Budget Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Budget Targeting - Essay Example Absent these inferences, firms would not know how well they are doing, and capital markets would not know how to value them. And absent these inferences, firms would be unable to improve their processes and, as a consequence, improve their economic performance". (Meyer, 2002, p. 24) Budget meeting its target as personal performance measure can be analysed in two broad categories: "First, a budget can be used as a financial plan, utilised by the finance department to ensure that the organisation stays within its operating constraints. Second it is much more widely used in most organisations as a tool of overall management control. Here budget targets are set for individual responsibility centers and their operating managers, so that operating performance can be monitored and controlled". (Neely, Business Performance Measurement) Irrespective of any category, effective budget targets must possess the following characteristics: "Strong incentives for departments and their partners in service delivery to plan over several years and plan together where appropriate so as to deliver better public services with greater cost effectiveness". (Budget-2006) "Data collection and analysis for performance measures are defined to establish a common understanding for the measure, to describe how and when the data will be collected and interpreted, and to ensure the quality and integrity of the data". (Budget-2006a) Performance measures further include the following steps: "Analysis of existing systems (like accounting and auditing) should be conducted in order to determine its performance-basis, if one expects performance data to be used in the system this means that systems that relate to other outdated budgeting approaches need to be replaced to accommodate performance based budgeting". (Andrews & Hill, 2003, p. 135) "The use of performance information

Legalization of Marijuana Essay Example for Free

Legalization of Marijuana Essay The fight to legalize marijuana has been going on for decades now and looks to have no end until the result is that it’s legal. My fight would be for it to be legalized as well. Simply because it’s a drug with more benefits then harm. In some states, and other countries it’s already legal and doctor approved which I believe needs to be applied everywhere. Marijuana users will not stand for marijuana probation, no matter how long it takes, punishments or consequences. One might say press the issue! Make harsher laws! These prohibition views have failed to silence users. Marijuana legalization is a persistent issue that will not just go away. I believe it will be legalized because users are willing to continue to fight until they succeed. This will eventually open people’s eyes that the drug is not all bad. Marijuana has positive attributes; a medical value with very mild side effects. Many people use it because they see it good for them especially those suffering ailments. It relieves pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. I agree that if we do legalize it just for medication that it would leak to other users. But in today’s society many American adults prefer marijuana over alcohol as a way to relax, it has a lot less side effects then alcohol. The use of marijuana in America is a choice that comes with a relatively low dependence rate. Most people develop a tolerance to side effects, and those who don’t usually stop using drugs. Most Americans decide that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risk which the greatest risk is low risk arrest. Legalizing the drug can have more benefits to our county then harming it. If marijuana was legal we could put a tax on it, to make a profit on it. If we look at our crime rate, our law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession. By doing this we waste jail space, clog court systems, divert time of police, attorneys, judges, and corrections officials away from violent crime. When I say violent crimes I mean being able to focus on the sexual abuse of children, terrorism and other more dangerous crimes. For my study I looked for a country that has legalized marijuana and their reasons for doing so. I found that it is a common knowledge throughout the world, that in Amsterdam you may just enter a coffee shop and buy drugs; you will be handed a menu with drugs of the day, and there might be even a special on the menu. It is all accessible, for four joints you will pay the same amount for twenty cigarettes. Marijuana is legal in Amsterdam because the government there realizes that it is much easier to control when they make it publicly available. This way they can tax it to generate state funding and ensure that they know where it is and whos using it. Its a much more liberal approach than prohibition, which causes any controlled substance to go immediately underground and leaves the governments jurisdiction. Marijuana being illegal is much like the prohibition of alcohol. The Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. And unlike alcohol and any prescription drugs, marijuana is not lethal. A study in 2009 by U.S. Department of Health and Human Studies published that 69.7 million Americans are current users of tobacco products, 15 million Americans abuse alcohol, and only 4.2 million Americans abuse Marijuana. Everyday 1,000 people die from smoking related illnesses, 550 die from alcohol related accidents and diseases, and less than 20 die of drug related causes. American adolescents use Marijuana twice as much as their counter parts in Holland where Marijuana is legal. It seems that the temptations to do what you’re not supposed to do are too strong to resist. In conclusion, marijuana should be legal. If we are going to continue to offer these drugs that are more harmful then marijuana then why band one that helps? If continuing to keep marijuana as an illegal substance then users are willing to continue to fight. Like the prohibition of alcohol I don’t believe this fight will end until the users win. Maybe they will think their decision over, and realize it would help us more then it harms us.

