Electronic Self-checkout System Essay -- Technology, Cashier Checkout

A number of empirical studies have concluded that a customer’s attribution of the cause of a delay significantly affects its emotional consequences (see Taylor, 1994; Tom and Lucey, 1995). According to these investigations, customers are more unsatisfied with longer than expected waits caused by difficulties that the store could have remedied (e.g. inefficient checkout personnel, understaffing, failure to provide express checkouts) than with delays due to external factors such as random variations in store crowding, till breakdowns, the time of day (some periods are inevitably busier than others) or the presence of customers with large amounts of shopping. This was especially true if little effort on the part of the service provider was needed to improve the situation and/or the problem creating the delay was a regular occurrence. It appeared, therefore, that the reasons for a long queue were major determinants of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, not just the delayâ⠂¬â„¢s duration. The Psychology of Combining Queues Combining queues have proven not to be a good technique for managing queues in grocery stores and supermarkets. Studies have shown that even though combining queues have been successful in some service organizations, these techniques have proven to have negative results in grocery stores. Among the factors that cause delays of customers who are in line at the checkout counter in grocery stores is management’s attempt to combine queues. Contrary to common calculations, there are reasons for believing that combining queues, especially queues of customers in checkout lines in grocery stores, may at times be counterproductive. Rothkopf and Rech (1987) in their seminar had one participant citing the practice of combini... ...e service more valuable and were willing to pay much more for it when they found out there were more people behind the positions that were held for them. There exists a universal human tendency to learn about ones self through comparison with others (Gilbert, Price and Allan, 1995). Customers in checkout lines tend to compare their position in line with those of other customers. However, seeing people behind is somewhat a comfort since ―there are people worse off than meâ€â€", therefore making the experience less painful. The study outlined three sets of factors (queue factors, personal factors, and situational factors) that might shape the extent of social comparisons, each of which is tested. Hkust and Hkust (2002) expressed that limited research studies have been conducted to determine how service waits can be controlled. To control the time customers’ wait in line,

Juvenile Justice: Should Minors be charged as Adults? Essay

A movement has taken hold of our country to change the juvenile justice system, and erase any distinction between young offenders and adult criminals. Almost all fifty states have changed their juvenile justice laws, allowing more youths to be tried as adults and scrapping long-time efforts to help rehabilitate delinquent kids and prevent future crimes. It seems to be plain and simple, a minor in this country is defined as a person under the age of eighteen. How then can we single out certain minors and call them adults? Were they considered adults before they carried out an act of violence? No. How then, did a violent act cause them to cross over a line that is defined by age? The current debate over juvenile crime is being dominated by two voices: elected officials proposing quick-fix solutions, and a media more intent on reporting violent crimes than successful prevention efforts. Minors should not be tried as adults in our society today. This is obvious through looking at proposi tions by our government such as Proposition 21, which is statistics on juvenile crime from specific cases where minors were sentenced in adult courts. Politicians feel that best solution is to lock up youth offenders for long periods of time. Most studies demonstrate that putting young offenders in adult prisons leads to more crime, higher prison costs, and increased violence. Yet, our nation is spending more and more on prisons, and less on crime prevention efforts. Some states spend more on prisons than they do on education. The cost of keeping juveniles in prison as compared to putting them into rehabilitation programs is astronomically higher. It can cost five thousand dollars to keep a juvenile in prison, when all they need to do is go to high school. Also the effectiveness of prisons preventing juveniles from becoming repeat offenders is low. Kids, who have already spent time in adult prisons, are far more likely to commit more serious crimes when they are released. Crime prevention programs work and are affordable. They have also been shown to reduce crime substantially. There are many crime prevention programs around the country that have been very successful in helping to reduce juvenile crime. Many states use programs that are designed to help parents of troubled kids in raising their children. These programs  offer strategies and tactics for helping supervise and discipline troubled children. This is done, because it is believed that one of the causes of delinquency is that parents of kids with delinquent tendencies simply don’t know what to do with them. The parents just let their kids commit any crimes they want, because they do not have any idea how to prevent them. These programs as well as other similar ones have been shown to have quite an influence on crime prevention. Media reports on juvenile crime are greatly exaggerated. Crime level indicators show that the male â€Å"at risk† population will rise over the next decade, but the levels are far from the explosive level that the media says. In fact, the levels are not high at all. The public also holds greatly distorted views about the prevalence and severity of juvenile crime. Contrary to what the people think, the percentage of violent crimes committed by juveniles is low. Young people commit under ten percent of violent crimes. Also, most juvenile arrests have nothing to do with violence. Most kids only go through the juvenile justice system once, and that is for some minor crime such as drug posession. Most youths will simply out grow â€Å"delinquent† behavior once they mature. But the media thrives on these stories, so they make it appear that crime is everywhere