The Theories from the Movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic

Instances with cultural dimension are everywhere. The very normal everyday affairs that relate to cultural field could intricately stand on behalf of, or are shaped by, wider social and cultural forces (Miller, McHoul, 1). For instance, in the movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), fashion as a significant element, including the appearances of projection, consumption and aesthetics, as well as the status of upper class, determines self-identity and expresses one’s personality and discourses. This essay will first briefly introduce the movie, followed by defining and elaborating two theories. Subsequently, two of the movie clips deemed as culture examples, each exemplifying the key notions from two scholars will be analyzed. Ultimately the essay would draw the conclusion with cultural lead ideas. According to the introduction of Metacritic (2009), the movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) mainly describes a girl named Rebecca Bloomwood who is absolutely a shopaholic. In order to achieve the dream of working for her beloved fashion magazine, she snags a job of being an economic columnist for a financial magazine, which is published by the same company. Ironically, she guides people to effectively manage money on the one hand and has loads of debts to pay off on the other hand. She has to make up lies to evade creditor’s tracking. Eventually, the comedy ends with Rebecca turning over a new leaf and celebrating both career and love after harsh introspection and self-reflection. The movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) is occupied by fashion, glamour and shopping. This refers a person with a compulsive desire to shop. This movie lightly involved gender bias and stereotypes with the terms. For instance, women who love buying are called â€Å"shopaholics†. While, occasionally, men are called â€Å"collectors† which have the same situation as women. However, the movie principally illustrates people’s desire for consumption and self-expression through styling and taste, which will be detailed by theories as following. In the movie, the view of simplified consumption is widely and reasonably acknowledged. Shopping, an approach of leisure and consuming time, offers people happiness and enjoyment. Due to the reports and evidences from Carlson (2008), it can be powerfully argued that people consume for the sake of consuming in real life. The Polish sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman (1925- ) illustrates the modern consuming in the theory of â€Å"consuming life†, based on his theory of consumerism and liquid modernity. With the heuristics understanding of consumers and â€Å"consuming life†, he discovered three ideal categories, namely consumerism, the society of consumers, and consumer culture, to demonstrate consumers as a part of the society as well as the possible relationships among them. (Patterson 4). Bauman chiefly addresses consumerism about the subjectivity of individual consumers and states the motivated role of the unfulfilled desires and unsatisfied needs. As for the second ideal type, Bauman argues the inevitable relationship between individuals and the world. In addition, ‘salability’ is coined to define the cause of social membership raised by individual’s consumption. The third ideal type, notably consumer culture, is claimed to â€Å"moves to a mes-olevel discussion of the social networks and interactions that exist within liquid modernity. †(ibid. ) In Bauman’s theory, people are believed live in the postmodern consumer society and consumption is increasing in volume. Consumer’s satisfaction is instant and delayed. As the report of Miller (33), at the moment of purchase, women are hardly satisfied in situations of purchase. The satisfaction brought by consumed goods is limited and short-term, the length of which normally should be reduced to bare minimum. However, Bauman (17) argues that the impatient, impetuous, and restive consumption would be more likely and much easier to fade off and lose interests as well, which reverses the traditional relationship between satisfactions and instant needs. At the beginning of the movie, Rebecca Bloomwood, who already has a debt of $900, is still fascinated by the green scarf that she does not really need. Finally she buys it due to her immediate desire even it is not necessary. Throughout the movie, there are numerous scenes in which she regrets for her impetuous perchance. â€Å"Do we really need another chair? † as David Report asked. They claim that things that are not really necessary cram people’s homes and people purchase them because of imputation and short time self-satisfaction (Carlson 4). Moreover, Bauman clarifies ‘consumer game’ as the excitement of sensation, which excludes the greediness of obtainment as well as the tangible sense without wealth. Consumers ought to consume rationally and in control. Desire, is regarded could be reproduce by itself, and has self-perpetuating motive. As Mark C. Taylor and Esa Saarinen once said, â€Å"Desire does not desire satisfaction. To the contrary, desire desires desire. † (Bauman 5). The movie of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) presents numerous and various scenes of fashion judgments. For instance, one of the clips depicts the astonishment of Rebecca, who discovers the illustrious background of her boss, whom she thought was nonentity and nobody. When asked why wearing these low-priced clothes, he answers that he does not want to be labeled by his clothes and the appearance, which says the underlying tastes and sense of fashion. Pierre Bourdieu (1990-2002), who was born in an out-of-the-way corner of southwest France, illustrates and clarifies these situations with the conception of †habitus† and the class taste. In his youth, He was cultivated in philosophy. However, after the experience of participation of the Algerian War, he transformed to be a social scientist. Nevertheless he had philosophic logic and accuracy (Grass 1) as well. In Bourdieu theory, drawn from a long-term scientific observation, cultural needs are demonstrated to be the product of upbringing and education. Cultural practices, including literature, painting or music, are closely attached to the educational level and subsequently to social origin. According to both the influence from the strongest ‘extra-curricular’ culture and the extent of the cultural practices, which are recognized by the educational system, the background and formal education could change. Therefore the manner of tastes and ‘class’ forms within the discourses as well as structures (Bourdieu 2). The different lifestyles associated with them (Wacquant 7) could be understood as the approach to categorizing and distinguishing people. In addition, the theory shows how individuals characterize and reversely define themselves to others. For instance, the upper class makes adjudication based on the mannerisms, interests and tastes (Bourdieu 2). Habitus, meaning the way that the body is shaped by discourses as well as the environment, is clearly visible through taste. Through the process of which people recognize, judge, and operate in the world, habitus successfully assigns the system of ispositions, which is shared by countless people who have similar experiences and ideas. Habitus, the mediation between both the past and present stimuli, is socially structured and is simultaneously structuring the society. The reason for Bourdieu’s exemplification of the â€Å"unchosen principle of all choices,† as well as â€Å"the product of structure, producer of practice, and reproducer of structure† to hibitus is that it provides form and unity to a range of activities of an individual by crossing the separate spheres of life. Moreover, habitus is a principle of both social continuity and discontinuity. It is social continuity because of its ability to store social forces in individuals and transport them across time and space. Furthermore, It is discontinuity in that it could â€Å"be modified through the acquisition of new dispositions and the reason† that â€Å"it can trigger innovation whenever it encounters a social setting discrepant with the setting from which it issues†. Wacquant 7). All in all, the comedy of Confessions of A Shopaholic (2009) could be intensely analyzed by culture theories. After the briefly introduction of the movie, Bauman’s theory was introduced to illustrate the conception of consumption. Moreover, the three ideal categories detail the conception and the hypothesis of satisfaction of desire, suggesting the impetuous purchase would fade off yet the desire never would. Subsequently, Bourdieu’s theory of taste classifies and categorizes people with respect to taste and education. The dissimilar manners are closely linked to the dissimilar positions in social factor, which possibly bound up with the systems of habitus of the different classes (Bourdieu 2). In fact, despite the fact that the cultural studies about â€Å"desire† as well as â€Å"habitus† has been already made progresses, it is obvious and plain that they would still be discussed and argued within a long period of time.Reference http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/paleopsych/2006-January/004927.html http://www.metacritic.com/movie/confessions-of-a-shopaholic

Apple a Day Keeps a Doctor Away

Pet a Day Keep the Doctor Away! INTRODUCTION: A. Attention-Getter: They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but how much better would you feel if the apple was being presented to you by a cute dog or cat? B. Tie to the audience in this persuasive speech topics outline: If someone that you care about is dealing with encroaching old age, spending some time with an undemanding, loving animal can be something that is important for you in more ways than one. C. Personal experience: For example, my granddad was in dire straits after my granny died.After thirtyfive years together, he didn't know what to do with himself until he ended up adopting an older Labrador Retriever. The change was immense, and suddenly we had a familyman who was interested in the world around him and reaching out again. The change was amazing! D. Thesis Sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: Pets make an impressive positive change in the mental and physical health, and if you are concerned wit h the issue personally, consider the health benefit potentials for a beloved older person in your life. E.Preview of the main points of this persuasive speech topics outline: First, I will discuss the ways an animal is capable of making an elder person feel connected to the world at large. Then, I will show how the company of a loving cat or a dog makes the difference in a person's mental and physical outlook. And then, I'll tell you what to keep in mind when you are considering what pet might be appropriate for someone in your family. Transition sentence of persuasive speech topics outline: As people get older, there is very much a concern of not being needed.BODY OF THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH TOPICS OUTLINE MAIN POINT I: A human-companion animal is capable of making the elderly feel connected to the world at large. 1. Elderly people who have had their adult children leave home and who have lost spouses often find that it is difficult to connect with other people and because of this, th ey end up feeling a great deal more introverted and isolated. 2. Pets can make a huge difference when it comes to how well they cope with change and how they react to the world. An animal will depend on them, and give them that essential feeling of being needed again. . Elderly people also often find that they are living their lives without much tactile contact. Spouses might have passed on, and they might not be comfortable looking for tactile comfort from the people around them. This is where dogs and cats come in. 4. Cats and dogs love physical contact, and because of this, they are willing to go seeking it. A cat may love to sit in your lap or to sit down next to you for petting or you may find that a dog loves to roll around with and sit leaned up next to your legs†¦Transition sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: Elderly people often develop feelings of being unloved or lonely; an animal who is concerned with them and who loves them can make a huge difference in the way that they feel. MAIN POINT II: Pets can help improving their mental health; animals seem wonderfully intuitive when it comes to responding to how their humans feel. 1. A cat or a dog, especially one that is closely bonded to you, can feel in tune with your emotions. If you have ever been upset and had an animal come to cuddle you or to check on you, you know how soothing this can be.Rhetorical persuasive speech topics outline questions: o Have you ever felt more relaxed when a cat walks up and demands to be petted? o Have you ever not been able to resist a smile when a dog comes up and wants to play? These feelings are not merely happening in isolation. 2. There are plenty of scientific studies that show us that having pets around can lower the blood pressure and help us relax. When you think about how many elderly people are often beset by feelings of stress and how this can lead to things like heart disease or impaired functioning: looking into how pets can help is ess ential! . Pets are company that is very low stress and the truth is that when you give them what they need, they reciprocate with a great deal of love and joy! At the most basic level, pets can be very non demanding company. When you mess up, they are willing to forgive you, and they do not ask for much. They need food, attention and care, but they are not going to ask for things that you cannot give them. Transition sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: If you're interested in making sure that a beloved older person stays active and social, it is time to take a look and see what a pet can do.

