Dance, production, performance, choreography (OCD as the central Essay

Dance, production, performance, choreography (OCD as the central theme) - Essay Example That is dance as an influential impulse and as a skillfully choreographed ability practiced mostly by professionals. The link between these ideas will be stronger in producing a dance for a live community audience. Producing and making a dance for a live community performance is one of the most challenging tasks and it requires joint efforts. Several people will need to be engaged in coordinating all elements that are essential for production. Some of the fundamental aims of creating this dance would include expressing and communicating our feelings. We will open the dance with a voice over counting 1,2,3,4, it will be counting four times in totoal and will speed up as it goes along. This will be used to introduce the ocd. We will be in the audience or one of the chairs getting up on stage sequence (nat workshop)-introduces our characters. This will slowly show the affect our ocd/ movement has on us and on each other. Showing the connections between us as we travel about our everyday life. Trio - waking up in everyday life, showing our relationships between each other, showing our interaction e.g racing forward (competing against each other). further developing our characters and the relationships between them. ... It also shows Niamh and Nats relationship (nat not wanting to talk/slightly controlling niamh. These relationships are all a counter reaction of our feelings towards ocd.  Niamh and nats duet: showing niamhs battle to be open about it and nats battle to keep it hidden. symbolises the struggles behind ocd that doesn’t always appear on the surface Possible working with other people - representation of more character relationships that occur from ocd Niamh, Cecilia and Nat sinister trio - heavily focused on characterisation. showing the reactions of others to ocd e.g niamh is open about it and nat and cecilia are intrueged and checking if she still does it in weird situations. their ocd is still showing through but they are trying to hide it.   The community dance will aim at educating people on the importance of insurance as well as entertaining them. Moreover, the community dance will often entail a unique attempt of stylization, for instance the dance movements will be arr anged into a rhythmic or spatial pattern, tracing circles or lines on the ground, tracking a definite order of steps, or complying with a pattern of usual stresses or accents. All these features will produce a unique condition of mind and body that will provide the audience with a different knowledge. We would like the audience to be drawn into the patterns and rhythms generated by the movements of dancers so that they may share the feelings being expressed. The choreographic process Choreography refers to the art of creating dances, the assembly and arrangement of movement into a pattern and order. Latest Western dances have been produced by particular choreographers, who have been considered as the owners and authors of their works in an approach comparable to composers,

Combating compassion fatigue Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Combating compassion fatigue - Assignment Example This eventually takes compassion and attention away from victims to the caregiver himself. Essentially, fatigue sets in for the provision of care; thereby jeopardizing the need to give compassion to victims. The cause of depression in caregivers that results in compassion fatigue could best be associated with excessive work that is deprived of rest (Ellard, Barlow and Mian, 2005). Anger Quick temperedness and erupted outburst of anger that is so sudden and uncharacteristic of a caregiver must be seen as a major sign that compassion fatigue is setting into the work and activity of the caregiver. As a care giver, come of the core duties that will generally be expected is the need to give compassion and solace to a heart that is deeply troubled and as such filled with so much inner anger (Day and Livingstone, 2003). When there is anger on the side of the caregiver then, this basic responsibility becomes jeopardized and compromised because it cannot be executed evenly. Once a caregiver b egins to be angry at the least provocation, the tendency is that the victim who decides care would even be angered at and so the level of compassion will be derailed. Such acts of anger are mostly caused by emotional factors that have to do with issues faced in the personal lives of caregivers (Forsythe and Compas, 1987). Absent mindedness Victims who go to the caregiver go to them with a thought that the caregiver is going to be an expert and a professional who is going to bare all the troubles that the victim brings on board. For this reason, it is always going to be expected that the victim would demand for constant attention from the caregiver. For this reason, caregivers who begin to have signs of absent mindedness when attending to victims and other people who are close to them must be aware of the possibility of compassion fatigue setting in. clearly, the caregiver would be absent minded because he or she has had a reduced degree of importance to the issue or case of the vict im and this is what compassion fatigue is all about (Albino et al., 2003). Taking too much work than a caregiver can genuinely deliver is a major cause of absent mindedness; especially when tiredness sets in. Sluggishness In the everyday delivery of their duties, caregivers are expected to be very sharp at what they do. Such acts of sharpness install a lot of confidence in victims. It also increases the trust that they have in caregivers. For this reason, any acts of laziness and sluggishness should be watched critically and be seen as a possible cause of the onset of compassion fatigue. Indeed, if there is no strength to carry out one’s duties and so the person begins to show signs of sluggishness at work, there is no way that person will be expected to deliver the same level or amount of compassion that he or she delivered to victims. Sluggishness is a direct reflection of tiredness and so tiredness and lack of rest could cause it. Stress Psychologists and other social comm entators have attributed stress to be a very emotional and psychological problem that comes with a tired mind. The mind as an organ in the body has its own roles and functions that it plays. Though it is known that the mind controls most activities and functions of the body, the mind also has its own limitations (Cortoni and Marshall, 2001). The mind cannot for instance be expected to be omniscient, knowing all things and doing everything at every

