Islam Studies Jahiliyyah Essay

The essay shall explore the concept of the jahiliyyah and demonstrate the importance and impact it has to understand the origins and development of Islam. The Jahiliyyah is a core and critical part of the foundations of Islam, that certain elements of the jahiliyyah were borrowed, adopted and developed; whilst other elements were discarded as Islam evolved. It is important as aspects of the jahiliyyah period continues to have an influence after the advent of Islam. Elements of the jahiliyyah such as the geographical location; the political, social and religious life; pre-islamic literature, rituals of the Ka’ba and the role of Women have shaped the understanding of Islam. The term ‘Jahiliyyah’ means the period of ignorance or barbarism; reflecting the Arabian culture before the birth of Muhammad(Mvumbi, 2010). The concept reflects the period in which Arabia had no dispensation, no knowledge of Allah or one God and no revealed sacred text (Hitti, 1987). The Jahiliy yah represents a cultural milestone, as Muslims believe they transitioned from an period of ignorance to the period of knowledge and enlightenment (Armstrong, 1991). The religious situation of Jahiliyyah is important to examine in order to understand Islamic monotheism. The religious situation of pre-Islamic shapes one’s understanding of the origins and developments of Islam, as Islam is a civilization, culture and religion. The importance of the concept is because Islam developed and built on a previous Arabian religion. Firstly the understanding the geographical location and characteristics of that period would inform and shape one’s understanding of Islam and culture. The Arabian peninsula is covered with desert and divided in two sectors: the north and the south(Mvumbi, 2010). The geographical characteristics influences the cultural and religious situation.The northern part were a pastoral society and the southern part had permanent settlements such as Yemen and th e Bedouin lifestyle (Mvumbi, 2010). Areas such as Yemen were important because of its advanced civilizations, fertile land and rich agriculture. Most areas were hospitable, rich in food and water, and trades such as spice trades (Hoyland, 2001). The desert created a harsh environment with extreme conditions, the climate varied from north to south influencing people of the time to be nomadic (Brockelman, 1960). The nomadic lifestyle created sub-cultures which led to the diversity of languages. The trade, agriculture and linguistics are central notions that have had significant importance to Islam religion and culture (Goodman, 1999). . For example, it is believed that Muhammad was a trader who stimulated the growth of trade in Mecca (Goodman, 1999). It is strongly believed that Islam and arabian’s spiritual consciousness was born the vastness of the desert, this strongly emphasise why it is important to understand Jahiliyyah as the roots of Islam begin in this period (Mvumbi, 2010). The Arabians within that period believed in religion, were more polytheism focus than the monotheism perspective of today. They believed in deities, these deities were the daughters of Allah, the supreme God (Husayn, 1982). They built temples for their idols in particular at Makka it was the most religious place. These notions of Jahiliyyah reflect Islam; as the Islamic faith was first revealed in Makka and the fact that Arabians had the notion of a supreme one and only God prior to the rise of Islam (Mvumbi, 2010). The surrounding religion such as Judaism and Christianity whom had a monotheistic faith influenced the Arabians and Islam of today. This reinforces that Arabia prior to Islam shared unity of God before Muhammad (Mvumbi, 2010). These key principles demonstrate that Islam was a revival and continuation of Jahiliyyah and this stresses the importance of that concept. Another element of the Jahiliyyah period was the political and social life, such as the Bedouin society. The political structure was tribal based, that consisted of individuals who participated in larger groups (Weissleder, 1978). This tribal aspect reflects the adopted leadership of Muhammad; as tribal rulers were seen as an arbitrator than a ruler (Weissleder, 1978). This political structure influenced the Shura system. The legal system of this period was based on tribal or customary law which influenced the Islamic communities of today(Weissleder, 1978). This element reinforces why Jahiliyyah period shaped the origins and understanding of Islam. Similarly the social integration of pre-Islamic shapes our understanding of Islam. The no tion of social integration developed within the Byzantine and Sassanic period (Hoyland, 2001). The Sassanic dynasty influenced the Islamic administrative system, it was also the aftermath of the competition dwelling between the two dynasties (Hoyland, 2001). Although these dynasties were competitive they shared a common values such as being imperialists and harmony (Hoyland, 2001). The imperial commercial network meant that the leaders had to negotiate and political rapports were created with the empires and harmony prevailed. The Bedouins became the foundational symbol of Arab nationhood identity (Hoyland, 2001). They became the nationhood identity through their significant oral transmitted poetry and written Arabic literature, which became the basis and core language and humanity of Islam (Hoyland, 2001). The pre-Islamic poetry was very fine and unique, it became the linguistic standard of the interpretations of the Qu’ran. It is noted that the pre-Islamic poetry was a central aspect of tribal humanism and in a sense contributed to Islamic humanism (Hoyland, 2001). This once again support that the pre-Islamic period intertwines with key principles of Islam and shapes one’s understanding that Islam adopted foundational principles. Along with the highly praise Arabic poetry and language, is the adopted style of language such as Saj of Kuhhan. The rhyming structure a distinguishing feature of Saj became Arabic prose (Hoyland, 2001). The style of Saj is evident within the Qu’ran, by understanding the style one may understand the socio-cultural context that this emerged from; as well as how the pre-Islamic language has been adopted by Islam. Another adopted principle of the pre-Islamic period was the role of the Ka’ba and religious practices. It is important to explore the rituals of the Jahiliyyah concept to notice the similarities, adoptations and continuation of principles that is reflected in Islam. For example, during the Jahiliyyah, there was sacred truce period to the Ka’ba which occurred for three months, the annual pilgramage which is now the ritual of the Hajj for Muslims (Armstrong, 1999). The only other difference of the role of the Ka’ba was during that time within the Ka’ba there was three hundred and sixty idols of worship within the Ka’ba (Armstrong, 1999). The practice of Islam such as fasting could be reflected in the pre-Islamic practices however it was the exclusion of hunting and sexual activity (Armstrong, 1999). So rituals that were practiced throughout the pre-Islamic period were adopted and integrated into Islam. By examining these rituals it reinforces the importance of understanding the pre-Islamic period. By understanding the concept of Jahiliyyah one would understand the continuity, the improvements and changes of principles demonstrated within Islam. These changes, adaptation can be viewed through the ideals of women and marriage within the pre-islamic period and the ideals of women and marriage in Islam. For example, pre-Islamic period; endogamy, polygamy and polyandry were common. Whereas, Qu’ranic revelations indicates the focus on polygamy rather than polyandry; however it was revealed at the time where the socio-context had increased numbers of widows. Similarly, the idea of an temporary marriage, this within pre-Islamic period was instigated by a woman; however in the Shiite practice it is only permissible by the man. This notion parallels with divorce, women were allowed to dismiss their husbands; however with the Shari’s women are disadvantaged when in attempt to divorce. The gender inequality is reflect in women’s roles as well. Women in pre-Islamic period were given a status, they were involved in divination and had a religious function; they also had the status of entertaining. However, Orthodox Islam has rejected the principle of giving women status and equality. The role of women within the pre-Islamic period reflects how Islam does not always adopt the principles of pre-Islamic period, but rather rejects some notions. As the essay demon strated the period of Jahiliyyah has significantly contributed to the success of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission. Significant features of the Jahiliyyah such geographical location; the political, social and religious life; pre-islamic literature, rituals of the Ka’ba and the role of Women have shaped the understanding of Islam. These features have demonstrated the Islamic religion within context of it’s origins and development. By understanding the concept of the Jahiliyyah one can understand which features are adopted, integrated, improved and rejected as Islam evolved. References Armstrong, K, 1991. ‘Jahiliyah’ in Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam. 1st ed. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. Brockelman, C, 1960. History of the Islamic peoples. New York: Capricorn books. Goodman, D, 1999. Pre-industrial Cities and Technology. London: Routledge Hoyland, R, 2001. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. 1st ed. London: Routledge. Husayn, M, 1982. The life of Muhammad. Lagos: Academy Press. Mvumbi. 2010. Introduction to Islamic theology: A study of some major theological issues . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cuea.edu/mvumbi/images/stories/PDF/ClassNotes/INTRODUCTION%20TO%20ISLAMIC%20THEOLOGY.pdf. [Accessed 14 May 13]. Schuon, F, 1976. Understanding Islam. 1st ed.London: Unwin Paperbacks Weissleder, W, 1978. The Nomadic Alternative. Chicago: Mouton Publishers

