Wednesday, July 31, 2019
ââ¬ËIn the Country of menââ¬â¢ by Hisham Matar Essay
ââ¬ËIn the Country of menââ¬â¢ by Hisham Matar elicits the condition of survival in an oppressive society. The concept of loyalty and betrayal is at the heart of the novel. It values the characters that fight to hold on to the people and things they value no matter the cost. The struggle between loyalty and betrayal is denoted in the novel by relationship between Faraj and Moosa, friends and family and Ustath Rashid and Faraj. The struggle between loyalty and betrayal is illustrated through the bond amid Faraj and Moosa. After Faraj returns from the torture of the revolutionary committee, Moosa says he ââ¬Ëcanââ¬â¢t bear looking at himâ⬠¦The betrayal in his eyesââ¬â¢ because Faraj ââ¬Ëmelted like butterââ¬â¢ when interrogated by the revolutionary committee. Moosa perceives this as betrayal since so many others have died including ââ¬Ëthe students closest to usââ¬â¢ for his cause. Moosa ââ¬Ëlooked up to him like an older brotherââ¬â¢, and ââ¬Ëwo uld give [his] life for himââ¬â¢, but after this incident he was too ashamed to look at his face, Moosa says ââ¬Ëhis voice scorches me. This is worse than deathâ⬠¦ this is the blackest day of my lifeââ¬â¢. Thus he cannot cope with Farajââ¬â¢s failure; he grapples to sustain his allegiance to Faraj and soon afterwards deports to Egypt. The Relationship between friends and family further demonstrates the struggle between loyalty and betrayal. When Najwaââ¬â¢s friendââ¬â¢s salmaââ¬â¢s husband is taken away, Najwa withdraws her friendship and even instructs her son that ââ¬Ëthis is a time for walking besides the wall.ââ¬â¢ On one hand, this can be seen as a great betrayal between the two friends, as Najawa is effectively abandoning Salma in her time of greatest need, however conversely it illustrates her undying loyalty to her family. Rather than compromising her family safety, she is willing to cease all interaction with the girl for that is described as ââ¬Ëtwo lost sisters who had finally found each otherââ¬â¢. Ustath Rashidââ¬â¢s does not betray his friend Faraj at any cost. Ustath Rashid refuses to implicate his friend Faraj as the originator and the leader of the ââ¬Ëresistance groupââ¬â¢. The ââ¬ËDemocracy Nowââ¬â¢ book Suleiman rescues from the fire was initially gifted to Faraj by Ustath Rashid. It is inscribed ââ¬ËTo my eternal friend and comradeâ⬠¦With my undying loyaltyââ¬â¢ and thus Rashid keeps his word as this friendship means more than his own life to him. Thus when he is publically interrogated before the execution, Rashid lies to protect Faraj, saving his life even when he cannot save his, knowing there is a family out there who will be losing a husband.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Aci Financial Statement Essay
The companies are now preparing this statement as an integral part of their financial statements. This paper examines empirically the current practices followed by sample companies in preparation of cash flow statement and concludes that the sample companies are in line (with few exceptions) with the requirements of International Accounting Standard (IAS)-7 or Bangladesh Accounting Standard (BAS)-7. It also proposes some suggestions for improving the presentation of the statement Key words: Cash flow statement, IAS/BAS, Listed Company, Disclosure. Introduction The purpose of a cash flow statement is to provide information on the cash flow from a companyââ¬â¢s operating, investing and financing activities to enable the users of its financial statements to evaluate the ability of the company to generate cash and to use the historic cash flows to predict future cash flows. The cash flow information enhances the comparability of the operating performance by various companies, because it eliminates the effects that arise from the use of different accounting treatments for the same transactions and events. The use of cash flow information is gaining importance in the analysis of financial statements (Epstein 1991; Yap 1997; Jones and Widjaja 1998; Previts and Bricker 1994). Cashflow information is considered less open to manipulation than information on earnings, because it is based on the actual receipt and payment of cash only and not on the accrual and other accounting principles. Rees (1995:75) adds that the cash flow statement can be more informative than the other statements. However, he literature on the cash flow statement indicates that there are grey areas in cash flow reporting that are open to various interpretations (Everingham and Watson 2002). The perceived simplicity of the cash flow statement may therefore create synthetic confidence in the reliability of companiesââ¬â¢ cash flow reporting and the comparability of various companiesââ¬â¢ cash flow information. The acceptance of IAS-7: The Cash Flow Statement has added a new dimension to the preparation and present ation of financial statements in Bangladesh. This paper is an attempt to investigate into the state of cash flow reporting by the listed Bangladeshi * Lecturers, Department of Business Administration, ASA University Bangladesh 210 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 Textiles and Clothing companies in general. The focus is not on the quality of the reporting of the companies but rather on what the reporting levels are in general. Objectives of the study The major objectives of the study are as follows: 1. to identify the current practice of cash flow statement of Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. 2. o provide present cash flow statement format, structure and reporting on the basis of information provided in the annual reports of the selected listed Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. Methodology of the study The study was conducted in accordance with secondary information obtained from various sources. The overview of standardization of financial reporting and the regulatory framework has be en based on laws, regulation, and guideline and also on various published sources of information taken from International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and Bangladesh Accounting Standard 7 (BAS 7). A limited survey has also been made covering a total of 12 Pharmaceutical companiesââ¬â¢ annual reports (2009) enlisted in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). These are selected on the basis of convenience sampling procedure. In order to make the study more revealing it also covers some research articles, textbooks, publications and web sites of various accounting bodies. Limitations of the study 1. Applied non profitability techniques have been used. 2. Due to limitation of the extensive materials, books and previous studies in Bangladesh literature review could not be extensive. 3. This study consists of only 12 listed Pharmaceutical companies due to time and resources constraints. Literature review Cash flow statement: A historical surroundings/background Cash flow Accounting (CFA) was the main system of accounting up to beginning of the 18th century (Watanabe, Izumi: The evolution of Income Accounting in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Britain, Osaka University of Economics, Vol. 57, No. 5, January 2007, p. 27-30). Till then, accounting allocation and profit measurement were relatively unimportant; the profit and loss account being used to close off ledger accounts at each period end. However, with the advent of concept and practices of business continuity, periodic measure and statement of financial position began to grow. Thus the basis of cash transaction becomes foundation for the allocation based systems of accounting today. Although there has been a reasonably sustained interest in fund flow statements (based on allocated accounting data) since the beginning of the twenty century, CFA appears to have received little or no support from accountants until the early 1960s. At that time there was little concern over the use of ââ¬Ëcash flowââ¬â¢ data in the financial analysis- cash flow being interpreted as ââ¬Ëprofit plus depreciation (. Winjum, J. o, 1972). In 1961 AICPA recognized the importance of fund statement by publishing Accounting Research Study (ARS) Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 211 NO 2ââ¬Å"Cash flow analysis and fund statementsâ⬠. Before that, accountants had prepared funds statements primarily as management report. The Accounting Principles Board (APB) responded in October 1963 by issuing APB Opinion NO. : ââ¬Å"the statements of and application of fundsâ⬠, which recommended that a statement of sources and application of funds be presented on a supplementary basis. Because of the favorable response of the business community to this pronouncement, the APB issued Opinion No. 198: ââ¬Å"Reporting changing in Financial Positionâ⬠in March 1971. This opinion required that a statement of changing financial position be presented as a basic financial statement and be covered by the auditorââ¬â¢s reports. In 1981 the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) reconsidered fund flow issues as part of the conceptual framework project taken in 1976. At this time the FASB decided that the cash flow reporting issues should be considered at the standard level. Subsequent deliberation resulted in Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No. 95: ââ¬ËStatement of cash flowsââ¬â¢ in Nobember1987 (Weygandt, Kieso, Kimmel 1998: 1936). Fund flow statement Vs Cash flow statement Both fund flow statement and cash flow statement serve as a fundamental parts of the financial statements. In 1961, the AICPA issued ARS No. 2, ââ¬Å"Cash Flow Analysis and the Fund Statementsâ⬠which recommended that a fund statement covered by auditorââ¬â¢s opinion be included in companies financial reports. According to paragraph 5 of Preface to Statement of International Accounting Standard [approved by the IASC Board in November1982 for publication in January 1983 and supersedes the preface published in January 1975 (amended March 1978)], ââ¬Å"the term ââ¬Ëfinancial statementsââ¬â¢ covers balance sheets, income statement or profit and loss accounts, statements of change in financial position, notes and other statements and explanatory materials which are identified as being part of financial statementsâ⬠(IASC, 2000:32). As per paragraph 7 of framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements (approved by IASC Board in April 1989 for publication in July 1989): ââ¬Å"A complete set of financial statement normally includes a balance sheet, an income statements, a statements of change in financial position (which may be presented in a variety of ways, for example as a statement of cash flow or a statement of fund flows) and those notes and other statements and explanatory materials that are an integral part of the financial statementsâ⬠(IASC : p. 3-44). As per paragraph 4 of the previous IAS 7 (October 1977), statements of change in financial position, the term ââ¬Ë fundsââ¬â¢ referred to cash, cash and cash equivalents or working capital (IFAC, 1992: p. 813). Funds provided or used in operation of an enterprise should be presented in the statements of changes in financial statement separately from other sources and uses of fund. Unusual items, which are not part of ordinary activities of the enterprise, should be separately disclosed (IASC: Para 21). But many users of financial statements consider current practices of reporting fund flows as confusing because too much information is compressed in the statements of change in financial position, and because no single definition has been established (Mosich and Larsen, 1982; p. 935). In order to develop a conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting, the FASB issued in December 1980 a discussion memorandum ââ¬Å"reporting Fund flow, Liquidity and Financial Flexibilityâ⬠which was issued for the following reasons: (1) for assessing future cash flow, and (2) current practices regarding the reporting of funds flow information are not entirely satisfactory. As a result of deliberation, FASB issued SFAS NO. 95 ââ¬ËStatements of Cash Flowââ¬â¢ in 1987. The statements require the inclusion of statements of Cash Flows rather than a statement of Change in Financial position when issuing a complete set of financial statements 212 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 which was made effective for annual periods ending after July 15, 1988. The major requirements of the statements are of the following two areas: Basis of Presentation: The statement must focus on cash receipts and payments and must explain the change in cash plus cash equivalents. Classification