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine Abstract Background: Journal clubs` emerging goals are now considered to be teaching critical appraisal skills and learning how to use evidence based medicine in practice. Although journal clubs are well accredited, designing the right format to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge. Methods: We conducted journal club structure modifications in internal medicine residency program of a university affiliated hospital. Initially group-based sessions identified feasible changes and baseline data concerning residents` knowledge of evidence based medicine (EBM) was collected by a questionnaire. Modifications implemented and a second set of group discussions and data collection took place after 12 months. Results: Total number of 78 residents participated. The most important identified changes were schedule adjustments and setting new goals regarding EBM, medical statistics and critical appraisal teaching. Group discussion showed increased satisfaction and questionnaire assessments showed significant improvement in residents` knowledge of EBM. Conclusions: Redesigning journal clubs with emphasis on regularity and setting new horizons basically improves their effectiveness. Assigning entire sessions to augment participants` skills in new areas of knowledge is a unique way to fit journal clubs as a novel and innovative teaching practice. Practice Points Journal clubs are connecting bridges between knowledge and practice. Journal clubs have gradually evolved to be a teaching tool in modern medicine. Considering growing popularity of evidence based medicine, journal clubs can be a way to introduce this discipline into educational programs. Redesigning old journal club structure is somehow necessary to better keep up with growing knowledge of medicine. Furnishing journal clubs with innovative methods might be a reasonable way of reform. Introduction The earliest reference to the origin of the phrase journal club is in memoirs and letters of Sir James Paget, describing a small room near St. Bartholomews Hospital in London in the period 1835-1854 in which pupils met and read journals (Paget 1901). More than a century has passed since Sir William Osler started the first recorded journal club in North America in 1875 as a way of sharing periodicals he could not afford individually and later established a club at Johns Hopkins University to review the latest medical research (Alguire 1998; Sleeman 1990). Today’s journal clubs have evolved a great deal and are found in nearly every medical school and residency training program in almost all fields of medicine (Valentini Daniels 1997; Sidorov 1995; Green 1999). Traditionally journal clubs are educational meetings in which a group of individuals meet to discuss and critically evaluate the current articles in the scientific literature (Mcleod et al. 2010; SVN Research Committee 2009). The major aim of journal clubs was to keep their attendees up to date with the latest medical literature (Valentini Daniels 1997; Forsen 2003; Goodfellow 2004). Gradually they have become a means for teaching critical appraisal skills, improving biostatistical knowledge, getting familiar with epidemiologic methods and most recently promoting the practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) (Valentini Daniels 1997; SVN Research Committee 2009; Woods Winkel 1982). Critical appraisal skills and basing clinical decisions on the best published evidence available (i.e. EBM) have become an important facet in clinical medicine and are part of core general competencies required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in all residency programs (ACGME 2009; Yew Reid 2008; Carpenter et al. 2010). In the ensuing years, EBM has enjoyed widespread popularity. Today’s journal clubs are effectively assisting practitioners translate knowledge into practice and serve as an excellent bridge between research and clinical work. While journal club has been a mainstay in postgraduate medical education for many years, several authors have pointed out the diversity of its format (Alguire 1998; Sidorov 1995; Ebbert et al. 2001). The desirability of journal clubs in internal medicine has been reinforced by accreditation requirements that mandate residents` participation in journal clubs. Although the goals and purposes of journal clubs are well established, selecting the right format and setting to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge (Kelly Cronin 2010; Hartzell et al. 2009). With the growing appreciation of evidence based medicine (EBM) and its widespread application in clinical decision making, we thought of revising and implementing possible modifications in our journal club structure to improve quality of sessions and weigh their effects on our journal club program. Methods We conducted revision program into our journal club structure involving internal medicine residents attending the internal medicine residency program in a teaching university affiliated hospital. The modification process consisted of several steps. First we conducted group-based discussion sessions with participation of two clinical experts, two research experts, the program manager and chief resident. Group discussion primarily consisted of brain storming, reviewing similar works and their outcomes and sharing experiences. Five such meetings were held with main purpose of gauging current program features and identifying possible essential changes