Employment Rights and Responsabilities Essay

1.1 The aspects of employment covered by law are: health and safety(1974), disability discrimination act(1995 amended in 2005), the day care and child minding regulations(2003), Data protection act, sex discrimination act(1975 amended in 1986), the race relations act (1976 amended 2000 and regulations 2003), equal pay act(1970,1983,2010), working time directive and working time regulations (1998), national minimum wage act(1998) and the employments rights act (as amended by the employment regulations act (1999 and he employment act 2002 and 2008). 1.2 HEALTH AND SAFETY (1974): It is your employer’s duty to make sure that you are protected from any risks and dangers which could occur in your work place. DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT(1995,2005): Provides legal rights for disabled people in areas such as employment and education. THE DAYCARE AND CHILDMINDING REGULATIONS(2003): They set down minimum standards covering a number of areas. Registered providers have to meet ratios of adults to children. DATA PROTECTION ACT (1998): Protects the personal information that organisations hold about people the information must be correct, must not be used for any other reason except the reason it was collected for, must not be passed on without permission and must not be kept for longer than necessary SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT (1975,1986): Employer must not treat men and women differently if they can not show a good reason for doing so. THE RACE RELATIONS ACT (1976,200,2003): Makes it unlawful for anyone to discriminate against anyone else because of race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. EQUAL PAY ACT(1970,1983,2010): The right to same pay and conditions of employment as some one of the opposite sex where you’re doing the same work. WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE AND WORKING TIMES REGULATIONS (1998): Covers legal hours you can work minimum daily rests and paid annual leave. NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT (1998): Minimum amount per hour most workers in the uk are entitled to be paid. THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT(1996,1999,2002,2008): This is a large law that covers many of the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees including; contracts of employment, right to itemised pay statement, right to time off work, right to time off work for sickness, maternity rights, termination of employment, unfair dismissal and redundancy rights. 1.3 Legislation relating to employment exists to protect you at work; they also protect your colleagues, the children and their parents. These laws also tell you what you are expected to do and how you should behave at work. 1.4 ACAS (Advisory conciliation and arbitration service) is for both employees and employers who are involved in an employment dispute or are seeking information on employment rights and rules. OFSTED Inspect and regulate services which care for children and young people, and those providing education and skills for learners of all ages. They inspect to judge the quality and standards of care. CITIZENS ADVICE help with all aspects of employment rights and can help get further information regarding employment rights and responsibilities. WWW.DIRECT.GOV.UK/PAYANDWORKRIGHTS TASK 2 2.1 The terms and conditions which are covered in my contract are: my job title(nursery nurse), hours of work(30 per week between 6am and 6pm), holiday, absence due to sickness or injury(must inform manager at least 2 hours before shift starts), sick pay, notice of termination of employment (1 months’ notice in writing), grievance procedure, company rules and the disciplinary procedure. 2.2 The information that is shown on my pay slip is: my name and address so I know it is my pay slip, my national insurance number so I know im paying national insurance for me and no one else, my tax codeso I know how much tax I should be paying, rate of pay how much I earn an hour , pay period so I know how many weeks pay I should get, pay date when I get paid, payment method how I get paid, national insurance table letter, company’s name so I know who is paying me, net pay, weekly amount of pay-how much I earnt each week. Year to date; taxable gross pay, income tax, employee national insurance contribution and employer national insurance contribution. 2.3 It is important for the company and all employees that any grievance is brought to light quickly and dealt with expeditiously. If any time you have a grievance which cannot be cleared informally you should raise it formally either verbally or in writing with your immediate supervisor. 2.4 The personal information which must be kept up to date with my employer are my contact number, my address, bank details in which I wish my pay to be sent to and any relevant health information which may affect my job roll. 2.5 The agreed ways of working are to always be polite and profesional, to follow policies and procedures corectly to make everyone feel welcome and happy to be at nursery to provide a save,warm,loving and happy environment for the childeren,to be respectfull of other peoples religion, background and personal choices. TASK 3 3.1 I make sure that the children are provided with the highest quality of care, that they are supported in their intellectual social and emotional needs by making sure there are appropriate activities for them that are not too easy or hard for them,helping them to make friends and socialise with other children of the same age by encouraging them to play together and setting out group activities, I have made strong positive relationships with the children and their parents and make them feel welcome and happy to be at our nursery.I also make sure that each individual child which I work with have age appropriate play available eg, the younger children whom are learning to walk have walkers available at all times the pre school children have more difficult puzzles to do so it encourages them to solve problems and think about what they are doing where as the toddlers will have easier jigsaw puzzles as it is to hard for them to do , I make learning the colours and alphabet fun by combini ng it with play we have a counting game which the children enjoy, I also use colour and number throughout the day e.g, at lunch time as im handing out the plates I will ask the children â€Å"what colour plate have you got†or during an activity using building blocks I may ask â€Å"how many green blocks are there† , we do a lot of messy and creative activities we do alot of messy play because messy play involves children using all their senses in the process of exploration, especially the sense of touch, offers the opportunity to mould and manipulate materials and not having a focus on making/producing something 3.2 The positive relationships which I have made with the children makes their parents feel reassured that their child is well looked after and happy when they leave them with us which reflects on other parents and they are more likely to recommend our nursery to others due to the high quality of care delivered by staff. i work very well individualy or as part of a team, im creative,profesional and follow good practice. 3.3 My job fits in with the wider sector because we help to teach the children things to help them be independent and prepare them for school by teaching them basic things like their colours, alphabet and how to write their name . Also we spend 5 days a week with the majority of the children in our nursery there for if anything is wrong with them we can usually tell straight away i.e. unusual behaviour, bruises etc. we have to pass that information on to our supervisor whom will then decide if it needs to be taken further. Or if the social services have to intervene with a family we will work alongside them to support the individual child as much as we possibly can. 3.4 A professional body is usually a nonprofit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest. A profesional body is group of people in a learned occupation who are trusted with maintaining control or oversight of the practice of the occupation also a body acting to safeguard the public interest professional bodies act to protect the public by maintaining and enforcing standards of training and ethics in their profession, they often also act like a trade unio n for the members of the profession. TASK 4 4.1 After compleing the level 3 qualification you can go on to further your education by doing a level 4 nvq or going to university and doing a foundation degree. You can have a job as a nursery manager , teacher, teaching assistant, a hospital play therapist a job in social work or health work. 4.2 There are a number of organisations that can help you find out more about higher qualifications these include, the early years nto, CACHE, EDEXECL,LCCIEB, city and guilds, universitys, connexions, local early years development and child care partnerships. 4.3 After achieving my level 3 I Intend to follow on to study at university and become a primary school teacher. TASK 5 5.1 Concerns have been raised regarding the misuse of mobile phones with in the sector, where photographs have been taken of children and used in inappropriate ways. 5.2 Some people think that mobile phones should not be used so things like this can not happen again, where as other people think that mobiles should be allowed incase of emergencis. Some people don’t like men to work in nurseries oor only wish for female staff to change their childs nappy this can be seen as discrimination against male workers. 5.3 The public concern regarding the miss use of mobile phones has made the public more cautious about the people whom are looking after their child, and they may feel tht stricter guid lines and checks should be put in place to protect children. 5.4 In our work place we are not allowed our phones in the rooms with the children they must be put in our lockers or in our bags in the office.If we are found to have our phones on us then we are dismissed instantly, the only exeptions are if were on a nursery trip and need to contact other staff, management or in an emergency even then we are not to use our mobiles for personal use when on trips and there is a after school club mobile which must stay on at all times and is only used to contact afterschool club perents and dos not have a camera on it.

Censorship and Classification in Australia - Free Samples to Students

Australia ranks 19 th in the world censorship ranking (Rsf.org 2018). This reveals the fact that the Australian media tends to censor a lesser amount of media that is circulated within the country. The public media of the country is very strong and is majorly managed by the two main media groups, Fairfax Media and the News Corporation (Freedomhouse.org 2018). The Australian government tends to allow more freedom to the press. China ranks 176 th in the world censorship ranking and does not allow much freedom to the press media (Rsf.org 2018). The Chinese government tend to pose a huge number of threats to the freedom of the press media and tends to put a huge amount of restriction on the various news that might get published in the press media. The journalism in China tends to be regulated by the government on the basis of the various regulations that deal with the state secrets and thus tend to be harmful for the future of the country. China is one of those countries that implement very strict censorship rules (Theguardian.com 2018). The following essay deals with the comparative study of the media censorship in the countries of Australia and China with a major focus on the various arts, music and the magazines that are censored in the countries. Both the countries, Australia and China, tend to censor the pieces of art that might be referred to as holding the content that might go against the standards that are set by the rules of the country. The countries seem to censor the materials on the basis of the age of the residents who have been viewing the same. The concerned authorities tend to ban the exclusive and the dark materials that might be depicted in any art form. The censored materials in both the countries might include the forms of the art that might depict sexually explicit content as well as the content that might display extreme violence. The Chinese censorship laws tend to be stricter than the censorship laws that are practised in Australia. The Chinese government tends to implement the various censorship laws on the circulation of the art forms within the country. The Chinese government tends to put ban on any art form that might prove to be a threat to the national integrity of the country. The bans imposed by the Australian government are mainly observed in the instances wherein the content displays the use of violent and explicit content. In case of the Chinese government, however, the censorship is done on the basis of the threat posed and thus might include all types of the art forms that are imported from the various foreign lands all over the world. The countries Australia and China impose censorship on the various music albums and other musical productions in cases wherein the content of the music tends to be explicit for circulation among the residents of the country. The Australian censorship board like its Chinese counterpart exercises a ban on the music under the conditions wherein the content of the music might be in strict disagreement with the laws of the country and the sentiments of the residents (Musicinaustralia.org.au 2018). The musical pieces might be banned by the countries if they do not comply with the terms in the laws of the country or might prove to be demeaning for a certain section of the residents of the country. The Chinese censorship laws for the musical items in circulation among the residents of the country tend to be stricter than those that are implemented by their Australian counterparts. The Chinese government is known to have imposed a ban on the musical pieces that tend to portray a criticism of the concerned government. The Chinese government, unlike the Australian government, tends to put a censorship on the circulation of the musical compositions that point at the political affairs of the state. The Chinese government is also reported to have put a partial censorship on the musical album X by the Australian singer Kylie Minogue and to have permitted the release of the album un the country only after three songs were removed from the concerned album (Osnos 2018). There are found similarities among the censorships that are implemented by both the Australian and the Chinese governments in the matters pertaining to the censorship of the various internet sources. The countries enforce a ban on the various websites that display any kind of unwanted content or the content that is not suitable for viewing by the children. The censored websites might include those that might put forth gruesome, violent and explicit content. The Chinese Government unlike their Australian counterparts have deemed certain websites to be potentially dangerous for the members of the country. The various websites are Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, some of the services by Google and YouTube. The Chinese government tends to put either a permanent ban or a temporary one on these websites during the various critical conditions that might occur within the country (Cfr.org 2018). The Australian Government however does not instill huge controls over the social media handles that exist within the country. The citizens enjoy their freedom of expression over the various social media handles and even use the same to bring a certain occurrence to the limelight (Aph.gov.au 2018). In lieu of the above discussion, it might be stated that there are major dissimilarities between the censorship that is used by the concerned governmental bodies that have been operational in the countries. The censorship laws that are practiced by the governments of Australia and China tend to vary from each other in all the areas that are included in the media. The censorship in case of the media on the internet is a practice that is observed to be followed by all the countries in the world and is thus considered to be a usual occurrence in the countries of Australia and China, the two countries that have been considered in the above composition. It might be safely concluded that though both the countries exercise the media censorship laws, the laws that are implemented by China are stricter than those implemented by Australia. Aph.gov.au 2018.  Censorship and Classification in Australia – Parliament of Australia. [online] Aph.gov.au. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/censorshipebrief [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018]. Cfr.org 2018.  Media Censorship in China. [online] Council on Foreign Relations. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018]. Freedomhouse.org 2018.  Freedom of the Press 2017 | Freedom House. [online] Freedomhouse.org. Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2017 [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018]. Musicinaustralia.org.au 2018.  Freedom of Expression - Music in Australia - Knowledge Base. [online] Musicinaustralia.org.au. Available at: https://musicinaustralia.org.au/index.php/Freedom_of_Expression [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018]. Osnos, E. 2018.  Opinion | China’s Censored World. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/03/opinion/sunday/chinas-censored-world.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018]. Rsf.org 2018.  Australia : Surveillance threat | Reporters without borders. [online] RSF. Available at: https://rsf.org/en/australia [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018]. Rsf.org 2018.  China : World’s leading prison for citizen journalists | Reporters without borders. [online] RSF. Available at: https://rsf.org/en/china [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018]. Theguardian.com 2018.  The world's most censored countries. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/may/04/pressfreedom [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].

