James Joyce’s Araby as a coming-of-age story Essay

Araby, by James Joyce is a story about a young boy experiencing his first feelings of attraction to the opposite sex, and the way he deals with it. The story’s young protagonist is unable to explain or justify his own actions because he has never dealt with these sort of feelings before, and feels as though someone or something totally out of the ordinary has taken him over. The boy can do nothing but act on his own impulses, and is blind to the reasoning behind him. Araby is such a powerful study on childhood because of the way Joyce so vividly recounts the frustration a child feels when they are unsuccessful at trying to be an adult too fast. The story begins with images of blindness, a symbol of the boy’s youth and ignorance. Joyce describes the street the boy lives on, North Richmond street, as being â€Å"blind.† It is from these blind shadows of the boys ignorance that the object of his affection, his friend Mangan’s sister, emerges. Joyce describes her figure as being â€Å"defined by the light of the half-open door† (Joyce, 27) a symbol of the boy becoming enlightened by these new, adult feelings. As she enters the story, the images change from darkness to light and his feelings change from immature childhood concerns to those of an adolescent. Eventually, the boy’s language becomes more poetic and adult, and his thoughts turn completely to her. â€Å"Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance,† he admits â€Å"her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand.† The boy idealizes Mangan’s sister, obsessing over her, and is overcome with joy when she speaks to him. She tells him about a bazaar being held called Araby, and asks him if he is going. â€Å"I forgot whether I said yes or no† says  the love-struck boy to the reader, he is overcome with a mixture of fear and excitement as she chats calmly with him, explaining she can’t go because she will be away on a retreat when the bazaar is being held. She does not have to say anything else, the boy has found his opportunity to gain her affections, he tells her he will go to the bazaar on her behalf and buy her a present. He can hardly contain his excitement at this chance he’s been given to prove to do something nice for her, and to do something mature and adult like traveling to a bazaar and picking out a present alone. The boy takes this new responsibility, this new adventure to mean that he’s entered a new phase of life. Time suddenly seems to slow down in the story as the boy waits for Saturday to arrive. â€Å"I could not call my wandering thoughts together† he complains â€Å"I had hardly any practice with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire seemed to me child’s play, ugly monotonous child’s play.† (Joyce, 29) Everything getting in the way of his journey begins to torture the poor boy, he sits in agony as the clock ticks, as he waits to be allowed to leave, he can barely contain his frustration. This sort of anticipation shows to the reader that the boy is not as mature as he feels himself to be, if he were an adult making a journey for a girl he liked, the entire process would not seem so exigent. When his uncle finally arrives home he is distracted and has forgotten about the boy’s desire to go to the bazaar. He starts talking about an Arab poem he knows and keeps the boy even longer, finally giving him the money and allowing him to go. The boy’s arrival at the bazaar, like his quick transition to adulthood, is a false awakening. By the time he arrives at the bazaar he can not purchase anything, the vendors are tired and closing up shop, and have little desire to see what this young boy can buy from them. He is being treated as a child and is aware of it. His quest for adulthood and independence seems somewhat futile, this trip didn’t assert anything. He feels the disappointment of seeing Mangan’s sister empty-handed pour over him. As the boy leaves the bazaar the light goes out, once again returning to the symbols of light and darkness in the beginning. The boy is returning to  ignorance and childhood. â€Å"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger† reflects the boy, finally realizing that the whole quest was frivolous, the girl was a fantasy. So, in this end paragraph, although the darkness is a return to childhood, he has gained some self-realization. His ability to recognize his youth and his ignorance is a growth.

Sop for Ms Finance

My interest in the field of finance traces back to my childhood. As I was growing up, the â€Å"Doi moi† (â€Å"Reformation†) Era brought about more freedom and openness to the stagnant system in Vietnam. People could start to have their own businesses and deal with foreign entrepreneurs. Naturally, I could, at the time, understand neither technical concepts, such as principal, interest and deposit, nor how a bank worked or even what it was; however, in my nascent perceptions, I could discern the importance of financial institutions as keepers of people’s wealth, and even of their hopes for the future.Accordingly, I grew more and more determined to place my future in the field of finance. Throughout middle and high school, I dedicated most of my time to natural sciences, such as Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. I could describe myself as an accurate and analytical-oriented person, for not only did I received rigorous training, but I also enjoyed being pertinen t and precise. In 2005, I entered the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, majoring in Finance and Banking, but later transferred to International Economics to enroll in an highly selective Honors Program.Before the time of the transferring decision, I hesitated for a brief period because I would have to postpone my pursuit of Finance. Nonetheless, I understood the importance of Economics and fully anticipated that an extensive knowledge of the field would eventually serve me well in a financial career. My concentration during the program, conveniently, focused heavily on Stock Market, International Finance, Economics of Finance and Banking and International Payment.The insightful study on matters such as commercial banks' functionalities, the central bank's instrument and responsibilities, and the significance of the balance of trades and exchange rates, has enabled me to grasp the fundamental ideas of the field, as well as triggered my utmost curiosity in understanding thoroughly the financial side of Economics. In my third year, when I was studying Stock Market, I entered a research project with Dr.Ha Tran, who was a fellow at the University of XXX. We then worked together on the topic: â€Å"Current Situation in the Loan Market for Investment on Real Estate†. Simultaneously, I was also eager to engage in another group research on the petroleum market, which later won me the second prize for student’s research from the Faculty of International Economics. At the end of this school year, I intend to write my graduation thesis in the field of International Finance, particularlyAdditionally, I possess first-hand experiences on the financial market as I started making a small investment in the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange during my third year. At the beginning, I consulted my teachers and my parents’ friends, who are experienced businessmen, to comprise a profiting portfolio, which, in turn, required me to watch for enterprises’ data m eticulously: their ROEs, P/Es, net profit and current news of their operations. My stocks paid off wonderfully for a short period, as the total value of my portfolio increased by 30% during the first few months.Like most dabbling investors, I was under the illusion that making money was not a difficult task. Unfortunately, the stock crash happening at the end of 2009 brought me back to the ground. The VN Index, the main indicator of the market, fell from 1200 to 400 in less than six months, reducing my fortune by one-third. However, while most other previously ardent investors withdrew from the market as quickly as they entered, I proposed a new strategy that kept me in the market for long-term investment.In the near future, I believe I will be able to balance my financial activities once again. In 2010 , I had a chance to go to Thailand on a trip to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. It was my first long trip to a capital city of the neighboring country, which impressed me a lot with their metropolitan infrastructure and dynamic business environment. I was convinced that Vietnam needed decades to reach the current development level of Thailand.Back home, when I was reading â€Å"The Lexus and the Olive Tree† by Thomas Friedmann, the opening pages struck me with minute details of the Asian Crisis in1997, which ignited in Thailand. In merely few weeks, fifty six of fifty eight banks in Bangkok went bankrupt. Accordingly, I have realized that the nascent financial market of Vietnam still has a long way to go, and I myself also have much more to learn. My nation needs a lot more experts in the field to help regulate the emerging market and support people in making ise investments, so that their assets are kept in a safe place and growing. In conclusion, I want to restate my desire for a study in finance in University of XYZ. I firmly believe in my ability in the field due to my long-term commitment and determination. My study would help me best in my fut ure career as a financial expert which I have always dedicated myself to. The knowledge which I shall obtain is also what I aim to bring back to my country, contributing to the development of an advanced, well-structured financial market of Vietnam.