Areva Est Un Groupe French Essay

Areva Est Un Groupe French Essay Areva est un groupe franà §ais qui figure parmi les leaders mondiaux de là ©nergie nuclà ©aire. Il rà ©sulte de la fusion, en septembre 2001, de CEA Industrie, Framatome et Cogema. Cotà © sur le marchà © de lEuronext Paris, Areva est composà © de quatre principaux domaines dactività ©s qui sont: le pà ´le amont (extraction et enrichissement duranium), le pà ´le aval (recyclage des combustibles nuclà ©aires), le pà ´le rà ©acteur et services (construction de rà ©acteur nuclà ©aire et services au combustible) et jusquà   rà ©cemment, le pà ´le TD (transmission et distribution dà ©lectricità ©) sur lequel porte notre à ©tude. En analysant les relations entre la stratà ©gie globale du groupe et la dà ©cision de cà ©der le pà ´le TD, puis en à ©tudiant le contexte (performance de lentreprise†¦) nous aurons alors une meilleure comprà ©hension de la dà ©cision prise. Areva dispose de compà ©tences et dun savoir faire de trà ¨s haut niveau dans son secteur, rà ©sultat de plus de 60 ans dhistoire de là ©lectronuclà ©aire franà §ais. Le groupe a pour ambition dà ªtre à   la fois le fournisseur mondial dinfrastructures nuclà ©aires mais à ©galement du combustible nà ©cessaire à   lexploitation de ces infrastructures, ainsi que des services attachà ©s à   ce combustible. Anne Lauvergeon, Prà ©sidente du groupe, compare dailleurs volontiers parfois sa stratà ©gie avec celle de Nespresso, sous-entendant que les bà ©nà ©fices viennent en grande partie de lactività © combustible. La structure intà ©grà ©e des actività ©s dAreva, de la mine au retraitement en passant par la construction de rà ©acteurs est un avantage indà ©niable par rapport à   ses concurrents. Implantà © dans plus de cent pays, les actività ©s à   linternational dAreva ont une place importante dans la stratà ©gie de croissance du groupe, en sappuyant principalement sur la renaissance du nuclà ©aire qui a lieu actuellement, et, jusquà   la cession, sur les actività ©s de TD. Lanalyse du capital dAreva permet de mieux mesurer les enjeux: LEtat franà §ais dà ©tient environ 86% des fonds propres. Cette structure de capital peut apparaà ®tre comme contraignante pour le dà ©veloppement du groupe, lEtat nà ©tant pas autorisà ©, par exemple, et ce en raison de la là ©gislation europà ©enne, à   financer les investissements et laccroissement en capital. La sortie inattendue de Siemens du capital, les retards sur le chantier de construction du rà ©acteur Finlandais, la nà ©cessità © de dà ©velopper le groupe et de conquà ©rir de nouveaux marchà ©s, amà ¨nent, daprà ¨s les experts, à   des besoins estimà ©s à   environ 12 milliards dEuros dici 2015. Ces besoins sont une des raisons qui ont incità © là ©tat à   cà ©der le pà ´le TD à   Alstom pour 4 milliards dEuros et à   rà ©flà ©chir à   une ouverture et augmentation du capital. Certains analystes ont affichà © un doute quant à   la pertinence de cette cession, lactività © TD reprà ©sentant environ 45% du rà ©sultat dAreva et sappuyant sur un rà ©seau international dense. La Prà ©sidente, elle-mà ªme, ne souhaitait pas cette session. LEtat, quant à   lui, actionnaire principal, a avancà © la nà ©cessità © de fonds propres et de recentrage des actività ©s autour du nuclà ©aire. La dà ©cision prise par le gouvernement de vendre la branche TD nous semble donc pertinente eu à ©gard au contexte: la France est experte en nuclà ©aire et souhaite conserver cet avantage en permettant à   Areva de conquà ©rir de nouveaux marchà ©s, à   lexport notamment. Le besoin de capitaux est nà ©cessaire, TD nest pas dans le cÅ“ur de mà ©tier dAreva, et cette dà ©cision vient en cohà ©rence avec dautres dà ©cisions: augmentation du capital prà ©vue, ouverture à   de nouveaux investisseurs, objectif de hausse des dividendes†¦ Introduction Lentreprise que nous avons choisi dà ©tudier est AREVA.Areva est un des leaders mondiaux sur le marchà © de la production à ©nergà ©tique nuclà ©aire. Plus particulià ¨rement nous avons choisi de nous intà ©resser à   la dà ©cision stratà ©gique de cession dune de ses filiales, Areva TD (Transmission et Distribution). Cette cession, dà ©cidà ©e courant 2009, a à ©tà © effective dà ©but 2010. Alstom et Schneider, seront les nouveaux proprià ©taires de cette filiale, pour un montant estimà © à   4 milliards deuros. La vente de cette branche dactività © dAreva a fait couler beaucoup dencre, en effet de nombreux observateurs ont soulignà © lincongruità © pour lentreprise de se sà ©parer de sa  «vache à   lait » de TD, qui reprà ©sentait plus de 30% des ventes rà ©alisà ©es par AREVA en 2008[1] et les difficultà ©s que pourrait rencontrer le Groupe dans le futur. Cette vente, largement impulsà ©e par lactionnaire majoritaire dAreva, lEtat Franà §ais, nà ©tait pas souhaità ©e par le directoire dAreva, et par sa prà ©sidente, Anne Lauvergeon. Son caractà ¨re  «prà ©cipità ©Ã‚ » sexplique en grande partie par la sortie brutale de Siemens du capital dAreva NP, la filiale dAreva spà ©cialisà ©e dans la construction de rà ©acteurs et lapprovisionnement en combustible, contraignant Areva au rachat de ces parts. Nà ©anmoins il convient de sinterroger sur le bien fondà © de cette dà ©cision, et notamment de sa cohà ©rence avec lensemble de la stratà ©gie dAreva. Pour cela nous dà ©terminerons dans un premier temps les caractà ©ristiques de lentreprise Areva, puis nous tenterons de dà ©finir les enjeux du secteur sur lequel se trouve lentreprise, avant de nous interroger sur la cohà ©rence de cette dà ©cision. I Areva, un leader sur le secteur de lenergie A/ Prà ©sentation gà ©nerale du groupe et de sa stratà ©gie Prà ©sentation generale Le groupe Areva se dà ©finie comme  «lun des leaders mondiaux des solutions pour la production dà ©nergie sans CO ²Ã‚ » (daprà ¨s le document de rà ©fà ©rence 2009 de lentreprise) et il exerce ses actività ©s sur un secteur en plein essor: le marchà © porteur de là ©nergie. Il a su dà ©velopper des compà ©tences et un savoir faire particulier ce qui fait de lui  «un acteur de rà ©fà ©rence, au cÅ“ur des enjeux à ©nergà ©tiques. » Ses actività ©s concernent là ©nergie nuclà ©aire (construction de rà ©acteurs, exploitation nuclà ©aire, transport des matià ¨res radioactives) ainsi que les à ©nergies renouvelables (à ©oliennes) et le transport de là ©lectricità ©. Ce large portefeuille dactività © est le principal atout du groupe puisquen à ©tant prà ©sent sur toute la chaine du cycle nuclà ©aire il peut proposer à   ses clients des offres uniques à   chaque à ©tape de la chaine de valeur et des services associà ©s pour amà ©liorer lefficacità © à ©nergà ©tique des rà ©seaux et respecter lenvironnement. Sa prà ©sidente est Anne Lauvergeon depuis la crà ©ation de la socià ©tà © en 2001. Areva emploie 47817 personnes dans les actività ©s nuclà ©aires et renouvelables, le groupe est fortement implantà © à   linternational. En 2009, son chiffre daffaires consolidà © sest à ©levà © à   8 529 millions deuros et son rà ©sultat net à   552 millions deuros. La stratà ©gie globale du groupe Pour illustrer la stratà ©gie gà ©nà ©rale du groupe nous pouvons reprendre le propos de sa prà ©sidente dans une interview du 10 juillet 2008 pour le magazine Challenges:  «Luranium est un des à ©là ©ments moteurs de notre succà ¨s. Notre modà ¨le, cest Nespresso: nous vendons les cafetià ¨res, et le cafà © qui va avec. Et le cafà ©, cest trà ¨s rentable. Ainsi en Chine, nous avons vendu deux à ®lots nuclà ©aires, plus 35% de la production dUranium, dont nous sommes proprià ©taires. Cela illustre notre modà ¨le intà ©grà ©Ã‚ ». Grà ¢ce à   ce modà ¨le dintà ©gration verticale, le groupe peut anticiper les besoins du marchà ©, satisfaire au mieux la demande et ainsi avoir une longueur davance sur ses concurrents. Sa stratà ©gie est de proposer des offres multiproduits/multiservices innovantes et adaptà ©es aux nouvelles attentes des clients. Il a de plus une parfaite maitrise technologique (reconnue sur lensemble de la filià ¨re) qui sappuie sur 50 ans de recherche, des dà ©penses en RD importantes, des procà ©dà ©s proprià ©taires et des rà ©acteurs de nouvelles gà ©nà ©ration; si bien que pour lannà ©e 2009 son carnet de commande sà ©value à   prà ¨s de 43302 millions deuros. Sur le marchà © du nuclà ©aire, Areva est lun des seuls acteurs complà ¨tement intà ©grà © sur toutes les actività ©s du cycle du combustible et de la construction de centrales nuclà ©aires; il a donc a à ©tablie sa stratà ©gie sur une vision du nuclà ©aire civil à   lhorizon 2030. Dà ¨s 2006, le groupe a engagà © un programme dinvestissements importants pour lui permettre de saisir les opportunità ©s de marchà © lià ©es à   la renaissance du nuclà ©aire dans les diffà ©rents pays et ainsi conforter son statut dacteur de rà ©fà ©rence dans ce domaine. La maitrise de la chaine des approvisionnements en composants critiques par exemple est lun des facteurs clà ©s de succà ¨s pour le groupe. Avec la croissance du nuclà ©aire, Areva a aussi pour objectif de sà ©curiser le cycle du combustible pour ses clients actuels et futurs, ainsi que de trouver des solutions durables pour la gestion du combustible usà ©. AREVA dispose dans ce domaine dune avance majeure, puisque le groupe a dà ©veloppà © une technologie qui permet de recycler 96 % des matià ¨res contenues dans les combustibles usà ©s et de les valoriser sous forme de combustible. Ensuite, fort des synergies entre le nuclà ©aire et les à ©nergies renouvelables, le groupe souhaite dà ©velopper une large gamme de solutions dans les à ©nergies renouvelables puisquil en a lexpertise technique et que ce secteur est en plein essor. Pour mettre en Å“uvre sa stratà ©gie, Areva sappuie sur plusieurs facteurs incontournables:  § Le capital humain: en 2009, le groupe a recrutà © 12675 personnes.  § La RD: 6% du CA en moyenne depuis 2005  § Les investissements industriels: Sur la pà ©riode 2010 -2012, AREVA prà ©voit une dà ©pense de 6,5 milliards deuros dinvestissements (hors acquisitions).  § Les partenariats stratà ©giques: ils apportent leur savoir faire et leur technicità © et leur connaissance des marchà ©s locaux B/ Les Domaines dactività ©s stratà ©giques Areva, possà ¨de plusieurs domaines dactività ©s stratà ©giques, tous relià ©s au secteur de là ©nergie. Ces actività ©s se dà ©composent en 4 pà ´les eux-mà ªmes dà ©coupà ©s en business unit.  § Le pà ´le Amont: extraction et enrichissement duranium  § Le pà ´le Aval: recyclage des combustibles nuclà ©aires  § Le pà ´le rà ©acteurs et services: construction de rà ©acteurs nuclà ©aires  § Le pà ´le transmission et distribution dà ©lectricità ©: fabrication et installation dà ©quipements. Le pà ´le Amont: produire du combustible Cette actività © regroupe lensemble des mà ©tiers situà ©s en amont de la chaine de la production dà ©lectricità © dorigine nuclà ©aire. Il a rà ©alisà © un CA de prà ¨s de 3,47milliards deuros en 2009 (prà ¨s des deux tiers en Europe) et permet au groupe de croitre davantage. On peut distinguer plusieurs sous actività ©sou business unit: Mines: la recherche, lextraction et la concentration duranium (mines exploità ©es au Canada, au Niger et au Kazakhstan)à   25% du CA en 2009 du pà ´le Amont Chimie: La conversion en hexafluorure duranium (chimie)à   7% du CA Enrichissement: les services denrichissement duraniumà   34% du CA Combustible: les actività ©s de conception et de production du combustible nuclà ©aireà   34% Reprà ©sentant 41% du CA total dAreva en 2009, le modà ¨le à ©conomique de ce pà ´le est basà © sur de lourds investissements à   long terme et repose sur « la capacità © à   offrir tous les produits et services nà ©cessaires à   lalimentation des centrales nuclà ©aires. » Areva est lun des leaders mondiaux de lamont du cycle nuclà ©aire. Le pà ´le rà ©acteurs et services Ce pà ´le consiste à   concevoir et à   fabriquer des rà ©acteurs nuclà ©aires de 2à ¨me gà ©nà ©ration (rà ©acteurs à   eau sous pression et rà ©acteurs à   eau bouillante) et des rà ©acteurs REP de 3à ¨me gà ©nà ©ration. Areva produit aussi des rà ©acteurs à   propulsion navale et des rà ©acteurs de recherche. A cela sajoute les actività ©s de services de maintenance et des actività ©s dà ©dià ©es aux à ©nergies renouvelables (ex: fabrication dà ©oliennes). Il rà ©alise en 2009 un CA de 3418 millions deuros soit environ 40% du CA dAreva. On distingue 7 business unit: Les rà ©acteurs (41% du CA du pà ´le) Les services nuclà ©aires (24%) Areva TA (12%) Equipements (9%) Mesures nuclà ©aires (5%) Conseils et systà ¨me dinformation (4%) Energies renouvelables (5%) Les rà ©acteurs dAREVA sont implantà ©s dans les principales rà ©gions du monde : Europe occidentale, Amà ©riques, Chine, Corà ©e du Sud et Afrique du Sud. Ses principaux concurrents sont des groupes comme Westinghouse/Toshiba ou General Electric/ Hitachi. Lallemand Siemens dà ©tient 34% du capital de la filiale Areva NP qui se charge de la fabrication des rà ©acteurs civils. Or celui-ci a annoncà © quil souhaitait revendre progressivement ses parts pour sallier avec le russe Atomenergoprom ce qui pourrait mettre Areva en difficultà © puisque ce DAS lui rapporte 40% du CA en 2009 Areva a voulu à ©largir son offre avec le business unit  «Ãƒ ©nergies renouvelables » et se dà ©veloppe dans là ©olien, les bioà ©nergies (centrales à   biomasses et à   biogaz clà © en main) En 2010 le groupe acquiert la socià ©tà © Ausra spà ©cialisà ©e dans les technologies du solaire thermique de concentration et cela lui permet de devenir un acteur majeur dans le domaine des à ©nergies renouvelables, et proposer à   ses clients des centrales solaires compà ©titives et efficaces. Le pà ´le Aval: gestion des combustibles Il rà ©alise en 2009 un CA de 1,637 milliard deuros contre 1,692 en 2008. Il reprà ©sente 19% du CA du groupe et concerne toutes les actività ©s lià ©es au traitement et au recyclage des combustibles usà ©s: cest-à  -dire la rà ©cupà ©ration et valorisation des dà ©chets duranium et de plutonium en mà ©langes doxyde, la fabrication de rà ©servoirs de stockage des dà ©chets, lassainissement des sites†¦ Il y a 5 business unit: Traitement et recyclage: cette BU rà ©cupà ¨re les matià ¨res valorisables (uranium et plutonium) des combustibles usà ©s afin de les recycler sous une autre forme de combustible à   61% du CA de lactività © Valorisation: Cest lorganisation de lassainissement des à ©quipements et installations, dà ©mantà ¨lement des sites à   14 % Logistique: transport et emballage des dà ©chets nuclà ©airesà   15% Assainissement: maintenance dinstallations, dà ©contamination et dà ©mantà ¨lement des sites à  7% Ingà ©nierie: assister les opà ©rateurs nuclà ©aires dans là ©volution de leurs installations à  2% Le groupe grà ¢ce à   ce DAS possà ¨de un avantage compà ©titif particulià ¨rement important (contexte de rà ©duction de lempreinte nuclà ©aire et de lacceptation du nuclà ©aire par le grand public) en lui permettant dà ªtre leader mondial sur cette partie du cycle nuclà ©aire. En effet, lintà ©rà ªt de cette actività © rà ©side dans le fait que le recyclage du combustible usà © contribue à   à ©conomiser les ressources naturelles en uranium. De plus, il facilite la gestion des dà ©chets radioactifs en rà ©duisant significativement leur volume et leur radio-toxicità ©. Plusieurs pays, qui souhaitent lancer un programme à ©lectronuclà ©aire ambitieux, se tournent vers la technologie du recyclage, Areva apparait donc comme lacteur