Politics course work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Politics course work - Essay Example The main principles of the cabinet government are as follows. The monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) has the power to appoint or dismiss any ministers to the government, although this is usually done ‘on the advice of the Prime Minister’ (Heyward, 2008, p20), meaning that the monarch has very little political influence. When these changes are made, this is referred to as a reshuffle, something which generally happens on a yearly basis. The cabinet are generally chosen from the current Prime Minister’s own political party, with the shadow cabinet – those who hold a corresponding role to those in the cabinet – being formed of the official opposition (the largest non-Governmental party, currently the Labour Party) (Heyward, 2008, p17). The various titles and duties held by the members of the cabinet (and the corresponding shadow cabinet) change depending on the demands of the UK population and the views of the currently elected premier. The currently appointe d cabinet government have weekly meetings to discuss potential and actual policy changes. These weekly meetings have ensured that the Institute of Government see the cabinet government as having a reduced capacity as a decision-making body (Blick & Jones, 2010, p97) due to their infrequency and short length. Despite this, however, it is the cabinet that makes policy decisions and thus hold all responsibility for these decisions. The various ministers and secretaries within the cabinet must exhibit public support for the decisions made for the government and all policy choices must be made collectively. In practise, many decisions can be and are delegated to the sub-committees of the cabinet, such as education, who carry out all research, present findings and seriously influence the final choice of the governmental cabinet (Heyward, 2008, p14). As previously mentioned, the cabinet is generally chosen from members of the current Governmental party, such as the Labour Party under Tony Blair (Kavanagh et al., 2006, pp32-34). The current Governmental party is chosen using the first-past-the-post system – the party with the most seats gains power, despite how many votes they may have in total. This system requires that the winning party holds at least 326 seats in Parliament to hold a majority, or else a hung parliament will occur. In the event of a hung parliament, it is necessary to create a coalition government of two or more political parties so that the total number of seats held by these parties totals at least 326. In the case of the 2010 elections, the Conservative Party won 306 seats and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, who won 57 seats, giving a total of 363 seats. The shadow cabinet is thus formed from members of the Labour Party, who hold a total number of 258 seats (BBC News, 2010). The creation of this coalition government means that the current cabinet is formed from members of both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. There are 18 cabinet ministers or secretaries from the Conservative Party and 5 from the Liberal Democrats (BBC News, 2010). This ratio must be maintained throughout Cameron’s premiership – if a Liberal Democrat leaves cabinet, another must be appointed in their place (Daily Telegraph, 2010). The traditional role of Prime Minister has also been affected – David Cameron currently holds the office, but Nick

Instructional strategies for ELL classrooms Essay Example for Free

Instructional strategies for ELL classrooms Essay Second language acquisition is different from learning one’s first language. Second language learners have different instructional needs. As such teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) must apply a distinct set of instructional strategies and techniques in order to aid students in their English language learning. A clear understanding of the instructional strategies that must be used in ELL classroom requires an analysis of the concept of second language acquisition. In order to be effective, teachers must consider the theory of second language acquisition and see to it that the principles of this theory are realized in his instruction. Stephen Krashen’s theory of Second Language Acquisition provides hypotheses as to how learners learn a second language. One of such hypotheses is the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis. The hypothesis stated that there are two independent systems at work in second language performance, the acquired system and the learned system. According to Krashen (1988), the acquired system or acquisition is produced by a subconscious process. This process is very similar to a process that the learner underwent when he learned his first language. This system requires the learner to be immersed in the target language. He must have meaningful interaction in the said language. According to Schutz (2007) the learner must engage in natural communication, â€Å"In which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act. † The second system, the learned system is produced by formal instruction. Schutz (2007) states, â€Å"It comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. † This hypothesis tells language teachers to ensure that the learner engages himself in the target language in a natural way. This requires communicative elements of instruction from the teacher. At the same time, the teacher must ensure that formal instruction is provided as well. It is this combination that enhances English language learning. The principles of this theory are reflected in the instructional strategies that have been developed for second language learning. Instructional practices that aim to make content more comprehensible for ELLs are called sheltered instruction. (Wallace, 2004) One model of sheltered instruction is called the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). The SIOP provides teachers with a lesson planning checklist. It contains thirty components that guide the teacher on how to go about the lesson. The SIOP is highly effective for it is based on research and has been field-tested. More importantly, the SIOP was not tailor made for any particular proficiency level or age group of English language learners. According to Wallace (2004), â€Å"The thirty components of the SIOP lesson-planning checklist can be used with any curriculum or program, for students at any age or level of English proficiency. Experienced teachers recognize the SIOP components as effective teaching strategies for all students. † The SIOP has several components that aid English language teaching. One of this is comprehensible input. This component requires instructors to speak in a way that will meet the learners’ proficiency level. Also, the teacher must explain clearly the tasks involved. This involves a step-by-step discussion of the task. Visuals can also help the teacher explain better the task. Finally, Haynes (n. d) states that comprehensible input requires teachers to, â€Å"Use of a variety of techniques to make content concepts clear. † The use of modeling, hands-on materials, demonstrations, and gestures are some of the techniques that a teacher can utilize in order to make the concepts clearer and more understandable for the students. The SIOP model also emphasizes the concept of building on the students’ backgrounds. What this means is that the teacher must attempt to link the concepts being taught to students’ experiences. Also, the teacher must try to relate the new concepts to what the students have learned previously. The clear explanation of key vocabulary must also be made. The teacher must pinpoint the key terms that are vital to the students’ understanding of the most important concepts in the lesson. The explanations must be simple and demonstrations of the contextual use of the terms must be made. Using synonyms and cognates are also useful ways to convey the contextual meaning of the terms. Building vocabulary is essential in language teaching. According to Echevarria et al (2004), â€Å"There is a strong correlation between vocabulary knowledge and student achievement. † There are several strategies that a teacher can employ to help students build their vocabulary. Vocabulary self-selection is one of these strategies. This strategy requires students to select on their own the vocabulary that they deem as essential to their understanding of the concepts of the lesson. This strategy allows students to choose the most appropriate key vocabulary. This strategy is highly effective for more advanced learners. For children, one way to build vocabulary is through the use of songs. Visuals can also aid vocabulary development. The concept definition map is one visual that provides a means by which complex concepts can be discussed and clarified. Another important component of the SIOP is grouping. Peer instruction is highly effective. However, the teacher must ensure that he varies grouping structures. According to Echevarria et al (2004), â€Å"Effective classes are characterized by a variety of grouping structures. † Furthermore, in one day, at least two grouping structures must be utilized. (Echevarria et al, 2004) Varying grouping structures from day to day must be made for in order to keep students interested and to increase student involvement. Grouping configurations must be varied not only based on the structure but also based on the characteristics of students. The groups must be heterogeneous in the sense that students in a group vary in terms of gender, language proficiency, and ability. This brings up the next valuable component of the SIOP model, student engagement. Students must be constantly engaged throughout the lesson. The students must remain active all throughout the lesson. The teacher must ensure that he talks far less than the students. Engaging the students can mean utilizing various activities. Grouping students, as earlier mentioned, increases student involvement. The teacher must provide various opportunities for the students to apply what they are being taught. The must be involved in constant interaction either with their peers or with the teacher. When delivering the lesson, the teacher must see to it that students get to practice all the language skills, speaking, writing, listening, and reading. According to Bilingual and Compensatory Education Resource Team (2002), â€Å"Effective teachers strive to provide a more balanced linguistic exchange between themselves and their students—ELL students need the practice in speaking. † Furthermore, â€Å"When students spend their time actively engaged in activities that relate strongly to the materials they will be tested on, they learn more of the material. † (Bilingual and Compensatory Education Resource Team, 2002) The importance of constant student engagement cannot be stressed enough. Teachers must always provide activities that promote student interaction and participation. Another important component of the SIOP model that is essential in English language teaching is feedback. Teachers must give students immediate feedback on their work. Immediate feedback from the teacher lets students know if they are on the right track. Feedback also allows teachers to clarify concepts and correct misconceptions of students. Feedback can be given in a formal or informal manner. In correcting students’ works such as essays or exams, the teacher can write their feedback. They can identify the points that the students must work on. Also, teachers can provide informal feedback. Teachers can provide oral feedback and support this by facial expressions or body language. For instance, a nod from the teacher lets the student know that what he is doing is correct. A smile also lets the student know that he is doing well. A puzzled look lets the student know that something is not right with what he is saying or with what he is doing. The ways by which feedback is given can depend on the age group and proficiency level of the class as well. For young students and beginners, oral feedback is more appropriate. At this age and level, students may find it hard to understand written feedback. For older and more advanced students, written feedback may be of more use since teachers will be able provide a more detailed and specific feedback. The SIOP model is one of the many approaches to second language teaching. It can cater to various ages and language groups. Using such model allows the teacher to adjust the lesson to the students’ level and age. This model provides various strategies that can be used in ELL classrooms. Using the model, ELL teachers can provide better instruction that will lead to the development of their students’ English language skills. References Bilingual and Compensatory Education Resource Team. (2002).Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners—SIOP Model- SHELTERED INSTRUCTION— for Academic Achievement. Dearborn Public Schools. Retrieved 2 December 2007 from: http://www. misd. net/bilingual/ELL. pdf. Echevarria, J. , Vogt, M. , Short, D.(2004) Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (Second Edition). Needham Hts. , MA: Allyn and Bacon. Krashen, S. (1988). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall International. Schutz, R. (2007). Stephen Krashens Theory of Second Language Acquisition. English Made in Brazil. Retrieved 2 December 2007 from: http://www. sk. com. br/sk-krash. html. Wallace, S. (2004). Effective Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved 2 December 2007 from: http://www. newhorizons. org/spneeds/ell/wallace. htm.

