Legislative Branch Essay

There are many important parts in the process of the legislative branch. The legislative branch creates laws, and during that process many things must happen. The bill must pass majority votes for the House, the Senate and then the President must sign the bill into law. If the President vetoes it, the Senate can override it. The legislative branch is very complex but important to our country’s government. The most important step of the legislative branch is when a bill becomes a law. The very intricate course that the bill takes is what legislation is all about. Since not all bills become laws, it is important that they pass majority of votes in the House and Senate. If it does not pass, the bill is destroyed and will have to start the editing journey over again. It is for this reason that the process of a bill becoming a law is a crucial step in the legislative process. The Senate’s ability to override is another very important aspect to the legislative branch. The Senate displays a very equal disbursement of each state in a fair manner, two per state. If the President vetoes a law, the Senate has the power to override it. This is very important because it assures voices from every state to be heard, rather than just the President’s. It also gives the bill another chance to become a law. The power of the Senate plays a huge role in the legislative branch. The legislative branch is the most important branch of government. It has a very elaborate process in which a bill must go through. Some aspects are more substantial than others. When a bill officially becomes a law is essential, as well as the Senate’s qualification to override the President’s decision. The complexity of the legislative lawmaking process does not undermine the importance of each step taken to create the law.

Silent Movies (Summary)

SILENT MOVIES Talk to people who saw films for the first time when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magic. The silent film, with music, had extraordinary powers to draw an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imagination work. They had to supply the voices and the sound effects, and because their minds were engaged, they appreciated the experience all the more. The audience was the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age but, inevitably, they have also lost something.The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense; compared to the easily accessible pictures of today, it was the blow of a two-handed axe, against the blunt scraping of a tableknife. The silent period may be known as â€Å"The Age of Innocence† but it included years unrivalled for their dedicated viciousness. In Europe, b etween 1914 and 1918 more men were killed to less purpose than at any other time in history. In publications of the time, one reads horrified reactions against films showing â€Å"life as it is†.You did not leave the problems at home mere1? to encounter them again at the movies. You paid your money initially, for forgetfulness. Gradually movie-going altered from relaxation to ritual. In the big cities, you went to massive picture palaces, floating through incense-laden air to the strains of organ music, to worship at the Cathedral of Light. You paid homage to your favourite star; you dutifully communed with the fan magazines. You wore the clothes they wore in the movies; you bought the furniture you saw on the screen.You joined a congregation composed of every strata of society. And you shared your adulation with Shanghai, Sydney and Santiago. For your favourite pastime had become the most powerful cultural influence in the world — exceeding even that of the Press. The silent film was not only a vigorous popular art; it was a universal language — Esperanto for the eyes. Although the genre of silent movie faded it the 30’s it left us plenty of short and feature-length comedies created by four greatest silent screen actors: Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon.The most beloved of the four, the most appreciated by critics, Charles Chaplin, was the first to win general acclaim. Chaplin was a master of pantomime. His virtuoso improvisations quickly attracted the attention of American film-makers. At first he turned down all offers but in 1913 he finally joined Mack Sennet's film company. His success with the public was truly unique. This fact opened great opportunities for him to start his own business. He showed rare versatility in acting as the producer-director-script-writer-musician-leading actor of his own comedies.His most famous films are â€Å"The Kid†, â€Å"The Gold Rush†, â€Å"The Circ us† ,†City Lights†, â€Å"Modern Times†. Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton’s contribution to the genre has been profound as well. Both comedians used story material of a young American trying to be successful as a man, in his love and in his business. Though they were both gifted and original actors and they could match Chaplin in his skill it took them longer to receive recognition that could compete with Chaplin's fame.However by the early 1920's both Lloyd and Keaton were already well-known to the public and could start producing feature films, which meant that they were very successful at the box-office. The fourth actor, Harry Langdon, was noted for his man-child portrait that made him different from the other major comedians of his time. The four great comedians created a great comic tradition that was carried on with the sound age. They have given us masterpieces that will never fade, and they will influence the film comedies yet to be born. Silent Movies (Summary) SILENT MOVIES Talk to people who saw films for the first time when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magic. The silent film, with music, had extraordinary powers to draw an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imagination work. They had to supply the voices and the sound effects, and because their minds were engaged, they appreciated the experience all the more. The audience was the final creative contributor to the process of making a film. The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age but, inevitably, they have also lost something.The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense; compared to the easily accessible pictures of today, it was the blow of a two-handed axe, against the blunt scraping of a tableknife. The silent period may be known as â€Å"The Age of Innocence† but it included years unrivalled for their dedicated viciousness. In Europe, b etween 1914 and 1918 more men were killed to less purpose than at any other time in history. In publications of the time, one reads horrified reactions against films showing â€Å"life as it is†.You did not leave the problems at home mere1? to encounter them again at the movies. You paid your money initially, for forgetfulness. Gradually movie-going altered from relaxation to ritual. In the big cities, you went to massive picture palaces, floating through incense-laden air to the strains of organ music, to worship at the Cathedral of Light. You paid homage to your favourite star; you dutifully communed with the fan magazines. You wore the clothes they wore in the movies; you bought the furniture you saw on the screen.You joined a congregation composed of every strata of society. And you shared your adulation with Shanghai, Sydney and Santiago. For your favourite pastime had become the most powerful cultural influence in the world — exceeding even that of the Press. The silent film was not only a vigorous popular art; it was a universal language — Esperanto for the eyes. Although the genre of silent movie faded it the 30’s it left us plenty of short and feature-length comedies created by four greatest silent screen actors: Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon.The most beloved of the four, the most appreciated by critics, Charles Chaplin, was the first to win general acclaim. Chaplin was a master of pantomime. His virtuoso improvisations quickly attracted the attention of American film-makers. At first he turned down all offers but in 1913 he finally joined Mack Sennet's film company. His success with the public was truly unique. This fact opened great opportunities for him to start his own business. He showed rare versatility in acting as the producer-director-script-writer-musician-leading actor of his own comedies.His most famous films are â€Å"The Kid†, â€Å"The Gold Rush†, â€Å"The Circ us† ,†City Lights†, â€Å"Modern Times†. Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton’s contribution to the genre has been profound as well. Both comedians used story material of a young American trying to be successful as a man, in his love and in his business. Though they were both gifted and original actors and they could match Chaplin in his skill it took them longer to receive recognition that could compete with Chaplin's fame.However by the early 1920's both Lloyd and Keaton were already well-known to the public and could start producing feature films, which meant that they were very successful at the box-office. The fourth actor, Harry Langdon, was noted for his man-child portrait that made him different from the other major comedians of his time. The four great comedians created a great comic tradition that was carried on with the sound age. They have given us masterpieces that will never fade, and they will influence the film comedies yet to be born.

Education and its impacts in students learning Essay

The paper is about education and how its impacts enhance students learning. Universal access to education is one of the millennium goals of development. The main observations have been made together with the impacts. There is a brief introduction to what education really is. In addition, the essay further concludes by giving recommendations to what should be done to ensure every person has access to learning facilities both in the developing and undeveloped countries. Introduction Education can be termed as wealth of awareness. It can be picked up by a person and passed from one generation to the next after studying a certain subject or undergoing life lessons. It can be said to be a form of learning. Unfortunately, universal access to education has not been completely attained. A great education begins at home hence the kind of a background a child comes from will have an impact on their education. Observations made on education It has been observed that poverty particularly in developing countries is a major cause for education inequality. Secondly, the importance of education in modern world cannot be taken for granted. For instance, some sectors such as the military previously did not put emphasis on education requirements but currently they have raised minimum education requirements. It has also been observed that most countries are adopting modern technology in their learning institutions. There has been an increase in use of electronic devices such as laptops and I pads. More so, learning has been made easier since one can be educated from home through the e-learning. The observations made can be compared to the education indicators as listed by Aud et. al (2013). Impacts on students learning The Social economic status is based on the parent’s level of learning, their profession, earnings and their position in their social order. Parents with a high social economic status are likely to lay a good background for their children education than those of low status. They can afford to buy their children most of education materials they require such as pens, books and toys for young kids to enhance their early schooling. They are also capable of ensuring that their offspring have access to quality health care. In addition, these parents can access information about the well performing schools and they can also afford to pay the fees. On the other hand, parents with low social economic status usually do not have high levels of education hence their children will not be well prepared at home to start schooling unlike those with high social economic status. Gender in most African countries is still an issue to be looked upon. Boys are always preferred when it comes to access to education especially when resources to take children to school are limited. For instance, even if a girl had a better score than a boy, parents in most of African countries will prefer to take the boy for higher learning. Studies have shown that most of the poorest women in most countries have not even completed their primary school. Poverty is another impact on education. Children from poor households are less likely to perform well in class. These children usually have less participation in class, their level of terminology is low hence unlikely to perform well. Their parents cannot afford good nutrition for their kids and as a result, kids may have nutritional related illnesses and their education is disrupted. Parenting is the process of upbringing children. A child’s parent is commonly their first educator. Parents have roles of ensuring that their children are prepared for school, for example by ensuring that they have sufficient food and good health, this is necessary for a child concentration in class which results to good performance. It is at home that parents mostly emphasis on virtues such as hard work, integrity and commitment. The Society also has an impact on education. Community customs and practices have a great impact on education, which can either be helpful or damaging. For example, communities with traditions that encourage early marriages for girls prevent them from accessing their fundamental right to education. Technology, which is being embraced quite well in most countries, has a great impact on students’ performance. This is majorly for students in higher learning institutions. Students with access internet are able to complete their assignments in time. Most of higher learning institutions have embraced modern technology and they are offering some courses or units online, this is convenient for those students with access to internet because they can take classes at their free time and can also learn at their own pace. Conclusion Social economic status and poverty have the greatest impact on children access to education. Other factors with impact on education are access to technology, parenting, and race among others. These factors may have positive or negative impacts on children access to education. Undesirable effects such as inequality in education can be dealt with by making primary school education free and compulsory. If possible, education at each stage should be made free or affordable to everyone, promoting women education, discouraging child labor and school dropouts. Embracing modern technology improves education quality worldwide. References Aud, S. , Wilkinson-Flicker, S. , Kristapovich, P. , Rathbun, A. , Wang, X. , Zhang, J. , & National Center for Education Statistics, (2013). The Condition of Education 2013. NCES 2013- 037 . National Center For Education Statistics, accessed on 24th May 2013.