Battle Of The Beasts Essay Research Paper

Battle Of The Animals Essay, Research Paper In 1954, with nil but their originative heads, the Toho Movie company produced the first elephantine monster film. Japan s Godzilla was brought to life. In 1998, with nil but Lucas Arts particular effects, and a name which guaranteed a blockbuster, the Centropolis Movie Company produced the All American Godzilla Flick. U.S.A. has eventually found its ain Godzilla. But is this new animal better than the Asiatic one? Despite the technological progresss and successful advertisement, the U.S. Godzilla has truly no comparing to the Nipponese one. Cinema has changed a batch in 45 old ages. In the times of King Kong and Dracula, # 8221 ; chilling # 8221 ; had a really important significance. Nowadays we are excessively smart for that. To do a batch of money, one might state a scientific discipline fiction film needs to look existent. In this regard, the American film is far better. The American audiences want to see an exciting film. In this regard besides, the American film is better. The film is besides, in most respects, a better film so any which came out in Japan. It is non nevertheless, Godzilla. The American monster doesn t even look like Godzilla. The visual aspect of Japan s Godzilla is better. The American Godzilla leans frontward at the hips when he walks. He has triangular bony home bases and a thin pointy tail. His oral cavity is like an iguana s. The Nipponese Godzilla is non a lizard. He is a mutated animal unlike any other. His bony home bases are really flimsy growings that are all over the topographic point. Godzilla, who was meant to mean atomic holocaust, besides closely resembles a human. In this manner, we can see a character out of him, non merely another elephantine lizard. His eyes are both pointed forward like a human, he walks unsloped like a human, and he has long forearms like a human. Godzilla doesn T have graduated tables, he has large perpendicular channels in a leathery tegument. He has a broad stance, muscular legs, and an look that merely takes some peoples breath off. And his illustriousness goes far beyond his expressions ; you can besides see it in his bosom. The Nipponese Godzilla is better because he has a psyche. He is powerful, yet sometimes defeated. He is an unstoppable force of nature, but besides a warrior. Godzilla is a elephantine monster, but he is besides a character. His face has looks, and he has a batch of motive. Such minute nsters are about non-existent in American civilization besides a few. King Kong, Frankenstein, and Dracula are all successful because the monster made sense. If the audience can t experience regretful or understanding for an evil animal, the animal has non done its occupation. Today s American audiences do non hold monsters with psyches. Our monster films are about the people in the movies, non the monsters. For illustration, Alien, Predator, Jurassic Park, Jaws. They are large computerized props. The audience has no emotion towards them. When they are on the screen sometimes we might desire them off. The American Godzilla is a lizard, nil more, even if it looks realistic. Last, the Nipponese Godzilla is better in the regard that it does non look existent. No Godzilla film has of all time been 100 % realistic. The U.S.A. Godzilla movie is realistic. When an audience tickers it, they believe their eyes. When you watch a Nipponese Godzilla film you can appreciate the fact that it is a film. It neer one time seems existent. The audience can play over the eldritch scientific discipline and rubber suits in their heads. Nipponese Godzilla films aren t existent, they re fictious ; beyond existent. They are like we imagine when we read a book. Most of all nevertheless, Japan s Godzilla is fun to watch, America s is non. America s Godzilla is merely a cool lizard from the find channel. We have possibly to many particular effects. Ever since Jurassic Parks improbably realistic dinosaurs, we are non as excited by the awful lizards we see and read about. When something fabulous becomes existent, it is no longer every bit interesting as it was earlier. One of the best Godzilla films of all time made would hold to be Godzilla V. King Kong. The conflict between the big E and west monster. There are a batch of good scenes in it, including when King Kong shoves a large tree down Godzilla s pharynx, and he coughs it back up. At the terminal King Kong and Godzilla are contending when they all of a sudden fall over the side of a drop. They fall in H2O, and King Kong is seen swimming to shore, presumptively stating Godzilla is dead. But is he? Remember he can swim underwater! Godzilla International Relations and Security Network t an animate being. He isn t a lizard or a firedrake or a dinosaur or even a cat in a gum elastic costume. Godzilla is a universe broad film fable. Truly, Godzilla is excessively large to melt off. Godzilla is truly one of a sort.

Illegal immigration and its impact on the economy Essay

Illegal immigration and its impact on the economy - Essay Example It has become a matter of debate and study as it relates considerably to the nation’s politics as well as economy. At the centre of this debate is the question of whether illegal immigrants are good or bad to the economy of the United States (Dudley 18). Various studies have shown that a great number of the United States’ citizens hold the opinion that illegal immigrants are bad for the nation’s economy. However, there are those who believe that these illegal immigrants are good for the economy. Several surveys show that there is a consensus among many economists that both legal as well as illegal immigration is good for the economy seeing that it provides cheap labor; it gives net boost to the economy; it reduces the cost of goods and services; in addition to widening the market for goods and services (Kenney 23). This paper will discuss illegal immigration and its impact on the economy. There has been divided public opinion regarding the impact of illegal immig rants on the United States economy. There are those who believe that illegal immigrants are good for the economy and there are those who believe that they are bad for the economy. ... refore be deduced that the debate on the impact of illegal immigrants revolves around the way in which they expand the national economy and how they, on the other hand, cost the government and increase public expenditures (Dudley 20). In general, illegal immigrants are defined as all individuals who are foreign-born and are non-American citizens and who are not the legal residents of the nation. Illegal immigrants are those individuals who are either admitted temporarily into the country and stay beyond the required duration or those who enter without inspection (West 427). As earlier mentioned, illegal immigration has been a matter of debate and study for a long time across the world and especially in the United States, which records the highest number of illegal immigrants. This subject has attracted a lot of attention because of the great impacts it has on the economy, politics, as well as the social aspects of any given society (Dudley 25). Illegal immigration has had considerabl e impacts on the economy of the United States. Throughout the history of the United States, illegal workers have played a very crucial role in the economy. While economists agree that there are many economic benefits associated with illegal immigration, they also agree that illegal immigration has many burdens to the economy (Nadadur 1037). This has caused division among policy makers on whether illegal immigration laws should be enforced and illegal immigrants punished or whether illegal immigrants should be given amnesty. Numerous studies on the impact of illegal immigration on the economy have found out that there are evident benefits of illegal immigration on the economy. One of the reasons attributed to this proposition is that illegal immigration supplies labor to industries at a

Training Faculty to Teach Online Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Training Faculty to Teach Online - Research Paper Example   There is also the principle that learning materials and measured teaching outcomes will contain and provide appropriate information. By appropriate information, it is expected a well-trained faculty would focus their learning resources on the provision of information that directly matches what the online program is designed to accomplish. What is more, there is a principle that measures on timely the information given by the faculty is considered by learners to be. This is an important principle, given the fact that learning information is dynamic and subjective to time. By implication, the process of evaluation looks at the ability of faculty to be on top of issues and abreast with time so that information delivered will not be considered as not being relevant for the time for which it is being delivered. Lastly, there is a principle that dwells on the need for faculty teaching to be self-evaluative. Effective management of teaching in the online training programShattuck and Ter ry likened the management of teaching effectiveness to the sustainability of effective teaching and learning that is attained from online programs. With this said, it is expected that during online training programs and even by the close of the programs, there will be principle that checks for the sustainability of effectiveness. One of these principles for the management of teaching in online training programs is the need for there to be faculty support services provided in specific areas related to teaching online.

Australian taxation law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Australian taxation law - Assignment Example (1+GST rate) ? FBT rate Hence, the following benefits of Paul shall be as follows: Car fringe Benefit $22,500 Entertainment Fringe Benefit $ 2,000 Loan Fringe Benefit $ 8,000 ---------------- Employer’s type 1 aggregate fringe benefits $32,500 amount 46.5% + 10% ------------------------------------------- $32,500 x (1 – 46.5%) ? (1+ 10%) ? 46.5% rate $32,500 ? 2.0647 = $67,102.75 Total Fringe Liability This is the total value of the fringe benefits tax liability of Chatswood Pty Ltd. for the year ended 31 March 2011. For purposes of computation, ‘the FBT year is the 12 months beginning 1 April and ending 31 March. Currently, the FBT rate is 46.5%. A GST of 10% is applied on most goods and services that are supplied in Australia and on goods imported into Australia’2. ‘If an employee receives certain fringe benefits with a total taxable value of more than $1,000 in an FBT year (1 April to 31 March), employer must report the grossed-up taxable value of the benefits on their payment summary for the corresponding income year (1 July to 30 June). This is called the reportable fringe benefits amount’3. Therefore, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) that should be paid by the employer Chatswood Pty Ltd., at the end of the year is $67,102.75. The car fringe benefit, the loan fringe benefit and the entertainment fringe benefit which were granted to Paul by his employer are all entitled to Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit that is available to Chatswood Pty Ltd. However, the $1,000 salary of Paul is not considered as a fringe benefit since there is an imposed tax on the salary which is being paid by the employee. As defined under the Finance Act of 2005: â€Å"Fringe Benefits† means any consideration for employment provided by way of: (a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"any privilege, service, facility or amenity, directly or indirectly, provided by an employer, whether by way of reimbursement or otherwise, to his employees (including former employee or employees) (b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  any free or  concessional  ticket provided by the employer for private journeys of his employees or their family members;  Ã‚  and (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  any contribution by the employer to an approved superannuation fund for employees†.4 The total value of all fringe benefits given to a particular employee by his or her employer in an FBT year is known as their individual fringe benefits amount. 2. Peter’s is liable to pay a capital gains tax (CGT) for the sale of the gift shop for the year 2010/2011 based on the following computation: Gross Sale Proceeds from the gift shop: $840,000 Less: Incidental Cost of Disposal : $(60,000) Net Sale Proceeds: $780,000 Less Cost of Asset: $(450,000) Capital Gain: $330,000 Therefore, Peter shall be liable to pay a CGT on his gain amounting to $330,000. ‘Capital gains tax is a tax on the profits which may be made from the sale of capital assets. Only individuals are liable to pay CGT, cor porations are not liable to CGT. A liability to pay CGT arises only when a chargeable person makes a chargeable disposal of a chargeable assets’5. Some of chargeable assets include lands and buildings, paintings, jewelry, plant and machinery. However, no CGT shall be imposed on the sale of his main residence as he is entitled to ‘Private Residence Relief’. To qualify for the exemption based on the ‘Private Residenc

Independents study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Independents study - Essay Example Ordinarily, marketing is considered an activity or function performed by business firms. However, marketing can also be carried out by other organizations and even by individuals. Whenever you try to persuade somebody to buy something, you are performing a marketing activity. Broadly viewed, the essence of marketing is a transaction - an exchange. Marketing occurs any time one social unit strives to exchange something of value with another social unit. Thus, marketing consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchange intended to satisfy human needs or wants ( Stanton, 1991). eMarketing is the "product of the meeting between modern communication technologies and the age-old marketing principles that humans have always applied.E-marketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. The terms eMarketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous." eMarketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet. It includes both direct response marketing and indirect marketing elements and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their customers. By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity. E-marketing involves marketing planning within the context of the e-business e-environment. So not surprisingly, the successful e-marketing plan is based on traditional marketing disciplines and planning techniques, adapted for the digital media environment and then mixed with new digital marketing communications techniques This research looked into the advantages and limitations of eMarketing in an attempt to guide prospective marketers in the sale of their products. The Research Problem This research tried to look into the advantages and limitations of eMarketing. Much has been said about these aspects of emarketing but a few so far had looked into the benefits and limitations derived from it. Specifically, it attempted to answer the following questions: 1. What is eMarketing 2. What are the advantages of eMarketing 3. What are the limitations/disadvantages of eMarketing Related Literature This part describes and discusses important concepts, ideas, judgments and opinions of experts and authorities on topics which have bearing on the present study. The studies and literature have been reviewed to provide insights and to help the researcher in formulating problems and hypothesis and aid in the analysis and interpretation of data. What is eMarketing eMarketing is essentially part of marketing. The American Marketing Association (AMA) definition (2004) is as follows: "Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders." Therefore eMarketing by its very nature is one aspect of an organizational

