Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government Essay

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government - Essay Example It was, however, Charles Louis de Montesquieu who clearly defined the three branches of government and laid down the basics of the concept of separation of powers. Some countries being underpinned by the concept of separation of powers, like the United States, have written constitutions that clearly laid out and allocated the various powers and functions of the government to the different branches (Barnett pp. 105-106). This is not so in the United Kingdom. The UK Constitution does not consist of a single, written document but rather of various uncodified laws scattered in several documents like statutes, court decisions and treaties and unwritten ones like customs and conventions. A strict separation of powers normally divides separate powers and functions and allows them to the three branches government: the executive; Parliament, and; the judiciary. In the UK, the components of the three branches of governments usually share powers held by other branches in a mixed government fash ion. Eric Barendt, however, author of the book Separation of Powers does not believe that the UK necessarily has a weaker constitution because of this disparity. He believes that â€Å"the separation of powers should not be explained in terms of a strict distribution of functions between the three branches of government, but in terms of a network of rules and principles which ensure that power is not concentrated in the hands of one branch.† The UK government, like other democratic governments, has three major institutions, all exercising various functions and powers and sometimes sharing the powers of the other branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive department is made up the Crown and the central government, the latter of which is composed of the Prime Minister and his/her Cabinet Ministers. The central government is accountable to Parliament, which can choose to dissolve it and force a new election of a new set of officials if it believes that circumstances warrant it.  

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Example for Free

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Man is a social animal. His social life has many dimensions – political, economic, sociological, psychological, historical etc. Social sciences deal with this multi-dimensional man, his collective life, social behaviour, organisations and activities. All of these dimensions of man are inter-connected leading to interrelationship among various social sciences. Political science, being one of the social sciences dealing with the political aspect of social man, has close connections with other social sciences. The modem approach in the study of social sciences is primarily interdisciplinary. It means that scholars of one specialized social science should work in coordination with scholars of other disciplines. This has resulted in a great deal of overlapping of disciplines. Interdisciplinary study has resulted in a rapid development of theoretical and applied aspects of politics and the sharpening of tools of research and analysis in the present century. Political Science and History Political Science and History are very closely connected. Jellinek remarked: It is almost a common-place today to affirm the necessity of historical study as a basis for a proper understanding of institutions, whether they be political, legal, or social.1 E.H. Carr holds that the dual function of history (is) to enable man to understand the society of the past and to increase his mastery over the society of the present} The cause and effect relationship of social phenomena can be understood by scientific understanding of history. History furnishes the political scientist the raw materials for comparison and induction. The relation of political science and history is well brought out in words of Seeley: History without Political Science has no fruit. Political Science without history has no root. In the words of Freeman, history is past politics and politics is present history. While political science is dependent on history for its material, it must be made clear that history supplies only part of its material. Again, all facts of history are not useful to political science. Garner rightly points out that not all of history is past politics. Much of it – like the history of art, of science, of inventions, discoveries, military campaigns, language, customs, dress, industries, religious controversies – has little, if any, relation to politics and affords no material for political investigation. Political Science selects relevant facts out of history. All political institutions are products of history. Without historical foundations, political science becomes merely speculative and abstract. History is a vast storehouse of facts and information from which political science draw its relevant materials for generalizations. Lipson writes: with its chronological treatment, history offers to the student of politics a sense of growth and development and thus affords insight into the process of social change. Political science has influence on history. Political ideas of thought leaders have contributed in shaping human history. Political revolutions and political concepts like democracy, liberty, equality and political ideologies like liberalism, nationalism and socialism have substantially influenced the history of societies. Garner aptly observes: to interpret history in its true significance we must study that politically. Behaviouralism with its stress on empirical method has undermined the importance of historical method in recent political studies. Traditional method relied more on history as it believed that history can assist in understanding the present and act as a guide for the future. Political Science and Economics Political Science and economics are very closely related and cover a common ground to a large extent. Early writers on economics considered their subject as a branch of political science and termed it ‘political economy’. Politics influences substantially the economic system. The state formulates the economic policies and regulates the economy. Production and distribution of wealth, price control, trade, taxation, government ownership of public utilities, banking, export-import and such other economic activities are regulated by political decision-making. The solution of many economic problems must come through political channels. Indeed many of the complex problems of the modern state are essentially economic in character: the reduction of economic disparity, removal of poverty and unemployment, the adjustment of the claims of capital and labour, nationalization and the achievement of a welfare state. The modern state, Galbraith writes, is an Industrial State. On the other hand, political and social life is profoundly influenced by economic conditions. Karl Marx regarded politics as a part of political economy and maintained that the economic basis of society influences politics which belongs to the superstructure. Political movements and revolutions are profoundly influenced by economic causes. All political ideologies like liberalism, socialism, imperialism, fascism have an economic basis. The political behaviour of man and various organized groups is influenced by economic factors. The main functions of modern welfare state are basically economic. There are economic motives behind many political policies. Political norms like liberty, equality, rights, justice are very often evaluated on an economic basis. Thus there is close relationship between political and economic life. The interaction of the two disciplines has resulted in the increasing importance given to political economy in recent years. Political Science and Sociology No two social sciences are as closely related as political science and sociology. Sociology is the fundamental social science. It is the root of all the social sciences. It is the most comprehensive social science which studies all aspects of the life of man in society. In the words of Small, it is the science of men in their associated processes. Sociology has a much wider scope than political science. It is a study of society in all its manifestations, while political science is primarily a study of the state and government. In other words, sociology deals with man in all his social relations, while political science deals with the man in his political relations. Sociology deals with both organized and unorganised communities and groups, while political science is concerned with organised political communities. The subject of sociology is social man and that of political science is political man. The relation between the two sciences is well brought out by Garner. He writes: Sociology derives from political science knowledge of the facts regarding the organization and activities of the state, while political science derives in large measure from sociology its knowledge of the origin of political authority and the laws of social control. State and politics cannot be studied objectively without an understanding of the general laws of social development. Political institutions and processes are influenced by social forces and factors. Not only does sociology influence political science, but politics also influences the social system. The political system controls and regulates social forces and customs. Politics engineers the process of peaceful social change and is engaged in maintaining social stability and cooperation. Political control is the most important and the most effective among all forms of social control. Contemporary political studies have borrowed concepts, methods and techniques of research from sociology. The current sociological impact on the study of politics can be traced back to the influence of Max Weber. Interdisciplinary study of political science and sociology got tremendous fillip with the emergence of political behaviouralism. A new branch of study named political sociology has emerged as a result of the interaction between political science and sociology. G. Sartori has observed that politics has got socialised and society has got politicised in the present times to such an extent that politics cannot be studied in isolation from sociology. Political Science and Psychology Psychology is the science of mental attitudes and human behaviour. It studies human instincts, attitudes, sentiments and emotions. It has been emphasized that scientific study of social phenomena must have a psychological basis. Psychological factors have become increasingly important for understanding what people believe about politics and how they act in political situations. Study of political behaviour has assumed great significance under the impact of behaviouralism in political studies. The psychological approach in political science goes back to 1908 when A. F. Bentleys The Process of Government and Graham Wallass Human Nature in Politics were published. The psychological approach received further impetus from Chicago School political scientists such as C. E Merrium, Stuart Rice, George Catlin and Harold Lasswell. Modern writers like Tarde, Le Bon, McDougall, Graham Wallas, Baldwin and Ellwood have attempted to explain and interpret political and social phenomena through the laws of psychology. Governments to be stable and popular must reflect the mental ideas and moral sentiments of the people who are subject to its control. Modern governments have devised subtle methods of the psychological manipulation of the masses. Public opinion is being moulded by ingenious propaganda as in politics the art of controlling the mass mind is increasingly becoming the key to political power and stability. Political Science and Ethics Political science has close historical links with philosophy and ethics. Initially, the study of state in Greece was a part of ethics. Ethics as a branch of study investigates the laws of morality and formulates rules of conduct. Ethics is the science of the moral order while political science is the science of the political order. Both have to deal with questions of right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. Plato conceived the notion of an ideal state in his Republic and believed that the state should train men in a life of virtue. The end of the state, according to Aristotle, is good life for the citizens. Modern idealists like Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Green have accepted the state as an ethical institution which creates conditions for the fullest development of human personality. Lord Acton goes so far as to say: The great question is to discover, not what governments prescribe, but what they ought to prescribe. Fox held that what is morally wrong can never be politically right. Gandhis lasting contribution to politics is his insistence upon the spiritualization of politics i.e., application of truth, non-violence, love, self-suffering to mans social and political life. The end of the state has been formulated by the greatest political thinkers in terms of moral values. The state exists to promote social and moral good on the largest possible scale. A good citizen is possible in a good state and perfect state cannot be conceived where wrong ethical principles prevail. Laws are obeyed with greater readiness if they are based on the moral ideas of the community. Politics also influences ethics. Politics safeguards the ethical norms of a society. The state acts as the guardian of social morality. The attempts of some contemporary political scientists to create a value-free political science have not been successful. David Easton aptly observes: The goal of value-free research is a myth The utility of political research stems from the fact that it helps men to decide upon the kind of political system they would prefer and to understand how to go about changing social policy to obtain it. The inspiration behind political science is clearly ethical. Political Science and Jurisprudence The state is a social phenomenon as well as a legal institution. From the legal point of view, the state is a person with rights and duties. It is a juristic personality subject to the process of law. The state operates through law and hence jurisprudence, as the science of law, is closely related to politics. Strictly jurisprudence is a subdivision of political science but on account of its vast scope and technical nature it is studied as a separate branch of study. Jurisprudence has several branches, namely, civil law, criminal law, constitutional law, international law etc. Constitutional law defines the organs of the state, their relations to one another, and the rights and duties of individuals. International law regulates the relations of states and various international organizations: If law influences politics, politics also influences law. Different political systems have different legal systems; Laws tend to be a reflex of a particular social pattern and are influenced by the nature of the political system. Political Science and Anthropology Anthropology deals with man as a social being. It deals with the origin, classification and relations of races, languages and cultures found in different localities. Politics uses the vast material gathered by anthropology. Physical anthropology dealing with the conditions of primitive men and their environment facilitates the study of the origin and evolution of various political institutions. Similarly social or cultural anthropology dealing with the growth and interpretation of customs, traditions, habits and religious beliefs etc., explains the forces and factors operating in political institutions. Anthropological data have assumed great importance in the study of the formation of national character. Political Science and Geography Many writers have emphasized the influence of geographical conditions and physical environment upon national character. Even national policies have been shown to be determined by such conditions. The influence of climate, topography, character of the soil, insularity, the presence or absence of mountains, rivers and outlets to the sea has been emphasized by various political thinkers from Aristotle to the present. Notable among them are Bodin, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Buckle. The emphasis upon geographical factors as determinants of state policy and governmental functioning has resulted in the development of a new science known as ‘Geopolitics’. Since territory is an important element of the state, geographical factors naturally influence political activities. These factors have assumed great significance especially in the field of defence strategy. Political Science and Statistics Statistics is concerned with systematic collection, analysis and presentation of numerical data. Von Mohl described statistics as a means through which a picture of existing political and social conditions could be obtained. Social phenomena and the results of governmental action are quantitatively measured by it. Statistical findings serve as a guide for administrative action, as a basis for legislation, and as a means for testing the expediency or effectiveness of political policies. Therefore, all governments collect statistical information concerning finance, trade, military and economic resources, social conditions of the people etc. Behavioural approach to the study of political science has put excessive stress on statistical methods (quantification, techniques), thereby contributing a lot to the scientific character of political science. The foregoing discussion clearly shows the intimate relation of political science to other social sciences. A proper understanding of political institutions, processes and phenomena calls for reliance upon a number of sister disciplines. Specialization of social sciences should not lead to narrow compartmentalization. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of social sciences has resulted in the blurring of rigid boundaries of various disciplines and highlighting the need for mutual exchange and interaction among social scientists.