Globale Economy Essay 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Globale Economy 2 - Essay Example olders are the real or true owners of the company and they have invested in the organization therefore researchers and economists encourage the idea to maximize the investment made by the shareholders. The second approach is stakeholder capitalism in which all parties that have their stake in the organization should be given importance and not just the shareholders. All parties that could be influenced by the actions of the organization or their actions could influence the organization are referred to as stakeholders. Because in generating profits, there are other parties involved besides the shareholders such as employees and management of the organization, distributors, suppliers and people in the society and government, therefore the concept of stakeholder capitalism encourages maximizing the value of stakeholders rather than just investors. The approach of state ownership is also known as the government ownership as in this approach the government has the decision making authority. The concept behind state ownership approach is that the government would make decisions according to the benefit of the overall economic condition of the country and strategies would be formulated to meet the needs of the society (Clarke and Kohler, 40). Also this would discourage the idea of encouraging private firms to charge high prices and earn more profits. Stakeholder capitalism is the best approach to maximize the long run economic performance of the firm because in this approach, not only the shareholders of the firms are considered but every party that has something at stake with the organization would be given importance. Because an organization does not operate in isolation and different parties are affected by its actions therefore the approach of stakeholder capitalism should be encouraged. Employees are the ones who help the organization to grow and earn profits therefore it is important that they should be involved in the board of directors regardless of what

Part two of final essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Part two of final - Essay Example luded page numbers for paraphrased material, while global changes include clarifying the topic sentences of each paragraph to support the thesis and to produce an organized flow, revising the conclusion to offer a unified ending and a stronger impact on my audience, and giving more illustrations from the poem to support each point. Local changes should not be ignored, especially when it concerns adding a few words to clarify the thesis and page numbers to paraphrased sentences. My professor wanted me to consider the gross side of puking in Eileen Myles’ â€Å"Everyday Barf,† so I changed my thesis to: â€Å"Myles argues that to puke is a metaphor of developing and expressing one’s true identity because it is a process of spilling what is inside, which is similarly gross and liberating.† I added the italics part because her comment inspired me to see puking as both gross and enlightening to one’s identity. Moreover, I also added page numbers to paraphrased sentences. For instance, I did this to one of the sentences that I paraphrased from the text: â€Å"Myles feels uncomfortable in shouting â€Å"O-Reil-ly† outside Fox because she feels it is a racist chant (Myles 74).† I forgot that even paraphrased material must be properly cited, even when I am talking about only one text (â€Å"MLA In-Text Citations†). These minor changes improved the citation and clarity of my paper. Aside from local revision, I produced global changes, particularly clarifying the topic sentences of each paragraph to support the thesis and to produce an organized flow, revising the conclusion to give a unified ending with a strong impact, and including illustrations from the poem to support each point. My professor commented that I should improve the clarity of my writing by focusing on a few, related ideas only. I realized that I muddle my topic sentence by exploring too many ideas, so I changed several topic sentences, such as: â€Å"To puke is to express that identity to others, including

Affordable Care Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Affordable Care Act - Essay Example The Medicare and Medicaid programs were enacted under, president Johnsons administration, in 1965. Medicare provides health care services for people above the age of 65 years, those with disabilities and those suffering from terminal illness2. On the other hand, Medicaid is funded by the state government to necessitate the provision of medical services to low income earners. In the history of the United States, efforts to implement universal health care policy have been stalled by both political factors from 1912 until the achievement of an Affordable Security Act that is aimed at providing affordable care to low income earners. Medicare and Medicaid programs have their roots in medical programs introduced in Germany and Britain in 1883 and 1911 respectively3. In 1916, the American Association of Labor Legislation organized a movement in an effort to enact a compulsory health insurance policy for all workers. The objective of the program was to cover for medical bills for sick worker s as well as take care of cash compensations4. Upon the defeat of Theodore Roosevelt who was in support of the health card reforms in 1912, the decentralized government and American Medical Association opposition pushed the rejection of the bill5. The bill was defeated in different states under the argument it had costly social consequences and that Americans had efficient medical cover from their own savings and private insurers. Following several publications on the high cost of health care between the 1920s and 1930, and seeing the need for a national insurance program, president Franklin Roosevelt incorporated a national health program in the Social Security law in 1935. The program was developed during the period of great depression because poverty levels among the citizens was more than 50%. The aim of the Act was to alleviate the difficulties faced by Americans namely: old age, unemployment, poverty and orphans6. President Harry Truman endorsed the enactment of a National Hea lth Care program in 1946. However, the issue was discussed and failed because of opposition from private insurance companies and a strong opposition by the congress. In 1951, most people in the United States were enrolled in the private insurance companies and used the coverage for their health care needs7. To garner support for the federal health care bill, its policies were addressed to meet the needs of the elderly because they were the high risk population and in some way were derailing the profitability of the private sector8. The private insurers felt that insuring the elderly population was not as profitable as insuring the young generation. Moreover, the elderly felt that the government proposition was much better and beneficial to them. However, there were strong opposition from private insurers and the post war climate was not good enough to support social reforms in the country. The Kerr-Mills bill was adopted and enacted in different states in 1960 to enable the governme nt to channel funds towards helping the elderly who were considered needy according to the state evaluations. However, the bill could not cater to all the health care needs of the elderly and as a result president Kennedy initiated the creation of the Medicare bill. The bill was meant to cover for the health care costs of the elderly but because of a lack of support by the congress and economic recession, enactment of the bill was postponed9. In 1964, president Johnson prioritized the need for health care reforms and following the increase in medical expenses and economic recession, the bill received overwhelming support from the public10. Congress came up with three options to

Psychology (naturalistic experiment) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychology (naturalistic experiment) - Essay Example It is usually used in psychology to in studying development across lifespans.In sociology it is used to study life events across generations; it's also used in the medical field to reveal predictors of a particular disease being studied. It is argued that longitudinal may have less power to detect causal relationship than in experiments as it is based on observation without manipulation of the state. However because of repeated observation they are deemed to be more powerful than cross observation study as they are able to exclude time invariant unobserved in individual observation (Bjorklund, 2000). The first step is to review the outcome of what is to be evaluated when it comes to the evaluation of the project. Survey outcome s which goes in line with the survey goals and objectives are selected. The data usually comes to the administrators in summary form. The third step is examination of data and the survey questions also their survey outcomes. The process mostly will incorporate data analysis of the objectives and the results realized (Bjorklund, 2000). Lack of care and attention left the children with low IQs and behavior compared to children with better home care. This study was carried out by American association for the advanced science in St Louis (Bjorklund, 2000). The first randomized clinical trial clinical trial... Deprivation of children of a loving home and family causes a lasting damage Deprivation of a loving home and family causes a longtime damage to their intelligence, emotional instability and affects their physical growth and development according to the study. Lack of care and attention left the children with low IQs and behavior compared to children with better home care. This study was carried out by American association for the advanced science in St Louis (Bjorklund, 2000). The first randomized clinical trial clinical trials by the Bucharest Early Intervention Projects revealed deprivation on emotional, psychological and physical health to children. The trials were set up to established the effects of social deprivation .The study ran for five years and recorded the wellbeing of Romanian orphanage from the early age and the change that occurred when they were moved to foster care. The research realized that children living in deprived conditions in this case the orphanage suffered from stunted growth falling within the shortest 10% for their age. When the showed outstanding growth moved to fostered care spurts of even five times they were growing. They also seem to undergo through puberty faster and at a younger age thus missing out long spells of growths that most children seem to experience. The growth can not be contributed to nutrition as it was also adequate when they were in the orphanages thus attributed to lack of attentive environment (Bjorklun d, 2000). Problems a researcher may face The first problem is getting a good sample to carry out his study. The study has to be carried out for a long period of time in order to be able to record the variables. This means the researcher should have a number of children in deprived