An Introduction to Management and Cost Accounting

International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X Factors Influencing Activity-Based Costing Success: A Research Framework Zhang Yi Fei and Che Ruhana Isa becoming more and more popular [3-7] ABC aims to provide accurate costing information to managers to allocate activity costs to products and services by applying cost drivers [8].Academics who advocate ABC, such as, Cooper and Kaplan [9], and Swenson [10] argue that it provides more accurate cost data needed to make appropriate strategic decisions about product mix, sourcing, pricing, process improvement, and evaluation of business process performance. These claims have led many firms to adopt ABC systems [8]. The benefits of ABC and its positive impact on firm’s performance motivated a numerous studies which examined various aspects of ABC.Among such studies are McGowan [11] who assessed the integrity of ABC success, Innes and Mitchell [4, 12] and Yanren [13] who conducted research on factors affecting ABC adoption, and Shield [3], Shields and McEwen [14], Gosselin [15] and Baired et al. [16, 17]who concentrated on factors influencing ABC success especially at the implementation stage. However, there is mounting evidence that suggests most of firms are experiencing problems in implementing ABC and, in some extreme cases, ABC implementation is not successful [3], which later resulted in abandoning the ABC systems altogether [15].Questions arise as to why ABC implementation is successful in certain companies and fails in others. Based on the contingency theory, researchers have argued that the reasons for different degrees of ABC success could be due to the different contextual factors faced by each firm. These have led researchers to recognize assessing factors that influence ABC success implementation as an important research area.The following are among the research that have been carried out to examine factors that influence ABC success: Anderson [18]; Shie ld [3]; McGowan and Klammer [19]; Krumwiede [20]; and Anderson and Young [21] This article has two main objectives; the first objective is to identify research gaps based on the revision of previous research and the second objective is to propose theoretical research framework for current research.This article is organized as follows: Section II presents a discussion of selected articles related to factors influencing ABC implementation and gaps or limitations of previous studies and suggestions for current research are stated in the section III and IV. The framework for current research is provided in section V, Section VI defines each research variable and the final section presents the conclusion. II. PREVIOUS RESEARCH In this section, selected ABC implementation empirical 144Abstract—In today’s advanced manufacturing and competitive environment, accurate costing information is crucial for all the kinds of businesses, such as manufacturing firms, merchandizing firms , and service firms. Argued to be superior to the traditional volume-based costing system, Activity-Based Costing system (ABC) has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers alike as one of the strategic tools to aid managers for better decision making.The benefits of ABC system and its impacts on companies’ performance have motivated numerous empirical studies on ABC system and it is considered as one of the most-researched management accounting areas in developed countries. Previous research on ABC have examined pertinent issues related to ABC implementation such as the levels of ABC adoption in various countries, the reasons for implementing ABC, the problems related to ABC and the critical success factors influencing ABC.This paper reviews the research on ABC carried out within the last decade, from 1995-2008, and from the review research gaps are identified. Specifically, this paper examines the selection of factors influencing successful ABC i mplementation, variables used by previous research and the definitions and operationalization of the variables. The review reveals that past research concentrated mainly on behavioral, organizational, and technical variables as the main determinants of ABC success but very little research have been done to examine the roles of organizational culture and structure.Based on the research gaps identified, a research framework for future research is provided. Index Terms—Advanced Manufacturing Activity-Based Costing, ABC Success Environment, I. INTRODUCTION In today’s competitive and continually changing business environment, firms need to be vigilant of the impacts of the changes in the business environment and devise appropriate strategies to survive and prosper. Advancements in manufacturing and communication technologies have drastically changed the ways businesses conduct their activities.Adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies such as robotics and computerized manufacturing have resulted in significant changes in the manufacturing cost structure which have led academics and practitioners to argue that the traditional costing methods are no longer sufficient within this new manufacturing environment [1] (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). This had resulted in the change from the traditional volume-based cost model to new costing methods such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) [2].Due to its ability in providing more accurate costing information and enhancing firms’ performance, ABC is International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X studies, which spanned 1995-2008 periods, were collected from four prominent refereed accounting research journals, in management accounting field: Journal of Management Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Accounting Research and British Accounting Review.Factors used by previous research to investigate the effect on ABC success impleme ntation are summarized, and stage of ABC implementation also is outlined. A. Technical Variables Early studies of ABC adoption and implementation undertaken by previous researchers concentrated on technical factors, such as identification of main activities, selection of cost drivers, problem in accumulating cost data. Example of these research are Cooper [9], Morrow and Connelly [22].However, technical factors alone may not be adequate to explain the factors influencing ABC success implementation. Cooper et al. [23] argued that the key problem during ABC implementation stage is that companies only focus on technical factors. They suggested that to make ABC implementation more effective, non-technical factors such as involvement of non-accounting in ABC implementation process, top management championship, adequate training program to employees about the objectives and benefits of ABC should be emphasized as well.Similar opinions were expressed by Shield [3] and Shields and McEwen [1 4]. Shield (1995) found no significant relationship between technical factors and ABC success. Shields and McEwen [14] also highlighted that sole emphasis on the architectural and software design of ABC systems leads to the failure of ABC implementation. Therefore many researchers have suggested that new variables should be considered to investigate factors influencing ABC success. B.Contextual, Behavioral and Organizational Variables Recognizing the research gaps in identifying factors that may affect ABC success, academicians shifted their focuses from technical factors to other variables, such as contextual, behavioral and organizational, culture, as well as organizational structure. Anderson [18] conducted a longitudinal investigation of ABC process in General Motor (GM) from a period of 1986 to 1993. In his research, he examined the effects of organizational variables and contextual variables, and segmented ABC implementation into four major stages, initiation, adoption, adapta tion and acceptance.He found that organizational factors, such as top management support and training for the ABC system affected various stages of ABC significantly, while contextual variables, such as competition, relevance to managers’ decisions and compatibility with existing systems produced different degree of impact on different stages of ABC. Shield [3] examined the relationships between diversity of behavioral, organizational and technical factors and the success of ABC implementation.She employed Shield and Young’s [24] framework and summarized behavioral and organizational variables as top management support, adequate resources, training, link ABC system to performance evaluation and compensation, non-accounting ownership, link ABC to competitive strategies as well as clarity of ABC objectives. She found that top management support, linkage to quality initiatives and to personal performance measure (pay/appraisal), implementation of training and resource ade quacy were the significant predictors in explaining ABC success.She also found that technical variables were not associated with ABC success. Shield’s findings are supported by other researchers, such as Shield and McEwen [14], who argued that a significant cause for unsuccessful implementations of ABC of several companies could be due to the emphasis of architectural and software design of the ABC system and less attention given to behavioral and organizational issues, which were identified by Shield [3]. Krumwiede and Roth [25] also stated that barriers of ABC implementation can be overcome if firms could give importance to behavioral and rganizational variables identified by Shield [3]. Similarly, Norris [26] agreed with Shield’s [3] findings that the association between ABC success and behavioral and organizational variables is stronger than with technical variables. She further highlighted that the impact of behavioral, organizational and technical should be focus ed at individual level. McGowan and Klammer [19] conducted a survey of 53 employees from 4 targeted sites in the U. S. o examine whether employees’ satisfaction levels are associated with ABC implementation by They also measured their perceptions of the factors associated with the degree of satisfaction, such as top management support; the degree of involvement in the implementation process; objectives clearly stated; objectives shared; training; linkage to performance evaluation system; adequate resources; information quality and preparer over user. Their results indicated that employees’ satisfaction with ABC implementation was positively related with clarity of objectives and quality of ABC information.Gosselin [15] carried out a survey of 161 Canadian manufacturing companies to examine the effects of strategic posture and organizational structure on adoption and implementation of general forms of Activity-based costing. He segmented the ABC implementation stage int o adoption and implementation. The research findings showed that a prospector strategy was associated with manager decision to adopt ABC, while centralization and formalization were significantly associated with ABC success implementation. Krumwiede [20] surveyed U.S manufacturing firms to study how contextual factors, such as the potential for cost distortion or size of firms; organizational factors, such as top management support, training or non-accounting ownership, affect each stage of ABC implementation process. His findings showed that the different factors affected the various stages of implementation of ABC and the degree of importance of each factor varies according to the stage of implementation. Contextual factors, such as usefulness of cost information, IT existence, less task uncertainty and large organizations were related to ABC adoption.Moreover, organizational factors, such as top management support, non-accounting ownership, and implementation training affect ABC success implementation. 145 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X In another study by Anderson and Young [21], the relationship between organizational and contextual variables, such as organizational structures, task characteristics, management support, information technology and ABC success was examined.The result confirmed the importance of organizational factors (top management support and adequacy resources) during the ABC implementation stage. In South Africa, Sartorius et al. [27] carried out a mail survey to investigate the effect of organizational factors such as top management, adequate resources, coherence with organizational goals and strategy on ABC success. They found top management support and resources were the crucial factors in explaining ABC success. In the UK, Innes and Mitchell [4] and [12] surveyed the extent of ABC adoption among largest firms.The study aimed to find out factors influencing ABC success by u sing behavioral and organizational variables, and it was found that top management influenced ABC success significantly. In another study conducted by Khalid [28] using a questionnaire survey among the largest 100 firms in Saudi Arabia, ABC adoption was found to be positively related to diversity of products. In Malaysia, Ruhanita et al. [29] conducted a mail survey and a case study to examine that factors influencing ABC success, especially at adoption stage.They found the significant factors were cost distortion, decision usefulness, information technology and organizational factors. In addition, the findings showed that decision usefulness, top management support, link ABC to performance measure and compensation influenced the ABC success adoption significantly. A case study of one Chinese manufacturing firm was carried by Lana and Fei [30] in China. Their research aimed to examine some key success factors pertinent to ABC implementation within Chinese organizational and cultural setting.The research findings showed that top management support, hierarchical and communication structure and high proportion of dedicated professionals were the significant factors in determining ABC success implementation. Majid et al. [7] used a case study approach to describe the process of ABC implementation in a Malaysian service company and a Malaysian manufacturing company. In this research, they categorized ABC implementation into initiation and adoption, design, implementation and use of information.The purpose of the research was to find out the problems faced during ABC implementation, He found that the factors determining ABC success were top management support, suitable ABC software, and finally, ensuring that all affected employees understand and participate in the ABC implementation stage. And they also found that at different stages of ABC, the dominant factors influencing ABC success were also different. Colin et al. [31] adopted behavioral and organizational fac tors summarized by Shield (1995) to examine factors influencing the adoption and degree of success of ABC systems and determinants of that success.In their research, the targeted research population was manufacturing and service firms in the UK. They found that top management support, non-accounting ownership, adequate training provided to ABC determined the ABC success. Besides behavioral, organizational and technical variable, some researchers also indicated that the dimensions of national cultures could affect the level of ABC success [32, 33]. Brewer [32] used Hofstede’s taxonomy of work-related cultural values to examine the relationship between national culture and Activity-Based Costing system.In the study, Hofstede [34]’s work was applied to the case of Harris Semiconductor (HS), which has implemented ABC at plants in Malaysia and the USA. The results showed that the level of ABC success in Malaysia was higher than that of U. S due to high-power-distance and co llectivist cultures in Malaysia. In addition, Supitcha and Frederick [33] also included national culture’s dimension into framework in a case study of one Thai state-owned enterprise’s budgeting system.They found that due to cultural differences, modifications were required when the organizations in Thailand tried to implement ABC system in Thai environment. Apart from national culture, corporate culture factors were also tested by prior research. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [17] conducted a study to investigate the relationship between the extent of ABC adoption and the organizational variables of size and decision usefulness of cost information and business unit culture. In their research, data were collected by a mail survey questionnaire and samples were randomly selected from business units in Australia.The research finding showed significant relationships between ABC adoption and decision usefulness, cultural dimensions of outcome orientation and tight verse loose control. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [16] examined the relationship between success of activity management practices and organizational factors (top management support, training, link to performance evaluation and compensation, and link to quality initiatives), and organizational culture (outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail, as well as innovation).They adopted a survey questionnaire method on randomly chosen business units in Australia. The findings showed that two organizational factors (top management support, link to quality initiatives) explained the variations in success of activity management practices, such as ABC, and outcome orientation and attention to detail of organizational culture were associated with ABC success. They also stressed that compared with organizational culture, organizational factors had stronger associations with the ABC.Table 2. 1 presents a summary of the previous research discussed in this section, which highlights the factors inf luencing ABC success and the research method adopted by each research. TABLE 2. 1: A SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH RELATED TO ABC SUCCESS IMPLEMENTATION Author Shield (1995) Method Survey Variable Behavioral, organizational, technical Individual, organizational factors, technical, task and so on Stage Not specify All the stages Anderson (1995) Case 146International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X technical variables Innes et al. (1995) Gosselin (1997) Survey Behavioral & organizational variables Structure & strategy Adoption implement ation Survey Adoption & Implemen tation Not specify Not specify Not specify Not specify All the stage Implemen tation Adapted from Lana and Fei [30] III. GAPS FROM PREVIOUS RESEARCH From the review of previous research, this section highlights the gaps from previous research.First, as highlighted by Lana and Fei (2007) a majority of ABC research still was done in developed countries and very little research has been done in developing country, especially in Asian context. Thus it is necessary to identify whether the Asian culture and way of doing business may have a different impact on the extent of ABC adoption and implementation. Second, a majority of ABC research reviewed adopted the behavioral and organizational variables identified by Shield [3] to investigate factors influencing ABC success. So far only one research. which was conducted by Gosselin [15] examinedthe effect of organizational structure on ABC success among Canadian business units. The importance of organizational structure effect on management accounting practices is stressed by many researchers. For example, Damanpour [35] stated that whether an innovation can be successfully adopted or implemented to some extent is determined by the type of structure the a firm adopts, so the current study also will consider organizational structure as one of the predictors of ABC success.Third, few research have examined the eff ect of corporate culture on ABC success empirically. Hence it is necessary to examine the association between ABC success and corporate culture, as well as how important cultural factors might be relative to organizational, non-cultural factors [16]. Forth, very few studies have investigated the effect of national cultural on ABC and so far, only two researchers, namely, Brewer [32] and Supitcha and Frederick [33], have included this variable in their studies.Supitcha and Frederick [33] argued that national culture differences often require successful accounting practices in one country to be modified for effective use in another country. So the influence of national culture should not be ignored [32]), especially in developing countries, and differences in term of perceived ABC success could be explained by national culture. The next research gap is that some previous research did not specify the ABC implementation stage for example, Shield [3] and Brewer [32].According to Krumwied e and Roth [25], ABC implementation has six different stages. They are initiation, Adoption, Adaption, Acceptance, Routinization, Infusion, the final two stages are considered as â€Å"mature stage† [25]) and it is argued that at different stage, the dominant factors that determine ABC success implementation are also different. In order to investigate the factors influencing ABC success more accurately, the current research will concentrate on one particular stage of ABC implementation that is mature stage.Finally, the selected articles show most of ABC implementation research were conducted using quantitative method such as questionnaire survey, and there are very few research used qualitative method (see Table 2. 