Queen Elizabeth and her Conflicts Essay -- Royalty

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most famous monarchs along with being one of the most successful woman rulers in history (Rowse 243). During her reign, she is said to have kept a long and eternal peace. Wikianswers believes that the main conflict she had during her reign was, â€Å"the aspects of the catholic religion†. Yes, religious settlement of England needed to be established, but her throne was in danger of her sister in the start and the intrusion her cousin later had greatly impacted and challenged Elizabeth. These are the obstacles I think she more had to battle during her reign. But she wasn’t always first in line for the royalty seat. Elizabeth was the child of King Henry and Anne Boleyn (Galli) born in the year 1533. King Henry had a previous wife named Catherine of Argon with whom they bore Mary in the year 1516. King Henry of course wanting a male heir kept trying and finally had a boy in 1537 with Jane Seymour named Edward VI. Edward was concluded to inherit the throne but died at a young age leaving Mary I of Henry’s children to be next in line (Galli). King Henry lived to the age 55 and passed due to bad health. This was the year of 1547 and Mary being the successor, became queen. Mary I â€Å"suffered terrible childhood of neglect, intolerance, and ill health†, says Galli. In her years she went from having high status, to loosing it all from a law change, to receiving it all back and reinstating her to the throne. Her major goal once queen was to reestablish Catholicism and was very committed. She was named Bloody Mary due to her burning of 300 Protestants at the stake which is a big sense to why â€Å"her reign was unpopular† (Galli). Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion with many Protestants to dethrone her. Mary was certain El... ...gue to rest in her bed. She died in March of 1603 (Queen Elizabeth I). Queen Elizabeth never had children so her successor was James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. He was the son of Mary Stuart and was King of Scots, Ireland, and lastly England as of 1603 at the age of 37 (Wikipedia). He was a talented scholar and â€Å"The Golden Age† continued into his reign. Through Elizabeth’s 45 year’s of British rule, she battled challenging obstacles such as religious conflict, Mary Tudor’s rule, peoples’ will to overthrow her, and Mary Queen of Scots intrusion. She faced these trials and managed to be given the title of England’s greatest monarch. This influential woman ruler left inspiration and knowledge for future monarchs and the British government for many years to come. She had also provided her country with stability and a sense of identity (Rowse 245).

Background/Introduction of Wal-Mart Germany: A Failed Marketing Plan

Wal-Mart is not only the world’s most dominant player in the retail home market industry, it is also the world’s largest corporation in terms of revenue earning more than $240 billion in 2003. It is also the biggest private-sector employer in the world today with around 1. 38 million staff on its payroll. The first Wal-Mart was set up in 1962 by brothers Sam and Bud Walton as a five and dime store in Rogers, Arkansas. Forty years later, branches have mushroomed all over America.Today there are 1,647 Discount Stores, 1,066 Supercenters, 500 SAM’s clubs and 31 Neighborhood Stores in operation across the country—all under the Wal-Mart corporate umbrella. Wal-Mart thrives on its everyday low prices (made possible by its sophisticated inventory management system and the biggest private satellite communication system in the world), emphasis on customer service, and highly-motivated personnel. With its huge and uncontested success in the homeland, Wal-Mart decide d in 1991 to embark on an ambitious campaign to become an international retail store corporation.Its goal was to have its international operations contribute a third of its total profits by 2005. It opened a SAM’s club outfit, its first overseas branch, in Palenco, Mexico City. Since then, Wal-Mart has opened branches in 9 countries and in 1993, it opened the Wal-Mart International Division, to oversee the company’s international operations. So far, revenue returns has been spectacular. In 1979, its annual turnover reached $1 billion for the first time. In 1993, it earned a billion in only a week and in November, 2001, in a record-breaking single day. In the year ending January 31, 2003, Wal-Mart posted sales of $244.5 billion, with about 16. 5% earned abroad. Its 2003 turnover is three times higher than Carrefour’s, the world’s second biggest retailer. However, while Wal-Mart has become the market leader in the US, Mexico and Canada, the same didnâ€℠¢t hold true for its other overseas markets. Its operations in Asia (which includes China, South Korea and Japan) and Latin America (Brazil and Argentina) are profitable but not as much as the North American profit rates. A notable case to consider, however, is Wal-Mart’s failure in the German market. The Wal-Mart Germany FiascoGermany is the third biggest retail market in the world after US and Japan. In December 1997, Wal-Mart decided to expand into Germany—a move that was once considered as an initial foray to make its presence known throughout Europe. The company took over the chain of retail stores, Wertkauf, for about $1. 04 billion and Interspar hypermarkets for â‚ ¬560 million. However, revenues have not mirrored those of North American postings. By 2002, Wal-Mart Germany only earned an estimated â‚ ¬2. 9 billion, a market share of 1. 1%. By 2003, it has lost about â‚ ¬1 billion, closed two outlets and laid-off around 1,000 staff.Wal-Mart’s Germ an operations is said to have failed because of four reasons: First, Wal-Mart’s entry into the German market was through acquiring 74 Spar hypermarkets, a company which before the buyout was already the weakest player in the market. Spar stores were located in less well-off areas and has the industry’s highest logistics cost and lower returns. Meanwhile, its acquisition of Interspar is considered as an overpriced deal since the same chain of stores were bought by its former company only two years earlier at a price seven times lower than what Wal-Mart had to pay for.The second reason is the clash of cultures between Wal-Mart Germany’s American CEOs and German employees. The ignorance of these executives regarding Germany’s laws and culture has created widespread employee dissatisfaction and union-bashing. American Rob Tiarks, Wal-Mart Germany’s first CEO, was unwilling to learn the German language, ignorant with the country’s framework of re tail market and ignored the strategic advice given to him by former Wertkauf executives. The company installed a German CEO in 2001 but his ability to turn Wal-Mart’s future around is yet to be judged.It also has to deal with unions, a factor that is absent in its US operations. Third, Wal-Mart has not been able to deliver its promise of lower prices and compete with other and bigger discount stores in the country like Aldi. German shoppers have also been turned-off by the concept of â€Å"greeters† which, in America, is considered good customer service but a form of harassment in the European country whose people are used to self-service. It also cannot offer the 24/7 convenience of its American store counterparts because of Germany’s restrictive shopping hour regulations.Finally, Wal-Mart Germany has been continually accused of infringing German laws and regulations like the anti-trust act which requires all corporations to disclose financial information. More problems could be foreseen for the company using the present situation as gauge. So far, it has failed to accomplish the financial benchmarks it has set for its first European foray. The future of Wal-Mart Germany is, indeed, not encouraging at this point in time. Reference Knorr, Andreas and Andreas Arndt. Why did Wal-Mart Fail in Germany? Bremen: Institute for World Economics and International Management, June 2003.