incontournable. Dans ce domaine, les procà ©dà ©s technologiques mis en Å“uvre par Areva ont atteint leur maturità © industrielle et permettent doffrir aux clients des conditions commerciales compà ©titives. Le pà ´le TD Il propose des systà ¨mes permettant le transport dà ©lectricità © (moyenne et haute tension) du lieu de production vers le client final. En outre Areva installe des systà ¨mes complets et fournie des services adaptà ©s à   chaque segment de marchà © (transmission, distribution et industrie à ©lectro-intensive). Les solutions proposà ©es par le pà ´le permettent de faire fonctionner les rà ©seaux à ©lectriques de manià ¨re fiable, stable tout en respectant lenvironnement. On peut dà ©composer ce pà ´le en 4 business unit: Produit: la conception et fabrication de produits de moyenne et haute tension pour acheminer là ©lectricità © de la centrale jusquaux utilisateursà  55% du CA Systà ¨mes: linstallation de systà ¨mes à ©lectroniques et informatiques lià ©s à   la gestion des rà ©seauxà  30 % Automation: la fabrication et linstallation de sources de pilotage en temps rà ©el des rà ©seaux à ©lectroniquesà  9% Services: assistance aux clients, maintenance et de rà ©parationà  6 % du CA Ce domaine dactività © stratà ©gique dAreva contribue à   faire de la socià ©tà © un leader sur le marchà ©. Depuis 2004, là ©quipe dirigeante dAREVA TD a mis en Å“uvre des plans damà ©lioration sur 3 ans, qui ont contribuà © au repositionnement de lentreprise. En effet, la marge dexploitation dAREVA TD est passà ©e de 3,2 % en 2004 à   7,4 % en 2009 Ce pà ´le a rà ©alisà © un CA en 2009 de 5,474 milliards deuros, mais bien quà ©tant lactività ©  «vache à   lait » du groupe, il est actuellement en cours de cession. Cest le pà ´le le plus internationalisà © du groupe avec plus de 60% du CA du pà ´le rà ©alisà © hors de lEurope. C/ Linternationalisation Dà ¨s la crà ©ation dAREVA, lobjectif du groupe à ©tait de devenir un leader mondial dans ses mà ©tiers et dassurer une prà ©sence internationale sur tous les mà ©tiers du nuclà ©aire. Le groupe a donc dà ©veloppà © une stratà ©gie dinternationalisation afin de bà ©nà ©ficier dune base de clients à ©largie et simplanter au niveau mondial. Aujourdhui AREVA est un groupe mondial avec une prà ©sence commerciale dans plus de 100 pays et qui ne cesse de se dà ©velopper. Le groupe AREVA dans le monde Source: www.areva.com En Europe, AREVA est vite devenu un leader dans ses mà ©tiers. Cette fusion a permis au groupe de faire directement face à   la concurrence mondiale, notamment celle dAsie et dAmà ©rique du Nord. Le groupe AREVA a donc dabord utilisà © une stratà ©gie de croissance de fusion avant de pouvoir lancer son internationalisation. Aujourdhui les perspectives de croissance en Europe sont assez positives. Le marchà © du nuclà ©aire continue de se dà ©velopper en Europe de lOuest et des projets sont en cours de prà ©paration en Europe de lEst. Le marchà © des à ©nergies renouvelables est aussi en pleine croissance grà ¢ce à   la volontà © de lUnion Europà ©enne de dà ©velopper ce type dà ©nergie. La zone Europe reprà ©sente 57% du chiffre daffaires du groupe en 2008. En Amà ©rique du Nord, limplantation a commencà © avec lacquisition de la socià ©tà © amà ©ricaine Canberra et puis Duke Engineering en 2002, qui renforce la position dAREVA en tant que pilier dans le secteur de là ©nergie. La stratà ©gie à ©tait donc de simplanter rapidement afin de pà ©nà ©trer le marchà © efficacement. Cependant, cette stratà ©gie peut à ªtre critiquà ©e car une implantation aussi rapide nà ©cessite des frais dintà ©gration en termes de construction de culture dentreprise et de business model cohà ©rent dans tout le groupe. Aujourdhui le chiffre daffaires dans la zone Amà ©rique est en là ©gà ¨re baisse mais les perspectives de croissance sont positives, notamment sur le marchà © des à ©nergies renouvelables avec les marchà ©s de la bioà ©nergie en forte expansion au Brà ©sil. La zone Amà ©rique correspond à   14, 7 % du chiffre daffaires total en 2008. Dans la zone Asie et Pacifique, le groupe AREVA possà ¨de 11 sites industriels, une usine quil dà ©tient à   100%. De plus, le groupe a mis en place des partenariats avec des entreprises locales, appelà ©es  «co-entreprises ». Cette stratà ©gie est assez cohà ©rente à ©tant donnà ©, quAREVA cherchait à   pà ©nà ©trer le marchà © Asiatique assez rapidement et les partenariats avec des entreprises locales vont permettre au groupe de mieux cerner les enjeux et les habitudes culturelles de travailler dans cette zone et dans ce secteur. Le marchà © Asiatique a une taille trà ¨s importante, lInde et la Chine sont des pays avec de forte consommation en à ©nergie. La Corà ©e du Sud et le Japon dà ©veloppent la construction de centrale nuclà ©aire. Par ailleurs, le marchà © des à ©nergies renouvelables est aussi en dà ©veloppement dans cette zone, avec la volontà © des gouvernements de favoriser la bioà ©nergie, le solaire et la fibre hydrogà ¨ne. La zone Asie et P acifique reprà ©sente 19,5% du chiffres daffaires total en 2008. Le groupe AREVA est aussi prà ©sent dans la zone Afrique et Moyen-Orient et intervient majoritairement dans les actività ©s des Business Groups Mines, Amont et Rà ©acteurs Services. AREVA exploite luranium au Niger, oà ¹ le groupe bà ©nà ©ficie de tarifs prà ©fà ©rentiels. Par ailleurs, cest au Qatar, que la filià ¨re TD signe son plus grand contrat. Le groupe AREVA veille donc à   saccaparer les opportunità ©s intà ©ressantes dans la zone Afrique et Moyen-Orient. Les perspectives de croissance ne sont intà ©ressantes à   lheure actuelle que pour le marchà © de là ©nergie nuclà ©aire avec lintà ©rà ªt des pays du Golfe et ceux dAfrique du Nord pour lutilisation de cette à ©nergie. Source: www.areva.com Le groupe AREVA a su donc se dà ©velopper à   linternationale assez rapidement en cernant les marchà ©s avec les perspectives les plus intà ©ressantes. Cependant, on peut noter que cette implantation sest faite dans une durà ©e de temps trà ¨s rapide dans certaines rà ©gions grà ¢ce à   lacquisition de socià ©tà ©s locales. Cette stratà ©gie permet au groupe AREVA de pà ©nà ©trer le marchà © efficacement et dà ©crocher des contrats intà ©ressants. Nà ©anmoins, il est important de souligner que chaque zone gà ©ographique doit à ªtre rassemblà ©e sous là ©gide dune culture et dun business model commun. Les concurrents dAREVA, ont pour la plupart une histoire beaucoup moins rà ©cente et se sont dà ©veloppà ©s à   linternationale avec une stratà ©gie diffà ©rente. Le groupe amà ©ricain Westinghouse sest implantà © par le biais de fusion et dacquisition notamment en Europe. D/ les actionnaires Structure de lactionnariat AREVA a à ©tà © crà ©Ãƒ © le 3 septembre 2001, à   partir de lex-structure CEA-Industrie dont le capital à ©tait dà ©tenu à   95 % par le CEA (Commissariat à   là ©nergie atomique). Aujourdhui, la participation du secteur public(CEA, Etat et ERAP) dans le capital du groupe sà ©là ¨ve à  87 %. Les4 % de capitaux flottantsont dà ©tenus par lesporteurs de certificats dinvestissement. Depuis, de nombreux actionnaires (Total, EDF) ont apportà © diverses participations minoritaires dà ©tenues principalement dans COGEMA (devenue, depuis, AREVA NC) et Framatome SA (devenue AREVA NP) en à ©change de titres du nouveau groupe AREVA. La participation de lactionnaire historique (le CEA) est passà ©e de 95,1% à   78,96% à   lissue de ces opà ©rations. Alcatel, qui dà ©tenait 2,23% du capital du nouveau groupe AREVA, a vendu sa participation le 21 dà ©cembre 2001 à   la Caisse des Dà ©pà ´ts et Consignations (CDC). Cette dernià ¨re qui possà ©dait 1,36% du capital sest ainsi renforcà ©e à   un niveau de 3,59%.[2] Evolution de lactionnariat Source: http://www.areva.com/FR/finance-402/index.html Actionnaire 2009 De 2001 à   2008 2000 Capital Vote Capital Vote Capital Vote CEA 78,96% 82,99%* 78,96% 82,99% 95,14% 100,00% Etat 5,19 % 5,19 % 5,19 % 5,19 % CDC 3,59 % 3,59 % 3,59 % 3,59 % ERAP 3,21 % 3,21 % 3,21 % 3,21 % EDF 2,42 % 2,42 % 2,42 % 2,42 % Framà ©pargne** 0,62 % 0,62 % 0,62 % 0,62 % CALYON** 0,96 % 0,96 % 0,96 % 0,96 % Total 1,02 % 1,02 % 1,02 % 1,02 % Porteurs de CI 4,03 % 4,03 % 4,86 % 0,00 % AREVAauto-Contà ´le 0,2 % Lactionnariat dAREVA est partagà ©: lEtat franà §ais est proprià ©taire direct et indirect: 5.19% de dà ©tention propre et 78.96% et 3.59% à   travers respectivement le Commissariat à   lEnergie Atomique ainsi que la Caisse des Dà ©pà ´ts et Consignation. Dautre part, des actionnaires minoritaires sont proprià ©taires du reste du capital de lentreprise (ce sont en majorità © de grands groupes franà §ais qui dà ©tiennent ces participations tels quEramet ou Safran.) Evolution du cours de laction Lintroduction en bourse de lentreprise Areva date de septembre 2001. La valeur du titre na cessà © de croitre sur la pà ©riode 2001-2007; le titre à ©tant passà © de 163.8 euros à   731.38 en moyenne. Ensuite, en une annà ©e, il a perdu plus du double de sa valeur pour atteindre un cours moyen en 2008 de 335 euros. Ceci sexplique par plusieurs facteurs, notamment une baisse de là ©nergie nuclà ©aire qui est intervenue en 2008 mais à ©galement la mauvaise à ©valuation de certains chantierscomme celui du rà ©acteur finlandais dOlkiluoto oà ¹ le coà »t de construction du rà ©acteur a à ©tà © dà ©passà © de plus de deux et milliards deuros. Consà ©quences de la structure actionnariale sur la stratà ©gie du groupe Les dà ©cisions stratà ©giques du groupe AREVA ne peuvent à ªtre prises sans laval du gouvernement franà §ais, ce qui a pour effet de minimiser le rà ´le des dirigeants de lentreprise. Ce postulat est trà ¨s important et contraint fortement le groupe dans ses politiques de financement. En revanche, Cette proprià ©tà © de lEtat parait là ©gitime : eu à ©gard de limportance des coà »ts fixes pour une telle socià ©tà ©, aucun dà ©veloppement naurait à ©tà © possible sans la prà ©sence dun investisseur aussi important que lEtat. De surcroà ®t, cest lEtat qui permet, à   travers les visites prà ©sidentielles, à   lentreprise de nà ©gocier de gros contrats dans les pays à ©trangers. Toutefois, il convient de relativiser limportance de lEtat puisque celui-ci a prà ©vu de rà ©duire ses parts lors dune augmentation de capital qui devrait intervenir cet à ©tà © (annà ©e 2010) et dont il na pas prà ©vu de participer (seule une participation symbolique est prà ©vue). E/ la performance de lentreprise vis -à  -vis de ses concurrents Performance à ©conomique au sein de la filià ¨re  § Chiffre daffaire LEurope est le principal marchà © client dAREVA, totalisant 63,6% du CA en 2009 dont 38,2% est rà ©alisà © en France. Cette tendance est particulià ¨rement marquà ©e pour les pà ´les AMONT et REACTEURS ET SERVICES dont environ 75% de lactività © provient de France et des autres pays europà ©ens. AREVA connait donc une forte dà ©pendance auprà ¨s du marchà © europà ©en. Par ailleurs, les ventes rà ©alisà ©es en Asie-Pacifique et aux Amà ©riques reprà ©sentent un tiers du chiffre daffaire, tandis que le groupe a pà ¢tit dun change euro/dollar dà ©favorable. A là ©chelle internationale, AREVA connaà ®t une forte concurrence au sein des actività ©s AMONT, devancà ©e par CAMECO et RIO TINTO dans lextraction, puis par URENCO et USEC dans lenrichissement. Son principal concurrent, prà ©sent sur lensemble des actività ©s AMONT et REACTEURS et SERVICES est le russe Atomenergoprom. AREVA conserve sa position de leader international au sein pà ´le AVAL. Son chiffre daffaire a cependant reculà © de 17% en 2008 et de 3,3% en 2009. En effet, cette actività © rà ©pond essentiellement au besoin dEDF dont AREVA est dà ©pendante. De ce point de vue, AREVA a su capter un contrat important signà © avec EDF en 2008 pour le recyclage de combustibles usà ©s de 2008 à   2040. Part du chiffre daffaire des principaux acteurs de la filià ¨re nuclà ©aire en 2008 (source à ©tude Xerfi 9CHE27) :  § Acquisitions Le groupe a soutenu la croissance du pà ´le TD en 2009 grà ¢ce à   plusieurs acquisitions qui lui ont permis dà ªtre compà ©titif sur le vieux continent. Il a gà ©nà ©rà © en 2008 38% du CA et 10% des commandes conduisant ainsi à   une croissance de 17% par rapport à   lannà ©e prà ©cà ©dente. Les chiffres de 2009 ne sont pas dà ©taillà ©s dans le document de rà ©fà ©rence de 2009 publià © par Areva, lactività © à ©tant en cours de cession. Il a par ailleurs investi dans les à ©nergies renouvelables grà ¢ce à   lacquisition de là ©quipementier brà ©silien Koblitz, gà ©ant de la construction clà © en main de centrales à ©lectriques biomasses ou hydroà ©lectriques. AREVA devient pour le moment un des constructeurs de centrales dont loffre est la plus diversifià ©e.  § Rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel Malgrà © la hausse du chiffre daffaire, le rà ©sultat opà ©rationnel a lui chutà © presque de moitià © (-44,3% en 2008). Cela sexplique notamment par les difficultà ©s rencontrà ©es dans la construction de lEPR OL3 en Finlande pour lequel 749 millions deuros de provisions ont du à ªtre passà ©es.  § Ratios dutilisation des actifs Daprà ¨s les donnà ©es de In financials au 31/12/2009, AREVA prà ©sente un  «cash ratio » (total du cash disponible sur les dettes courantes) de 9,35%, soit 12 points infà ©rieurs à   la moyenne de ses concurrents. Le groupe dispose de peu de liquidità ©s, ce qui peut le mettre en difficultà ©s à ©tant donnà © lintensità © capitalistique de lindustrie nuclà ©aire. Ainsi, si AREVA veut conserver son avance sur ses concurrents elle sera amenà ©e à   rà ©cupà ©rer du cash afin dinvestir massivement. La performance à ©conomique du groupe est tout de mà ªme satisfaisante avec une rentabilità © des capitaux propres de 1,95 soit plus dun point supà ©rieure à   la moyenne de ses concurrents.  § Participations Le groupe semble opà ©rer une stratà ©gie de recentrage pour ne garder que les participations majoritaires autour de lactività © de production dà ©nergie nuclà ©aire. En effet, il a annoncà © sa volontà © de cà ©der ses participations dans lopà ©rateur minier et de mà ©tallurgie Eramet et dans le fabriquant de semi-conducteur STMicroelectronics. Position dAREVA vis-à  -vis de ses concurrents  § Partenariats Le secteur du nuclà ©aire à ©tant trà ¨s concentrà © et fortement capitalistique, les spà ©cialistes mondiaux des centrales clà ©s en main ont à ©tà © amenà © à   signer des alliances stratà ©giques à   plusieurs niveaux: Stratà ©gique: en sassociant avec des socià ©tà ©s dextraction duranium afin dassurer lapprovisionnement en matià ¨res premià ¨res. Exemple: Areva et Kazaromprom Technologique: dà ©veloppement de coopà ©ration intra branche pour construire des rà ©acteurs communs, atteindre rapidement une taille critique et bà ©nà ©ficier de synergies dans le domaine des achats, des savoir-faire technologiques. Exemples: Hitachi et GE (2007), Areva et MHI (2008), Siemens et Atomenergoprom (2010) Economique: en sassociant avec des distributeurs dà ©lectricità ©s locaux afin dapporter au client une solution complà ¨te de la construction à   lexploitation. Exemple: Areva et E.On au Royaume-Uni, Areva, GDF Suez et Total  · Compà ©titività © sur le vieux continent Siemens qui dà ©tient 34% du capital dAREVA NP a annoncà © fin janvier 2009 quil cà ¨derait totalement ses parts dici à   2012 pour mettre fin à   ce partenariat financier. Siemens explique son dà ©sengagement par linsuffisante coopà ©ration managà ©riale. Ce partenariat permettait