Too much weight is attributed to chance in the field of involuntary Essay

Too much weight is attributed to chance in the field of involuntary manslaughter. Discuss - Essay Example one individual, in that black moment, sets in motion many related to the cause of jurisprudence in a democratic set up i.e., Police Officers, Prosecutors, Defence Lawyers and Judges & of course, the Media. Then you see parties to the case hover in the courtroom. Arguments and counter arguments continue. Some one is desperately trying to suppress the truth, within the framework of law. You seek somehow, that precious freedom! Liberation from the clutches of law! In a wintry morning, we visited the ward of the combustible younger generation in a famous Jail, to see our friend, charged with manslaughter. The ward housed about 100 such inmates. Were they criminals? If you were not told in advance about the place of visit, you would guess that it was a college campus! Youngsters in colourful T-shirts, fashionable trousers, casuals and jackets! They practiced dances that day, as part of the reformation and rehabilitation program initiated by a Non-Governmental Organization. They put the steps again and again to achieve perfection, which they were bound to! For, the secret of success lies in unstoppable efforts! We were surprised to observe variety of growing talents! The boys were in the in the process of learning how to convert defeats into victories, so that they could utilize their stay in the Jail to fine-tune the personality! From one such cluster of youngsters, we heard a resolution, â€Å"After release from the prison, we shall form a dance-troupe.† While taking leave after an hour of observation of their activities, I told them, â€Å"My dear brothers, I am very glad to be with you here to watch your multitalented activities! Thanks and good wishes to you all! I would never like to see you here again!† Is too much weight attributed to chance in the field of involuntary manslaughter? Before the visit to the Jail, you would have remained on the other side of the fence, but not now. In most such cases, the offender needs to be pitied rather than condemned. The

Factors Affecting the Performance of Employees Research Paper

Factors Affecting the Performance of Employees - Research Paper Example The human resource policies and strategies of an organization are the key determinants of employees’ performance (Armstrong, 2006). For example, in my previous employment, there were various incentives such as Christmas bonuses to employees, which aimed at motivating employees. Despite the human resource policies and strategies, the interrelationships of various departments of the organization, inter-organizational relations, and demographic factors have an impact on employees’ performance. According to Armstrong (2006), human resources are valuable assets for an organization. Understanding the issues, which influence worker performance, may be key to enhancing employee’s productivity and morale. Organizations formulate strategies for providing an excellent work environment in order to attract and retain the best employees. These strategies should address those factors that affect the performance of workers. These factors may be within or outside the company, inc luding those factors emanating from the employee’s personal lives. The paper will discuss the following factors as determinants of employees’ performance. These factors include ability, knowledge and skills, feedback, environment, standards, and motivation.  Ã‚  Motivation is the key to an effective organization to sustain the stability of the work in a strong way and help the survival of the organization. Motivation is discovering a requirement inside the workers and assisting to attain it. Motivation enables employees to widen their skills to meet the organizational objectives. Motivation drives human beings to achieve their objectives and company objectives through each challenge and limitation they experience in their workplace. The need of accomplishment leads in a desire to put extra effort to have something done better and the desire for success. There are three internal forces that influence an individual’s behavior; direction, intensity, and persisten ce. In terms of direction, motivation is directed by objectives while in terms of intensity, it is the amount of effort allotted. In terms of persistence, it is the time and effort applied. The following are the five main approaches of motivation; Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, Adams’ equity theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, and Skinner’s reinforcement theory (Herzberg, 1987). Maslow points out that there are five levels of employee needs; safety, physiological, ego, social, and self-actualizing. Maslow observed that employees are motivated when their low-level needs are satisfied first before the next high-level needs. Herzberg’s study classified motivation into two factors; hygiene and motivators. Intrinsic or motivator factors, such as recognition and achievement lead to job satisfaction. Extrinsic or hygiene factors, such as level of remuneration and degree of job security generate job dissatisfaction. Vro om’s approach is based on the idea that worker effort will result in performance, which will result in rewards. The rewards can be either negative or positive. The more positive the prize the more probable the worker will be extremely motivated (Armstrong, 2006). On the contrary, the more negative the prize, the less probable the worker will be motivated.  Ã‚  

Evaluating Business Communication Paper Assignment

Evaluating Business Communication Paper - Assignment Example The various communication to managerial personnel and to the members of the accounting department were appropriate for the intended audience. The memo from John, the Accounting Team representative was also expected by the CEO, William. The leadership roles and styles in the scenario affectively established the kind of tone, the structure of the correspondence, and the manner by which the messages would be written. The memo between managers are formal and expected to be structured in a language that is familiar to personnel of managerial position. Likewise, the memo from John to the CEO aimed to be structured in a formal tone, but could still be improved. As briefly noted above, the memo sent by John to the CEO could be improved. The tone should be formal. Likewise, the entire communique should have been proofread extensively to be free from errors. From the memo that was written by John to the CEO, it was evident that there were grammatical errors (the way JJJ Company was written where the word Company was sometimes written in full, sometimes abbreviated, and at times, the abbreviated ‘Co.’ was even written in lower case). In addition, there were some statements that should not have been included (‘Beth requested all financial reports even though some of them were not required’) as the implication, with the rest of the information in the third paragraph, would be immaterial for the CEO. Also, the last statement which says: ‘If you have any questions, please contact me’ could still be improved as the structure seemed to be an order to the CEO which is not appropriate. The sender could have said, ‘If there are further queries in the disclosed information, I would be more than willing to relay it at your most convenient time’. In other correspondences, the memos were structured with some aspects similar to a business

Emergency operations plan for New Orleans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emergency operations plan for New Orleans - Essay Example United States had experienced a disaster of almost the same magnitude during the September 11 attacks, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that the country’s emergency response was focused mainly on mitigating terrorism disasters at the expense of public health emergencies. Several weaknesses were apparent in the response to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans. The response was so uncoordinated and thousands of victims starved waiting for help almost a week in the flooded city. The National Response Plan provides firm guidelines for fighting terrorism and national leadership but it has three remarkable administrative weaknesses that jeopardized efficient response to the Katrina disaster (Haddow & Bullock, 2007 p31). The first weakness is that recommendations from the federal public health do not have the force of law. The federal public health agencies are charged with the responsibility of coordination and disaster preparedness while the state has overwhelming authority on public health matters (Haddow & Bullock, 2007, p 37-39).... health authorities’ dilemma on whether to enforce disaster preparedness measures on all hazards or to bioterrorism attacks still exist in the country (Haddow & Bullock, 2007 pp 69-70) Countering bioterrorism attacks in United States has been the government’s top priority resulting to biasness in distribution of funds and other resources on preparedness of other disasters (Haddow & Bullock, 2007 p127). In the case of the Katrina disaster, the government was not prepared to address broader humanitarian disasters in the country. The aforementioned weaknesses caused several problems during Katrina disaster. Firstly, the victims were not well informed during evacuation and there were no adequate provisions to cater for people with special needs. Secondly, returning evacuated persons back to their home was problematic, there was weakness in application of reverse lane operations and finally, provision of care to animals was not adequately addressed. Emergency operation plan f or New Orleans should address the following pressing issues. They include saving lives, protecting property and restoring the community back to normal after the disaster. However, before the occurrence of a hurricane disaster, it is important to enhance the capacity of the residents and the emergency workers by putting in place adequate disaster preparedness measures. Disaster preparedness in New Orleans entails working closely with relevant departments of health and security in the state to enhance a coordinated response to the emergency. The departments and other stakeholders would ensure that training, leadership, training, technical and financial support in addition to exercise support are provided to the communities and emergency workers as they prepare for disasters, mitigate their effects ,