of cash flows: Cash flows are to be classified according to operating, investing and financing activities. The basis of such classification is derived from the financial theory, which state that the enterprise derives the cash used for investing activities and settlement of outstanding financial obligation in an accounting period from internal and external sources. Internal cash sources emanate from the net cash generated from current operation and perhaps disinvesting and depletion of cash resources at the start of the period. External cash sources come from financing activities such as borrowing and receiving cash from the sale of equity shares to existing and new shareholders (Wallace et,al). Benefits of Cash Flow Information ââ¬â The information in a cash flow statement helps investors, creditors, and others to assess the following aspects of the firmââ¬â¢s financial position. ââ¬â Such statements serve as a mechanism for predicting the ability to generate future cash flows for the investors, creditors and others. ââ¬â This enables managers or management to plan coordinate and control financial operation in an effective manner. It gives an indication of the relationship between profitability and cash generating ability thus of the quality of the profit earned. ââ¬â It furnishes information to the management regarding the entitiesââ¬â¢ ability to pay dividend and meet obligations. ââ¬â Analyst and other users of financial information often, formally or informally, develop models to assess and compare the present value of the future cash flow of entities. Historical cash flow statements could be useful to check the accuracy of past assessment (ACCA Text book part 2. P. 324). It is free from manipulation and is not affected by subjective judgments or by accounting policies. ââ¬â Such a statement dictates situations when a business has made huge profit but has run out money or it has sustained loss but has enough cash availability. ââ¬â The extent of cash generated from operational activity and external finance in order to meet capital, tax, and dividend requirements can be obtained from such statements (Lee, T. A: 1972:27-36). ââ¬â It aids in the evaluation of risk, which includes both the expected variability of future return and probability of insolvency or bankruptcy ( Hendrickson, Eldom. S, 1982: 237). ââ¬â Such statements reveal the capability of an enterprise to pay its short obligation as and when due to the lenders. ââ¬â A cash flow statement in conjunction with a balance sheet provides information on liquidity, viability, and adaptability. The balance sheet is often used to obtain information on liquidity, but the information is rather incomplete for this purpose as the balance sheet is prepared at a particular point of time. Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 213 It may assists users of financial statements in making judgments on the amounts, timing and degree of certainty of future cash flows. ââ¬â This statement provides information that is useful in checking the accuracy of past assessment of future cash flows and in examining the relationship between profitability and net cash flow and the impact of changing price (IAS 7: Para 3 & 4). ââ¬â Information on cash flows classified by three groups of activities (Operating, investing and financing) that allow users to assess the impact of those activities on the financial position of the enterprise and the amount of its cash and cash equivalents. This information may also be to evaluate the relationship among those activities (IAS 7: Para 11). ââ¬â This statement is of special importance in assessing future cash flows, quality of income operating capability, financial flexibly and liquidity, and information on financing and investing activities. Using cash flows from operating activities from the cash flow statements, different ratios such as liquidity, ratio, solvency ratio, and profitability ratios can also be calculated to evaluate an enterpriseââ¬â¢s liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Aziz uddin and Bala, 2001: p. 14) Overview of Cash flow statement The cash flow statement explains the changes that have occurred in the companyââ¬â¢s cash and cash equivalents during the year by classifying the cash flows in its operating, investing and financing activities. The statement must focus on cash receipts and payments and must explain the change in cash plus cash equivalents. The classification is done in a way tha t is most appropriate to the companyââ¬â¢s business. The following are the definitions of the components of the cash flow statement: Cash: cash on hand and demand deposits Cash equivalents: short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value. Operating activities: the principal revenue-producing activities of the enterprise and other activities that are not investing or financing activities Investing activities: the acquisition and disposal of long-term assets and other investments not included in cash equivalents. Financing activities: activities that result in changes in the size and composition of the equity capital and borrowings of the enterprise (Epstein, p. 93). Objective and Scope of IAS 7 Information about the cash flow of an enterprise is useful in providing users of financial statements with a basis to assess the ability of the enterprise to generate cash and cash equivalents and the needs of the enterprise to utilize those cash flows. The economic decision taken by users requires an evaluation of the ability of an enterprise to generate cash and cash equivalents and timing and certainty of their generation. The objective of IAS 7 is to require the provision of information about the historical change in cash and cash equivalents of an enterprise by means of a cash flow statement that classifies cash flows during the period from operating, investing and financing activities. An enterprise should prepare a cash flow statement in accordance with the requirements of IAS 7 and should present it as an integral part of its financial statements for each period for which financial statements are prepared. Users of an enterpriseââ¬â¢s financial statements are interested in how the enterprise generates and uses cash and cash equivalents. This is the case regardless of the nature of the enterprise activities and irrespective of whether cash can be viewed 214 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 as the product of the enterprise, as may be the case with a financial institution. Enterprises need cash for the same reason however different their principal revenue- producing activities might be. They need cash to conduct their operations, to pay their obligations and to provide return to the investors. Accordingly this standard requires all enterprises to present a cash flow (Para 1 & 3). Presentation of Cash flow statement under IAS 7 Cash and cash equivalent: The definition of cash and cash equivalent are central to the preparation and interpretation of cash flow statements. Cash consists of cash in hand and demand deposits, coins and notes of an organization, etc. In our country deposits in postal accounts may be termed as cash (Cooper and Ijiri, 1984: 88; Ghosh, 2001). Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into known amount of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. According to the definitions of paragraph 6 of IAS 7 cash comprises cash in hand and demand deposits; usually ââ¬Ëcash on handââ¬â¢ includes currency, notes, and coin in the cash box of the enterprise. It also includes prize bond, negotiable money orders, postal orders, and under posited checks, bank drafts or pay- order. Demand deposits refer to deposits in checking accounts in banks and other financial institutions that may be withdrawn without notice usually subject to deduction of outstanding check. Thus cash equivalents ââ¬â 1. are short-term investments but the ââ¬Ëtermââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëshortââ¬â¢ not clearly specified, although a period of three months and less is suggested to be taken as short term period. 2. are highly liquid investments. Here ââ¬Ëliquidââ¬â¢ means having in a situation where cash equivalents are available in sufficient amount to meet obligation of payments. . are investments that are both: (a) readily convertible, to known amounts of cash and (b) subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. According to SFAC No. 95, the risk categorically refers to risk of change in interest rate. The short-term investments are so near their maturity that they represent insignificant risk of changes in interest rate. Examples include treasury bills, commercial papers, a nd money market funds purchased with cash that is in excess of immediate needs. However, although by definition, cash equivalents refer to short term highly liquid investments, they are usually held for the purpose of meeting short term cash commitments rather than for other purpose. For an investment to qualify as a cash equivalent it must be readily convertible to a known amount of cash and be subject to insignificant risk of change in value. Therefore an investment normally qualifies as a cash equivalent only when it has a short maturity of, say, three months and less from the date of acquisition. Equity nvestments are excluded from the cash equivalents unless they are, in substance, cash equivalents, for example in the case of preferred share acquired within a short period of their maturity and with a specified redemption date (Para 7). Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 215 Preparation of Cash flow statements IAS 7 requires cash flows to be classified into operating, investing, and financing activities. Example of cash flows by cate gory Operating Activities Inflows Receipts from customers Outflows Payments to suppliers Advance deposits from customers Wages and salaries to employees Income tax refunds Income tax payments Interest received on customersââ¬â¢ notes or Other tax payments accounts Dividends and interest received from Interest paid on bank debt or bonds outstanding and investments and included in determining net included in determining net income income Investing Activities Cash received from sale of capital assets Payments for purchase of capital assets Cash from sale of debt or equity investments Cash flows capitalized as intangible assets, such as: à · development costs à · start-up costs à · capitalized interest à · exploration Costs Collection of principal on loans to others Purchase of debt or equity securities of others Interest and dividends received on investments Loans extended to others and not included in determining net income Financing Activities Net proceed of issuing debt or equity securities Payment of principal on bonds or bank loans Cash proceeds received from ba nk loans Purchase of the entityââ¬â¢s own shares Interest paid on bank debt or bonds outstanding and not included in determining net income Dividends paid to shareholders Variations in Reporting activities for Cash flows A. Operating or Financing activities Transactions with different categories included in cash flows are classified in a different manner. According to IAS 7, Para 12, ââ¬Å"A single transaction may include cash flows that are classified differently. For example, when the cash repayment of a loan includes both interest and capital the interest element may be classified as operating activities and the capital amount is classified as financing activitiesâ⬠. B. Operating or investing and financing activities Some cash flows may be classified as arising from any activities such as ââ¬Ëinterestââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëdividendââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëincome taxââ¬â¢. The detailed provisions of these types are as follows. 