1). According 147 Norris (1997) McGowan & Klammer (1997) Foster & Klammer (1997) Brewer (1998) Krumwiede (1998) Anderson & Young (1999) Case Survey Behavioral & Organizational Behavioral & organizational Non Survey Case Survey National culture Contextual & organiza tional Organizational & contextual variables Interview &survey Supitcha et al (2001) Case National cultureNot specify Innes et al. (2000) Sartorius et. al (2000) Cotton et. al (2003) Khalid (2003) Baird et. al (2004) Ruhanita et al. (2006) Lana & Fei (2007) Survey Behavioral & organizational variables Organizational variables Behavioral & organizational variables Size, production, overhead Size, decision usefulness of cost information, culture Cost distortion, decision usefulness, IT, organizational Technical, behavioral, organizational, contextual factors Organizational factors, culture Organizational, technical factors Behavioral & organizational Behavioral, organizational &Adoption Survey Survey Not specify Adoption Survey Survey Adoption Adoption Survey & Case Case Adoption All the stage Baird et al. (2007) Sartorius et al. (2007) Colin et al. (2008) Majid et al. (2008) Survey Survey Survey Case Implemen tation Adoption Implemen tation Adoption & International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X to Cavana et al. [36], questionnaire survey of data collection often encounters problems of low response rate and to counter this problem researchers are encouraged to use multiple methods to collect data. IV.PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE RESEARCH As very few empirical research have been done in developing countries on ABC adoption and implementation, future research should be conducted in developing nations, especially, in Asian countries such as China. Since China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it would be interesting to know if ABC success is affected by similar factors as in the western countries. Furthermore, since joining the WTO in the year of 2001, Chinese enterprises started adopting western management accounting techniques, thus it is necessary to know the impact of Chinese culture on the ABC success.Hence the current study will focus on ABC success among Chinese manufacturing companies. Kr umwiede and Roth [25] classified ABC implementation into different stages; initiation, adoption, adaption, acceptance, routinization, and infusion. It has been suggested in the literature that the dominant factors that determine ABC success implementation are also different at different stages [20]. A review of the literature shows that more research has been done to examine the determinant factors at the adoption and very few studies on implementation stage.Thus the current research will concentrate on one particular stage of ABC implementation, especially, the ‘mature’ stage (Routinization, Infusion). The current research will also examine the effect of structure on ABC success. It has been argued that in order to examine the effect of structure, the sample should come from only one industry. Gosselin [15] argued that different industries have different level of centralization, and formalization, and he suggested that a study should concentrate on one particular indus try.Similarly, Rotch [37] stated that compared with manufacturing firms, non-manufacturing firms are very different in terms of characteristics. For instance, hotels are different from manufacturing firms and output of non-manufacturing firms are extremely hard to determine. Moreover, activities in non-manufacturers, especially in service sectors are hard to be predicted, and also large proportion of total cost are joint costs, which often difficult to assign to output. Similarly, Clarke, Hill and Stevens [38] highlighted that significant differences exist in terms of cost structure between manufacturers and non-manufacturers.In non-manufacturing sector, direct labor and direct material cost are almost equal to zero, and fixed overhead costs are the dominant costs in the cost structure and this difference makes researching ABC application in this type of industry more problematic. Hence the current study will focus on manufacturing industry only and since ABC is more likely to be im plemented by larger firms [28], this research will also concentrate on large sized manufacturing business. As discussed in the earlier section, previous research has not systematically examined the effects of organizational structure and organizational culture on ABC success.This motivates the current research to investigate the effects of these variables on ABC success. V. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK A. Proposed theory The current research will adopt Contingency theory and organizational theory to develop the research framework. Contingency theory has been widely adopted to conduct research in management accounting field [39-41]. Contingency theory asserts that the design and application of control systems are contingent on the environment of the organizational setting in which these controls operate and function [39].It is widely used to explain the characteristics of management accounting system [42]. Waterhouse and Tiessen [43] stated that the design and structure of management control s ystem is contingent on number of factors; there are product diversity, cost structure, size, level of competition and degree of customization [44, 45]. Sartorius, Eitzen and Kamala [45] illustrated an example to explain the relationship between ABC and the contingency factors. They stated that increasing fixed costs leads to a need for more accurate cost allocation technique such as ABC.This is especially true for firms which produce more than one products as different product products use differential amounts of resources [17]. Competition is another contextual factor that leads to the emergence of more sophisticated costing system such as ABC. In addition, large sized firms are more likely to adopt ABC than smaller firms due to the size of overhead, number of activities needs to be coordinated, as well as limited resources[16, 45]. However, adoption and implementation of an innovation are totally different[41].Hence, Contingency theory alone may not be adequate to explain ABC impl ementation stage. Krumwiede [20] concluded from a survey among US firms that contextual factors may influence the ABC adoption stage while implementation stage is more associated with organizational factors. He also suggested that once a firm arrives at ABC implementation stage, it should pay attention to organizational factors. Hence, another theory should be applied to explain ABC implementation stage, which is organizational change theory [29].According to organizational change theory, changes in organizations could be classified into four categories: technology, products, structure, and culture [29]. Gosselin [15] categorized ABC implementation stage as the administrative procedure. Therefore, ABC could be considered as a structural change and its success is determined by top-down approach. Based on organizational change theory, Cooper and Zmud [46] divide IT innovation into six sequence stages; 1) initiation, 2) adoption, 3) adaptation, 4) acceptance, 5) routinization, as well as 6) infusion.They also stated that at various stages the dominant factors in determining IT innovation are also different. B. Research Framework In view of the discussion in the previous sections, the following framework is proposed, depicted by Figure 1, for this research. Prior research test the relationship between ABC success and behavioral, organizational variables, hence 148 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X the current research will also base on Shield [3]’s model to examine the impact of behavioral, organizational variables on ABC success.In addition, it also will include two additional variables, organizational culture and structure as Gosselin [15] stated that effect of organizational culture and structure on ABC success should not be ignored. also will adopt those dimensions. As for ABC success, the current study will adopt McGowan ‘s [11] definition. McGowan [11] used four perspectives to measure A ctivity-Based Costing Management, namely users’ attitude, technical characteristics rating, perceived usefulness in improving job performance and impact on organizational process. This measure subsequently adopted by Byrne et al. 49] to test ABC success implementation in Australian context. In their research, they stressed that McGowan’s [11]definition provides the most robust measure, hence the current study will also apply McGowan’s [11] definition as the indicators as ABC success. REFERENCE [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Johnson, H. T. and R. S. Kaplan, Relevance Lost: The rise and fall of management accounting 1987: Harvard Business School Press Kennedy, T. and J. Affleck-Graves, The impact of activity-based costing techniques on firm performance. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 2001. 13: p. 19-45.Shield, An empirical analysis of firms' implementation experiences with activity-based costing Management Accounting Research 1995. 7: p. 148-166. Innes, J. and F. Mitchell, A survey of activity-based costing in the U. K. ‘s largest companies. Management Accounting Research, 1995. 6(2): p. 137-153. Foster, G. and D. W. Swenson, Measuring the success of activity-based cost management and Its determinants. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 1997. 9: p. 109-141. Bjornenak, T. and F. Mitchell, The development of activity-based costing journal literature. 1987-2000. The European Accounting Review 2002. 1(3). Majid, J. A. and M. Sulaiman, Implementation of activity-based costing in Malaysia: A case study of two companies. Asian Review of Accounting 2008. 16(1): p. 39-55. Banker, R. D. , I. R. Bardhan, and T. -Y. Chen, The role of manufacturing practices in mediating the impact of activity-based costing on plant performance. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 2008. 33(1): p. 1-19. Cooper, R. and R. S. Kaplan, Profit priorities from activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, 1991. 69(3): p. 130-135. Swenson, D. , The benefits of activity-based cost management to the manufacturing industry.Journal of Management Accounting Research, 1995. 7: p. 167-180. McGowan, A. S. , Perceived benefits of ABCM implementation. Accounting Horizons, 1998. 12(1): p. 31-50. [Innes, J. , F. Mitchell, and D. Sinclair, Activity-based costing in the U. K. ‘s largest companies: a comparison of 1994 and 1999 survey results. Management Accounting Research, 2000. 11(3): p. 349-362. Yanren, X. , S. Wenbin, and W. L. Thomas, Activiey–based costing popularity in china. Cost Management, 2008. 22(3): p. 40-48. Shields, M. D. and M. A. McEwen, Implementing activity-based costing systems successfully.Cost Management, 1996. 9(4): p. 15-22. Gosselin, M. , The effect of strategy and organizational structure on the adoption and implementation of activity-based costing. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1997. 22(2): p. 105-122. Baird, K. M. , G. L. Harrison, and R. C. Reeve, Success of activity management practices: the influe nce of organizational and cultural factors. Accounting and Finance, 2007. 47(1): p. 47-67. Baird, K. M. , G. L. Harrison, and R. C. Reeve, Adoption of activity management practices: a note on the extent of adoption and the influence of organizational and cultural factors.Management Accounting Research, 2004. 15(4): p. 383-399. Anderson, S. W. , A framework for assessing cost management system changes: the case of activity based costing implementation at general motors, 1986-1993. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 1995. 7: p. 1-51. McGowan, A. S. and T. P. Klammer, Satisfaction with activity-based cost management implementation. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 1997. 9: p. 217-237. Krumwiede, K. R. , The implementation stages of activity-based costing and the impact of contextual and organizational factors. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 1998. 0: p. 239-277. Fig 1: Theoretical Research Framework Seven behavioral and organizational variables are importan t to cost management practices identified by Shield and Young [24]. They are: 1) Top management support; 2) linkage to competitive strategies, 3) performance evaluation and compensation, 4) non-accounting ownership, 5) sufficient resources, 6) training in designing, implementing and using cost management system and 7) consensus about the clarity of the objectives of the cost management system, so current study will use all this indicators as behavioral and organizational variables.Lana and Fei [30] reviewed past empirical research about factors influencing ABC success and summarized the technical used by prior research, they are software packages, gathering data on cost drivers, identifying activities, knowledge of data requirement and data collection, the participation of external consultants. The current study also employed Lana and Pan [30]’s definition and its measurement for technical variables. Whether a company can adopt and implement a management innovation can be sig nificantly affected by organizational structure [35].Burns and Stalker [47] classified organizational structure into mechanistic and organic, mechanistic organizations have higher level of centralization and formalization than that of organic structure [15]. Gosselin [15] found that ABC can be more successfully implemented in mechanistic organizations. Centralization and formation will be treated as indicators for organizational structure in current research. Organizational culture still produces significant on ABC success, as Skinner [48] pointed out uncaring culture leads to the failure of ABC. Baird et al. 16] used outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail, as well as innovation to examine the relationship between activity management success and organizational culture. And the current study [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] 149 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X [21] An derson, S. W. and S. M. Young, The impact of contextual and process factors on the evaluation of activity-based costing systems. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1999. 24(7): p. 525-559. [22] Morrow, M. and T.Connolly, Practical problems of implementing ABC. Accountancy, 1994. 113(1205): p. 76. [23] Cooper, R. and R. S. Kaplan, Activity-based systems: measuring the costs of resource usage. Accounting Horizons, 1992. 6(3): p. 1. [24] Shield, M. and S. M. Young, A behavioral model for implementing cost management systems. Journal of Cost Management 1989: p. 17-27. [25] Krumwiede, K. R. and H. P. Roth, Implementing information technology innovations: the activity-based costing example. SAM Advanced Management Journal (07497075), 1997. 62(4): p. 4-13. [26] Norris, G. , The formation of managers' views of ABC and their impact on the outcome of its se: a grounded theory case study' Accounting Research Journal 1997. 10(2): p. 180-200. [27] Sartorius, K. , C. Eitzen, and P. Kamala, Or ganizational Problems in respect of the implementation of activity-based costing in South Africa. Meditari Accountancy Research 2000. 8: p. 215-227. [28] Khalid, A. , Activity-based costing in Saudi Arabia's fargest 100 firms in 2003. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 2005. 6(2): p. 285-292. [29] Ruhanita, M. and I. Daing Nasir, Activity based costing (ABC) adoption among manufacturing organizations – the case of Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Society, 2006. (1): p. 70-101. [30] Lana, Y. J. L. and P. Fei, The implementation of activity-based costing in China: an innovation action research approach. The British Accounting Review, 2007. 39(3): p. 249. [31] Mohammed, A. -O. and D. Colin, Organizational and behavioral factors influencing the adoption and success of ABC in the UK. Cost Management, 2007. 21(6): p. 38-48. [32] Brewer, P. C. , National culture and activity-based costing system: a note. Management Accounting Research, 1998. 9: p. 241 -260. [33] Supitcha, M. and H. W. Frederick, Cultural influences on the ABC implementation in Thailand's environment.Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2001. 16(2): p. 142-156. [34] Hofstede, G. , The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 1983. 14(2): p. 75-89. [35] Damanpour, F. , Organizational innovation: a meta-analysis of effects of determinants and moderators. Academy of Management Journal, 1991. 34(3): p. 555-590. [36] Cavana, R. Y. , B. L. Delahaye, and U. Sekran, Applied business research: qualitative and quantitative Methods, ed. 3rd. 2001: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. [37] Rotch, W. , Activity-based costing in service industries.Journal of Cost Management for the Manufacturing Industry 1990. 4: p. 4-14. [38] Cllarke, P. J. , N. T. Hill, and K. Stevens, Activity-based costing in ireland: Barriers to, and opportunities for, change. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 1999. 10(4): p. 443-468. [39] Otley, D. T. , The contingency theory of management accounting: Achievement and prognosis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1980. 5(4): p. 413-428. [40] Fisher, J. G. , Contingency theory, management control systems and firm outcomes: past results and future directions. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 1998. 10: p. 47. [41] Chenhall, R.H. , Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 2003. 28(2-3): p. 127-168. [42] Anthony, R. N. and V. Govindarajan, Management control system. 10th edition. 2002, New York: Mcgraw-Hill/Irwin [43] Waterhouse, J. H. and P. Tiessen, A contingency framework for management accounting systems research. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1978. 3(1): p. 65-76. [44] Drury, C. and M. Tayles, Explicating the design of overhead absorption procedures in UK organizations.The British Accounting Review, 2005. 37(1): p. 47-84. [45] Sartorius, K. , C. Eitzen, and P. Kamala, The design and implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC): a South African survey. Meditari Accountancy Research 2007. 15(2): p. 1-21. [46] Cooper, R. B. and R. W. Zmud, Information technology implementation research: a technological diffusion approach management science, 1990. 36(2): p. 123-139. [47] Burns, T. and G. M. Stalker, The management of innovation. 1961, London Tavistock Publications [48] Skinner, J. , Answers on ABC. Australian Accountant, 1998. 68(2): p. 46-49. [49] Byrne, S. , E. Stower, and P.Torry. Activity based costing implementation success in Australia. 2008 [cited 2008 26th August]; Available from: http://eprints. usq. edu. au/3719/1/Byrne_Stower_Torry. pdf. First Author: Mr. Zhang Yi Fei was born on Sept 9th, 1978. He obtained his bachelor degree in Accounting from Sichuan Normal University, Cheng Du City, Si Chuan province, China in the year of 2002. He obtained his Masters in Business Administration specializ ing in Accounting in 2005 from University Malaysia Sabah. Currently he is pursuing his PhD degree in Management Accounting at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Second Author: Che Ruhana ISA (PhD) is currently an associate professor in accounting at the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya (UM). She joined UM as a tutor in 1987 after obtaining the BBA (Accounting) from Oklahoma State University, USA. In 1990, she graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science with the degree MSc in Accounting and Finance. She obtained her PhD in Accounting from University Putra Malaysia in 2005. Her current research interests are management accounting change, management accounting and performance measurement systems in public sector organizations. 150

