How internal and external users benefit from financial information

How internal and external users benefit from financial information Nowadays the role of accounting is very important in business because it help the business to grow and expand. Accounting is the process of identifying, measuring, recording and communicating economic information. These steps help the manager to make financial decisions to improve their business. Internal users use financial information to plan, control and make decisions based on the situation and resources of business such as salary cost or cost of goods sold. Furthermore, the external users such as stockholders, suppliers and governments agency also need the financial report from the business such as General Purpose Financial Report (GPFR) or Special Purpose Financial Report (SPFR). In accounting informations conceptual framework, there are some qualitative characteristics which make information useful such as understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability. This essay will critical examine the characteristic of accounting information in regard to understandability, re levance, reliability and comparability. The first important characteristic of accounting information to make it useful is understandability. Understandability means that users of accounting information can be assumed that they have reasonable knowledge about economic activities and to be able to read a financial report (Ahmed Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004, p186). By this assumption, the users of financial report must have reasonable degree of financial knowledge to help them to read the report. On the other hand, even though the users have responsibility for understanding financial report, the business must provide the understandable financial report. An example of this is there are many arguments against the new accounting method when the business want to replace the old systems because there will be many users of financial report who can not adapt to understand the new accounting method. As a result, the financial report will be useless even though the new method is more useful for decision making. The argument also state that th e understandability is more important than relevant. However, the business nowadays is very complex, so that the users must have some advisers to read the financial reports for them if they have difficulty to read the reports. For example, the capital providers are unfamiliar with actions the entity will take to hedge its exposure to financial risks so that they will have difficulty to understand the financial statement which explain the exposure activities. This information, however is relevant to users who making the decisions (Financial accounting standard board, 2008). Finally, the users of accounting information must have reasonable knowledge about financial activities and able to read the accounting report. Moreover, the financial report is useful when it is understandable for the users. Relevant also is a very important characteristic of accounting information because it is the first primary qualitative characteristics of Hierarchy of Desirable Characteristics of Accounting Information (no author, 2007). Relevance is defined when the information is usefully associated with the action it is designed to facilitate or the result it is designed to produce (Walter B. Meigs, 1979, p37). Therefore, relevant information can affect managers decisions by changing or confirming their decisions about the result of activities or events. There are 3 components of relevance which are predictive value, feedback value and timeliness. In the accountings conceptual framework, relevant information is useful for the investors, creditors to evaluate the past, present and future of activities (predictive value) and to confirm their decision (feedback value). The relevant information also has timeliness because the relevant information will reduce their usefulness if the decision makers wo uld not be made within the time limit. In conclude, the relevant information is very useful for the users because they can make the decisions based on the past, present and future of activities. Thirdly, accounting information will not be useful without reliability. Reliability in accounting information is defined as the information is truthful, accurate, complete and capable of being verified (Wikianswers, 2008). The reason why accounting information should be reliable is that the users will rely on the information to make decisions. There are three component characteristics in reliability which are verifiability, representational faithfulness and neutrality. The accounting must be verified to confirm the accuracy of information so they can audit or change the information. Moreover, the representational faithfulness is defined as the agreement between the measure and actual events, so that the information will be truthful and accurate. Furthermore, the last component characteristic of reliability is neutral. Neutral information is free from bias toward attaining some desired result or inducing a particular mode of behavior (Ahmed Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004, 187) which means that the purport of the information should be affected from predetermined results. Finally, if the information does not have reliability, the business can not make decisions based on the information or they may make inappropriate decision which will lead to the negative result. The last characteristic of accounting information is comparability which is also the secondary quality. Comparability is simply allows the business or users of information to make a comparison between the variable information. For example, there are three companies which using different method to calculate the depreciation. The first two companies using straight line method, whereas the last one using accelerated depreciation method. As a result, the users of information hardly make a decision based on the result because three companies using different method. It should be easier if three companies using the same method to calculate the depreciation (Ahmed Riahi-Belkaoui, 2004, p187). Consistency is different from comparability because consistency means that the financial statement can be compared within a single company from one accountings period to the next. For example, the company may want to change the accountings system, so that it is hard to compare the information in two per iods because they are using different accounting method. Therefore, the accounting information should be comparable, so that the users can make decisions about the future by comparing the pasts information and the presents. In conclusion, the accounting information will be useful to the users when they have four characteristics which are understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability. Understandability means that the accounting information should be reported in common ways, so that the users who actually have knowledge about reading accounting report will understand the report. Furthermore, the accounting information should be relevant, so that the users can make futures decisions based on the past and the present. In addition, reliability also seems to be very important characteristics of accounting information because if the information is inaccurate or untruthful will lead to wrong decisions. Lastly, the accounting information should be comparable so that the users can compare the information every year to make the appropriate decisions. Therefore, accounting information is very important for the users because it will affect the business, and accounting is needful nowadays.