in order to sell more newspapers, or have people watch their broadcast. This simply shows how the media exaggerates w hat they are saying about juveniles. History is known to repeat itself. This saying is no lie when you look at the history of juvenile justice. Until Chicago established the first juvenile court in the United States in 1899, children 14 and older were considered to be as responsible as adults for their actions. Minors as young as 13 were occasionally sentenced to death, and some were executed. Discomfort with the death penalty and with imprisoning children with adults led to the creation of a separate court. This court acted as the â€Å"parent or guardian† of young offenders. Solutions include therapy, education, and community service. So if we already felt that children should not be able to be tried as adults and we created a juvenile system to correct this, why turn our backs on it and go back to our cruel ways of more than 100 years ago? The answer is simple, we shouldn’t. We need to improve our juvenile system, a system that  has been working fine since 1899. The government has taken the initiative to come up with a plan of their own called Proposition 21, which would try offenders as adults rather than juvenile. Proposition 21 would require juvenile offenders 14 years or older to be charged as adults. It would limit confidentiality for juveniles who are charged with or convicted of specified felonies. The largest change under Proposition 21, is that it would require that certain juvenile crime offenders be held in a local or state correctional facilities rather than in juvenile facilities. It would designate certain crimes as violent and serious, thereby making offenders subject to longer sentences. Proposition 21 was proposed so that fourteen year olds and older would be tried as adults for serious crimes. If Proposition 21 passes it is going to send thousands of fourteen to sixteen year olds to state prison. Proposition 21 does nothing to protect our communities, and all it does is imprison children. Rather than decrease, if propositio n 21 passes, crime rates are going to increase. This will happen, because children will be involved in more prison crimes and there will be more crimes used to incriminate young children. If passed, it will imprison many juveniles with â€Å"top-notch† criminals. These children will not be given the opportunity for rehabilitation like in the juvenile system. Without treatment and education, the only thing a juvenile can learn while locked up with adult criminals, is how to become a better criminal. These teenagers will not be given the opportunity of rehabilitation and will come out of jail only worse then they were before. Our nation also has a tragic record of sexual and physical assaults on juveniles in prison with adult criminals. Adult criminals will then most likely take advantage of these teenagers. Proposition 21 is a horrible idea and is a step in the wrong direction that only further hurts our youth. Many people feel that juvenile crime is getting out of control. If you look at the statistics, you can see that this is not true. The arrest rate for violent juvenile crime has fallen for four years in a row; according to the Juvenile Justice Department report released this month. If this rate is declining is there a need to make harsher laws for minors? No. When looking  at statistics you must look for misleading notions in the reports. The public rarely hears the good news in the juvenile court systems. This alone tells us, they do deserve a second chance, and that we cannot give up on our youth. In conclusion, the topic of juvenile justice and sentencing minors with adult penalties is a heated debate. Many elected officials go for the quick-fix solutions. The media will always show the worst of juvenile crime, and not any positive which makes people feel that there is a huge problem. Minors should not be tried as adults in our society today, because it does not help keeping our country crime-free. Bad quick fixes such as Proposition 21 do not help, the just send our society a step back. Juvenile crime does exist and youths do commit violent acts. However, it is not on the scale that many people would like the public to believe. The statistics do not lie and juvenile crime is falling. The solution is to this problem is not a simple one and cannot be solved by simply putting kids in adult prisons or propositions. More effective solutions should be explored and put to use. We need to have faith in out juvenile system. The law created the defining line between minors and adults, but now everyone wants to ignore the definition because the crime got more ugly. The minor is still a minor, no matter how ugly the act.

Of Mice and Men Discrimination

Discrimination Essay Discrimination and prejudice references in the book, Of Mice and Men, reflect on the several characters lives. The biggest impacts of discrimination take its rest on Candy, Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s wife. All of them are discriminated for different reasons. People are treated worse by the ranch simply because they are different. Candy is one of the oldest workers on the ranch and struggles to keep up with the pace of the other workers. The other workers are younger, stronger, and more energetic than Candy. Many of the ranch hands get mad at him and call him, â€Å"Good for nothing. They talk behind his back at what a bad worker he is. Candy only having one hand slows him down ever more so. Candy knows that his days are coming and feels like he can’t keep up. Added onto his discrimination, is his â€Å"best friend† attitude towards his old, smelly dog. He tells the ranch that the dog has been working with him since he was a pup. He was the best dog he ever had. However, the workers say that the dog smells so bad that they have to leave whenever he’s in Bunk House. This eventually leads up to the point until Carlson tells Candy he must take the dog outside where he will end his misery.Candy, after much persuasion, lets Carlson take the dog away where it is shot. Candy falls into a melancholy because his best friend died. He feels closer to death than ever and then halts his work. Candy’s final summation of discrimination leaves him depressed and friendless. Lennie and George are his best buds since his dog was shot, but they don’t compare. Discrimination takes all the life and sweetness away from Candy. Crooks, being