How should we use the public space Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How should we use the public space - Essay Example This essay deals with public spaces and private interests, which clash to abridge our rights. Let us look for a meaning of the two words ‘public space’. Word ‘Public’ is an adjective which connotes ‘open to all / accessible to all / not private, and, the word ‘Space’ is a noun meaning in this context, ‘an area / expanse’. So in essence, a public space is an expansive area, open to all and one which is not private. Or so, as most of us would like to think. Historically speaking public spaces always existed. The agoras of the ancient Greeks, the chaupals of the northern India and the temple premises of the southern India, the Hyde Park in London are some of the examples of public spaces where people gathered to participate in public discourses. Public interaction and free exchange of opinions and ideas have always resulted in progress of social, political and economical awareness, for the good of the humanity. Modernization and migration of rural populations to urban areas had a significant impact on the traditional meaning and purpose of public spaces. Rampant commercialization is encroaching more and more into our open spaces. Large open spaces with natural endowments like trees, brooks, hills, green fields and meadows are now confined to countryside only and are non-existent in cities, towns and suburbs. While the populations are shifting to suburban areas for reasons of cleaner air and peaceful environs, the natural open spaces even in those areas are also being converted to shopping malls, manicured gardens, water sport centers or walking tracks with a toll gate! These are the neo-public spaces with a private fee, like the neocons with an axe or two to grind. The fast pace of life leaves us practically no time for a stroll round the corner for a quiet chat. With the electronic media blaring its ‘breaking news’ every