Essay on school uniforms Essay

Imagine being able to wake up every morning, roll out of bed, put on the same thing you wore the day before, and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do such a thing, but all of your friends were doing it, too! Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s becoming more common in our society as school uniforms have gone beyond private schools to public schools. Uniforms have a positive effect on students’ self-esteem, attendance, discipline, and test scores. They have also been proven to decrease the rate of crime and violence in public schools. Most students and even parents will argue that SCHOOL UNIFORMS stifle individualism. The teenage years are a time when adolescents try out different personas, often experimenting with different styles of clothing during this phase. Opponents argue that uniforms take away an individual’s freedom of expression. However, the clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often define the group by which they are accepted. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford the top-of-the-line, name-brand clothing. This rejection can lead to several problems for the outcast teen: depression, inability to concentrate on schoolwork, or just a general feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level because no outfit is more stylish or expensive than another. Linda Moore, principal at Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, California, states, â€Å"Uniforms reduce the differences between the haves and have-nots† (Ritter, 1). Uniforms allow students to interact with one another without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools create. More importantly, children are not judged on how much they spent on clothes or how stylish they look, but rather for their talents and personalities. School uniforms not only break down socioeconomic barriers, but they also increase the safety of the students. In 1996, President Bill Clinton encouraged the use of school uniforms as part of an education program that sought to improve safety and discipline (Hoffman, 1). If students are all wearing the same type of outfit, it becomes much easier to spot outsiders  who may wander onto the campus. In addition, uniforms decrease the number of incidences of students being attacked or beaten for items of clothing such as shoes and jackets. Also, members of gangs frequently have a color or style of clothing used to identify themselves. Unsuspecting students who wear gang colors or gang-related attire might be threatened or intimidated by members of opposing gangs, students wearing expensive or fashionable clothes might become victims of theft, or certain fashion accessories or attire may be used as a means of concealing weapons, or even as weapons (Paliokas, 1). At a school in Long Beach, California, after only the first year that uniforms were implemented, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent (Manual, 3). Schools with uniform-clad students are also proven to have fewer disciplinary problems and increased attendance than non-uniform schools. Dr. John German, principal of South Shore, located in Seattle, Washington, reports, â€Å"This year the demeanor in the school has improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported incident of theft† (Manual,4). Ruffner Middle School, located in Norfolk, Virginia, reports a 47 percent decrease in students leaving class without permission (Manual,5). With the implementation of uniforms, students no longer spend hours deciding what they are going to wear to school. This fear of looking â€Å"uncool† will often cause kids to decide that they do not feel well enough to go to school because they can’t find anything to wear. Uniforms allow students to focus more on their academics, and less on what everyone else is wearing. According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, â€Å"Students concentrate more on education, not on who’s wearing $100 shoes or gang attire† (Manual, 3). Elementary Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter of Memphis, Tennessee states, â€Å"The tone of the school is different. There’s not the competitiveness†¦about who’s wearing what† (Manual, 5). Many families worry about not having enough money to buy uniforms. Due to the fact that no child can be denied an education because of economic  disadvantage, all schools requiring uniforms must include provisions to assist low-income families. For example, the Long Beach School District solved this problem by setting up a boutique shop, funded by private donors, where needy students can shop (Paliokas, 5). In addition, community and business leaders provide or contribute financial support for uniforms, and students who have graduated often donate their used uniforms to incoming students (Manual, 3). However, uniforms are considerably cheaper to buy than non-uniform clothes, and the students can wear them every day and it isn’t considered unusual. Parents can buy a few pairs of pants, shirts, or other