the only black man on the ranch gets some of the most discrimination. Being the 1930’s, blacks were still considered to be unequal and not as smart as white people.Many prejudice thoughts were fired right at Crooks. Crooks is the ranch’s stable man. He works, sleeps, and lives in the stables. Crook also is handicap because a horse kicked him in the back leaving him in a permanent hunched position. Crooks is a great example showing his strength with his mind-over-matter defense. Ranch hands ridicule him but he chooses what he lets bother him and simply ignores them. He is a wise old man that likes his space. He lives separate from everyone else on the ranch. The only people he ever let in his room was Lennie and Slim.He felt a deep connection with Lennie, he felt his innocence. This was the only reason he let him in. When Slim came along, he told Lennie that this was the first time he was ever allowed in Crook's room in years. Crooks is isolated from the workers and is not allow at the main building in the ranch, the Bunk House. The only time we saw him hanging out with the workers besides in the stable was on Christmas when he went out drinking whiskey with them. Crooks is a likable character because he deals with discrimination so well. It almost seems as though he’s had so much of it, that he is immune to it now.Discrimination is definitely showed to Crooks but Crooks doesn’t show any back. Lennie is the perfect target of discrimination throughout the entire book. Everywhere he goes, he is harassed and made fun of. This is to blame to his mental retardation. Being from the 1930’s make it even worse because people didn’t know that he needed help rather than insults. Countless characters take their anger out on Lennie. His biggest enemy is Curley. Curley naturally hates big people because he’s jealous. When Lennie arrives on the ranch he instigates with him immediately.The boss also questions why he doesn’t talk. George takes his side all the time, which is why Lennie always looks up to him. George is there for Lennie when other people don’t understand. However, this puts a lot of stress on George and he eventually lets it out at the campfire when Lennie insists on having ketch up with his beans. What Lennie lacks in intelligence, he has a surplus of in muscle and his great amount of work that he gets done. This saves him from being picked on for being dumb and weak. At least he can defend himself; at least when George is there to tell him.In an optimistic way of looking at it, at least Lennie didn’t die from discrimination abuse but rather lack of confidence and stupidity. The final character that was discriminated was Curley’s wife. From the very first time we meet her, she was considered a tart. All the men on the ranch treated her disrespectfully because she was the sole woman on the ranch. All the men ignored her because they thought she was trashy. They occasionally cracked jokes between Curley and her. Although she wasn’t treated well, sometimes she asked for it.She was very flirty with many of the workers even though she was married. It always seemed like Curley was looking for his wife or vice-versa. She showed her loneliness by trying to talk with George and Lennie. George was like the rest of the workers and paid no attention to her. Lennie likes to talk to her but George warns him. Eventually, when Curley’s wife lets Lennie pet her hair, he gets nervous and accidentally kills her. The discrimination lead her to someone she could talk to, Lennie, which in turn, killed her. This novel teaches the reader several things about discrimination.Most of the books events were based off a discriminating act. It seemed like these ranchers were all mad at someone and wanted to get the blame out on the person they thought were different whether it be Lennie or Crooks or whoever. Discrimination takes its toll on people even if you don’t realize it. It can hurt people who might not know what discrimination means. You should never discriminate anyone based on his or her appearance, intelligence or differences because everyone is different. Everyone has his or her own opinions and beliefs.Steinbeck wants people to see that you are just as different as anyone else and you should learn how to live and flourish in that environment than rather put people down and hate. People are treated worse by the ranch simply because they are different. The discrimination in the ranch took a toll on everyone affected by it. If people were more accepting and aware, people’s lives could have been saved. Steinbeck shows the audience how they can learn and change by noticing how people are affected by discrimination even if they don’t show it in front of you. Discrimination only brings problems and life would be better without it.

Database Development Essay

Abstract This paper defines the Software Development Life Cycle phases specifically the Waterfall method with a review of tasks to improve the quality of datasets throughout the cycle. It includes recommendations of actions to be performed for full optimization for enhancing performance from data quality assessment. Although full optimization may be reached throughout the process of SDLC, continued maintenance must be in sued to properly retain the database error-free and protected. An evaluation of three methods and activities to ensure maintenance planning is implemented is discussed. An in-depth analysis of an efficient method for planning concurrency control methods and lock granularities that are available to use that will minimize potential security risks that may occur. Finally, serializability isolation model is introduced that ensures transactions produce less record-level locking while operating the system and how a verification method allows review of proper inputs and error checks to increase consistency. Introduction There are several Software Development Life Cycle methods that are availabel to utilize although, the Waterfall SDLC is the most desirable due to the simplicity and straight forward methods utilized and will be discussed in regards to topics in this paper. The benefits of this model type include departmentalization and manegerial control. A schedule can be set for each phase similarly to a how a factory system works from one step to the next in a proceeding manner until the product is complete. However, once in the testing phase it is difficult to revert back to make any additional changes.  (SDLC Models., n.d.). Tasks to Improve Dataset Quality Using SDLC Methodology The Waterfall SDLC incorparates the following stages of planning and executing software, requirements specification, design, implementation, testing and maintenance. The requirements phase of the SDLC is to ensure clearly defined requirements via all parties involved in the processes. Deliverables in this stage include requirements documents that incorporates descriptions of requirements, diagrams and references to necessary documentation as well as Requirements Tracability Matrix (RTM), this displays the manner in which products being developed will interact and correlate to previous components that have already been developed. This phase prepares datasets integrity success throughout the SDLC process when requirements are properly defined. (The Software Development Cycle (SDLC)., n.d.). The design phase lists software features in detail with psuedocode, entity-relationship model(s) (ERM), hierarchy diagrams, layout hierarchy, tables of business rules, a full data dictionary, and business process diagrams. This phase transforms the requirements into system design specifications. In this phase it is imporatant to review software and hardware specifications and system architecture. This will create the foundation for the implementation phase. Lastly, the implementation phase begins the coding process in which portions of programs are developed and tested. Clearly defined requirements are defined via use-case scenario that enables context based definitions and a visualization of the completed product for clarifications, accuracy, and completeness of requirement request. (SDLC Models., n.d.). Actions to Optimize Record Selections and Improve Database Performance Actions to optimize record selection and improve database performance include automated controls that can be applied in the design phase of SDLC. The design phase specifically it is important for developers to set proper  automated controls such as input, processing, and output controls to enhance integrity, security, and reliability of the system and datasets. Input controls such as completeness checks and duplication checks ensure blank fields and duplicate information is not entered into the data sets. Automating process controls to ensure systems correctly process and record information. (FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Design Phase., n.d.). Quality management techniques that improve quality assessments include error detection, process control, and process design. These processes detect missing values, improve recurring errors, and help optimize effeciency. (Even, A., & Shankaranarayanan, G., 2009). Three Maintenance Plans and Three Activities to Improve Data Quality Three types of maintenance plans include: preventative, corrective, and adaptive maintenance which improve the data quality. Activities to improve data quality include database backups, integrity checks, optimizing the index. Preventative maintenance incorporates creating and continuously maintaining daily and/or weekly backups for data loss prevention, corrective maintenance ensures system errors are corrected. One activity associated to corrective maintenance includes resolving deadlocks, which occurs when two or more tasks permanently block each other. Adaptive maintenance includes enhancing system and database performance via based on utility assessments and optimized queries to improve performance. (Coronel, Morris, & Rob., 2013). Methods for Planning Proactive Concurrency Control and Lock Granularity Concurrency issues revolve around conflicts that occur when simultaneous tasks are performed on multiple systems, the conflict may cause inconsistencies. The goal of concurrent controls is to establish consistent throughput and accurate from results in concurrent operations. Granular locking schemes enable locking pages, tables, rows, and cells. After reviewing â€Å"Process-centered Review of Object Oriented Software Development Methodologies,† the methodologies mentioned were outside of the scope of concurrency and lock granularity. However, there are two methods, high  granularity approach and low granularity approach that will enable a distributed database with consistency. High granularity offers maximum concurrency although requires more overhead versus low granularity which offers minimum overhead although reduces concurrency. Additional overhead in the form of locking granularly at different object-oriented hierarchy levels helps create proactive concurrency control within the system. This provides additional security via the ability to control which users are modifying the database at the same time. (Ellis, R., n.d.). System Analysis to Ensure Tractions do not Record-Level Lock Database in Operation In multiuser database transactions that are executing simultaneously must have consistent results, it is vital to have control over concurrency and consistency. To enable processes that provide this control a transaction isolation model named, serializability is available for use. This model gives the illusion that transactions execute one at a time. The multiversion consistency model provides multiple users with a separate view of the data concurrently, which prevents record-level locking from affecting the database. (Data Concurrency and Consistency., n.d.). Once updates are commited to the system verifyoption can be utilized to ensure the integrity of data entered will enhance system effectiveness. (SqlCeEngine.Verify Method (VerifyOption) (System.Data.SqlServerCe)., n.d). Conclusion In conclusion material discussed includes an analysis specific tasks that will improve the quality of datasets within a database. A review of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and more specifically the Waterfall methodology SDLC. Recommended actions in the design phase that will enhance the optimization of record selection are considered along with three maintenance plan options and activities to improve the quality of data within the database. Serializability isolation model ensures transactions that will produce less record-level locking while operating the system and verification methods will allow for review of proper inputs and error checks to increase consistency. Overall, research shows that multiuser distributed databases utility will depend on specific functions created from the  origination of the product in the SDLC to the finished product and continued maintenance for consistent and efficient performance. References Data Concurrency and Consistency. (n.d.). Oracle Documentation. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B10500_01/server.920/a96524/c21cnsis.htm Even, A., & Shankaranarayanan, G. (2009). Quality in Customer Databases-Centered Review of Object Oriented Software Development Methodologies. ACM Computer Database, 15, 3,4,5. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from the ACM Computer database. Ellis, R. (n.d.). Lock Granularity. Granularity of Locks_and Degrees of Consistency_in a Shared Database. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&sqi=2&ved=0CF8QFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpages.cs.wisc.edu%2F~nil%2F764%2FTrans%2FGranularity.ppt&ei=kQ8yUqOhPIzl4AOM6oDIDw&usg=AFQjCNEdfijo3XG83N7W2WlglSi3cEJsQQ&sig2=WGLffPJ8amqYRjHXJAHLuQ&bvm=bv.52109 FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Design Phase. (n.d.). FFIEC IT Examination Handbook InfoBase – Welcome. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://ithandbook.ffiec.gov/it-boo klets/development-and-acquisition/development-procedures/systems-development-life-cycle/design-phase.aspx Rob, P., & Coronel, C. (2002). Database systems: design, implementation, and management (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology. SDLC Models. (n.d.). One Stop QA. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from www.onestopqa.com/resources/SDLC%20Models.pdf SqlCeEngine.Verify Method (VerifyOption) (System.Data.SqlServerCe). (n.d.). MSDN the Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc835509%28v=vs.100%29.aspx The Software Development Cycle (SDLC). (n.d.). Pelican Engineering. Retrieved September 13, 2013, from www.pelicaneng.com/DevDocs/sdlc.pdf

Lion Capital and Blackstone Essay

Question 1: Why would Lion do a deal with Blackstone? Why would Blackstone do one  with Lion? What does each risk? What can each gain? Lion and Blackstone are joining together to leverage industry expertise and financing power. Lion has a strong understanding of consumer-focused brands and using proprietary deals to turn an existing medium-sized player into a larger busines by using it as a platform for acquisitions. Examples of such deals include Weetabix and Jimmy Choo. Blackstone has the power to bring very large financing into a deal, capable of investing up to $1 billion in a company, while also having an international presence, bringing synergies across borders. However, this partnership also brings in a lagging pace in closing deals and public visibility and scrutiny. Lion typically moves quickly on deals, and already has decided ahead of Blackstone on timing and price. Blackstone, however, still needs to conduct due diligence and have the deal reviewed by the investment committee.  Moreover, Lion’s partnership with Blackstone brings it into the Financial Times’ front page and pressures it further to perform. Question 2: Is Orangina a good deal? It seems that Lion and Blackstone are paying a pretty full price; what angle might the Blackstone-Lion consortium have found to justify it? Yes, Orangina is a good deal, for its brand power, its resilience, its financing-friendly nature, and its operating and distribution network in France and Spain. Orangina has iconic brands that are well known in France and Spain, and it commands a strong presence in its niche without intruding on the soft drink space of brands such as Coca Cola. It can be levered easily, as it is in a defensive sector, has strong cash flows, and with tangible assets that can be claimed. Despite being undermanaged, it continued to perform well in bad times, indicating that it has a working operating infrastructure and does not depend on a personality to guide the business. Moreover, the team has a good understanding and fit with the company. Javier Ferrà ¡n of Lion, a Spanish national who speaks French, is well suited to understand a company with operations concentrated in Spain and France, and is also ideal for his past experience in the soft drinks sector. Question 3: Based on the information provided in the case, how would you value Orangina? We will NOT value the company based on any discount cash flow model, including LBO valuation or APV model, as we are dealing with a private company, whose beta and future capital structure are unfeasible to estimate.  Private companies have no estimable beta, since they are not publicly traded and are illiquid – their value does not move in any direction with respect to the market. There are also no strong barriers to entry in a soft drink market, so terminal growth also can’t be easily estimated. However, we can first attempt a simple Venture Capital valuation model to get a quick ballpark for our valuation. We find that a reasonable equity valuation for a private equity buyer lies between $900 million and $1.9 billion. This implies an equity valuation between 760 million euros and 1.6 billion euros. With plans to place 900 million euros of debt, Orangina can be priced at 1.7 billion euros to 2.5 billion euros. We can assume that the 1.85 billion euro valuation of Blackstone and Lion is quite reasonable. Question 4: What is the best deal approach? The team needs to make a bid that will make them one of the trusted and approved buyer candidates immediately, even with the risk of overpaying. They need to become one of the groups with access to the Orangina management team and their advisors, and begin asking the questions they need answered on the company – such as the implementation of a stable management team in a time of a high management turnover, the ability to grow in the food channel or obtain higher bidding power in the out of food channel, and a turnaround strategy for France. Given that Blackstone and Lion have a special edge that Lion’s team understands the sector, the business, and the geography well, they should be willing to pay up front in the early auctions, so that they can eliminate strategic buyers such as Pepsi, while also discouraging other financial buyers who don’t have the same level of understanding, edge, or angle on  this sector. Once the likelihood of a deal is strong enough, Blackstone and Lion can begin negotiating a definitive merger agreement with prices and terms that are a bit more suitable and fair for it. However, the current priority should be to get into the buy and cut others out as soon as possible.