216 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 Interest: a. For a financial institution, interest paid and interest received are usually classified as operating cash flows (para 33). b. For other enterprise, interest paid and interest received may be classified as operating cash flows because they enter into the determination of net profit or loss. Alternatively, interest paid may be classified as financing cash flows, because they are costs of obtaining financial resources. Interest received may be classified as investing cash flows, because they are returns on investments (para 33). Dividend: a. For a financial institution, dividends received are usually classified as operating cash flow (Para 33). b. For other enterprise, dividends received may be classified as operating cash flows because they enter into the determination of net profit or loss. Alternatively dividend received may be classified as investing cash flows, because they are returns on investments (para 33). c. Dividend paid may be classified as financing cash flows, because they are costs of obtaining financial resources. Alternatively dividend paid may be classified as component of cash flows from operating activities in order to assist users to determine the ability of an enterprise to pay dividend out of operating cash flows (para 34). Income tax: a. Taxes on income arise on a transaction that gives to the cash flows that are classified as operating, investing, and financing activities in cash flow statement. While tax expense may be readily identifiable with investing or financing activities, the related tax cash flows are often impracticable to identify and may arise in a different period from the cash flows of the underlying transactions. Therefore taxes paid are usually classified as cash flows from operating activities. However, often it is practicable to identify the tax cash flow within individual transaction that gives rise to cash flows that are classified as investing or financing activity as appropriate. When tax cash flows are allocated over more than one class of activity, the total amount of taxes paid is disclosed (Para 36). In the light of SFAS 95, ââ¬Å"Transaction that enter into the determination of net incomeâ⬠are defined as operating activities and hence, interest received or paid, dividend received and taxes on income are rigidly treated to arise from operating activities. Dividend to stakeholders are treated as cash outflows classified as financing activities (Keiso and Weygandt, 1998: 1275-76) Cash flow statement Practices in Bangladesh Regulatory Framework, in the eyes of the Companies Act 1994 (Act no. 18 of 1994): According to Section 183 of the Companiesââ¬â¢ Act 1994 (which came into effect from 1 January 1995), a company is required to present balance sheet, profit and loss account (income and expenditure account, in case of non profit companies). Under section 185, the balance sheet and the income statement have to be prepared according to the forms set out in Part ââ¬â1 and Part ââ¬â2 of Schedule XI respectively under which information on consecutive two years (concerned year and Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 217 preceding year) are to be provided. However according to note (g) of the general instruction for preparation of balance sheet (given in part ââ¬â1 of schedule XI after the horizontal format of the balance sheet), ââ¬Å"a statement of change in financial position shall be included as an integral part of the financial statements, and shall be presented for each period for which the profit and loss account is preparedâ⬠. However no specific format of cash flow statement has been prescribed in Companies Act 1994. In the light of the Security and Exchange Rule 1987 (S. R. O No. 237-l/87 dated on 28 September 1987): Under the provision of rule 12 (1) of the Securities and Exchanges Rules (SER) 1987(amended by the section notification No. SEC/ Section 7/SER/03/132 dated 22 october1997 published in the official gazette on 29 December 1997), the annual report to be furnished by an issuer of listed security shall include ââ¬Å"a balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow statement and notes to the accounts collectively hereinafter referred to as the financial statementââ¬â¢. In the part III of the Schedule of the SER 1987, issues relating to interest paid on short-term borrowing, interest and dividend received income taxes are clearly guidelined. For example, interest paid on short-term borrowing shall be a cash outflow under operating activities; ââ¬Ëinterest and dividend receivedââ¬â¢ shall be a cash inflow under investing activities. And ââ¬Ëinterest paid on long term borrowingââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëdividend paidââ¬â¢ shall be a cash outflow under financing activities. Under paragraph 35-36, ââ¬Ëtaxes on incomeââ¬â¢ should be treated as operating cash outflow unless they can be identified in financing and investing activities. Findings of the study To know the extent of cash flows statement reporting practices by Pharmaceutical companies, a survey has been conducted covering twelve annual reports (2009) (For detailed the name of the companies see Appendix-1). The major findings of the study are given below in terms of general variations in reporting and voluntary disclosure. General findings It includes the current format and structure of cash flow statement and the extent of compliance of IAS-7, followed by sample Pharmaceutical Companies in Bangladesh. All the sample companies prepare cash flow statement as required by IAS-7/BAS 7 adopted by the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Bangladesh and present it as an integral part of the financial statements. Notes to cash flow statement have been presented as part of the financial statements i n case of all the sample companies. à · The sample companies prepare cash flow statement in vertical form and shows figure of cash flows of the current year and the previous year. à · All the sample companiesââ¬â¢ cash flow statement contains a classification of operational, investing, and financing activities. à · The sample companies did not illustrate the policy dopted in determining the formulation of cash and cash equivalents although this is required by paragraph 36 of IAS 7. 218 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 Variation in Reporting Another objective of the survey was to determine which alternatives, permitted by IAS-7, are used most in practice by Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies. It is found that there are not many differences between companies in their reporting of cash flow information. This is expected because the preparation of cash flow statement does not allow for many choices, differences of interpretation or different accoun ting treatments. The results are set out in table 1. Table-1 Variations in reporting [Cash flow statement (CFS)] Factors 1 Notes to CFS Options Separately, following the CFS Part of the notes to the financial statements Incorporated in the CFS Total Direct method Indirect method Total Operating activities or no interest Financing Investing activities Total Financing activities or no dividends Operating activities Investing activities Total Part of accounting policy note Nothing disclosed Total Operating activities or no tax Financing activities Investing activities Total Number of companies 0 12 0 12 12 0 12 12 0 0 12 12 0 0 12 12 0 12 12 0 0 12 2 Operating activities 3 Interest received and Interest paid 4 Dividend received and Dividend paid 5 Definition of cash and cash equivalents 6 Income tax Notes to table 1 à · Refer to point 2 of Table 1. According to IAS-7 and SEC Rule 1987, the enterprises are encouraged to report cash flows from operating activities using the direct method. The direct method provides information which may be useful in estimating future cash flows which is not available under the indirect method. All the sample companies followed the direct method in reporting operating cash flows. One company (Pharmaceutical Mithun Knitting & Dyeing Ltd. ) discloses cash flows from operating activities under indirect method in notes of financial statements as additional information. Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies à · à · 219 Refer to points 3 & 4 of Table 1. All the companies studied have shown ââ¬Ëinterest received and paidââ¬â¢ under operating activities and ââ¬Ëinterest paid on long term borrowingââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëdividend paidââ¬â¢ under financing activities. Refer to points 5 & 6 of Table 1. All the companies studied have shown ââ¬Å"definition of cash and cash equivalentsâ⬠in the notes of accounting policy and ââ¬Å"income taxâ⬠under operating activities. Voluntary disclosure The survey also included an examination of any additional information that is disclosed regarding the companyââ¬â¢s cash flow which is not required by IAS-7, but which may be helpful to the user. For example, separate disclosure of cash flows increases operating capacity and cash flows that maintain operating capacity, disclosure of segmental cash flows, cash flow per share etc. The survey found no company to disclose such additional voluntary information in its cash flow statement. Conclusion and Recommendation A materially misstated cash flow statement, whether it is in terms of incorrect classification in the categories or numerical accuracy, can be misleading to the user and can lead to wrong decisions taken by the users of the statement. The survey has revealed that although sample companies prepare cash flow statement according to International Accounting Standard-7 (BAS-7), there is also a degree of non-compliance. It is, however, found that there are not many differences between companies in their reporting of cash flow information. This is expected because the preparation of cash flow statement does not allow for many choices, differences of interpretation or different accounting treatments. To make cash flow statement more informative and useful for users, the companies should disclose additional voluntary information such as cash flow per share in their cash flow statements. Items consisting of cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities should also be clarified in the notes of the financial statements. Due to the limited scope of the present study, a large number of research issues have not been attempted but are identified in the course of the study. Disclosure practices of additional items other than operating, investing and financing activities, disclosure practices differences between listed and unlisted companies, disclosure practices differences between financial and other institutions are some such potential issues for future research. 220 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, Julyââ¬âDecember, 2012 References Annual Reports of Sample Pharmaceutical Companies Listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange 2009. Aziz Uddin, A. B. M and Bala. , S. K. ( 2001), ââ¬Å"Cash Flow Reporting in Bangladeshâ⬠, The Cost & Management, Nov- Dec. ICMAB, p. 13. FASB Discussion Memorandum (1980), Reporting Funds Flow, Liquidity and Financial Flexibility, FASB, Stanford. Thomas H. Beechy. Joan E. D. Conrod, Intermediate Accounting, second Edition, Chpter 5, Exhibit 5-1 pp. 91 Ghosh, Santi N. (2001),ââ¬Å"Workshop Material on IAS # 7 : Cash Flow Statementsâ⬠compiled under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB)Project, Development of Accounting and Auditing Standards in Bangladesh, The World Bank. Government of Bangladesh (GOB) (1994), The Companies Act 1994 (Act No. 18 of 1994). Gup, B. E. & Samson, W. D. 1993. An analysis of patterns from the statement of cash flows. Financial Practice & Education, 3(2):73-79. Hendrickson, Eldom. S(1982), Accounting Theory, Richard D. Irwin, Inc. , Illinois, p. 236. Hertenstein, J. & McKinnon, S. 1997. Solving the puzzle of the cash flow statement. Business Horizons, 40(1):69-76. International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (2000), International Accounting Standards 2000 International Accounting Standards Committee, London, ââ¬Å"International Accounting Standard IAS 7 (revised 1992): Cash Flow Statementsâ⬠in pp. 139165. International Federation of Accounting (IFAC) (1992), IFAC Handbook 1992: Technical Pronouncements (New York: IFAC). ââ¬Å"IAS 7 (October 1977): Statement of Changes in Financial Positionâ⬠in pp. 812- 816. Khan, M. H. & Akter, M. S. & Ghosh, S. K (2005), ââ¬Å"Cash Flow Statement Disclosures: A Study of Banking Companies in Bangladeshâ⬠. Available at www. pcte. edu. in/site/OJMR/Finance/cashflow. pdf Keiso, Donald, E. and Jerry. J. Weygandt (1998), Intermediate Accounting, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 9th Edition, pp. 1275-76. Lee, T. A. 1982. Cash flow accounting and the allocation problem. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 9(3):341-352. Lee, T. A (1972), ââ¬Å"A Case for Cash Flow Reportingâ⬠, Journal of Business Finance, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 27-36 as quoted in Studies of Accounting Theory, Steyn, B. W. & Hamman, W. D. 2003. Cash flow reporting: are listed companies complying with AC 118? Meditari, 11:167-180. Weygandt, Kieso, Kimmel, Accounting Principles, 9th edition, John, Wilely and Sons, Inc, pp. 732-733 Wallace, R. S. O. and Choudhury, M. S. I. And Pendelbary, M. 1997), ââ¬Å"Cash Flow Statements: An International Comparison of Regulatory Positionsâ⬠, The International Journal of Accounting, Vol. 32, No, 1, pp. 1-22 Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 221 Appendix-1 List of the twelve Pharmaceutical companies studied. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. GlaxcoSmithKline Bangladesh Limited (2009) The IBN SINA Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd. (2009) BEXIMCO PHARMACEUTICAL LTD. (2009) ORION INFUSION LTD. (2009) ACI Formulation Limited (2009) Ambee Pharmaceutical Limited (2009) Square Pharmaceutical Ltd. (2009) Libra Infusions Limited (2009) BEACOM Pharmaceuticals Limited (2009) Rahman Chemicals Limited (2009) Renata Limited (2009) Therapeutics (Bangladesh) Limited (2009)