variations of a uniform for under $100, while parents of non-uniform-wearing students can spend from several hundred up to $1,000 a year on clothing. Parents find that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home in the mornings about what to wear (Oland, 1). Pop culture increasingly sends young girls the message that the smaller and tighter the clothes, the more readily they will be accepted. These outfits, which flaunt navels and bra straps, are not only distracting, but detract from teaching time as teachers argue with students about what is considered acceptable attire. With uniforms, there are only a few acceptable variations of the outfit, no questions asked. A less well-known theory concerning the pros of school uniforms is the â€Å"halo effect.† According to researcher Marc Posner, the â€Å"halo effect† refers to the idea that while uniforms may not change student behavior, the uniforms may change the way teachers and other adults perceive the students who wear them. In a study of the correlation of student clothing and teacher and student perceptions, Dorothy Behling of Bowling Green University found that students and teachers alike believe that uniform-clad students not only behave better, but also do better academically than those who don’t wear uniforms. While this may be an illusion, these positive perceptions can help create a self-fulfilling prophecy that teachers and administrators raise their discipline and grading standards to reflect their more positive image of students, who, in turn, behave better. (School Discipline, 1). While research on the effectiveness of uniforms is still ongoing, they have been proven to raise test scores, boost self-esteem, reduce violence and crime, and create a sense of newfound pride in students. They help children to focus on learning and schoolwork, not on what everyone else is wearing or whether or not they fit in. Uniforms are not the solution to all of the problems that teens, teachers, and schools face today, but research and statistics suggest that they may be a step in the right direction.

Snow Falling on Cedars

How is the concept of the conflicting perspectives represented in the texts you have studied? In your answer refer to Snow Falling on Cedars and ONE related text of your choosing A conflicting perspective is a point of view of either one or more people that is generally subjective which presents a form of opposition in opinion. The novel, ‘Snow falling On Cedars’ composed by David Guterson in 1995 and the film ‘Crash’ composed by Paul Haggis in 2005 represents the concept of conflicting perspectives in different ways. Both the film and the novel convey the ideas of the social, judicial and interpersonal concepts in their texts through their characters and experiences such as Ishmael Chambers in Snow falling On Cedars and Jean from ‘Crash’. In ‘Snow Falling On Cedars’ Guterson addresses the idea of conflicting perspectives through a court case and then relates other people’s perspectives to the core plot of the novel while ‘Crash’ tells several different stories and then melds them together. Therefore through each composer’s use of sub plots, setting in the strawberry fields and techniques, the concept of conflicting perspectives is represented. The novel, Snow Falling on Cedars is a crime fiction novel which reveals a story about an investigation and trial into the death of a local islander on San Piedro. The book in itself characterises many sub plots such as the relationship between Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada as well as the main plot of the murder trial. Guterson uses setting as a technique in order to reinforce his representation of conflicting perspectives in the novel. One of the main conflicting perspectives which are represented in â€Å"snow Falling on Cedars† is the concept of racial heritage due to World War II. This is political conflict which in turn causes distress in the everyday life of the characters within the book. The racial hatred between the Japanese and the Americans fuels many of the conflicts which occur in the book including the prejudice and urged conviction of Kabuo and also separating those in society who have different opinions. The war seems to change peoples’ perspectives on everything and Guterson represents a latent mistrust of the different. This can be seen in the novel as the repercussions of the attack on Pearl Harbour cause minor abuse of residential Japanese ‘traitors’ who are being arrested ‘in Hawaii and other places- and the FBI’s in on it†. Guterson represents the conflicting perspectives through the personalities of Arthur and Ishmael chambers who through their newspaper voiced reason and unbiased information over the war ‘Let us remember†¦ hat prejudice and hatred are never right and never to be accepted by a just society (Arthur) and this caused great criticism from the fellow islanders. â€Å"Seems like your favouring the Japs Art†. This can be contrasted with the characters of Etta Heine who sold off the land