudyard Kiplings The Light Yhat Failed Rudyard Kipling is remembered today mostly as a children's author. Kipling's poetry and adult fiction are both worth serious examination; â€Å"The Light That Failed† is probably the most important of his adult novels, in which he apparently makes the clearest statements of his beliefs about art and the purpose of life. It's a pretty bleak picture he paints, cloaked in finery and delight but at the core full of stoic acceptance of misery, hardship and death. While there is a good deal of this that Kipling probably believed, even a casual examination of his own life suggests that this book is more of a bare-bones explication of the fundamental issues than a fully fleshed out portrait of how an artist ought to live. It's particularly telling in light of this that â€Å"The Light That Failed† is dedicated to his mother. How is someone with an artist's soul to live in a world where, despite all protestations to the contrary, not even the love of a mother -- much less that of any other woman -- can be relied upon? Dick Heldar is an orphan, a young savage who is not civilized by the beatings he gets from Mrs. Jennet, his foster-mother, nor by the contempt he receives from his school-fellows for his cheap and shoddy clothing. Coming out of his childhood, he goes off to wander the world, learns to paint, and finds he can see things that others can't, and capture them on canvas. His childhood companion, Massie, who is aptly described as "an atom" -- indivisible and impenetrable -- also learns to draw, but with considerably less success than Dick as she fails to give her whole life and soul to the work. Dick's career is given its first great boost by a chance meeting with Torpenhow, a Special Correspondent for a news syndicate sent to the Sudan to cover the ultimately unsuccessful expedition to relieve Gordon. Torpenhow sees Dick's talents and immediately signs him up to supply drawings for his syndicate at a pittance. In this world of manly men, it's assumed that the strong will struggle forward on the thinest of chances, and the weak will be swept away. Dick and Torpenhow become close friends in the course of the campaign, but in the midst of a battle Dick is wounded on the head and has a moment's flashback to the world of his childhood and Massie, whom he fell in love with shortly before they last parted.