Monday, July 29, 2019
Background Information Of Gems And Jewellery
Background Information Of Gems And Jewellery Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Background Information Of Gems And Jewellery The global gem and jewellery industry over the past decade has observed significant changes and showed signs of growth, on account of increasing income as well as demand from the emerging economies across the world. Among the various types of jewellery, plain diamond jewellery accounted for the largest share of the global jewellery market, followed by plain gold jewellery. Diamonds being the worldââ¬â¢s major natural resource is used in both jewellery and industrial applications. The growth in demand for diamond-studded jewellery has been due to the strong economic growth in key diamond jewellery consuming nations and marketing efforts of diamond companies. Traditionally, gold has held the leading position in most of the jewellery markets across the world because of its value as well as tradability factor. In 2008, although the total gold consumed as plain gold jewellery decreased in volume terms, the sales recorded gain in value terms . Demand for platinum jewellery has gained ground in the last few years, in not only the developed markets of the US and Europe but also in emerging markets like China and India, due to the ââ¬Ëeliteââ¬â¢ tag and ââ¬Ëhigh-endââ¬â¢ value attached to the metal. Geographically, the US continues to be the largest consumer for gems and jewellery, followed by China/ India, the Middle East and Japan. In Europe, the UK and Italy are the largest consumers, and Italy is also one of the worldââ¬â¢s largest jewellery fabrication centers. The emerging markets, like China, India which are traditional jewellery centers of consumption, are expected to develop as the largest consumption markets for both traditional as well as branded jewellery. The report analyzes the trends and challenges of the gem and jewellery and also outlines the opportunities driving the present as well as future industry growth. The report focuses on the retail jewellery sales, different jewellery segments and future potential of the four large consumers of jewellery ââ¬â the US, China, India and the UK. The report analyzes the sales trends, demand patterns and future outlook of the three major segments of the jewellery industry, i.e. platinum, gold and diamond. The report also talks about the future outlook of the industry and its growth. By combining SPSS Inc.ââ¬â¢s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables and tests. Problems and Challenges faced by the local and global industry Currently, the local gems and jewellery industry is encountering trade obstacles and high competition. These include, The lack of local raw materials The rapid growth of the gem and jewellery industry in competing countries with lower labor costs the high rate of import taxes in those countries, including new tariff barriers which play an important role for international trade; the rules of origin for gemstones; the rules of product origin;
Business research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Business - Research Paper Example This strategy was a part of the nationââ¬â¢s attempt to maintain the targeted exchange rate value of its domestic currency against a basket of major and influential currencies in the world. Despite a few reports about illegal resource transfers across international premises, the Chinese managed to keep a major proportion of their total stock of financial resources with themselves through profound government intervention (Morrison, 2009). The hypothesis testing conducted in the previous section, in connection with the susceptibility of Chinese firms to impacts of the crisis, also found an insignificant effect of the same. In fact, the subtle truth is that, even though the Chinese experienced hardships on account of the financial distress, they were far better off than what the Western economies felt, where recession was declared officially. As far as statistics are concerned, the Bank of China, the largest nationalised commercial bank in the nation, was responsible for a total of $10.8 billion amount of investment in US owned mortgage-backed securities, nearly 3.5% of its total investment securities portfolio in 2006. Although this figure fell down to 1.4% by the end of 2008, yet, according to Fitch Ratings, this was the highest figure among all other Asian financial institutions (Chim, 2007). The investment into securities was a consequence of excessive stocking of US financial assets, which amounted to a sum of $2.13 trillion as on June 2009, in order to keep its exchange rate floating at the targeted level, compared to that of US dollars. The Chinese government considered it wiser to invest in US securities rather than holding such a huge quantity of money idle (Morrison & Labonte, 2009). The exposure of the Chinese economy to US financial securities however, was not limited to just mortgage backed securities; rathe r there were huge investments of Chinese renminbi on credit
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Financial Market in Abu Dhabi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Financial Market in Abu Dhabi - Essay Example The global environments where the strategies have been implemented to develop the financial markets have changed drastically because of the overall financial crisis. But the GCC (i.e. the Corporation Council of the Arab States in the Gulf Region) has a chance to succeed in developing the financial markets and consequently promoting their competitiveness. Economic condition in the GCC market is supported by the regionââ¬â¢s wealth due to their high oil and gas supplies. The past few years of financial turmoil have also pointed out the challenges and the necessity to a bigger and more effective and mature financial markets. There are a large number of structural factors which will determine the development prospect related to the financial markets in the Gulf region in the next few years (Deutsche Bank AG, 2012). ... Abu Dhabi: Leading in the Middle East region in respect of the Investors Confidence Abu Dhabi is viewed as an access point for most of the investors because of its location, the economic policies which are business friendly in nature and also the advances in different sectors. According to the investors, they are confident that the financial market of this country is one of the best options where they can make investments. United Arab Emirates is leading the Middle East region in terms of gaining the investorââ¬â¢s confidence. Abu Dhabi has become one of the top destinations for making investment. It will continue to expand because of its positive experience, excellent performances and the attraction of the new investors in investing in its financial market. Abu Dhabi Financial Market United Arab Emirates previously had an informal stock market from the year 1986 with more than ninety listed companies listed in this stock market and traded from here. But the trading was restricted to shares of only 32 to 36 companies because the shares of most of the companies were held by government or high net worth individuals. The informal market of United Arab Emirates existed before the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in Dubai in the year 2000. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was established on 15th November 2000 by the Local Law No. (3) 2000. It was established as one of the legal entities with autonomous status. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has the legal authority of establishing branches and centers outside the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. Currently, ADX has its operations in Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Zaayed City and
Saturday, July 27, 2019
STAR WARS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
STAR WARS - Assignment Example Therefore, they drill into the earthââ¬â¢s crust and pump in water. The principle of contraction and expansion works best here. When cold water comes in contact with the hot rocks, fractures develop on the rocks thus giving room for water to horizontally move towards the already drilled second hole. Steam escapes through this second hole to reach the earthââ¬â¢s surface. Depending on what has been set up, the steam can be used in turning turbines or steam engines (World Nuclear Association, 2013). Permanent disposal of war nuclear waste is increasingly becoming a problem because it takes a very long time for the waste isotopes to decay into safe levels. Even though waste management specialistsââ¬â¢ advice users to bury such wastes deep below the ground; it is easy for particles to move thus causing ethical concern. War has a huge impact on the natural environment since it causes massive pollution to water sources, soil and air. For instance the Iraqi war of 2003 led to massive death among people blue plastic barriers that had a high level of uranium oxide got lost but dumped in the river to for barriers (Cardona, 2004). Residents unknowingly used the containers to store water and other food stuffs. Since then, there has been an increased death due to leukemia. Another example is the Gulf war of 1991 where Iraq and Kuwait differed over oil fields. In response to it, Iraq dumped close to two million tons of crude oil in the Persian Gulf. This had a huge effect on marine life. People living by the shows died due to brain cancer and kidney failures. For some reasons, nuclear energy is good. However, it has long negative impacts on the environment. This is evident through the major wars the world has experienced. The Hiroshima bombing in Japan still has effects to the city occupants. The effects of radiation have led to gene mutation and infertility in some
Friday, July 26, 2019
Business Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Business Intelligence - Essay Example The systems are diverse and highlight every perspective of the business such as the customer profiling and support, market segmentation and research and statistic evaluations among others. Several companies gather enormous quantities of information from their various business processes. The collection of data of such quantities enables the business to determine the problems facing the organizations in its desire to fulfill the needs of its customers and the understanding the quality of their services. The desires of providing best quality of products and provision of outstanding services to the customers might demand the use of many software programs especially in data mining and data entry. Here, there will be detailed analysis of the business intelligence with respect to human resource functions. Therefore, the piece would provide suitable solutions to problems such as employee absenteeism, delays to the customers and the associated complaints. Generally, there will be the analysis of the application of business intelligence to ensure ideal operations of a business organization. Nonetheless, it is essential to understand that business intelligence depends on data mining to a greater degree. ... Applications of Mashups Mashups are essential in every organization due to their relevance and capacity to execute desirable functions in an organization. There are server based and web based mashups grouped according to the source of data, analysis and reformatting of information. The functionality of the mashups are based on three main components ââ¬â the presentation, web services and data. Mashups include the applications, which reuse and join information together with services that are present online and they are created in a sudden ad-hoc manners to facilitate automation of procedures together with remixing the data. Mashup creation promotes faster, easy and affordable program creation by reusing resources that have been developed already, evaluated, and catered for by the large quantity of raw material found on the Web. The Use of Mashups in Human Resource In human resource, staffing is the essential element that determines the performance in an organization. Mashups are c apable of upholding all the staffing features due to its ability to fit their functionalities. The components considered in the Mashups creation entail selection, human resource planning, job evaluation and recruitment. Mashups are useful in the evaluation of time and attendance of the employees. Mashups have automation feature that computerizes the activities of the managers. The Masups are capable of determining the time frame within which particular staff reported and or engaged in given activities. This system is capable of collecting information on ideal time and activities-related engagements. The system is also composed of a searching capability, which enables it to find the information of an employee in the profile category and opt for the allocation of work.