Mutations of the Superoxide Dismutase Gene are Associated with Amyotrop

Recent studies have provided some insight for the possible causes of the familial type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS). This disease occurs only in 10% of the known cases of ALS with the sporadic, non-hereditary form being predominant [7, 9]. ALS in general has an occurrence of 0.4 to 1.8 per 100,000 live births [1]. ALS has been called Lou Gehrig’s disease, Charcot’s disease and motor neuron disease in other literature [4]. ALS is a neurodegenerative disease of upper and lower motor neurons that can manifest in such a way that it can be misdiagnosed. Such areas include respiratory muscles with initial diagnosis of asthma, or even psychological problems that appear as a dementia [7]. The primary manifestations are not restricted to any certain area of the body. FALS is inherited autosomally as a dominant trait [9,12,13,17]. It exhibits heterogeneity and may not be present in a consecutive generation [1]. It is diagnosed usually near the age of fifty and ranges f rom 20-72 years [9,17]. Most patients are given a prognosis of 5 years of life after diagnosis [5]. It has also been proposed that the juvenile form may be recessive. There is a predominance of maternal transmission in later onset and paternal transmission in early onset [9]. The bulk of this paper will deal with the SOD1 gene mutations as the proposed cause for some types of FALS. Many other hypothesis have been developed and will be briefly addressed at this point. Autoimmune disease and mutations in the glutamate receptor are other proposed causes. Autoimmune disease has been studied as a possible agent for the cause of FALS [6]. Supportive evidence includes the deficiency of IgG1 or IgG3 or both in 16/25 observed patients; subclass deficiency could... .... 12. Maurelli, M., Marchioni, E. Familial adult amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: report of cases. Ital. J. Neurol. Sci., 1992, 13:75-79. 13. Mulder, D. W., Kurland, L. T. Familial adult motor neuron disease: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurology, Apr 1986, 36:511-517. 14. Norris, F. H.., Burns, W. Spinal fluid cells and protein in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Arch. Neurol., May 1993, 50:489-491. 15. Ostermeyer-Shoaib, B. IgG subclass deficiency in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Neurol. Scand., 1993, 87:192-194. 16. Rosen, O. R,, Siddiquem T. Mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nature, 4Mar 1993, 362:59-62. 17. Strong, M. J., Hudson, A. J. Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 1850-1989: A statistical analysis of the world literature. Can. J. Neural. Sci., 1991, 18: 45-58.