Comparing Where Are you going, Where Have You Been and Hills Like White

Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development. The short story where are you going, where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed in the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it and has no plan of the future. She argues with her mother and she thinks she is jealous of her. The start of the plot is not very dramatic rather it is more like an introduction. We get a good description of the story’s Protagonist, Connie at the beginning of the story and through out. She is familiar, the typical American teenager, who dream, fantasize and have difficulty differentiating the real world from fairytale. Kozikowsky compares the story to the popular recent Disney tale â€Å"Cinderella† (1999). In â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been?† the setting of the story is not revealed at the beginning. The reader slowly learns about Connie’s family and her living condition throughout the story. In â€Å"Hills Like Elephants† by Ernest Hemingway, there is no dramatic situation at the beginning of the story either, rather He starts by giving us a detailed description of the setting. The reader gets a clear mental image of where the story will take place. The Author begins the story by introducing the scene since it will have a great significance in understanding the many symbolisms he will be using later. Some experts say that â€Å"Although there is a situation, there is no plot† ( Henningf... ... short story. Works cited Henningfeld, Diane Andrews. "Hills Like White Elephants." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Gale Kozikowski, Stan. "The Wishes and Dreams Our Hearts Make in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'." Journal of the Short Story in English. 33 (Autumn 1999): 89-103. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 70. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 89-103. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Renner, Stanley. "Moving to the girl's side of 'Hills Like White Elephants.'." The Hemingway Review. 15.1 (Fall 1995): p27. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills like White Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.

Ethical Theories Essay

Ethical egoism or egotism (also known as egoism) is the normative ethical arrangement that ethical agents have to do what is in their personal self-interest. It is different from psychological egoism, which declares that persons simply perform in their self-interest. Psychological egoism or egotism is the outlook that individuals are always aggravated by self-interest; even in what appears to be actions of altruism. It states that, when individuals decide to assist others, they do so eventually because of the private benefits that they themselves anticipate to get hold of, directly or indirectly, from acting so. It is indeed a non-normative vision, as it only makes arguments about how things are and not how they should be; it is conversely, linked to numerous other normative shapes of egoism, for instance ethical egoism and rational egoism. (Lundy, 2009). A quarrel for psychological egoism advises is that individuals just do what makes them sense fine, thus making all actions self-centered, for instance, you may help a turtle across a road because if you did not you would be upset about its well-being crossing the road. So in turn to sense good physically, you assist the turtle. The issue with this is it sounds like it is defining a generous person, one that gains contentment from serving others, a selfish person most probable would not have been dreadfully worried for the turtle in the first instance. Furthermore, if we glance to the deeper stimulus of the turtle helper’s actions, as the psychological egoists are likely to do and inquire why the individual derives pleasure from serving others in general and the turtle particularly, you will most probable run into the wrapping up that the individual cares about what comes about to others. This line of quarrel is actually a perplexity of the object of aspiration and auxiliary results of the consummation of that need; if once you get wedded you are enormously satisfied, that does not inevitably suggest that you got wedded with the wish for that pleasure in mind, rather the contentment is a purpose of your desire for wedding and would not be otherwise. Ethical egoism is the normative assumption that the encouragement of one’s own good is in accordance with morals, in the strong side, it is held that it is for all time moral to encourage one’s own good and it is by no means moral not to encourage it. In the weak side, it is supposed that even though it is for all time moral to promote one’s own good, it is not inevitably never moral to not. Explicitly, there might be conditions in which the evasion of private interest may be a moral deed. Ethical egoism states that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people do only act in their self-interest. The principle of psychological egoism is non-ethical, supported by the idea that the reason that drives us is the hunt of our own wellbeing, to the barring of anybody else’s, it is just how we are, entirely self centered. Freud (1923) defined ego as â€Å"the mind-ful rationalizing segment of the mind. †, so each action reasoned out has deeds to serve the self. On the contrary, ethical egoists suppose that the moral significance lies in glancing out for yourself and when provoked this way, each action, even serving others, takes you further down the road to attaining your own finest interests. The difference would appear to lie in the entire selfishness of psychological egoism as opposite to the helping of other’s wellbeing while focusing on one’s own, this appears equally beneficial and enhanced for society. It is uncertain whether each theory can be held as a factual ethical philosophy, if the classification of self-centeredness is applied, meaning that we always repudiate to judge others in favor of our own satisfaction, aggravated by our needs only, then facts of misleading notion has shown this to be incorrect. Self-interest portrays an individual who is engrossed in what he perceives to be what serves up his interests best, if applied to ethical egoism, there is proof to knock over this as well, it would require to be a general concept to have the power to stand as a moral assumption and it is not. The proof of altruistic instincts and integrity of concern for others is more general and stronger than either of these two above mentioned theories. It is more probable that we all own elements of self-interest and self-conservation, but are intrinsically willing to help and get by with others in society; nevertheless, it is in our best concerns to do so. (The internet encyclopedia of philosophy, n. d. ). Frequently attacks of self-interest are leveled alongside anyone performing in their own advantage as if no one should be concerned for themselves; I suggest that there is a distinction between self-centeredness and self-interest, self-centeredness is performing in your benefit with no regard and sometimes hurting other individuals. On the contrary, self-interest assists society flourish, self-interest is performing in your benefit but with reflection of others needs. Self-interest for a person, corporation or state is crucial for endurance. Reference Lundy, A. (2009). Psychological and Ethical Egoism. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. socyberty. com/Philosophy/Psychological-and-Ethical-Egoism. 508525 The internet encyclopedia of philosophy. (n. d. ). Egoism. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. iep. utm. edu/e/egoism. htm Vita, L. E. (2007). On Selfishness and Self-Interest. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://ethanleevita. blogspot. com/2007/12/on-selfishness-and-self-interest. html

Netiquette: Meanings, Definitions, and Interpretations

Netiquette has several different meanings, definitions, and interpretations between people. It can either have the literal definition or it can be someone's concept of what they think it means, to me whether the person uses their definition or the literal one Is what makes them have the â€Å"Netiquette† factor on their side. As an example to my previous statements everyone has a different spectrum of what they believe Is netiquette or not, and what they use as netiquette. To me you never want to lead off an essay with â€Å"First off', it's too casual and sounds horrible.You want to draw the reader In and get them Involved, Its stuff you learn In reading and writing 101. The most Important netiquette rules are things such as, use spell check and grammar check, don't talk or type In â€Å"slang†, don't type In all â€Å"CAPS†, being fluent In your words knowing the meaning of what you type, and of course common sense. If you are trying to do a formal paper of so me sort please use common sense when It comes to everything from punctuation to spelling and not using shortcuts, such as typing in â€Å"text† etc.As far as least important netiquette rules, I don't think you can have a least important one. All in all if you want to have an impact on your audience and draw those in you can use netiquette to accomplish this. As far as â€Å"golden rules† go I believe all the netiquette rules I have mentioned above are good golden rules. People should definitely use netiquette rules when preparing papers for college or for a Job where you need to have an impact on your readers. Netiquette is a good skill to have and is valuable anywhere and with anything you do.

about dreams essays

about dreams essays The subconscious is usually the right side of the brain or the opposite side of the persons writing hand. Within the subconscious lie different types of things such as suppressed emotions, creativity, and basic human instinct (Ullman and Zimmerman 1979). The conscious part of the mind works when people are awake and is the part of the mind that handles things that people can understand. No one truly knows why a person can't interact with the subconscious while awake, however studies show that dreams are a way in which people can better comprehend its behavior. The condition of the body during dreaming is interesting because the brain shuts off all sensory receptors thus, canceling all somatic impulses (Ullman and Zimmerman 1979). This puts the body in an almost paraplegic state. The brain however continues to control all autonomic functions such as blood flow, heart pulsation, and lung inflation. During the sleep, homeostasis will fluctuate because sleep occurs on four stages (Davidm ann, 1998). The individual goes from awake to stage 1, then to 2, 3, and finally 4, the deepest stage of sleep. After spending about twenty minutes in stage 4, they return to stage 1 and progress back to stage 4. The individual will continue to make these cycles throughout their sleep. Most individuals will experience about 4 to 5 cycles a night (Davidmann, 1998). This is why humans are more apt to wake up at specific times in the night and not sporadically (most people do not notice this however). During stage 1 the individual will experience what has been named REM (Rapid Eye Movement), I will make further elaboration on REM momentarily. For now I would like to point out that during REM the body will show more signs of consciousness by spontaneous muscle contractions, flagellate excretion, and oculomoter coordination (eye movement). The body will experience these tensions and reactions because this is the active time of sleep in the average human (Dav ...