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Pateriarchy and Paternalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Pateriarchy and Paternalism - Essay Example However, by the end of the American Revolution, most states in northern America had already done away with the practice, but in southern states, the institution of slavery was flourishing especially in the large plantations that formed the major economic mainstay of the regions (Allport, 1954, p41). In this respect, Southern states supported slavery while the northern states opposed the practice, resulting to the civil war that was eventually won by the Northern side. For long periods, historians and social researchers have delved on how the slaves related with their masters to ensure that they coexisted peacefully without undue conflicts in such a harsh and dehumanizing working environment. This paper discusses similarities between paternalism and patriarchy in context with slavery practice in the United States. Before discussing the similarities and differences between paternalism and patriarchy, it is important to consider the demographic composition of slaves in both the southern and northern parts of the country and then establish their working conditions. According to Allport (1954, p 47) a slave was a property of a master purchased to provide free and forced labor to the master in the plantations and at homes. Southern states in America and the Caribbean relied heavily on agriculture and large plantations of crops such as sugarcane and tobacco required intensive human labor. To ensure that slaves remained productive at their place of work, the white masters first applied patriarchy during the early periods of slavery and later adopted paternalism in 18th century (Oakes, 2010, 567) Patriarchy was a strict code that emphasized on obedience, discipline, control and severe punishment of the slaves towards their masters (Oakes, 2010, p573). However, patriarchy provided the slaves with protection, guardianship and reciprocal obligation. According to Altemeyer (1988, p 26), patriarchy defined the image of the slave owner and it set the standards of judging slav eholding among the white farmers. The transformation from patriarchy to paternalism in the 18th century was enhanced by the benevolent inclination of the slave-owners towards their black slaves. Consequently, the masters began expecting similar treatment from the slaves and their outlook towards the slaves became more sentimental (Oakes, 2010, p 575). In this regard, the masters tried to create the image of happy and contended slaves, who worked to get protection from their masters. In response to patriarchy, many slaves rebelled against their masters in attempts to resist the work and the harsh treatment. The slaves resisted by feigning sickness, sabotaging, stealing from the masters, arson, destroying tools, mistreating animals among other behaviors. Their resistance was mainly collective, structured to undermine the system in order to facilitate change or validate escape from slavery (Altemeyer, 1988, p 39). This occasionally resulted to revolts that were driven by a common sense of victimization. However, the revolts were not intended to change the structure or the balance of power but provided avenue for expression or execution of retribution directed at an individual but not on the larger system of power (Oakes, 2010, p 583). In this regard, the slavesââ¬â¢ revolts were not revolutionary since they lacked collective
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Response to Coments on DQ1 Hunt and DQ2 SmithW11 Essay
Response to Coments on DQ1 Hunt and DQ2 SmithW11 - Essay Example Another great attribute about learning about accounting is that that knowledge can be used to improve a personââ¬â¢s ability to analyze investment opportunities. By analyzing the four basic financial statements a person can perform a good assessment of whether a company is doing well or not. DQ2 I want to congratulate you on your career aspirations of pursuing an MBA to become a manager in the hospitality industry. The use of accounting is very important to effectively run a hotel operation. Accounting can help the manager determine what are the fixed and variable costs of the operation. Based on that information the manager can determine the needed occupancy rate for the hotel to exceed the breakeven point in order to make a financial profit. Having knowledge about GAAP is very important and has lot of practical uses. A few years my brother who is an accountant learned about an accounting change that drastically affected the financial results of some companies including VTSS. Due to the accounting change the value of the stock went up for $0.35 to over $4 in less than 6 months. Accounting knowledge is very useful to make investment decisions. References Luc.edu. Accounting Trivia. Retrieved June 14, 2011 from http://www.luc.edu/sba/accounting_trivia.shtml
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Classical cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Classical cultures - Essay Example The essay analyses these texts to find out how the issues of men-women relationship and their roles in society have been discussed by the ancient Greek historians and writers in their works. The Greek play Lysistrata written by Asistophanes is one of the few survived Greek plays. It tells the tale of a woman who decided to carry on extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian war. The play has been written in a comical style and impressively depicts the status of men and women and their relationship in the Greek society. The play focuses upon the war between Athens and Sparta and the quest of a woman to stop the war. The play shows that the men used to enjoy all the powers and authorities in the Greek society but they took the state towards the state of war because most of them lack wisdom, common sense and peaceful nature. The Greek women however have been portrayed with her love for peace and love. The play shows the women generally have a weak place in the Greek society however, their just desires, unity and courage made them stronger and influential in the society. The position of women in Greek society and the perception of men about them and their relationship are clearly depicted in the dialogues spoken by the main character Lysistrata . She arranged a meeting for the women of the community but when they failed to reach within time she was disappointed that the women are burdened by men with lots of responsibilities that that their freedom is badly affected. She said with her neighbour Calonice. My heart's on fire, Caloniceââ¬âI'm so angry At married women, at us, because, Although men say we're devious characters (Asistophanes , line10-11) The play shows that the men in Greek society commonly view women as a source of sexual relations. They limit them to their domestic lives and home routines and never bothered to give them any active role in the society. But the women still worked to teach lesson of peace to the men. The men were not only attract ed to the wisdom of the women words but they also feel attractive towards their message due to their beautiful body. The play shows the power of sexuality, beauty and strong thoughts that enabled women to play important role in the society during the war time. Another important text that tells about men and women relationship and their role in the Greek society is the ancient Greek tragedy The Bacchae written by Euripides. It is the story of a young Greek god compelling others to accept and worship him as God. The play talks about the dominating role of men in the Greek society. The men are depicted having the power to take command over the women. The King Dionysus gathered cult of female worshipers and drive them to sing and dance in his praise. He also prepared them to fight against the men however when the King Pentheus was returned to his city he strictly dead with the madness of the fighting women and jailed many of the women. The play shows that the women were widely used by m en as a mean of gaining different type of benefits and favours. They are oppressed to act in certain manner and the men having power influence their acts towards certain direction. The play shows weak position of women in the society having lack of authority and decision making power to direct their lives and actions. The play starts with the dialogues of the Dionysus depicting his proud and
American Sign Language Essay Example for Free
American Sign Language Essay For years psychologists have debated and tried to find out how our individual behaviour is gained- are we born with it or do we gain it through experience? Many psychologists have tried to find ways in which they can measure if our behaviour is learnt or inherited but these psychologists have encountered problems while doing so.Ã One problem that psychologists have when investigating whether behaviour is learned or inherited is actually finding a task that can be given to all of the different participants. Psychologists carrying out an experiment to find out about behaviour usually have participants which are different in some way, for example different sexes, different cultures, different levels of intelligence. Deregowski conducted a cross cultural experiment to see if people from different cultures perceive pictures the same. He found that the African children spent a lot of time looking at the pen and paper as they had never before seen or used them in their life. The same task has to be given to all of the participants as the same dependant variable is being measured and this is a big problem as it decreases the reliability of the results. Another problem is that it is very difficult to separate genetics and our experience as we begin learning from the moment we are born. This makes it hard to find a task that can measure just the intelligence we are born with because as long as we are on this planet, we are constantly learning new things that make us more intelligent. Gould carried out an experiment to measure peoples native intellectual ability (the intelligence we are a born with which is unaffected by culture and educational opportunities). The experiment clearly didnt measure native intellectual ability, as you needed to know about American culture to answer the questions. Even thought the experiment was biased and favoured Americans, it is still a good example of how difficult it is to measure our native intellectual ability because Goulds aim for the experiment was to measure this but this obviously proved to be very difficult. Other psychologists have tried to measure the intellectual ability we are born with but many have began to question whether we can ever make a task that measures our native intellectual ability. The only way we come very close to separating our learned and inherited ability is if we separate two identical twins at birth and put them into different environments. We could put one into an environment where a very minimal amount of behaviour is learnt from experience. For example we could put the twin into an empty room with no contact with the outside world and hardly any human contact (somewhat like a prison). The other twin can lead a normal life by going to school, interacting with other people etc. We can then observe the two twins in later life and if their behaviour is very similar or the same, it proves that behaviour is inherited. If the twin who lived in the outside world is more developed that the twin who was shut away from the world, it would prove that our behaviour is gained through experience. This is the only ideal way to investigate whether behaviour is learned or inherited but is this method ethical? Gardner Gardner wanted to see whether a chimpanzee could communicate in American Sign Language and the only way they could investigate their aim was to treat a chimpanzee like a human and take it out of its natural habitat. They proved that a chimpanzee could communicate in ASL but the experiment was criticised by many people who thought it was unethical.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Design and Technology Essay Example for Free