Nursing - care plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Nursing - care plan - Essay Example 230). Impaired mobility is related to a variety of factors, including activity intolerance, perceptual or cognitive impairment, musculoskeletal impairment, neuromuscular impairment, medical restrictions, prolonged bed rest, limited strength, pain or discomfort and depression or severe anxiety (Gulanick & Meyers 2003, p. 107). When the patient has impaired mobility, there is also risks which are associated with a lack of physical exercise – circulatory and respiratory problems and poor physical condition (Sparks & Taylor, 2005, p. 29). II. Why the patient needs to be at the centre - Stroke is a medical issue which is multifaceted. Cowman et al. (2010, p. 1) states that 50% of stroke victims will make a full recovery, 30% will make an incomplete recovery with no need for assistance with any functions, and 20% will make an incomplete recovery with a need for assistance with some functions. Horgan et al. (2011, p. 4) states that, despite the statistics which show that a good perce ntage of stroke patients have some disability upon being discharged from the hospital, follow up care is often lacking. According to Miller et al. (2010, p. 2403), care for a stroke patient should consider three factors: pathophysiological factors, the impact on the individual, and the individual's environmental and personal resources. Hartigan et al. (2011, p. ... 2011 p. 23). Moreover, there is ample indication that strokes do not just affect the patient, but the caregivers as well. Lutz & Young (2010, p. 152) state that caregivers of stroke patients suffer depression, isolation, a sense of being burdened, a decline in physical and mental health and decreased quality of life. However, Khan et al. (2012, p. 1) indicates that caregivers may not always be given the proper support. It is therefore crucial that the patient participate in his or her own recovery, in that it will alleviate the burden on the caregiver as well as give the patient a better outcome. That said, it is important that the perceived nursing behavior be conducive to this. The patient's perception of the nurse's behavior influences how active the patient will be in participating in his or her own recovery process (Larsson et al. 2011, p. 1). All of these factors must be considered in planning a nursing care program for a stroke survivor, because one of the goals must be to pre vent readmission to the hospital, because hospital readmission results in higher mortality rates, greater disability levels and increased costs (Licthman et al. 2010, p. 2526). Therefore, it is important that Mr. Brown and his caregiver, his wife, be at the centre. Both need to understand what will be involved in Mr. Brown's recovery, and both need to understand the steps that will be needed to take. Because of the evidence that the burden on the caregiver is acute, and that the stroke patients' hope for recovery hinges partially upon social and environmental needs, and, additionally, the evidence suggests that patients must participate in their own care, the most important goal is to increase the mobility of the patient. This will ultimately not only be beneficial to the patient,

Stateless Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stateless Nation - Essay Example Statelessness has serious humanitarian results for the affected individuals (Blitz, p.116). It has been recorded in the research papers and reports that stateless persons face immense challenges in the course of their lives as stateless persons and until they acquire particular citizenship. Human rights accomplishment is one of the key challenges affecting such people. It should be acknowledged that there is a close link between fulfilment of global human rights and citizenship. For instance, when a non-governmental organisation takes up protection of Universal human rights without the acknowledgement of the state they become prone to human rights violations leading to inability to satisfy most of the domestic and political privileges. Every human being is entitled to recognition before the law, be equal before it, possess freedom of movement and association, as well as the right to participate wholly in the affairs of the state. It would be wrong to imagine that the stateless people are denied civil and political rights alone. In fact, social, fiscal and traditional privileges rank high in the list of unfulfilled list of rights for the stateless people. Such matters as the right to self-determination, working rights, education, registering of birth, social security just to mention a few are guaranteed with the citizenship and none of these is guaranteed when someone is stateless.

BHS 427 Health Care Finance (Module 2SLP) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BHS 427 Health Care Finance (Module 2SLP) - Essay Example which can be determined for a product. Indirect cost, on the other hand, includes factory overhead and similar cost elements that cannot be assigned to a specific product or service. In process costing, the cost for each product is not calculated. Instead, the costs are calculated for an entire batch, or service provided for the entire month. This way, it is easier and cheaper to calculate the costs rather than to attempt to determine costs for each unit of output; however, the costs calculated can be used to determine average costs for each unit. The process costing technique, thus, is inherently inaccurate. Process costing technique is most suitable for industries with similar types of products or services produced in an assembly like fashion. In health care industry, although it can be argued that patients usually have similar problems (after all, all are human beings) and require similar treatment. However, the treatment does not follow a fixed approach (for example, not all patients suffering with influenza are recommended the same medicine). The treatment differs based on patients' past history, allergies to certain medicines and other factors. Thus it may not be practicable to implement process costing technique in the health care industry. Job order costing differs from process costing in the way it captures costs. In contrast to process costing method, job order costing method calculates costs of each job instead of an entire process. For instance, using job order costing method, a company can determine the cost of fixing doors to an automobile assembly. Using the process costing method, the cost of entire process (assembling the automobiles with all parts) would be calculated instead. Job order costing is usually used for one-time, unique, or specially ordered products. To calculate job order cost, the direct costs are taken based on actual values whereas the indirect costs are computed as a percentage of direct material or direct labor consumption towards the job. Job Order Costing for Health Care Industry The job order costing for health care industry may take the form of identifying and calculating cost of fixing a new tooth within the overall dental checkup process at a dentist clinic. However, the application of job order costing in health care, though can be thought of, but are somewhat limited due to the nature of activities involved in health care industry. Activity Based Costing Activity based costing technique calculates costs based on actual consumption. This is carried out by identifying activities that are required to be undertaken to manufacture a product or to provide a service, and then identifying the actual costs that are incurred to complete these activities. The cost of the entire product or service is thus calculated. Activity Based Costing in Health Care Industry Activity based costing accurately provides the actual cost incurred on a product/ service; and thus it is widely used in industry nowadays. This is the main reason why health care industry uses activity based costing model to calculate costs of providing health care services. Prior to implementing this model in health care