Responsibility in Society and Education

Responsibility in Society and Education Taking responsibility is often discussed as a challenging process because of the associated limits and frames in behaviors and feelings of blame or duty. In addition, responsibility is usually associated with the personal maturity of an individual who can act conscientiously and focus on consequences of his or her actions (Perring, 2014, p. 18).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Responsibility in Society and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From this point, the idea of responsibility is discussed in different situations when a person is expected to demonstrate a certain response to events, processes, and behaviors. The implicit idea behind the notion of ‘responsibility’ is that this response should be moral and accountable (King Carruthers, 2012, p. 201). The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of the definition of ‘responsibility’, to discuss the recent debates on the concept of ‘responsibility’ in the scholarly literature, and to analyze the idea of responsibility with references to the known cases of responsible actions and with the focus on the students’ responsibility in the context of education. Definition of the Problem In spite of the fact that the idea of responsibility is explained to persons since their childhood, and they learn to be responsible while studying and behaving, the notion is still discussed as complex for understanding. It is rather difficult to overestimate the role of responsibility demonstrated by persons in the society because this concept is also closely related to the notions of morality, ethics, and duty (Khoury, 2012, p. 188). From this perspective, people are inclined to view responsibility as an important aspect of their life, and the understanding of this idea is developed through the education and social interactions. The problem is in the fact that researchers and educators impose d ifferent meanings on the idea of responsibility as a moral, philosophical, and social concept. According to Isaacs (2014), responsibility can be divided into personal and social, and the man’s actions differ depending on the type of responsibility that a person can assume (p. 41). In addition, there are disparities between taking responsibility for something and acting responsibly (Toumayan, 2014, p. 270). Therefore, the detailed examination of the concept of responsibility is required. The Meaning of ‘Responsibility’ Although people can claim that they understand what the concept of ‘responsibility’ means, researchers distinguish a variety of approaches from which this idea can be viewed. Williams (2013) defines responsibility as a state of accepting the control over the certain actions or processes within the community, and this definition is related to the social responsibility (p. 352).Advertising Looking for research paper on social scie nces? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ciurria (2014) is inclined to define responsibility with the focus on the moral aspects, and in this case, responsibility is a duty of a person for certain actions, behaviors, and processes (p. 546). Isaacs (2014) also defines responsibility from the perspective of the ethical paradigm, and she states that responsibility is â€Å"the praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of moral agents† (p. 41). Chandler (2013) views responsibility as the social or personal concept associated with the moral assessment conducted in order to understand who can be blamed or appreciated for the certain actions (p. 176). Another perspective is the discussion of responsibility from the point of taking responsibility for performing some actions and accepting responsibility for certain consequences (Dempsey, 2015, p. 320). Thus, researchers define and explain responsibility as the state of being accountabl e for words, actions, behaviors, and their consequences that can affect not only the personal life but also the other people. For the purpose of the research, the idea of responsibility should be not only defined but also explained with the focus on the recent debates in the literature. Literature Review Applying the theoretical background to the idea of responsibility, researchers refer to the theory of moral responsibility formulated by P. F. Strawson. In her work, Ciurria (2014) rephrases Strawson’s vision of moral responsibility as the people’s â€Å"tendency to express the reactive attitudes of gratitude, resentment, disapprobation †¦ toward others in light of their intentional actions† (p. 545). From this perspective, responsibility is considered in those cases where a person acts against the widely accepted moral norms or other types of rules. According to this theory, while acting in the society, a person should be ready to the assessment of his or her responsibility or responsible actions by the public. These assessments are discussed as â€Å"reactive attitudes†, and the whole idea of responsibility becomes viewed as the â€Å"social competence† that determines how effectively a person can interact within the society (Ciurria, 2014, p. 551). Another important theory to explain the principles of responsibility is formulated by Emmanuel Levinas, who focused on the responsibility to protect. According to Toumayan (2014), who explained Levinas’ ideas, the responsibility to protect is observed in those cases where leaders decide on the further steps for the benefit of people (p. 270). Thus, both theories explain the responsibility toward others.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Responsibility in Society and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Responsibility toward the public is often referred to as the political responsibility because the public imposes certain obligations on political leaders to be responsible for nations and their development (King Carruthers, 2012). In this context, focusing on the responsibility toward the masses and predicting consequences at the global arena, Chandler (2013) speaks about the people’s †embeddedness in emergent chains of causality† in the context of acting responsibly (p. 176). However, Chandler (2013) also notes that, imposing the full responsibility for certain activities and processes observed in countries and globally on political leaders, people try to avoid taking their personal responsibility for their life and the life of their families (p. 177). The history demonstrates that the responsibility toward the society as the performance of activities for the benefits of masses is adopted only by a few individuals, and the full understanding of the concept of social responsibility is observed in relation to communities and organizations within wh ich people interact (Waghid, 2014, p. 5; Wartell, 2013, p. 167). According to Dempsey (2015), in this case, people act responsibly when they follow moral norms and rules set in the concrete settings or organization (p. 319). Nevertheless, discussing the responsibility toward other people, researchers also pay attention to the idea of the personal responsibility. The problem of the personal responsibility as the idea of accepting one’s duty for performing certain activities and making right choices is discussed by researchers from the perspective of making responsible choices that are appropriate for a person and from the perspective of accepting someone’s authority to assess the person’s responsibility (Isaacs, 2014, p. 41; Khoury, 2012, p. 188). Williams (2013) notes that people can discuss only some persons having the accountability to blame them â€Å"for certain forms of vice or misconduct†, and in this case, it is necessary to speak about the problem of standing and authority (p. 351).Advertising Looking for research paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Referring to students, Lewis, Romi, and Roache (2012) state that young people usually accept the authority of educators to blame them for being irresponsible, but they often do not accept the judgments of their peers (p. 871). Thus, the literature demonstrates that the personal responsibility makes people analyze all the outcomes of their actions, but people are often not ready to be blamed for irresponsible actions in spite of providing the evaluations for others. Examples of Responsibility and Responsible Actions While focusing on the real-life examples of demonstrating responsibility in relations with relatives and friends, in personal behaviors, as well as in the educational and professional spheres, researchers propose the evidence of acting responsibly in relation to children, parents, relatives, friends, and colleagues. In a family, the vivid example of responsibility is the parents’ attitude to their children when parents think about the benefits of their behavior for the child. The responsible behaviors include care and attention in this case. In the educational sphere, it is possible to speak about the responsibility of students for their results in learning and the responsibility of educators for the achievements of their students. In his work, Wartell (2013) argues that it is a different level of educators’ responsibility when they are responsible for performing their professional tasks and when they are responsible for students’ attitudes to the study and career choices (p. 166). In spite of the fact that families take the primary responsibility for developing people’s visions and intentions, educators also take the significant level of responsibility in order to provoke the students’ interests in certain activities and develop their own understanding of responsibility. Another example of responsibility can be observed in the workplace where people are paid for being responsible and motivated to achieve the high results. People who perform their duties in time and carefully are often discussed as responsible, but this example of responsibility does not illustrate the deep meaning of this concept. According to Dempsey (2015), the responsible action in the workplace is the avoidance of unethical behaviors and words contributing to developing the corporate culture (p. 321). From this point, the examples of responsibility vary depending on the people’s visions of this idea. Cases of Responsibility in the Historical and Social Contexts While concentrating on the real-life examples and cases of responsibility that are important to be discussed in order to contribute to the understanding of the concept, it is necessary to mention the responsibility of Prophet Muhammad, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, and Mother Teresa. In spite of the fact that these people held responsibility toward different categories of population, their words and actions were perceived as important for the society and advantageous for the public. In his work, Ushama (2015) analyzes words from the Muslim Scriptures focusing on the role of Prophet Muhammad as a person set by Allah to become responsible for educating others to cope with hardships and find the blessings in the faith (p. 54). If Prophet Muhammad is an example of the person responsible toward the public in terms of religion, Nelson Mandela is often viewed as a responsible person playing in the political environments. Mandela’s teachings on responsibility for the community contributed to creating the strong national force protecting the rights of the South African public. Waghid (2014) notes that according to Mandela â€Å"acting responsibly towards the other requires of a person to treat another person humanely in the sense of not violating the personhood of the other person† (p. 5). This principle provided the grounds for Mandela’s humanistic philosophy based on the idea of the responsibility of everyo ne toward others. Malcolm X is regarded as a political, social, and religious leader who also declared the idea of accountability convincing the masses to take responsibility for their personal racist actions and convincing the officials to accept responsibility for discrimination against the religious and racial grounds (Mbunga, 2013, p. 10). In the sphere of science, it is important to refer to the responsibility of Albert Einstein who drew the public’s attention to the role of people’s scientific actions and discoveries for the development and formulated the principles of the philosophy of science. In the social sphere, the leader is Mother Teresa, who accepted her duty for helping other people to become responsible for orphans, as well as poor and sick people who need the assistance in the society. According to King and Carruthers (2012), these personalities accepted their moral responsibility to other people and focused on assisting others to become more responsib le for their actions (p. 202). These discussed cases demonstrate how the responsible actions of each person can change the world around them. Analysis of the Concept of ‘Responsibility’ While referring to the literature review and the examination of the examples, as well as cases of responsibility that have the historic and social meaning, it is important to conduct the analysis of this concept in detail. It is important to determine the difference between taking responsibility and acting responsibly, discuss advantages and disadvantages related to the concept, and analyze this idea in relation to students’ behaviors. Taking Responsibility and Acting Responsibly It is important to state that examples and cases of responsibility, as well as the researchers’ claims, indicate that taking responsibility for something is not the same as acting responsibly and according to certain rules and expectations. While taking responsibility for behaving wrongly, a person cannot change anything (Isaacs, 2014, p. 45). On the contrary, acting responsibly, a person predicts consequences and can avoid failures. From this point, responsibility is primarily associated with acting responsibly, understanding positive and negative outcomes of actions or absence of actions. In this context, responsibility has a few similarities with blameworthiness and taking responsibility for the past actions without actual steps to change the situation (Khoury, 2012, p. 189). The problem is in the fact that, demonstrating blameworthiness and focusing on the responsibility of other people, individuals are inclined to ignore their personal responsibility for actions, as it was noted by Chandler (2013), who discussed the political responsibility (p. 177). In the context of education, students are inclined to impose responsibilities for their academic failures on teachers, and educators can impose the responsibility for problems on policymakers and developers of curricula. Adv antages and Disadvantages of Acting Responsibly One of the main reasons for adopting responsibility by only mature and conscientious persons is the fact that acting responsibly has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of responsibility is the understanding of all outcomes associated with the person’s behavior and actions (Ciurria, 2014, p. 547). The person knows that he or she did all possible in order to achieve the concrete results, and this person becomes ready to any consequences. However, the necessity of acting responsibly can be discussed as having disadvantages because of limiting people in their actions and providing certain moral frames. The feeling of responsibility makes people act not according to their desires but according to the goals and plans (Perring, 2014, p. 18). Still, the perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of responsibility are often different. Thus, responsible students can view the process of acting responsibly as an advantage bec ause they perceive the process of studying as building the fundament for the future career. On the other hand, irresponsible students can see the idea of responsibility as full of disadvantages because it prevents them from acting in a desired manner before performing actions for which they are responsible. The Value of Responsibility for Students Responsibility is usually associated with the personal maturity. In the case of students, the full understanding of responsibility is typical of those students who are obtaining their degrees and planning the career. The reason is that the choice of studying and acting responsibly is often based on the analysis of possible consequences of intended actions (Wartell, 2013, p. 167). The main motivation for students to study well and achieve higher results in this case is the orientation to the future and the understanding of the role of the study in the personal and professional development (Saxon, 2013, p. 14). The level of maturity and expe rience of the majority of undergraduate students allow them understanding that such negative consequences as the unemployment and the failure to realize their professional potential can be expected if their actions and the attitude to the study are not responsible enough (Wartell, 2013, p. 166). According to Lewis et al. (2012), teachers often pay much attention to developing the vision of responsibility in their students in order to help them adapt to the world where responsibility serves to provide certain moral norms and rules (p. 872). From this point, the value of responsibility for students is high because the development of the personal responsibility can influence the overall successfulness of a student in the study and career. Conclusion Although the idea of responsibility is actively developed in the modern society, there is still no single definition adopted for the concept because of the variety of aspects covered by this notion. However, responsibility plays the key rol e in discussing the nature of the personality because responsible actions are often discussed by researchers as morally appropriate behaviors. Moreover, the idea of responsibility is also discussed in the context of developing in persons the understanding of accountability and blame. Thus, the understanding of the role of responsibility is also important for students who should act taking into account the advice of educators and their goals for the future. References Chandler, D. (2013). Resilience ethics: Responsibility and the globally embedded subject. Ethics Global Politics, 6(3), 175-220. Ciurria, M. (2014). Moral responsibility: Justifying Strawson and the excuse of peculiarly unfortunate formative circumstances. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 17(3), 545-557. Dempsey, J. (2015). Moral responsibility, shared values, and corporate culture. Business Ethics Quarterly, 25(3), 319-340. Isaacs, T. (2014). Collective responsibility and collective obligation. Midwest Studies in Ph ilosophy, 38(1), 40-57. Khoury, A. (2012). Responsibility, tracing, and consequences. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 42(4), 187-208. King, M., Carruthers, P. (2012). Moral responsibility and consciousness. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 9(2), 200-228. Lewis, R., Romi, S., Roache, J. (2012). Excluding students from classroom: Teacher techniques that promote student responsibility. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 28(6), 870-889. Mbunga, M. (2013). Malcolm X and Christianity: Engaging the criticisms and moving towards an African-Centered Christianity that can advance Pan-Africanism in the 21st century. Journal of Intercultural Disciplines, 13(1), 9-22. Perring, C. (2014). Methodology in ascribing moral responsibility. Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, 21(1), 17-20. Saxon, P. (2013). Student responsibility and self-directed learning: An interview with Christine McPhail. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(3), 14-17. Toumayan, A. ( 2014). The responsibility for the other and the responsibility to protect. Philosophy Social Criticism, 40(3), 269-288. Ushama, T. (2015). Is Islam a religion of ease or hardship? An analysis of the Muslim scripture and patterns of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him). Asian Social Science, 11(1), 51. Waghid, Y. (2014). Philosophical remarks on Nelson Mandelas education legacy. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(1), 4-7. Wartell, M. (2013). Historic changes, expanding responsibilities for higher education. Journal of College and Character, 14(2), 165-170. Williams, G. (2013). Sharing responsibility and holding responsible. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 30(4), 351-364.