Applying lewin theory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applying lewin theory - Case Study Example This was to ensure why change was necessary and be able to let go of the present comfort zone. He recognized all the risks of making big changes in himself, the company as well as the colleagues but he was prepared to take action to every reaction. In this stage he expected complains from his colleagues due to the changes he was making. The change involved having a leaderless team, change the company’s name and lay off the current supervisor of the group. This was the second stage which involved implementing the required changes and coming up with more efficient and effective ideas after all the team members have agreed to the same. Glen requested reinstatement by filing grievances and John allowed him to stay in the group but not as the group leader. John weighed all his options and decided that the teams should not inquire anything from him instead they should review everything they discuss in their group meetings. This was to empower them to their desired destiny as they would have opportunities to control their own work. This stage was involved moving the work mates and the entire business to incentive for transformation. The changes made by John were not easy for Glen and other team members in the company. The first team meeting they had after the changes, they did not know how to proceed since they did not have someone to give them such details (Simms & Knowledge, 2005). William who had always thought of being a team leader volunteered to start off the meeting but he did not know what to tell the rest of the team. Though William had never been a formal team leader before, he was allowed to stand in to ensure that meetings were held. The next meeting they he came with ideas of how to improve the company but the rest of the team members never agreed on his thoughts instead, they spent the rest of the meeting voting on things they

Quality of Financial reporting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Quality of Financial reporting - Assignment Example h of the company depends on various intangible attributes, it becomes quite challenging to examine its real or actual financial performances (Intel Corporation, 2010). Cost of goods sold: The inventory computation process of Intel is focused on the First-In-First-Out method. To comprehend the loss recognition of the written down values of inventories, the company tends to capitalize interests based on the borrowings treating the grants as additional expenditures for the stock (Intel Corporation, 2010). Operating expenses: The depreciation of the tangible assets is calculated in a straight-line method by Intel after capitalizing the interests on borrowings in the net worth of the asset. Impairment costs are charged on goodwill, non-marketable equity investments and other intangible assets which are also reviewed annually to monitor any changes. The acquisitions during research and development process are also identified as an intangible asset liable for amortization costs (Intel Corporation, 2010). Non-operating revenue and expenses: The net interest income generated by the company is computed after deducting the interest expenses incurred during the fiscal year along with other nets. Equity income is also calculated in relation to both its marketable and non-marketable equity investments. The financial statements of the company also depict the income tax changes along with the probable reasons for such alterations increasing its transparency. The financial statements are elaborate on the discontinued functions in relation to various investment activities initiated by the company (Intel Corporation, 2010). Other issues: The consolidated financial statements apparently depict the material alterations caused in relation to outstanding shares of Intel over a given period of time. The cash flow statement as well as the income statement also depicts the computation process of operating earnings before taxation and after taxation charges following the guidelines of

Analysis of Anselms Ontological Argument Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Anselms Ontological Argument Essay This premise does not state that God’s strengths as this argument is to prove his existence, not whether or not God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. The second premise means this greatest possible being is either an imaginary being that one has thought of or, a being that we not only is not only thought of but also exists. The third premise and its sub premises states because existing in reality is greater than existing in thought, then the God we have thought of exists in reality or there must be a greater, or more perfect, being that does exist and that being is God. This leads to the conclusion, if you accept the premises then you accept the existence of the greatest being possible, God. This concept of God’s existence is also led with the idea that God is a necessary being, a being that is not dependent of something greater in order to exist. If God relied on another being, like how a children rely on parents to conceive them, then this being called God is not God because it would be imperfect. Therefore, there must be another to call God that meets all the requirements for perfection. One of the first popular objections was created by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. The premise and conclusion to Gaunilo’s argument is identical to Anselm’s argument except with the replacement of the word â€Å"God† with â€Å"the Lost island† and the word â€Å"being† with â€Å"island†. As simple as that, though Gaunilo’s argument is completely absurd, Gaunilo’s reductio ad absurdum also proves to be as deductively valid as Anselm’s argument. However, this â€Å"Lost Island† could in no way exist. The absurdity and validity of â€Å"the lost island† quickly brought up questions as to how Anselm’s Argument cannot be absurd. Anselm’s argument was not proven invalid until Immanuel Kant, a german philosopher during the 18th century, proposed an objection that would be the decisive blow to the Ontological argument (Immanuel Kant. Wiki). Kant’s objection is how existence is not a predicate (Mike, screen 25). A predicate is used to describe something the subject (this being God in Anselm’s Argument) is doing. In Aselm’s Argument, Anselm premise rely on that being conceived and existing in reality is something that describes God. This rationality does not follow because to exist or conceive does not describe the subject, it only tells us whether it exist or not. Much like how fictional characters do not exist, describing cartoon for example would tell us details of what this cartoon looks like, what its habits are and common antics it goes through, but not whether it exists or not. The question of existence must fall in a separate argument that does not define the character. As there are Arguments to prove God, there are debatable arguments to disprove the God. The First version of â€Å"The Argument from Evil† goes as follow: 1. If God were to exist, then that being would be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. 2. If an all-PKG existed, then there would be no evil. . There is evil. [Conclusion] Hence, there is no God (Sober, 109) The first premise is the definition of what God would be if he were to exist. That is a being that has the power to do anything, had knowledge of everything throughout the span of time and is in all ways good. The second premise is created with the first premise in mind. To expand on the second premise i t states, if God were all-powerful he could stop any form of evil from happening, if he is all knowing then he has knowledge of when evil will occur and if he is all-good then God would stop all evil from happening. If god cannot stop all evil from happening then the definition of God must be incorrect. He then must not be powerful enough to stop all evil, and/or he doesn’t know when evil until it has already occurred and/or good is not all good in that God does not wish to stop all evils. The third premise is stating the fact that there is evil in the world. The conclusion derived since that there is evil, then is what may be defined as God must be lacking in one or two of his qualities and therefore God, by definition, does not exist at all. In order for God to be compatible with evil, God must only allow the evils that would, in turn, lead to a greater amount of good and must take the route that leads to the least amount of evil to gain the greatest amount of good. The soul building defense was created in mind that evil and God co-exist in our world. The defense is that without any evil in the world, our souls would not nurture, or, understand the concept of evil. This defense does not hold true because there has been many evils in the world that seem unacceptable, even though it may have been for the purpose of soul building. God, and all-good being, would then only allow the evils that are essential in soul-building. This would only mean that evil that man commits against man. The reason for this is because anything that happens in nature exceeds soul-building essentials. Another defense is God having given us free will, humans ultimately are the causes of this evil. That is true but the common objection to this is that human do more than enough evil to ourselves, it is going too far to have God throw tornados, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes at us too. At what point do human have such control over nature. The last defense is that God simply works in mysterious ways. Who can explain why natural events take so many lives and injure many others or why some children have to go through great deals of suffering and live through it? It is God’s way and ultimately, no matter how incomprehensible the evil is, it is for the greater good. Certainly the question to God’s existence has been pondered upon by philosophers for over a very long period of time with no progress as whether God exists or not. The ontological argument created by Anselm withstood a great deal of criticism until it was disproved by Kant over 600 years after the fact.

Liquid Liquid Equilibrium of Pold (Ethylene Glycol)