required to improve the program. Findings of these sessions then were shared with residents` delegates, 2 residents from each year, through three separate sessions. Identified feasible modifications were finally determined out of group-based discussions and implemented to make a new journal club structure. The group-based discussion took place for the second time, 12 months after executing alterations. Group participants were the same. This time the group assessed different aspects of changes made including residents` attendance, residents` satisfaction and the content of new sessions. Furthermore we measured the residents` existing knowledge of EBM by a self-reported questionnaire, designed and internally validated by the discussion group. The questionnaire consisted of three questions to assess three fields: residents` knowledge of statistical significance, their acquaintance with evidence rating and their familiarity with study design. Possible answers were as â€Å"No familiarity†, â€Å"Fair familiarity†, â€Å"Good familiarity† and â€Å"Excellent familiarity†. In order to facilitate further comparison, the first two answers were classified as cluster 1 (limited knowledge) and the two remaining answers as cluster 2 (acceptable knowledge); therefore making comparison between two clusters. Each resident was given the questionnaire before applying changes and again 12 months after running the new program. Residents` responses were also discussed in the second set of group discussion. The results were collected anonymously and data was then imported to Excel software (2010, Microsoft) for examination. We specified the distribution of answers in each cluster before and after modifications and calculated the absolute difference between them using descriptive statistics. Results Seventy-eight internal medicine residents (43 Female, 35 Male) were included into the survey. An almost even participation was observed among residents from all years of internal medicine training. Results of this study can be divided into two phases; before applying changes and after implementing modifications. Phase I Founded on the primary group-based discussions, the acknowledged key points for developing our new journal club structure encompassed program and schedule modification, adding motives, defining new goals, content revision and implementing feedback mechanisms from which, content revision was considered the most critical one. The main aspects of modifications made are explained in details. Our new schedule was designed as weekly sessions on Thursdays (the day before weekend in our country). We planned the sessions to be held from 7 to 8 in the morning (Breakfast time) and on the day with minimal educational and clinical workload to assure maximal attendance. To ensure the regularity and predictability of our program, we already scheduled the sessions for the next entire year. Holidays, exam days and residents` rotations were carefully noticed in planning the journal club calendar and the presenter for each session was specified at the beginning of the educational year. Furthermore we changed the place to a bigger room with better facilities. Also we decided to provide a mini breakfast meal during all sessions as a potential incentive that can increase participants` interest. Defining new objectives was also emphasized by group members. Therefore, we set our new goals not only to keep updated with medical literature and review the current literature, but also to introduce medical statistics to residents, encourage arguments and develop critical appraisal skills and understanding EBM. We changed the composition of our journal club participants to include relevant attending physicians, medical statisticians and experts in EBM and critical thinking as well as internal medicine residents from all levels. In order to achieve the broad goal spectrum, our reformed program consisted of two different types of sessions. Three sessions of each month were dedicated to presenting review articles and discussion about the main topic (analogous with former program). The last week of the month was devoted to evidence based journal clubs in which an original article was presented to the audience and 2 to 3 relevant articles or guidelines were also considered. The main focus of these sessions was to discuss the methodology and to point out statistical points through which critical appraisal skills were practiced and evaluation of the quality and validity of the results taught. Both types of sessions were moderated by an attending physician with experience in medical research and education background. Review article journal clubs were presented by a second year internal medicine resident employing slideshows; hence each resident was provided the opportunity to benefit from this chance at least twice a year. Evidence based journal clubs were presented by senior residents familiar with medical research and statistics and with acceptable teaching skills. These sessions were supervised by a team (at least 2 persons) of expert physicians in EBM and critical thinking skill. A support committee consisting of two senior internal medicine residents, journal club moderator and an EBM expert was formed for evaluating and choosing articles for presentation. The responsible resident had to provide up to 5 papers to the committee, who would then return one or two of them for presentation. The major selection criteria were relevancy and novelty of the topic and being in accordance with