Accounting Theory and Critical Issues

The following assignment examines the annual report of Common wealth Bank Australia in the context of adhering to the General purpose Financial Accounting. Commonwealth Bank Australia has been chosen as an ASX top hundred-listed corporation. The assignment evaluates the effectiveness of business entities in strictly adhering to the framework as well as the guidelines of the conceptual framework of accounting. In this regard, it can be said that there has been issues as per the assessment as well as the registering of financial transactions in the year ended annual report of the company. As such, this has an adverse effect on the procedure of the financial reports towards the stakeholders of the organization. Zimmerman (2013) stated that the general-purpose financial recording should develop the necessary guideline, to help the business entities to maintain authenticity and transparency in the financial accounts of the business entity. The business entity has been operating in many co untries and constitutes of a substantial market share in the international market. According to Groot and Selto (2013), the general purpose financial accounting offers a unified guideline that can be applicable to all the globally reputed companies in the Australian market. The Commonwealth Bank Australia has been making efforts to adhere to the General Purpose financial accounting in the market. According to Hassard and Pym (2012), the brand has faced issues recently in recording as well as measuring the transactions in the domestic and the international market. The Commonwealth Bank Australia is a multinational business organization that operates in many countries. The brand has taken many transfer pricing measures as per the taxation laws and guideline of the particular country. The conceptual framework in the business organization shall consist of the qualitative characteristics as well as recognition and the de-recognition criteria of the general-purpose financial accounting of the organization. The study also evaluates the accounting measures like IAS 11 and and its role in assisting the business entity in adhering to the conceptual framework in the context of the General Purpose financial Accounting. Despite of the best efforts of the management of the business enterprise in adhering to the General Purpose financial Accounting of the organization, there has been existing consistencies and issues related to the recording and the assessment of the financial transactions. Fiolleau et al. (2013) stated that these financial irregularities can be overcome by implementing rigid auditing measures in the business organization that shall facilitate organizational growth in the business entity. The following attributes of the financial data provided by Commonwealth Bank Australia in the context of the General Purpose Financial Accounting can be noted. Relevance- The annual report of Commonwealth Bank Australia offers the relevant importance to the business enterprise. The report contains all the necessary details so as to assist the management of the business entity in developing the appropriate financial as well as the operating policies for a business entity. Jones (2015) stated that the accounting principles of the business enterprise shall have to offer the in-depth financial details about the necessary financial details about the business enterprise. As such , the annual report and the year ended financial statements of the business enterprise shall be considered as relevant in the existing global market. Material - The information can be considered as material if omitting it can lead to adverse financial decisions for the business enterprise. The company follows the principle of materiality to influence financial decisions for the business entity. As such, it can be said that the management of the business enterprise has considered every financial data that can have an impact on the financial decision making as well as sustainability of the business entity. in this regard , it can be stated that the management of the business enterprise has to take appropriate financial decisions regarding the preparation of the financial statements of the business entity . In this regard , it can be stated that the uniform quantitative guidelines for the establishment of the financial policies for the enhancement of the financial policies as well as the goals and the objectives of the business entity . Comparability - The financial statements established by the business enterprise can facilitate comparison between the two different years. As such, the brand has the ability to determine the operational as well as the financial policies of the business enterprise shall facilitate comparison between the two different years. As such, the management of the business entity can be able to take the necessary financial measures to overcome the organizational threats of the business entity. Bonin (2013) mentioned that comparability is one qualitative attributes that shall assist the users to assess the general financial state of a business enterprise. Thus. it can be stated that there are users shall be able to compare the general financial position of the business entity with the previous years and respond appropriately for organizational growth and sustainability in the domestic and the international market. Verifiability- The concept of verifiability would assist users in representing the economic condition of the existing business entity. Lee and Parker (2013) mentioned that the attribute of verifiability shall enable the users to verify the financial information of the business entity. In this regard , it can be stated that the financial data provided on the annual report has been verified in the context of the current year. Timeliness- The concept of Timeliness relates to having prior information to the decisions-makers of the business entity that shall help the business entity in making appropriate business as well as financial decisions. An in-depth analysis of the financial statements is presented in the business entity. Therefore, this shall assist the business enterprise in making authentic financial statements of Commonwealth Bank, Australia. As such, the timeliness of the financial statements is an essential attribute of towards establishing of the financial strategies as well as the policies of the business entity. Understandability- The concept of understandability refer to presenting the information in a simplistic manner to help users in making informed financial decisions for the business entity. According to Fiolleau et al. (2013), the management of the Commonwealth Bank , Australia has presented the accounting statements in a simplified manner so that it can be easily understood by the users. The concept of understandability is evaluated in the annual report of   Commonwealth   Bank, Australia . As such, the data presented in the annual financial statements of the business entity is simple to understand yet in-depth in details . As such, the understandability is a definite characteristic of the management of the business entity. These attributes has been essential for the business enterprise in the implementation of effective financial policies. For the purpose of measurement in accounting, the fair value of accounting is used to assess the assets and the liabilities of the organization as per the organizational goals and the objectives. In this regard, it can be stated that the fair value of measurement in accounting can be used in determining the actual worth of the assets and the liabilities in the business organization. Commonwealth Bank, Australia has been able to assess the existing liabilities as well as the assets of the organization as per the existing market condition in the domestic as well as the International market. According to Deegan (2013), the fair value accounting in the business entity has been an influencing factors   in determining the exact financial position of a business entity. The fair value accounting of the business entity   asists the business   organization to make effective   financial strategies   of   the business   entity. Therefore, the value of the assets would be ascertaine d as per their current market value.   