Liquid Liquid Equilibrium of Pold (Ethylene Glycol) LiquidLiquid Equilibrium of Poly (ethylene glycol) 1500 + di-Potassium Tartrate +Water at different pH (6.41, 7.74 and 9.05) Alireza Barani Chemical Engineering Department,Faculty of Engineering, Shomal University, Amol, PO Box 731, Iran Mohsen Pirdashti[1] Chemical Engineering Department,Faculty of Engineering, Shomal University, Amol, PO Box 731, Iran Abbas Ali Rostami Chemical Engineering Department,Faculty of Engineering, Shomal University, Amol, PO Box 731, Iran Abstract: Liquid liquid equilibrium (LLE) data have been determined for aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) containing (ATPS) poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) 1500 +di potassium tartrate +water at 298.15 K and in various pH values (6.41, 7.74 and 9.05). Two physical properties (density and refractive index) were used to obtain the compositions of phase and the ends of the tie-lines. The effect of pH on the binodal curve, tie-line length and slope of tie line are discussed. The binodal curves of these systems have been correlated by Bleasdales equation. Furthermore, the Othmer-Tobias and Bancroft equations was used to correlate the tie line data points. Finally, the effective excluded volume (EEV) of the salt into the PEG aqueous solution were obtained. Keywords: ATPS; Phase diagram; pH; Refractive index; Poly(ethylene glycol); di potassium tartrate Introduction The dissolving of one polymer and one salt or two aqueous polymer solutions together in water results in the formation of two immiscible aqueous phases systems, called Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPSs). Albertson introduced these systems in 1965 for the purpose of separating the biological materials1. Several industries can benefit from employing ATPS including biotechnology, petroleum, paint, adhesives, and pharmaceuticals 2, 3. Moreover, the ATPS is effective in providing separation technique due to its undemanding scale-up viability 4-6, economic efficiency7, 8, ease of continuous process 9, decreased interfacial tension 10, short processing time 11, low energy consumption 12, 13, good resolution 14, high yield 15, relatively high load capacity 16, and selective extraction 17. The data derived from phase diagram, composition and the physical properties of the phase formation are essential in order to optimize, design and increase the size of these processes; and develop the models that predict phase partitioning18-20. Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) is a water-soluble hydrophilic and biocompatible polymer employed by the studies about ATPS 21. Accordingly, Selber et al. (2004) 3 provided a useful summary of experimental liquid-liquid data and equilibrium diagrams for systems including PEG, inorganic salts and water. Peng et al.10 (1995) investigated the phase diagram and protein partition coefficient in ATPS containing PEG and K2HPO4 + KH2PO4 and found some merits in this polymer-salt system. Furthermore, several studies 22-27 have focused on the Liquid-Liquid Equilibrium (LLE) data of PEG + salt ATPSs. Zafarani-Moattar et al. (2008) indicated some advantages of using tartrate such as biodegradability and effectiveness in partitioning of biological materials through being discharged into biological waste water treatment plants 27. In the current study, the phase equilibrium data for PEG1500 +di-potassium tartrate (K2C4H4O6 ) +H2O were determined at 298.15K and th ree pH values (6.41 , 7.74, and 9.05). In addition, the effects of pH on the binodal curve and Tie-Line Length (TLL) and Slope of Tie Line (STL) were determined. Likewise, the calibration curves were applied as an analytical technique [MN1]with measuring the density and refractive index. Finally, Othmer-Tobias and Bancroft equations 28 were used to fit the tie- line data and Bleasdales equation was employed 29 to correlate the experimental LLE data from the investigated systems. Experimental Materials To prepare the materials, PEG [HO (C2H4O) n H] with average of 1500 gmol-1 and di potassium tartrate with minimum purity of 99.5% by mass were obtained from Merck. The polymer and salts were used without further purification with the distilled deionized water. 2.2. Apparatus and Procedure. 2.2.1. Analytical Methods The same method of calibration plots and evaluation of parameters in the literatures 30 were employed to obtain the compositions in both phases from measurements of the two physical properties (density and refractive index) at 298.15 K. in order to obtain the compositions, calibration equations were previously obtained. Homogeneous ternary mixtures with compositions from 0 to 30 wt% (total solute composition) were prepared by weight, and then density and refractive index were measured at 298.15 K. the concentration of PEG and salt were obtained using eq 1, which related the refractive index and density to the concentration of salt and PEG at 298.15 K, where represents the mass fraction of PEG, is the mass fraction of di-potassium tartrate, and is the value of the refractive index and density of pure water at 298.15 K. Experimental data were fitted to polynomial expansions up to order 2 by least-squares (order 3 was proved unnecessary in all cases 23: (1) Where Z is the physical property (density or refractive index) and to are fitting parameters. The refractive index was determined by refractive index measurements at 298.15 K using a refractometer (CETI Belgium model) with an accuracy of 0.0001. Then, densities was measured by using an Anton Paar oscillation U-tube densitometer (model: DMA 500) with a precision of  ±10-4 g.cm-3. 2.2.2. Binodal Curve The experimental apparatus employed is similar to the one used previously 31. A glass vessel, volume of 25 cm3 was used to carry out the equilibrium determination. It was provided with an external jacket containing water at constant temperature. The temperature was controlled to within +-0.05 K. The binodal curves were determined by the cloud-point method 32. The cloud-point method was investigated by titration method where step by step and exactly known amounts of polymer (titrant) was added to an aqueous solution salt of known concentration (or vice versa) under stirring until the solution becomes cloudy. 2.2.3. The TLL and STL Tie lines were also determined using the equilibrium set designed by ourselves and according to previously described procedures [14]. For the determination of the tie lines, we selected 4 samples for each pH that were prepared by mixing appropriate amounts of PEG, salt, and water in the vessels. Samples were stirred for 5 min and settled for 24 h, with temperature controlling condition, to ensure that equilibrium was established. To separate the resulting phases, the tubes were centrifuged (Hermle Z206A, Germany) at 6000 rpm for 5 min. The resulted phases showed no turbidity and the top and bottom samples were easily separated. After the equilibrium was achieved, phases were with- drawn using syringes. The top phase was sampled first, with care being taken to leave a layer of material at least 0.5 cm thick above the interface. The bottom phase was remain in the glass vessel with a long needle. TLL provides an empirical measurement of the compositions of the two phases, which can be c alculated by the following equation: TLL= (2) Where and denote the concentration of PEG and salt in top and bottom phase, and STL is given by the ratio of the difference between the polymer and salt concentrations in the top and bottom phases as presented in Eq. 3: STL= (3) Where and are the polymer and salt concentrations, expressed in mass percent, respectively, and the superscripts T and B designate the top and bottom phases, respectively. 2.2.4.Binodal Curve and TLL Correlation For the binodal data correlation, the Bleasdales equation [27] can be suitably used to reproduce the binodal curves of the investigated systems (4) Where a, b, and c represent the fitting parameters and and demonstrate the polymer and salt mass fractions, respectively. The binodal data of the above expression were correlated by least-squares regression. The reliability of the measured tie-line compositions was ascertained by Othmer-Tobias (Eq. 5) and Bancroft (Eq. 6) correlation equations (5) (6) Where is the mass fraction of polymer in the top phase, is the mass fraction of salt in the bottom phase, and are the mass fractions of water in the bottom and top phases, respectively, and , , , and are the adjusted parameters. Besides, the obtained experimental data can also adapt to the equation provided by Guan and co-workers33 Ln (.WPEG/ ) + ./ = 0 (7) Where and stand for the polymer and salt molecular weight, respectively. Moreover, V* is the Effective Excluded Volume (EEV) of the salt in the PEG aqueous solution. Results and Discussion Fitting parameters of calibration equation The values of the coefficients a, b, c, d, e and f for the system studied are shown in table 1, respectively. Table 1.The value of the coefficients observed from eq. 1. 1.3341 0.0581 0.1302 -0.0718 0.2257 0.3882 à Ã‚ /g.cm3 0.9842 0.6783 0.1761 0.0098 0.1643 0.1018 Binodal Curve The binodal curve data of the PEG + di-potassium tartrate + H2O system are presented in Table 2. Table 2. Binodal curve data of the PEG 1500 + di-potassium tartrate+ water system at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa at different pH values 42.71 9.01 27.75 10.49 43.43 10.49 39.57 9.50 45.58 7.20 43.67 7.20 35.50 10.21 42.04 7.80 41.88 7.80 34.48 10.32 39.31 8.30 39.51 8.30 28.54 11.58 35.77 9.01 28.93 9.01 33.70 10.55 23.88 12.01 22.04 12.2 23.17 13.01 16.18 14.77 19.89 14.77 17.07 15.01 13.94 15.73 16.53 15.73 14.25 16.21 13.42 16.05 14.53 16.05 12.11 17.02 11.75 16.91 12.55 16.91 11.28 17.52 7.59 19.71 11.16 19.71 7.01 21.01 6.90 20.36 9.19 20.36 6.17 21.64 5.29 23.19 8.10 23.19 5.85 22.01 5.03 22.24 7.45 22.24 5.06 27.53 4.74 24.01 6.76 24.01 4.65 23.50 4.32 24.70 5.80 24.70 3.17 26.01 3.62 26.01 4.99 26.02 Standard uncertainties: u(wi) = 0.002; u(P) = 5 kPa; u(T) = 0.05 K. Figure 1 shows the binodal curves obtained from Bleasdales equation. The effect of pH is clear: very small on the size of the heterogeneous region. This trend is in agreement with the experimental results of de Oliveira [12] and Martins [15]. Figure 1. Phase diagram of the PEG (1500) + di-potassium tartrate + water (3) two-phase system at T = 298.15 K and various pH (6.41, 7.74 and 9.05): (à ¢-  ) experimental binodal (6.41(pink), 7.74(blue) and 9.05 (green); (à ¢- ²) calculated binodal using Bleasdales equation (3). TLL and STL Tie line compositions are given in Table 4. Figure 2 presents the tie lines and the binodal curve together for the PEG + di-potassium tartrate + water system at 298.15 K. Figure2. Phase diagram of the PEG + di-potassim tartrate + water two-phase system at T = 298.15 K and pH 6.41 (a), 7.74 (b) and 9.05 (c) : (-à ¢- ²-) experimental binodal; ; (- -à ¢- - -) calculated by using eq. 4. Table 4. Phase composition, tie-line data and physical properties of PEG 1500 + di-potassium tartrate+ water aqueous two-phase system at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa Total System (%mass) Top phase Bottom phase 6.41 17 20 10.55 33.70 1.1217 1.3922 23.50 4.65 1.1620 1.3703 31.80 2.24 17 21 10.21 35.50 1.1226 1.3936 24.01 4.31 1.1652 1.3705 34.10 2.26 18 20 9.50 39.57 1.1252 1.3965 25.01 3.70 1.1716 1.3710 39.07 2.31 18 21 9.01 42.65 1.1275 1.3985 26.01 3.17 1.1782 1.3717 42.97 2.32 7.74 17 20 9.01 35.77 1.1142 1.3919 23.15 5.29 1.1606 1.3710 33.62 2.14 17 21 8.30 39.31 1.1157 1.3932 24.01 4.74 1.1660 1.3714 37.96 2.20 18 20 7.80 42.04 1.1172 1.3947 24.70 4.32 1.1705 1.3718 41.33 2.23 18 21 7.20 45.58 1.1195 1.3966 26.01 3.62 1.1791 1.3727 45.97 2.23 9.05 17 20 4.01 39.51 1.0844 1.3831 25.18 6.76 1.1791 1.3781 39.00 1.54 17 21 3.30 41.88 1.0836 1.3835 27.01 5.80 1.1912 1.3796 43.17 1.52 18 20 3.08 42.66 1.0835 1.3836 28.01 5.34 1.1980 1.3806 44.87 1.49 18 21 2.80 43.67 1.0833 1.3838 28.80 4.99 1.2034 1.3814 46.59 1.48 The tie lines are determined by connecting each corresponding set of total, top, and bottom phase compositions. The coexisting phases are close in composition. A mass balance check was made between the initial mass of each component and the amounts in the bottom and top phases on the basis of equilibrium compositions. The mass of each phase was calculated from volume and density measurements. The relative error in the mass balance was less than 3 while those of the top phases ranged from 1.08 to 1.12 g/cm3. The density difference between the phases (ΆÃƒ Ã‚ ), increase with an increase in the TLL and slightly decrease with an increase in pH. From Figures 7, it is observed that the density differences between the phases show linear relationship with TLL. A comparable conduct was likewise depicted 31, 34, 35. Figure *. Relationship between density difference (ΆÃƒ Ã‚ ) and tie line length (TLL) for the PEG 1500 + di-potassium tartrate + water at different pH values. 3.4. Binodal curve and tie-line data correlation The coefficients of equation 4, along with the correspond

Alternate Ways of Measuring Performance Essay -- Essays Papers

Balanced Scorecard Alternate Ways of Measuring Performance Abstract Many organizations are usefully viewed as a web of relationships between and among various stakeholder groups. An organization may be defined as a "nexus of contracts," where said "contracts" are relationships that are marked by contributions from the various stakeholders in return for inducements provided by the organization. Over the long haul, the success of an organization is a function of the extent to which the needs and requirements of its various stakeholders can be integrated and balanced, without sacrificing any one to the other. There is, in this arrangement, mutual influence and accountability. It is the main thesis of this paper that many organizations would be well served by making use of the Balanced Scorecard as an alternate way of evaluating a company’s performance. Introduction Since its introduction in the Harvard Business Review in 1992, many corporate executives and information technology (IT) professionals have found the concept of Balanced Scorecard it to be a key strategic measuring stick of corporate success. Robert Kaplan and David Norton created balanced Scorecard, often referred to as BSC, in the early 1990’s. Today many large consulting firms like Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Earnst and Young have adopted the balanced scorecard concept. A balanced scorecard is a framework for translating strategic goals and visions into measurable results for the entire enterprise. The balanced scorecard starts with corporate strategies and objectives, and then uses financial and non-financial measures from across the company to create positive and negative indicators of corporate success for all levels of the organization (Kaplan and Norton, 1992). These indicators provide an in depth snap shot of corporate performance that managers and executives can use to clearly manage the company for success on a daily basis. Since the scorecard is based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that are directly linked to corporate goals, it provides a true measure of corporate success. These KPIs consist not just of financial indicators, but also of performance measures in customer satisfaction, internal process, and innovation and improvement (Kaplan Norton, 1992). The breadth and diversity provided by all four perspectives give managers an ideal cross-func... ...to a system of performance measurements that effectively communicate a powerful, forward-looking, strategic focus to the entire organization. This balanced concept allows an organization to evaluate its performance in different aspects other than financially acceptable balance sheets or income statements. Bibliography 1.) Atkinson A. A., Waterhouse, J.H., and Wells, R.B. (1997). â€Å"A Stakeholder Approach to Strategic Performance Measurement.† Sloan Management Review (Spring, 1997, pp25- 37): Cambridge. 2.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1992). â€Å"The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance.† Harvard Business Review (January-February 1992): 71-79. 3.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1996a). â€Å"Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy.† California Management Review (Vol. 39 No.1, Fall, 1996): 53-77. 4.) Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., (1996b). â€Å"Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System.† Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996): 75- 85. 5.) 5.) Nickols, Fred (1999). â€Å"Reconciling and Integrating Stakeholder Needs and Requirements.† COG News (Spring 1999)