Business Strategy and the Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making Essay

Good decision making is arguably the most important skill a successful manager can possess, but the ability to make intelligent decisions on an on-going basis requires not only intuition and experience, but also the right data. In fact, Garrison, Noreen, and Brewer (2012) identify intelligent, data-driven decision making as a business leader’s most basic managerial skill. That basic skill plays a critical role in helping a manager formulate and execute a successful business strategy. Manager’s need access to relevant historical data and projections to make intelligent, fact based decisions. The use of business intelligence and analytics has become the cornerstone of strategy formulation and execution across corporations around the globe. Access to relevant data is a necessity in not only formulating a business strategy, but in monitoring the execution of that strategy. The use of data for effective decision making is not a new concept, but since the introduction of the balanced scorecard by Robert Kaplan and David Norton in 1996, the use of data to support decision making has taken off. In addition, the adoption of enabling technologies has accelerated the use of data-driven decision making. Whether it’s an operations manager monitoring key operational indicators or a sales manager forecasting sales revenue, appropriate data and the technologies which enable its most effective use, are key necessities in making intelligent and timely decisions. Formulating and executing a business strategy is a basic requirement for just about any business, but making good decisions is the difference between a successful business and one that goes bankrupt. The key to making those intelligent decisions that aid in the formulation and execution of a successful business strategy is the use of data to support those decisions. As an encore to their balanced scorecard concept, Robert Kaplan and David Norton (2001) describe how to successfully execute a business strategy by creating an organization where everyone is focused on strategy. At the heart of their approach was their original balanced scorecard which provides a summary of relevant data for managers. In their next book, they expand their original concept by making strategy a priority for everyone involved in the organization (2001). Although, Kaplan and Norton focused on business strategy, what they really succeeded in doing was putting data at the heart of every business process in every organization that adopted their approach. They enabled data-driven decision making as a by-product of designing a successful mechanism for executing business strategy. Kaplan and Norton understood that having access to relevant data was the key to successful decision making. Since Kaplan and Norton, the use of data-driven decision making has expanded. Today, aggregating, displaying, and analyzing data is referred to as business intelligence and analytics. Laursen and Thorlund (2010) contend that the deployment of business analytics and a business’ strategy are tightly linked. Analysis of important data sources and methods are a critical component of overall strategy development and decision making (2010). Today, successful business leaders not only recognize the use of data to make effective decisions, but they demand it. Although companies are capitalizing on the use of business intelligence and analytics today, it’s clear the use of data as a tool for decision making had its roots in Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard (1996). The balanced scorecard concept was originally proposed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) as a way to measure a company’s performance and execute the company strategy. It was an improvement on the traditional method of using financial systems to track performance (1996). Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard became the norm for not only measuring performance, but also as the preferred method for executing business strategy (1996). Although the use of data was nothing new in business, the balanced scorecard gave way to an era of using data for making critical business decisions. I have been involved in business meetings for a number of years with business leaders from operations managers to senior executives. Each meeting from operations reviews to performance or strategy always includes the review of some form of scorecard with critical business data. Simply adopting the balanced scorecard approach is not sufficient though. Managers must choose a method for implementing the approach that is efficient and gets the right data to the right people when they need it; the use of business intelligence can accomplish this goal (Paladino, 2008). Businesses have recognized the value of critical business intelligence, but some have taken the approach a step further. The most successful companies have adopted helpful business intelligence technologies available today to optimize the use of the balanced scorecard approach. Leading business intelligence tools on the market optimize the use of data for intelligent decision making by taking volumes of data and making it easy to access, organize, and augment to quickly fit the needs of the business. These enabling technologies allow a company to efficiently use data to formulate and execute a sound business strategy. Business Intelligence offerings from SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft represent more than half of the tools available in the market and are often tailored to specific industries (Henschen, 2012). For example, iLog is a business rule management system product from IBM that enables an insurance company to build a list of business rules that make a decision on whether or not an individual is approved for coverage based on user input (IBM ILOG, 2009). An individual enters all pertinent information into a form on the insurance company’s web site (powered by the ILOG product), and a decision based on coverage is immediately provided. An insurance company whose business strategy outlines process and operational optimization and improving customer acquisition is better positioned to execute that strategy with such a product. ILOG however is geared toward a more specific purpose. The more common business intelligence technologies take volumes of company and market data and organize it in such a way that provides a summary of valued business indicators. These technologies enable managers to make more informed decisions by having the right data readily available. Intelligent decision making is a complex process that requires a combination of experience and intuition, but most importantly, the use of the right supporting data. The formulation and execution of a successful business strategy requires managers to make a number of intelligent decisions. Having access to relevant data to make those intelligent decisions is the key to success. Integrating the balanced scorecard into the heart of a business’ management system as outlined by Kaplan and Norton (2001) is, in fact, a way to integrate data into every business process within an organization. More recent business intelligence and analytics technologies have made adopting these methodologies much easier for businesses. Managers are finding that an investment in enabling technologies yields significant financial results through efficiency and optimization. There is a common element that exists within any organization that has developed and executed a sound business strategy. Within each business, you will find a manager or team of business leaders who recognized and implemented the use of data to drive their decision making. References Garrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. C. (2012). Managerial Accounting (14th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. Henschen, D. (2012). Advanced analytics. InformationWeek, (1351), 7-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1220681098?accountid=7083 IBM ILOG Solutions for Insurance. (2009, July). IBM Software Group Solution Brief. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from http://www-304.ibm.com/easyaccess/fileserve?contentid=193615 Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School, 1996. Print. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused Organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Laursen, G. H., & Thorlund, J. (2010). Business Analytics for Managers: Taking Business Intelligence Beyond Reporting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Paladino, B., & Williams, N. (2008). Moving strategy forward: Merging the balanced scorecard and business intelligence. Business Performance Management Magazine, 6(2), 12-17. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218349922?accountid=7083

Jasmine Revolution Essay

Leadership or Tyranny? Summary: Within just 28 days, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had no alternative but to step down from his 23-year presidency in Tunisia. A single spark set by Mohamed Bouazizi turned out to be a prairie fire across the whole country. Economic Growth Paradox Although the economy of Tunisia has been growing steady at an average rate of 5% for the past 23 years, the unemployment rate has been standing at over 10% since 2003, which is indeed alarmingly high. The rate is double for the young Tunisians, and even higher for the fresh graduates. A recent survey has shown that the unemployment rate stands at 25% and 44% for male graduates and female graduates respectively. If the economy is growing every year, why are there so many people out of job and struggling to survive against serious inflation? What is going on behind the scene? Surrender to Dictatorship In addition to the economic factors, the political situation in Tunisia has played a crucial role in this Jasmine Revolution. The Tunisians have been silent for years: minimal (if any) freedom of speech, deprivation of other political rights and stringent censorship over information and the press. Rampant corruption at the top tier level of the Ben Ali regime, as revealed by Wikileaks, is another burning issue. On the other hand, the Tunisians had to confront the unreliable and abusive police force from the government. Instead of being protected by the local police force, Bouazizi (who was operating as an unlicensed hawker) had his produce confiscated and his subsequent complaints entirely ignored, which eventually led to his self-immolation. Transactional Leadership The exchange relationship between the Ben Ali government and the citizens in Tunisia did not seem to be balanced. Prior to a series of protests and demonstrations and subsequent abdication of Ben Ali, the Tunisians had been resigned to the dictatorship of Ben Ali in exchange of a decent life. However, are the Tunisians getting what they are supposed to obtain? Undeniably, Tunisia has become one of the most stable countries in Arab. True, the slow yet steady economic prosperity and gradual increase in basic health care and education have made the Tunisians look better-off than their Libyan and Algerian counterparts. Nonetheless, they are also under constant threat of unemployment, corrupt officials and violent police force instead of what guarantees a decent life – law and order. Media in Play? While some critics have also partially attributed this revolution to Internet social media, Twitter and Facebook in particular, caution should be exercised in order to avoid playing up the actual influence of social media. No doubt, the speed of information transmission has been greatly enhanced with the introduction of the Internet. In the case of Tunisia, some have named it as â€Å"Twitter Revolution†. However, all social media are better seen as a vehicle or a catalyst of the protests and subsequent overthrowing of Ben Ali. In other words, they are not the sole enablers of such revolution. After all, the crux lies with the fact that when the leader realises his self-interests and benefits at the expense of the interest of the other party, such transactions can no longer be deemed as satisfactory or fair in the eye of the exploited party. What’s Next The single spark in Tunisia has already started a prairie fire in Egypt, with the flame spreading to Libya and China at a great speed. How should the leaders faced with similar dilemmas react? Adopting an even more high-handed approach on the people helps very little at best, and aggravates the problem further at worse. Stricter censorship and control over the information flow to the citizens might sound plausible, yet people can always find means to overcome such barriers. On the other hand, people do not seem intimidated by the dire consequence of their protests – arrest and torture. The self-immolation of Bouazizi is a case in point to show the ‘make-or-break’ determination of the people when pushed to the dead alley. Fair Deal If the transactional relationship is to be maintained, the leaders should identify, understand and respond to the true needs of people. Marginalizing any segment of the society is the last thing to do – frustration and disappointment of the people can evolve into a fatal blow to any regime. If people’s basic welfare were not well taken care of, could the government rest assured that social peace would be maintained? What can go hand in hand with the above is that the leader should create a vision for the people and motivate the people to pursue and actualize the same version, not for themselves only but for others as well.