Write How You Write, Not How You Speak

Write How You Write, Not How You Speak Write How You Write, Not How You Speak Write How You Write, Not How You Speak By Mark Nichol Recently, I wrote about word patronage, the often-unnecessary inclusion of self-referential expressions as â€Å"as you will† and â€Å"so to speak† in one’s writing. This post expands on that one to recommend that you inspect your writing for anything that smacks of spoken English. If you’ve ever seen a transcript of an extended discourse a written record of someone’s comments, rather than the prepared script for a speech you’ll understand how widely spoken and written English can diverge. Spontaneous speech, at least, is riddled with qualifications and equivocations. It’s easy enough to dispose of â€Å"um†s and â€Å"uh†s, â€Å"well†s and â€Å"you know†s when converting a transcript to an essay, but writers should purge their prose of other utterances, words, and phrases as well that add a lot to a word count but little to a description or an argument. (See this post, for instance, for a list of adjectival intensifiers and their adverbial forms to avoid.) In addition, omit hedging phrases such as â€Å"as I see it,† â€Å"from my point of view,† â€Å"in my opinion,† and â€Å"it seems to me.† Search and destroy such pompous filler as â€Å"be that as it may† or â€Å"other things being equal.† These are all understandable (though not necessarily forgivable) indulgences in spoken English, whether impromptu or rehearsed at best, they’re nearly meaningless phrases one tosses off while thinking of what to say next, and at worst, they clutter a speech, distracting and discouraging listeners. But readers expect your prose to be direct and dynamic, and there’s no place for such self-gratification in written form. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Good At, Good In, and Good WithLatin Plural EndingsOppose and Opposed To

Managing small and Medium Enterprises Year 3 Essay

Managing small and Medium Enterprises Year 3 - Essay Example ABC Toys is now penchant to expand business to four major Australian cities named Sydney (city of 4.6 million residents), Melbourne (city of 4 million residents), Perth (city of 1.7 million residents) and Adelaide (city of 1.2 million residents). The company knows that there are more than 2.9 million 65-years old and above citizens across Australia (CIA Fact Book, 2010), whereas the population of senior citizens is much higher if company includes citizens of 55-years and above. For instance, the individualistic cultural values in Australia have sidelined old citizens who are normally sent to old and elder care houses or community centres. Whereas, a large majority of those who live with their families do not receive sufficient attention due to busy working life of family members (BJ, 1993) ; (Parson, 1993) ; (McIntosh & Phillip, 2003). Therefore, there is immense potential in expanding business of senior citizens’ toys, instruments and games across Australia. Policy-makers have expressed the importance and benefits of market development, thereby forecasted first year sales (April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012) from all operations will be between $0.3 million in Sydney, $0.3 million in Melbourne (April 1, 2012 – March 31, 2013), $0.2 million in Perth (April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014) and $0.2 million in Adelaide (April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014). The company has planned to inaugurate 3 outlets (one after another) in Sydney followed by opening of 3 outlets (one-by-one) in Melbourne besides distribution operations; while 2 outlets will be opened in Perth and Adelaide each. However, the success of first outlet is a prerequisite for opening new stores in these new markets. ABC Toys (hypothetical), which was inaugurated in 2006 masters in production and selling of toys, activity games and instruments for infants (6 months – 3 years), tweens (3 - 12 years), teens (12 – 16 years) and senior citizens (65