Performance Management And Learning And Development Essay Example for Free

Performance Management And Learning And Development Essay Introduction In the 19th   century university was meant to be a theoretical theatre, while the factory was the place for formal training and learning. Education is broader in scope than training and it has a less specific application than training, as it is delivered in educational institutions. As a result, there has always been a tension between the needs of industry and the educational requirements of the individual, as society needs people who can contribute in a comprehensive way (Wilson, 2005). A century later, West moved beyond the factory and manufacturing as the basis for economic wealth have been achieved. Compared to earlier centuries now this century is able to demolish the   trading, political and economic   barriers, which hampered the progress in the old days. The arrival of mass media and technology is re-shaping our lives at a breathtaking speed; the concept of learning is now not a stagnant process, but in a flux and evolving every day (Beckett, 2000). The nature of work is changing with the knowledge economy in boom, giving rise to unparalleled demands for learning in work settings through consistent training. Enterprises need integrated approach to possess knowledge workers, which is the right prescription for businesses today. It is hard to create effective employment and training based policies which give high priority to education and training-both at a time. Countries like Korea and Singapore are seriously investing in their human resources, while the poor countries do not have sufficient funds to meet their growing needs. The overall goal of the global economy is provide opportunities to people and obtain productive work with dignity, which requires a framework to address worker and producer needs. To meet such requirements, the new millennium needs a shift from traditional approach and demands new human resources development and training policies. Learning and Training Learning can take place either in formal settings, such as school/university or in less formal organizational settings. Possessing knowledge is different from learning, as learning has limited value and is not a guarantee of being skillful, until   put to practice in real world. Wilson (2005) has defined learning as â€Å"a permanent change of knowledge, attitude or behaviour occurring as a result of formal education or training, or as a result of informal experiences. Learning, education and development are often muddled together, however   they carry specific meanings as explained below: Training = learning related to present job; Education = learning to prepare the individual but not related to a specific present or future job; Development = learning for growth of the individual but not related to a specific present or future job. It has been recognised by the enterprises that passive learning cannot not ensure an accurate developmental process necessary in the business world. The managers find it hard to believe, that, seminars and workshops can teach management. It is argued, that case methodology, lectures, discussions and theories are useful, but they never find its way into the corridors of business world. As a result, managers and educational theorists suggest experiential learning, which trains workers in work place more effectively. According to the Glossary of Training Terms (2005), training is â€Å"a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behaviour through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future needs of the organisation†. Rothwell (2003) mentioned that, training equips individuals and groups in an organisation to improve their work performance. However, training alone cannot alleviate a poor work, which may be due to the lack of rewards and incentives. Training is put into practice for a variety of reasons, such as orientation training for new workers or sending employees for special assignments and preparing employees to support critical activities (Wilkinson, 2005). The HRD equips people with necessary skills in three ways (McGoldrickand, 2001). .Individual Development   addresses broad areas and addresses, such as skill development, interpersonal skills, career development, etc.   Occupational /Group Development occurs among the groups through a team building programs. It also applies to specific occupational groups, such as implementation of new legislation. Organizational Development covers the whole organization. It can be defined as a â€Å"collection of planned change interventions, built on humanistic-democratic values, that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being†(Wilson and John, 2005). The well-known examples are; the introduction of a customer care programs across the organization; and the introduction of total quality management, which requires all individuals and groups to become involved. Mumfords (1995) mentions that, an organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results- truly invent patterns of thinking for collective learning. This process can be defined as following:   Personal mastery, ensuring individual motivation to learn; mental models, creating an openness to misconceptions;   shared vision, building long-term commitment in people; team learning, developing group skills like cooperation, communication and so forth;   systems thinking, which constitutes   integration with other disciplines the other four. All these disciplines are to be practiced together to create an impact and must be practiced by all the members of organization to work together. Each problem and dilemma is crisis and workers learn from crisis and difficulties together and try to development process, where all workers profit from each other’s experiences. Shift of Training in Knowledge Economy Drucker (1993) has mentioned that, Every few hundred years in western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself its world view; its basic values; its social and political structure; its arts; its key institutions. The shift   from industrial-based economies to enterprises   started 20 years ago, moving to market share and hierarchical management focusing on a knowledge   based economy. If the industrial economy was driven by cheap energy; today’s knowledge economy is driven by inexpensive microchips and knowledge management enabling businesses to take benefit of the new knowledge (Trask, 1996). The modern corporation is over and the postmodern corporation is different. Today companies may look the same from outside—but behind the faà §ade, everything is different. They are no longer connected to the boiler or routine machines, but now in the business of knowledge creation. The activity of knowledge-based organization is not producing machine or power toys, but producing and managing knowledge. The knowledge economy differs from the old one, as the new economy is ever-increasing in information intensity and packed with more knowledge, data, and ideas. Now knowledge resides in the magnetic strip, not the plastic. The knowledge-based economy has new rules and standards, which require new ways of living and working, business, which do not acquire knowledge workers, are destined to die.   Wolfensohn (1999) has mentioned that, the knowledge-based economy relies on ideas and applications of technology rather than physical strength, which was done on the exploitation of cheap labor. In this new economy knowledge is created, acquired, transmitted, and sold by individuals, enterprises, organizations, and communities for the promotion of economic development. In the industrial world, knowledge-based industries are growing fast, while labour market demands are also changing. The new technologies insist on highly skilled workers, diminishing demand for the low skilled workers.   One of the key factors that distinguish intelligent business enterprise of the 21st century is emphasis on knowledge and information. Knowledge management is an important means by which organizations can better manage information and knowledge. Knowledge management encompasses a range of concepts, ranging from management tasks to technological practices, all come under the umbrella of the management of knowledge (Gupta, 2003). The successful organizations are aggressive, fast paced and have the ability to create  Ã‚   knowledge to maximize organizational strategic success. In today’s world, knowledge is a resource, which is critical to an organization’s survival and success in the global economy.   As the nature of work is changing, knowledge is regarded as a primary resource-giving rise to the unprecedented demand for learning in the working environment. Enterprises need to offer this new learning at work and create knowledge workers, which have become inevitable part of the corporate world. The workplace has become a site of learning associated with development of the enterprise through contributing to production and innovation. Thus the development of the individuals by providing training to create new knowledge is the most wanted asset of the enterprises today. The knowledge economy has four basic features as described below (Trask, 1996). Knowledge developed and applied in new ways, especially through information revolution, which has provided not only new opportunities to access information, but it is also creating new opportunities for swift transfer of the knowledge speeding up the process of worldwide change. Today product cycles have become shorter due to growing demand for innovation. In 1990s, it would take six years from concept to production in the automobile industry; now it takes only two years. Worldwide trade is increasing with increased competitive demands on producers. The countries, which are able to assimilate into the world economy, will achieve higher economic growth. Small and medium-size enterprises in the service sector have become significant players, in terms of both economic growth and employment. In the industrialized countries the employment has risen, but the patterns of employment are changing. The employers have re-organized workers into fixed and variable categories, while the fixed workers are career-oriented, the variable have little career progression and low access to education and training. These trends show that labour markets are becoming ruthless in their treatment of un-skilled workers and these low skilled workers stand at an edge. As a result working poor have grown in number and those working are underpaid and forced to work in miserable working conditions. The speed of change in the knowledge economy depreciates much more quickly compared to the past. In order to compete effectively in this changing environment, organisation need to   upgrade their workers skills continuously. This rapid change in the knowledge economy is so swift that firms can no longer rely longer rely on fresh graduates. In order to meet such need, lifelong learning and training is crucial to enable workers to compete in the global economy. Formal education and training includes programs which are recognized by the    Universities and institutes and lead to approved certificates and degrees.   Non-formal education and training includes programs, which are not formally recognized by the national system, such as apprenticeship training programs and structured on-the-job training.   Informal education and training includes unstructured learning, which can take place almost anywhere, home, community   or workplace.   It includes unstructured on-the-job training, the most common form of workplace learning. This improvement in people’s ability will allow them to be not only useful for their organisation, but it will also enable them to function as a useful members of their communities.   In a modern economy, the production of goods and services still relies on workers despite machine revolution. The need is to develop learning and training strategies, which allow these workers to learn new skills for new working conditions. It is crucial for the organisation to prepare workers for this new environment, which requires a new mode of education and training ­. This lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from early childhood to retirement. It includes formal, non-formal, and informal education and training. In traditional industries most jobs require employees to learn how to perform routine functions, which, for the most part, remain constant over time and most learning used to take place when a worker started a new job. In the knowledge economy, change is so rapid that workers constantly need to acquire new skills. Firms need workers who are willing and able to update their skills throughout their lifetimes. Enterprises and organisation need to respond to these needs by creating education and training systems that equip people with the appropriate skills. The new millennium main challenge is to be employable and contribute to the economic growth in the global economy. This novel approach has set new rules for education, training and strategies in the organisations. The reason is that training not only advances interests of the individuals and enterprises, but it also augments the economic development of the nations. These new skills formation leads to equity in employment and society at large and allow the enterprise to reap the fruit of this human resources development. Performance Management According to Bacal (2004) â€Å"performance management is about creating relationships and ensuring effective communication and focusing on what organizations, managers, and employees need to succeed.† It is a   strategic approach to manage the business and improve organisational effectiveness with existing capabilities. Performance management provides development specialists with an opportunity to be   innovative in influencing corporate strategy and contribute to the results. The goal of performance management is to ensure that the organization departments, teams, and employees are working in an optimum fashion to achieve the organization objective. At the end of twentieth century new performance management systems were born and cannibalizing the old systems, due to the presence of the technological expansions. Management in the twenty-first century faces the challenge of creating and re-creating effective performance systems and requires a unique understanding of this process. Performance management process is about professionalism and continuous learning and development. The overall goal of performance management is to ensure that the organization and all its subsystems departments, teams, employees are working together in an optimum fashion to achieve the results desired by the organization. According to Bacal (2004), performance management is based on the following beliefs. Optimism: Performance management is based on the belief that improvement is possible, and that the human and organizational conditions can be improved. Performance management is the view of the possibility that performance improvement is always there and change is possible as long as people are willing. A Pragmatic View: Performance management is keeping the optimistic view, but it does have realistic view of improvement, understanding the possibilities for improvement and recognizing the  Ã‚   barriers to success. Performance management addresses various threats in the system and try to solve it, rather than kill it A Balanced Approach: It is natural to resist change in any organisation as change means changing habits. Performance management design strategies, which are part of organizational decision-making processes to build greater support for the change. It capitalizes on the opportunity for further improvement and success. Leadership. Performance management is built on the ethical knowledge. The true leaders determine promote best practices in their organisation to further the success. Such practices require courage to bring change, yet adhering to professional ethics ensuring that the change is consistent with legal requirements. Performance management is meant to establish a shared understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved for an organization. To improve performance, individuals need to have a common understanding about what performance (and success) in their jobs looks like. It can be a list of tasks, objectives, or results or it can also be a set of behaviors or both. These goals need to be defined clearly with the jobholder so that people know what they are working toward? And what is expected from them to increase the probability of success (Lance, 1999).   A continuous management process delivers clarity, support, feedback, and recognition to all staff. Performance Management Process Performance management process is a communication process between an employee and his or her immediate supervisor with established expectation and understanding. This process is not meant to threaten or intimidate employees into neither being more productive nor does it mean to attack the personality of the employees, but it is a broad set of tools used to optimize the success of each employee for the larger interest of the organisation. The smooth functioning of performance management depends on the developmental activity and management control. A developmental push is essential to motivate workers and let them concentrate on work and commitment towards their respective organisation. Performance Management process is meant to measure the employee performance. It involves the following steps (Handbook for the Core Performance Management, 2005). Performance planning The workers performance is recognized through employee performance plans. They are clearly told, what are the expectations? And what are the set standards. Thus it is essential to develop such standards, which are realistic and attainable. Individual at the level of induction stage clearly need understand their role in the organisation. Employee/Team Performance In many organizations, employees work together to achieve the organizational objectives. The difference between group performance and an individuals contribution is that, the group performance is measured aggregately, while an employees performance is measured individually. Monitoring performance After the assignment of job the progress of the workers are monitored by the manager/supervisor, to check how much they are really working. Employee development Mentoring is essential process of employee development, the example can be set either by showing a high performer or by leader/manager, which helps the employee to overcome the difficulties. A frank discussion is essential to focus on employee areas of excellence, identifying the barriers to performance. Multiple Source of Feed back It is a process, which provides employees with performance information to enhance managerial feedback. It includes comments from various sources, such as collogues, supervisor report and direct reports as well. Figure: 1.1 Performance Management Process Source: Handbook for the core performance management, 2005 Evaluating Evaluation is a two-way discussion in the form of written documentation to concentrate on employee areas of excellence, and identify the areas for improvement and further development needs. Stupak and Leitner (2001) warns that performance management measurement should not be punitive, but should be positive and should help the organisation, what the work do and what they should not and continue for organisation improvement. It should not be as a tool to punish the guilty, but emphasis should be on finding the right direction for the organisation. Linkage of Learning and Development and Performance Management The learning and development and performance management have been discussed separately earlier. Recent studies have shown, these processes are interrelated and are linked (Harrison, 2005). For example, in small firms, resources are stretched and workers have to switch roles, it becomes crucial to train and develop these workers, as they often have switch tasks. Following are the essential points in case of training in the small firm scenario: A well-focused induction program. Basic training in firm unique systems. A probation period to evaluate the performance. Post confirmation development for further development. Badger (2001) has mentioned that in a situation where products and processes can be easily imitated, the only source of competitive advantage is to stimulate employee to learn.   Organizations always seek to reduce cost increase efficiency and productivity. Today’s enterprises have started to evaluate learning and training programs to achieve higher performance from their workers, as they understand that learning and performance management are interrelated and inevitable to achieve competitive advantage. This competitive advantage can be achieved through the development of human resources by deploying a strategy to support its workers and enhance the organizational performance. The performance management process can positively develop the workforce self-esteem and keep them motivated, thereby giving them job satisfaction, to let them focus on the job. However its not mere training which can bring result, employee participation in decision making is essential as noticed by Peon and Ordas (2005), that organizations need to provide individuals with enough incentives and allow them to participate in the decision-making process to achieve higher performance. The ability of nations and organizations to enhance the standard of living of the growing population depends on sustained increase in the productivity of the systems. In the inter-dependent global economy, productivity is essential to maintain economic advantage for individuals and societies. People and institutions are inter-connected, and today countries have mutual interests in the game of higher productivity of other nations. A nation may gain short-term advantage from a lesser productive contributor, but in the long term lower productivity is a bad omen for all the nations. Conclusion According to Business Intelligence Board (2005), enterprises need to formally link learning and performance management process to measure the employee performance, as this can explain, weather learning has really resulted in higher performance. This link between learning and performance management is clear and the ultimate objective of learning management is to have an educated workforce, which can sustain the competitive advantage in the cutthroat corporate world. Learning and development are essentially related to performance management process, same as performance management process is not complete unless it embrace learning and development  Ã‚   to fill the skill gaps identified in the workers. Various amounts of efforts have been done to linkage learning with performance, Thomson and Mabey  (2001) mentions, many organisations failed to have higher performance from their workers, despite enormous amount of training. It has not yet yielded enough clear evidence of a direct link between learning and performance management. However, learning and development activity does consistently emerge as a crucial intervening factor. LD alone is not enough-it has to be an integral part of a cluster of appropriate HR strategies. Reference Thomson.A and Mabey.C, Changing Patterns of Management Development, Blackwell Publishing. Marchington, M. and A. Wilkinson (2005), Human Resource Management at Work, London, CIPD   Stupak.J and   Leitner.P (2001), Handbook of Public Quality Management, Marcel Dekker Publications Harrison R (2005), Learning and Development, 4th edition, London. Workplace Learning, Culture and Performance, London, IFTDO. Badger,B (2001),Organizational Learning: An Empirical Assessment of Process in Small U.K. Manufacturing Firms, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 39. Drucker.P (1993), The Practice of Management Quorum Books Business Intelligence Board, www.businessintelligence.com (2005) . Wilson, John.P (2005), Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organizations, Kogan Page Limited. Rothwell.J (2003), What CEOs Expect from Corporate Training: Building Workplace Learning and Performance Initiatives That Advance Organizational Goals, Saranac Lake, NY, USA. Mumford.M (1995), Intercultural Sourcebook: Cross-cultural Training Methods, Intercultural Press Inc. Beckett.D (2001) Life, Work, and Learning: Practice and Postmodernity. Florence, KY, USA.   Trask.L (1996), Building New Skills for the Knowledge Economy,   Business Communications Review, Vol. 26.   Lance.Berger (1999), Compensation Handbook, McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, USA. Glossary of Training Terms (2005) http://forum.bodybuilding.com/ Bacal.R (2004), How to Manage Performance. McGraw-Hill Companies, USA. McGoldrickand.J (2001),Understanding Human Resource Development: Philosophy Processes Practice, Routledge Publisher. Peon.J and Ordas (2005), The Learning Organization,   International Journal World Bank Staff (2003), Lifelong Learning in the Global Knowledge Economy: Challenges for Developing Countries, World Bank Publications.    James D. Wolfensohn (1999), World Bank Publications Gupta, Jatinder (2003), Creating Knowledge Based Organizations. Idea Group Publishing,USA. Handbook for the core performance management (2005) Ohio State University, USA.