the interests of the participants. The other thing considered especially for articles to be presented in EBM sessions was being somehow controversial regarding the methodology or conclusion. At the end of each session a brief explanation was provided including critical points and a conclusion. For EBM sessions the strength and limitations of the article were also emphasized, inspiring the participants to involve in this process valuable in didactic endeavors. The conclusion of each session was then uploaded in the departmental forum of residents and interns for more discussion. Sometimes, a practical question was also provided in order to ascertain that residents have got the point correctly. Phase II Second phase results are described after 12 months of running the new program. Group-based discussion findings for new schedule clearly showed increased attendance and residents were more satisfied with the fixed and pre-defined sessions. Nonetheless we noticed that providing food was not of residents` concerns. Definition of new objectives for journal club sessions persuaded residents to participate more. Experts in the group-based discussions were also satisfied with the new content of sessions and monthly devoting an entire session to EBM and teaching statistical points and critical thinking. Regarding questionnaire assessment, final results showed that in the field of â€Å"evidence rating knowledge†, the number of residents in cluster 1 reduced from 51 to 17 and accordingly the number of residents in cluster 2 increased from 27 to 61 (43.6% absolute change regarding the total number of participants; P Similarly, before-after comparison for the field of â€Å"statistical significance acquaintance† revealed the absolute change to be 23.1%; i.e. the residents` acquaintance with concept of statistical significance was noticeably augmented, changing from limited knowledge to acceptable knowledge, in 18 residents (P Discussion Our conventional journal club structure first started in internal medicine department of Shariati hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in year 2007. Since then it was running in a small room and on a weekly basis with focus on review article presentation only. Participants were mainly residents, internal medicine interns and medical students and presenters of sessions were selected from first year residents. There are considerable studies describing journal clubs conducted in different settings and for different health providers; yet there appear to be no ‘Gold Standard’ approach for conducting a journal club or assessing its effectiveness. It is therefore an ongoing challenge in designing effective journal club format that assists the participants to translate journal club activities into evidence based practice (Deenadayalan et al. 2008). As residency programs deal with work hour restrictions and implement competency educations (Hatala et al. 2006; Goroll et al. 2004), they need to undergo intense reassessment and possible remodeling to determine if they are meeting their goals. Our questionnaire survey showed that our reformed program made significant change in residents` knowledge and the number of residents significantly shifted from low knowledge to acceptable knowledge. We postulated that holding journal clubs on a regular basis is necessary to achieve continuous educational progress and gradually obtain the desired improvement in residents` competency which is in accordance to most previous studies (Deenadayalan et al. 2008 ). Regularity of sessions basically show the importance of this type of learning, as a new method of education is being introduced to the learners (residents). On the other hand, disorderliness might suggest that the program is not so useful and coordinators are not sure of its value, which in turn will dissuade participants from joining and following the schedule. Pre-defining the whole schedule would be a great way in achieving this goal. Although fixed schedule might seems impractical for many institutes but authors assumed that accurately considering some fine points such as work hour’s prerequisites before scheduling the program may be helpful. In addition, this would assist participants to adjust their time and for presenter to know their schedule and being prepared for that. Regarding best frequency, according to most of studies reporting this, it seems that monthly period is endorsed (Letterie Morgenstern 2000; Burstein et al. 1996). Our reformed structure had a weekly basis, though our new EBM sessions were held monthly, not to shrink residents` enthusiasm for participating in these educational gatherings. Some studies have shown that timing of journal clubs might be of importance considering attendance, especially when they were coincided with meal times (Bazarian et al. 1999; Langkamp et al. 1992). While they advised provision of food as a way to increase attendance, our group-based discussions and residents feedbacks did not show such relation. This might be due to . Authors believed that forward movement without adding new goals and/or lacking enough motivation would not be successful in improving participants` competency. Increasing knowledge of medical statistics and understanding EBM were the primary new objectives of our program which is demonstrated to be well achieved regarding our survey. Participants of journal clubs must be in accordance to the aims and contents of the program. Similar to Hartzell (2009), authors think that inviting attending