Smackey Dog Food

Thea, nice work on the paper! You answered almost every question competently and thoroughly. The only question you might have done better on  is Q10 for more detail on the rules that apply.. Thank you! Worksheet for You Decide Name Thea Zental____ Course Code AC 555_____ Grade ___Date 02/19/2012 Questions: Q1:Discuss how the SEC has influence (if any) over the audit of Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. Solution: The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has a great influence on the audit of Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. , which is conducted by Keller CPAs. When auditing a publicly held company, auditors need to observe principles.The ethical principles of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct are independence, responsibilities, the public interest, integrity, objectivity and independence, due care, and scope and nature of services. More specifically, audit team members are required to be objective and independent with regard to the audit by maintaining objectivity and being free of conflicts of interest in discharging professional responsibilities and by being independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services.Through this one can see how influential the SEC is. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, auditors have to be objective and independent otherwise legal sanctions can be incurred. Even though the above mentioned standards are imposed for audits of public companies, they can also be applied to the audit of a non public company like Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. Q2: Discuss the essential activities involved in the initial planning of an audit. How do these all specifically to the Smackey Dog Food client? Solution: First the audit team needs to understand the client’s business and industry.It can be profitable for the audit firm to have experience in having audited other food manufacturer in preparing and performing the audit for Smackey. So far, members of the Audit team, the audit manager Pete and two audit staffers Ben and Maureen, have to understand the client’s business and industry. The next step would be to assess the client’s business risk. Business risk is the risk that measures by how much a company (here: Smackey) will fail to achieve its objectives. In this activity, the audit team assesses the risk of material misstatements arising from Smackey’s business risk.For example, the high wastage in Smackey’s Best Dog division presents a lot of business risk, and therefore material misstatement risk. Following, the audit team will perform preliminary analytical procedures. Keller CPAs needs to compare the performance of Smackey’s with the industry (these are other competitors) to further support its initial assessment of business risk. These analytical procedures help the audit team indentify areas where the risks of misstatement are very high. Next, Keller CPA’s set materiality and assess acceptable audit risk and inherent risk.The Smackey audit team now has to set the acceptable level of materiality. The circumstances of Smackey have to be taken into account in setting materiality level as this level is purely a relative and subject to auditor’s judgment. Then, the audit team is able to develop an overall audit plan and audit program. The audit plan and program aims to achieve the audit risk objectives of the audit team and to provide reasonable assurance and basis for the audit report and opinion. Q3:Discuss the 4 stages of the audit and the major activities performed by the auditor in each phase.Give an example of how each of these specifically applies to the Smackey Dog Food, Inc audit. For instance, examine the apparent internal control weaknesses and possible negative outcome of each. Solution: Stage 1: Planning and Risk assessment – During the planning stage the audit team will need to gain an understanding of the Smackey Dog Foods business and industry. More spe cifically, the design and implementation of the client’s internal control procedures, processes and systems are studied and analyzed for the audit team to be able to assess the control risk for each f the transaction-related audit objective – occurrence, completeness, accuracy, classification, timing and posting and summarization. After this they can assess the risk. The first risk they may want to look at is the control risk by taking a look at how the internal controls system works at Smackey Dog Foods. Stage 2: Test of internal controls – By testing the effectiveness of the internal controls the auditor can determine the control risk that lies within the company.The audit team can perform tests of controls by making inquiries of appropriate client personnel, examining documents, records, and reports maintained by Smackey, observing control-related activities such as the one done for the inventory procedures for returned Best Boy Gourmet dog food, and re-perfo rm the client procedures. Stage 3: Substantive tests of Transactions – The Smackey audit team needs to perform substantive tests on the balances of the accounts receivables and inventory accounts. Moreover, substantive tests can be done through performing substantive tests of transactions, analytical procedures and test of details of balances.By running tests of transactions, which is similar to test of internal controls the auditor will take an invoice but this time verifying the monetary amount of the transaction. Stage 4: Audit Completion – At this stage, the audit team compiles a report to Smackey’s management as regards matters that came to the team’s attention during the audit, evaluates and reviews the audit evidence obtained in the audit, and considers the audit opinion to be issued based on the evidence obtained Q4:Describe Keller CPAs’ responsibilities related to communications regarding internal control matters.What internal controls iss ues do you identify? Solution: According to auditing standards and professional conduct the auditor is required that the auditor relay information, in writing, to management and those charged with governance, significant deficiencies and material weaknesses identified in an audit. The following internal control issues were found as regards the audit for Smackey Dog Food, Inc. and thus have to be communicated to appropriate people within Smackey: 1. Granting of commissions to sales people based on estimated sales.This internal control issue presents risks as regards the company’s financial resources as sales people might be paid for sales not made, and there is no refund process for commissions paid for this type of sale. 2. Segregation of duties as regards the handling of inventory. With only one person assigned with the preparation and approving all inventory records, the changes of material misstatements are high. 3. Lack of control procedures and guidelines in handling ret urned dog foods which presented opportunities wherein employees take home returned items.Lack of control procedures and guidelines in handling and recording accounts receivable. This is much more important now since a major client which represents 31 % of total sales is experience financial difficulty. Moreover, the urgency of these procedures and guidelines is in light of the magnitude of receivables (29 % of total assets). Q5:You decide that you will address Smackey Dog Food, Inc. ’s accounts receivables through confirmations. Discuss the various types of confirmations and what forms you will implement and why. Solution:When auditing there are two types of accounts receivable confirmation, which are positive and negative confirmations. Positive Confirmation – Is a request by the debtor to confirm whether the balance as stated on the request is correct or incorrect. Two types of positive confirmation are blank confirmation form and invoice confirmation. Blank Confirma tion Form – Does not state the amount of the confirmation but requests to either fill the balance in or furnish more information. Invoice Confirmation – This is where instead of an entire account balance being confirmed a single transaction is confirmed.Negative Confirmation – This is when there is a disagreement on the stated balance In relation to Smackey dog foods I would implement an Invoice confirmation based on the info given it seems to be a good place to start confirming balances would to be directly linked to the invoices. Taking into mind the amount of returns and how they would directly affect the invoice that was paid but then returned also means that any money that was made on that invoice has also been returned. Q6:What are the major factors affecting sample size for confirming accounts receivable? Solution:Factors affecting the sample size for confirming accounts receivable are as follows: Tolerable accounts receivable and financial statement miss tatement; Inherent risk, which is dependent on the size of total accounts receivable, the number of accounts, prior-year results, and expected misstatements; Control risk; Achieved detection risk based on other substantive tests; and Type of confirmation. Generally a positive confirmation requires a smaller number of sample sizes. Q7:A major issue in verifying the ending balance in property, plant and equipment is the possibility of legal encumbrances.Discuss what specific concern do you have. Describe the procedures your firm will perform to obtain evidence about existing legal encumbrances. Solution: Here are the procedures that Keller CPAs will need to perform to obtain evidence about existing legal encumbrances include: 1. Inquiry with property, plant and equipment custodians 2. Review of minutes of meetings 3. Review of items noted during property, plant and equipment inventory observations 4. Confirmation of the client’s liabilities 5. Reading and reviewing lease agreem ents 6.Reading and reviewing property, plant and equipment purchase contracts and agreements The above procedures aim to assess whether encumbrances and liens to the property, plant and equipment have been identified and whether property currently pledged as collateral on a loan has not been sold or damaged. Q8:The client wants to know if you will be present at the year-end inventory. What is your decision and why? What role or actions will you take at the inventory if you decide to attend the inventory. Why? Solution: I think it is very important for the audit team to be at the year-end inventory.The reason for this being is that way the audit team can see how Smackey Dog food performs an inventory check. Secondly, they can take part in the inventory themselves by observation, as well as physical checking and counting of the inventory. After deciding to attend I would ask for a copy of the inventory check list and also ask for the ability to check the inventory along with the rest of the team. By gaining a hands on check this will allow the auditors to see if the controls over inventory are working and that the inventory check lists is correct and states all the inventory that Smackey Dog foods has.Q9:Considering the general six functions that make up the inventory and warehousing cycle for Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. , identify the related documents and/or records that would be used. From your analysis of the internal controls related to the inventory and warehousing cycle of Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. , what internal control weaknesses exist? Solution: The six general functions that make up the client’s inventory and warehousing cycle are: 1. Processing of purchase orders – purchase requisitions, quotations from suppliers, and purchase orders 2. Receipt of purchased materials – receiving report 3.Storage of materials or inventory – materials requisition form 4. Processing raw materials – job cost sheet, process cost sheets 5. Sto rage of finished goods – sales invoice, sales order form. 6. Shipping finished goods – shipping form and invoices. The internal control weaknesses that exist based on the six functions that make up the warehousing cycle as stated earlier the lack of procedure set for handling the large amount of returned dog food. There is also nothing stating that they record the transaction when the dog food is returned so that could also mean they never took the profit off the books.The other weakness is separation of duties in the warehouse Kim alone has control over inventory, production and shipping. That is too much for one person to handle especially when her attention has been taken by one specific line of food that the company produces. Smackey needs to bring in people to a great extent to help Kim and reduce her workload. By doing this it will also lower the risk that inventory, production or shipping could become misstated. Q10:Discuss if Keller CPAs or its auditors are bre aching any Professional Rules of Conduct and why or why not?Solution: Several things occurred that make me believe yes the Keller CPAs are breaching some of the rules of conduct. One issue that sticks out immediately is Pete and Allen’s relationship. Pete and Allen have actually discussed the audit over a few beers which should not have occurred. This creates a conflict of interest and independence. Another problem that Keller CPAs are faced with is the lack of knowledge of the industry topped with taking on the audit in a crunched time frame to complete it in.By doing this the possibly of the audit team gaining enough knowledge of the industry to perform an audit up to standards in the small time frame is going to be a task in itself. If the audit team had a larger time frame this would be ok but in such a small time frame they won’t be able to spend that much time learning the industry and this could lead to not being able to perform an audit following all audit stan dards. Q11:Discuss the CPA firm’s legal liability concerns for this audit if they make a material unintentional or intentional mistake. Include any other legal liability concerns regarding possible Professional Rule violations.Solution: The CPA firm could face some serious legal consequences if they make an unintentional or intentional mistake. The main liabilities that I see between the audit team and the Smackey Dog Food audit itself is liability to clients, and liability to third parties. Liability to clients – In this case this would be where if the auditors missed any fraud occurring and therefore the client can turn around and sue the Keller audit team. In terms of Smackey Dog Food directly, one area of possible fraud is in the inventory department and the returned inventory area.With the lack of separate of duties and the fact that two employees essentially run the whole inventory department it might not even be intentional fraud it maybe just a misstatement and lack of controls over inventory that caused it. But the auditor needs to discover this to avoid any legal action. Liability to third parties – This occurs if the Keller auditor team fails to find any material misstatements on the financial statements and then the bank would loans Smackey funds, but shortly after Smackey goes bankrupt. This would open up the auditor to be able to be sued by the bank for not catching the misstatements on the financials.