Life Cycle of Stars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Life Cycle of Stars - Essay Example The subsequent experiment proved that Light displays a dual nature. While on the one hand particles are supposed to have some mass which can respond to forces (acceleration) waves can transfer energy from one place to another. The Corpuscular theory of Newton proved in 1670 that light corpuscles have mass and travel at extremely high speeds in straight lines, obeying the laws of reflection and dispersion. While the Huygens principles proved that light was composed of longitudinal waves like sound. Subsequent experiments also proved that light waves do produce diffraction and interference. Taking an aesthetic view of light, we can very say that had there been no light, life would not have been possible on earth. While Sun is the brightest star for us as it is the source of light for us, there are many more such stars, equally or more bright, but their light doesn’t reach us in equal measure because they are situated at a distance of many more light years from us, for example, ' Bullet Star' is said to shine 350 times brighter than the sun . In fact, the amount of information that is available in the depth of universe remains largely unexplored and astronomers are still on the lookout for more. Stars are an integral part of the Universe system. Other components of the universe include planets, black holes, galaxies etc. The universe is everything that we can perceive and much more that is beyond our perception. Astronomers predict that there are zillions of stars in the universe. Some of them are red stars, some yellow stars while some other are known as blue giant stars. Their life time varies from millions of years to trillions of years. Small red stars are the one's burning their energy very slowly and are very cool. Therefore their lifetimes goes upto trillions of years, after which these stars end up as heavy little cinders. Yellow stars, like the sun, take billions of years before becoming white dwarf stars. Blue stars, also known as giant stars, burn their fuel fiercely and after millions of years end up their life with a loud explosion. The amount of energy release during the fuel burning process can be estimated from the fact that, when nuclear scientists undertake controlled fusion process; it results in an atom bomb. Stars are like giant nuclear reactors. In fusion, many nuclei combine together to form a larger one. In the process lot of energy is released, that's why stars appear as bright objects and emit much of their energy as visible light. Birth of Star: Stars are born with the help of huge clouds of gaseous elements and dust particles available in the outer space. This space dust and cloud, consisting of hydrogen and helium, is also known as Nebulae. When these clouds of dust and gas collapse under heavy gravitational pull, the temperature inside the formation starts rising. Gradually the temperature levels reach to several thousand degrees. Thereafter the hydrogen molecules start ionizing. In the process these molecules become single protons, as the electrons escape from them. This leads to the formation of a young star called protostar. Growth of star: The rise in temperature inside the star continues with further contraction of gases. And when the temperature reaches a level of about 10,000,000 degrees Celsius (18,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit), nuclear fusion starts. At this point, the protostar becomes a full fledged star and becomes a part of the main sequence of the universe. Depending upon the process of fusion, ferocity of heat generation and the surface brightness stars can further be classified as;

Imposing Quality Models and Performance Management Tools to Help an Essay

Imposing Quality Models and Performance Management Tools to Help an Organization to Innovate - Essay Example Corporate of different sizes, whether engaged in giving any service or producing any specific type of product, should implement one of the given quality models like six sigma, total quality management and ISO 9000 etc. The standard implementation of quality models and performance management techniques can create damage on the company resource & time, since people usually show resilience in implementing them but quality management training and other awareness program can help a lot in changing wrong perceptions. The seven most basic quality management tools known to the world must be there in an organization, serving their intended purposes for improvement. The players in an organization must have some common quality values, they all must follow a structured scheme for doing any project, and all must focus on customer requirements and instincts. Customer requirements and company’s objectives must be clearly identified in an organization; the employees must work as a team with d ecision making based on consensus. There should be a healthy environment to use fish bone diagrams, control charts & Pareto analysis in order to analyze the root cause of any problem. There should be a common habit of using Gantt chart for managing projects, and the organization should be well aware of advance quality management techniques to improve via these where applicable. 2. Quality Models Contribution for Business Excellence There are varieties of quality & management models which can be used for achieving business excellence. A balanced scorecard is a way of determining of the company's routine in opposition to its goals. The elements of a balanced scorecard are enterprise procedures, monetary ins and outs, learning, development and customer happiness. Some merits of utilizing balanced scorecards are that all the statistics are in one place and the manager can observe how he/she is doing at a glimpse. In order to create a balanced scorecard, choose a center business practice . In combination with stakeholders, choose the objectives to follow. Manuscript the present routine and generate an intentional goal. On the scorecard, manuscript the plans executed to assist accomplishment of the goal. Every month, follow progress in the direction of the goal (Ramsey, 1990). Employees are a valuable quality improvement model. They have the acquaintance of the business and comprehend its internal mechanism. Employees are conscious of both in-house and outside quality matters practiced by consumers and co-workers. For procedures that originate unremitting issues, employees have typically made a "workaround" to avoid the trouble. To employ workers as a quality improvement tool, make a questionnaire about those procedures in their sections that generate the main impact. Empower the employees to resolve those troubles that can be simply solved. Give confidence to them to job jointly inside the department and transversely with other departments to apply solutions. Consum ers are essential in quality development. They can be utilized to implement the quality improvement program. Customers can be involved in quality improvement for an organization by conducting customer satisfaction surveys and asking consumers about their perception of the company's products and services, enquiring consumers how healthy the commodities carried out, and what they would get better

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia Literature review

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia - Literature review Example Recently many banks have adopted online banking. With its boom in the United States and the United Kingdom, online baking has subsequently spread to other areas, Russia included. Victor (2008, p. 724) asserts that although this is the era of internet boom in many regions of the world and that more developed countries are increasingly using the internet for various ways, the reality is that most of the developing countries are yet to fully adopt the internet and embrace it as a way of doing business. The online banking, commonly referred to as the internet banking is one of the newest forms of banking adopted by banks in the developed countries. According to Arnaboldi (2009, p. 1), â€Å"a few pioneering banks started to offer products via the internet in the mid-nineties.† This shows long the service has been on going in the European-banking sector. However, Russia and other Eastern Europe countries are yet to realize the dream of conducting most of their banking operations wi th convenience of their mobile phones and computers. Hopes of these people transforming their banking services and fully going digital are still alive, if the current changes and improvements in the banking sector are anything to go by. More and more, banks in the Russian region have embraced the need to go online, with many customers already subscribing to internet banking. While the previous technologies used in the country were unreliably painful to the customers, current innovative improvements in the sector provide hopes for a full transformation of the entire sector. However, not all western banking models are applicable in the Russian situation. A few modifications are necessary to make it compatible with the Russian customer base. This is because of the differences in customer base between the developed and the developing countries (Jaruwachirathanakul & Fink 2005 p. 302). The slow nature of the internet banking penetration rate of the people constrains the hopes of growing and expanding this sector to robust volumes such as in the United States and on the United Kingdom. Hopes for growing the sector are still high, as 10-12 per cent of the total bankable population are ready and more than willing. This percentage loves the convenience of the internet, as well as its efficiency. The biggest booster of this trend is the adoption of the emoney and the money kiosks industry. Most of the banks offering internet banking in Russia offer payment services. This is however, a misconception about the whole issue about internet banking, a notion held by most of these banks’ customers. Initially, banks offer banks offer iBanking services to their customers, with only the opportunity to make their payments. The biggest advantage for this service is its ability to reduce the transaction costs for the customers. However, banks miss out from making sales, which were potentially available for the banks to exploit. Mols (2000, p. 12) stresses on the important rol e-played by the internet to business organizations in marketing their products and services. according to Mols, (2000, p. 14), the increase in online marketing offers business organizations unlimited opportunities to advertise and sell their products and services. As such, many organizations have introduced online sales that allow customers to search and pay for the ownership of goods. Benefits accrued from online banking cannot be underestimated. In most cases, young men aged between 25

Planet of Mercury Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Planet of Mercury - Essay Example Notably, we can establish that unlike other planets, Mercury does not have an atmosphere, seasons, moons, satellites, or rings (â€Å"NASA† 1). As such, it is a very unique planet which is difficult but worth studying. There are only 58 million Kilometers separating the sun from Mercury (â€Å"NASA† 1) thus making the study of Mercury difficult for scholars. Nevertheless, a radar imaging from the Earth in the 1960s helped scientists to study Mercury. As such, scientists confirm that Mercury has a radius of 2,439.7 km, a volume of 60,827,208,742 km3, and a total mass of about 330,104,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg (â€Å"NASA† 1). Furthermore, with a density of 5.4 grams per cubic centimeter, Mercury is very dense compared to other planets in the solar system (â€Å"Space Facts† 1). Although Mercury revolves around the sun at the fastest speed, it seemingly rotates around its axis at a very slow speed where it takes about 1 Mercury day or 59 Earth days to make a complete spin (â€Å"NASA† 1). Indeed, mercury takes about 88 Earth days or 1 Mercury year to revolve around the sun (â€Å"NASA† 1).... More so, the thin exosphere ensures the prevention of wind erosion on the surface of Mercury and that friction does not cause the meteorites to burn (â€Å"National Geographic Society† 1). The composition of the thin exosphere entails different levels of potassium, oxygen, neon, argon, sodium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen (H2), nitrogen, helium (He), and krypton (â€Å"NASA† 1). The core of Mercury has the highest iron content higher iron content the Solar System (â€Å"National Geographic Society† 1) where its metallic core measures about 2200 to 2,400 miles in width, 42% of its volume (â€Å"Space Facts† 1), and about 75 percent of the its diameter. With a magnetic field in the solar wind, Mercury is very active and its charged particles normally stream from the sun and touch the planet’s magnetic field thereby creating a powerful magnetic tornado (â€Å"Science Daily† 1). The magnetic tornado transmits the hot plasma of the solar wind to the s urface of Mercury. Scientists established that the iron core of Mercury cools and contacts to wrinkle the surface of the planet. They further named the wrinkles as Lobate Scarps, which extend to hundreds of miles in length (â€Å"Space Facts† 1). Ideally, there have been various theories explaining how Mercury formed which relate to the physical removal of silicates or the differences in the composition material. One of the theories attributes the formation of Mercury to an impact that shrunk the size and mass of the planet. The shrinking occurred as the planet cooled (â€Å"National Geographic Society† 1) and led to the crumpling and formation of cliffs on the surface of Mercury. Indeed, scientists believe that the planetesimal reduced