Design and Technology Essay ChairJames Lillis fashion designer of Black Milk online shop ââ¬Å"A lot of people want to know how Black Milk came to be. Well, its a long story, full of twists and turns, action and adventures. There are even a few scary bits. But seeing as you asked why dont you pull up a metaphoric chair around my metaphoric fire and Ill tell you the story of Black Milk ââ¬Å" When James was young, there was a time that he was broke, and everyone around him seemed to have a great job that they enjoyed, ââ¬Å"I was broke, bored and rather cold. At that point most people would have got a job and a beanie, but not Iâ⬠. He woke up one morning with a desire to make himself a shirt, he went out and bought a second hand sewing machine, and with only $6 left in his wallet, he bought the cheapest nylon lining that he could find. He still does not know why he had such random impulse but he is very glad he did, ââ¬Å"It was these fateful decisions that lead me down the path to Black Milkâ⬠. Nylon lining is one of the least attractive fabrics in the market; he had to make a fitted shirt with no one to teach him how to sew this complicated fabric. ââ¬Å"It was tragic. The stitching was wrong, the pieces were cut weird, and the neck was a nothing more than a hole. And I loved itâ⬠From that moment, things changed. He began doing odd jobs, but ââ¬Å"at the back of my mind I was plotting and planning. If I got ten bucks it wasnt just ten bucks it was half a meter of printed fabric. Three dollars was a new packet of needles. A hundred bucks meant I could get my machine fixed. â⬠With all his enthusiasm he worked in trial and error testing different ways of sewing bits and pieces of fabric. ââ¬Å"You will immediately notice: 1. Both legs are too short 2. The pattern on the right leg is upside down (Hey, Im a slow starter, alright?! ) However, despite this every girl who tried them on wanted to buy them. Which was super encouraging for me. So I kept going. â⬠After one week of teaching himself how to sew with a half working machine, he went into a dance shop and bought some shiny sparkly fabric. ââ¬Å"The shop was full of mothers, grandmothers, and me. They looked at me like I was from another planetâ⬠. He bought a tribal African print because he had seen on the shops that these prints were in fashion, he thought about the fabric and felt an intuition that it would look best on legs. He started working immediately, drew up aà pattern, cut it out and made a pair of leggings in an impressive time for a starter. He wanted to try the leggings on a model and talked to his friend who had a friend who agreed to be a model for James to see if they fit. She put them on, and they didnt. So he cut them again, and sewed them again several times. And they still didnt fit. ââ¬Å"I must have recut those things ten timesâ⬠. And finally, they fit. It was at that point that something remarkable and completely unexpected happened, this changed everything. She asked if she could buy them. She took out her wallet, gave him some money and walked off with James leggings. ââ¬Å"I couldnt stop smiling for the rest of the day. â⬠It was at that point that James felt that it was not impossible. ââ¬Å"I knew that if there was one girl prepared to buy one pair of my leggings, there were (probably) a hundred girls out there who would do the sameâ⬠. He felt even more confident and he worked even harder to start his own little business ââ¬Å"I threw myself into it with a passion. I would spend 5-6 hours a day on the sewing machine trying to figure out how to sew properly. I even attended sewing lessons at the local sewing shop (yes, I stuck out like a sore thumb). It was pretty tough in those early days. On more than one occasion I came close to throwing everything in the bin. â⬠The next in the list was getting out and selling his designs, so he went door to door, trying to get shops to sell a few of his pieces. And after several painful noââ¬â¢s, one place finally agreed to display a few of James clothes in a corner of their shop. Unfortunately, a week later and they gave him every single piece back. But he was very determined and bought markets to sell his clothes in the Saturday markets. Since 5:30am every single Saturday, James stood around under the sun all day, selling his creations. He was considerably unpopular at the markets, but hundreds of girls all around the world were very interested when they found his clothes through blogging, that soon became much more famous than the tent and so James decided fatefully to make Black Milk exclusively into an online fashion label. ââ¬Å"I talked to a few people in the industry who told me I was making a big mistake and that I would go broke within the month. I was told that online selling was only for companies with real shops. But real shops werent interested in my clothes, so I went online. As it turns out, it was a very good idea. :)â⬠Within 3 years Black Milk have gained over 15000 fan on Facebook been so huge that the team canââ¬â¢t keep up with the sales and a lot of ââ¬Å"sharkiesâ⬠(Black Milk fans) are getting disappointed on the low reach of the company. James is working as fast as he can with the team to improve his production. Black milk is selling products all around the world, but James himself blogged that the top countries currently buying black milk are ââ¬Å"So what the heck maybe well just go nuts and set up a studio in the US. You only live once. And of course, we will still have our Australian studios and they will keep expanding. ðŸâ¢â Of course, it goes without saying that our strict policy about not manufacturing in the third world is not going to change any time soon. In fact never. :)â⬠ââ¬Å"I dont know what this hand signal means, but if it is something along the lines of Guess what Black Milk did a deal with LucasArts and so the most awesome clothing ever created will be available Soon then it is surprisingly accurateâ⬠James is very excited that the industry grows bigger every day and very fast. ââ¬Å"Instead of me sewing away by myself at night, we have a fantastic team who pump out thousands of garments every month. Instead of trying to get our clothes into real shops, were online and loving it. Instead of selling to a few girls at the markets, we now have a community of the most amazing girls you could hope for who are passionate about the brand. However, there are some things that havent changed. I still love making clothes. I still love hearing from girls who buy the clothes. I love seeing all the different ways girls style their Black Milk pieces, and I love working with all the Black Milk team. Game Boy Print Swimsuit This swimsuit was posted by a number of fashion blogs and websites even before it was released, Black Milk ran out of stock in less than 2 days. Surprisingly a lot of males bought this piece to give it as a present. Spartan leggings Lindsay Lohan wearing Spartan Leggings from Black Milkââ¬â¢s liquid collection. The Muscle leggings ââ¬Å"This is an idea that we have been thinking about for a while. A few people encouraged me to do it but I never quite got around to it. Then I got a spare afternoon one day and decided to have a good go at making it work. It workedâ⬠¦. perhaps a little too well! Definitely our most meaty design.. â⬠Posted in over 30 blog entries and internet articles, these leggings have been very controversial, both males and females from many countries have been purchasing them, in the other side, the comments from sharkies and teens on social networks show either that they absolutely love them or would not wear them at all. Composition: Polyester/Spandex Oscar Tusquets Blanca: architect, painter and designer Born in Barcelona-Spain in 1941. Studied at the School Llotja of Barcelona and the ETSAB. In 1964 he founded the PER Studio with Lluis Clotet, in which worked regularly until 1984. In 1987 Blanca associated with the architect John Smith and carried out projects in countries like Japan and Germany. In 1980 participated in the enlargement of the Barcelona School of Medicine and two years later in the remodelling of the ââ¬Å"Palau de le Musica catalanaâ⬠in Barcelona (which will be explained latter on). He also participated in various urban projects such as remodelling of the Convent dels Angels area or the construction of the Olympic Village, two projects in the Catalan capital. He has been awarded several times with the gold prize FAD Delta and in 1987 received the Creu de Sant Jordi. His Italian tradition merely lies in his close cooperation with the manufacturers of products and with his close rtelationship with the technicians. At this time it was very rare for a Spanish or Italian designer to produce working drawings from their designs. Concept sketches serve only to convince the designer himself and his assistants within the studio that a design proposal is possible and to develop the main idea; but Blanca prefers to strike up face to face discussions with those responsible for manufacture and designs may be modified many times before the shape and form of the product is finalized. Blanca believes that there are two types of technicians, ââ¬Å"those who only see difficulties and the usually older craft-men who say ââ¬Ëthis may seem impossible but if I make it this way perharts it is possibleââ¬â¢ if a designer does not propose silly things the technician will respect him, it is not possible to improvise designâ⬠. His success consists in insistent supervision, not only because he prefers to build a comfortable environment for everybody but because he believes that ââ¬Å"if the design is a failure it is completely my faultâ⬠. He worked for several companies a lot of them owned by personal friends, he was highly attached to the technicians ââ¬Å"they are clever and full of suggestions rather than coerciveâ⬠. But he also had his up and downs, such as the disagreement with the furniture manufacturer ââ¬Å"knoll internationalâ⬠which Blanca believed was overdoing the suggestion that he submit three separate design solutions for a chair. Blanca found the task ââ¬Å"impossible to come up withâ⬠because he was a strongly innovative man and in Spain at the time, the market was cost effective and manufacturers believed cheaper to copy Italian and Swedish designs, finding a cheaper solution than that, required a bit more than cleverness including the fact that the manufacturing had to be as cheap as possible and he found the deal with the rest of the workers very hard to accept because it went against his principles. Finding one solution only was hard enough. However soon enough, Spain entered the European Community and the industry around Barcelona and Valencia begun to change as imports tariffs had dropped. It was no longer cost effective, the Italian and Swedish designs were put aside because Spanish consumers could now afford the products of competitive wares which started looking for designers. Blanca had a lot of enthusiasm in trying new inventions which he would not have had the courage to try with Italian producers. The range begun in 1984 and comprises seven different chairs. The lattest was designed for the refurbishment of Domenech I Montaners 1903 previously mentioned ââ¬Å"Palau de le Musica Catalanaâ⬠in Barcelona. It is described as an auditorium chair and much study has been applied to the acoustical problems ââ¬Å"a good chair for a cinema is a bad chair for a conference hallâ⬠This was the final solution, designed for auditoriums. It was first used when renovating the Palau de la Musica Catalana, in Barcelona. However this design was so successful, that if a designer saw it, would think it had been evolving and being perfectioned for years rather than the truth, a lucky clever design. Underneath each seat users find a Helmholtz resonator, which, absorbs the same amount of sound as a human body when the seat is upright. The result is little difference of reverberation no matter how many people were in the hall. This design is said to be successful because is now being used in more than 50 public halls in Spain, including the Senate. This chair was only one of the innovative solutions that Blanca introduced to