The Effects of Media Violence

The Effects of Media Violence Free Online Research Papers Since the 1950’s when television became a national pastime, media violence and aggressive behavior among children and young adults have increased dramatically. Is there a significant association between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior? Studies have shown that watching television is one factor on youth violence and aggressive behavior, while continued research has proven other risk factors are at fault such as violent video games, bad parenting, and the communities these children grow up in. On the positive side, research has found that the effects of exposure to media violence can be reduced with monitoring of parents and professional attention. The illustration below shows that too much exposure to television can lead to aggressive behavior among children and young adults. (Ledingham, Richardson, 1993) While children watch an average of 28 hours of television a week, studies show that same aggressive behavior after playing video games, watching movies and cartoons; even now the internet will encourage these same behaviors. At least two-thirds of U.S. kids have a TV in their bedrooms; half have a VCR or DVD player, half have a video game console, and almost one-third have Internet access or a computer (Jungbauer, 2009). This, naturally, makes monitoring media use difficult. â€Å"Children learn by observation and are especially vulnerable to fictionalized violent acts such as verbal and physical aggression; children learn fear, mistrust, and decreased sensitivity to violence in real life† (Smoots, 2003). Parents have the opportunity to control verbal and physical behavior among children and young adults. Parents can easily walk away and take a timeout from certain situations before â€Å"blowing up†. Parents can monitor children’s media diet by watching what vi deo games are being played and television shows are being viewed. Thus, on the parent’s belief, parents can decide on what children watch and play. Parents can take into consideration by doing the following: set limits by reducing media time to 1-2 hours a day, discuss the program-by asking questions about the show, use screening options such as V-chip, and plan a viewing time to watch television and to play video games together. As the illustration below shows an example of children not being monitored of what they watch. Researchers believe without the monitoring of television viewing and playing video games among children and young adults lead to the aggressive behavior. (Ledingham, Richardson, 1993) Over the years research has shown a strong relationship between viewing violence in television and playing video games have made children and young adults to become more aggressive in behavior. Research has shown that playing violent video games is becoming a high risk factor among children and young adults in today’s society. But as of today there have not been extensive studies that prove violent video games make children and young adults aggressive. â€Å"The number of studies investigating the impact of such games on youth aggression is small, there have been none on serious violence, and none has been longitudinal† (Youth Violence, 2008). One of the main focuses on media violence has become the research on video games and violence, what it contains and the affects it has on children and young adults today. For example, some researchers claim it was a video game (Doom) that sparked the shootings at Columbine High School back on April 20, 1999. There were other facto rs included such as problematic parents, racism, and watching violent movies-Natural Born Killers for one example. For researchers to blame that shooting at Columbine High School on one video game (Doom) is all wrong, researchers need to gather more facts and information instead of jumping to conclusions. â€Å"Other risk factors like society, parents, and communities can be an influence on children and young adults as well† (Da-Wei, W. 2007). By monitoring the exposure to such as violence in society, parents, communities, television and video games, children and young adults can benefit from media culture. In the chart below it shows that youth violence was higher in the early 90’s when video games were not so popular. As video games became popular in the late 90’s throughout the 00’s youth violence had declined and has leveled out. Researchers need to start looking at these other factors and what is causing children and young adults this aggressive behavior instead of just video games. (Ferguson, C. J. 2009) Is there a strong relationship between video games and aggressive behavior among children and young adults? There may be certain individual with aggressive behavior and might be affected by the exposure of violent video games, but this is still not determined. More negative results come from violence in the media and watching television than video games. Research suggests that not all youths are affected in the same way by viewing media violence and playing violent video games. Factors that appear to influence the effects of media violence on aggressive or violent behavior include characteristics of the viewer such as age, intelligence, aggressiveness, and whether the child perceives the media as realistic and identifies with aggressive characters (Youth Violence, 2008). In general, children and young adults who already have high aggressive attitude would be more affected than those who are not as aggressive. Children and young adults do not understand the consequences of violent media; they believe violence is the way to handle situations out in the real world. For example â€Å"studies have shown that children who watched a relatively aggressive cartoon of Woody Woodpecker, researchers have discovered that the children who watched this aggressive cartoon became more violent and aggressive towards classmates† (Coleman, 2010). Researchers said despite all the studies on aggressive behavior, the more children and young adults are exposed to media violence the more aggressive they become in adulthood. Other studies have shown that the examining of media violence in a television show that the aggressor is being punished or the aggressor is being rewarded (Coleman, 2010). The viewing of violent movies can be misleading by children and young adults; media violence does have an overwhelming effect on children and young adults. Although media violence definitely has a negative affect on children and young adults, some researchers claim that there is a positive effect as well. Media violence does not have to impact children and young adults like researchers claim it does. This is known as the Catharsis Theory, which cites violent media as potential outlet for aggressive behavior and decreased real world violence as a result (Da-Wei, 2007). In other words, if this theory is correct, then watching violent television and playing violent video games can help relieve aggressive behavior and stop aggressive behavior in the real world and among children and young adults. In the illustration below it show an adolescent playing a video game, adult supervision can prevent children and young adults from becoming aggressive. For example, preliminary data point to the potentially vital role a parent in supervising children and young adult’s exposures to violent media and violent video games in helping them interp ret it (Youth Violence, 2008),(Awareness Network, 2010). So let’s look at some other risk factors instead of blaming media violence and violent video games among children and young adults. The children’s upbringing or home environment can play an important role on whether they become aggressive or not. Parents, teachers, and even a professional psychiatrist can help monitor what children and young adults watch and play at home or in the classroom. Children whose parents and teachers discuss the situation about media violence and violent video games tend to be less aggressive than those of parents that do not discuss the situation about the violence behind violent television and video games. Other suggestions are sitting down and watching violent television shows and playing video games with the children and young adults. By doing so, parents can get a better understanding of what to ask and discuss with children before aggressive behavior becomes a problem. With parents and teachers having the knowledge and understanding wha t children and young adults are viewing will help in explaining what is wrong and what is right. Communities is another risk factor, if children and young adults are seeing violence out in the streets â€Å"the real world† they may tend to think that violence is the way to handle situation and become aggressive. This can be avoided by having children and young adults becoming more active in church organization do community service and have parents put a curfew on the children. This will help not letting the children stay out so late to view violence in the street after hours. Children and young adults who have good relations with an adult or other peer who support conventional behavior and disapprove of delinquent behavior can provide invaluable guidance for young people. â€Å"Researchers agree that having a loving adult who is interested in and supportive of a child or young person’s ideas and activities helps that child or adolescent develop the confidence and competence needed to progress from one stage of development to the next† (Youth Violence, 2008). In the illustration below it shows how parents can become a better a better parent by paying attention to children and young adults. Equally important; start early as possible when influencing children and young adult about the exposures of violent television and violent video games. â€Å"It is easier to enforce rules with younger children than with older ones, and younger children are the ones who appear to be more sensitive to the negative effects of video violence† (Ledingham, Richardson, 1993). Over the past 50 years researchers on violent television and violent video games revealed evidence that media violence increase the aggressive and violent behavior in both children and young adults. Between the positive and negative there is a solution to correct the aggressive and violent behavior. Parents can monitor the use of television and video games. Spend more time with the children and young adults, understand what they are watching or playing, make time to be with the children and young adults. With just a few adjustments in parents busy schedule can improve the outcome of children and young adults. Communities, religious organizations, teachers, and society can teach parents and children to be more aware of media violence and the effects it has on today’s children and young adults. There is no less violence in today’s media. In my opinion, media violence and parents need to take a closer look at what is becoming of today’s children and young adults, b efore it gets out of control. With technology, professionalism, and children being monitored, it can be controlled. Research Papers on The Effects of Media ViolenceEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseHip-Hop is ArtInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyWhere Wild and West MeetCapital PunishmentThe Spring and AutumnAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into Asia

Copernicus Essays - Copernican Revolution, Ancient Greek Astronomy

Copernicus Essays - Copernican Revolution, Ancient Greek Astronomy Copernicus Nicolas Copernicus Nicolas Copernicus 1473-1543 Physics February 8, 2000 Nicolas Copernicus Nicolas Copernicus 1473-1543 Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473, he started his education at Cracow University. There he studied mathematics and optics. From here he went to Italy, where he was appointed as a canon in the cathedral of Frauenburg, where he spent a comfortable academic life studding. Copernicus had some small hobbies while at the cathedral, he painted, and frequently translated Greek poetry into Latin. One other hobby that just wasn't small enough to be called a hobby to most of us was astronomy. He made investigations quietly and alone, without any help. He observed from a turret on a protective wall around a cathedral, he also looked with his naked eye rather than with a telescope. He was one of the founders of modern astronomy. Copernicus died in 1543 of a cerebral hemorrhage. In 1530 right before Copernicus died he managed to published his work, De Revolutionibus. Which said that the earth rotated on its axis once daily and traveled around the sun once yearly. This might no sound very controversial but at this time the church and its followers believed in the Ptolemiac theory, which stated that the universe was a closed space bounded by a spherical envelope beyond which there was nothing. (Landry 1999) Copernicuss works went against the church, and most scientific beliefs. This may be one reason why Copernicus didnt publish his work until his deathbed. Another reason may be that Copernicus was a huge perfectionist, and continuously redid his works over and over to get them right. (Field 1995) So you can see why Copernicus wasnt in any big rush to have the world know about his theory. On one hand he would cause a Nicolas Copernicus tramoundous stir in the church, and all the scientific community. He wouldve most likely have been fired from the comfortable church position he had for many years, and couldve given him a bad name. If it hadnt been for George Rheticus, a 25-year-old German mathematics professor Copernicuss might have never publiched his work. (Field 1995) Rheticus stayed with Copernicus for two years, and convinced him to release his work. His work the Copernicus's heliostatic cosmology involved giving several distinct motions to the Earth. It was consequently considered implausible by the vast majority of his contemporaries, and by most astronomers and natural philosophers of succeeding generations before the middle of the seventeenth century. Its only defenders included Johannes Kepler (1571 -1630) and Galileo Galilei (1564- 1642). Strong theoretical underpinning for the Copernican theory was provided by Newton's theory of universal gravitation (1687). (Field 1995) So Copernicuss whole argument stated that the planets and the Earth were in orbit around the sun, and the moon was in orbit around the Earth. This is called the The Heliocentric System: Nicolas Copernicus In conclusion Copernicus said that the Sun was the center of the universe, and went against all known knowledge, religion, and teachings. He took all his observations with the naked eye and with no help. Many disregarded his book and his theory, which went against everything that the church believed in. However if it wasnt for Copernicus, modern astronomy would have never made advances as far as it has to today. Copernicuss hard work and strength is why he is one of the most important founders of modern astronomy. Bibliography Field, J. V. (1995 August). Home page. [Online]. [2000, Feb. 8]. Astronomy 161 The Solar System . [Online]. University of Florida. [2000, Feb. 8]. Landry, Peter (1999 June). Home page. [Online]. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. CANADA. [2000, Feb. 8].