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia Literature review

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia - Literature review Example Recently many banks have adopted online banking. With its boom in the United States and the United Kingdom, online baking has subsequently spread to other areas, Russia included. Victor (2008, p. 724) asserts that although this is the era of internet boom in many regions of the world and that more developed countries are increasingly using the internet for various ways, the reality is that most of the developing countries are yet to fully adopt the internet and embrace it as a way of doing business. The online banking, commonly referred to as the internet banking is one of the newest forms of banking adopted by banks in the developed countries. According to Arnaboldi (2009, p. 1), â€Å"a few pioneering banks started to offer products via the internet in the mid-nineties.† This shows long the service has been on going in the European-banking sector. However, Russia and other Eastern Europe countries are yet to realize the dream of conducting most of their banking operations wi th convenience of their mobile phones and computers. Hopes of these people transforming their banking services and fully going digital are still alive, if the current changes and improvements in the banking sector are anything to go by. More and more, banks in the Russian region have embraced the need to go online, with many customers already subscribing to internet banking. While the previous technologies used in the country were unreliably painful to the customers, current innovative improvements in the sector provide hopes for a full transformation of the entire sector. However, not all western banking models are applicable in the Russian situation. A few modifications are necessary to make it compatible with the Russian customer base. This is because of the differences in customer base between the developed and the developing countries (Jaruwachirathanakul & Fink 2005 p. 302). The slow nature of the internet banking penetration rate of the people constrains the hopes of growing and expanding this sector to robust volumes such as in the United States and on the United Kingdom. Hopes for growing the sector are still high, as 10-12 per cent of the total bankable population are ready and more than willing. This percentage loves the convenience of the internet, as well as its efficiency. The biggest booster of this trend is the adoption of the emoney and the money kiosks industry. Most of the banks offering internet banking in Russia offer payment services. This is however, a misconception about the whole issue about internet banking, a notion held by most of these banks’ customers. Initially, banks offer banks offer iBanking services to their customers, with only the opportunity to make their payments. The biggest advantage for this service is its ability to reduce the transaction costs for the customers. However, banks miss out from making sales, which were potentially available for the banks to exploit. Mols (2000, p. 12) stresses on the important rol e-played by the internet to business organizations in marketing their products and services. according to Mols, (2000, p. 14), the increase in online marketing offers business organizations unlimited opportunities to advertise and sell their products and services. As such, many organizations have introduced online sales that allow customers to search and pay for the ownership of goods. Benefits accrued from online banking cannot be underestimated. In most cases, young men aged between 25

Changing of International Order in the Last Century Essay

Changing of International Order in the Last Century - Essay Example This paper argues that changes in international order were in a way that people attained more rights and powers over their day to day life, and states improved their international relations. In the first section, the paper will address various concepts of international order. Subsequent sections will discuss factors contributed to the international order change over the last century. International order changes Historically, it is observed that global countries depend on each other for trading activities, technological and education progress, and infrastructure development. The emergence of globalisation greatly contributed to increased interaction between global countries. Scholars opine that the concept of international order creates a link between economic and political dimensions as political stability significantly influences a country’s economic landscape. Generally, concepts of international order give specific focus to states and consider war as a vital evil to be exor cised. Evidently, wars can make notable changes to the international order. â€Å"One widespread notion of international order equates order with international stability, that is, stable, predictable and controlled relations between states, in which turbulence, chaos and violence are largely (though not necessarily completely) absent† (Maull, 2005, p.94). ... To illustrate, the constructivism theory connected the evolution of international order to international relations. As discussed earlier, wars can have a great influence on the international order. Evidently, the World Wars I & II notably changed the international order. Although the World War I was considered the ‘War to End All Wars’, it directly led to World War II. These two World Wars significantly fuelled the international order changes over the last century. Many authors opine that the interwar period was characterised with radical changes in the international order and it observed notable changes in the balance of power approach that had existed in the pre-World War I Europe. According to Ikenberry (2008), the World Wars led to the advent of the American era which in turn contributed to the formation of post-World War II international order. Throughout the post-World War II international order, an American dominance has been evident. Significant changes in the in ternational order over the last century can be attributed to many structural changes in the global context and other global developments. Evidently, changes in the Soviet Union and Europe were a prime cause for international order changes occurred during the last century. The changes in East-West relations emerged over the last century could be directly ascribed to Soviet Union, specifically the presidency exercised by Gorbachev. Sociologists point out that domestic reforms including ‘perestroika and glasnost’ executed by Gorbachev and Soviet foreign policy ‘new thinking’ markedly contributed to the development of a new international order. It is an undisputed fact that