010 Narrative Examples and Summary Professor Ramos Blog

010 Narrative Examples and Summary Literacy Narrative Examples Rediscovering Reading http://daln.osu.edu/handle/2374.DALN/2944 Talks about his trajectory as a reader- from early reading experience and success in reading contests; to adolescence when he was more focused on his social life and no longer enjoyed reading for school; to his experience in the Marine Corps, serving in Iraq, and returning to his love of reading and uses for reading in a variety of contexts (for fun, for work, etc). He also reflects on the experience that service members have with reading (e.g., he challenges the stereotype that Marines are dumb â€Å"jarheads† and don’t read much). What was the take away from his narrative? What point did he want to make? Read Your Bible or go to Hell Summary Summarize what you think the main point was of the second literacy narrative. The Art of Summarizing Chapter 2 explains how to write an extended summary.  Careful you do not write a list summary or â€Å"closest cliche†. The book treats summary and paraphrase similarly. Keep in mind that you will also be using quotes. Put yourself in their shoes Know where you are going Summarizing Satirically Use Signal Verbs The Believing Game Closest Cliche List Summaries Quick Write Tell us about a moment in your literacy? Who was there, how did it happen, where were you?

Total Data Quality Management essays

Total Data Quality Management essays In the current global business environment, since a company competes on quality, it is likely the most important aspect of its strategic plan. The value of Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) to its clients is based on the quality of their high performance data processing software. Information is IRIs business and data processing is their product. Quality defects can occur in the collection, storage, or retrieval of data. Also, products and services offered by IRI varies from country to country and industry to industry. In such an environment, managing and controlling the quality of data is a critical and inevitable issue to obtain the competitive advantage. IRI relies on different data sources for capturing information and, with data, there is a strong reliance on data entry perfection. As data is collected, incomplete, inconsistent, duplicate or redundant data adversely affects not only IRIs reliance to the customer, but also the customers performance. In the same way, defects in a p hysical product cost the manufacturer money; bad data is a critical problem to IRI. To ensure IRI is getting the most out of every application, system, and database to maximize the use of corporate data, they implemented a Total Data Quality Management (TQDM) program. The successful implementation of a TQDM program will consist of frequent defining, monitoring, analyzing, and improving the process. Our investigation begins with a review of IRIs history and background. The casual relationship between IRI and a TQDM approach will be examined. In addition, the necessity of a TQDM program will be examined in order to obtain the competitive advantage. Finally, through the background of the implementation of TQDM, we identify the business problem. In the next step of our task, we will conduct the analysis of the market and customer requirements and needs. In addition, we will think about the effectiveness of the supply and value chain...

Definition and Examples of Linguistic Purism

Definition and Examples of Linguistic Purism Purism is a  pejorative term in linguistics for a zealous conservatism in regard to the use and development of a language. Also known as  language purism, linguistic purism, and discourse purism. A purist (or grammaticaster)  is someone who expresses a desire to eliminate certain undesirable features from a language, including grammatical errors, jargon, neologisms, colloquialisms, and words of foreign origin. The problem with defending the purity of the English language, says James Nicoll, is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We dont just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary (quoted by Elizabeth Winkler in Understanding Language, 2015). Examples and Observations Like other tabooing practices, language purism seeks to constrain the linguistic behavior of individuals by identifying certain elements in a language as bad. Typically, these are words and word usage that are believed to threaten the identity of the culture in questionwhat 18th-century grammarians referred to as the genius of the language. Authenticity has two faces: one is the struggle to arrest linguistic change and to protect it from foreign influences. But, as Deborah Cameron claims, the prescriptive endeavors of speakers are more complex and diverse than this. She prefers the expression verbal hygiene over prescription or purism for exactly this reason. According to Cameron, a sense of linguistic values makes verbal hygiene part of every speakers linguistic competence, as basic to language as vowels and consonants. (Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Purism in the 16th Century I am of this opinion that our own tung shold be written cleane and pure, unmixt and unmangeled with borowing of other tunges, wherein if we take not heed by tiim, ever borowing and never paying, she shall be fain to keep her house as bankrupt. (John Cheke, Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University ­, in a letter to Thomas Hoby, 1561)- Sir John Cheke (1514-1557) was so determined that the English tongue should be preserved pure, unmixt and unmangeled . . . that he produced a translation of the gospel of St. Matthew using only native words, forcing him to coin neologisms (new words) such as mooned lunatic, hundreder centurion, and crossed crucified. This policy recalls an Old English practice in which Latin words like discipulus were rendered using native formations like leorningcniht, or learning follower, rather than by borrowing the Latin word, as Modern English does with disciple. (Simon Horobin, How English Became English. Oxford University Press, 2016) Purism in the 19th Century A certain Captain Hamilton in 1833 demonstrates the invective the British directed at the language used in America. He claims that his denunciation is the natural feeling of an Englishman at finding the language of Shakespeare and Milton thus gratuitously degraded. Unless the present progress of change be arrested by an increase of taste and judgment in the more educated classes, there can be no doubt that, in another century, the dialect of the Americans will become utterly unintelligible to an English man . . .. Hamiltons vituperation exemplifies a purist view of language, which allows only one fixed, immutable, correct version [and] which sees difference and change as degradation.(Heidi Preschler, Language and Dialect, in Encyclopedia of American Literature, ed. by Steven Serafin. Continuum, 1999) Brander Matthews on Lost Causes in the Early 20th Century The purist used to insist that we should not say the house is being built, but rather the house is building. So far as one can judge from a survey of recent writing the purist has abandoned this combat; and nobody nowadays hesitates to ask, What is being done? The purist still objects to what he calls the Retained Object in such a sentence as he was given a new suit of clothes. Here again, the struggle is vain, for this usage is very old; it is well established in English; and whatever may be urged against it theoretically, it has the final advantage of convenience. The purist also tells us that we should say come to see me and try to do it, and not come and see me and try and do it. Here once more the purist is setting up a personal standard without any warrant. He may use whichever of these forms he likes best, and we on our part have the same permission, with a strong preference for the older and more idiomatic of them. (Brander Matthews, Parts of Speech: Essays on English, 1901)D espite the exacerbated protests of the upholders of authority and tradition, a living language makes new words as these may be needed; it bestows novel meanings upon old words; it borrows words from foreign tongues; it modifies its usages to gain directness and to achieve speed. Often these novelties are abhorrent; yet they may win acceptance if they approve themselves to the majority. . . .To fix a living language finally is an idle dream, and if it could be brought about it would be a dire calamity.(Brander Matthews, What Is Pure English? 1921) Todays Peevers Language peevers write for one another. They are not really writing for the larger public; they do not expect to be heeded by the larger public, and it would not be desirable if they were. Their identities are predicated on the belief that they are an elect, purists holding up the flickering candle of civilization amid the rabble. They write for one another to reinforce this status. If everyone wrote as they prescribe, their distinction would vanish.Actually, there is a small additional audience of aspirants to the club: English majors, journalists, teachers pets in whose minds a handful of shibboleths lodge, to be applied mechanically and unintelligently thereafter. But the great unwashed public pays no attention and does not care, except to the extent that they have been schooled to feel vaguely uneasy about the way they speak and write.(John E. McIntyre, Secrets of the Peevers. The Baltimore Sun, May 14, 2014) The Grammaticaster Tradition Grammaticaster is a  pejorative  term for a  grammarian, especially one whos concerned with petty matters of  usage. - Ð Ã µ tells thee true, my noble neophyte; my little  grammaticaster, he does: it shall never put thee to thy mathematics, metaphysics, philosophy, and I know not what supposed sufficiencies; if thou canst but have the patience to plod enough, talk, and make a noise enough, be impudent enough, and tis enough.(Captain Pantilius Tucca in  The Poetaster, by Ben Jonson, 1601)- Nor have I much troubled their phrase and expression. I have not vexed their language with the doubts, the remarks, and eternal triflings of the French  grammaticasters.(Thomas Rhymer,  The Tragedies of the Last Age, 1677)- Such idiots, despite the rise of scientific pedagogy, have not died out in the world. I believe that our schools are full of them, both in pantaloons and in skirts. There are fanatics who love and venerate  spelling  as a tom-cat loves and venerates catnip. There are  grammatomaniacs; schoolmarms who would rather  parse  than eat; specialists in an  objective case  that doesnt exist in English; strange beings, otherwise sane and even intelligent and comely, who suffer under a  split infinitive  as you or I would suffer under gastro-enteritis.(H.L. Mencken, The Educational Process.  The Smart Set, 1922)  - Purist  is the most persistent of the many terms used to describe those people who concern themselves with correct English or correct grammar. Among other  epithets,  we find   tidier-up, precisian, schoolmarm,  grammaticaster, word-worrier, prescriptivist, purifier, logic-chopper  (H.W. Fowlers word),  grammatical moralizer  (Otto Jespersens term for H.W. Fowler),  usageaster, usagist, usager,  and  linguistic Emily Post. All of these seem at least faintly pejorative, some more than faintly so. The concern with the improvement, correction, and perfection of the existing language goes back to the 18th century, when the first influential grammars of English were written. There was current at that time a notion that a perfect language existed, at least in theory, and that reformation of the imperfect way existing language was used would lead to that perfection. (Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage, 1994)

Project Reflection - Walmart's CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Reflection - Walmart's CSR - Essay Example Social corporate activities may be mush or the destinations may be several. In this case the firm has to make weighed decisions on what to accomplish, the rank of accomplishment based on priorities, when to perform and the methods that will be involved to achieve different objectives and activities. Walmart Company is one of the famous firms whose activities in relation to social responsibility are sustained and recognized. In order to improve the corporate social responsibilities Walmart Company use different methods. These activities vary from monetary donations and money given to the poor and the unfortunate to community activities by non-governmental organizations to improve the lives of those within (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2011). The firm acts with an aim to reduce qualms that are associated with the bad interactions with the external communities. Operations are performed in such a way that the communities in the outside are comfortable and enjoy the services. The company is involved in the protection of the environment and engages in many activities relating to environmental sustainability such as planting trees, teaching individuals living nearby on good control of water, ways to reduce soil erosion and proper farming activities. The company is involved in many activities that promote the living standards of people and that encourage the works of various classes of people like the students. Not only do the neighboring communities benefit from its availability, but also, the far and reachable places benefit based on the donations that the company sends. I continuously argue that the firm is a good corporate citizen. The ability to be involved in most activities relation to the external environment by an organization varies among firms and is influenced by many factors. Not all firms are able to work with the societies in which they live or even donate funds towards the