How to Keep Your Business From Being Robbed

How to Keep Your Business From Being Robbed If you own a business, particularly one that deals in cash, there is a good chance that one day it may be robbed.  If you are lucky, the robbery will occur after the business is closed and all of your employees have gone home. If not, you, your employees and possibly your customers could be faced with a very dangerous situation. Safe Steps to Protect Your Business There are effective measures that business owners, managers, and employees can take that will protect the assets of the business and make it safer for employees.   Always have two or more employees open and close the business.Install an effective alarm system that is monitored.Use surveillance cameras behind the cash register and facing out to the front of the counter.Also, install surveillance cameras in areas where a person could hide.Keep the outside doors in backrooms locked when not in use.Have lockers or locked desks so employees can lock up any personal valuables, purses, or medications.Do not release personal information  about employees to strangers and shred all past employee records when trashing it.Keep a low cash balance in the cash registers.Make regular bank deposits of excess money or lock it in a safe.Vary the times and the routes used to go to the bank to make deposits.Avoid sending one person to the bank with a deposit.Avoid making deposits late at night.Do not carry the deposit openly in a deposit bag.Avoid hanging signs or putting displays on windows or around the sales counter that will obstruct the view of the register. In areas that are blocked by shelving, walls or other obstructions, hang concave mirrors. Do careful reference checks on employees that are hired.Have policies in place concerning employees friends or relatives hanging around the business.Customers should be greeted when they enter the business and train employees to make eye contact and engage with the customers. An alert staff can quickly deter a would-be robber.Train employees not to take risks, but to call the police if they see suspicious people inside or lurking outside of the business.If employees really suspect that they are about to be robbed, tell them to lock the doors of the business until police arrive.Keep your business well lit both inside and out and focus on areas where someone could hide.Trim trees and bushes so that they do not become hiding places for robbers by blocking light.Become friends with local police officers. Encourage them to stop by your business.If possible, use only one cash register at night. Leave the drawers on the other cash registers opened and tilt the money tray so that it will sho w that it is empty. Do not tempt robbers by balancing the cash register by the cash desk. Take it to a back office to count it.Train employees to be alert when handling money. It is easy to make a one dollar bill look like a twenty dollar bill to an employee that is not paying attention.Do not completely cover the windows of the business by closing blinds are pulling curtains at closing time. Always leave them only partially closed. What to Do If Your Business Is Robbed Always make personal safety the number one priority. Money and merchandise can be replaced. Train employees to comply with the robbers demands and to try to remain calm, move slowly, and communicate only when necessary. If employees are in other areas of the building, let the robber know so that they are not surprised by an employee who may come out of a backroom. When the robber leaves, employees should never follow after them, but instead lock the doors of the business, move to the back of the building and wait for the police to arrive. While they wait they can document what occurred, including the time the robbery took place, what was stolen and a description of the robber. It could be helpful that within a few days of the robbery, the employees who were present come for a meeting so that what happened can be discussed, emotions shared, and suggestions on what can be improved be accessed to help deter being robbed again.

Politics of Globalization and Iran Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Politics of Globalization and Iran - Essay Example Most of the enervating problems of the modern day Iran stem from its complicated and atypical political system that aspires to harmonize the elements of an Islamic theocracy with a fledgling democracy (BBC). The anachronistic seeming Iranian polity is a strange mix of elected democratic institutions such as a president, a cabinet, and a parliament being constitutionally and unambiguously superseded by a gamut of unelected power centres such as a guardian council, an expediency council, and the armed forces, which are administered by the highly influential and theocratic Supreme Leader. It is realistically impossible for the foreign policy and the trade policy in Iran to remain uninfluenced by the aforementioned power centres. President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad who came to power in 2005 has been trying hard to refurbish and realign the Iran's economic policies with the contemporary global trends. At the same time, the world community is resorting to a series of measures like active diplom atic engagement and trade sanctions to alter the Iranian state and trade policies. Iran subscribes to a primarily industrial economy that contributes more then 45 % of its GDP and is a profitable mix of oil and gas, textiles, steel, petrochemicals and automotive manufacturing (Ilias 13). The next major stakeholder in the Iranian economy is its services sector that represents another 43 % of its GDP (Ilias 13). Though the contribution of the agriculture sector to the Iranian economy is roughly 11 %, still it happens to be the major employer, absorbing nearly 20 % of Iran's workforce (Ilias 13). Iran boasts of the world's third largest petroleum reserves and the second largest gas reserves. Though the internecine war with Iraq severely jeopardized the Iran's oil production facilities, still they account for a bulk of the Iranian export earnings and are the single most vital source of government revenue. The oil sector in Iran is the primary enticer of the foreign investment and nascent fears are cropping up that such an intense concentration of investment in this se ctor could practically stifle the other emerging sectors in this developing economy (Ilias 13). The behemoth oil and gas sector in Iran solely comes within the ambit of state administration and are managed by the state run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Being a potent and founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran wields a considerable influence in the world economy, courtesy its ability to stir the world oil supply and prices (Sarkis). The top importers of the Iranian oil are India, China, Italy, South Korea and Japan. Still, the greatest delimiting factor that the Iranian oil industry has to contend with is a constricting lack of access to the new technologies owing to highly constrained investments and the running US sanctions (Ilias 14). Going by the Iran's exclusive dependence on oil reserves for economic sustenance, its economy is pathetically susceptible to any unforeseen changes in the international oil prices (Ilias 14). Desp ite sitting on the mindboggling 15 % of the world gas

XBRL Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

XBRL - Research Paper Example It allows semantic meaning that is required for reporting financial and non financial information of businesses. This technology uses XML based language. The main objective of XBRL is to prepare and exchange financial information for further usage of it like analysis of financial information for investment decision making. It is a standard way to communicate with the stakeholders of the businesses through sharing financial information. Specification of standardization of information is developed and published by XBRL International Inc. The information on the XBRL platform can be freely downloaded especially the financial statements can be downloaded as spreadsheet format so that it can be easily used for further analysis (AICPA. 2012, p.1). The information will also be available in multiple languages to meet the purpose of mass target audiences. The professional users of financial statements of business like the security analysts can analyze the company’s financial information by comparing with other competitors very easily. This will be assist by getting automating filling of business information which can be easily compared with the previous financial figures. Again this helps analysts to increase speed along with high level of accuracy of data. The XBRL platform also provides the relevant definition of each reporting concepts and the relationship among various financial parameters and reporting concepts. XBRL facilitates the preparers of financial information of the companies to utilize freely accessible software to tag quarterly and annual financial information within taxonomy. This information is accomplished in an Instance Document that can be easily accessible by the target audiences. This information can be electronically exchanged and also can be validated in computers and also can be readable by the users from any part of the world. XBRL has published guideline for the users in its websites to help the preparers of financial statements (FFIEC, 2006, p.2). What information is required to be provided in XBRL? Requirement of information XBRL has been revised but there is no major change in the basic format of disclosed information in the periodic report or registration statement for new XBRL requirement. One minor change is that the companies have to provide financial statements along with the statement schedule and footnotes. The companies do not need to provide information about executive compensation and statistical disclosure of financial performance in a specific financial year. The companies must have to provide quarterly earnings reports, transition reports and annual reports. XBRL wants to extend the contents of Form 8K which will be revised and updated version of the previous financial statements of the companies duly filled with only SEC. XBRL also needs registration statement of limited security act which will update information about change of price range at the time submitting quarterly or annual financial repor t by the companies. Previously the companies need to provide amended at each time of filling in XBRL platform. For merger and acquisition of business registered with XBRL, it needs the detailed information of revised financial structure of the company and details of the acquisition value. XBRL data need registration statement of securities act which must include financial statements like Form S1 and Form S3. This incorporates the financial information provided by the company (SEC, 2009, p.23). What are the perceived benefits of XBRL? Are there any risks and/or drawbacks? XBRL is perceived to be beneficial for both the preparers and the users of financial statements. Financial analysts, regulatory bodies and investors gain more efficient and faster access financial data. This information

Pat Conroy Beach music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pat Conroy Beach music - Essay Example During the course of the story, his character undergoes several changes. The narration takes the reader through the various stages in the author’s life. The first stage is his childhood, which is abnormal because of his alcoholic father and his fake mother. The atmosphere of constant quarrels and tension turns him into a self protective, isolated human being who is rather cold and unable to adequately express his emotions. The second stage his character goes through us escapism and an inability to face up to the guilt he feels that he may have become partly responsible for his wife’s suicide. This leads him to deny having a family and isolates him with his daughter in Rome, for five long years. During the last stage of the story, through the illness of his mother, he is able to finally face up to his inner demons and rediscover his sense of identity and belonging in his family. When the story commences, Jack McCall is intent on fleeing the memories of his wife’s tragic death. He wants to take his daughter away with him to Italy after a custody battle with his in-laws. South Carolina is the place where both he and his wife Shyla had grown up together, but now the place is rife with tragic memories of his wife and unpleasant ones of the custody battle with his in-laws, who blame him for Shyla’s death.