Health Promotion Essay Example for Free

Health Promotion Essay This is an essay about a thirty year old woman called Molly who is a little bit anaemic, recently gave birth to her second born called Sebastian. Molly leaves with her husband called James and their three year old baby called Eric. The purpose and aim of this essay is to define health and health promotion, a brief discussion about Molly’s anaemic. The key concepts in this essay will be defined such as health and health promotion. A rational for my plan will also be discussed as well as the dimension of Molly’s health such as her biomedical model oh health, her psychological model of health, her social model of health and also her psychological factors which may affect her wellness such as cognitive factors, behavioural factors and environmental factors which can be use to enhance Molly and her family’s health. My rational for choosing to write about Molly is that, from research I did, I found out that anaemia is one of the most common pathological condition encountered in primary care. Its consequences, although mild in most cases, are potentially very sever. It was said in August 2009 that about 12,500 have anaemia, and in UK 1 in 7 children have mild iron deficiency anaemia. As this is due to the low red meat levels in our current diet, for similar reasons many women of menstruation age also iron deficient. First of all, health is the absence of illness, by Naidoo and Wills(2000), whilst Dines and Cridd (1993) argued that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO 1998) defined as the extent to which an individual is able to realize expectations and fulfil needs and to change or cope with the environment. Personally I think being healthy , is the absence of illness. Blaxter (1990) undertook two studies on how various people defined their own health; one of a large side view of the population and one from a low social class disadvantaged families. She discovered that a negative definition of illness was used, among people defining health as the absence of diseases. However, there were clear differences between the various age groups and between sexes. Younger males likely to highlight issues linked to strength and fitness, while older males stressed mental well-being. Younger women focus on vitality and the ability to cope in various circumstances, while older women talk about satisfaction, but also include wider issues such as social relationships. Howlett et al. (1992) used Blaxter’s data in a more comprehensive examination of ethnic differences in defining health. Their results recommended that there were differences among the various ethnic groups, with people of Asian origin defining health in a practical or functional way, while people from African-Caribbean origin were more likely to include fundamentals of health, although the research outcome for the definition of health was not clear however, health is not a simple idea; but quite multifaceted, among different groups defining it different ways, this means that, some ethnics think that being physically fit means you are healthy whiles other ethnic groups also think that when a person is fit and mentally sick means to them that the person is unhealthy. According to the WHO (1998), health is a process of enabling individual to increase control over and improve their health. However, Tannahill (1996) explained health promotion in greater detail and defined health promotion as health education, health promotion and the prevention of illness. Health promotion is the prevention of ill health and the reduction in number known risk factors for disease, as well as the increase in social capital and the empowerment of individuals and communities. Empowerment is difficult to define and has been used to mean different things. Rissell (1994) (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001) describes empowerment as the holy grail of health promotion, defining it as process through which people become strong enough to participate, share in the control of and influence events and institutions affecting their lives’ Tones (1995) (cited by Naidoo and Wills) argues that, for individuals to be empowered, they may need to acquire information or decision-making skills and has consistently argued that health education is the mainstay of population health promotion, health promotion will empower Molly to be aware of the dangers of his health. Promoting health therefore means focusing not just on preventing disease but also on people’s social and mental health, therefore health promotion may include preventive activities, education, community-based social action, the creation of healthy environments and policies for example: The recent health strategy for England, Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (DOH, 1999), (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001)â€Å"suggests that the public, the community and government has a role to play in health improvement and these roles has been identified as (a)Government and national players assessing risks, communicating these risks clearly to the public and ensuring supportive environments for health. b) Communities working in partnership with other agencies to provide better Information and services†. (Naidoo and Wills 2001 p280) The 1846 Public Health Act included that local authorities are require to provide clean water supplies and sewage disposable system, the no smoking policy in public areas etc. Tannahill (1985) (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001) provided some examples of recognized expressive models of health promotion as prevention, health education and health protection. First and foremost, I will talk about Molly’s biomedical health which is Anaemia. Biomedical model of health and can be defined mainly as the absence of disease. â€Å"Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells (RBCs) is reduced or there is a reduction in the level of haemoglobin in the blood†. Molly acquired her anaemia in her pregnancy since anaemia is associated with pregnancy in a serious health problem; it is also an important public health problem worldwide and the most vulnerable group are pregnant women like Molly. Molly being anaemic could be her iron deficiency which is probably the most common and important because, the physiological changes associated with pregnancy exert a demand of additional iron, which is needed for foetus. Molly’s health can promoted here through health education by the health practitioners about the consumption of food that are rich in vitamins, minerals and elements specifically identified as therapeutic for this condition. This education can gradually help Molly promote her health. Because health education plays an important role in health promotions as it covers all aspect of activities that help improve the health status of people and their surroundings. Ewles and Sinnet (2003) suggested that health promotion is the action of empowering individuals to enable them takes control over their lives, in order to improve their health and lifestyle. Naidoo and will (2000), further add that health promotion is frequently seen as prevention of disease, often through targeting groups with an increased like hood of developing specific disease. The leaflet can be displayed at health clinic like GP surgeries, well woman clinic and hospital reception and wards so that health professionals can use it to educate, council, teach and empower women and also, be well informed. It can also be displayed at social clubs, schools and super markets so that everyone can get one and not necessarily go to their GP surgeries or hospital before being able to get one. The leaflet has been designed in a way that every individual will be able to read and understand. I believe it is very important to be brief and straight forward when designing a health promotion leaflet Again, I will look at her psychological model of health. This is post natal depression. Psychological health is the effect of the mind and the relationship between physical activity and general aspect of psychological well-being for example smoking, alcohol, diet, exercise etc. Molly’s postnatal depression can be of a combination of many factors. (Physical, psychological and social). Molly can be depressed in so many ways; one can be due to the fact that her having another baby will be the biggest physical, emotional and social factor she will ever experience. Molly preparing adequately to meet her new born baby can be difficult and sometimes laced with unrealistic expectation. If Molly’s expectations are not are not met and also caring for her new baby proves to be difficult, she will tend to blame herself. However the postnatal depression can make Molly depress if her baby experiences severe baby blues, or having difficulties in her marriage with her husband and or la ck of practical and emotional support or being the perfect mother and being ill prepared for the reality of parenting. Moreover, Molly having a negative birth experience, experiencing unexpected complication, like baby born prematurely or unwell and lastly her new born demanding, having difficulties in feeding, experiencing colic and or being frequently unsettled. all these factors will contribute to make Molly depress. Mollys health can be improving her through many different types of therapy and some of these are cognitive behavior therapy. This is where by a person thinks negatively about themselves. E.g. like I am a failure and no one loves me. It could be Mollys thinks negatively about herself. Also interpersonal therapy, psychologist and psychiatrist. Lastly, I will talk about her Social model of health which is isolation. the social model of health watchfully considers how bigger determinants than the occurrence or absence of disease have an impact on people’s health for example: poor housing, air pollution, poor drinking water leading to sickness like cholera. Some of these bigger determinants are a person’s culture and belief method or levels of relative income, access to housing, education achievement and opportunities as well as the wider environmental. Molly feels isolated due to the fact that she has got a new baby and would not get the chance to meet her friends and family as she used to do before. Below is a care plan done for Molly on how she can promote her health? Needs/problem|Health promotion Approach/strategy|Activity| Anaemia (Biomedical Health)| ·Identify the typical haemoglobin levels that define anaemia in children/adolescents and post-pubertal men and women. | ·Eating iron rich foods and red meat. ·To take vitamin B complex supplement.| Post natal depression (Psychological factor)| ·Assess individual to see if they are under stress, depressed or also thinking about suicidal.| ·Routine screening using the EPDS which is offered to delivered others prior to discharge.| Isolation (social factor)| ·Check individual risk factors | ·Reassurance ·Encouragement ·Empathy ·Empowerment| This care plan has been done on how Molly’s health can be improved. The Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2004) talks about promoting patients interest, by helping them gain access to their health care by providing them with the necessary information and support to their relevant needs, impact knowledge in order to develop skills and make an informed choice about their health behaviour (tones and tilford, 1994). Health promotion brings awareness of obesity and its associated health risks that cause early mortality. Most individual see the challenges to their need to change but refuse to because they don’t see the need to , due to still perceived advantages, in this case people need to be motivated to give some thoughts to enable them do something about their behaviour, and if possible set up an action plan with a possible reward system put in place to maintain a successful change in behaviour and to avoid relapse, though there may be occasional relapse to earlier stage (Prochashka and Diclemente, 1984). In summary, irrespective of health promotion strategies and models adopted, health promotion is an effective mean of educating, helping people understand their behaviour and how it can affect their health. This care plan can be useful tool to all health care professional involved in health promotion and because care plan alone cannot have the greatest impact on people behaviour. It is therefore important to advise them on the health risk associated with being anaemic and encourage them make their own choice for a healthier lifestyle. REFERENCES Becker M. (1974) The health belief model and personal behaviour. Throfare New Jersey: Slack. Berkman LF, Glass T. Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, eds. Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford; 2000. Blaxter et al. (1996). How to research. Buckingham: Open University Press. Downie, R.S., Tannahill, C. Tannahill, A. (1996). Health promotion: models and values. (2nd ed). Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications. Ewles L, and Simnet I (2003) promoting Health ; A Practical Guide. 5th edition. Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall. House JS. Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; 1981. Kemm J, and Close A. (1995) Health Promotion: Theory and practice London: Macmillan press. Lincoln KS. Social Support, negative social interactions, and psychological well-being. Soc Serv Rev 2000;(June):231–552. Naidoo J, Wills J. (2000) Health Promotion Foundations for Practice. 2nd edition. London: Bailliere Tindall. Naidoo, J and Wills, J. (2001). Health promotion. Naidoo and Wills. Health studies An Introduction. London: PALGRAVE. P 275-290. Nurising and Midwifery Council (2004) Code of Professional Conduct. London: NMC Tones K, and Tilford S. (1994) Health Education: Effectiveness, Efficiency Chapman Hall. and Equity. 2nd edition. London: Chapman Hall. Umberson D. Family status and health behaviors: social control as a dimension of social integration. J Health Soc Behav1987;28: 306–19. World Health Organisation (1998) Education for Health, A Manul on Health Education in Primary Health Care. Geneva: WHO.