physicians and involving senior residents may contribute to fulfillment of journal club objectives. This composition would facilitate the arguments and give space for better discussion and reaching a practical point. Assigning an entire separate session to introduction of this new area would also be of great benefit, since innovative thinking and learning new skills necessitates more time. New educational goals for residency programs now include conduction of problem oriented sessions, evidence based journal clubs and also experiencing critical appraisal. Considering that almost all of medical education programs have introduced journal clubs as a routine in their curricula, we thought of it as a useful tool to familiarize our residents with better interpreting medical literature, critical thinking and evidence based medicine. This approach has been supported by previous researches (Hatala et al. 2006; Ghali et al. 2000). Although this survey showed promising results and improvement in residents` knowledge and participation, our results are far from perfect. Yet we must increase our efforts to recognize subtle obstacles and further improve effectiveness of journal club. Conclusion In conclusion, journal clubs are of great value in today`s medical education addressing both clinical practice and evidence based learning improvement. Yet there is no gold standard to achieve the best result with this regard. We have enjoyed revolutionizing our traditional structure of journal clubs and furnishing it with novel objectives and construction and noticed significant improvement in attendance and competency of our internal medicine residents. Declaration of interest The authors report no declarations of interest.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner Essays -- B.F. Skinner Psychologists Psycholo

Burrhus Frederic Skinner People do on a day to day basis, many actions without realizing it, and most of the time, they don’t know why they do them. Certain reinforcements, some positive, and some negative have conditioned their actions and thoughts. All organisms, including humans, are greatly influenced by the consequences produced by their own behavior. The environment holds the key to most of the changes that occur in the way a person behaves and a human’s own behavior brings consequences that change his or her actions (B. F. Skinner). Dr. B.F. Skinner forged the theory of Behaviorism, â€Å"a school of psychology that rejects the unobservable and focuses on patterns of responses to external rewards and stimuli† (Skinner, B. F.). Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20, 1904, and raised in Susquehana, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a lawyer and his mother was a strong and intelligent housewife (Boeree). Skinner’s parents encouraged him in his schoolwork, and he was well read as a child (B. F. Skinner). B. F. was â€Å"an active, out-going boy who loved the outdoors and building things, and actually enjoyed school† (Boeree). He enjoyed literature and biology especially (B. F. Skinner). Skinner attended Hamilton College in New York State (R. W. Kentridge). â€Å"He didn’t fit in very well, not enjoying the fraternity parties or the football games. He wrote for school paper, including articles critical of the school, the faculty, and even Phi Beta Kappa! To top it off, he was an atheist – in a school that required daily chapel attendance† (Boeree). He continued to read widely and to pursue interests in literature and biology. He began to write a lot of fiction and poetry, and became known as an aspiring poet. After his junior year, he attended the Summer School of English at Breadloaf, where he met Robert Frost (B. F. Skinner). When he graduated, â€Å"he planned to spend a year writing a novel, but found that he had nothing to write about and suffered through what he would later refer to his ‘dark year’†. Skinner considered pursuing graduate study in English, but eventually settled on psychology instead. â€Å"The choice of psychology followed Skinner’s realization that what intrigued him about literature was actually human behavior, a topic he felt could be approached more suitably through science† (B. F. Skinner). The writi ngs of Frances Bacon had interested... ...ood and bad. He tested his theory by inventing the Skinner Box and operant behavior. With his theories and testing, people now know how the many actions they perform throughout the day, and why they perform them. Works Cited A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: B. F. Skinner. PBS. 15 May 2000. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh.aso/databank/entries/bhskin.html>. B.F. Skinner. Boise State University. 9 May 2000. <http://education.boisestate.edu/FACHTML/cohort3/skinner.htm>. B.F. Skinner Foundation - Documents - A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior. The B.F Skinner Foundation. 14 May 2000. <http://www.bfskinner.org>. Boeree, Dr. C. George. B.F. Skinner. 9 May 2000. <http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/skinner.html>. Leahey, Thomas H. "Skinner, B.F." Academic American Encyclopedia. 1995 ed. R. W. Kentridge. Skinner Box. 17 May 2000. <http://www.biozentrum.uni- wuerzburg.de/genetics/behavior/learning/Skinnerbox.html>. Skinner, B. F. 17 May 2000. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/11954.html>. Skinner, B. F. About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974. Skinner, B. F. Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillian, 1953.