Lawmaking in the States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lawmaking in the States - Essay Example Lawmaking is not only made contentious, but very difficult, due to partisanship. The legislature is affected adversely due to the bitter partisanship, when the two parties just keep on playing the blame game and side with their own party member, irrespective of their own personal beliefs, and without taking into account the cost of their â€Å"fights† to the public exchequer. It is interesting to note that the Senate delayed the state budgets of both 1997 and 1999 by months due to partisanship. The Republicans blamed Majority Leader Chuck Chvala for it, whereas he passed the proverbial buck to the Republicans. No matter who was responsible, the result was that with so much time spent on passing the budget, there was very little time left for other legislation. The legislators deliberate policy proposals in the Senate or the House of Representatives (U. S. Congress). A proposal is introduced as a â€Å"bill† or a â€Å"resolution† by any member of the house in front of a Committee, which can hold meetings or collect relevant evidence and can also amend the bill if they consider it necessary. The bills are approved if the majority of the House votes for it. Once these proposals/ bills are approved they are sent to the other house for deliberation. Legislators build support through various ways, these include, but are not limited to, creating advisory committees consisting of people supporting the proposal and reaching out to others with the proposal. Also newsletters are published with information about the proposal, along with the results of Community Surveys on the proposal. They also attend as many Community Meetings as possible with the view of increasing their relationship with the local people as well as the media. When there is a difference of opinion between the two chambers of the legislature, or when there is an amendment being made at the second chamber, the bill

Locate an image of the future that was developed before 1990 Essay

Locate an image of the future that was developed before 1990 - Essay Example Orwell’s vision, written in 1948, originally pertained to some future indeterminate time, but the publishers thought to use a more catchy title and reversed the last two digits of the year of writing. The vision truly conformed with the two postulates proposed by James Dator: first, that ‘the future cannot be studied, because the future does not exist’; and second, that ‘any useful idea about the future should appear to be ridiculous from today’s point of view.’ (NRC, 2010, p.31). That a see-all-know-all government did not exist in 1948 was apparent because the enabling technology was not yet available. It was also considered extremely unlikely, even outright ridiculous in the post-war Western democracies, since 1984 was considered little more than ‘a [part of the] mythology of our culture’ (Chatfield, 1975, p.947). I interviewed my high school literature teacher, who at 77 years could recall the exuberance of the post-war era. After we won the war, he said, there was a fierce pride in our freedoms as inalienable and incontestable, so the thought that people will tolerate a â€Å"Big Brother† was ludicrous. It was possible, though, that 1984’s image of a totalitarian society was suggested by the rise of socialist states and the threat of communism. Unlike my teacher, I feel Orwell’s society is possible, since the technology is already available and the governments of the world are already encroaching on human rights. Images of 1984 as construed in the fifties, and the updated counterpart images evoking the same are shown below. Orwell’s vision is, as Dator’s theory states, just one of many possible ‘futures’ – pertaining to the possibility that the threat of communism shall triumph over America’s status quo; it is at best a ‘what-if,’ allowing for a ‘what-if-not.’ How the choice made among alternatives is therefore crucial. The perceived alternative futures may possibly turn into

Information Processing Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information Processing Theory - Research Paper Example This paper will highlight the theory and model and analyze how its application in understanding the issues of children with special needs. For the brain to perform any of its functions, it adopts a logical order of processing information. The information processing theory is analogous to the functioning of a computer. The theory touches on three parts of the brain. These include the sensory memory that receives all sensory input. The short memory actively processes the perceived stimuli through several cognitive processes. The aspects of pattern recognition and attention come in closely to help the short memory process the stimuli. After processing, other complex procedures transfer the information to the long-term memory. Retrieval often occurs from the long-term memory. Information in the short-term memory is accessible for limited amounts of time and often undergoes decay after time elapses. In the social context, Crick and Dodge constructed a model that highlights the stepwise ma nner in which the human mind processes social cues from the point of reception to the production of response. In this model, it becomes clear that the brain does not respond to stimuli without processing. On the contrary, several steps are necessary for the human brain to produce a relevant response (Flood, Hare, and Wallis, 2011). In the initial stages of the social information processing, the brain indulges actively in the encoding and making interpretations out of cues from the social context or internal sources. The interpretation process includes analysis of causes, consideration of both self and inferences from others, goal assessment and past performance evaluation. In the next step, the brain employs several mechanisms in order to clarify the goal of the process. After attaining clarity on the social goals expected, the brain then indulges in mechanisms that result to relevant strategies aimed at producing effective response. Memories, social norms, and familiarity of the si tuation play a crucial role in determining the strategies adopted. The brain then analyzes the resulting response critically according to moral values, societal expectations, and assessing the potential reaction from the others. Lastly, the human mind weighs its capacity to enact the final response. In the end, selection of the best response and the associated behavioral code occurs (Flood, Hare, and Wallis, 2011). Children with special needs portray deficiencies in the social information processing. An illustration is the case of children with Asperger syndrome who portray a range of disabilities in the processes described in the Crick and Dodge model. Previous research suggests that children with this syndrome presented difficulties in attribution of their intents, generation of appropriate responses and evaluation of the relevance of the response (Flood, Hare, and Wallis, 2011). It becomes essential for special needs teachers to understand the difficulties of children suffering f rom this syndrome in order to help them improve in the processing of social effectively. Tur-Kaspa (2004) used the same social information-processing model to assess the learning disabilities

Mobile Health Application Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mobile Health Application - Research Paper Example It is a small book for not only drug reference but also has several rules for disease pathologies. Medical students and professionals like Medscape because it has instructions on performing medical procedures, videos on the actual action and detailed pictures (Sullivan, 2013). Many because of free content also love it; over 7,000 drug orientations, 3,500 disease medical references and medical images about 2,500 are all free on the app. Strong drug interaction tool checker CME activities are also some features that make Medscape more favorable. The app regardless of features achieves the application in mobile phones and tablets. It can be accessed offline without the internet connection; you only download the medical reference database (Schulk, 2013). The idea is almost real to everyone since almost each person owns a smartphone (Dalrymple,2010). Despite all the benefits acquired from the app, it also has disadvantages especially on security and privacy threats. Some of the threats include: Stolen mobile device- in case the mobile device which was actively used to access, transmit and eventually store patient’s information on his/her health gets lost or is stolen, the patients data might be at great risk of getting into wrong hands. The culprits might alter the medical information, and this may pose a great risk to person’s health. In addition, medical identity theft may occur whereby another person uses a person’s name and medical number (Dixon, 2006). To avoid all these, all mobile devices used by medics must be designed to ask for passwords, special codes or fingerprints in order to gain access. Area for entering passwords must be masked so that a person cannot see it avoid cracking of the password. Remote wiping or disabling can be activated on the device, which can allow erasure of all information on the device in case it is lost or stolen and if later recovered data can be recovered by enabling the

How does a transnational approach modify New Zealand's cultural Essay

How does a transnational approach modify New Zealand's cultural history is it useful Refer to at least 3 course thems - Essay Example The Waitangi treaty recognised the British Sovereignty in NZ and also offered protection to the interests of Maori’s in their traditional lands.The preamble of this treaty in Maori spotlights the creation of a government that would safeguard the interest of tribal community rangatiratanga. As per Brooking and Rebel (1995), NZs immigration policies customarily gave preference to European settlers especially from UK , Protestant Anglo-Celtic origins. NZ due to foreigner settlements , developed a new culture that materialized over centuries of relative separation, leaving from pacific cultures and adopting into the social cultures of hapu, whanau and iwi. This research essay will discuss about the culture , media , the urban society , the missionary and literary that prevailed in New Zealand in 1950 and will analyse how transnational culture has impacted the NZs culture . Culture Cross breed between Maori and Europeans were known as Pakeha. The signing of Treaty of Waitangi can b e regarded as the founding stone of modern citizenship. The NZ was transformed into a major agricultural producer for UK due to the ingress of Pacific citizens in the late 1950s. Later , settlers from Asia also ingressed into NZ1. Maori pre-European culture was oral and footed upon small independent sub-tribes residing in harbours ,valleys , ridges and sculpted hills. Armed conflict stories are much available in the Maori tribal history.Both polygamy and cannibalism were the common features of Maori culture. Tools were made from stones which was known as pounamu and tuhua. For weaving and other purposes , flax was employed. Initial trade in these products was in the barter system. Natural resources like sea, forest and waterways were regarded as sacred and exploitation of these natural resources were under strict supervision namely tapu (holiness),and manna carried over by tohunga.(priests)2. Edward Ned Kelly was the leader of the Kelly Gang.Nel Kelly story was very popular in New Z ealand through the ballads , folklore which praised the bush proscribers as the compelling character of freedom fighters and confrontation to the British authorities in NZ. In the 19th century , bushrangers were regarded as outlaws who frightened the bush country in NZ and Australia. The kelly gang was considered to the last generation of bushrangers in NZ3. â€Å"Cinemas, TVs & Radios† As per Department of Statistics (1975), there were about 600 cinema houses and 36.4 million cinema visitors in NZ in 1950.In 1950s, cinema admission rates were 2 shillings and 10 pence whereas today it is around 9.06 dollars4. Government owned TV New Zealand channels namely TV One and TV2 is free –to-air channels whereas Australian –owned TV 3 and its music channel is in operation in NZ. Some appealing foreign films and documentaries along with Maori subtitle and locally produced programs in Maori are being telecasted through Maori TV channel in NZ. In 1950, Kiwis paid an annual licence fee of more than ? 1 to the post office as the fee for such service as radio was under the state control then. Radio Sport is very active in sports news and commentaries. Radio New Zealand broadcasts current news and cultural programms and is available all through NZ. Local gigs are being broadcasted by the bNet, the student managed radio station,and new alternative music is being broadcasted by the Auckland’s 95Bfm. Tribal radio station namely Waikato’s Radio Tainui which has the country-wide network in NZ. Further , there are other players