Intellectual Property of tradename Research Paper

Intellectual Property of tradename - Research Paper Example This paper sought to explain whether or not the fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally gives her the right to use it any way she wishes. The fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally does not give her exclusive right to use it any way she wishes. Thus, for her to use the name as her trademark she has to consider several factors other than the fact that it is her own name. However, Gabby has the right to choose any name for her Pizza business as long as it does not infringe on another person’s trade name. Nonetheless, it should be noted that not every trade name that is similar to an existing trade name may result liability for infringement. In this regard, the law may not prohibit two unrelated businesses from using a similar trade name. However, this may only be the case when the coexistence of the two trade names does not result to any risk of confusion among the public. Thus, this means that two unrelated businesses may be use a similar name as much as the above mentione d condition is upheld. For instance, Gabby operates a pizza business whereas Herman operates a car business. The two businesses are not related in any way. Therefore, on the premises of the fact that two unrelated businesses may use a similar name, Gabby may not be prohibited by the law to use the name her surname, Rally for her pizza business, notwithstanding the fact that Herman’s car business goes by a similar name. However, it is apparent that, her use for the name Rally causes confusion among the public. People end up making their pizza orders using the telephone numbers of Rally motors. This could therefore imply that, even though the name Rally is Gabby’s surname, its use jeopardizes Herman’s car business in one way or another. Thus, in this context, Gabby may not be allowed to use the name Rally in any way she may wish even though it is her surname. This is because the use of her surname for her business infringes Herman’s trade name which has alr eady gained grip in the public domain. For instance, in the case of Google v. American Blind No. 02-05340(Apr. 18, 2007), the court challenged the legality of a program by Google known as AdWords which violated the trademark law by infringing of American Blind’s trademark accusing confusion in the users of search engines as a result (Leslie, 2010). 2. Explain whether or not it matters that Rally is associated with pizza. In the selection of a trade name, it does not always matter whether the trade name is related to the product in question of not. As mentioned earlier, what matters most if whether the name infringes on other established trade names or not. Also, if someone in the same geographical area started to use the trade name long before, matters a lot as well. Thus, as much as Rally is not related to Pizza, this may not act as a constraint towards the use of that name by Gabby. To avoid infringement of someone else’ trade name, it is important to choose a trade name should be distinctive. This therefore implies that the chosen trade name may not in anyway be related to the pr

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

Proposal - Research Paper Example The feasibility includes exploring options of locating the payday loan service in a convenience store that is accessible. The room will have a counter for disbursing funds and maintaining records. Research will include state and local requirements for establishing payday loan service as a sole proprietorship, competitors’ analysis for internal assessment for crafting payday loan service strategies, and a market analysis to study the lending rates and charges in relation to pay loan services in Kansas State. Introduction The writer is the owner/manager of Quick Stop & Go convenience store without gas services. The writer intends to add an additional service as Payday Loan using an extra space available in the store that is a single store not chain store. Above information clearly describes the purpose of accessing payday loan. Yet, there is a need to analyze in which terms payday loan will be helpful for the store as compared to other types of loans and to which extent it will be productive in increasing the profitability of store by efficiently utilizing idle assets of the store. As payday loans have become more popular in recent years. The important feature of the payday loan is that it is readily and easily accessible. Payday loans have many benefits as compared to the other loans. For payday loan, only proof of employment, bank account and income is required and paper work requirements are also very limited. Terms and conditions of payday loans are also fixed like other loans but the borrower can get flexibility according to its need. So, profitability can be increased by using loan according to current situations. Research questions 1. Who are the users of payday loans? 2. Do the payday loans solve their financial problems? 3. What is the eligibility for obtaining a payday loan? 4. Who are the competitors in the market? Purpose statement To promote access to diverse, healthy and comprehensive financial services for households in Kansas. This will be through offering cost-effective loan rates and innovative methods of loan applications for customer convenience. Literature Review What is a payday loan? Payday lending business will provide short terms loans for a maximum period of two weeks, to households who are in need of money or individuals that do not opt for other sources of credit.Caskey and John (2012), define a payday loan service as a loan gotten from a business that is not a bank. These businesses operate under different titles and take postdated checks as collateral. Hodson (2009) describes a payday loan as a short term borrowing where the borrower borrows money at a high interest rate. The borrower writes a postdated personal cheque in the month they wish to borrow including a fee in exchange for cash. The borrower does hold onto the cheques and cashes it on the agreed upon date. How pay day works The borrower visits a lending store and secures cash, which is due in full at the borrower’s next pay day. The borr ower then writes a post dated cheque with the full amount including the fees. Upon maturity of the check, the borrower returns the loan and if he fails to, the lender redeems the cheque.The borrower incurs a bounced cheque fee from his bank plus the cost of

Outdoor Management Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Outdoor Management Development - Coursework Example Thus, popular models and groundbreaking definitions will be employed to present the pointers that relate to leadership and change management in the context of group and teamwork interactions. Outdoor management development is meant to provide experiential learning through outdoor activities that facilitate behavior change and promote leadership competencies (McEvoy & Buller, 1997). Therefore leadership and change management were the fundamental ends I sought to achieve through the whole project. According to Armstrong, leadership involves â€Å"providing direction, facilitating change and achieving results through the efficient, creative and responsible use of resources† (Armstrong, 2014, p. 4). Therefore, I viewed the project as a way I could gain important leadership qualities and develop it further by observing how teams and groups are formed and utilized for the attainment of the best results. One central theme of this entire study was to examine how leadership and personality change could occur and be managed in the group dynamics. This is encapsulated in Tuckman’s views of the stages of team development which include forming, storming, norming, performing and doing (Blanchard & Parisi-Carew, 2009). This project was, therefore, an opportunity to consciously view how it occurs and how it affects the working cycle and integrate it into my learning competency. Learning and making changes as a result of some situation or circumstance is quite difficult. Learning goes through various phases and this includes challenging an individual’s original views and understanding of a given situation or phenomenon (MacKeracher, 2013). Therefore, a leader will have to unfreeze and refreeze ideas and concepts that exist in the minds and thoughts of his followers (Murray, et al., 2013).  

Westboro Baptist Church or Current Controversial Topic Essay

Westboro Baptist Church or Current Controversial Topic - Essay Example Later, in his testimony during the court case about the WBC’s deplorable actions—actions that should be stopped by community action and by legislation—Snyder stated, â€Å""They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside† (â€Å"Father† n.p.). The Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kansas, has been protesting at funerals since 1991. As of 2009, they claim to have participated in over 41,000 protests in over 650 cities, and spend an average of $250,000 a year on picketing. They travel all over the U.S. to picket the funerals of anyone associated with gay people. For example, they picketed at the 1998 funeral of murder victim Matthew Shepherd and the 2010 funeral of Elizabeth Edwards because she supported gay people (Borger n.p.). The WBC also protests at funerals of slain military personnel like Snyder’s.Why would the WBC participate in such activities—activities that even Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly calls â€Å"evil and despicable† (Cohen n.p.)? ... They picket at funerals to express their views, and to get the word out about their opposition to gay rights, the Catholic Church, Jews, and other topics. They believe that anyone who is opposed to their way of seeing things is going to hell, and they feel compelled to make sure that people know this. Several weeks after Matthew Snyder’s funeral, for example, the WBC denounced Snyder’s family for raising their son Catholic. There have been many responses to their actions. One of these is through the courts, which is what the Snyder family did. Later in 2007, they sued Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church, and two of Phelps’ daughters on several legal grounds, including defamation and invasion of privacy. The suit claimed that Phelps’ religious views did not expose the Snyders to public hatred or scorn. The WBC’s main defense, in addition to exercising their constitutional right to free speech and free assembly, was that they had complied with al l local ordinances regarding picketing and had obeyed all police instructions. The picket occurred 1000 feet from the funeral site, in a location cordoned off by the police, and could neither be seen or heard by the funeral participants. The judge, in his instructions to the jury, said that they needed to decide â€Å"whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection† (Donaldson-Evans n.p.). This is the crux of the argument against the WBC, and perhaps explains the outcome of the case: the jury awarded Albert Snyder almost $3 million in punitive damages for invasion