the ââ¬Å"Palau de le Musica Catalanaâ⬠that he spent six years enlarging, restoring and air conditioning. The In the first phase, which took several years to achieve, Blanca among with his co-workers, repaired the very damaged parts of the old building and equipped it with sanitary facilities, accessibility, safety and comfort features. These were of course unimaginable a hundred years earlier, but his team made it possible. Palau de le Musica Catalana. Sketches in the process of refurbishment of Domenech I Montaners ââ¬Å"Palau de le Musica Catalanaâ⬠However the most noteworthy part of the project was to take advantage of the adjacent unfinished church part of the site, to open up the central hidden area properly and more efficiently, even though, remarkably, Domenech had bestowed on it a richness of treatment to be compared with that of the facades, thus opening up a new entrance to the Palau. In the extension adjacent to the stage, Blanca provided services for the performers: rehearsal room, dressing rooms, library, etc In 1979, Alessandro Mendini invited eleven architects from all over the world to design a tea and coffee set: Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Charles Jencks, Richard Meier, Paolo Portoghesi, Aldo Rossi, Stanley Tigerman, Oscar Tusquets, Robert Venturi, Kazumasa Yamashita and Mendini himself. The overall set is an exercise in micro-architecture, reflecting the various architectural styles of the day. The outcome was presented as Tea ; Coffee Piazza and 99 sets were made in silver, bearing the monogram of each designer. According to Alessandro Mendini in the ââ¬Å"Domusâ⬠magazine, Blanca became well known because of the design of the tea set. This product is everything but aimed at all formalistic or decorative it is in fact a detailed study of the history of the teapot, how the applied arts combine with aerodynamics to manage to resolve the problem of containing and pouring hot liquid. He soon saw that the spout, which should emerge from the lower part of the pot where the liquid is denser and less hot, had been gradually shortened and displaced towards the upper part of the vessel. This was because of the difficulty of making a separate piece and then soldering it to the base. As a result, many present-day teapots only have the slightest of notches in their upper rim for the liquid to be poured out through and this leads to problems with sloppy pouring and inevitable dripping. Another problem area is the handle, there being three traditional types: the top handle Japanese, the lateral handle which OTB preferred for its balance and accuracy, and, the least common the outjutting horizontal handle. OTB discovered that the handle had also been subjected to a gradual process of simplification, leading to unacceptable levels of discomfort: overheating, imbalance, insufficient surface grip area, and so on. Models of the teapot, His studio used balsa and papier Mache for model making. For the Alessi tea set he had a wooden model made professionally because of his distance from Italy. This product is everything but aimed at all formalistic or decorative it is in fact a detailed study of the history of the teapot, how the applied arts combine with aerodynamics to manage to resolve the problem of containing and pouring hot liquid. He soon saw that the spout, which should emerge from the lower part of the pot where the liquid is denser and less hot, had been gradually shortened and displaced towards the upper part of the vessel. This was because of the difficulty of making a separate piece and then soldering it to the base. As a result, many present-day teapots only have the slightest of notches in their upper rim for the liquid to be poured out through and this leads to problems with sloppy pouring and inevitable dripping. Another problem area is the handle, there being three traditional types: the top handle Japanese, the lateral handle which OTB preferred for its balance and accuracy, and, the least common the outjutting horizontal handle.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Reducing the Risk of Transmission of Nosocomial Infections
Reducing the Risk of Transmission of Nosocomial Infections CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The standard precautions (SP), proposed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1996, are guidelines for reducing the risk of transmission of nosocomial infections in hospitals. It proposes that body fluid, patient blood, secretions, and excrement are infectious, hence preventive measures are necessary to protect both patients and medical personnel. These preventive measures include avoidance of direct contact with patients and air-borne particles, and require hand washing and sterilization, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), the safe disposal of sharp instruments and waste management (Luo, He, Zhou Luo, 2010). 1.1à Background of the Study Standard precautions are specifically designed to reduce the risk of acquiring occupational nosocomial infections from both known and unknown sources in the healthcare setting. Awareness and compliance with these recommendations is crucial for the prevention of occupational nosocomial infections in healthcare personnel and patients (Abdulraheem, Amodu, Saka, Bolarinwa Uthman, 2012). Standard precautions include hand washing; use of personal protective equipment (gloves, gown, cap and mask); care with devices, equipment and clothing used during care; environmental control (surface processing protocols and health service waste handling); adequate discarding of sharp instruments; and patientââ¬â¢s accommodation in accordance to requirement levels as an infection transmission source. Hand hygiene is most important measures among the standard precautions advocated (Abdulraheem et al., 2012). Stringent observations of these measures protect the personnel against blood-borne viruses and to decrease transmission of cross infections among patients (Atif et al., 2013). Nurses are the group of health care providers with the most direct contact with patients while providing care. Therefore, nursesââ¬â¢ adherence to infection prevention precautions would have a profound effect on reducing nosocomial infection rates (Al-Hussami Darawad, 2013). The causal agents that bring infections are transmitted mainly by hands, after failure to comply with hygiene procedures. Hand washing is considered the most important measure in preventing infections. However, according to Jusot et al. (2004), in their study in the southeast of France, compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) with SP was variable and often poor. In terms of knowledge, Chan et al. (2002) reported that in Hong Kong, nursesââ¬â¢ knowledge on SP was inadequate, in terms of applying precautions inappropriately and inadequately. In addition, Abdulraheem et al. (2012) in their study that conducted at North Eastern Nigeria also found that only a very small proportion of HCWs had a good knowledge o n SP. Different epidemiological characteristics of nosocomial infection in children results from the specificities of anatomy, physiology, medical conditions, therapeutic and surgical conditions and type of pathogens in pediatric populations. Besides that, the pediatric-hospitalized population is very heterogeneous, varying in age, diagnosis, and underlying illness, ranging from infants with congenital anomalies to adolescents with multiple traumas. Consequently, even patients admitted to the same ward pose a different risk for hospital-acquired infections (Lopes et al., 2006). Pediatric cancer patients have an increased risk of potentially life-threatening infectious complications due to their underlying illnesses and intensive anticancer treatment (Simon et al., 2008). Thus, SP are very crucial in preventing these nosocomial infections. It is clear that SP reduces the extent to which HCWs exposed to the blood of others, and, presumably, this in turn reduces their risk of occupational infections with blood borne pathogens. Although it has been routinely practiced in high-income countries for a long time, it is hard to achieve full compliance. Noncompliance has been associated with a range of factors, which include lack of knowledge, interference with work skills, risk perception, not wanting to offend patients, lack of equipment and time, uncomfortable PPE, inconvenience, work stress, and perceiving a weak organizational commitment to safety climate (Kermode et al., 2005). 1.2à Problem Statement The reality of adopting SP within the hospital setting is far from what is recommended and had proved to be somewhat problematic (Gammon Gould, 2005). Efstathoiu, Papastavrou, Raftopoulos and Merkouris (2011) also reported that adherence with SP among nurses in Cyprus in order to avoid exposure to microorganisms was low. More specifically, compliance was found insufficient regarding hand hygiene guidelines, use of gloves when exposure to body fluids was anticipated, eye protection, mouth and nose protection (mask use), wearing a gown when required, avoid recapping the needle after it was used for a patient, and provision of care considering all patients as potentially infectious. According to Gammon, Samuel and Gould (2008), in United Kingdom, staff compliance to SP was generally deficient, and practice interventions to improve adherence were generally limited in their effect. Hospital acquired infections (HAI) or nosocomial infections (NI), which pose a serious problem, threatening the health and safety of patients and medical personnel worldwide due to poor compliance towards SP. Nosocomial infections, defined as those occurring within 48 hours of hospital admission, three days of discharge or 30 days of an operation, affect one in every ten patients admitted to hospital. These infections affect the quality of medical care and increase medical care costs (Inweregbu, Dave Pittard, 2005). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2009), hundreds of millions of patients develop HAI around the globe every year and as many as 1.4 million cases occur in hospitals alone each day. In pediatric setting, HCWs always assumed that children are low-risk patients. Although it was acknowledged that the children can also carry contagious diseases, but they often do not implement SP (Efstathoiu et al., 2011). Nosocomial infections are a crucial clinical complication in adult and children patients at the different hospital wards worldwide. Nosocomial infections bring considerable morbidity and mortality associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased health care costs (Nagliate, Nogueira, Godoy Mendes, 2013). Kinnula et al. (2012) in their study at Finland and Switzerland found that 8.4% of children in a ward for pediatric infectious diseases acquired a viral HAI during their hospitalization, although only 13% of the HAIs manifested themselves during hospitalization, the majority, 87%, occurring after discharge. So, from here can be proved that, SP are very important to be implemented in the clinical settings. Without these measures, NI will occur. For Hospital USM, pediatric oncology ward, 6 Utara (6U) showed the highest rate of NI if compared to others pediatric ward (Unit Kawalan Jangkitan Epidemiologi Hospital, 2013). This may be due to the low immune system of those children. Pediatric cancer patients are at an increased risk for specific HAI. These adverse events can result not only in significant morbidity and mortality, but also in an increased expenditure of limited financial and personnel resources (Simon et al., 2008). According to Unit Kawalan Jangkitan Epidemiologi Hospital (2013), the average NI occurred per month from August 2012 to August 2013 was 3 cases, which contributed to 4.62% of total admission of the patient. This was quite a high number. Thus, interventions should be taken to investigate the compliance level of the pediatric nurses towards SP and thus to reduce the infection rates. Table 1.2.1 Total nosocomial infection occurred per month at 6Ufrom August 2012 to August 2013 (Source: Unit Kawalan Jangkitan Epidemiologi Hospital, 2013) Date Total NI Total no. of admission Total % of admission in ward August 2012 4 58 6.89 September 2012 3 47 6.38 October 2012 2 82 2.45 November 2012 0 50 0 December 2012 1 74 1.35 January 2013 2 65 3.0 February 2013 5 60 8.33 March 2013 3 62 4.84 April 2013 2 65 3.06 May 2013 4 71 5.6 June 2013 3 67 4.4 July 2013 1 76 1.31 August 2013 4 67 5.97 AVERAGE 3 65 4.62 Guidelines or policies that guide an individualââ¬â¢s behavior exist in a variety of settings (including health care settings), but people do not always comply with them. In order to explain and understand the factors that influence an individualââ¬â¢s adherence with certain guidelines, which consequently may bring to the adoption of certain behavior, a number of conceptual models or theories had been developed (Efstathiou et al., 2011). Conceptual framework that used in this study in explaining the knowledge and compliance towards SP among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM was adapted from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by Ajzen (1991). The TPB provides a model that has potential benefits for predicting the intention to perform a behavior based on an individualââ¬â¢s attitudinal, normative beliefs and perceived behavioral control. As for this study, the knowledge on SP, self-efficacy (attitude), awareness on the importance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), and some individual factors of nurses will influence their practice towards SP in healthcare setting. 