Mobile Health Application Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mobile Health Application - Research Paper Example It is a small book for not only drug reference but also has several rules for disease pathologies. Medical students and professionals like Medscape because it has instructions on performing medical procedures, videos on the actual action and detailed pictures (Sullivan, 2013). Many because of free content also love it; over 7,000 drug orientations, 3,500 disease medical references and medical images about 2,500 are all free on the app. Strong drug interaction tool checker CME activities are also some features that make Medscape more favorable. The app regardless of features achieves the application in mobile phones and tablets. It can be accessed offline without the internet connection; you only download the medical reference database (Schulk, 2013). The idea is almost real to everyone since almost each person owns a smartphone (Dalrymple,2010). Despite all the benefits acquired from the app, it also has disadvantages especially on security and privacy threats. Some of the threats include: Stolen mobile device- in case the mobile device which was actively used to access, transmit and eventually store patient’s information on his/her health gets lost or is stolen, the patients data might be at great risk of getting into wrong hands. The culprits might alter the medical information, and this may pose a great risk to person’s health. In addition, medical identity theft may occur whereby another person uses a person’s name and medical number (Dixon, 2006). To avoid all these, all mobile devices used by medics must be designed to ask for passwords, special codes or fingerprints in order to gain access. Area for entering passwords must be masked so that a person cannot see it avoid cracking of the password. Remote wiping or disabling can be activated on the device, which can allow erasure of all information on the device in case it is lost or stolen and if later recovered data can be recovered by enabling the

The Major Old Testament Eras Essay Example for Free

The Major Old Testament Eras Essay The Old Testament, the first section of the Christian bible has been reputed to date back to around 4000 years. Different scholars divide the old testament period into different epochs depending on the major events that occurred during this time. The occurrences may have happened in the world at that time or in the history as related by the bible. Some of the old most categorization divides the Old Testament history into primeval period/creation, patriarch era, exodus, Canaan conquest, the era of the judges, monarchial era, exile, return and restoration era. The dates of the eras are believed to have started from the beginning (4000BC). After this unique era of time, then came: the Patriarch Era around (1800-1290BC),Exodus era dated1447-1406,conquest of Canaan Era(1406-1390),The Era of Judges(1290-1050BC),the era monarchy(1050-750BC),Era of division and Exile(605-538BC)and finally the era of return and restoration (538-323BC). It is noteworthy that these given dates may not be precise and accurate. However they are archaeologically accepted. In the history of the Old Testament many outstanding events are recorded not only biblically but also secularly. This period of the existence of the old Old Testament could therefore be termed as one of the most outstanding historically active period in the history of world existence. In the primeval Era it is believed the creation took place. Heaven and earth with their contents remain inclusive were created as designed by God. In the Patriarchal Era recorded in Genesis 12-50, God in abide to reconcile with man ets requirements and laws to govern the existing generation of humans. During the Exodus, Moses led the Israelites who had been slavery in Egypt for 400yearsout of Egypt to go to the Promised Land as promised to Abraham their main descendant . This is the very period when the children of Israel of bondage stayed in the wilderness on their way to Canaan for 40 years. During this period world’s process of civilization continues in the powerful empires like Egypt. In the Era of conquest, Israelites led by Joshua after Moses death are conquering and entering Canaan hence focusing more on Joshua’s leadership. In other parts of the world the Iron Age commences, the 19th Dynasty is on and the powerful Chinese Chou Dynasty is in being. In era of Judges, there is no concrete leadership in Israel after their settlement the 19th Dynasty of Egypt is on and also the reign of raameser 2 perceived mistakenly to be spear led of the oppression to non- believers of alliterate translation by the liberal scholars of the time. In the Monarchial Era Israel comes up with Monarchy establishing a kingdom and doing away with the Judges. The king of Israel in this era was Saul, David and Solomon. Subsequently some world religions are being established secularly, it’s the period of time when a solar eclipse is recorded in Nineveh and Jerusalem on June 15th. In addition to that Mayan civilization commences in South America. After proper establishment and being of the kingdom there is division and exile of inhabitants and occupants of some portions of the kingdom go to Exile after capture by the Babylonians. Subsequently Rome was conquered by Etruscans and the existence of Buddha of India in rule hence development and establishment of Budhism. This is also time of some major prophets like Jeremiah of service to Gods people. Finally in the Era of Return and Restoration Israelites who were definitely of a generation were now set free from captivity and were to return to their original land. This is the very period that would when in the coming of the Messiah hence the New Testement. Majorly in the world, Mexander becomes the king of Macedonia and the statues of Zeus, Artenis temple Tomb of Mausollos are identified as 3rd, 4th, and 5th wonders of the ancient world respectively. In this era great scholars like: Alexander the great and Aristotle lived making there inventions remembered update. This is also the time of Confucius of China. Conclusively, these era of history are clearly cited in biblically as follows: The creation Era is found in Genesis 1-12, the Patriarch Era in Genesis 12-50, Exodus era in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and part of Deutronomy, conquest Era in the book of Joshua and even Deutronomy, the Era of Judges in Judges and era of Monarchy is found in Samuel and chronicles. The era of Division and Exile is found in 2kings, 2chronical, Jeremiah etc while the era of Return and restoration is chronologically cited in Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. After all these events the New Testament is ushered in with the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) fulfilling the prophecies made in the Old Testament in during the existence of various prophets in various occasions and under different inspirational cases and circumstances. References NLJV (2007). Life application study bible. NY: Tyndale House Publishers. Merill. (2000). Settle for more. Alabama: Wisconsin.

Harmonisation of International Accounting Standards | Essay

Harmonisation of International Accounting Standards | Essay In an increasingly global business environment, issues such as how companies account for their relevant financial positions in different jurisdictions gain greater importance. Many companies are international in their scope with several different subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions making the interpretation of accounts particularly difficult. Accounting standards in every country are developed with the background of that country’s individual social and economic circumstances, which results in a range of differing standards being developed across the globe[1]. As a result, it is very difficult for accounts to be read accurately and to make suitable financial decisions on investment by entities from other jurisdictions. Comparing performances and consolidating accounts without at least a degree of international harmonisation would prove very difficult, if not impossible. The Importance of Harmonisation As a result of the problems mentioned above, a uniform set of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been developed with the view to mitigating or, in some cases, eliminating divergences in the way that accounts are reported in different jurisdictions. It is recognised that a blanket standardisation is simply impossible; countries need the flexibility and freedom to allow influences from their own social and economic backgrounds to come into play. For this reason, a process of harmonisation has been established. By having a guideline for the ways in which companies from different countries must deal with certain corporate issues, it makes the position of managers and investors much easier. Having a foundation of standards allows allocation choices in terms of resources and time to be made across jurisdictions. In order to do this, a like for like comparison must be possible and this can only be achieved with a degree of harmonisation. In particular, the area of taxation has gained a great deal of attention from international accounting standard setters. For example, Financial Reporting Standard 19 states how a company should deal with deferred taxation situations, i.e. where the point of realising the asset and the corresponding liability are different and how this can be accounted for in the company accounts. By ensuring companies across the globe are broadly following the same principles, it is much easier to ascertain the true financial position of the company in question. The International Accounting Standards Board The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is a wide group of people who are independent and are involved in the development and management of the International Financial Reporting Standards. The work of the IASB is supervised by the International Accounting Standards Committee and has additional support from external advisory committees. In total, there are fourteen board members, representing nine different countries, thus ensuring geographical diversity and representation during the standard setting process. The main work of the IASB is to work with the various different national accounting standard setters in a bid to ensure that there is a worldwide convergence of accounting standards being put in place. As mentioned previously, the aim is not to force nations into following one set of distinct rules, but rather to encourage a union of standards. The work of the IASB has been widely recognised, with more than 100 countries across the world either requiring or at least allowing the use of international accounting standards. This substantially increases the freedom of trade and investment on an international scale. International companies are able to ensure that consolidated accounts are prepared to produce useful and accurate accounts of the way in which the company is performing. This ability to draw accurate comparison is vital for the truly international scope of modern business[2]. Structure and Processes of the IASB Gaining harmonisation and convergence of accounting standards is clearly an important and useful element of international business. Achieving this is, however, a particularly difficult task. No international financial reporting standard can be passed and agreed on without the due process being followed. International agreement is vital, if such convergence is going to be efficiently attained across the globe. The process is carried out in six stages, each of which is open to debate and is overseen by the executive committees. Firstly, the agenda is set. During this process, the IASB will look at the issue being raised, the current approaches being taken by the various different countries and the realistic possibility of achieving greater harmonisation. On the assumption that further harmonisation is thought possible, the IASB will then consider and set out the scope of the international standard that is envisaged. Secondly, the project of establishing the accounting standard is planned fully to ensure the maximum possible buy-in from the various countries. Crucially, at this point, the IASB will decide if it is going to act alone in establishing the standard or whether it requires the assistance of other standard setting bodies[3]. Thirdly, once the project is fully understood, a discussion paper is published. This will state the issues as the IASB sees it and the possible solutions that exist for the problem. This is absolutely crucial. The work of the IASB relies almost entirely upon the agreement of the participating countries and, therefore, opening the discussion up to these countries is vital. Fourthly, once the discussion stage has been duly undertaken, an exposure draft is issued with details of the proposed solution. This is essential as it will be at this point that many countries will raise objections or make further suggestions. Fifthly, all of these processes are put together and the standard itself is drafted and published. It takes into account all comments and issues raised during the discussion paper and exposure draft. Finally, after the standard has been issued, the IASB will review the uptake and the way it has been applied by the various countries. It may be that further amendments or new standards are needed and the process will then restart. The entire process is based on discussion and co-operation, which is vital if any form of harmonisation can be truly efficient[4]. Challenges to Harmonisation Harmonisation is clearly beneficial for international trade and businesses. However, such large scale convergence is going to be difficult to manage and achieve; firstly, as the standards have to be incorporated into the national standards set by every individual country. This requires the relevant countries to be on board and prepared to support the various international standards being developed. Naturally, the support that is being shown for this is different between the various countries, with the more affluent countries being able to comply more readily because of their advanced accounting structure[5]. Secondly, the changing of the way in which accounts are presented is not always a quick or cheap process, which can cause difficulties for some smaller companies. In some cases, the adoption of certain international standards will result in the reported profits of the company falsely appearing substantially lower than the previous year. For this reason, some companies will naturally be slower or more hesitant to adopt the new standards. Where there is resistance, the IASB does not have the power or teeth to enforce the standards. This lack of ability to enforce can ultimately make the process of ensuring total international harmonisation extremely difficult and potentially impossible. Conclusions The IASB plays an absolutely vital role in the move towards gaining an internationally harmonised set of accounting standards. All of the work undertaken by the IASB is mindful of the need to achieve co-operation between all countries and, as such, has been structured in the way that it establishes standards through the process of discussion and explanatory documents, encouraging the accession of all relevant parties, at every step of the way. In doing so, the chances of international harmonisation are much greater and this will bring with it all of the benefits of internationally usable accounts. 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