ear and throught disease :: essays research papers

Name: Terrean Robinson ID#: 28990809 Course: Microbiology Describe the major emerging and reemerging pathogens and disease (since 1980) and the consequence of these for healthcare system.(Include epi.&mechanism for origin of diseases) There are several emerging and reemerging diseases since the 1980. Emerging infectious disease results from newly identified and previously unknown infections, which cause public health problems locally and internationally. An emerging disease can be cause by a virus, a bacterium, a fungus, a protozoan and a helminth. Emerging disease associated with viruses since the 1980 are T-cell lympoma-leukemia,Toxic shock syndrome, Heamhorrhagic colitis; heamolytic ureamic syndrome, Hairy cell leukemia, lyme disease, AIDS, Peptic ulcer disease,Venezuelan haemorrhagic fever, Conjunctivitis, disseminated disease ,cholera,Cat scratch disease;bacillary angimatosis, Brazilian heamorrhagic fever, Hepatitis,New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Influenza. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first isolated in 1983. It is estimated that since the start of the epidemic 30.6 million people worldwide have become HIV infected and nearly 12 million ha ve died from AIDS or AIDS-related diseases. Hepatitis C, identified in 1989, is now known to be the most common cause of post-transfusion hepatitis worldwide, with approximately 90 per cent of cases in Japan, the United States and Western Europe. Up to 3 per cent of the world population is estimated to be infected; 170 million are chronic carriers at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. Sin nombre (i.e., an unnamed) virus was isolated from cases of a local outbreak of a highly fatal respiratory disease. This was done in the southern United States in 1993. It has subsequently been diagnosed in sporadic cases across the United States, Canada and several South American countries. Influenza A (H5N1) virus is a well-known pathogen in birds, but was first isolated from humans in 1997. Its emergence initially suggested the next influenza pandemic but, in the event, the virus transmitted poorly and the spread of the virus appeared to have been contained in 1997.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also some emerging diseases that are associated with bacteria these include: Legionella pneumophillai, Escherichilia coli, Borellia burgdorferi, Vibrio cholorae. Legionella pneumophilia was detected in 1977. The bacterium resulted in an outbreak of severe pneumonia in a convention center in the United States in 1976 and it has since been associated with outbreaks linked to poorly maintained air conditioning systems. Escherichia coli O157:H7: Detected in 1982, this bacterium is typically transmitted through contaminated food and has caused outbreaks of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in North America, Europe and Japan.

AIDS Em Sao Paulo(POR) :: Free AIDS Essays

AIDS em Sà £o Paulo O Brasil ocupa lugar de destaque entre os paà ­ses com maior nà ºmero de casos conhecidos de AIDS, contabilizando 170.073 casos (atà © 30/08/99), com a epidemia sem evidencias de controle. A AIDS vem infectando principalmente pessoas cada vez mais jovens e pobres. As prà ¡ticas sexuais sà £o as formas de transmissà £o mais importante. Por outro lado, as mulheres và ªm sendo infectadas mais e mais, com uma velocidade de aumento da epidemia superior ao que ocà ºrre entre os homens, sendo que nos à ºltimos anos a relaà §Ãƒ £o entre os casos notificados em homens e mulheres à © de 3 a 1. Um reflexo da epidemia alcanà §a cada vez mais as mulheres, à © a crescente repercussà £o na transmissà £o materno-infantil do HIV. No Estado de Sà £o Paulo, este situaà §Ãƒ £o à © particularmente mais grave, aqui jà ¡ foram notificados 85.590 casos de AIDS (atà © 31/12/99), que à © cerca de 50% dos casos notificados no Brasil. A Cidade de Sà £o Paulo, com uma populaà §Ãƒ £o 30.000.000 habitantes, acumula 39.042 casos notificados (atà © 31/12/99), representando praticamente 25% dos casos do Paà ­s. Aqui, a AIDS, representa a segunda causa de morte entre homens adultos desde 1991 e a primeira causa de morte entre as mulheres da mesma faixa età ¡ria desde 1993. Com 70% da populaà §Ãƒ £o que ganha atà © tres salà ¡rios mà ­nimos e quatro milhà µes de menores abandonados, nà £o à © difà ­cil compreender a suitaà §Ãƒ £o. O crescimiento pode ser justificado por và ¡rias razà µes, tais como: mudanà §as do comportamento sexual; a relaà §Ãƒ £o direta e indireta com as drogas; a epidemia de AIDS; a dificuldade dos portadores de DST no acesso aos servià §os pà ºblicos de saà ºde; entre outras. Esta dificuldade de acesso aos servià §os pà ºblicos de saà ºde à © observada em muitos estudos. Sà £o Paulo, sendo a cidade mais grande do Latin America, da um terrà ­vel prognà ³stico de o que pode ocorrer no resto de continente.

Hunting Snake and Cockroach

The poems â€Å"Hunting Snake† and â€Å"The Cockroach† are very different but also vastly similar poems. The predominant language feature that is common in both poems is an extended metaphor – this is used in â€Å"Hunting Snake† to represent the colonisation of the Aborigines in Ancient Australia, and in â€Å"The Cockroach† to represent human nature, values and the way we live our lives. The poem â€Å"Hunting Snake† is obviously a poem about a group of people coming across a snake, staring in awe at its beauty and dissimilarity and then moving on. Wright uses a lot of sibilance in this poem, perhaps to emphasise the snake.However if we explore deeper we notice that the poem is not about this at all – in fact it has an exceptionally different meaning. The entire poem is an extended metaphor for the colonisation of the Aborigines in Australia – the snake represents the Aborigines and the persona represents the colonisers. Alth ough the colonisers saw the incredibly beautiful and unique Aborigines, they simply looked at each other and walked on – this is exactly what happens during every colonisation. The colonisers do not think about anyone else’s feelings, just their own personal or monetary gain.Hunting Snake is a poem about ancient beliefs and values, and the way that humans acted many years ago. In comparison, the poem â€Å"The Cockroach† is also one that addresses the issue of human nature and values. Kevin Halligan uses a cockroach to portray a ‘disgusting’ creature, one that many people are eager to kill and get rid of. Cockroaches also have a very nomadic lifestyle – they scurry about from place to place, never settling down and are always â€Å"on the go†. Halligan wishes for us to compare the cockroaches’ lifestyle with our own – the scampering motion of the bug is a reflection of his (and all humans’) nomadic lifestyle.By des cribing these frantic movements he is saying something about how most of us live our lives and our incapability to settle down – we are all in a hurry to move on to the next chapter in our lives, the next milestone, the next day, month, or year. This poem is set in modern day, it is written as if the cockroach is inside a house or a building, not outside like Hunting Snake. This technique helps to give us a better understanding of the poem – we can more easily relate it to human nature and our own lifestyles.

Indenting

Indenting Principles of indenting: – ? Budget. ? Type of Establishment. ? Method of Preparation. ? Availability in Season. ? Place of Availability. ? Left overs in Hand. 1] Budgeting: – Budget of an orgnisation. A fixed indenting that means amount of money which is spent for a particular dish. e. g. : – A particular dish can be prepared by using expensive items as given in the original recipe, but if it does not fit the budget some manipulation have to be done use of substitutes n inferior quality ingredients can be used. Portion size can be reduced keeping the price of the dish constant which will directly affect indenting. ] Type of Establishment: – The amount of food required for different places is different. e. g. : – Industrial canteens serve 150 gms of rice per portion whereas rice served in a buffet or banquet party of a 5 star hotel is 40-50 gms per portion. 3] Method of Preparation: – It also affect indenting that means many ways ca n be used to prepare n get a desire result. For a dish n amount of ingredients vary directly due to the different methods of preparation. e. g. : – Rice can be prepared by draining method or absorption method the yield in draining method is much more than absorption method.So it affects indenting. 4] Availability in Season: – Food ingredients available in the season should be used for preparing a dish which affect indenting directly. e. g. : – In preparation of Aloo Mutter during season fresh peas should be indented n in off season dried or frozen. 5] Place of Availability: – For purchasing of food ingredients in hotel and organizations, tenders are invited and suppliers with the lower quotation and good quality get the order. The quantity is considered while indenting the price which should be reasonably low than other quotation. 6] Leftovers in Hands: –They are used to make up new dishes and serve to the customers as today’s special. This helps the organisations to control wastage of food and the additional item will also reduce indenting of goods. Portion for Bulk Production Quantity and portion for bulk production are as follows: – A] Rice: – †¢ Absorption Method: – 100 gms per portion. †¢ Draining Method: – 75-80 gms per portion. †¢ Industrial Canteen: – 125-150 gms per portion. †¢ Buffet: – 40-50 gms per portion. Proportion of rice and Vegs is 2:1 and rice and mutton is 4:3. B] Indian Breads: – C] Mutton: – †¢ Mutton with bones 125 gms per portion. Without bones 80 gms per portion. †¢ If served in a thali 40-50 gms per portion. †¢ Minced meat 60 gms per portion. †¢ Chicken with bone 125 gms per portion. †¢ Chicken with bone 75 gms per portion. †¢ Avearge or Std wt of Chicken is 1. 36 kg. †¢ 1 Kg of boneless chicken in gives 450-500 gms. †¢ Tandoori chicken is served 2 portion from per chicken. †¢ Roast chicken is served 4 portion from a chicken. †¢ Chicken used for gravies 8 portion from per chicken. †¢ Chicken used in soups 30 gms per portion. D] Fish: – – 1 std fish gives 5 portion and 2 or 4 fillets which is 80 gms per portion. – Prawns without shelling 120 gms per portion.After shelling 100 gms per portion. E] Veg: – ? Besan used 250 gms for 1 kg of potatoes ? Oil 7. 5ml per wada. ? 1 kg of sago- 50 wada. F] Dal: – 1. 30 gms per portion but when served in a buffet 10-12 gms per portion. Chana, Rajma, Chawli – 40 gms per portion becomes double after boiling and 120 gms of gravy after preparation. 2. 1 kg of udid dal gives 55 nos of medu wadas. 3. 1 kg of chana dal gives 45 nos of dal wadas. 4. For idlis rice and dal proportion is 2:1. 1 kg will give 40 dosa. 5. 1 coconut gives 200 ms of coconut which serve 30 people. 6. Pickles 0. 5 per portion. 7. Papad 1 per portion. 5-30 nos per packet. G] Desserts: – †¢ Sheera 40 gms of rawa 30 gms sugar, 10 gms of fat, 80-100 ml of water or milk for 1 porion. †¢ Semiyan Kheer, Semiya 15 gms, milk 100 ml, sugar 30-40 gms, fat 10-15 gms per portion. If dry semiyas is made 45-50 gms is taken for one portion and milk is reduce accordingly. †¢ Gulab Jamun, 1kg of mawa-80 gulab jamun. 200 gms of refined flour for binding 2 kg of sugar for syrup. †¢ Jalebi, 1 kg of maida, 200 gms of bean, 200 ml of oil, 200 gms curd and 2 kg of sugar for syrup. †¢ Boondis, 1kg of besan- 5kg of sweet boondies, suagr 2. 5 kg. 1 kg of besan gives 2. 5-3 kg of Khara Boondi. Custard for 2 portion, 1 egg, 30 gms sugar, 150 ml milk, 7-8 gms gelatine. †¢ Rasgullas, 1 ltr of milk gives 300-400 gms cottage cheese which gives 40 rasugullas, suagr 2 kg for syrup. Practical difficulties involved in indenting: – Indenting is similar to requisition which is an inter-department document sent for a particular requirement which may be dry goods, food stuf fs, cleaning materials or stationery. However in terms of food it is always referred to an indent which means a document stating requirement of goods in terms of description, quality specification, units and quantity required etc. t is sent to the stores. Stores collect indent from various department and collectively place order to the supplier to send such material on a specified date and time. Factors affecting indenting in the terms just explained above it is not easy when indenting for smaller quantity for 1 recipe because 1 batch of goods would be excess for that recipe. Indenting for a 1000 meal or buffet or banquet or coffee shop or industrial canteen is much easier than indenting. For single portion the factors considered while in denting for large quantity are:- ] No of persons: – Larger the number of people lesser the quantity. 2] No of items on the menu: – More the no of items quality are less. 3] Choice provided on the menu. 4] No of non-veg items on the me nu. 5] Vegetarian alternatives. 6] No of vegetarians. 7] Beef, Mutton, Chicken etc eaten. 8] Inclusion of Indian bread. 9] Types of Clientele. 10] Choice of desserts provided. 11] Consistency of the dish. E. g. thick or thin gravies. 12] Selling price of the menu. 13] par stock of raw material. 14] Mise-en-place to be done. 15] Type of service. E. g. Banquet, buffets or table service[pic][pic]