Appalachian Mountains Essay Example for Free

Appalachian Mountains Essay The â€Å"Appalachian Mountains† refers to the mountain range that covers most part of the eastern North America and some sections of another country, the neighboring Canada. Professionals believe that the Appalachian Mountains is divided into three; the south part, the north part and the central portion of the Appalachian Mountains. The presence of the Appalachian Mountain range is important for the US because of several reasons. One of the reasons is that the Appalachian Mountains act as a dividing line separating the Midwest territory of the US from its eastern seaboard via the Eastern Continental Divide, which traces a path alongside the Appalachian Mountain range starting from Pennsylvania leading up to Georgia. There are also other important roles that the Appalachian Mountain range play and it can be socially, economically and geographically. Another important characteristic that is attached to the Appalachian Mountains and it formation is that it marked the beginning of plate collisions which was in turn responsible for the building of several mountains and mountain ranges in the planet, and this mountain building phenomena was believed to be responsible for the creation of Pangaea (Klyza and Trombulak 14). Because of the importance of the Appalachian Mountain range, studies on its geological aspect have been undertaken for years now. The Appalachian Mountains is believed to have undergone a series of different physical transformations and the movements that the Appalachian Mountains experienced throughout its history and creation have made it what it is today. Like other mountain ranges in the world, the Appalachian Mountains, at various times through ages, have risen to great heights from the sea or have been continental rock covered by shallow oceans (Adkins 49). The geological history of the Appalachian Mountains is a very important and very interesting topic to delve on. Because of this, the focus of the paper is centered in discussing the different aspects of the changes that happened on the Appalachian Mountain ranges, from its creation, the timeline involved and the processes that shaped the formation of the Appalachian Mountains from the start until today. When did they form? Most experts believe that the geology of the Appalachian Mountain ranges goes as far back as nearly 500 million years ago, particularly around 480 millions years ago. The timeline of the formation of the Appalachian Mountain ranges involved the changes that happened in several different eras. According to professionals, as far back as the Paleozoic Era there were already movements happening in the natural rock formation of the planet that lead towards the creation of the Appalachian Mountain ranges. This was particularly in the era’s Ordovician Period which was believed to be the time where rock movements led to the rising of the Appalachian Mountain ranges and its transformation from an erstwhile buried state, being submerged underwater during earlier times (Geologic Provinces 3). After the Paleozoic Era, there were still changes that affected the Appalachian Mountains. During the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, structure and feature changes affected the creation of Appalachian Mountains, and some uplifting in the rock formation during the Cenozoic Era also contributed to some of the changes that happened in the Appalachian Mountains (Geologic Provinces 8). How did the Appalachian Mountains Form? The Appalachian Mountain range is a very complex and very old natural geological feature of the planet. The physical characteristics of Appalachian Mountains provide the observer with hints and clues towards how the Appalachian Mountain range was formed and what processes were involved in the formation of this particular mountain range. A major characteristic of its geology is the presence of elongate belts composed of marine sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks, as well as parts of an ancient ocean floor. These are all impacted by thrust faulting and folding processes that shaped the Appalachian Mountain ranges from how it was during its initial formation up to how it is now after years of constant transformation owed to the natural rock movements that impact natural geological formation of rocks on the planet (Adkins 50). Before it would rise up and become a mountain range, the region where the Appalachian was to rise from was considered as a passive plate margin. Because of this, there are times when the area is found underwater, buried by sea water under a sea that was nonetheless shallow, especially since there were also periods where it was above water. The Appalachian region would not remain passive forever, and the change from being passive to being active happened during the Ordovician Period, wherein plate motion movements changed and paved the way for the Taconic orogenym or what is known as mountain building event, in this case the first during the Paleozoic Era. By this time, the Appalachian is already considered as a plate boundary that is very active in its movements (Geologic Provinces 3). The Iapetus, another oceanic plate situated close to the Appalachian, was considered to collide against the Appalachian. Because the collision eventually sank, it submerges itself under the craton of North America. Because of what was happening in Appalachia and what has happened in the Iapetus, there was a resulting creation of what is known as the new subduction zone. The creation of this new particular feature was believed to be the birth of what would be known today as the Appalachian Mountain ranges (Chapter 2: Plate T-11. Appalachian Mountains 11). The Taconic orogeny was not the first mountain building plate collisions that helped create and develop the Appalachian Mountain Ranges, because there are still a series of other plate collisions that is set to happen that impacted mountain building, particularly the building of the mountains of the Appalachians. Several other orogenies, like the Caledonian orogeny, the Acadian orogeny, the Quachita orogeny, the Hercynian, orogeny as well as the Allegheny orogeny all contributed to the mountain building process that shaped the Appalachian Mountain ranges (Chapter 2: Plate T-11. Appalachian Mountains 5). As the Appalachian Mountain range was developing through the years, experts believed that at one point, it was standing as high as, or even higher than the height of the present day Himalayas. This is largely because of the consistent collision of ancient continents that pushed the mass of land upwards and raised mountains like the Appalachian higher and higher. The activity in the rock features shaping and re-shaping several geological features like the Appalachian mountain ranges experienced change, leading towards being still once again after the Pangea continent started to break apart during the Mesozoic Era. After this, erosion took over, and the once towering Appalachian was transformed into a vast plain. But this situation would not remain permanent. There were new waves of uplifting that would affect the region in the near future following its transition towards becoming a vast plain, and the uplifting allowed the Appalachian to rise up again, particularly during the Cenozoic Era (Geologic Provinces 7). What Geologic Processes were Available for the Formation? There were several geological processes that contribute to the shaping of the features of the Appalachian mountain ranges and the creation of the Appalachian mountain range itself. The most important perhaps is the plate collisions, which pushed the rocks upward to create the mountain range. Erosion was also part of the history of the formation of the Appalachian Mountain ranges. It comes into play during the time when the Appalachian region was flattened, a temporary state since the mountains will eventually be a towering feature again in this area after activity in rock movements resume and allowed the Appalachian mountain range to rise up. Other geological movements, like thrust faulting, are also at play throughout the history of the Appalachian mountain range. Criticisms Despite the presence of the theory on how the Appalachian Mountain ranges was created, there are still criticisms that challenge existing belief by providing newly discovered data involving the geological events and changes directly involved in the shaping and re-shaping the Appalachian Mountains. This is normal especially since the information on the Appalachian mountain range formation is not yet set on stone especially since there are still gapping holes that are not closed because of the absence of solid proofs to support scientific claims. One of the criticisms was raised in 2006 after scientists believed that they have found new evidence that can change how experts look at the formation of the Appalachian mountain ranges. According to an Ohio University professor, the ocean involved in the collision that started the creation of the Appalachian mountain ranges was not Iapetus but rather Rheic (Ohio University 7), which was believed to have been closed down after the collision between Gondwana and North America, leading to the formation of Pangea and the creation of Appalachian Mountain ranges (Ohio University 8). There are also those which point to other assumptions involving the Appalachian mountain ranges. Some believe that there were other mountain ranges and chains involved or interconnected with the Appalachian mountain ranges during the millions of years of its rise and erosion. What is today traditionally called the Appalachian Mountains really represents several different mountain chains, formed at different times over a span of at least 130 million years (Klyza, Trombulak 14). But despite the criticisms, the study and understanding of the Appalachians contribute significantly in scientific study. The scientific attitude and approach towards understanding and studying tectonics as well as mountain-building was developed largely by the efforts to study the Appalachian mountain ranges. Other plate tectonic concepts, even those that involve the studying of how oceans open and close before, was also influenced significantly by the study on Appalachian mountain range formation (Chapter 2: Plate T-11. Appalachian Mountains 3). Conclusion The history of the Appalachian Mountain ranges is something that is eventful and important today because it is significantly important to other important aspects of world history, like the formation of super-continents and its breaking apart, influencing the geography that modern world has today. Understanding this phenomenon may not be as easy but modern literature is growing and growing to provide more information about this aspect. Works Cited Adkins, Leonard M. Appalachian Trail: A Visitors Companion. Menasha Ridge Press, 1998. â€Å"Chapter 2: Plate T-11. Appalachian Mountains. † National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 6 October 2008. 25 February 2009 http://daac. gsfc. nasa. gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11. shtml. â€Å"Geologic Provinces of the United States: Appalachian Highlands Province. † United States Geological Survey (USGS). 13 January 2004. 25 February 2009 http://geomaps. wr. usgs. gov/parks/province/appalach. html. Klyza, Christopher McGrory and Trombulak, Stephen C. The Story of Vermont: A Natural and Cultural History. Middlebury College Museum of Art. 1999. Ohio University. â€Å"Geologists Find New Origins Of Appalachian Mountains. † Science Daily. 17 November 2006. February 24, 2009, from http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2006/11/061117123212. htm.