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay

1. Introduction: With the announced adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for publicly accountable starting 2011 by the Canadian’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), issues about the effect on the usefulness of financial statement need serious attention starting on knowing the similarities and differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS.   Some critics have argued that IFRS will   give up too much reliability in order to achieve relevance, while others have argued that the increased relevance and comparability will promote usefulness of the financial statements.   This paper attempts to address some of these issues as is seeks to analyze the potential effects of Canada Adoption of IFRS by making an opinion as to whether the change will result in more or less decision useful information, thus making securities markets either more or less efficient. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2.1 What is IFRS and its advantages if adopted? IFRS is being promoted by its supporters as a â€Å"single set of globally accepted, high quality accounting standards† (KMPG Canada, 2007), that is adopted by over a hundred countries, including five of the G8 countries (KMPG Canada, 2007).   It appears to have gained the support of a number of countries and with announced adoption in Canada, starting 2011 by AcSB, there is good ground to believed about the benefits of the said set of international accounting standards in Canada compared staying on with the present Canada GAAP.   To cite names of countries, it could be asserted that as early as 2005, publicly listed companies in European Union member countries , Australia, Hong Kong,   and South Africa and have used IFRS (KMPG Canada, 2007).   In the absence of these countries’ plan or indication of returning to where they came from, with more reason and interest it is to know about the improvement from IFRS adoption in the financial statements of Canadian comp anies. Given therefore the similarities of the two standards under Canadian GAAP and IFRS, there is basis to state that Canada has had considerable input and influence in the development of IFRS over the years (KMPG Canada, 2007).   Therefore, Canada’s decision to join the many countries in adopting IFRS carries with it the intention to benefit enterprises in Canada.   That it would provide better access to international capital, funding and investment opportunities should not come as a big surprise.   The realities of samurai bonds or Eurobonds (Hill, 2009) could be asserted to have strong support from the presence of IAS or IFRS in the countries where bonds are floated as companies seek cheaper sources of capital as finding the same outside each homo country   helps in minimization of cost of capital as an objective (Brigham and Houston, 2002).   The improved information in terms of comparability of financial reports across countries could just be easy to accept as many c ompanies pursue international business. Another advantage of using the IFRS is the belief that it   should also more cost effective for the accounting information compared with maintaining a separate and isolated set of Canadian accounting standards (KMPG Canada, 2007).   This could be the same reason for the move by the US to eventually adopt harmonization of its accounting standards with the IFRS since non-US companies, which want to list their stocks in the US stock exchanges, are required still to make translation of IFRS based financial statements into US GAAP based.   From the practical sense of view, it would be easy to see the added cost for companies making still translations in the same way that non-Canadian companies may be required to make the translation   when they go to Canadian stock exchanges. Another advantage of adoption is to make financial results more transparent and consistent for user globally, which will mean using more judgment and providing more disclosure in the short term (KMPG Canada, 2007).   For this reason,   persons involved in the public company financial reporting of Canada will have to   expect to pass under   a steep learning curve (KMPG Canada, 2007).   IFRS and Canadian GAAP compare in just few important lines   but since IFRS standards are comprehensive and principles-based, it is expected that its application would require greater use of professional judgment than Canadian GAAP.   The availability of more accounting policy choices under   IFRS would take companies longer time now to evaluate these choices for each organization and is expected to result in valuable outcomes in the long-term (KMPG Canada, 2007). 2.2 The impact of the IFRS adoption It is believed that the first and most obvious impact of IFRS adoption would be in the effect on the presentation of the financial position of an entity as set out in its financial statements   (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   Since IFRS represents a statement of principles that must be applied based on judgment and assumptions given the facts at hand, it is expected that many principles will change including possibly modifying the many rigid prohibitions or rules that have become part of Canadian GAAP over time   via either practice or prescription (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   To illustrate since IFRS allows for more fair value accounting policy choices, this would open to a greater degree of interpretation and professional judgment.   The new principles underlying the presentation of financial measures will change both the way in which things are measured and what is included in the measurement as wells timing of measurement and needed disclosure (Romano and Grewal, 2009). The impact of the adoption of the IFRS would be in the allowing greater freedom to exercise professional judgment on which will make the financial statements to have greater relevance that will enhance the usefulness of the accounting information.   