Brand management Essay

1) What is the product mix of Trung Nguyen? What are the key attributes of its coffee? How do these attributes help Trung Nguyen to differentiate itself from its competitors? The product mix refers to the total composite of products offered by Trung Nguyen coffee. It consists of different product lines, various product items in each product line and within each item is the product depth. Firstly, the product line is a group of product or service items that are closely related because they are sold to the same consumer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, have similar usage or fall within given price ranges. Thus, Trung Nguyen Coffee’s product lines are: Trung Nguyen Coffee, Passiona Coffee and G7 Instant Coffee. The Passiona Coffee targets at consumers looking for low-caffeine coffee and especially women, while the G7 Instant coffees are made for people who are too busy to brew a cup of coffee themselves. Trung Nguyen Coffee has 3 different product items, namely Creative Coffee, Blend Coffee and Espresso Coffee. Passiona Coffee consists of 2 product item, Passiona roasted coffee and Instant Passiona coffee. As for the G7 Instant Coffees, the product items are G7 Pure soluble, G7 Cappuccino and G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee. Lastly, product depth is the number of variants in a product item. Trung Nguyen’s product depth of Creative coffee includes the Weasel Coffee and Legendee Coffee. Also, some variations of G7 Cappuccino are the Mocha G7 cappuccino and Hazelnut G7 cappuccino. Different sizes of coffees are considered as product depth as well. For example, the G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee is sold in 3 different sizes: a box of 18 cafe sticks, a bag of 22 sachets or a bulk pack bag of 100 sachets. Table1: Summary of product mix of Trung Nguyen | Product lines| | Trung Nguyen Coffee| Passiona Coffee| G7 Instant Coffee| Product items| -Blend coffee-Espresso coffee-Creative coffee Product depth: Weasel coffeeLegendee coffee| -Passiona roasted coffee-Passiona instant coffee| -G7 Pure soluble-G7 cappuccinoProduct depth:Mocha G7 cappuccinoHazelnut G7 cappuccino-G7 instant 3-in-1Product depth:box of 18 cafe sticksbag of 22 sachetsbulk pack bag of 100 sachets| Key attributes refer to the most important characteristics of a product. Trung Nguyen makes its point of difference through its key attributes like using the best coffee beans, unique brewing style and the new coffee concept. Trung Nguyen has a unique selling point because some coffees offered cannot be found anywhere else. Its coffees are authentically Vietnamese. For example, the Weasel coffee is produced based on the legend in Vietnam. To differentiate itself from its competitors, these key attributes must communicate benefits for consumers. The coffee offered by Trung Nguyen is of a higher quality compared to other coffee brands because they use the best coffee beans sourced from four of the world’s best coffee-growing regions. In addition, Trung Nguyen is awarded with the EureGAP certificate for its good agricultural practices such as having consistently good quality coffee beans and using environmentally friendly technologies. Coupled with their oriental secrets, consumers would prefer Trung Nguyen because their coffee is brewed much more aromatic and rich. Trung Nguyen used their new concept of coffee to set up a â€Å"Creative Coffee House† in order to differentiate itself and gain market share. It is now well-known for the innovative clubhouse whereby customers can enjoy coffee in a beautiful and sentimental ambience while experiencing Vietnamese cultural events and exhibitions. For consumers who value such innovative product services, they will choose Trung Nguyen’s coffee over the other â€Å"grab a coffee to go† coffee styles. 2) What are the roles of branding? What are the benefits of branding to sellers and buyers in the coffee market. The role of branding is to create an identity for the product. The identity created can have some personalities and can gain brand equity. Benefits of branding Some benefits of branding for sellers of the Trung Nguyen coffee are that they are able to accentuate the bases of differentiation from its competitors due to its distinct identity. They can obtain legal protection like trademarks to avoid copycats of their brand. The counterfeit products are capable of stealing Trung Nguyen’s sales when consumers are unsure of how the real packaging of coffee looks like. There is also a chance for the counterfeit coffee to ruin Trung Nguyen’s reputation. Consumers who bought the counterfeit coffee by mistake may view Trung Nguyen to be of a lousier quality instead. All this would be effectively prevented by branding because counterfeiting is an offense. Brand equity is created by branding and careful marketing. Trung Nguyen can in turn earn higher profits as consumers are willing to pay a higher price for this particular brand of coffee. Also, brand equity can lead to higher economic value of the brand, whereby it becomes an asset for Trung Nguyen when it wishes to sell its brand. Last but not least, Trung Nguyen can achieve brand loyalty through creating preferences towards their brand. If Trung Nguyen coffee is able to sustain a consistently good quality coffee product, consumers would remember the brand, spread the word around and continually purchase its coffee. On the buyers end, they may reap the most benefits from Trung Nguyen’s branding. Coffee is a convenience product and it is important to make it easy to find. Consumers will be able to correctly identify the products in a short period of time due to Trung Nguyen’s branding thus becoming more efficient shoppers. Furthermore, consumers may gain assurance of product quality and performance. Employees need to ensure products offered are of consistently good quality and so are specially trained to deliver this promise. Consumers will remain loyal to Trung Nguyen coffee because they are satisfied with this brand and have no need to search for another. 3) What constitutes the brand identity of Trung Nguyen? What is your evaluation of this identity? How can the brand identity be improved? Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand and also what the organization wants consumers to perceive the brand as. It constitutes of â€Å"Trung Nguyen† as its name, the logo and its tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† A successful brand name should reflect the personality and values of the brand, be simple, memorable, positive and emotional. A logo is the image that embodies an organization. It is one of the most prominent branding elements that consumers will think of when someone mentions the company. A good brand logo should be memorable, futuristic and consistent and be able to portray the benefits to its target audience. The tagline must be simple and easy to remember. It also needs to remain short since the tagline is always incorporated into many marketing pieces. Evaluation of brand name: Consumers associate Trung Nguyen to â€Å"Central highlands† which refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee where green coffee is grown. This gives an advantageous association between Trung Nguyen and high quality and fresh coffee beans. Also, the brand name represents the uniqueness and richness of the Vietnamese culture. However, the name Trung Nguyen does not hold any meaning for non-Vietnamese. This may alienate consumers from other parts of the world. Another bad point could be that its name is hard to pronounce for non- Vietnamese consumers. Possible improvements: Because the company’s name has been around since 1996 when it was founded, it cannot be changed otherwise the company has to build up brand awareness from scratch all over again. Thus, the company should work hard in educating people and let them understand the positive association between Trung Nguyen and â€Å"Central highlands†. For example, they could use their existing Internet website and include this under the â€Å"learn more† option. People visiting the website can then learn about the association and slowly adopt Trung Nguyen as their favourite coffee. Evaluation of logo In my opinion, the logo might be a little small and insignificant. Psychological influences such as selective exposure and retention affects consumer buying behaviour. For example, the appealing cup of coffee printed on its packaging of Creative coffee may distract the consumers from the brand name. The logo is also unattractive and boring due to the usage of dull and non-contrasting colours. The font used in the logo has little stylistic variations making it rather boring as well. Possible improvements Firstly, the logo should be scaled to a bigger size. Also, the marketing manager of Trung Nguyen can make use of brighter and more contrasting colours to make its logo more outstanding and attention-catching. The font could be changed to something cursive. This can better capture consumer’s attention thus leaving a deeper impression and resulting in better brand memory and recognition. For example Coca Cola, with its logo in a strikingly bright red background and white cursive words, is very successful at making sure that every consumer remembers it. Evaluation of tagline: Trung Nguyen’s tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† consists of only 3 simple words hence should be relatively easy for everyone to remember. However, Trung Nguyen tagline is still quite foreign to people across the globe as they do not use much above-the-line marketing. Possible improvements Through the print media and mass media, Trung Nguyen can improve this aspect of its brand identity. The marketing manager could set up a Facebook page and make it known to people. Maintaining a Facebook page is relatively low-cost as compared to constant TV advertisements. Because millions of people are using Facebook, it is very effective for Trung Nguyen to get their brand identity across. Another point of improvement also through the mass media is through its online website. Perhaps the tagline can be added in the â€Å"history of Trung Nguyen† tab as it is currently not. On top of that, they can make use of emotional branding to elicit a favourable emotional response. Adding emotional words like â€Å"Happy†, â€Å"Healthy† and â€Å"Beautiful† could boost sales of their coffee. As consumers become increasingly aware of health and beauty these days, Trung Nguyen can market more of their Passiona coffee which is enriched with collagen, vitamin PP and other rare oriental herbs through its tagline. 4) What is the branding strategy of Trung Nguyen? What are the advantages and risks of this branding strategy? Trung Nguyen uses an umbrella branding strategy. Different types of coffees have a sub-brand which combines the corporate brand with a new brand. Trung Nguyen’s Passiona Roasted coffee and Trung Nguyen’s Espresso coffee are 2 examples. Advantages of umbrella branding: Capitalizing on the existing brand equity of Trung Nguyen, it can sell newly introduced products quickly. Consumers who have had a good experience with its coffee will transfer this favourable attitude to new items. For instance, Trung Nguyen’s Creative coffee may have been developed earlier than Passiona coffee. Consumers who liked Creative coffee would have a higher chance of buying the Passiona coffee because they are under the same brand and so would also be of an equally good quality. Furthermore, the Passiona coffee can be set at a higher price as consumers are willing to pay more for brand value. This can bring about additional profits for Trung Nguyen. Another advantage of using an umbrella brand is a lower advertising and promotion costs. Trung Nguyen only needs to come up with a single advertisement because its coffees share one identity. Also, because Trung Nguyen is used on all of the products, level of brand awareness is easy to raise. To name an example of a successful sub-branding strategy, Gatorade has developed and introduced Gatorade Frost, Gatorade G2, Gatorade energy bar, etc into the market and stayed popular being the leading sports drink brand in many countries. Risks of umbrella branding: In every marketing strategy there is bound to be a down side. Some risks of umbrella branding are that the failure of one type of coffee may affect the sales of the whole Trung Nguyen branded products. It is inadvisable to put all the eggs into one basket. For instance, if the production G7 Mocha had some discrepancy that caused the coffee to be too sweet, consumers may feel that the rest of Trung Nguyen packet instant coffees are as sweet and so switch over to Nescafe coffee instead. Secondly, sales of one product item may come at the expense of other items offered in the same product line. Lastly, the meaning of Trung Nguyen may also be diluted with an umbrella branding strategy. Apart from coffee, Trung Nguyen also has other product such as Green Tea, Oolong tea, etc. However, Trung Nguyen refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee and so offering tea as an alternative beverage is not so relevant to the brand name.