Applying for SJD in Environmental Law Personal Statement

Applying for SJD in Environmental Law - Personal Statement Example Throughout my school life, I have always strived to maintain a distinguished and clean record in law so as to steer me well towards achieving my dream in law. I have also shown great promise and likeliness of a remarkably outstanding scholarship. Moreover, putting into consideration my past records and present ambition, I have managed to show an ideal high potential for successfully completing the scholarly dissertation of high required quality as expected of me in this field. These I have managed to secure as an illustration of my capability in successful studying of the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D). Doctor of Juridical Science is a career that I believe I have the relevant ability to pursue. This is a career that I want to sturdy for a number of reasons. First, I want to use my knowledge and expertise to join other scholars and teachers of law in helping my country. The career is one that requires diligence and readiness to perform to the greatest of one’s ability. Th is is the same extent of expertise that I want to employ and through it help my country. Saudi Arabia requires diligent people and great scholars who will help train the younger law students into becoming the people they want to be. Without good scholars and teachers of law, the present young students of this country who would like to pursue related law careers do not have hopes of achieving their dreams. I would like to be given a chance to help my country in training these young students. I would like to contribute towards the making of the next legislators, lawyers, judges and many other law practitioners. Saudi Arabia does not have enough professors who specialize in SJD in environmental law. This has always brought a lot of shortcomings when it comes to matters relating to environmental law. Moreover, if this trend continues this way, it is unfortunate but in the future; we will not be able to have enough law practitioners who specialize in environmental law. We, as a country, therefore need to have more professors who will apart from train students of law who specialize in environmental law, also help encourage other law students to join the specific field. I would like to have the opportunity to help in these. I would like to add to the number of professors who specialize in environmental law so that we can emphasize a lot of specialty in this field just like other fields. The well-being of our environment is crucial to the normality of our country. Our environment supports our life and balances the ecosystem. The presence of lecturers who specialize in environmental law will directly or indirectly help boost this sector and ensure its continuity. This is also why I want to specialize in environmental law. So that using my expertise, I can help train other students in ways of practicing effective environmental law. This country also has few female lecturers. To be more specific, there are also very few female lecturers who specialize in environmental la w. Women deserve a place in this profession. We deserve to have more women lecturers and also more of those needs to specialize in environmental law. For this reason, I would like to be given a chance to pursue the Doctor of Juridical Science and become a well-informed female professor who will serve her country will all her knowledge and expertise.

Macro and Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro and Micro Economics - Essay Example Since 2004, the organization has attained a 16% progress in its water utilization ratio. The Company depict that 96% of its amenities are in conformity with its stringent wastewater treatment principles. According to the company’s principal Sustainability Manager, this is crucial for posterity, the environment and business which all rely on responsible water utilization. This is also vital in overcoming world’s water issues and; therefore, calls for unique action. This ensures utilization of the Company’s inventive techniques. It also ensures that the Company partners through other international institutions to guarantee sustainability of this significant resource. Coca-Cola associates with its bottlers and dealers, as well as with over 500 exterior companies, including administrations, NGOs, and societies have agreed to achieve the water stewardship objectives. This mutual mandate requires the Company to fulfil its commitment. Since the year 2005, the Coca-Cola organization has been involved in over 386 Community Stewardship Programs, in 94 nations. These projects include watershed management, provision of water and cleanliness, learning and awareness programs among others. Learning and Benefits The target of returning the water to the environment and societies calls for cutting on the Company’s water utilization ratio while increasing product volume. ... This will significantly improve varied societies around the globe through the provision of adequate water. Source Manley, L. (2012).Coca-Cola Releases Water Stewardship Progress Report. CSRWire, LLC. Retrieved on April 23 2012 Second Generation Aurion Sets New Standards Summary The Toyota Industry recently launched the 3.5-litre V6 quad cam Toyota Aurion. This has fulfilled the roll-out of Toyota’s collection of new locally made automobiles. This is a considerably advanced five-model Aurion range. It is the Company’s locally manufactured flagship and is launched as an achievable luxury car. Aurion has distinct styling and user comfort levels offer clear differentiation. This Second generation car is the most commanding Toyota made in Australia. Connection The harsh global economic crisis has been a crucial factor as to why Toyota Australia has focused on sustaining the strength of the turnovers and diminishing expenditure. This has, consequently, rewarded the Company wi th returns of $122 million. The introduction of the Aurion car is amongst the varied attempts undertaken to sustain business competitiveness during the complex market circumstances. In the previous years, the Australian Company has been impacted by varied harsh market conditions. These market conditions are, for instance, the strong Australian dollar and the exorbitant price of raw items. Learning and Benefits This car offers the best energy economy in the 3.5-litre rank in the massive passenger segment. This is 6% better that the previous generation car. The rear pipe emissions have been cut down by 8%. It is

The Psychosocial Difficulties of Parents of Young Children Essay Example for Free

The Psychosocial Difficulties of Parents of Young Children Essay Introduction A disability is a permanent condition that makes it difficult for a person to do something important in everyday life.   People who have such conditions are said to be disabled.   For example, people who are deaf cannot hear, they have difficulty on understanding on what other people say.   People who are blind have difficulty in seeing the world around them and in reading print.   Physically disabled people have difficulty in moving about.   Mentally retarded people are limited in their ability to learn abstract ideas. Emotionally disturbed people have difficulty controlling their emotions (Pearson, 2006).   A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual of their group.   The term is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease. This usage has been described by some disabled people as being associated with a medical model of disability. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth.   Further, children with disabilities (e.g., emotional, cognitive, physical, etc.) will react to the trauma and stress based on their past experience and awareness of the current situation.   Caregivers and school personnel who know a child well can best predict his or her reactions and behaviours because they have observed the child’s response to stress in the past. Review of related Literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eighty percent of all people with disabilities live in developing countries. And in these countries there is a shortage of doctors, clinics, and rehabilitation facilities.   Children and young people with disabilities frequently live in poverty.   Many suffer from social exclusion and prejudices.   Parents should be responsible of the primary concerns of the early childhood of their children with disabilities foster love, special attention and works to make them accepted in the society (Bowe, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The global number of people with disabilities is on the rise.   This is due, on the one hand, to improved medical care.   Even with a disability, a person today can lead a long and fulfilled life if they enjoy the benefits of a good healthcare system.   In developing countries, however, there is no adequate healthcare provision. Children suffer from hunger, have no access to clean water, get illnesses which have either been eradicated in the industrial countries or which can be easily cured.   All these deplorable conditions inhibit the development of children and can lead to disabilities.   According to The Child Right Information Network, 97 percent of children with disabilities in developing countries receive no rehabilitation and 98 percent receive no school education suited to their needs (Pearson 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Expanding health insurance coverage for children is a major thrust of recent health care policy. In 1997, for example, Congress enacted the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a federal initiative to improve children’s health by increasing access to health care for children in low-income families.   Because of its low- income focus, assessing the potential effectiveness of SCHIP in improving children’s health requires a look at health care needs and how they relate to family income (Shakespeare, 2003). Children with disabilities generally have specific â€Å"triggers†Ã¢â‚¬â€words, images, sounds, etc. that signal danger or disruption to their feelings of safety and security.   Again, these are specific to each child but come from past experiences, association with traumas, seeing fear in adults, etc. Children tend to develop their own â€Å"cues† in response to these trigger events, warning signals that adults can â€Å"read† to understand that the child is having difficulty.   These cues may include facial expressions or nervous tics, changes in speech patterns, sweating, feeling ill, becoming quiet or withdrawn, complaining or getting irritable, exhibiting a fear or avoidance response, etc (Pearson, 2006). When adults anticipate these triggers or observe these cues, they should provide assurance, support and attention as quickly as possible.   If adults miss these cues, children may escalate their behaviour to a point where they completely lose control.   If this occurs, adults need to remove the child to the safest place available, allow the child to calm down, and then talk to the child about the triggering fears or situation. Because parents and teachers see children in different situations, it is essential that they work together to share information about triggers and cues. This is best done on a regular basis, such as during the IEP meeting or a periodic review meeting, rather than in response to a crisis. However, when a crisis occurs, parents, case managers and others who work with the child should meet to briefly discuss specific concerns and how to best address the child’s needs in the current situation (John stone, 2001). In the context of prevention and the development of effective IEPs, some children need specific training and interventions to help them to develop self-control and self-management skills and strategies.   During the teaching process, these skills and strategies should be taught so they can be demonstrated successfully under stressful conditions (e.g., school crises, terrorism, and tornado) so that children can respond appropriately and effectively.   Adults should still expect that children will demonstrate their self-control skills with less efficiency when confronted by highly unusual or stressful situations (Johnstone, 2001).   Methodology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The medical model is presented as viewing disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health condition which therefore requires sustained medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at cure, or the individual’s adjustment and behavioural change that would lead to an almost-cure or effective cure. In the medical model, medical care is viewed as the main issue, and at the political level, the principal response is that of modifying or reforming healthcare policy. The social model of disability sees the issue of disability mainly as a socially created problem, and basically as a matter of the full integration of individuals into society (see Inclusion (disability rights)). In this model disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, in this model, the management of the problem requires social action, and thus, it is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life. The issue is both cultural and ideological, requiring individual, community, and large-scale social change. Viewed from this perspective equal access for people with impairment/disability is a human rights issue of major concern. Data Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The analysis reported here contributes to such an examination by focusing on the needs of a particular group of children children with disabilities. This focus is important for three reasons. First, children with disabilities typically use more health services than their non-disabled peers. Second, not receiving services they need is likely to affect children with disabilities more than other children. Third, the services used by children with disabilities are among the most costly health-related services children use. To sharpen the focus on the differential need of children with disabilities, this paper focuses on a subset of health-related services that are used almost exclusively by children with disabilities supportive services. The basic finding is that policies focused on low-income children will reach the majority of children with disabilities who have unmet supportive service needs. These needs range widely across types of services, however, making the effectiveness of public health insurance policies in reaching these children dependent also on how comprehensive the service coverage is. Results As parents of children with special needs it is very important to understand your role as a parental advocate for your children.   An advocate is one who pleads the cause of another and who defends or maintains a cause or proposal. Parental advocacy includes efforts to:1).Have all of the needs of target child met: 2.)   Keep current about the latest advances, technology, and research innovations regarding childrens disability, treatment, protocols, and potential; 3.)Get the best care and services available for children with special needs; 4.). Monitor all services, professionals, and programs offered to target children 5.)Create a team approach with those involved in target childrens lives and care; 6.)Have target children served in a least restrictive environment;7.)Expose target children to as normal a lifestyles as possible   8. ) Assist target children in reaching their highest potential; 9.)Stimulate community concern and establish new services to fill in the gaps for target childrens care; 10.)Ensure lifelong support, nurturing, and rehabilitation of target children. Discussion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Staff and parents must consider how children with special needs respond to any form of stress and anticipate these and more extreme reactions following a crisis. Strategies that have been effective with these students in the past are the best strategies to implement now, understanding that steps might need to be more concrete and consequences more immediate. Consider the triggers and cues for these students and anticipate rather than react—prepare students for changes in routines; allow time for discussion of the traumatic events in a safe and familiar setting; provide choices in activities to the extent feasible to give these students some sense of control over even a small part of their lives. Some students may need to be more protected or isolated to minimize distractions and sources of agitation during the height of a crisis, and adult supervision may need to be more intense for a while.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Expect some regression (increase in problem behaviours) and deal with inappropriate behaviours calmly and consistently—it helps students to understand that despite a lot of other changes and disruptions, there are some constants in class and family rules and expectations, and that they can depend on their support network to be available. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth.   Further, children with disabilities (e.g., emotional, cognitive, physical, etc.) will react to the trauma and stress based on their past experience and awareness of the current situation. Caregivers and school personnel who know a child well can best predict his or her reactions and behaviours because they have observed the child’s response to stress in the past. Conclusion On the basis of characteristics of family resilience, the study examined the perspectives of parents of children with an intellectual, physical, or learning disability. Thirty-two parents were interviewed as to past, present, and the modes of coping. The questions examined various aspects of family ecology domains: parents responses to the childs diagnosis; patterns of adjustment; family support and services used by parents; and parents feelings and future expectations. Although, it was found that most parents had to make changes in their social life and expressed high levels of frustration and dissatisfaction, many try to maintain their routine life. The majority expressed the need for a strong belief in the child and in the childs future, an optimistic outlook, and a realistic view and acceptance of the disability. The study highlighted the importance of social resources and support, and the need for effective programs of intervention. References Bowe, Frank (2006) Handicapping America: Barriers to disabled people, Harper Row, 1978 ISBN 0-06-010422-8 Encyclopedia of disability, general ed. Gary L. Albrecht, Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.]: SAGE Publ., 2005 Johnstone, David (2001) An Introduction to Disability Studies, 2nd edition, ISBN 1-85346-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   726-X Michael Oliver, The Politics of Disablement, St. Martins Press 1997, ISBN 0-333-43293-2 Pearson, Charlotte (2006) Direct Payments and Personalisation of Care, Edinburgh, Dunedin Academic Press, ISBN 1903765625 Shakespeare, Tom (2003) Genetic Politics: from Eugenics to Genome, with Anne Kerr , New Clarion Press, 1999, ISBN 1-873797-25-7