Compare and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 14

Compare and Contrast - Essay Example As a function of such a comparative analysis, the proceeding analysis will attempt to compare and contrast the ways in which both of these stories attempt to integrate with the reader. With regards to the ultimate allegory that Shirley Jackson is attempting to represent, it is the belief of this author that she has a twofold representation that she attempts to acquaint the reader with. As the topic of her story is concentric upon the sacrificial offering of an individual before what can only be described as an ordered but cold-hearted crowd demanding a sacrifice to be made in order to fulfill some type of a quota, the reader can quickly infer that the allegorical nature of the story adequately represents those of ancient sacrificial rites that were oftentimes conducted in order to secure fertility or a bountiful harvest for early civilizations (Jackson 12). Yet, this is not the only purpose of such a story as it is the belief of this author that the drawing and subsequent lottery that took place was allegorical with regards to the nature of the draft that existed and typified the times that Shirley Jackson lived in. However, what is interesting is the fact that the author also incorporates strong elements of sociological understanding with regards to the current society that Shirley Jackson lived within. At the time the short story was penned, the draft was in effect for all military aged men. As such, the allegory of the drawing and the lottery can be seen as a type of ritualized system of sacrifice in which the nonsensical nature of violence and death continued to permeate modern society long after the absurd nature of a literal sacrifice from ancient cultures died away. Moreover, the author is able to draw a clear line of connection between the two seemingly disjunct understandings of society, human nature, and history. Rather than

Streptococcus pneumoniae Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Streptococcus pneumoniae - Research Paper Example The species name is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Luis Paster discovered the organism in 1800’s. At that time he named it Micrococcus Pasteur. In 1886 and 1920, the name of the organism changed to Pseumococcus and Diplococcus pneumoniae respectively. Finally, in 1974 the micro-organism name became the Streptococcus pneumoniae (Toder, 2012). The micro-organism is Gram-positive, non-spore forming, non-motile and lancet-shaped. Predominantly, the micro-organisms occur in pairs. However, they can form short and straight chains. The micro-organism has a capsule that serves as a protective layer to antibiotics. In addition, the capsule stains positive during Gram staining process. The diameter of individual cells measures 0.5 and 1.25 micrometers. The cell wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae comprises of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid. The peptidoglycan component of the cell wall responds positively to Gram staining technique. This technique identifies and distinguishes different species in the genera streptococci. Steptococcus pneumoniae lacks the catalase activity. In addition, they are facultative anaerobes and metabolizes through lactic acid fermentation (Toder, 2012). There are more than 90 highly antigenic capsular serotypes differentiated in the types of presenting antigen in the capsule. Antibodies to specific types of serotypes are protective. The features responsible for pathogenic nature of organism are innumerable. These include presence of pro-inflammatory cell wall components (C-polysaccharides and F-antigen), IgA2 protease, pneumolysin, adhesins, and enzymes that damages tissue. Pneumolysin is a cytotoxin that stimulates immune response and adhesin bind to cell surface carbohydrates. Some of examples of adhesin include choline binding protein A, and the pneumococcal surface protein A [PspA]. The micro-organism incorporates the genetic material of other micro-organism through a process of transformation. The presence of F-antigen helps in acquiring of genetic material from different sources. Therefore, it means that the organism can change from one serotype to the other. This is quite significant to the development of resistance to antibi otics in the organism. It increases the virulence of the organism. The increasing severity of micro-organism is attributed to its ability to assume different shapes. When the organism acquires genetic material with genes of resistance to antibiotics, it replicates to resist the host defense mechanism. The virulence in these micro-organisms is associated with the capsular material. The capsule resists the hosts’ phagocytosis mechanism thereby surviving and multiplying in the host tissues. The virulence factors of the micro-organism include surface protein A. autolysin, and immunoglobulin A (Toder, 2012). Streptococci pneumoniae are found in the host’s upper airways, nose, or throat. They are part of normal flora in human beings. However, the organism becomes infectious depending on the immunity status of the host. In the immune comprised host, they cause some of the deadly diseases that include pneumonia, meningitis, sinusitis, acute otitis media, peritonitis, and bacte remia. These are diseases of upper and lower respiratory tract. When in the host tissues, pneumococcal undergoes genetic changes that convert the colonies from opaque to transparent ones. However, the rate is very low in number; it is 1 in 105 micro-organisms. The transparent colony is best adapted for proliferation in the nasopharynx. The opaque colonies thrive very well in the host’s blood. The opaque colonies increase their virulence during systemic infections. These differences in

Women in the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle A brief history of Essay

Women in the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle A brief history of zimbabwe, status of women in precolonialism in zimbabwe, nature of colonialism in zimbabwe, the - Essay Example The Portuguese were then overpowered by the consolidation of several states called Shona that led to emergence of Rozwi empire covering most of the present Zimbabwe. This state of peaceful coexistence of native kingdoms lasted for the next two centuries. By the middle of 19th century Rozwi empire fell due to the entry of British South Africa company to whom rights for mining of gold were given by the Ndebele rulers in 1888 by way of treaty. The treaty later paved way for aggressors from Europe mostly British who fought with the Ndebele kingdom and established colonies there. (Zimbabwe History) Colonization was started in 1890 by the English settlers led by founder Cecil John Rhodes. Thus Rhodesia was named after its founder. The English thought they were the first race in the world and hence assumed wherever they settled, it was for the benefit of the human race. (Nyangoni) With this feeling of supremacy over the rest of the human race, English started colonies in other parts of the world and dominated the local race. Thus native Africans in Rhodesia were not allowed to participate in an all-white Government. The whites alone assumed right to vote and the land laws they passed prevented native Africans' presence in many public places reserved exclusively for the whites. The ordinances they passed left native Africans with lands just for sustenance. About 6000 whites occupied half of the fertile and otherwise potential lands, leaving the worst lands for 600,000 native African farmers.(Chung P 211) This state of affairs lasted till 1979 characterized by domination of white minority over the native population who were denied rights to their own lands. Ever since the colony started, there had been civil unrest among the natives of Rhodesia who first initiated revolution demanding changes in the imperial constitution which would facilitate equal job opportunities and participation in Government. But by 1960, situation radically changed with nationalism gaining momentum requiring to overthrow the minority white rule. In the process, National Democratic Party (NDP) was started by native Africans with the ultimate aim of Pan African rule in due course. The party activists evoked violence against the minority rulers to attract the attention of England for its intervention and help handing over of power to the locals. (Gann, p 42) The minority rulers retaliated by banning the NDP in 1961. Then came a newly formed party in 1962 led by Joshua Nkomo under the name of Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) through reconstitution of the NDP. The ZAPU wanted to bri ng one-man-one vote rule, unite all Africans against imperialism and colonialism, eliminate all forms of oppression of its local Africans, and to establish a new order of African tradition. ZAPU members also believed force by violence and bloodshed was the only solution. Hence looking at ZAPU's objectives, the minority Government banned it also. ZAPU members went