Celebrity endorsement in the womens fragrance market and its impact Essay

Celebrity endorsement in the womens fragrance market and its impact upon consumer behaviour - Essay Example ndary research and the findings of primary research, all of which show that celebrity endorsement does indeed appear to be effective in contributing to increased sales of products and services. Celebrity endorsement has been a common feature for many years, and is almost as common as advertising. A well known star or personality is shown in advertising as using and supporting a particular product or service, thereby imbuing the product with a degree of respectability that it may not otherwise have. By virtue of the product or service being good enough to be used by a celebrity, the idea is that consumers will be confident enough about the product to purchase it. This in turn should theoretically contribute to increased sales of the product or service, especially in the case of a product such as a fragrance, where the aura associated with the fragrance is the aura around the celebrity person. In the fragrance market in particular, there are several instances where the popularity of a particular brand of perfume and the reputation associated with it have been enhanced through the association with the image of a particular celebrity. Some examples are the Chance brand of the Chanel perfume company, which has long been associated with Nicole Kidman, a well known movie star. The fragrance has become characteristic of the elegance and timeless, classic beauty that the actress symbolizes and this has ratcheted up the sales of the product considerably. It must be noted however, that such celebrity endorsement involves a considerable investment because a substantial sum needs to be paid to a celebrity in order to encourage them to come forward to endorse a product. If such investments in advertising expenses are to be justified, they need to be backed up with an adequate level of sales to match. This research study proposes to examine the psychology behind the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement and whether or not it is effective in contributing to increased volumes

Construction Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Construction Technology - Essay Example The condensation’s risk is low with the roofs that do not have ventilations. If there exist any water pipes that go through the gap, then there might be a chance that they will freeze over. This is a problem that can be dealt with by insulating the pipes. Aside from the prevention of the ice dams, we find that the cold roofing is the best for the maintenance of the ceiling insulation of the building in a good condition. If the attic space is ventilated in a proper manner and the moisture inside is eliminated, a cold roof will greatly decrease the winter humidity that is within the building. If the weather becomes warm, we find that a cold roof will be important in making the building remain cool. With a cold roof, the temperature of the roof remains the same as that of the outside air. The cold roof helps in the prevention of the formation of the ice dams. These ice dams can always be a constant problem with the warm roofs. The formation of the ice dams is as a result of the m elting of the snow on the roof and consequent freezing on the overhang (Lstiburek, and Carmody, 2004). ... There is horizontal placing of insulation between the floor’s ceiling below and the attic joists. Any breaks or even spaces in the ceiling are sealed completely for the purposes of keeping the moist air out from the building. Then there is also the fitting of the roof rafters with an underlay of bitumen roof that air and moisture cannot get through. Ventilation is put in the gap between the insulation and the pitched rafters. The warm air that is inside moves up and escapes via the ventilations and the gag inside is filled up with the cold air outside. As a result, then temperature that is between the inside and the outside becomes equal, and there is some danger of condensation in these kinds of cold roofs. Interstitial is a major problem that occurs in the cold deck roofs in which the insulation is put between the joists that are found in the space above the ceiling. The insulation’s position implies that the roof deck together with a bigger part of its structure do n ot have adequate protection from the low temperatures that occur during the periods of winter (Lstiburek, and Carmody, 2004). These features than become quite older as compared to the building’s interior, and the air that has penetrated into the room below then condenses on the structure of the timber probable resulting to decay. When doing new work, the cold deck roofs are not the best and have in fact been banned in some countries such as Scotland. Q e. Suitable floor construction Simple spread footings The initial 900 to 1,200 clay layer can easily be moved as a result of shrinkage and expansion, and this depends on the amount of moisture available. Therefore, it is generally essential for the foundations to be

Celebrity endorsement in the womens fragrance market and its impact Essay

Celebrity endorsement in the womens fragrance market and its impact upon consumer behaviour - Essay Example ndary research and the findings of primary research, all of which show that celebrity endorsement does indeed appear to be effective in contributing to increased sales of products and services. Celebrity endorsement has been a common feature for many years, and is almost as common as advertising. A well known star or personality is shown in advertising as using and supporting a particular product or service, thereby imbuing the product with a degree of respectability that it may not otherwise have. By virtue of the product or service being good enough to be used by a celebrity, the idea is that consumers will be confident enough about the product to purchase it. This in turn should theoretically contribute to increased sales of the product or service, especially in the case of a product such as a fragrance, where the aura associated with the fragrance is the aura around the celebrity person. In the fragrance market in particular, there are several instances where the popularity of a particular brand of perfume and the reputation associated with it have been enhanced through the association with the image of a particular celebrity. Some examples are the Chance brand of the Chanel perfume company, which has long been associated with Nicole Kidman, a well known movie star. The fragrance has become characteristic of the elegance and timeless, classic beauty that the actress symbolizes and this has ratcheted up the sales of the product considerably. It must be noted however, that such celebrity endorsement involves a considerable investment because a substantial sum needs to be paid to a celebrity in order to encourage them to come forward to endorse a product. If such investments in advertising expenses are to be justified, they need to be backed up with an adequate level of sales to match. This research study proposes to examine the psychology behind the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement and whether or not it is effective in contributing to increased volumes

A Health Advocacy Campaign for Childhood Obesity Research Paper

A Health Advocacy Campaign for Childhood Obesity - Research Paper Example Aa a form of health prevention and nursing intervention strategy, the health advocacy campaign can be defined as the method of winning political assurance of supporting a particular health care program (Chapman, 2004; Christoffel, 2000). In most cases, the target audiences for a health advocacy campaign include not only the policy makers but also the small group of people who has the power to make decisions and can influence certain actions that can affect positive changes for the people (Hoover, 2012; Wallack, 2000, pp. 337 – 365). Considering the long-term health consequences of childhood obesity, this report will not only discuss the importance of developing effective health advocacy campaign against childhood obsity but also conduct an actual advocay campaign that will assist the nurses in winning the support of the government. Therefore, the actual report will be divided under three (3) major sections known as: (1) health advocacy campaign for obesity; (2) the legal consi derations behind the development of a health advocacy campaign for obesity; and (3) the ethical considerations behind the development of a health advocacy campaign for obesity. ... To help these children avoid the long-term negative physiological and social consequences of childhood obesity, the main goal of the proposed advocacy campaign program is to encourage the political people to support the health promotion campaign against childhood obesity. Description of the Selected Population and Their Health Issues The target population for this particular health advocacy campaign program includes the obese children between the ages of 6 to 19 years old. In general, obesity is considered as a serious health problem because it can lead to negative effects related to a person’s physical health, emotional well-being, and psychosocial functioning (Tuthill et al., 2006; Linde et al., 2004; Goodman & Whitaker, 2002). Obese people can sometimes be strongly discriminated in academic and work environment. As part of not being socially accepted, people who extremely over weight would normally to go through a series of depression, low quality of life, and low levels of self-esteem (Frisco, Houle, & Martin, 2010; Kolotkin et al., 1995). With regards to being socially discriminated in academic and work environment, Viner and Cole (2005) explained that obese children who were able to successfully manage having a normal weight at the time they reach adulthood are less likely to become discriminated at work and in public areas whereas obese children who remained extremely overweight during their adulthood age are the ones who are highly affected by having poorer employment opportunities and negative social relationship outcomes. Aside from experiencing work and healthcare discrimination, the study of Carr and Friedman (2005) revealed that obese individuals are prone to interpersonal mistreatment and lower levels of self-acceptance purely

Young Offenders Should Not Have Harsher Consequences Essay Example for Free

Young Offenders Should Not Have Harsher Consequences Essay Do you know about the YCJA? If so, do you agree with the way it goes about doing things? The Youth Criminal Justice Act passed in 2003 by parliament allows young offenders to be treated differently than adult offenders. The conservatives want to introduce a bill to treat offenders more harshly. I strongly disagree with this. Young offenders should not be given harsher consequences. The YCJA is stable. It has many goals to accomplish. Also instead of just looking at the crime it goes deeper into the situation by examining the person’s background. The YCJA has helped young offenders. They attempt to rehabilitate the person in a way that is not harsh. They also reintegrate them into society which is giving them a chance at a new life. I think that guidance is what the young offenders need, not to be treated harshly. The need to be shown which â€Å"path† to take. Whether it is from just the YCJA or maybe even a sentencing circle. The YCJA is stable. Its main goals consist of the points stated next. They attempt to stop crime from happening again by addressing the situation underlying a young person’s offending behaviour. Examples of this goal in action are counselling or helping a family deal with a situation. The second goal is to rehabilitate and reintegrate young offenders. The third goal is to ensure that a young person has meaningful consequences for the offence that the young offender committed. The YCJA wants long-term protection of society. In my opinion if a consequence is meaningful it is more effective than a consequence that is harsh. The fourth and final goal is to make sure that young people are separated from adults. We have to realize that they have a reduce level of maturity. The YCJA is helping young offenders. One way it is doing this is by rehabilitating and reintegrating young offenders. I want to touch on this point again because it is a very important part of the YCJA. When the YCJA attempts to rehabilitate a young offender it goes about doing it in this way. They give the young offenders the skills to make good choices further on in life. They also want to help find good ways for them to participate in their community. Examples of this are joining a sport team or a YMCA club. Guidance will help these children not harsh punishments. Teens need to be protected from harsher consequences. Why? Well because teenagers have a lower-level of maturity. They also have a rapid fluctuation in hormones which is usually accompanied by irritability, recklessness, aggression and depression. All of these things could have been a starting point for the crime the young offender has committed. We cannot be harsh on them for something they cannot control. Teens are also rebellious. Statistics for boys show that teenage criminal behaviour tends to begin around 13 and reach its highest point at age 17 and then almost disappear in early adulthood. Teenagers have not developed the ability to think things through this is also known as their brain’s late development. The late brain development is a big contributor to all the risks teens take so how can we turn around and blame the whole thing on them by giving the harsher consequences? I believe that the YCJA is doing everything that needs to be done. By helping the teen they are improving their decisions. Therefore lessening the chance of having the teen be a repeat offender. I would like to state once again that harsher consequences will not do anything for these teen offenders. GUIDANCE IS THE WAY TO GO!