The Impact of Advertising on Women Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Advertising on Women Essay Everyday of our lives, we are exposed to dozens of advertisements, whether it be on television, the radio, in magazines, on billboards or signs, or anywhere else that companies try to reach us in an effort to promote the products they sell. Advertisers appeal to our hopes, dreams, wants and desires, and exploit our insecurities in an effort to sell us a product, ranging from cars, to household appliances, to a bottle of shampoo. Advertising affects everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not, and it often promotes something that is out of reach to the average person, such as great wealth, or a perfect body. Advertising often carries an overload or excess of meaning, such as statements of power, wealth, leisure, and sexual allure, and they also convey meanings of race and gender. (â€Å"Introduction: Media Studies†) As this paper will demonstrate, advertising is an extremely powerful tool which has the ability to change the way we perceive ourselves. Of particular interest is the effect that advertising has on women. Women are continually bombarded by advertisements in which they are told, directly or indirectly, that they must be thin in order to be beautiful, and they are marketed products that they are led to believe will help them achieve their desired body image of being thin. Women become convinced that they must look like sexy all the time, when in reality, it is almost impossible. Women often begin dieting in order to attain the perfect body that they are striving for, and they occasionally undertake more extreme measures to lose weight, such as bulimia or anorexia, all because they are led to believe, by advertising, that they must have a perfect body. Women are also sexually objectified in advertising, and viewed as merely sexual objects. This paper will explore in depth how women are portrayed in advertising and, more importantly, the impact which it has on them. In western culture, a slender physique has come to be regarded as the standard of feminine beauty; although it is an unrealistic benchmark for nearly all women. The average woman has a seven percent chance that she will be as slim as a catwalk model, and an even lesser chance that she will be as thin as a supermodel. (Konrad, 2008) A 2000 study found that the body fat of models and actresses is, on average, 10 percent less than that of a typical active, healthy woman. (â€Å"Behind the Hype: Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign†) The models that companies use in advertising are also getting thinner relative to the average population. Twenty years ago, models weighed 8 percent less than the average woman. Today, they weigh 23% less than the average female population. (â€Å"Beauty and Body Image in the Media†) However, these truths do not stop women from trying to attain the perfection they see in every day advertisements. Since advertising continually implies that women should be slender, those who do not have this particular body type often suffer from low self esteem and hold a negative self image of their body. After a study in which women viewed sexual and non-sexual ads, the women who viewed the sexual ads rated themselves as being larger, on average, than the women who viewed the non-sexual ads, and women who viewed the sexual ads also expressed greater dissatisfaction over their current physique than the women who watched the non-sexual ads. (Tygart) George Lipsitz has argued that consumer culture and media representations play a greater role than ever in defining identities. (â€Å"Just Do It†) When women see thinness represented in advertising, they would like to look like the models they see and have that same identity that is being shown to them. In addition to women feeling pressure to conform to the desired body type due to their constant exposure to it in advertising, they also are under pressure to attain the perfect body because they believe it is what men feel they must look like. According to a study published in American Behavioural Scientist (Choi et al. , 2008), women are able to realize that the images of supermodels that they see in advertisements are unrealistic and they recognize that they will not be able to attain the body of a supermodel. However, these same women feel that men who view these advertisements will not be able to ascertain the fact that the body types shown are unrealistic. Since women feel that men cannot discern the unrealistic nature of the female body that is presented in advertisements, they feel that men will expect them to meet the standards of beauty portrayed in these ads. Consequently, this leads women to desire to look like the models they see in advertisements, not necessarily because they want to, but because they believe that men view it as realistic and attainable. As stated by Choi, et al. (2008), â€Å"Women are influenced by unrealistic media imagery because they are well aware that men will view those images as real, and value them. † It is argued that, although women know the images shown to them in advertising are unrealistic, they are unable to ignore them, because of the threat of men judging their bodies. Since advertising has the effect of making women desire a thin, slender body that is almost impossible to attain, they frequently make radical efforts in an attempt to get it. An astonishing 75 percent of women who are a normal weight feel that they are in fact overweight. The Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders research group states that one in four college aged women undertakes unhealthy methods of weight control, ranging from skipping meals and laxative abuse, to self induced vomiting. (â€Å"Beauty and Body Image in the Media†) It has also been estimated that magazines directed to a female audience contain over ten times as many advertisements promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, advocating a variety of solutions, from diet pills to cosmetic surgery. Researchers have shown that this advertising has led to an increase in eating disorders. (Choi, et al. , 2008) Teenage girls who already claimed to be dissatisfied with their body image showed a higher tendency towards dieting and bulimic behaviours after prolonged exposure to advertisements in a teen girl magazine. (â€Å"Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising†) Self-image is often affected in teenage girls because they cannot escape the message that their bodies are imperfect. â€Å"A Girl of Many Parts†) Many researchers believe that advertisers want women to feel insecure and disappointed with their body shape, since this will create the desire for an unattainable body that will increase the consumption of products that companies are trying to sell, such as skin care creams, weight loss supplements, and others. Paul Hamburg, a professor at Harvard Medical School, states: â€Å"The media markets desire. And by reproducing ideals that are absurdly out of line w ith what real bodies do look like, the media perpetuates a market for frustration and disappointment. Its customers will never disappear. † (â€Å"Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising†) In terms of sexual objectification, women agreed that they were sexually objectified in advertising, however, contrary to popular belief, younger women appear to no longer have an issue with it. The â€Å"third wave† of feminism today embraces sexuality, and views sex as power. (Dahlberg Zimmerman, 2008) Many feminists now believe it is acceptable for women to use their glamour to their advantage, as long as they are doing it out of their own free will. According to a recent study, young, educated women are not offended by the sexual objectification of women in advertising, which may be a product of the highly sexualized culture we live in today. (Dahlberg Zimmerman, 2008) Although women are deeply affected by how models appear in advertisements, by their desire to want to look like them, the women of today no longer appear to be affected by the sexuality in advertising, and in many cases, they are embracing it. To conclude the efforts, if any, which are being made to change the portrayal of women in advertising should be examined. Although advertising on the whole is still relatively unchanged with respect to its portrayal of women, some companies have altered the message they send about beauty and changed their advertising to reflect this change. An example is Dove, and its Real Beauty advertising campaign. Dove launched the Real Beauty campaign in response to a study it undertook among females aged 18 to 64, the majority of whom felt that advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty for women that is nearly impossible to achieve. â€Å"Behind the Hype: Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign†) The ads featured the use of everyday women instead of professional models, and images that were not airbrushed in any way. The campaign has been well-received and led to an 11. 4% increase in Dove’s sales in early 2005, although, some critics stated that the campaign promotes obesity in a time when many Americans are struggling with weight issues. Since Dove introduced the â€Å"Real Beauty† advert ising campaign, both Nike and Levi’s released similar campaigns, featuring everyday people as opposed to models. â€Å"Behind the Hype: Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign†) It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue into the future, but at the very least it demonstrates that companies are beginning to provide an alternative to the advertising they had used in the past. In summation, advertising plays a considerable role in how women regard themselves and in their perceptions of how they should look. Advertisers use models with a physique that all but the few, most genetically gifted women could ever attain. As previously stated, he average model has a body fat percentage which is 10 percent less than that of a typical healthy, active woman, and supermodels, on average, weigh 23 percent less than the average woman. After viewing advertisements featuring supermodels, women often feel worse about themselves and begin to suffer from poor self-image and low self-esteem. Even a small amount of exposure to advertising has been demonstrated to make this occur; although women are exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a weekly basis. However, women no longer appear to be affected by the sexual objectification they see in advertising, which has been attributed to the third wave of feminism and the sexually charged culture that we live in. Women also feel pressure to look like a supermodel because, although, they often realize that what is advertised to them is not realistic, they believe that men do not realize this and want regular women to look like the models they see in advertisements. This leads women to seek out that body type, since they feel that men expect it from them. Women undertake everything from common methods of weight loss such as dieting to extreme measures such as anorexia to achieve the body that advertisers tell them they must have. The dissatisfaction they have with their bodies leads them to consume the products that advertisers are marketing to them. One company, Dove has taken a major step forward in its advertising, by using everyday people who have a normal body type in its â€Å"Real Beauty† campaign, and other companies have followed suit with similar advertising, but the majority of advertising still promotes an unrealistic body type as being ideal and desired. Until this changes, women will continue to hold on to the desire to look like a supermodel, however unrealistic that may be, they will continue to go to great distances to turn that farfetched dream into a reality.