The Coach Essay Example for Free

The Coach Essay As a group coaches are often criticized for their overemphasis on winning and their overly serious attitude toward the league experience. Most studies, however, point out that in general Little League coaches get involved for the love of the game and for the love of their participating child. Coaches that angrily shout criticism from the sidelines are not appreciated or liked as are relaxed, supportive, and knowledgeable coaches who emphasize the improvement and learning of new skills. Coaches that develop close and personal relationships with the child and her/his parents are the most likely to contribute to a positive learning experience. Coaches are first and foremost role models and teachers. Good coaching is not about producing winning teams; its about asking every day before practice or a game: Is what were planning to do today in the best interest of the kids? The best lesson a coach can teach is that playing fairly makes everyone a winner, and that: Developing Coaching Philosophy A casual observer of any little league game site will notice the excessive seriousness and tension exhibited by coaches on the sidelines. Coaches and spectating parents get very involved with their childrens game. Some fail to realize the deleterious effects of their vocal protests regarding game referee decisions or disapproval of their childs performance. Several soccer leagues that I am familiar with have on record a very appropriate league philosophy statement. These statements emphasize learning, fair play, fun, equal opportunity, etc over winning. Ironically, the same leagues use trained referees and linesmen, for example, to officiate a game between two teams comprised of nine-year-old players. Players are often assigned to positions in which they are most productive or least destructive. And, coaches, parents and players exhibit excessive celebration when a goal is scored (even when the goal resulted from a clumsy goalie error) or when a game is won. Overly formal game control, early specialization, and excessive celebrations seem incompatible with a child-centered league philosophy. Should the league experience serve best only the most talented and promising individuals at the expense of the less skilled? A typical league reality of winning first, child second, seems to prevail over the same leagues beautifully crafted philosophy statement. The stress associated with coaching a losing team stems from the distorted view that winning equals good coaching and loosing equals poor coaching. The child that is allowed to play a variety of positions will learn and progress irrespectively of her or his teams winning or loosing record. In the soccer league that I joined as assistant coach during the Fall of 1999, the head coach knew which the two best teams on the league were several weeks before kickoff. Who gets the credit for coaching these kids? Four of the kids on our nine-year-old boys team never played the game. How are they going to learn and improve if we are not going to allow them to make mistakes? Sticking to a child-centered game plan can get very tricky and involve tough decisions. A Coaching Philosophy Some coaches get turned off by the word philosophy. They cannot see how any one philosophy can have an impact on their daily problems and work. Ones teaching or coaching philosophy, however, is actually a very practical matter. An analogy to ones philosophy may be equated to a pair of glasses that filter reality through ones personal experiences, opinions, values and beliefs. It has, therefore a direct influence on how we see and understand the world around us, what actions we take, and why we choose to behave in the ways we do. In fact, every coach, whether aware of it or not, is following certain principles or his philosophy while coaching. It may seem reasonable to assume that the philosophy that directs the coachs everyday life thinking and actions would be also applied by her/him to coaching. Yet, this often seems not to be the case. For example, most coaches would agree that a less skilled child with little or no self-confidence needs special attention and time investment. Yet, who are the kids that usually get the most attention, the most playing time, the most praise? Still, let’s assume, for example, that a businessman discovered that the firm he is negotiating with was dishonest. He decides to do his business with another group despite the fact that he may end up paying more for essentially the same product. This may not sound like good business, yet many a businessman I talked to expressed willingness to stick to their principles even if it meant higher expenses. How many coaches do you know that would stick to principles of sportsmanship or fair play rather than win a game? Obviously, we can readily see a gap between what a coach may think is the right thing to do in every day life situations, and the actions he/she ends up taking on the playing field. Developing an Alternative Coaching Philosophy Dr. Rainer Martens, a world renowned sport psychologist and publisher, explains that the development of a functional coaching philosophy involves two major tasks: †¢ become a student of your own feelings and who you are? †¢ prioritize and delineate your coaching objectives †¢ Developing Self-Awareness Children are great imitators. Therefore, you are more likely to shape them into your own image than into what you would actually like them to become. The coach is a very powerful role model. This is why it is important that the coach be honest as he/she evaluates her/himself and get in touch with here/his own feelings. The coach needs to discover whether he really likes who he/she is. A quick subjective self-awareness test would be to ask oneself When I was a child, would I have liked to have my current self as a parent? As a coach? If the answer is yes, explain to yourself why you think the way you do. What is it that makes you a good parent, teacher, coach? If you realize that you do not like everything about yourself, dont panic, nobodys perfect. The key factor is not for every coach to be a perfect individual. It is crucial, however, that the coach be honest with her/himself, and willing to take the appropriate steps to change for the better. Dr. Martens suggests that one such first step would be to form an open door policy and solicit feed back from the kids, assistant coaches and the parents. This, according to Dr. Martens means that the coach needs to learn to listento be attentive to both overt and covert communication patterns. Good listening skills ensure two way communications and thus decrease the filtering effect that often distorts the true message delivered by the other party. Prioritization and Delineation of Coaching Objectives It is an indisputable fact that children are their parents and nations most precious asset. It may seem natural to assume, therefore, that the majority of adults mean well for the kids. Yet, how often do we wish something for our child, and then step back and take the time to find out whether this is what the child really wants? More often than not, adults feel they know better, and thus, exclude children from the decision making process. Youth sport, unfortunately, is a prime example of this phenomenon. In 1987 the Athletic Footwear Association in America sponsored a study of 10,000 students ages 10-18 regarding their feelings about sport. The students reacted to questions such as why they participate, why they quit, and what changes they would make in order to get involved again in a sport they dropped. The most important finding of the study was that winning, which is the most publicized and pursued goal of sports never ranked higher than seventh even among the most competitive athletes. To have fun and to improve my skills were consistently the first two choices why the students chose to play sports. When asked why they dropped from sports three of the first five reasons were I was not having fun, coach was a poor teacher, and too much pressure. How many coaches you know would have predicted this outcome? (Rainer, 1987, 3-14) Dr. Martha E. Ewing and Dr. Vern Seefeld of the Youth Sports Institute of Michigan State University who conducted the study, and Dr. Steven J. Danish, chairman of the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University who added psychological and developmental interpretations proposed the following truths about children and sport: Fun is pivotal; if its not fun, young people wont play a sport (Rainer, 1987, 3-14). Skill development is a crucial aspect of fun; it is more important than winning even among the best athletes. The most rewarding challenges of sports are those that lead to self-knowledge. Intrinsic rewards (self-knowledge that grows out of self-competition) are more important in creating lifetime athletes than are extrinsic rewards (victory or attention from others). The American Youth and Sports Participation study authors proposed the following tips for coaches and parents who are willing to develop an alternative coaching philosophy: For Coaches Become a communicator (a listener and a giver of feedback). Recognize the needs of your kids and balance your needs with theirs. Develop perspective: remember what you were like at their age and what you could do then; dont judge the kids by what you can do now. Remember the truths and plan activities with them in mind. Seek out workshops and educational programs that teach not only sports-related skills but also communication and interpersonal skills that will help you work with parents and get the most out of your kids. Try to work with parents and make them part of the team rather than viewing them as critics to be avoided. Coach Development Education, as pedagogical theory so perceptively points out, is a two-way process, which means that both sides of the process have an opportunity to influence each other. Therefore, the coach can expect to be shaped by his team members’ characters and styles in a way that is no less decisive than his or her influence upon them. Realizing it may prove a challenge to many authoritative coaches, yet this impact is undeniable and should not be underestimated. However, in case of a younger team, the coach’s influence is going to exceed that of the children as they, as mentioned before, are great imitators and need a role model to follow. For this reason among others, the coach has to develop certain moral and professional qualities that will form the basis for practical application of one’s coaching philosophy. The tenets of coaching philosophy determine which exactly qualities one needs in order to develop one’s team and bring them to a victory earned in the spirit of fair play sportsmanship. In the first place, a coach has to be a superb organizer. This is the coach’s primary function in the team: to unite a disparate set of players into a coherent whole. Unity in the contest has to stem from psychological unity of the team, the much talked about team spirit. A coach in one’s philosophy has to define how important a place the team occupies in his/her activities and endeavors and what ways of achieving this unity are legitimate and effective. In team sports specifically, the value of team relationships cannot be overrated, since a victory is only a product of collective efforts and rarely a gift of luck.