It may be recalled that the qualitative characteristics of accounting include both reliability and relevance of the accounting information for decision-making (Meigs and Meigs, 1995). A financial information may therefore be too reliable as to approximate a high a degree of objectivity but may no longer be of significance to decision makers since the decision is already done. To illustrate,   a person buying a car   or any typical product may be interested to know what is the estimated cost of production for a car that he or she wants to buy for the buyer for comparing it with the actual price of the product. On the other hand, another buyer may not really know what is the actual cost but he or she has information that the production possess so much value that is it relevant and unique about the product being sold and could be used for commercial production. The second buyer may not have the actual objective cost of production for the product but he or she has a good and businesslike assessment of the situation because of familiarity of relevant information which can generates value and could make a reasonable estimate of the values of possible input cost of the product.   He is therefore more strategically positioned than the first buyer is.   Thus, relevance at this point may be more advantageous than having greater reliability of information.   Adoption of IFRS is however not expected to amount of total loss of reliability of information. The adoption of IFRS is criticized by the fact that it would provide too much management flexibility or the freedom of interpretation that may be adopted with the concurrence of the independent auditors, thus it would reduce the quality of financial reporting.   There is however, no strong evidence to believe that feared consequence of the adoption on these ground.   In fact, this feared consequence remains to be seen (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   On the hand, one great inducement of adoption is for greater international comparability due from a perspective of globalized-investment market place.   There is now movement towards the implementation of the adoption and there are now plans to effect a successful transition (Romano and Grewal, 2009). 2.3 Sample Partial Application of IAS or IFRS to Business about Fair value Accounting One sample interesting effect of adoption of IFRS is the eventual effect International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39.   It is asserted that IAS 39   is   partial application of fair value accounting since the said standard gives institutions the possibility of irrevocably applying fair value valuations to any financial instrument starting from the concept of â€Å"fair value option† (Enria, et al, 2004). It is argued that one fundamental building block of   developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),   the present makers of standards under the IFRS based in UK, is to bring the financial statements up to day with market developments hence, a working group on the issue has proposed the use of Full Fair Value Accounting (FFVA) for all financial instruments.   (Enria, et al, 2004).   While adoption of the IFRS by Canada would not immediately result to adoption of fair value accounting, it will open the great possibility because as stated earlier, the use of international accounting standard would give more flexibility to company’s management and accounting professionals and fair value accounting is part of the IFRS. If it feared that FFVA could produce effects on financial stability of banks, the same arguments could be made applicable to the Canadian companies, which are just to co-exist with other international and global companies in the use of IFRS.   The analysis of authors found confirmation about concerns on the potential wider application of fair value in unduly increasing the volatility of banks’ balance sheets, which could reduce possibly ability of companies to react to adverse shocks.   The adoption of fair value could also result to the pro-cyclicality of the bank lending especially if the application of fair value happens simultaneously with other developments under a new accord.   Thus, one of possible consequence is for encouraging banks to react if values change by use of FFVA through panic selling and tightening lending standard (Enria, et al, 2004).   The effect could be far reaching as it could bring a possible financial crisis at the worst case possibly. From deeper tests, however, the researchers have found no significant impact on volatility by the introduction of FFVA standards for companies studied in the 1980s and 1990w.   However, they cautioned about the need to be interpret the result with caution for several reasons and call for further research citing as one reason the lack of clear-cut choice of the cut-off dates on which banks change from one accounting standard to the other (Enria, et al, 2004). 3. Conclusion To conclude, this researcher   believes that the adoption   by the Canadian Accounting Standard Board of IFRS for companies   concerned starting in 2011 will result to   more useful information that would make securities markets either more or less efficient than not adopting the said international; accounting standard.   The adoption, while could result to possibly losing some reliability,   is expected bring   greater relevance of the financial statements and increased comparability which would then it more useful for Canadian companies and the users of these information.   The possibility of losing some reliability may possibly be counter checked by user still requiring from these companies from which they would like to deal with the production of financial statements prepared under the present Canadian GAAP but they could run the risk of losing the benefit of a decision that would be based on relevant grounds.   The mere fact that CASB has announced the adoption should signal there the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages of IFRS adoption.