Causes Effects Of Water Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Causes Effects Of Water Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay A recent newspaper candidate that: Resource degradation and depletion, biodiversity decline, climate change increasingly complex and incredible. It is an overview about current situation of the environment. Every year, 14 billion pounds of sewage, sludge, and garbage are dumped into the world oceans, 19 trillion gallons of waste also enter the water annually. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, developed countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United State, 45 percent of assessed and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted. Thus, we must have good solution to solve this problem because it is not only useful in one person, but also in human race. Therefore, this paper with the purpose of helping us knowledge about water pollution will discuss the importance things of this problem and give out good ideas to improve environment. B. DISCUSS OF FINDINGS I. The situation of water pollution in our daily life, especially in development countries. Nowadays, water pollution is polluted more and more seriously. It is an increasingly alarming problem, running not only our drinking supplies, but training our food supplies as well. Water pollution can be defined in several ways. It occurs when energy and other materials are released, degrading the quality of the water for other users. It includes all of the waste materials that cannot be naturally broken down by water. In other words, anything that is added to the water, above and beyond it capacity to break it down, is pollution. Pollution, in certain circumstances, can be caused by native itself, such as when water flows through soils with high activities. But more often that not, human actions are responsible for the pollutants that enter the water. The percentage of water polluted is increasing sharply. For example. In Hanoi ( Vietnam) only 5-7 percent of waste water treated before discharging to the environment, while about 500.000 cubic meters of waste water discharge directl y to the rivers without any treatment. Another fact we can clearly seen that 30 percent of Irelands river are polluted with sewage or fertilizer or the King River is Australias most polluted rivers, suffering from a severe acidic condition related to mining operations 1.000.000 marine mammals. 1 million sea birds and other aquatic live are killed due to plastic waste in water and coastal area. This is the proof proving for actions of people in the world. We are destroying our life without having aware of this problem. If we do not prevent, we will face to dangerous. II. Causes and effects of water pollution. II.1 Causes of water pollution. Sources of pollution maybe subdivided into point sources and non-point sources. Point sources are sources from which pollutants are released at one readily identifiable spot: a sewer outlet, a steel mill, a septic tank, and forth. Non-point sources are more diffuse, examples would include fertilizer runoff from farm land, acid drainage from an abandoned strip mine, or runoff of sodium or calcium chloride from road salts. On a worldwide basis, agriculture probably contributes more to water pollution than does any other single activity. In the United State, agriculture is estimated to be responsible for about two-thirds of stream pollution. Agriculture runoff carries three main types of pollutants: fertilizer, brocades and animal waste. Scientists have estimated that as many as one-third of the medium and large-size lakes in the United State have been affected by accelerated eutrophication. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United State reports that eutrophication has left 90 percent of the Black Sea with critically low oxygen levels, causing a precipitous decline in the total fish catch. The Baltic sea, too, has slow increasing symptoms of the eutrophication in the last 20 years, the global blooms are thought to be at least partially responsible for declining fish catches. The herbicides and pesticides used in agriculture are an other sources of the chemical pollution of water bodies. Runof f from farms where such biocides have been applied contaminates both ground and surface waters. Biocide contamination of groundwater exist in at least 34 states. Surveys in Minnesota and Iowa, for example, indicate that 30-60 percent of private wells may be tainted by runoff from farm herbicides and pesticides. A final agriculture source of chemical pollution is animal wastes, especially in countries where animals are raised intensively. It is estimated that animal wastes in the United State total about 15 billion tons per year, with feedlots generating about haft of the total. If not treated properly, the manure pollutes both soil and water with infectious agents and excess nutrients. Agriculture is only one of the human activities that contribute to water pollution. Others sources are industry, mining, municipalities and residences. For many years, chemical were dumped into bodies of water without concern. It makes water be more opaque and dirty. Thus, our life also become uncomfortable and inconvenient. II.2. Effects of water pollution The effects of water pollution are varied and depend on what chemicals are dumped and in what location. The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills life that inhabits water based on ecosystems. Dead fish, dolphin, birds and many other animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollution in their habitat. In India, water pollution due to industrial wastes and sewage has been assuming menacing proportion. Large lakes and large stretches of most of the river in India have water which is unsafe for drinking purposes. Surveys of industrialized zones show that even ground water has become unfit for drinking due to high concentration of toxic metals and chemicals along with bacteriological contamination. Sewage is also another good example of how pollution can affect us all. Sewage discharged into coastal water can wash up on beaches and cause a health hazard. People who bathe or swim in water can fall ill if they swallow polluted water. Sewage can have other harmful effects too. It can poison shellfish (such as cookies and mussels) that grow near the shore. People who eat poisoned shellfish risk sufferings from an acute and sometimes fatal illness. Pollution matter because it harms the environment on which people depend. The environment is not something distant and separate from our lives. It is not a pretty shoreline hundreds of miles from out home or a wilderness landscape that we see on TV. The environment is everything that surrounds us that gives us life and health. Destroying the environment ultimately reduces the quality of our own lives and that, most selfishly is why pollution should matter to all of us. II.3 The solution for water pollution in over the world. Dealing with water solution is something that everyone (including governments and local councils) need to get involved with. Making people aware of the problem is the first step to solving it. In the early 1990s, when suffers in Britain grew tired of catching illness from water pollution with sewage, they formed a group called Surfers Against Sewage to force government and water companies to clean up their activity. Besides, we must have clearly rules to prevent group or personal from discharging waste rubbish into the rivers, lakes, ponds, seas,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ By carrying out these advices with a good attitude, we can take world away from polluting and we will have a better life. C. Conclusion From all the findings above, it is clear that water pollution is still a really huge problem. It has developed greatly over the year. There are many factors leading to this situation. However, we can do some works to help our environment, which was polluted seriously. We can do some works to help our environment, which was polluted seriously. We can take individual action like using environmentally friendly detergents, not pouring oil down drains, reducing pesticides, and so on. We can take community action, too, by helping out on beach cleans or litter picks to keep our rivers and seas that little bit cleaner. And we can take action as countries and continents to pass laws that will make pollution harder and the world less polluted. Working together, we can make pollution less of a problem, and the world will be a better place.