Are Imf Loans Good Poor Countires Essay Example for Free

Are Imf Loans Good Poor Countires Essay A poor country with a weak government is suffering from shortages in terms of financial resources. Most of its population lives below poverty levels, there is high unemployment, low literacy rate, food shortages, no clean water and due to a combination of drought and lack of technology, no crops to export. As if it didn’t have enough problems, the country has debts to pay back to foreign governments, investors and agencies. This is where the IMF, which Easterly calls ‘the world’s most powerful creditor’, steps into the picture. [1] It was originally set up by the West in order to prevent large trade imbalances and unstable currencies. However, it shifted focus and started bailing out poor countries in financial crises. It has had success in helping countries out on a short-term basis. Most of the countries that have benefited from IMF loans are countries that need temporary assistance, do not qualify as ‘emerging markets’ and face difficulties in attracting foreign investors and lenders. For example, the IMF successfully helped South Korea and Thailand during their financial squeezes in the 1980’s[2] . However, there are problems in terms of the long-term development of countries which rely on the IMF. Easterly begins his article by describing a meeting between the IMF and the minister of finance and economic development of Ethiopia. At the meeting, the IMF set out several conditions that the government of Ethiopia would have to satisfy in order to receive assistance and most importantly, pay back their loans. The problem with the conditions was that they were at times contradictory and unrealistic. For example, while stating that it supported the government’s food security program, the IMF also told the finance minister that he would have to be careful that the program did not endanger ‘macroeconomic stability’.[3] How macroeconomic stability could be achieved in a country where most of the people are starving is a mystery. Other conditions that the IMF places on countries include getting them to agree to financial programs which reduce government spending and inflation, limit excessive money printing, increase taxes and put in place austerity measures. Through such strict conditions, the IMF has therefore accomplished very little when it comes to promoting long-term development. The conditions have been too intrusive into government policies. Easterly argues therefore that there is an association between â€Å"IMF involvement and the most extreme political event: state collapse†.[4] This is caused by the involvement of the fund in domestic politics. By ‘forcing’ governments to carry out social cuts such as reducing subsidies on basic goods, the proposed IMF measures create riots and political and social instability. The article demonstrates that out of 8 countries that collapsed or failed, 7 had spent a high share of time ranging from 46 to 74 % of the decade before the collapse on IMF programs. This shows that the IMF measures are often too difficult to comply with and their ultimate success is limited. The author therefore suggests that the countries that ultimately collapsed would have probably been better off without IMF involvement.[5] This is because such countries have far greater problems than the IMF can fix. However, despite this, the IMF never turns a country down even if it fails its programs several times. The author gives the example of Sierra Leone which went into civil war after participating in an IMF program and then returned into the program and failed again, this time requiring UN intervention to protect its population from genocide. He suggests therefore that the IMF should have left it alone in the first place and not intervened. Trying to help was according to Easterly, clear evidence of the ’Planner’s mentality’.[6] However, one might ask what would happen if the IMF did not intervene in such a case? Easterly ´s suggestion of leaving the country alone would lead to the struggles of the people being ignored, genocide would occur and the country would sink into further poverty. The result would be over-reliance on aid, more refugees escaping to struggling neighbouring countries and a low literacy rate which would affect future generations. Perhaps therefore the solution is not for the IMF to turn a blind eye to countries that fail despite decades of following IMF programs. Perhaps the solution is for it to change its strategy and program in order to tailor it to the unique needs of each country. Easterly mentions this as well. He states that not only do the staff at the IMF operate a  ´one size fits all ´ model to all countries, their accounting relies on shaky numbers as evidenced in page 22 of the article. Thus Easterly argues that it is better for a country’s balance to bounce than for it to rely on shaky statistics by the IMF which do not reflect reality. Very little can be achieved if unrealistic goals are set for countries and if their achievements or failings are not measured accurately. Thus IMF loans do not work in the majority of cases. They may only work where a country has some form of reliable government and does not already have many loans to pay back. Getting an IMF loan in such a case is just a temporary measure and the country can pay back without great consequences. In relation to the most poor however, their problems persist so they renew their loans from one change of government to another with little or no prospect of being able to pay back. The IMF stipulates in all its agreements with countries that they need to pay it back before they pay other creditors. However, Easterly argues that by making such a condition, the IMF is actually bailing itself out.[7] It ends up in a situation where it provides new loans to countries so that they can pay it back for old loans. It also drafts the World Bank in to make an adjustment loan as part of the bailout package. This is to no benefit to the country which sinks deeper into the debt to the IMF and still has other loans from other investors to pay back. The IMF calls countries that are dependent on its loans ‘prolonged users’. The definition of a prolonged user is a country which spent 7 out of a 10 year period under an IMF program. The addiction to IMF loans is evidenced by the fact that 44 countries qualify for the definition of prolonged user and half of IMF lending goes to such countries.[8] However, repeated debts do nothing to solve the problem. In1996, the IMF and World Bank decided to forgive part of their loans to the poorest nations. These nations had accumulated loans from not only these organisations but also loans from western countries and other agencies. There was very little chance of them being able to repay the loans and the interest that had accumulated. Such countries were named heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs).[9] 17 out of 18 of the HIPCs were among the countries receiving above average amounts of IMF and World Bank loans. They had no growth of income or resources. They continued to sink into debt with interest still growing. The forgiving of the debts over a period according to Easterly, only encouraged borrowers to keep borrowing. For example Bolivia and other countries got 100 percent debt relief, but they still made no recovery.[10] Another example is offered by the Argentina disaster set out in the article. Argentina was a star pupil from 1991 to 1999.[11] It had gone through several IMF programs and in 1991, it achieved financial stability. After almost a decade of financial stability, the president who was faced with elections led the wave of public spending and loans from private foreign investors. Financial crisis ensued and the IMF put together a rescue loan plan that included loans from the World Bank, Inter-American development Bank and Spain. In 2001 lenders demanded interest rates from Argentina that were 10 percent higher than elsewhere. The IMF continued to give loans worth several billions to support Argentina so that it could pay its private creditors. However, despite this, Argentina failed to pay any of its creditors back their full amount. Its debt reached 81 billion dollars and it eventually had to make ’take it or leave it offers’ to its creditors who had to accept not getting most of their money back. This supports the argument that loans on their own are not the solution to the poor countries’ problem. They need help to resolve their unique political and social problems. Putting them in debt is not going to assist them as whatever progress they make, they will have to give the money back. Easterly concludes therefore that the world bank which is an aid agency should give countries grants not loans. And the IMF should get out of the business of bailing countries out. It has inadequate knowledge of what is happening at ground level and it was not designed to offer the kind of assistance that poor countries need and the long-term planning their needs require. Thus it would be better for aid agencies to continue their work at grass-root level and to contribute to long-term change.