Analysis of Financial Annual Reports

Analysis of Financial Annual Reports The Home Depot and Lowe’s Companies are major American home improvement retailers, keen rivals with Home Improvement leading both in sales and in profits. This assignment aims to analyse their operational and financial results in detail for a period of five years, namely 2002 to 2006 on the basis of the following Annual Reports filed by the companies with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Company Year Ending Year Ending Year Ending Year Ending Year Ending Home Depot January 28, 2007 January 29, 2006 January 30, 2005 February 1, 2004 February 2, 2003 Lowe’s February 2, 2007 February 3, 2006 January 28, 2005 January 30, 2004 January 31, 2003 The working details and financial calculations used for the analysis are available in the appendices at the end of the assignment. Whilst the two companies operate in the same market and are keen rivals, with Lowe’s’ being the nearest competitor to The Home Depot, the actual distance between these two is prima facie substantial with The Home Depot being practically two times the size of Lowe’s, both in sales and in profits. The analysis of the financial statements of the two companies for the five years 2002 to 2006 covers issues like the percentage increase in sales and profits during this period, as well as the analysis of a number of ratios that indicate (a) year on year increase of turnover and profits, (b) profitability, (c) use of long term assets, capital employed and working capital, and (d) capital gearing. An analysis and comparison of various financial and operational ratios over a period of a number of years helps in validating the authenticity of presented figures by enabling analysts to compare related figures, for example year on year increases in sales and profits, and the relationships between sales and profits, sales and capital employed, and current assets and current liabilities, and locate and investigate anomalies that arise from year to year. â€Å"While it is useful to understand the absolute quantum of each asset, liability and revenue item in isolation, far greater understanding of its implication with respect to the trend and performance of the company can be achieved by a `relationship study. For instance, if one studies profits in relation to sales for the current year and compares it with the same relationship for a series of years, a greater understanding of the trend and performance can be had. The `relationship study referred has two facets: i) the relationship of one item to another for the current or previous years, but in respect of the same company, and ii) the relationship of these parameters with industry figures or representative figures of competitors or of firms of similar size and operations. The first set enables one to understand the performance of the company in isolation, while the second gives an insight as to where the company stands vis-à  -vis the industry or competition.†Ã‚   (Osteryoung Others, 1992, p72) The following inferences can be drawn on the basis of information culled from the audited financial accounts and filed with the SEC. Whilst The Home Depot has been growing at a steady pace of around 10 to 11 % during the specified five year period, Lowe’s, which recorded a much higher pace of growth (of around 18 %) during the first four years found its year on year increase slowing to 8 % in the fifth (last) year. Both companies have comfortable Gross and Operating profit margins. Whilst GP margins have consistently been in the region of 30 %, Operating profit margins have remained at around 10 to 11 percent. Although both companies maintained their profitability margins during the five years, the profit before tax for The Home Depot was eroded significantly in 2006 because of substantial increase in finance charges, consequent to significant increase in debt. This increase in debt has increased the capital gearing ratio of the company from a low 0.08 to a more comfortable 0.30. An analysis of various operational ratios for both the companies over the five year period, by and large, indicates substantial s tability in their operations. Practically all ratios, ( and that too for both the companies), be they return on capital employed, asset utilisation, profitability, liquidity, working capital, or capital gearing, are remarkably stable from year to year for all five years, a fact that counters, (even if it does not negate) the possibility of manipulation of figures. The single large scale departure from the norm occurs in the case of capital gearing ratios for The Home Depot but that is explained by the increase in debt from 2672 million USD for the company in 2006 to 11643 million USD in 2007, a fact that also explains the change in interest cover and profit before tax for 2007. A detailed ratio analysis of the figures made available in the financial statements filed by the two companies with the SEC would thus tend to indicate (a) that both companies are progressing well, both in sales and in operational results, and (b) that the figures presented can be taken to be fair and representative of the working of the companies. Gauging the fairness and reliability of information available in the financial statements is however a far more complex exercise, the validity of the presented figures also depending upon other factors like (a) the value of plant, property and equipment, which may be depreciated on historical cost and thus be recorded at values much below current market rates, (b) securities reported at lower of cost or market, which usually means a recorded value below the current market rate, (c) recording of inventories at LIFO, whereas replacement costs are usually higher, (d) recording of debts or leases at favourable rates, (which amount to unrecorded assets because the company’s effective liability becomes lower than normal), (e) uncollected receivables bearing little or no interest, (e) obsolete or slow moving inventories, (f) under or overstatement of contingent liabilities such as threatened or imminent lawsuits, employee settlements like dismissal recompense, service and incentive c ontracts, obligations for goods returns and discounts, merchandise warranties, and guarantees of third-party borrowing. (Radebaugh Others, 2006) An analysis of the accounting policies and procedures of Lowe’s reveals that the company (a) operates a reserve for losses on obsolete inventory, inventory shrinkage, and sales returns, which is adjusted and charged to earnings every year, (b) records receivables that may change depending upon the performance of the company’s products, (c) does not have off balance sheet financing, apart from executing operating leases (d) monitors risks that could arise out of change in interest in long term debt, (e) has entered into an arrangement with GE in 2004 for sale of existing accounts receivables and those that would arise subsequently (f) has entered into an agreement with GG whereby GE funds the company’s proprietary credit card purchases (g) values assets at cost and depreciates them over their useful lives (h) undertakes self insurance for certain liabilities relating to workmen’s compensation, automobile, property and general and product liability claims. ( Annual Reports of Lowe’s Companies, 2003 to 2007) Whilst The Home Depot also by and large follows similar principles, the company (a) offers credit purchase programmes through third party credit providers, (b) depends substantially for sales achievement on offering extensive credit to customers (c) continually patents its intellectual property, (d) is involved in a large number of legal proceedings that could lead to payment of substantial amounts of money, (e) values inventories at lower of cost or market, a practice that could lead to off balance sheet assets (f) uses a number of estimates for reporting assets, liabilities, contingent liabilities, revenues and expenses, (g) has reasonably high receivables, which it needs to collect and whose accuracy is largely a matter of surmise (h) records assets at cost and depreciates them over their estimated useful lives (i) checks goodwill every year for impairment purposes (j) committed errors in stock option practices that led to an erosion of retained earnings to the tune of 227 million in 2006 (Annual Reports of The Home Depot, 2003 to 2007) Off balance sheet assets for both of these companies could arise from undervalued plant, property, and equipment, as well as inventories that may be worth more than their recorded value. On the other hand both companies do not have systems strong enough for effective recording of obsolescence, a fact that could lead to certain slow moving inventory items being shown at values higher than what could be realised in the market. With the companies having receivables that could change on the basis of the post sales performance of products, adverse changes in this area could lead to negative effect upon earnings. However it also needs to be considered at this stage that The Home Depot and Lowe’s have large operations and changes arising from behaviour of off balance sheet items could well be negligible in comparison to actual recorded figures. In value terms much of the difference in the evaluation of balance sheet items could arise from value of plant, property and equipment. With both retailers having extensive prime quality real estate by way of shop space in well frequented locations, the actual value of property may be far in excess of that stated in the financial statements. Whilst an actual quantification of value would have to be preceded by an elaborate exercise, it would be fair to surmise that such a valuation would lead to a substantial enhancement in the market values of both firms. Both companies recognise revenues when customers take possession of goods, whilst goods that have been paid for but not delivered to customers are shown as deferred revenue. This method is open to criticism because it does not sufficiently provide either for return of goods taken by customers or the possibility of customers not picking up goods for which they have made advance payments. Whilst large sales volume turnovers effectively mask the impact of such basic anomalies in accounting procedures, the adoption of conservative accounting practices for revenue recognition, where sales are confirmed only after customers accept goods as purchased could impact sales volumes significantly. Such a practice would obviously have a strong impact on ratios that concern sales, operations, and profitability. Whilst an analysis of ratios over a five year period for both companies does indicate long term stability of accounting practices, the accounting practices followed by The Home Depot indicate an excessive preponderance to use estimates and approximations for arriving at revenue figures. Although such practices could be based on past practice as well as eminently reasonable assumptions, the fact that serious errors have occurred in the past, especially in the practice and disclosure of stock options, indicate that the company should implement much stronger systems and adopt more conservative accounting policies. Another issue of concern with The Home Depot is the substantial amount of litigation in which it is currently involved. With the company admitting the possibility of the results of these lawsuits going against the company, the chances of substantial future outflows with adverse effects upon the company’s earnings does exist. As such, whilst The Home Depot is a far larger company, both by way of sales and by way of profits, than Lowe’s, an impartial evaluation of accounting policies and procedures indicates Lowe’s to be more carefully run. Whilst the current depression in the housing market is keeping investors away from home improvement companies, Lowe’s could well prove to be better equipped to riding out the current crisis and therefore a safer investment. Appendices All figures in Million US Dollars (unless otherwise stated) 1. Appendix A Balance Sheet of the Home Depot Description 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Long Term Assets 34263 29136 24747 21111 18094 Current Assets Inventories 12822 11401 10076 9076 8388 Accounts Receivables 3223 2396 1494 1097 1072 Others 1955 1472 2703 3155 2507 Total Current Assets 18000 15269 14273 13328 11917 Total Assets 52263 44405 39020 34437 30011 Current Liabilities Accounts Payables 7356 6032 5766 5159 4560 Others 5575 6674 4689 4395 3475 Total 12931 12706 10455 9554 8035 Debt 11643 2672 2148 856 1321 Others 2659 2118 2259 1620 853 Equity 25030 26909 24158 22407 19802 Total Liabilities 52263 44405 39020 34437 30011 2. Appendix B Profit and Loss Account of the Home Depot Description 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Net Sales 90387 81511 73094 64816 58247 Percentage Change 10.89 11.51 12.77 11.28 Cost of Sales 61054 54191 48664 44236 40139 Gross Profit 29783 27320 24430 20580 18108 Operating Expenses 20110 17957 16504 13734 12278 Operating Profits (before Interest and Tax) 9673 9363 7926 6846 5830 Finance Charges 365 81 14 3 (42) Profit before Tax 9308 9282 7912 6843 5872 Percentage Change 17 16 17 Tax 3547 3444 2911 2539 2208 Profits after Tax 5761 5838 5001 4304 3664 Basis Earnings per share 2.80 2.73 2.27 1.88 1.56 3. Appendix C Ratio Analysis of Home Depot Financial and Operational Results A. Profitability Ratios 1. Return on Capital Employed = Operating Profits (before Interest and Tax)/ Capital Employed Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Capital Employed is equal to Total Assets less Current Liabilities 39332 31699 28575 24483 22076 Operating Profits (before Interest and Tax) 9673 9363 7926 6846 5830 Return on Capital Employed (%) 24.59 29.53 27.73 27.96 26.41 2. Asset Turnover Ratio = Sales/ Capital Employed Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Capital Employed is equal to Total assets less Current Liabilities 39332 31699 28575 24483 22076 Sales 90387 81511 73094 64816 58247 Asset Turnover Ratio 2.29 2.57 2.56 2.65 2.64 3. Gross Profit Margin = Gross Profit/ Sales * 100 Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Gross Profit 29783 27320 24430 20580 18108 Sales 90387 81511 73094 64816 58247 Gross Profit Margin (%) 32.95 33.57 33.42 31.75 31.09 4. Operating Profit Margin = Operating Profit (Profit before Interest and Tax) / Sales * 100 Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Operating Profits (before Interest and Tax) 9673 9363 7926 6846 5830 Sales 90387 81511 73094 64816 58247 Operating Profit Margin (%) 10.70 11.44 10.84 10.56 10.01 B. Asset Turnover Ratios 5. Long Term Assets Turnover = Sales/ Long Term Assets Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Long Term Assets 34263 29136 24747 21111 18094 Sales 90387 81511 73094 64816 58247 Long Term Assets Turnover 2.63 2.80 2.95 3.07 3.22 C. Liquidity Ratios 6. Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Current Assets 18000 15269 14273 13328 11917 Current Liabilities 12931 12706 10455 9554 8035 Current Ratio 1.39 1.20 1.37 1.40 1.48 7. Accounts Payable Cover = Current Assets / Accounts Payables Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Current Assets 18000 15269 14273 13328 11917 Accounts Payables 7356 6032 5766 5159 4560 Accounts Payable Cover 2.45 2.53 2.48 2.58 2.61 D. Capital Structure, Gearing and Risk Ratios 8. Gearing Ratio = Long Term Debt/ Capital Employed Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Long Term Debt 11643 2672 2148 856 1321 Capital Employed = Total Assets less Current Liabilities 39332 31699 28575 24483 22076 Gearing Ratio 0.30 0.08 0.08 0.04 0.06 9. Shareholder’s Ratio = Shareholder’s Funds/ Capital Employed Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Shareholders Funds 25030 26909 24158 22407 19802 Capital Employed 39332 31699 28575 24483 22076 Shareholder’s Ratio 0.64 0.85 0.85 0.92 0.90 10. Interest Cover = Profit before Interest and Tax/ Interest Details 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Operating Profits (before Interest and Tax) 9673 9363 7926 6846 5830 Finance Charges 365 81 14 3 (42) Interest Cover 26.5 115 566 2282 NA 4. Appendix D Balance Sheet of Lowe’s Companies All figures in Million US Dollars (unless otherwise stated) Description 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Long Term Assets 19447 16851 14235 12229 10541 Current Assets Inventories 7144 6635 5850 4584 3968 Accounts Receivables (Included in Others) Others 1170 1153 1016 1938 1600 Total Current Assets 8314 7788 6866 6522 5568 Total Assets 27761 24639 21101