My Philosophy of Teaching Essays -- Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of Education Throughout the history of education, there have been many different philosophical views. The views have varied from Plato's "The Republic," to Rousseau's "Emile". Plato believed that the purpose of education was to create a perfect city-state, while Rousseau believed that the purpose was to develop people, who freely choose good. Both of these philosophies cooperate with my beliefs; however, my beliefs do differ in some aspects. Through my philosophies covering the nature of humans, curriculum, and teaching methods I hope to better educate the students and America a better place to live. First, I believe that humans are naturally good. The environment that a child grows up in affects the way that they act. Children are easily manipulated and I believe that the people in their early years are the ones that influence them the most. I believe the most important influences in a child's life are his parent and his teacher. In my own experience, I remember my kindergarten teacher spanking me when I was younger for no apparent reason. I could not figure out why she was doing this to me and it hurt my self-esteem, which made me not even want togo to school. However, my parents helped me Iovercome these problems. My parents influenced me to work harder and be myself no matter what. I would have to say that my parents were the biggest ~nfluence of my life; the things they taught me will stick with me the rest of my life. Secondly, I believe that everybody is born in certain classes. Like Plato, I believe there are classes with into which you are born. I believe that there are born leaders and then the children who do not have the same opportunities. I think you have to separate the two as soon as po... ...uate assistant on the Baseball field, while getting my masters in sports management. After that, I plan to coach college or high school baseball and teach physical education, hopefully for my alma mater Southeast High School. My goal is to become an athletic director, teacher, and coach at the same time because we all know that is where the money is. If a graduate assistant job does not open up, I plan to coach high school baseball and take night classes at Kent State for my masters. Furthermore, all aspects of teaching are important. As teachers, we hold the future of America in our hands with educating the youth. All aspects of teaching are important in shaping the youth of America. With the philosophies of some of the worlds greatest thinkers ever and with some philosophies of our own, I hope we can bring theeducation of America's youth to a higher level.~

Belonging Uncertainty of Women in Quantitative Fields Such as Math Essa

Belonging Uncertainty of Women in Quantitative Majors Such as Math Belonging uncertainty occurs to people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and social status’. It is the feeling that one does not belong in an area or field. We concentrated on womens’ belonging uncertainty in a quantitative major, math. All over the world, there are women who have a desire to pursue majors such as science, engineering, technology, and math, but they are discouraged from doing so because of stereotypes that suggest that they do not have the capability to compete with men in those fields. Some research looked at minorities and their belonging uncertainty; others looked specifically at women and the factors in play which create belonging uncertainty for them in quantitative fields such as math. Walton and Cohen (2007) investigated whether or not minority groups would be unsure of the friendships and social links they form, which in turn would affect their feelings of social belonging. In the experiment, Black students had difficulty listing 8 friends in the computer science major which prompted a negative sense of social fit in that major, while white students showed no similar effect. This implies that social belonging relates to whether or not an individual feels comfortable in the major they pursue, and whether they will be confident in recommending that major to someone similar to themselves (Walter & Cohen, 2007). A similar study conducted by Johnson (2012) was tailored to observe the effects of the college environment on Black women and their social belonging (Johnson, 2012). Researcher Johnson (2012) focused on the college environment, and its effect on the sense of belonging that women, especially women of color, may lack. The results... ...ate perceptions and overall sense of belonging among racially diverse women in STEM major. Journal of College Student Development, 53, 336-346. Rosenthal, L., London, B., & Levy, S.R. (2011). The roles of perceived identity compatibility and social support for women in a single-sex STEM program at a co-education university. Sex Roles, 65, 725-736. doi: 10.1007/s11199-011-9945-0 Smith, J.L., Lewis, K.L., Hawthorne, L., & Hodges, S.D. (2012). When trying hard isn’t natural: Women’s belonging with and motivation for male-dominated STEM fields as a function of effort expenditure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 131-143. doi: 1177/0146167212468332. Walton, G., & Cohen, G.L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 82-96. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.1. 82

Implications of the AOL-Time Warner Merger :: Television Media TV Essays

Implications of the AOL-Time Warner Merger On January 11, 2001, America Online and Time Warner completed their historic merger shortly after the Federal Communications Commission approved the deal with conditions that affect instant messaging and Net cable access. This one hundred and nine billion dollar merger of America Online and Time Warner is one of the largest deals in corporate history. The deal combines the world's largest Internet Service Provider with the world's largest media company. AOL has about twenty-six million subscribers and also runs instant messaging services and Netscape Netcenter. Time Warner's cable network reaches twenty percent of cable homes in the United States, and also has its own film and music studios, cable and TV broadcasting properties such as HBO and CNN, and publishes Time and People magazines. Steve Case, chairman of the combined company, said that "AOL Time Warner will lead the convergence of the media, entertainment, communications and Internet industries and provide wide ranging, innovative benefits for consumers." Millions of people already take advantage of the brands, services, and technologies that AOL offers, and by integrating these two companies these services will be a part of people's daily lives even more. "The approval of this merger came with three key restrictions beyond those already required by the Federal Trade Commission," said William Kennard, FCC Chairman. The new conditions put on the AOL-Time Warner merger are designed to protect the Internet and its competitiveness. The conditions apply to three specific areas, which include: Internet access over high-speed cable lines, instant messaging via cable lines, and ownership issues between AT&T and Time Warner. The initial concern of the Federal Trade Commission was that the merger of these two powerful companies would deny competitors access to new broadband technology. Therefore, the restrictions enforced by the FTC are to ensure that a full range of content and services by non-affiliated Internet Service Providers is available to subscribers, to prevent discrimination by AOL-Time Warner to other non-affiliated Internet Service providers, to provide a full range of content and services and to lessen competition in the market for broadband Internet Service Provider service. The FTC restrictions state that first AOL-Time Warner must make at least one non-affiliated cable broadband service available on Time Warner's cable systems before AOL itself begins offering its service. Second, AOL-Time Warner cannot interfere with content that it has restricted to deliver to subscribers of its cable

Usefulness of Accounting Ratios in Financial Analysis

Accounting ratios are a technique normally adopted by financial analysts in order to highlight the financial health of the company at hand.   There are a vast number of accounting ratios, each of which outlines certain aspect of the organisation.The main areas normally considered are the financial performance, financial position and financial stability of the corporation.   In this respect it is imperative that one first classifies the ratios in accordance with the aforesaid categories.   In this respect, the ratios that portray the financial position of SR Building Service Limited are: current ratio, acid test ratio, stock turnover, debtors days and credit ratio.Ratios are a static figure, which on its own merits is meaningless to the financial analyst.   Therefore it is important that such figure is either compared in the same organisation over time or with a company in the same or similar industry.   The financial ratios of Easy Build Limited are utilised in order to amp lify the financial position of SR Building Service Limited.   This will provide fruitful information on such facet.1.1 Financial Position of SR Building Service LimitedThe financial position of the company will be examined in three main areas.   These encompass the working capital on a generic basis, followed by the management of stock and debtors plus creditors.   This will be conducted in the proceeding sections.1.1.1 Working Capital of SR Building Service LimitedThe capability of the current assets to cover the current liabilities of SR Building Service Limited is inferior to the other company.   This is revealed by the lower current ratio of the firm.   The variance of 0.71 indicates that the short-term liabilities of SR Building Service Limited are in a higher proportion to the current assets.   Such variable implies that management is less effective in administering the working capital of SR Building Service Limited.Further more, the ability of the most liquid asse ts (debtors and cash and cash equivalents) to cover the short-term liabilities is also weaker than that of Easy Building Limited.   This factor is outlined in the lower acid test ratio amounting to 0.38.It is therefore pertinent to state that on a generic perspective the financial position of SR Building Service Limited is worse than the other business entity.   Further amplification of the liquidity of the company can be performed by examining in more detail the main current assets and current liabilities of the organisation.   These encompass the analysis of the stock, trade debtors and trade creditors of the firm.   Such examination will be performed in the forthcoming sections.1.1.2 Management of StockThe stock turnover ratio portrays the number of times stock of the company is turned over.   The higher such ratio the more effective is the management in the utilisation of stock.   An organisation with a low stock turnover ratio normally implies that the company is st ocking goods for a considerable time.This is a highly risky element in light that the product may quickly turn obsolete realising a price lower than its original cost.   For example, stocking a lot for retailers of clothes and electronic equipment namely computer hardware is significantly risky.   Clothes may easily turn out of fashion leading to the aforementioned effect, and technological advancements may quickly turn electronic goods into obsolete products.   Indeed organisations like Toyota nowadays are adopting a Just in Time Inventory System.   Such technique encompasses keeping stock to a minimum, normally zero level.In light of the above, SR Building Services Limited surpasses Easy Build Limited on the stock facet.   At this stage one would thus ponder the reason why the overall working capital of the firm at hand is weaker in comparison to Easy Build Limited.   The proceeding examination may shed further light on such matter.