1.3à Research Objectives 1.3.1à General Objective The general aim of this study is to identify the knowledge and compliance towards standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Hospital USM). 1.3.2à Specific Objectives To identify the level of knowledge regarding standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. To identify the level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. To determine the association between selected socio-demographic data (working ward, clinical working experience in years and highest nursing educational level) and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. To determine the association between levels of knowledge regarding standard precautions and level of compliance among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. To determine the association between self-efficacy and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.4à Research Questions What is the level of knowledge regarding standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? What is the compliance level among pediatric nurses towards the application of standard precautions in the pediatric ward at Hospital USM? Is there any association between working ward and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? Is there any association between clinical working experience in years and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? Is there any association between highest nursing educational level and level of compliance towards standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? Is there any association between level of knowledge regarding standard precautions and level of compliance among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? Is there any association between self-efficacy and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM? Research Hypothesis 1.5.1 Hypothesis 1 HO: There is no significant association between working ward and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. HA: There is a significant association between working ward and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.5.2 Hypothesis 2 HO: There is no significant association between clinical working experiences in years and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. HA: There is a significant association between clinical working experiences in years and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.5.3 Hypothesis 3 HO: There is no significant association between highest nursing educational level and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. HA: There is a significant association between highest nursing educational level and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.5.4 Hypothesis 4 HO: There is no significant association between level of knowledge and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. HA: There is a significant association between level of knowledge and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.5.5 Hypothesis 5 HO: There is no significant association between self-efficacy and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. HA: There is a significant association between self-efficacy and level of compliance with standard precautions among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM. 1.6à Definition of Operational Terms Knowledge Knowledge is defined as the level or degree of information acquired in a particular field. It is a basic requirement so that the positive changes in behavior can be developed. Knowledge can further bring into awareness and in turn leads to action. To develop nursing knowledge, it comes from both theoretical and practice perspectives. By gaining knowledge, it raises awareness of personal and professional accountability and the dilemmas of practice (Ndikom Onibokun, 2007). In this research, it was referred to the knowledge regarding SP and its application. Compliance Compliance is defined as the extent to which certain behavior (for example, following physicianââ¬â¢s orders or implementing healthier lifestyles) is in accordance with the physiciansââ¬â¢ instructions or health care advice. It can be influenced or controlled by a variety of factors such as culture, economic and social factors, self-efficacy, and lack of knowledge or means (Efstathiou et al., 2011). In this research, it was referred to compliance or adherence towards SP to prevent NI. Standard precautions The standard precautions are defined as guidelines to reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne and other pathogens in hospitals. It proposes that body fluid, patient blood, secretions, and excrement are infectious. Hence these measures are necessary to protect both patients and HCWs (Luo et al., 2010). Standard precautions include hand washing; use of personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves, gown, cap, mask); care with devices, equipment and clothing used durà ing care; environmental control (e.g., surà face processing protocols, health service waste handling); and adequate discarding of sharp instruments including needles (Vaz et al., 2010). In this research, SP referred to those policies that protect patient and HCWs such as hand washing, use of PPE, safe sharp disposal and waste management. Nosocomial Infections Nosocomial infections are defined as infections that occur within 48 hours of hospital admission, three days of discharge or 30 days of an operation (Inweregbu, Dave Pittard, 2005). In my research, it was referred to the infections that acquired within the period of hospitalization. Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is defined as the confidence to control and guide oneââ¬â¢s own activities. General self-efficacy is a general confidence when the individual deals with changeable environments and faces new experiences (Luo et al., 2010). In this research, it was referred to the self confidence in implementing SP to prevent NI. 1.7à Significance of the Study Nosocomial infections control requires a combination of interventions, including knowledge about the use of SP, rational use of antimicrobials, hand washing and compliance with SP and manuals for prevention and controlling microorganisms. Health professionalsââ¬â¢ low compliance with and difficulties to use SP had been demonstrated in some research though (Efstathiou et al., 2011; Luo et al., 2010). Hence, in view of application and even compliance failures that compromised patient and professional safety (Sax, Uckay, Richet, Allegranzi Pittet, 2007), it is necessary to assess nursesââ¬â¢ knowledge and compliance about SP (Nagliate et al., 2013). By assessing the knowledge and compliance level toward SP among the nurses, interventions could be taken to improve the quality of health care services as well as provide a holistic nursing care to reduce the morbidity and mortality worldwide. In order to reduce HAI and protect the health of patients and HCWs, the relevant authorities and hospital infection control departments should pay more attention to nurse compliance towards SP, strengthen SP training, and provide sufficient practical PPE. Through learning, the attainment of knowledge and skills, and the formation of health beliefs and attitudes, health activity habits can be formed. Only when individuals are familiar with the content and meanings of the SP, with strengthening of the individualââ¬â¢s health concepts, can individual practice change so as to improve compliance with SP. For nurses, the study on adherence towards SP and factors impacting compliancy should be strengthened in order to improve concepts of health and self-efficacy, to increase compliance with the SP and hence reduce the chances of NI (Luo et al., 2010). The reason that the researcher wished to conduct this research was because from the researcherââ¬â¢s observation during clinical posting, it was observed that, the nurses often neglected the importance of SP. For example, they did not apply the proper ways in implementing SP, some even did not adhere to it at all due to time saving and other reasons. On the other hand, the reason that this study been conducted at pediatric ward was because children is having low immunity if compared to adults, they are at high risk of acquiring NI, so the implementation of SP is very important to ensure a quality health care. In addition, no research on the knowledge and compliance towards SP had been done at Hospital USM before this. Thus, this study is crucial to assess the knowledge and compliance level towards SP among pediatric nurses at Hospital USM to provide a preliminary data that is crucial for the hospital. This study can provide a better insight into the magnitude of the problem of infection control in this hospital. By knowing all these, interventions can be taken if the knowledge and compliance level are disappointing to increase the knowledge and compliance towards SP among the pediatric nurses to reduce the morbidity and mortality rate.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Essay --
Globalization is the tendency of businesses, technologies, or philosophies to spread throughout the world or the process of making it all happen. The global economy is known as a globularity every now and then. The advantages and disadvantages of globalization have been heavily examined and all of them vary. People who favor it say that it helps developing nations catch up to industrialized nations very quickly through increased employment and technological advances. On the opposite side people say that It makes nations sovereignty weak and allows the rich to ship domestic jobs overseas where labor is much cheaper. The quick spreading of McDonalds restaurants all over the world is a perfect example of globalization. The fact that they adapt their to suit local taste is an example of globalization. Mcdonalds has turned into the symbol of American social force and the embodiment of the Americanization of whatever is left of the planet. The message of globalized Mcdonalds is "If you con sume like us, you are set to be like us." When actually by consuming like Americans individuals far and wide are just being enlivened to look increasingly like American's as to corpulence. However yet, Mcdonald's, for example numerous American organizations, have persuaded themselves that notwithstanding its blemishes, American society is unrivaled and in this manner its impact is just gainful to other, "lesser" Glocalization is the concept that in a global market a product or service is more likely to succeed when it is done because of the locality or culture in which it is sold. The term is a combination of globalization and localization. The international fast food chain McDonalds uses glocalization by changing their menus to appeal to local place... ...nvergence of broad communications from bigger countries as a critical variable in contrarily influencing more diminutive countries, in which the national personality of more diminutive countries is decreased or lost because of media homogeneity characteristic in broad communications from the bigger nations. In connection to McDonaldââ¬â¢s media, the plugs and publicizing push the staple "quick sustenance" method for living. On the other hand, for most societies, this is pushing a development far from a family arranged eating to singular feasting. While American society keeps tabs on consuming as a need, most different societies view feasting as a social experience with religion assuming a critical part in its practice. McDonaldââ¬â¢s promoting's push of American society pushes independence and freedom upon societies that generally support congruity and family orientation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)