Crime in Detroit

Crime in Detroit For many years Detroit, Michigan has been known as the murder capital of the world. stats show that In 2012 Detroit had the highest rate of violent crimes over any other city In the united States. Crime around the city Is not only committed by the residents but also by local police officials and government officials. These are the people that took a vow to serve and protect us. But we have to protect ourselves from them. There has been crimes of racism, take for instance in 1992, two white police fficers named Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers beat to death an African American man. amed Malice Green, with a flashlight. It was said that it was a routine traffc stop in which Green was driving, but everyone in Detroit knew that Malice Green was homeless and did not have a car. Green refused to open his hand and give the police the vile of crack that he was holding. For that he paid the ultimate price with his life. He was struck 14 times in the head with the police flashlg ht. Both officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Nevers received 4 years and Budzyn eceived 41/2 years.On the other hand in that same year my brother an Atrican American male accidentally killed a white woman while playing with a gun. He got the same Involuntary manslaughter charge and did 17 years. Maxing out his sentence. Each time he was up for parole he was denied. Eventually they Just has to let him go. Another incident of crime In Detroit was committed by a Government official. Kwame Kilpatrick was the mayor of Detroit from 2002 until he was forced to resign due to a plea deal in 2008. He was Involved in the citys largest corruption scandal ver.He, his best friend, and his father stole over 83 million dollars from the city. Hence the reason that the city is bankrupt today. He did everything from mail fraud which is a scheme to get money from people through the mail. wire fraud, something like mail fraud, racketeering, he was using the mayors palace as a place for prostitutes and was throwing wild parties there. He was also charged with obstruction and a list of other charges. Each of the 29 charges that he got can receive up toa 15 year sentence. He will be sentenced on October 13, 2013.So as you can see from those two examples crime is a big problem for the city of Detroit. It doesn't matter it its law enforcement or government officials. Crime is crime and It Is still going to be committed. By icheat4u world. Stats show that in 2012 Detroit had the highest rate of violent crimes over any other city in the United States. Crime around the city is not only committed by the man, named Malice Green, with a flashlight. It was said that it was a routine traffic He was struck 14 times in the head with the police flashlight.Both officers were received 41/2 years. On the other hand in that same year my brother an African same involuntary manslaughter charge and did 17 years. Maxing out his sentence. Another incident of crime in Detroit was committed by a Government official. due to a plea deal in 2008. He was involved in the citys largest corruption scandal which is a scheme to get money from people through the mail, wire fraud, something Detroit. It doesn't matter if its law enforcement or government officials. Crime is crime and it is still going to be committed.

Writing Tighter How to Cut Your Writing Down to Size

Writing Tighter How to Cut Your Writing Down to Size â€Å"I apologize for writing such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a short one.† – Mark Twain It’s debatable what the actual quote is and whether it is actually Mark Twain’s, but either way it’s a great statement of the truth. It does indeed take longer - much longer - to write a short letter, blog post, essay, resume, etc. than it does to write a long one. I have frequently taken two-page resumes and cut them down to one without loss of content. Five-page single-spaced personal statements reduce to 500 words. Remarkable right? An example: I worked with a social media marketing expert to create the â€Å"perfect† blog post for LinkedIn. The original draft was 5,504 characters long - 1,777 characters over the LinkedIn limit! In 15 minutes, we had edited the blog down to size. How did we do it? Here are some tips to help you make the grade: Look for anything that could be characterized as â€Å"window dressing.† That’s the stuff you write around the important points! Find the nugget and stick to it! Are you repeating yourself? Stop! Once is enough. We get it. Stay organized. Often the source of rambling language is simply lack of organization and focus. Ask yourself about each and every sentence: How many words can I remove from this sentence and retain its meaning? Go ahead†¦ remove those extra words! You can do it! (Yes, there are extra words in that last sentence. Can you find them?) If you’re really in a bind, remove or reduce the space between bullet points or paragraphs. Only take this drastic measure as a last resort. White space is a prized commodity, especially in a blog or resume! If you remove something and your message no longer transmits, put it back in! Theres always somewhere else you can cut out. The process takes time, but it’s worth it. Your newly trimmed writing will be snappy, punchy and geared to today’s short attention spans! If you are reading this sentence, I’ve followed my own advice.