Eye Vision Case 10-11 Essay

Eye Vision Inc, a long-standing medical device manufacturer, has signed a contract to sell Holland Hospital the Clear View Laser and a two-year separately priced maintenance plan for $1 million and $0.2 million respectively. On a when-and-if available bais, Eye Vision Inc. will provide software updats that is embedded with the Laser to maintainance purchasor. The software has never been sold without Laser for its functional necessity. In this memo, as explained below, we conclude that: 1. Eye Vision’s arrangement with Holland Hospital is not within the scope of ASC 985-605, Software: Revenue Recognition. 2. The deliverables in this arrangement are the Clear View Laser, embedded software, and maintenance plan, respectively. 3. The Clear View Laser together with embedded software and maintenance plan will be accounted for as separate units of accounting, respectively. 4. The laser with the embedded software will be recognized immediately. The maintenance plan will be recognized on a straight-line basis over the length of the contract. 1. Is Eye Vision’s arrangement with Holland Hospital within the scope of ASC 985-605, Software: Revenue Recognition? The agreement between Eye Vision and Holland Hospital is not within the scope of ASC 985-605, Software: Revenue Recognition. According to ASC 985-605-15-4(e), subtopic ASC 985-605 does not apply to transactions and activities for â€Å"software components of tangible products that are sold, licensed, or leased with tangible products when the software components and nonsoftware components of the tangible product function together to deliver the tangible product’s essential functionality.† In the situation of the agreement, the clear view laser represents the tangible component, while the software component comes embedded internally within the laser. The case states, that the laser has never been sold without the software because the software is essential to its functionality in performing medical procedures. We would like to consider both the Clear View Laser along with the embedded software as one tangible product. Further, ASC 985-605-15-4(f) goes on to state any â€Å"undelivered elements that relate to software that is essential to the tangible product’s functionality in (e)† would be considered out of scope. The maintenance plan, if purchased, would be defined as an undelivered element that relates to the software that is essential to the tangible product’s function. Therefore, we conclude that ASC 985-605 is not with in the scope of the arrangement and ASC 605-25, Revenue Recognition: Multiple-Element Arrangements should be used for proper rvenue recognition. 2. What are the deliverables in this arrangement? The three deliverables in this arrangement between Eye Vision and Holland Hospital are the Clear View Laser, the embedded software and the maintenance plan. According to ASC 605-25-15-2, deliverables within contractually binding arrangements include products, services, or rights to use assets. Beyond that, ASC never defines what a deliverable is. Thus, determining whether the elements are separate deliverables is a matter of judgment. In this case, the Clear View Laser is the main product sold by Eye Vision and is definitely a deliverable. The software provides Clear View Laser with additional functionalities other than what the laser alone could have done. Additionally in the future after the updating performed by the maintainance plan, the embedded software is necessary to perform the latest medical procedures for which the laser will be intended to, it should be considered another separate product or deliverable. As to the maintenance plan, it is sold by Eye Vision separately as an after-sale service, making it the third separate deliverable. Alternative / Opposing Approach One could argue that the Clear View Laser together with the embedded software is one deliverable. Both of the laser and the software cannot stand on their own as a separate deliverable. The ideas supporting this argument are as follow: 1. The Clear View Laser has never been sold without the embedded software. 2. Without each other, either the Clear View Laser or the embedded software provides no value to their customers. Although this alternative position sounds reasonable, we uphold our conclusion above because in this arrangement the laser and the software are equally important in terms of functionality. We should consider them two separate products, even though they have never been sold separately and provide no value to customers independently. 3. On the basis of the responses to Question 1 and 2, what are the units of accounting in this arrangement? The two units of accounting listed under the agreement between Eye Vision and Holland Hospital are the Clear View Laser and the mai ntenance plan. According to ASC 605-25-25-5, â€Å"In an arrangement with multiple deliverables, the delivered item or items shall be considered a separate unit of accounting if both of the following criteria are met.† The first criterion under ASC 605-25-25-5 states, â€Å"The delivered item or items have value to the customer on a standalone basis. The item or items have value on a standalone basis if they are sold separately by any vendor or the customer could resell the delivered item(s) on a standalone basis.† In the case, the Clear View laser is sold only with the embedded software for proper functionality. In the event the sale is isolated, the software and laser have no independent value to the consumer considering the safety reasons of the medical devices. The standalone trascation of these two parts are infrequent, therefore we conclude that the Clear View Laser and software will be accounted for as one unit. Regarding the maintenance plan, it does have stand alone value to the consumer. Any past or new owner of the laser can choose to purchase the maintenance plan independently for additional servicing as needed. We conclude this has a standalone value to the consumer and should be accounted for as its own unit. The second criterion states, â€Å"If the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item, delivery or performance of the undelivered item or items is considered probable and substantially in the control of the vendor.† The agreement states that there is no general rights of return. Therefore this is not applicable. Each unit of accounting must be evaluated accordingly for the proper revenue recognition technique. Alternative / Opposing Approach It can be argued that when the Clear View Laser with the embedded software and maintenance plan are purchased together, they can all be accounted for as one unit. This is based off the idea that the maintenance plan has no stand alone value to the consumer in the event the Clear View Laser is not purchased in unison. According to ASC 605-25-25-3, â€Å"In applying the guidance in this Subtopic, separate contracts with the same entity or related parties that are entered into at or near the same time are presumed to have been negotiated as a package and shall, therefore, be evaluated as a single arrangement in considering whether there are one or more units of accounting. That presumption may be overcome if there is sufficient evidence to the contrary.† Further this is supported by the criteria listed above in ASC 605-25-25-5. Even with supporting code, we reject this consideration due to the fact that previous owners of the Clear View Laser can purchase the maintenance plan at any given time. Therefore the maintenance plan can have stand alone value as listed initially. 4. On the basis of the responses to Question 3, discuss the revenue recognition accounting literature that would be applied to each unit of accounting identified in this arrangement. The first unit of accounting that we will consider is the laser containing the embedded software. Recognition of revenue will occur immediately upon the sale of the laser. As per ASC 605-10-S99: â€Å"Revenue generally is realized or realizable and earned when all of the following criteria are met: 1. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists 2. Delivery has occurred or services have been rendered 3. The seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable 4. Collectibility is reasonably assured† In connection with the sale to Holland Hospital, $1 million (the cost of the laser with embedded software) will be recognized immediately as all four criterion have been satified. As for the second unit of accounting, we will consider the maintenance plan that was purchased for two-year coverage. Unlike the laser, recognition of revenue for the maintenance plan will not occur at the time of sale since the plan does not meet all the four criteria under ASC 605-10-S99 due to the fact that the services have not been rendered upon sale. According to ASC 605-20-25-3: â€Å"Sellers of extended warranty or product maintenance contracts have an obligation to the buyer to perform services throughout the period of the contract and, therefore, revenue shall be recognized in income over the period in which the seller is obligated to perform. That is, revenue from separately priced extended warranty and product maintenance contracts shall be deferred and recognized in income on a straight-line basis over the contract period except in those circumstances in which sufficient historical evidence indicates that the costs of performing services under the contract are incurred on other than a straight-line basis. In those circumstances, revenue shall be recognized over the contract period in proportion to the costs expected to be incurred in performing services under the contract. This leaves some ambiguity as to whether revenue shall be recognized on a straight line basis over the two-year contract or recognized in proportion to the costs expected to be incurred in performing services during the two-year contract. The audit team recommends recognizing the revenue on a straight line basis over the two-year period. In connection with the sale to Holland Hospital, $200,000 (the cost of the maintenance plan) will be recognized ove r the two years, $100,000 in 2010, $100,000 in 2011. There may be an instance where the maintenance plan will produce negative revenue. If such case arises, guidance is provided by ASC 605-50-45-6. â€Å"Negative revenue may arise from the application of the guidance in this Subtopic to cash consideration given by a vendor to a customer or from transactions or changes in estimates that are required to be characterized as a reduction of revenue by other Subtopics in the Codification. The Examples in Section 605-50-55 discuss some of those Subtopics and underlying circumstances that could result in negative revenue. This Subtopic addresses whether the negative revenue amount should be recharacterized as an expense in the vendor’s income statement.† If this scenario occurs, 605-50-55 (too many Subtopics to list all here) will provide the guidance necessary to proceed. Alternative Approach: If Eye Vision, which has been in business for over twenty years, has recognized its revenue from maintenance plans in a way other than the straight-line method, they could qualify under the portion of ASC 605-20-25-3 that states, â€Å"†¦ circumstances in which sufficient historical evidence indicates that the costs of performing services under the contract are incurred on other than a straight-line basis. In those circumstances, revenue shall be recognized over the contract period in proportion to the costs expected to be incurred in performing services under the contract.† and continue doing so. Also, regarding SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) Topic 13: 605-10-s99-1, there are examples given that could support the recognition of revenue for the maintenance plan as services are rendered. â€Å"Supply or service transactions may involve the charge of a nonrefundable initial fee with subsequent periodic payments for future products or services. The initial fees may, in substance, be wholly or partly an advance payment for future products or services. Therefore, the up-front fee and the continuing performance obligation related to the services to be provided or products to be delivered are assessed as an integrated package. In such circumstances, the staff believes that up-front fees, even if nonrefundable, are earned as the products and/or services are delivered and/or performed over the term of the arrangement or the expected period of performance and generally should be deferred and recognized systematically over the periods that the fees are earned.† (A systematic method would be on a straight-line basis, unless evidence suggests that revenue is earned or obligations are fulfilled in a different pattern, in which case that pattern should be followed.) Since Eye Vision â€Å"will offer, on a when-and-if available basis, new treatment applications for the Clear View Laser†, the â€Å"pattern† could be deemed â€Å"when available† (or when delivered).