promised to the Miyamoto’s while they were in internment camp and also the boatman Dale Middleton who comments to Ishma el ‘suckers all look alike’ referring to the Miyamoto’s. The use of the strawberry fields within the novel highlights Guterson’s representation of the concept of conflicting perspectives. The fields are a superficial union of all the islanders with growers, pickers and packers working off the farm and the rest of the island attending the Strawberry Festival in town each year. The strawberry field represents one of the main themes in the film which is the idea that not everything is as it seems. The fields are symbols of richness and fertility and hold a sense of beauty in the fruit it produces however, at the same time the fields are cold and bitter to work on which becomes symbolic of the characters on the island. In ‘Snow Falling On Cedars’ there is a sub plot which revolves around the relationship of two islanders and this relationships represents the concepts of conflicting perspectives. The relationship between Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada becomes highly significant as not only is the responder able to see the conflicting perspectives between Ishmael and Hatsue but also the conflicting perspectives which occur within Ishmael later in the book. Ishmael loves Hatsue and the loss of the relationship between them results in the hatred of Hatsue and a loss of compassion from Ishmael. They both have different perspectives on their relationship and therefore it was destined to fail, not only because of the racial differences but also because she doesn’t love Ishmael. This revelation is revealed to the responder through the hidden scene in the cedar tree. ‘It came as an enormous shock to her, this knowledge, and at the same time it was something she had always known, something until now hidden’. This quote also becomes quite significant as the relationship between Ishmael and Hatsue was kept a secret with their love filled meetings kept within a hollowed out cedar tree in the forest. Ultimately the idea that the relationship was kept a secret damned it because in order for their relationship to continue they need to be open about it but the relationship can only exist in secret. â€Å"†¦ we can’t go out, Ishmael. We’re trapped inside this tree†. The end of the book gives Ishmael the opportunity for Ishmael to resolve many of the conflicting perspectives in the novel with the evidence he discovered at the light house which would clear Kabuo’s name. However, the personal cost to him is enormous and it takes away something in himself when he comes forward to resolve it. The use of the cedar trees within the novel becomes an important technique when considering the representation of the concepts of conflict in the novel. The cedar tree is a place where Ishmael and Hatsue are able to pursue their relationship because it offers them a place away from cultural values and rules and gives them the opportunity to pursue their feelings. The tree offers them a protection from the realities of the outside world. The tree, like the strawberry fields is a symbol of tenderness and beauty. The tree however is hollow and has something missing and this becomes symbolic of Hatsue’s and Ishmael’s relationship because it signifies that it was never meant to be and that there was something missing from their relationship. It was hollow. The tree is symbolic of the two’s love as this is the place where they lose their virginity to each other. However, moments after this takes place Hatsue asks Ishmael to pull out as she feels that their relationship is over. She does not love him. The cedar tree is as much of a symbol of Ishmael’s love as it is of Hatsue’s love in cultural blood. The film, ‘Crash’ composed by Paul Haggis in 2005 represents the concept of conflicting perspectives. At the beginning of the film the responder watches several different characters in different sub plots creating several different stories which have no correlation to each other. As the film progresses the several different sub plots begin to meld into one and ultimately revolve around a single car crash. The film ‘Crash’ displays several different meanings of conflicting perspectives from the point of view of different characters and then displays how these perspectives can change when subjected to different experiences. This can be seen through the character of Jean who due to a car-jacking earlier in the film, has a conflicting perspective on race. This perspective becomes ironic in that she feel that ‘whites’ are more superior and do not commit themselves to such abhorred acts as that of coloured people. However when she takes a fall within her own home and none of her ‘white’ friends come to help her, it is in fact her Hispanic maid Maria who helps her. The responder is able to see the change in Jeans perspective when she comments to her maid Maria â€Å"you’re the best friend I’ve got†. This can be related to the character of Ishmael in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ as he too changes his perspective towards the end of the novel when he discovers evidence which could change the course of his ex-lovers husbands court trial. The 12th chapter in ‘Crash’, Protect and Serve, captures the films essence of the representation of conflicting perspectives where two characters, Officer Ryan and Christine are forced into a situation where they are both forced to face their conflicting perspectives towards each other. In the beginning of the film, Officer Ryan assaults Christine, a black women based on his external conflict of racial prejudice. Scene 12 â€Å"Protect and Serve† forces both characters to acknowledge their conflicting perspectives, giving them the opportunity to resolve this as Christine is trapped in her overturned car and Officer Ryan tries to free her. The scene uses several pan shots, non- dijectic and music sounds to create a surreal sense, as though the crash is a dream. This becomes important as the Haggis transforms the surreal sense to an immediate and high risk situation using mis-en-scene to create the emergency of the situation. As Officer Ryan reaches the car, the responder is able to see a series of shots which show the scene from not only Officer Ryan’s perspective, but also Christine’s. This scene forces Christine to face her internal conflicting view of Officer Ryan as an abuser screaming â€Å"no, not you. Anyone but you† at him when she realises who he is. The idea that Christine is ultimately forced to face her internal conflicts by accepting Officer Ryan can also be seen in the novel Snow Falling on Cedars as Ishmael is forced to face his internal conflict in order to be able to present the evidence to save her husband, Kabuo from conviction. Overall the 1995 novel, ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ and the 2005 film, ‘Crash’ represents the concept of conflicting perspectives through the use of characters, setting and technique. The use of the characters Ishmael, Jean and Christine creates conflicting perspectives within themselves outlining how perspective are created and changed throughout the course of the text. Therefore In ‘Snow Falling on cedars’ composed by David Guterson and ‘Crash’ composed by Paul Haggis the concept of conflicting perspectives is represented.

Genital Herpes (HSV2) Free Essay Example, 2250 words

Besides, it is advised that protected sex be emphasized to prevent the transmission of the virus, which is easily transmitted through contact with the genitals or fluids from genital ulcers. Moreover, oral sex and other physical contact between a healthy person and a carrier of the virus are known to cause transferring of the virus and hence transmitting HSV-2. The rampant rise in the cases of infections of herpes in the US as stated within the general objective of preventing sexually transmitted infection in Healthy People 2020 that presents the main challenge in realizing the objective. Many new infections are experienced annually, especially within the sexually active population, because despite protective measures being adopted, any simple contact with genitals of an infected person may ultimately lead to transmission of the virus. Target Population and Setting This research study focuses on studying genital herpes among women, especially those within the age bracket between 14-49 years of age. The reason for selection of this segment of the population is that this age bracket is very active sexually, and is therefore at higher risk of contracting the infection. We will write a custom essay sample on Genital Herpes (HSV2) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now It is an ascertained fact that adolescent girls as well as young women run a higher risk of developing long term and adverse effects from STIs (‘healthy people 2020’, 2011). The limitation of resources as well as time necessitates this study to be conducted using a rather narrow sample population. This paper therefore focuses on young adults within the home-based care centers as well as within nursing homes. The young women within such settings are more susceptible to contracting the genital herpes infection due to their sexual activity. Young people in the modern generation are becoming sexually active at alarmingly young ages and this increases the risk of them contacting the disease. Besides, according to a report by the CDC, women easily contract STI during sexual intercourse especially the penetrative as compared to the rate of transmission from women to men (Center for disease control and prevention, 2013). In fact, statistics sho w that in the US, one among five women within the age bracket stated has contacted genital herpes while one among nine men has contracted the disease. These statistics therefore explain the focus of this study on young women, especially those within the tertiary level of education. Sexual activities are typically rampant within the institutions of higher learning and hence our focus on the primary health care services of such institutions.