Airline Reservation System Ars Software Requirements Specifications Computer Science Essay

Airline Reservation System Ars Software Requirements Specifications Computer Science Essay Airline reservations system (ARS) is a online software application used to reserve and retrieve information and perform transactions related to air travel. Originally designed and performed by airlines, ARSes were later developed for the use of travel agencies. Major ARS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple airlines are known as Global distribution systems (GDS). Airlines have divested most of their direct holdings to dedicated GDS companies, who make their systems accessible to consumers through Internet gateways. Modern GDSes are providing the services like booking hotel rooms and rental cars as well as airline tickets. They also provide access to railway reservations in some markets although these are not always integrated with the main system. REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT First we are developing a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document that specifies what an airline reservation system should and should not do. The SRS document is divided into five sections namely System Objectives Mainly we discuss the goals and objectives of the system categorized based on the viewpoint of the airline company and the customer. They help in a top-down development of the SRS. System Context This section clearly depicts the environment and boundaries of the ARS and the entities with which it interacts. It helps us see how the system fits into the existing scheme of things. What the system will do by itself and what it expects other entities to do is clearly delineated. Functional Requirements These requirements states the functions of the system what it should do and what it should not. This will includes the most common requirements of the customer in addition to some additional features. like reserving tickets, rescheduling tickets etc. Freedom from ambiguity and navigability were kept in mind while documentation. A consistent terminology has been followed throughout and the terms are explained in the appendix. The subsections follow a logical sequence that reflects the real world. For example, a customer cannot reschedule a ticket unless he has bought one earlier and cannot buy one unless he has checked its availability. Non-functional Requirements These are quality requirements that stipulate the performance levels required of the system for various kinds of activities. Numerical lower and upper limits set conditions on the response times, access times etc of the system. Sometimes, tradeoffs are necessary among various non-functional requirements. Future Requirements As technology improving day to day,users needs are also increasing.so we have to update our applications time to time in order to satisfy the customers.These are the specifications which are not provided for now in the current version of ARS but which could be incorporated into future versions. Some of these need advanced technologies and interfaces with other systems. The ARS could be designed in future to enhance the existing capabilities or add entirely new ones. The assumptions and limitations of the ARS have been interspersed in the SRS to present the same in their proper context. REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS DOCUMENT 1. System Objectives 1.1 The Airline Reservation System (ARS) is a software application to assist an airline with transactions related to making ticket reservations, which includes blocking, reserving, canceling and rescheduling tickets. 1.2 From the viewpoint of the airline 1.2.1 Minimize repetitive work done by the system administrator and reservation clerks. 1.2.2 Maintain consistency among different access modes, e.g. by phone, by web, at the information desk and across different physical locations. The users should be basically taken through the same steps by the system as they go through in conventional desk-reservation systems. 1.2.3 Maintain customer information in case of emergency, e.g. flight cancellation due to inclement weather. The profile can also be used by the airline company to track user preferences and travel patterns to serve them better, plan routes, for better marketing and efficient scheduling of flights. 1.2.4 Maximize the revenue of the airline company by various means: 1.2.4.1 Increase awareness among frequent travelers about various special offers and discounts. 1.2.4.2 Minimize the number of vacant seats on a flight and maximize flight capacity utilization. 1.2.4.3 Maintain the capability to adopt a flexible pricing policy. The price of the tickets should be dynamically determined based on how early, before the date of departure, the customer buys the ticket. 1.3 A survey conducted by airline companies shows that users of an existing reservation system would respond favorably to an ARS that satisfied or helped them satisfy the following objectives: 1.3.1 Reduce effort and frustration for travelers in scheduling a trip, especially by reducing the search effort for the flight they need to take. 1.3.2 Show all possible combinations and itineraries available for a pair of origin-destination cities. 1.3.3 Reduce redundancy in the information required from the customers in order for them to buy tickets, create user accounts etc. 1.3.4 Check the validity of input data and give a feedback to the user in case of errors or inconsistency. 1.3.5 Provide flexible access modes to users internet, telephone, PDA. 1.3.6 Protect customers privacy concerns. 1.3.7 Make it easy for travelers to check the ticket status or make changes to their trip. 2. System Context 2.1 The ARS will provide the following types of easy-to-use, interactive, and intuitive graphical and telephonic interfaces. 2.1.1 The ARS will provide an easy-to-use, intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) as part of the Clerk/Administrators working desktop environment. 2.1.2 The ARS will also provide an interactive GUI, on the World Wide Web for the general customers. The above two ARS interfaces shall help provide the following functionalities to the users access to the ARS to check the flight schedule, availability of seats, ticket price and to block, reserve, cancel, and reschedule tickets. The ARS will also provide an easy-to-use, simple telephonic user interface, which can be accessed by the customers through telephone or cell phone from anywhere. This interface shall provide access, only to the following functionalities, namely, check flight schedule and check ticket status including any change in the flight timings. The functionality available through this telephonic interface is limited because of security constraints. 2.2 The system and its environment and the interactions between them are depicted in the diagram below. DB-Reservations Flight Schedule Database Customer Via Web DB-User DB-Schedule I N T E R F A C E CW DB-Geography ARS software INTERFACE Cp Customer Via Phone INTERFACE A Administrator The closed boundary above clearly delineates the system and the environment. The diagram shows the interactions between the ARS software and the databases inside the system. There are three databases internal to the system and which the system maintains. DB-user is the database containing all the personal information of the registered users of the ARS. This can be updated by the user by logging in to the system. Information from this database is used during transactions like charging the credit card etc. DB-schedule is a copy of the flight schedule database. The latter exists independently and is updated by a flight scheduler system which is out of scope of the ARS. DB-schedule is updated with the latest status of the flight schedule database whenever there is any change in the latter. For example, if a flight has been added to the schedule between two cities on Tuesdays, DB-schedule gets updated with this change through a process with which we are not concerned. It is external to th e system and is out of the scope of this SRS. DB-schedule also contains the base prices of tickets for various flight numbers. DB-reservations are a database containing information regarding the number of seats available on each class on different flights. It has provision for marking how many of the reserved seats have been blocked but not yet bought. DB-reservations should update itself using DB-schedule, for example, if a new flight is added. DB-geography is a database, which contains information about the cities and towns serviced by the airline. The distance between all cities and towns is contained in a matrix form. There are three interfaces, one for the administrator, one for the customer via web and another for the customer via phone. The administrator can update DB-schedule with any changes in the base prices of flight tickets. The system uses a pricing algorithm and dynamically determines the actual price from this base price depending on the date of reservation vis-Ã  - vis date of departure. The customer interfaces (web and phone) enable multiple functions which are described in the following section section 3. 3. Functional Requirements User Accounts Registration and creation of user profile Checking Availability Making Reservations/Blocking/Confirmation Confirm Ticket Reschedule Ticket Cancellation Update Profile View Ticket Status Query Flight Details Telephone access User Accounts The passenger, who will henceforth be called the user, will be presented with 3 choices by the reservation system, as the first step in the interaction between them. A user can choose one of these and his choice would be governed by whether he is a guest or a registered user and whether he wants to check the availability of tickets or also block/buy them. The terms registered user and guest are described below. A user who has traveled by the airline earlier would have been given a user id and a password. He would have his personal information stored in the database referred earlier as DB-user. This personal information would be henceforth referred to as profile. Such a user with a profile in DB-user shall be called a registered user. A registered user will be able to check the availability of tickets as well as block/buy a ticket by logging into the system. A new user, on the other hand, would either have to register himself with the system by providing personal information or log into the system as a guest. In case of a, the new user becomes a registered user. In case of b, the new user would remain a guest. A guest can only check the availability of tickets and cannot block or buy tickets. But a registered user can also act as a guest if he only wants to check the availability of tickets. Availability of tickets always refers to viewing the flight schedule for given days, the price of tickets and any discount offers. The system shall present the user with an option to exit from the system at any time during the following processes. Registration and creation of user profile The system shall require a user to register, in order to carry out any transactions with it except for checking the availability of tickets. It will ask the user for the following information at the least a user id, a password, first name, last name, address, phone number, email address, sex, age, preferred credit card number. The system will automatically create a sky miles field and initialize it to zero in the users profile. Checking Availability After logging in a user (either a registered user or a guest), the system shall request him to enter the following details origin city and destination city. City is a generic term and refers to a city or town as the case may be. The origin and destination cities would be entered as text. The system shall now refer to the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-geography earlier, and check if there is any ambiguity with the names of the cities. In case there are more than two cities with same name as entered by the user, the system shall list all of them (with more qualifications) and ask the user to select one of them. In case, either the origin or destination cities are not listed in DB-geography as being directly serviced by the airline, the system shall suggest the nearest city to which service is available, including the distance of the destination city from this nearest city. After the origin and destination cities are ascertained, the system shall now access the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-schedule , and checks if there is a direct operational service between the two cities. If not, the system shall suggest possible routes and transfer points using a route selection algorithm. The user shall now be presented with a choice of either selecting one of the routes. In case he selects a route, the system