Goods and Services Tax

K SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Goods & Services Tax Report submitted to Dr. Dhirendra Deshpande in partial fulfillment for the degree of Masters in Business Administration Symbiosis International University, Pune Abstract: This report is an attempt to understand the impact of GST on Indian economy. The report defines Sales Tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT). It then looks at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) design in India which has been adapted to suit the Indian taxation system.The report ends with the probable impact of GST on Indian economy and the limitations of the implementation of GST. ? Contents Introduction3 Sales Tax3 Types of sales tax3 Sales tax in India4 Value- Added Tax (VAT)6 Importance of VAT in India6 Advantages Of VAT6 Disadvantages of VAT7 Items covered under VAT7 Tax implication under Value Added Tax Act8 VAT vs. Sales Tax8 Goods and Services Tax (GST)10 Introduction10 The Need for GST10 Benefits of GST11 How GST Will Work12 GST vs. VAT14 GST vs. SALES TA X15 Limitation of GST16 IntroductionThis report is an attempt to understand the impact of GST on Indian economy. The report starts by defining Sales Tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT). It then looks at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) design in India which has been adapted to suit the Indian taxation system. The report ends with the probable impact of GST on Indian economy. Sales Tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body by a seller for the sales of certain goods and services. Laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase.Laws may allow sellers to itemiz (state item by item) the tax separately from the price of the goods or services, or require it to be included in the price (tax-inclusive). The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a governing body directly by a consumer, it is usually called a use tax. Often laws provide for the exe mption of certain goods or services from sales and use tax. Types of sales tax Gross receipts taxes: This tax has been criticized for its â€Å"cascading† or â€Å"pyramiding† effect, in which an item is taxed more than once as it makes its way from production to final retail sale. †¢Excise taxes: Applied to a narrow range of products, such as gasoline or alcohol, usually imposed on the producer or wholesaler rather than the retail seller. †¢Use tax: Imposed directly on the consumer of goods purchased without sales tax, generally items purchased from a vendor who is not under the jurisdiction of the taxing authority (e. g. , a vendor in another state).Use taxes are commonly imposed by states with a sales tax, but are usually only enforced for large items such as automobiles and boats. †¢Securities turnover excise tax on the trade of securities. †¢Value added taxes: In which tax is charged on all sales, thus avoiding the need for a system of resale c ertificates. Tax cascading is avoided by applying the tax only to the difference (â€Å"value added†) between the price paid by the first purchaser and the price paid by each subsequent purchaser of the same item. †¢Fair Tax: A proposed federal sales tax, intended to replace the U. S. ederal income tax. †¢Turnover tax: Similar to a sales tax, but applied to intermediate and possibly capital goods as an indirect tax. Sales tax in India Central Sales tax is generally payable on the sale of all goods by a dealer in the course of inter-state Trade or commerce or, outside a State or, in the course of import into or, export from India. According to S3, a sale or purchase shall be deemed to take place in the course of interstate trade or commerce in the following cases: 1. When the sale or purchase occasions the movement of goods from one State to another; 2.When the sale is affected by a transfer of documents of title to the goods during their movement from one State to a nother. Where the goods are delivered to a carrier or other bailee for transmission, the movement of the goods for the purpose of clause (b) above, is deemed to start at the time of such delivery and terminate at the time when delivery is taken from such carrier or bailee. Also, when the movement of goods starts and terminates in the same State, it shall not be deemed to be a movement of goods from one State to another.To make a sale as one in the course of interstate trade, there must be an obligation to transport the goods outside the state. The obligation may be of the seller or the buyer. It may arise by reason of statute or contract between the parties or from mutual understanding or agreement between them or, even from the nature of the transaction, which linked the sale to such transaction. There must be a contract between the seller and the buyer. According to the terms of the contract, the goods must be moved from one state to another.If there is no contract, then there is no inter-state sale. There can be an interstate sale even if the buyer and the seller belong to the same state; even if the goods move from one state to another as a result of a contract of sale; or, the goods are sold while they are in transit by transfer of documents. Sales tax is payable to the sales tax authority in the state from which the movement of goods commences. It is to be paid by every dealer on the sale of any goods effected by him in the course of inter-state trade or ommerce, notwithstanding that no liability to tax on the sale of goods arises under the tax laws of the appropriate state. No state can levy sales tax on any sale or purchase where such sale or purchase takes place †¢outside the state and †¢in the course of import of goods into or export of goods outside India. Only the parliament can levy tax on inter-state sale or purchase of goods Not all despatches of goods from one state to another result in inter state sales rather the movement must be on account of a covenant or incident of the contract of sales.There are some instances wherein the goods are moved out of the selling state and yet they are not considered inter state sales :- 1. Intra-state sales 2. Stock transfer from head office to branch & vice versa 3. Import and Export sales or purchases 4. Sale through commission agent / on account sales 5. Delivery of Goods for executing works contract Exceptions in the sales tax include: 1. Sales to resellers such as wholesalers and retailers that have a valid state resale certificate. 2.Sales to tax-exempt institutions such as schools or charities Value- Added Tax (VAT) VAT is a multi point levy where the tax paid on local purchases from the registered dealer can be set off against the tax payable on the sale of goods, other than special goods. Example: Consider the manufacture and sale of any item, which in this case we will call a widget. In what follows, the term â€Å"gross margin† is used rather than â€Å"profi t†. Profit is only what is left after paying other costs, such as rent and personnel. Importance of VAT in IndiaIndia, particularly being a trading community, has always believed in accepting and adopting loopholes in any system administered by State or Centre. If a well-administered system comes in, it only closes options for traders and businessmen to evade paying their taxes, but also makes sure that they are compelled to keep proper records of sales and purchases. Under the VAT system, no exemptions are given and a tax is levied at every stage of manufacture of a product. At every stage of value-addition, the tax that is levied on the inputs can be claimed back from tax authorities.At a macro level, two issues make the introduction of VAT critical for India. 1. Industry watchers believe that the VAT system, if enforced properly, will form part of the fiscal consolidation strategy for the country. It could, in fact, help address issues like fiscal deficit problem. Also the revenues estimated to be collected can actually mean lowering of fiscal deficit burden for the government. International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the semi-annual World Economic Outlook expressed its concern for India's large fiscal deficit – at 6 per cent of GDP. 2.Moreover any globally accepted tax administrative system would only help India integrate better in the World Trade Organization regime Advantages Of VAT 1. Simplification – Under the CST Act, there are 8 types of tax rates- 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 20% and 25%. However, under the present VAT system, there are only 2 types of taxes 4% on declared goods and 10-12% on RNR. This will eliminate any disputes that relate to rates of tax and classification of goods as this is the most usual cause of litigation. It also helps to determine the relevant stage of the tax.This is necessary as the CST Act stipulates that the tax levies at the first stage or the last stage differ. Consequently, the question of which stage of tax it falls under becomes another reason for litigation. Under the VAT system, tax is levied at each stage of the goods of sale or purchase. 2. Transparency – The tax that is levied at the first stage on the goods or sale or purchase is not transparent. This is because the amount of tax, which the goods have suffered, is not known at the subsequent stage. In the VAT system, the amount of tax is known at each and every stage of goods of sale or purchase. . Fair and Equitable – VAT introduces the uniform tax rates across the state so that unfair advantages cannot be taken while levying the tax. 4. Procedure of simplification – Procedures, relating to filing of returns, payment of tax, furnishing declaration and assessment are simplified under the VAT system so as to minimize any interface between the tax payer and the tax collector. 5. Minimize the Discretion – The VAT system proposes to minimize the discretion with the assessing officer so that every p erson is treated alike.For example, there would be no discretion involved in the imposition of penalty, late filing of returns, non-filing of returns, late payment of tax or non-payment of tax or in case of tax evasion. Such system would be free from all these harassment 6. Computerization – The VAT proposes computerization which would focus on the tax evaders by generating Exception Report. In a large number of cases, no processing or scrutiny of returns would be required as it would free the tax compliant dealers from all the harassment which is so much a part of assessment.The management information system, which would form a part of integral computerization, would make the tax department more efficient and responsive. Disadvantages of VAT 1. VAT is regressive 2. VAT is difficult to operate from position of both administration and business 3. VAT is inflationary 4. VAT favors capital intensive firms Items covered under VAT 1. All business transactions that are carried on w ithin a State by individuals/partnerships/ companies etc. are covered under VAT. 2. More than 550 items are covered under the new Indian VAT regime out of which 46 natural ; unprocessed local products will be exempt from VAT 3.Nearly 270 items including drugs and medicines, all industrial and agricultural inputs, capital goods as well as declared goods attract 4 % VAT in India. 4. The remaining items attract 12. 5 % VAT. Precious metals such as gold and bullion will be taxed at 1%. 5. Petrol and diesel are kept out of the VAT regime in India. Tax implication under Value Added Tax Act SellerBuyerSelling Price (Excluding Tax)Tax RateInvoice value (InclTax)Tax PayableTax CreditNet TaxOutflow AB1004% CST104404. 00 BC11412. 5% VAT128. 2514. 250*14. 25 CD12412. 5% VAT139. 5015. 5014. 251. 25 DConsumer13412. % VAT150. 7516. 7515. 501. 25 Total to Govt. VAT CST16. 75 4. 00 VAT vs. Sales Tax †¢VAT is a form of indirect tax which is imposed on products or services at different stages of manufacturing, where as Sales Tax is levied at the time of the purchase of the products or services. †¢VAT is levied on both the producer and consumer while a sales tax is levied on only the end consumer. †¢VAT involves tricky accounting while sales tax involves simpler accounting. †¢VAT is applied at the various stages of production while sales tax is applied on the total value of the purchase. VAT efficiently avoids evasion of taxes while a sales tax is unable to deal with this. †¢In VAT the method adopted is Input Tax Credit while Sales tax, liability of a dealer for a particular period is determined using the multiplication method. Goods and Services Tax (GST) Introduction Goods and Service Tax is a tax on goods and services, which is leviable at each point of sale or provision of service, in which at the time of sale of goods or providing the services the seller or service provider can claim the input credit of tax which he has paid while purchasing the good s or procuring the service. GST is the rate of tax remains the same but as per the necessity of the nation some goods or services can be declared as â€Å"exempted† or â€Å"Zero rated†. †¢A system Exports are zero rated and all the taxes paid while purchasing and manufacturing the goods including the taxes paid on raw material and services are returned to the exporter to make the exports competitive. †¢The sellers or service providers collect the tax from their customer, who may or may not be the ultimate customer, and before depositing the same to the exchequer, they deduct the tax they have already paid.The Need for GST †¢Avoid cascading effect of taxation: A main reason of the introduction of GST is to avoid cascading effect of taxes in India. For example manufacturing of a product attract CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) is a component of the tax structure employed by many countries in the western section of Europe. CENVAT is derived from a tax syst em that is generally referred to as VAT. The manufacturer pays CENVAT on goods produced. According VAT rules, the sales tax is payable on the aggregate selling price which include CENVAT. Here there is no set off benefits available. Shortfall of Existing VAT: Indirect taxes like luxury tax, entertainment tax, are yet to be included in the VAT. These taxes are still existing and payable. †¢Shortfall of Existing CENVAT: Several taxes like additional customs duty, surcharges not included under CENVAT. Input tax and service tax set off is out of reach to the manufacturer and dealers. Benefits of GST †¢GST provide comprehensive and wider coverage of input credit setoff, you can use service tax credit for the payment of tax on sales of goods. †¢CST will be removed and need not pay.At present there is no input tax credit