The recognition criteria refer to the factors on which the identification of assets and the liabilities depends, in the context of Commonwealth Bank, Australia. The Commonwealth Bank , Australia has been recognized the asset as well as the liability of the business entity in, changes in equity as well as the expenses of the business enterprise facilitating authenticity and transparency in the annual financial statements of the business enterprise. Therefore, it shall assist the business enterprise in enhancing the cost of the organization as well as enhancing the changes in the business organization. In the recognition criteria, the probability in the inflow or the outflow of cash in the business organization for a particular period of time shall have to be analyzed in the attainment of the organizational goals and the objectives of the business enterprise. Miller and Power (2013) stated that the following two existing standards - IAS 1 Presentation of the Financial Statements and IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting estimates and errors have assisted Common Wealth Bank Australia in adhering to the conceptual framework of the general-purpose financial accounting. These policies in the business entity shall help the business entity to strictly adhere to the general-purpose financial accounting and prepare detailed financial reports for the business enterprise. According to Freeman et al. (2014) the IAS 1 develops the basis of the financial statements in the year –ended annual reports of the entity . These accounting statements provide the faithful representation of the transactions as well as events and conditions of the business entity. The existing inconsistencies in the existing conceptual framework shall have to be eliminated by the IAS 18 accounting standards. According to Deegan (2012), the framework states that the asset and the liabilities of the organization shall have to be recognized through the expected future benefits of the organization. In the recent years, the brand has faced discrepancies in the recording as well as the assessment of the financial transactions of the business entity. In addition, the brand has developed the necessary measures to overcome the existing discrepancies and facilitate the development of the financial policies of the business entity. The Common Wealth Bank, Australia has implemented effective internal accounting policies of the business organization. Auditing has been a pertinent accounting tool for the business entity in frequent monitoring of the financial statements in the business entity. This has ensured that the financial statements in the annual reports of the busine ss organization shall reflect the existing financial position of the business organization. Bonin (2013) stated that internal auditing is an effective part of the general-purpose financial accounting of the business organization. Therefore, the existing inconsistencies in the annual reports of the organization would have to be assessed through the internal control measures in the organization. As per the conceptual framework in the General Purpose Financial Accounting the assets and the liabilities of the organization would be recognized if the future economic benefits comes or flow out of the organization. In this regard, it can be stated that the IASB emphasis uniforms academic guidelines and the policies of the business entity. As such, the management of the business entity has been responding appropriately in overcoming any discrepancies or threats for the business entity. As such, this has assisted the business entity to strictly adhere to the conceptual framework of the business entity. Horngren et al. (2013) mentioned that financial reporting refers to development of the external financial statements consisting of balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the stockholders equity and the notes to the financial statements present in the annual report of the organization. Thus, it can be said that the stakeholders of the business organization has to receive updated financial information about the business entity. As such, this shall assist the investors to acquire the necessary financial data and make informed investment and financial decisions for the business entity. The financial reporting is an essential aspect of the operational as well as the financial decisions of the business. As such, the business entity has been making pertinent efforts in adhering to the conceptual framework of the General Purpose Financial Accounting. According to Bebbington et al. (2014), the business entity has to make the necessary measures in the development of the goals and the objec tives of the business entity. Henderson et al. (2015) stated that the business entity has taken measures in the recognition of the intangible assets of the organization. In this regard, it can be stated that the management of the business organization has also recognized bad debt as well as the provision of bad debt in the organization. In addition, the recognition of revenue expenses in the business entity is another pertinent part of the General Purpose Financial Accounting in the business organization. The financial reporting deals in the disclosure of the financial data to the management as well as the public. According to Christensen et al. (2016), the financial reporting can have to be issued in the quarterly as well as the monthly basis. As such, the Commonwealth Bank Australia has been reporting to the existing shareholders of the business organization through the strict financial reporting guidelines. Horngren et al. (2013) stated that the security and the exchange commission (SEC) in the business enterprise is an essential part of the financial reporting policies of the business entity. As per the guidelines of the general Purpose financial accounting, the shareholders, potential investors and the consumers and the government of the business organization are the parties that shall benefit from financial re porting .Thus, Commonwealth Bank, Australia adheres to the General Purpose financial accounting in developing the organizational policies and strategies. It can be said that Commonwealth Bank Australia has taken pertinent efforts in adhering to the conceptual Framework in the General Purpose Financial Accounting. The brand has taken measures in the establishment of operational and financial strategies for Commonwealth Bank Australia. However, the internal auditing is an effective tool for the business entity in assessing the financial situation of the business enterprise and recognizing the existing discrepancies in the financial system of business enterprise. The Commonwealth Bank, Australia has been adhering to the general-purpose financial accounting and measure the equity, asset, liability and income as well as the revenues of the organization. The