Earnings Management and Accrual Accounting

Earnings Management and Accrual Accounting Contents (Jump to) Introduction Motivations for Earnings Management   Techniques 11 Groups to Manage Earnings Modified Jones Model   Limitations of the Earnings Management Models Implications and Application of Earnings Management References EARNINGS MANAGEMENT Introduction There has been significant attention placed on earnings management from regulators, the financial press, and academic researchers in recent years. Most are in agreement that earnings management does occur; however, there is no uniform definition for what it is or how to detect it. What are earnings and what is earnings management? Simply stated, earnings are the accounting profits of a company. Stakeholders (current or potential providers of debt and equity capital, employees, suppliers, customers, auditors, analysts, rating agencies, and regulators) use earnings to make important financial decisions. Many investors view earnings as value relevant data that is more informative than cash flow data. (Healy and Wahlen 1999) Others have suggested that current earnings are better predictors of future cash flows than are current cash flows. (Dechow 1994) In the US, these profits are derived using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) a system based on the accrual method, which measures the performance and position of a company by recognizing economic events regardless of when cash transactions occur. The generalidea is thateconomic events are recognized by matching revenues to expensesat the time in which the transactionoccurs rather than when payment is made (or received). This methodallows the current cashinflows/outflowsto be combined withfuture expected cash inflows/outflowsto give a more accurate picture of a companys current financial condition.The objectives of financial reporting and how these relate to the definition of accrual accounting, as laid out by the FASB in various Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts: The primary focus of financial reporting is information about an enterprises performance provided by measures of earnings and its components [CON1, para. 43]. Accrual accounting attempts to record the financial effects on an entity of transactions, events, and circumstances that have cash consequences for the entity in the periods in which those transactions, events, and circumstances occur rather than only in the periods in which cash is received or paid by the entity [CON6, para. 139]. It uses accrual, deferral, and allocation procedures whose goal is to relate revenues, expenses, gains, and losses to periods to reflect an entitys performance during a period instead of merely listing its cash receipts and outlays. Thus, recognition of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses and the related increments or decrements in assets and liabilities including matching of costs and revenues, allocation, and amortization is the essence of using accrual accounting to measure performance of enti ties [CON6, para. 145]. The principal goal of accrual accounting is to help investors assess the entitys economic performance during a period through the use of basic accounting principles such as revenue recognition and matching. There is evidence that as a result of the accruals process, reported earnings tend to be smoother than underlying cash flows (accruals tend to be negatively related to cash flows) and that earnings provide better information about economic performance to investors than cash flows (Dechow 1994) This idea raises the following key questions: What is the objective of accrual accounting? How far should management go in helping investors form rational expectations about the firms performance through their accruals choices and when does this activity become earnings management? To the extent that these accruals choices often operate to smooth reported earnings relative to the underlying cash flows, when does the appropriate exercise of managerial discretion become earnings management? Perhaps by its very nature, accrual accounting dampens the fluctuations in an entitys underlying cash flows to generate a number that is more useful to investors (for assessing economic performance and predicting future cash flows) than current-period operating cash flows. To characterize this as earnings management, we need to define the point at which managers accrual decisions result in too much smoothing and becomes earnings management. To think more generally about how earnings management is defined, consider the following representative definitions from the academic literature: a purposeful intervention in the external financial reporting process, with the intent of obtaining some private gain Schipper (1989) Earnings management occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company, or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers. Healy and Wahlen (1999) Although widely accepted, these definitions are difficult to operationalize directly using attributes of reported accounting numbers since they center on managerial intent, which is unobservable. Turning to the professional literature, clear definitions of earnings management are just as difficult to discern from pronouncements, statements, and speeches by regulators. An extreme form of earnings management, financial fraud, is well-defined (again in terms of managerial intent) as: the deliberate misrepresentation of the financial condition of an enterprise accomplished through the intentional misstatement or omission of amounts or disclosures in the financial statements to deceive financial statement users. (Certified Fraud Examiners, 1993) In recent speeches and writings, regulators at the SEC seem to have a broader concept in mind than financial fraud when they talk about earnings management, although a strict definition has not been made explicit. In particular, while financial reporting choices that explicitly violate GAAP can clearly constitute both fraud and earnings management, it also seems that systematic choices made within GAAP can also constitute earnings management according to recent SEC discussions. The notion that earnings management can occur within the bounds of GAAP is consistent with the academic definitions described above but is somewhat startling if the idea is that this type of earnings management will lead to explicit adverse consequences for managers and firms (in the form of SEC enforcement activity) in the same way as financial fraud. This is an important point because of the question as to whether income smoothing and other similar processes constitute earnings management and whether they ar e to be treated in the same manner as fraud. Former SEC Chairman Levitt indicated that flexibility in accounting allows firms to keep pace with business innovations. Abuses such as earnings management occur when people exploit this pliancy. Trickery is employed to obscure actual financial volatility. This in turn, masks the true consequences of managements decisions. (1998). This implies that within-GAAP choices can be considered to be earnings management if they are used to obscure or mask true economic performance, bringing us back again to managerial intent. This idea is reinforced by our reading of SAB 99, which also points to the intent to deceive. As accounting researchers have discovered, implementing this type of definition requires a reliable measure of the true consequences of managements decisions that is, the earnings number that would have resulted from a neutral operation of the process (absent some form of managerial intent). The crucial issues seems to be why firms choose to manage earnings, how do firms manage their earnings, how do we measure earnings management given that implementing GAAP requires management to make judgments and estimates, and what are the implications of earnings management. Motivation Management can have many motivations for managing their earnings. The ultimate motive for earnings management, however, is to aesthetically enhance the performance of a company in the eyes of its stakeholders. The literature cites motives such as stock market incentives, signaling or concealing private information, political cost, internal motives, lending contracts, management compensation contracts, and regulatory issues. A primary purpose of earnings management is to enhance the wealth of its stakeholders such as owners since they are hired by the board of directors and the board of directors is hired by the owners.   To enhance the benefits of the owners of a firm, management may manage earnings in order to meet analyst forecasts for present and future periods (Burgstahler and Eames 1998). An owner of that firms stock may be rewarded by the appreciation of its stock value which directly relates to the owners wealth. Meeting earnings forecast is an important factor on the stocks price. The more consensuses among analysts forecasts, the stronger incentive management has to meet those forecasts (Payne and Robb 2000).   Moreover, the direction of analysts recommendation (buy or sell) about a company can bias managements decision to manage earnings. If the company misses its earnings this can have a negative impact on stock returns and negatively impact managements compensation (Matsunaga and Park 2001).   However, if management can meet or beat analyst expectations, then this can result in higher stock returns (Bartov et al., 2002). The management of earnings has also been seen prior to a firms equity offering such as seasoned equity offers (Teoh, Welch, and Wong 1998b), initial public offerings (Teoh, Welch, and Wong 1998a; Teoh, Wong, and Rao 1998), and stock financed acquisitions (Erickson and Wang 1999). Management may have the incentive to signal positive information or to conceal negative information.   If a firm is performing poorly or having financial struggles, management may conceal this performance using earnings management (Rosner 2003). On the other hand, management may want to signal the firms future performance by revealing more information about a companys future earnings and cash flow prospects (Tucker and Zarowin 2006). Earnings management can also be used to shift earnings to other periods for optimal tax planning (Shane and Stock 2006). The shifting of earnings for tax purposes can be a sign of strength. Other reasons to manage earnings can include meeting bank loan covenants. In order to maintain bank loan covenants, management may have to achieve a certain level of earnings. Failure to reach the requisite earnings can cause the lender to call the loans due, creating liquidity problems for the firm and signaling firm weakness to the bank and other creditors. The li terature finds that firms that have violated covenants are more likely to manage earnings, possibly to prevent future defaults (Sweeney 1994).   When earnings management is conducted, managers use it as a tool to enhance perception of their management capabilities during the current reporting period, implying that this type of performance will continue in future reporting periods. They expect to be compensated handsomely for their business acumen.   However, Guidry et al. (1998) found that divisional managers for large multinational firms are likely to defer income when the earnings target in their bonus plan will not be met. This indicates that management is willing to take a bath in the current period in order to reap the benefits in a future period.   Moreover, it was found in Murphy (2001) that management is more likely to smooth earnings when using internal performance standards (budget goals and prior year) than external standards. Another form of compensation manipulation happens when there is a cap on the bonus awards. Then management is more likely to report an accrual that defers income when the cap is reached ( Healy 1985 and Hotausen et al, 1995). Furthermore, management may manage earnings depending on whether they are joining or leaving the firm. A new CEO may be inclined to downwards earnings management (transferring the benefit to future periods), while a retiring CEO may use upward earnings management (reaping the benefits in the current period) (Godfrey et al., 2003). Certain businesses have regulatory requirements to stay in business. A popular study of earnings management in the literature is the application by banks to manage earnings in order to meet capital requirements and by insurance companies to manage earnings to meet risk regulatory requirements. The literature supports evidence that when banks are close to minimum capital requirements they overstate loan loss provisions, understate loan write-offs, and recognize abnormal realized gains on securities portfolios (Moyer 1990; Scholes et al. 1990; Beatty et al. 1995; Collins et al. 1995). Additionally, financially weak property casualty insurers that risk regulatory attention understate claim loss reserves (Petroni 1992). The literature has also shown that firms facing anti-trust or potential anti-trust scrutiny are likely to use earnings management. These firms or others vulnerable to adverse political consequences have incentives to manage earnings to appear less profitable (Watts and Zi mmerman 1978). Moreover, firms under investigation for anti-trust violations reported income decreasing abnormal accruals in investigation years (Cahan 1992). Techniques Earnings Management can take place by underestimating or overestimating either revenues or expenses. It can be done to affect future earnings as well as current earnings. There are two main types: Cosmetic Earnings Management using accounting choices from GAAP: also called accrual based earnings management. It happens when managers use their judgment and discretion to make choices related to accounting principles that can alter earnings in the current or a future period. An example is the modification of depreciation rates, where an increase (decrease) in the expense may occur in the current period leading to a decrease (increase) in the future (Nelson et. al. 2003). Real-Activity Earnings Management using operating decisions: this type of earnings management is when managers make decisions that affect the real operations in the firm. This type is more dangerous both to the firm and to the managers. Managers would be at a higher risk of being caught. As for the firms, real activities earnings management affects the cash flow, and consequently has a higher impact on the companys future. For example, a manager can give discounted sales prices in order to boost sales and consequently meet some target revenues (Roychowdhury 2006). The most popular and successful techniques used to manage earnings can be categorized into 11 groups: 1. Cookie jar (Cosmetic): managers create a reserve or a financial slack to boost earnings in future periods by recording more expenses in the present. For example, when the manager reports higher inventory cost in the current period, it will allow him to reduce this in the future. (Levitt 1998) 2. Big bath (Cosmetic): when the management decides to eliminate or restructure a subsidiary or an operation, GAAP permits the management to record an estimate charge against the income. Managers can record higher charges to dissimulate other charges. (Levitt 1998) 3. Big bet on the future (Cosmetic): when a company acquires another one, managers can get an immediate earnings boost by including the acquired companys earnings in consolidated earnings. On the other hand, to boost future earnings, managers can write-off the acquired in-progress RD costs against present earnings, and thus protecting future earnings from these charges. (Levitt 1998) 4. Flushing of investment portfolio (Real): passive investments (less than 20% ownership) can be classified as trading securities (reported in operating income) or available-for-sale securities (not reported in operating income until sold). Earnings can be managed by timing sales (sell securities that gained (lost) value to increase (decrease) earnings) or reclassifying the security portfolio (from trading security to available for sale to move gain or loss from or to the income statement) 5. Throw out a problem child (Real): When a subsidiary underperforms, it decreases the overall company earnings. It is usually expected to cause a bigger decrease in the future. Managers may act in several ways to counter that: sell the underperforming subsidiary and consequently report a gain or a loss (based on the managers discretion). Another way is to spin-off the subsidiary by distributing or exchanging the shares with current shareholders and in this way the burden is transferred to the latter. 6. Change in GAAP (Cosmetic): Management can manage earnings by undergoing changes to the present accounting standards. For example, it may volunteer for early adoption of new accounting standards, such as the 1985s standard, which allowed companies whose pension assets exceeded their pension liabilities to count the difference as income (Lev 1989). This technique allows for improved revenue and improved expense recognition. 7. Amortization, Depreciation, and Depletion (Cosmetic): Writing-off long-term assets can be managed by selecting write-off method and period, estimating salvage value, or reclassifying as non-operating use. 8. Sale/Leaseback and asset exchange (Real): selling a long-term asset that has unrealized gain (loss) can be used to manage earnings. For example, selling a building, which is carried in the balance sheet at $25 million, for $40 million, will give a boost to the current earnings by $15 million (not considering tax and transaction costs). Another way is to sell the building and lease it back (recording gains or losses). However, if the management wishes not to record any gains or losses, the long-term asset could be exchanged with a similar one (for example for exchanging a warehouse for another one that is nearer to a production site) 9. Operating vs. Non-operating Income (Cosmetic): Income items can be classified as Operating income (recurring or core income, expected to continue in the future) or non-operating income (non-recurring, not expected to affect future). GAAP permits to management to classify an item as one or the other. The managers judgment will then affect the financial analysts forecasts, which are based on the operating or core earnings. For instance, disposition of a major manufacturing plant can be classified either as special charges (Operating income) or discontinued charges (non-operating income) based on the managers discretion. 10.Early Retirement of Corporate Debt (Real): Managers may decide to prematurely sell long-term corporate debts (bonds) which are usually recorded at an amortized value. The timing of the sale may lead to gains or losses due to the difference between the amortized value and the book value. 11.Stock buybacks (Real): This technique does not affect earnings, however it does affect earnings per share. By repurchasing their own shares, an act that is considered internal and thus not required to be reported under GAAP, companies will report higher EPS. Consider a company with 1 million shares. If the earnings are $4 million, EPS = $4 million/1million shares = $4 per share. Now if the company buys back 100,000 shares, the same earnings would have to be divided by 900,000 shares, the reported EPS would be $4.44 per share. Earnings Management Models and The Accrual Generation Process Accruals have the desirable traits of giving summary measures of firms income and accounting choice.   In earnings management research, accruals are divided into discretionary (DA) and non-discretionary (NDA). Most research has focused on the detection of DA. It is customary to start earnings management studies with the study of behavior of sales over time. First, in the budgeting process, sales determine the firms production and inventory levels, which in turn determine cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and investment decisions. Second, sales have the highest persistence of any component of the income statement. Therefore, sales are an efficient statistic for describing the characteristics of the firm. The fundamental element of any test for earnings management is a measure of management discretion over earnings. Most studies use DA as a proxy for earnings management. Because DA cannot be observed directly from the financial statement, they have to be estimated using some kind of model. The literature has followed different approaches. According to McNichols (2000), the models can be broadly classified into 3 groups: aggregate accrual models, specific accrual models, and frequency distribution models.   Because of their wide use, we discuss the aggregate accrual models as follows: Models Starting with the first and simplest models, both Healy (1985) and DeAngelo (1986) used total accruals (TA) as the proxy for DA to test earnings management in the context of bonus and management buyouts respectively. However, DeAngelo (1986) used first differencing to correct for serial correlation, therefore his NDA will be less contaminated by past accruals that are irrelevant in estimating current DA. The most popular earnings management model is the Jones Model (1991). It has model has been modified in several ways. Analysis is conducted in 2 stages. In the estimation stage, the DA is assumed to be zero and firm specific coefficients of NDA will be determined. These coefficients are assumed to be stationary and are used to in the event period to determine the DA. In her model, unlike the previous models, NDA are expected to vary with the level of business activity, and revenues and property, plant, and equipment (PPE) are used as proxies to control for NDA. All the variables are deflated by lagged total assets to correct for heteroskedasticity. Dechow et al (1995) argued that earnings can be managed by inflating revenue via receivables. As a result, revenue should be adjusted for change in receivables. This adjusted model is known as the Modified Jones Model. The Modified Jones Model (1995) is: The Industry Model (1991) was developed by Deschow and Sloan when they dealt with RD spending during the last year of the tenure of an outgoing CEO. They assumed that the variation in NDA is common across all firms in the same industry and formulated a model of how the normal item under investigation behaves. However, this model applies only to event studies in which not all firms experience the same event and it cannot capture firm specific characteristics. The Industry Model is: NDA t+1 = ?1 + ? Median (TA t+1) Limitations All models come with limitations. The limitations of the earnings management models are: Strong assumptions that may not hold. These include the absence of earnings management in the estimation period, stationarity of firm specific characteristics over such a longer time horizon, and orthogonality of NDA with the error term (i.e.DA). All the models assume that abnormal accruals are discretionary. Variation in accrual could be the result of performance or business strategy. The consequence is that it produces a Type II error. The solution is to add variables to control for performance and business strategy (Hansen 1999), however, some performance and growth variables may have non-linear properties. Small samples sizes. Small samples generate higher standard error which can weaken the power for the tests (type II errors). Measurement error. Since DA cannot be observed, it has to be estimated. This produces biased estimate of coefficients. The Balance Sheet approach generates more measurement error than the Cash Flow approach. (Hirbar and Collins 2002) Omission of variables. Most models miss some important variables and this induces a bias on the included variables and higher standard errors. The obviously omitted variable is an expense. This can cause an accrual conundrum (Ronen et al, 2007). Efficiency of the existing models. Research has shown that most of these models wrongly identify abnormal but NDA as DA (Type I error) and fail to identify higher amount of induced earnings management (Type II errors). This is partly due to the linearity of the models and the non-linear behavior of the variables studied. Moreover, there are many endogenous factors that affect earnings management and it may not be captured by single equations. As a result, a shift to linear specification and non-linear specification of the models could improve the efficiency of the earnings management models. Further decomposition of accruals. The starting point for most earnings management studies is decomposition of TA and most studies decomposed TA into NDA and DA. However, accruals have reversal property that ensures the change in accrued balance to add up to zero. Therefore, reversal of accrued balance limits the opportunity of managed earnings. As a result, further decomposition of TA accrual could provide more information on the exact change in TA. Implications and Application of Earnings Management Literature related to earnings management implies that earnings management could not be completely eliminated. As long as managements can benefit from managing earnings, they would attempt to expand use of it. Earnings management could be reduced while public eyes such as regulators spend many resources to detect it. However, if they lower guard due to lack of perfect restriction methods, earnings management could be re-flourished since it is surely useful for management to achieve their goals. Therefore, firms earnings management activities continually are reiterated. This continued action without a complete elimination can cause various effects on our society. Firms which purposefully manage their earnings for their own good could negatively impact public well-fare. According to Beaver (1998), financial reporting can generate different kinds of economic consequences, mostly related to resource allocation such as wealth distribution, aggregate consumption and aggregate production, a nd resources devoted to private search for information. Since earnings management could affect the quality of information by producing less reliable financial statement, eventually it could cause various negative economic results. In other words, less reliable information produced because of earnings management may not only make the public worse-off, but may also make the overall economy less stable. For example, because of earnings management, if many investors believe that financial reporting has poor quality and less reliability, they would spend more of their resources to search for better information or private information. It could mean that society wastes resources or re-allocates them to inappropriate places. Several studies provide evidences of earnings management by testing various types of accruals. Teoh, Wong, and Rao (1998) found that depreciation estimates and bad debt provisions are used for earnings management surrounding initial public offers. Many other studies found proof of earnings management through bank loan loss provisions (Beaver, et al., 1989; Moyer, 1990; Scholes, et al., 1990; Wahlen, 1994; Beatty et al. (1995), Collins et al. (1995), Beaver and Engel (1996), Liu and Ryan (1995), Liu et al. (1997). Studies of insurance claim loss reserves, including Petroni (1992), Anthony and Petroni (1992), Beaver and McNichols (1998), Penalva (1998), Petroni et al. (1999), have provided evidence of earnings management among insurers. Visvanathan (1998), Miller and Skinner (1998), Ayers (1998) test the use of deferred tax assets as a tool of earnings management, but they only present little evidence of it. While research indicates evidence of earnings management in a few accruals, numerous studies suggest different methods which could contribute to reduce pervasiveness of earnings management. Such restriction methods could be broadly cauterized in three parts. The first proposed way is to restrict earnings management through the regulatory process. Tan and Jamal (2006) found that strict accounting standards relating to discretionary accruals may reduce earnings management through. However, they also emphasize that too much restriction for cosmetic earnings management could increase real activity earnings management. As such, restriction through regulation would not completely eliminate earnings management because there are trade-offs. Secondly, another method is an appropriate and effective audit procedure. Past studies have shown evidence that various factors related to audit procedure can help constrain earnings management (Krishnan, 2003; Van Caneghem, 2004; Van Caneghem, 2004; Vand er Bauwhede Whillekens, 2004; Kim, et al., 2003; Frankel, 2002; Ferguson, 2004; Carey Simnet, 2006). According to Kim, et al. (2003), Big 5 auditors were more effective in deterring earnings management when there was an income increasing accrual choice. The last suggested restriction method is effective and efficient corporate governance. This is associated with the firms structure. For example, if a firm is inclined to highlight effective corporate governance, this firm could make an effort to prohibit earnings management.   It is important to understand that these three methods correlate with each other. For instance, by requiring additional audit procedures or firm policies, regulation would affect audit procedure or corporate governance and would reduce earnings management. On the other hand, auditors or firms could propose new regulations to reduce earnings management. Hence, earnings management could possibly be reduced not through one method but through a combination of a ll three methods. References: Ayers, B. C. 1998. Deferred tax accounting under SFAS No. 109: An empirical investigation of its incremental value-relevance relative to APB No. 11. The Accounting Review 73 (2): 195-212 Bartov, E., Givoly, D. Hayn, C. (2002) The rewards to meeting or beating earnings expectations.  Journal of Accounting and Economics, 33,173-204 Beatty, A., S. Chamberlain, and J. Magliolo. 1995. Managing financial reports of commercial banks: The influence of taxes, regulatory capital and earnings. Journal of Accounting Research 33 (2): 231-261 Beaver, W., C. Eger, S. Ryan, and M. Wolfson. 1989. Financial reporting, supplemental disclosures and bank share prices. Journal of Accounting Research (Autumn): 157-178 Beaver, W., and E. Engel. 1996. Discretionary behavior with respect to allowances for loan losses and the behavior of security prices. Journal of Accounting and Economics 22: 177-206 Beaver, and M. McNichols. 1998. The characteristics and valuation of loss reserves of property-casualty insurers. Working paper, Stanford University. Burgstahl