available for CST. †¢Many indirect taxes in state and central level submit by GST, you need to pay single GST instead of all. †¢Uniformity of tax rates across the states. †¢Ensure better compliance due to aggregate tax rate reduces. †¢By reducing the tax burden the competitiveness of Indian products in international market is expected to increase and there by development of the nation. †¢Price of goods is expected to be reduced in the long run as the benefit of less tax burden would be passed on to the customer. Overall tax compliance cost will reduce for government and can concentrate on GST. How GST Will Work The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and retailers and service providers) charge GST on the price of goods and services from their customers and claim credits for the GST included in the price of their own purchases of goods and services used by them. While GST is paid at each step in the supply chain of goods and services, the paying dealers don’t actually bear the burden of the tax because GST is an indirect tax and ultimate burden of the GST has to be taken by the last c ustomer.This is because they include GST in the price of the goods and services they sell and can claim credits for the most GST included in the price of goods and services they buy. The cost of GST is borne by the final consumer, who can’t claim GST credits, i. e. input credit of the tax paid. How GST Will Work The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and retailers and service providers) charge GST on the price of goods and services from their customers and claim credits for the GST included in the price of their own purchases of goods and services used by them.While GST is paid at each step in the supply chain of goods and services, the paying dealers don’t actually bear the burden of the tax because GST is an indirect tax and ultimate burden of the GST has to be taken by the last customer. This is because they include GST in the price of the goods and services they sell and can claim credits for the most GST included in the price of goods and ser vices they buy. The cost of GST is borne by the final consumer, who can’t claim GST credits, i. e. input credit of the tax paid. WorkingThe illustration shown below indicates, in terms of a hypothetical example with a manufacturer, one wholesaler and one retailer, how GST will work. Let us suppose that GST rate is 10%, with the manufacturer making value addition of Rs. 30 on his purchases worth Rs. 100 of input of goods and services used in the manufacturing process. The manufacturer will then pay net GST of Rs. 3 after setting-off Rs. 10 as GST paid on his inputs (i. e. Input Tax Credit) from gross GST of Rs. 13. The manufacturer sells the goods to the wholesaler. When the wholesaler sells the same goods after making value addition of (say), Rs. 0, he pays net GST of only Rs. 2, after setting-off of Input Tax Credit of Rs. 13 from the gross GST of Rs. 15 to the manufacturer. Similarly, when a retailer sells the same goods after a value addition of (say) Rs. 10, he pays net G ST of only Re. 1, after setting-off Rs. 15 from his gross GST of Rs. 16 paid to wholesaler. Thus, the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer have to pay only Rs. 6 (= Rs. 3+Rs. 2+Re. 1) as GST on the value addition along the entire value chain from the producer to the retailer, after setting-off GST paid at the earlier stages.The overall burden of GST on the goods is thus much less. This is shown in the table below. The same illustration will hold in the case of final service provider as well. Stage of supply chain Purchase value of Input Value addition Value at which supply of goods and services made to next stage Rate of GST GST on output Input Tax credit Net GST= GST on output + Input tax credit Manufacturer 100 30 130 10% 13 10 13-10 = 3 Wholesaler 130 20 150 10% 15 13 15-13 = 2 Retailer 150 10 160 10% 16 15 16-15 = 1 The GST can be divided into following sections to understand it better: 1.Charging Tax: The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Retailers a nd Service Providers) are required to charge GST at the specified rate of tax on goods and services that they supply to customers. The GST payable is included in the price paid by the recipient of the goods and services. The supplier must deposit this amount of GST with the Government. 2. Getting Credit of GST: If the recipient of goods or services is a registered dealer (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Retailers and Service Providers), he will normally be able to claim a credit for the amount of GST he has paid, provided he holds a proper tax invoice.This â€Å"input tax credit† is set off against any GST (Out Put), which the dealer charges on goods and services, which he supplies, to his customers. 3. Ultimate Burden of Tax on Last Customer: The net effect is that dealers charge GST but do not keep it, and pay GST but get a credit for it. This means that they act essentially as collecting agents for the Government. The ultimate burden of the tax falls on the last and final c onsumer of the goods and services, as this person gets no credit for the GST paid by him to his sellers or service providers. 4. Registration: Dealers will have to register for GST.These dealers will include the Suppliers, Manufacturers, Service Providers, Wholesalers and Retailers. If a dealer is not Registered, he normally cannot charge GST and cannot claim credit for the GST he pays and further cannot issue a tax invoice. 5. Tax Period: The tax period will have to be decided by the respective law and normally it is monthly and (or) quarterly. On a particular tax period, this is applicable to the dealer concerned; the dealer has to deposit the tax if his output credit is more. Than the input credit after considering the opening balance, if any, of the input credit. . Refunds: If for a tax period the input credit of a dealer is more than the output credit then he is eligible for refund subject to the provisions of law applicable in this respect. The excess may be carried forward to next period or may be refunded immediately depending upon the provision of law. 7. Exempted Goods and Services: Certain goods and services may be declared as exempted goods and services and in that case the input credit cannot be claimed on the GST paid for purchasing the raw material in this respect or GST paid on services used for providing such goods and services. 8.Zero Rated Goods and Services: Generally, export of goods and services are zero-rated and in that case the GST paid by the exporters of these goods and services is refunded. This is the basic difference between Zero rated goods and services and exempted goods and services. 9. Tax Invoice: Tax invoice is the basic and important document in the GST and a dealer registered under GST can issue a tax invoice and on the basis of this invoice the credit (Input) can be claimed. Normally a tax invoice must bear the name of supplying dealer, his tax identification nos. , address and tax invoice nos. oupled with the name and ad dress of the purchasing dealer, his tax identification nos. , address and description of goods sold or service provided. Impact of GST on Economy – International Experiences: Most countries have adopted VAT system and GST is considered similar to a VAT system. It is possible that some economies that have adopted VAT system are actually a GST as well. So we really do not know the broad experiences of most economies and stick to countries which call their tax systems as GST based. GST system has been adopted in a few economies – Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.Hong Kong proposed to introduce it but had to abandon it amidst stiff opposition. Over a long term there are improvements across the macroeconomic variables but there were short-term glitches. Inflation did seem to rise in the years of introduction but was mainly blamed on the administration for the same. The impact on revenue and current account has been very impressive with sharp gains seen in all th e three economies. In Australia there was a more dramatic impact of GST on the economy. Before GST’s implementation, consumers rushed to purchase goods that they perceived would be substantially more expensive post-GST.After the tax, consumer consumption and economic growth declined sharply initially. In Q1 2000, Australian economy recorded negative economic growth for the first time in more than 10 years. Consumption and growth soon returned to normal. There was some negative impact on price of real estate as well but the market rose and property prices and demand increased sharply in 2002-04. GST increased the real output of the Canadian economy by 1. 4% of GDP, principally through an increase in the productivity of capital and total factor productivity. The sectors like transportation, utilities, services and agriculture experienced significant gains.Following are the impacts of GST on Australia, New Zealand and Canada : AUSTRALIANEW ZEALANDCANADA Price ChangesShort run on e off effectShort run spike in prices, no longer run increaseShort run spike in prices, no longer run increase, price regulatory body Criticize Economic GrowthIntroduced during sustained economic growth periodIntroduced at the end of recession, subsequent upswingIntroduced in midst of major recession, criticized as Compounding problems Revenue GrowthRevenue exceeded expectationsRevenue exceeded ExpectationsRevenue exceeded Expectations Current AccountSlight improvement ince introductionRapid immediate improvement, longer term stabilizationDramatic Improvement since introduction of GST, NAFTA GST vs. VAT†¢ Limitations in Centre VAT system: There is CENVAT but several taxes are still out of the ambit like surcharges, additional customs duties etc. In some goods we get input tax and not in others, making the tax filing system complex and cumbersome. †¢Limitations in State VAT system: The States also have VAT but again story is the same. Many taxes like luxury taxes, entertain ment tax etc, are not included. There is no input tax credit in case of CENVAT paid on certain items. Interstate Sales Tax (CST): Though it is an important source of revenue for states it is seen as very burdensome by businesses. The companies make goods in one state but on distribution inside the country, end up paying taxes in each state. They are supplying goods within the country and should just be taxed at one place.†¢ Inclusion of Services in VAT system: Production of goods is because of both physical production and services. But Services are taxed only by Centre and that too is done selectively. The Services need to be taxed at State level and integrated with the Goods VAT system as shown in the example above. International Standard: GST is becoming an international standard and it is important India also has one. There are many factors before international companies while choosing a country for its business and taxation system is one very important factor. With other co untries having GST and India not having one, the companies are likely to opt for former ahead of India for locating their businesses. Likewise Indian companies may also prefer to increasingly set their bases in other countries where tax system is more efficient. GST vs. Sales Tax †¢Single versus multiple stageUnlike the existing sales tax, GST is generally charged on the consumption of goods and services at every stage of the supply chain, with the tax burden ultimately borne by the end consumer. This multiple tax levels feature of GST is the fundamental change from the present single-stage sales tax levied at only one stage of the supply chain. †¢Goods and services subject to tax GST operates on a negative concept – all goods and services are subject to GST unless specifically exempted. For sales tax, the same concept applies where all goods are taxable unless specifically exempted.It is anticipated that the number of exemptions under the present sales tax regime w ould be significantly reduced. †¢Tax payment and accounting periods Time of supply is an important feature under the GST regime (method or system of government) as it determines when one should account for GST in the GST returns. The approach used by many countries when adopting GST is that a supply is considered to have taken place at the earliest by three events that the time is invoice issue, the time any payment is received by the supplier and the time a taxable supply is made.The GST rules differ from the existing sales tax structure where sales tax becomes due and payable when there is a sale or disposal otherwise than by sale. †¢Group registration Group registration is included as a facility that allows companies to file consolidated GST returns. The objective is to reduce their GST administration costs where supplies made within a group would be disregarded for GST purposes. The facility could potentially result in better cash flow management for the group if goods and services are regularly supplied between group companies.The existing sales tax and service tax structures do not allow consolidated tax filings. Limitation of GST There are two main limitations of GST †¢Inflation: Most of the international case studies show an inflation spurt in initial months of GST implementation. In Australia’s case we saw spurt in prices of goods which Australian consumers Thought would become expensive after the GST. Much of blame for inflation is accorded to the various regulatory bodies and uncertainty over the new tax regime.The inflation situation stabilizes as implementation gains pace and is understood by consumers and producers. In India’s case inflation could be critical as unlike developed countries profiled above, India has far more inefficiencies in supply chain in local markets. The Indian GST reform is far larger in scale compared to above economies. Indian economy is already plagued with persistent high inflation and this n ew reform could further test inflation further. †¢Tax Revenue Shortfall: RBI in the State Finances Report (2010-11) said the revenue implications of GST are likely to vary across states.The Centre and the States are still discussing various aspects of GST like taxation rates, revenue sharing model between Centre and States etc. As there is still uncertainty over the final blueprint of GST, it is difficult to estimate the impact of GST on state finances. Other issues are enhancing the administrative capacity of states and building IT (Information technology) infrastructure to capture the full benefits of GST. The report points that VAT led to improvement in tax revenue for most states.