brand strictly adheres to the conceptual framework in the context of the reporting of the financial statements to the business entity. The Commonwealth Bank, Australia conducts financial reporting in quarterly or on a annual basis The recognition criteria refer to the recognition of the assets and liability of the organization that result in the inflow and outflow of the revenue in the organization. The fair value of accounting in the business entity relates to the assessment of the assets as per their existing market value. The Commonwealth Bank, Australia has been in a strong financial position in the recent years. The data extracted from the financial annual reports relates to the measurement of the assets, liabilities as well as the income and the recognition of the incomes and the revenue of the organization and indicates the financial strength of the entity when compared to the substitute brands in the market. In the coming years it can be expected that the business entity shall acquire a greater market share in the domestic and global market. Bebbington, J., Unerman, J. and O'Dwyer, B., 2014. Sustainability accounting and accountability. Routledge. Bonin, H., 2013. Generational accounting: theory and application. Springer Science & Business Media. Bonin, H., 2013. Generational accounting: theory and application. Springer Science & Business Media. Christensen, H.B., Nikolaev, V.V. and Wittenbergà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Moerman, R., 2016. Accounting information in financial contracting: The incomplete contract theory perspective. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(2), pp.397-435. Commbank 2016 Available at: https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank/about-us/shareholders/pdfs/annual-reports/cba-annual-report-30%20June-2015.pdf [Accessed 3 Sep. 2016]. Cortesi, A., Tettamanzi, P., Scaccabarozzi, U., Spertini, I. and Castoldi, S., 2015. Advanced Financial Accounting: Financial Statement Analysis–Accounting Issues–Group Accounts. EGEA spa. Deegan, C. (2013). Financial accounting theory. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. Deegan, C., 2012. Australian financial accounting. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. DRURY, C.M., 2013. Management and cost accounting. Springer. Eilifsen, A., Messier, W.F., Glover, S.M. and Prawitt, D.F., 2013. Auditing and assurance services. McGraw-Hill. Fiolleau, K.J., Hoang, K.J. and Pomeroy, B., 2013. Communications with Audit Committees: How Do Auditors Decide How Much Information to Provide about Management’s Accounting Practices?. Freeman, R.J., Shoulders, C.D., Allison, G.S., Smith Jr, G.R. and Becker, C.J., 2014. Governmental and nonprofit accounting: theory and practice.JJpaejournal Of Public Affairs Education Volume 20 Number 3, p.441. Groot, T. and Selto, F., 2013. Advanced management accounting. Pearson Higher Ed. Harrison, J.S. and Van der Laan Smith, J., 2015. Responsible accounting for stakeholders. Journal of Management Studies, 52(7), pp.935-960. Hassard, J. and Pym, D. eds., 2012. The theory and philosophy of organizations: critical issues and new perspectives. Routledge. Henderson, S., Peirson, G., Herbohn, K. and Howieson, B., 2015. Issues in financial accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU. Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., Schatzberg, J.O. and Burgstahler, D., 2013.Introduction to management accounting. Pearson Higher Ed. Jones, S. ed., 2015. The routledge companion to financial accounting theory. Routledge. Lee, T.A. and Parker, R.H., 2013. Towards a Theory and Practice of Cash Flow Accounting (RLE Accounting) (Vol. 50). Routledge. Miller, P. and Power, M., 2013. Accounting, organizing, and economizing: Connecting accounting research and organization theory. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), pp.557-605. Zimmerman, J.L., 2013. Myth: External financial reporting quality has a first-order effect on firm value. Accounting Horizons, 27(4), pp.887-894.

Medical Statistics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medical Statistics - Coursework Example The datasets are in tab-delimited text format (â€Å".txt†) – the file you need has your matriculation number on it, for example, if you matriculation number was 123456789 then your file would be called â€Å"AS_123456789.txt†. Also save the file called Assign1.tpf as well (it can help when loading the data into SPSS – see below). To open your dataset in Minitab, go to File > Open Worksheet in Minitab, choose filetype of Text (*.txt), select your dataset and click Open. To open your dataset in SPSS you have two choices: 1. Open the data in Excel and in Excel save it as an Excel file. Then open the Excel file in SPSS the usual way. You could also do this via Minitab. 2. Go to File > Read Text Data in SPSS, choose your file and click OPEN. This will open a window called â€Å"Text Import Wizard – Step 1 of 6†. Click the Yes button to the question â€Å"Does your text file match a predefined format?† and then click on Browse and choose As sign1.tpf and click Open. Then click Finish twice and the data should open. Once you have done this it makes sense to annotate the data (e.g. indicate that 1 means boy and 2 means girl for Sex) and then save the data with an appropriate name in the .sav format before you do any analysis. To open the data in Minitab, having altered the dataset in SPSS, just copy and paste the data directly from the SPSS data editor into Minitab (you could also save a copy of it as an Excel file, and then open that in Minitab). Research question of interest: Do 5 year old children living in deprived areas have worse oral health than 5 year old children living in more affluent areas? Variables in your excel file: RefNumber Child reference number (for admin purposes) DepCat Deprivation category (on a 1-7 scale, where 1 is most affluent and 7 is most deprived). In the catchment area for this study, all the postcode sectors were in DepCat 4, 6 or 7 RegCat String (character) variable, with 3 categories: No tReg – never registered with a dentist; Lapsed – previously registered but now lapsed; Reg – currently registered with a dentist Sex 1 = boys, 2 = girls DFMT Number of teeth with active decay, that are filled or are missing pH pH value of saliva in mouth – the lower it is, the more acidic. Questions NOTE: for Q2 and Q4 you are expected to follow and report on each stage of the Data Analysis Algorithm shown on p1 of Workbook 3, and ensure you cover both confidence interval and hypothesis testing approaches. 1) Using either Minitab or SPSS, obtain appropriate descriptive statistics for the variables Sex, DepCat, RegCat and DFMT. Provide a short interpretation of the output you produce. Answer 1: DepCat DepCat is an indication of the deprivation category. The variable is rated in the scale of 1 to 7 with 1 being the most affluent and 7 being the most deprived. The study was done with people living in the area with DepCat of 4, 6 or 7. Of the total 100 observ ations, there were 96 cases with appropriate value. 4 cases had missing values. This is quantitative analysis, the output of which is given below: Frequencies Statistics DepCat N Valid 96 Missing 4 DepCat Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 4 20 20.0 20.8 20.8 6 34 34.0 35.4 56.3 7 42 42.0 43.8 100.0 Total 96 96.0 100.0 Missing System 4 4.0 Total 100 100.0 The table above shows the frequency table of the variable. It can be seen that most of the respondents had DepCat value of 7 which is the category of most deprived of all the classes. About 43.8