Molson Coors Case Study

A. Major classifications of an income statement are: †¢Income from continuing operations before tax †¢Discontinued operations (net of tax) †¢Net income from continuing operations †¢Other revenues and expenses †¢Operating income †¢Extraordinary items (net of tax) †¢Net income before extraordinary items †¢Net income †¢Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle (net of tax) B. Companies various activities and transactions differ in stability and risks thereby indicating a need for information about various components of earnings.The requirement to provide classified income statements help users better assess the persistence of earnings and the risk related to various components of net income. Income statements may include non recurring items which should be considered in determining future earnings and or cash flows, moreover GAAP require separate disclosure of a number of these items, for instance discontinued operations, thereby gi ving a better picture of financial statements. C. In accounting, current income statements do not reflect future expectations.Part of the roles of accounting information is for evaluation and valuation. Persistent income of a company will affect the assumptions of future earnings and or cash flows, which will help to better project a company’s valuation. D. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) E. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) F. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) G. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) H. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) I. (INSERT ANSWER HERE) J. i. Non-operating items are the following: Interest expense-it is related to non-operating liabilities and Interest income- it is related to long-term loans. Debt extinguishment costs.Minority interest: the part of the net income destined to the minority owners is considered as non-operating. Discontinued operations. ii. 20072006 Interest expense(126462)(143070) Interest income2658716289 Debt extinguishment costs (24478) 0 Other income1766217736 Non-operating items (106691)(109045) Tax 28%(29873)(30533) Non-operating items after tax (76818)(78512) Discontinued operations (17682)(12525) Minority interest (15318)(16089) Total non-operating items (109818)(107126) iii. 20072006 Net income497192361031 Net expense 109818107126 NOPAT607010468157 K.Non-operating assets: current notes receivable Notes receivable Noncurrent assets of discontinued operations Non-operating liabilities: short term borrowing Current portion long-term debt Current liabilities of discontinued operations Long-term debt Derivative hedging instruments Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations k. ii. 20072006 Total assets 1345156611603413 Non-operating assets -194503229290 Operating assets 1325706311374123 Total liabilities 62854245739275 Non-operating liabilities -2907976-2523472 Operating liabilities33504483215803 Net operating assets 99066158158320L. (2007) : 607010/9906615 = 6. 13% (2006): 468157/8158320 = 5. 75% RNOA has increased from 2006 to 2007 but is is low compared to industry. m. Operating profit margin (2007) 607010/ 6190592= 9. 81% (2006) 468157/ 5844985 = 8. 01% Net operating asset turnover components (2007) 6190592/ 9906615 = 0. 625 (2006) 5844985/ 8158320 = 0. 716 The operating profit margin =9. 81 % that means that the company realized 9. 8 cents of operating profit this indicator have increased from 2006 to 2007even if the operating asset turnover has decreased. n. Non-persistent items:Debt extinguishment costs Other income (expenses) Loss from discontinued operations Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle o- i The effective tax rate is 0. 8% = 4186/534378 p. The following income statement shows persistent earnings. 2007 as reported Presistent Net sales $6,190,592 $6,190,592 Cost of goods sold (3,702,921) (3,702,921) Gross profit 2,487,671 2,487,671 Marketing, general and admin. (1,734,408) (1,734,408) Special items, net (112,194) (111,663) Operating income 641,069 641,600 Interest expense (126,462) (126,462)Interest income 26,587 26,5 87 Debt extinguishment costs (24,478) 0 Other income (expense), net 17,662 7,384 Total other expense (106,691) (92,491) Income before tax 534,378 549,109 Income tax expense (4,186) (153,751) Minority interests (15,318) (15,318) Income from continuing operations 514,874 380,040 Loss from discontinued operations (17,682) 0 Net income $497,192 $380,040 q. Persistent Interest expense $(126,462) Interest income 26,587 Other income / (expense) 7,384 Nonoperating items reported on a before-tax basis (92,491) Tax at marginal rate of 28% (25,897)Minority interest (15,316) Total nonoperating items $ (81,912) Persistent Net operating profit after tax $461,952 Net income Persistent income Return on net operating assets 6. 13% 4. 66%1 Net operating profit margin 9. 81% 7. 46%2 Net operating asset turnover 0. 625 0. 625 These numbers are mainly informative about the company’s future profitability. To use the numbers to evaluate management’s performance, we may include these one-time charges. But to use the number to value the firm, the persistent numbers are better predictors of future, expected profits.