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy :: My Philosophy of Education

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy Why do I want to become a teacher? When I think about that question, I’m sure a few of my answers would be like some of the others in the class: I love being around people, the pay isn’t too bad, you get holidays, summers, even weekends off, and I don’t even mind grading papers! On the other hand, I do have another reason I’d like to become a teacher that’s probably a little different than others. Let me explain. It was January and colder that ever. The weather didn’t seem to faze me at all as I got off the bus and rushed up my hill. The few steps from the end of the driveway to my front porch seemed like miles. I opened the door only to find an empty house. No one was there like I expected. I was going to be an aunt for the first time and I was looking forward to finding out it was going to boy or a girl. It seemed as though the whole day went by until I saw our car in the driveway. I rushed to the door anxious and excited, only to find tears dropping from my mom’s eyes, and my sister-in-law Holly sadder than I’d ever seen anyone. My mom took me in the bedroom and explained to me the ultra sound showed some serious problems with the baby. He had spina-bifida and severe fluid on his brain. She explained that the doctors said my nephew had little to no chance of living, but if some miracle would happen and my nephew would live, he would live a very short life and be a complete vegetable. A month and a half went by and on May 14,1993 Terry Paul Daniels was born. His little head was the size of a basketball and he had a hole in the lower part of his back. Within the first three days of Terry’s life he had four surgeries, rode in a helicopter, and faced death a number of times. Since then, Terry’s had four more surgeries, been in a complete body cast, and went through his parents getting a horrible divorce. Through all of this something that happened to him when he was in kindergarten sticks out to me the most.