shall fill in the intermediate stop over points and create a multiple trip itinerary for the user. The system shall now ask the user to enter the following details class, one-way or round trip, departure date and the number of adult passengers, children and senior citizens. Class refers to business class/first class/club class/smoking/non smoking. This choice shall be made by the user through a drop down menu indicating all the possible combinations of choices. One-way/round trip shall be either a drop down menu or a check box selection. Departure date refers to either a single date or a range of dates, entered through a calendar-like menu. This menu shall not show dates in the past or those dates that are too ahead in the future(as determined by the airline policy). In case, the trip is a round trip, the system shall also ask the user to enter the departure date on the return trip. Having taken all the above input from the user, the system checks for any false entries like the departure date on the return trip being earlier than the departure date on the onward trip. In case of incompatibility, the system shall display a suitable error message and prompt the user to enter the information correctly. Having taken all of the information ,the system shall now access the flight schedule database DB-schedule and queries it using the input provided by the user. The system queries the reservation database DB-reservations to check which of the flights on the schedule have seats available. The system displays the results in a suitable form (a tabular form) with the following information depicted for each flight number the flight number, departure time in origin city, arrival time in destination city, the duration of the flight (taking into account the possibility of a change of time zone) and the number of seats available on that flight. There can be several flights between two cities and all of them will be listed for the particular date that the user wants to depart from the Origin City. In case, the user has entered a range of dates, the system shall display all the flights for all those dates in the range. If the user has requested a round trip, the system shall display two tables one for the onward trip and one for the return trip. There will be a check box in front of each line in the table representing a flight with available seats. The user is now asked to check one of the boxes reflecting a choice of a flight number and time. In case of a round trip, the user is asked to check one box each in the two tables. The system shall now display the price of the ticket for the trip. This will be the sum of the prices for all the members of the travel party being represented by the user. The system shall also list any rules regarding the cancellation of tickets what percentage of the price will be refunded within what date ranges. This will be displayed as a table. Making Reservations/Blocking/Confirmation After having taken the user through the, Checking Availability, The system will now ask the user if he wishes to block/buy the ticket. If yes, and if the user has been a guest, he will have to first register and become a registered user and then log onto the system. If the user is already a registered user, and if he has logged on already, he can block/buy the ticket, but if he has been acting as a guest, he will have to log on. Having ensured that the user is logged on validly according the system compares the departure date with the system date. If the departure date falls within 2 weeks of the system date, the system informs the user that he has no option to block the ticket and asks him if he would like to buy it. If the difference between the departure date and system date is more than 2 weeks, the system asks the user if he would like to block or buy the ticket. The system informs the user that he can block the ticket at no cost now. It also informs him that if he chooses to block the ticket, he should make a final decision before 2 weeks of the departure date. The system shall send an email to the user, 3 weeks before the departure date as a reminder, in case he decides to block the ticket now. Having taken the input from the user, the system shall now proceed to update the reservation database DB-reservation. It will decrement the number of available seats on the particular flight for the particular class by the number of travelers being represented by the user. In case of a blocking, the system makes a note of it in the database to be used if the user doesnt turn up before 2 weeks of the departure date. It generates a blocking number and displays it for the user to note down. In case the user buys the ticket, the system accesses his profile and charges the price of the ticket to his credit card number. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it to the user for him to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. Confirm Ticket A user who has earlier blocked a ticket after going through the previous steps required to either confirm the ticket before two weeks of the departure date or the ticket stands cancelled. To let the user confirm a ticket, the system shall first log him on and ask for his blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and removes the check mark, which so far represented a blocked seat. The seat is now confirmed and reserved for the user. The system accesses DB-user and charges the price of the ticket to the credit card number of the user. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it for the user to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. Reschedule Ticket The system shall present the user with an option to re-schedule his travel partys trip. In order to do this, the system first logs on the user and requests his confirmation number. It will not allow a user to reschedule a blocked ticket but only a confirmed ticket. Using this, it queries DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip to the user, including but not limited to origin city, destination city, date of departure and date of arrival (in case the trip is a round trip). The system shall now ask the user to select new dates from the calendar-menu. In case, there are no available tickets for the dates entered, it displays a suitable message informing him that rescheduling to that date is not possible. In case there are tickets available, the system asks the user to select the flight number for the trip (another for the return trip if the trip is a round trip) and proceeds to update the database. The system accesses DB-reservation and decrements the number of available seats on the flight(s) by the number of members in the users travel party. It then increments the entry for the previous flight by the same number to reflect an increase in the available seats on it as a result of the rescheduling. The system now checks if there is any difference in the prices of the tickets. If so, it accesses DB-user and charges or credits the credit card as the case may be. The system generates a new confirmation number and displays it to the user. Cancellation The system shall also give the user an option to cancel a confirmed ticket or a blocked ticket. The latter case is simpler and will be dealt with first the system shall first log on the user and request the blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats by the number of people in the users travel party. In the former case, i.e., for a confirmed ticket, it asks for the confirmation number and accesses DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip. It then lists the applicable rules for cancellation of tickets and depending on the system date and the departure date, it displays the % of the amount that would be refunded if the user cancels the ticket. After the user cancels the ticket, the system generates a cancellation number and displays it for the user to note down. It accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats on that flight by the number of travelers in the users party. It accesses DB-user and credits the refund amount to his credit card number. The system then deducts the mileage of the trip (taking into account the number of travelers in his party) from the sky miles in his profile. Update Profile The system shall enable the user to update his profile at any time. Changes can be made in fields including but not limited to address, phone number and preferred credit card number. View Ticket Status The system shall allow a user to view all information about his trip. After logging him on, it asks for his blocking number or his confirmation number. It accesses DB-reservation and retrieves the details of the trip and presents them to the user in a convenient format, including any last minute changes to the flight timings etc. Such changes will be highlighted. Query Flight Details The system shall allow any user (registered or non registered) to access the details about the arrival and departure times of a flight by requesting the user to input the flight number and date. The system accesses DB-schedule and presents the time of arrival and departure. Telephone access The system shall be accessible through a touch-tone telephone. The telephonic interface shall, at the least, provide the customer with the facility to check availability of tickets and query flight details. The system shall walk the customer exactly through steps 3.3 and 3.9 respectively but through a telephonic interface. Non-functional Requirements Performance Response time of the Airline Reservation System should be less than 2 second most of the time. Response time refers to the waiting time while the system accesses, queries and retrieves the information from the databases (DB-user, DB-schedule etc) (A local copy of flight schedule database is maintained as DB-schedule to reduce this access time) ARS shall be able to handle at least 1000 transactions/inquiries per second. ARS shall show no visible deterioration in response time as the number of users or flight schedule data increases Reliability ARS shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ARS shall always provide real time information about flight availability information. ARS shall be robust enough to have a high degree of fault tolerance. For example, if the user enters a negative number of passengers or a value too large, the system should not crash and shall identify the invalid input and produce a suitable error message. ARS shall be able to recover from hardware failures, power failures and other natural catastrophes and rollback the databases to their most recent valid state. Usability ARS shall provide a easy-to-use graphical interface similar to other existing reservation system so that the users do not have to learn a new style of interaction. The web interface should be intuitive and easily navigable Users should be able to understand the menu and options provided by ARS. Any notification or error messages generated by ARS shall be clear, succinct, polite and free of jargon. Integrity Only system administer has the right to change system parameters, such as pricing policy etc. The system should be secure and must use encryption to protect the databases. Users need to be authenticated before having access to any personal data. Interoperability ARS shall minimize the effort required to couple it to another system, such as flight schedule database system. Future Requirements Support for waiting list functionality ARS shall be made more flexible in ticket reservation handling, and shall accept waiting list for reservation.The waiting list handling capability of ARS shall be made more advanced, by enabling it to send requests to the Flight Scheduler to schedule extra flights, depending on the demand in a particular corridor, and providing the wait listed passengers with a new flight. The telephonic interface of the ARS shall be improved to support more functionality like allowing the customers to cancel a ticket etc., by incorporating security measures. ARS shall be made more dynamic and helpful to the users by enabling it to send instant messages to the passengers, of a cancelled or rescheduled flight, through email, phone, Fax etc., informing them about the change, and providing them with other feasible alternatives. Information about the kind of meals served in a flight and the type of entertainment offered on a flight should be incorporated into the system.Provide service integration with auto rental agencies and hotel chains. Interface for the travel agents shall be provided in the future versions with additional features like informing them of any availability of seats on a flight which was earlier booked to capacity. Choices like aisle or window seats shall be provided to the users. The ARS shall be able to handle the situation where flight services are available to multiple airports in a single city.