Starbucks – Supply Chain

Starbucks Expectations of Starbucks’ customers in terms of Starbucks’ coffee beverages The expectations of Starbucks’ customers regarding coffee beverages would be to receive a perfectly made coffee, which is also recognized by the Starbucks’ mission statement. The notion of perfectly made coffee at Starbucks will include freshness and richness of taste, choice (varieties by origin, type and flavor), consistency of taste, image of â€Å"premium coffee†, some exotic experience, gourmet beverage, unique blends, same consistent quality and same price at every location and every day. The idea is to help â€Å"customers find a beverage that’s right for them from over 19,000 choices, by giving them an opportunity to try new things they didn’t know about and find a new beverage. † The primary goals of Starbucks’ coffee bean supply chain as being a customer focused organization The primary goals of the coffee bean supply chain will be to provide total customer satisfaction by ensuring the coffee is available in all varieties, at reasonably affordable prices, and the coffee meets and exceeds customers’ expectations, along with providing the unique experience (as described above), while keeping costs possibly low throughout the whole chain from supplier(s) to end customer(s). How purchasing helps Starbuck achieve their supply chain goals Being an integral part and the core activity of the supply chain, purchasing is also a key strategic process of the business. At Starbucks, purchasing is ensuring an interrupted flow of coffee at optimal cost and of consistent quality. This is achieved by 1) searching varieties and sources that would meet SB standards in terms of supreme and sustainable quality, and careful selection of coffee and contracting reliable suppliers (Coffee Sourcing Guidelines, Preferred Supplier Status Program); 2) building ong-lasting relationships with coffee growers and exporters, including co-ops and individual farmers; 3) hands-on checking on agricultural conditions and crop yields, â€Å"audit from crop to cup†; 4) paying premium prices to coffee growers, along with using fixed-price contracts and future contracts; 5) Green and social initiatives promoted by SB. How the operations elements of Starbucks’ supply chain support them at achieving their goals. Objectives of these elements Objectives of operations elements will be to ensure the next step in the supply chain meets strategic and tactical goals and provides for compliance with SB’s standards, while constantly minimizing costs by controlling and managing inventories. That is the right quantity of the product has to be forecasted, planned, scheduled, delivered, processed, and distributed in order to secure smooth operations of every SB outlet and distribution channel. A set of tools is being used to this end: RFID for â€Å"dark deliveries† by suppliers, and for shipping containers (Operation Safe Commerce), Integrated Supply Chain Operating systems, Lean operations, Inventory control and forecasting accuracy to SKU level, High-tech roasting and grinding equipment, automated POS systems, DRP (distribution resource planning), TRP (transportation requirement planning), ERP systems. How distribution and warehousing support the supply chain goals of Starbucks. Objectives of the Starbucks’ distribution and warehousing functions. Distribution and warehousing functions will be the final steps in delivering the product to the end customer, along with ensuring ultimate satisfaction. Again, minimizing costs and maximizing profits. Long-term agreements with logistics providers and foodservice distributors (Sysco, HAVI) complement the Company-operated retail stores and the network of distribution channels, which include retail and grocery store licensing agreements, wholesale club accounts, joint ventures and direct-to-consumer channels, via mail orders and online. Convenience stores, department stores, movie theatres, businesses, airports, schools and medical facilities are other examples of the network. Why effective integration of activities is required for Starbucks to achieve their goals. Activities Integration plays a crucial role in the whole SB supply chain, as poor performance or failure at any step or activity of the supply chain will jeopardize the whole venture. Activities and elements involved into integration include building long-term relations with reliable partners, elimination of obstacles in the way of cooperation, working out common goals and tools for such cooperation along with strategies and tactics, effective communication and introduction of modern integrated systems, prompt collection, analysis and sharing of information by all supply chain participants, supply chain performance measurements and monitoring. Some examples of such activities at the very beginning of the chain will be: common work with coffee growers on cultivation practices in order to improve coffee quality and provide consistency and continuity, which will better match the roasting process, paying premium prices to growers which will contribute to creating sustainable sources of coffee beans, CAFE practices, etc.

The Color Blue essays

The Color Blue essays Since the beginning of the universe, mankind has experienced more or less the power of colors, their relation to nature, their attribute and significance. Not only do colors characterize a society; they more importantly are at the essence of every thing. Color is a perception (from our eyes) that result from the complex characteristic of the light. Color is a significant element of our society but appears a complex notion to define because it is complicated to distinguish an object from its color and vice versa. The reason for which must be our poor knowledge in color terminology. Indeed, most of the early civilizations could not discern the lexical differences between an object and the color it was representing (This lexical issue drove some historians to wonder if certain civilizations were blind to specific colors). At the arising of the third millennium, both the perception and the definition of color seem an arduous task. Yet blue, as one of the primary color, illustrates from its history and its art representation how one color could be both so complex and meaningful. Blue is the color of fear for the painter Jacques Monory, the color of the coat of The Virgin Maria, the Levi-Strauss jean, the satellite images of earth. It is also the favorite color of European population. Blue embodies divers connotation in history. The history of the color Blue is very absorbing due to both its late beginning and its difficulty to master though it was very present in the nature (sky, sea, some flowers and animals). Some early civilizations did not have a name for the color blue but for an association of colors, which was including the color blue, that emphasizes the modest place blue took during the first centuries in most of the civilizations. For instance, numbers of philologers wonders if the Greek and the Romans could see the color blue because they did not have a word for it, they did not qualify the sea or the sky...