Examining Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Sciences Essay

Examining Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Sciences Essay Environment is defined as the set of physical, chemical and biological systems and their relationships with economic, social and cultural factors with direct or indirect, gradual or immediate effect on living beings and human ´s quality of life. Environmental Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the environment that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or that damage the environment which can come in the form of chemical substances, or energy such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants can be naturally occurring substances or energies, but are considered contaminants when in excess of natural levels. Environmental pollution is a problem both in developed and developing countries. Factors such as population growth, industrialization, and urbanization invariably place greater demands on the planet and stretch the use of maximum natural resources. All sectors of our society generate waste: industry, agriculture, mining, transportation, and construction. Among those sources, industry is the primary target of all waste generators because of its quantity and toxicity. Industries release the largest amount of highly toxic waste and we must focus on industrial pollution through pollution prevention programme and projects, need to be closely linked with policy -making process. The very first worldwide environmental concern was initiated at the World Conference on Human and Environment sponsored by the United Nations in Stockholm in 1972. The most visible result of conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) for promoting environmental enhancement program around the world. Global economy has reinforced the geographic separation among resource extraction, production and consumption. Hence, those who reap the economic benefits of using natural resources often do not bear the environmental cost. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio in June, 1992, focused on these issues. This new awareness led to an international agenda for sustainable development and various non-binding agreements. In fact, we need a balance between technological innovation and environmental enhancement, as well as a balance between economic development and environmental preservation. Agenda 21 is a blueprint for sustainable development into the 21st Century. Its basis was agreed during the Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Six key mechanisms were visualized in Agenda 21 for improved environmental management in the industrial sector: Incorporating environmental considerations in industrial development through proper siting policies and mandatory environmental impact assessments. Increasing efficiency in the production and use of materials, resources and energy. Improving existing pollution abatement technologies and developing new clean technologies, products and processes. Developing and implementing emission and effluent controls and standards. Ratifying multilateral environment agreements (MEA) such as the Montreal Protocol and the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Corporate environmental responsibility: The role of business in improving the efficiency of resource use, reducing risks and hazards, minimizing wastes and safeguarding the environment. Environmental problems are also becoming serious in India because of the interacting effects of increasing population density, industrialization and urbanization, and poor environmental management practices. Although environmental protection has always been a part and parcel of Indian Culture as evidenced by the stipulated responsibilities of the State as well as Citizens for the nature and living being in the Constitution of India under Article 48A and 5 1A (g). India is giving highest priority to this subject in its national planning. Environmental management is not, as the phrase could suggest the management of the environment as such, but rather the management of interaction by the modern human societies with, and impact upon the environment. Environmental management is a mixture of science, policy, and socioeconomic applications. It focuses on the solution of the practical problems that humans encounter in cohabitation with nature, exploitation of resources, and production of waste. Environmental laws and policies are based on the realization that the physical surroundings mark the dire necessities of mankind. Over the last few decades, the developing countries have established impressive arrays of policies, legislation and institutions for environmental protection and pollution control. Laws for Environmental Management in India The relevant laws relating to environmental management in India are listed below: The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 as amended in 2000. The Manufacture, Storage and Import or Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989 amended in 2000. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991. The Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 1994 as amended on May 14, 1994 and April 10, 1997. The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995. The Chemical Accident (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules 1996. The Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. The Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999. The Fly Ash Notification, 1999. The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. The Batteries (Management and handling) Rules, 2001. The role of environmental law is basically to shield and shelter the resources and preserve the environment. The government has taken initiative, time and again, to look into the environmental matters. Even though, over the past few years, the need to curb the environmental crises has been realized, yet there has not been any concrete step towards it. In this situation it becomes imperative that the people become aware of the environmental issues and know their rights and liabilities relating to the environment. As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards and systems are also required. A large number of tools for assessing environmental impacts are available. Examples include Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), System of Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA), Environmental Auditing (EA), Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), a newly-developed decision-making support tool, has been used in many developed and developing countries for predicting and evaluating potential environmental impact of policies, plans, and programs (PPPs), as well as for providing alternatives to avoid, mitigate, or compensate for these impacts. The concept of Strategic Environmental Assessments originated from regional development / land use planning in the developed world. In 1981, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department published the Area-wide Impact Assessment Guidebook. In Europe ,the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, the so called Espoo Convention, laid the foundations for the introduction of SEA in 1991. The general objectives of SEA are : 1. Contribute to an environmental and sustainable decision-making process 2. Improve policy, plan and programme quality 3. Strengthen and facilitate projects EIA 4. Foster new means of making decisions. Over the last 15 years, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has become an important policy instrument for national governments, particularly in Europe. The integration of environmental concerns into strategic decision making and policy making has been widely recognized as an essential feature for moving towards more sustainable development in all policy sectors. SEA is a procedural tool with the purpose of integrating environmental aspects in a structured manner into decision making processes. So, the increasing awareness of environmental impact assessment community has recently led to an intensifying debate on the theoretical foundations and the appropriate practical use of SEA. SEA is a framework within which a range of different analytical tools and methods can be applied. Assessment methods can be evaluated from different perspectives depending on the role, purpose and mechanism of assessment. The capability and international experience of the SEA approach makes it a benefit to the industrial sector in developing countries such as India. Three main, interrelated avenues for further development of SEA are Environmental Focus Strengthening existing SEA arrangements and approaches as mechanism for Environmental Sustainability Assessment and assurance Sustainability focus Utilizing SEA as a component or means of integrated assessment of the effects of Policy and Planning proposals in relation to the environmental , social and economic objectives of sustainable development. Convergence Focus Promoting the convergence of SEA within integrated assessment and planning systems for sustainable development. Some common threads run through all the three lines of approach, notably environmental integration, although the relative emphasis shifts in moving from the existing SEA approach to sustainability appraisal or integrated assessment and planning. These routes can be seen as sequential, progressive steps, securing one base before progressing to the next; and the process will take time. In India, the term SEA is not used in official parlance and, therefore, its use is not strictly governed by its many global definitions. Nevertheless, existing institutional mechanisms and EIA process at the country level provide elements of SEA that are being harnessed by decision makers and are increasingly popularizing SEA both as a concept and diagnostic tool for the review of environmental impacts including ecological, economic and social concerns that are integrated in decision making for economic development plans. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is gaining widespread recognition as a tool for integrating environmental considerations in policy, plan, and program development and decision-making. Notwithstanding the potential of SEA to improve higher-order decision processes, there has been very little attention given to integrating SEA with industry planning practices. As a result, the benefits of SEA have yet to be fully realized among industrial proponents. In this work an attempt has been made to look into the application of strategic environmental assessment for industries with the help of case studying and it is seen that SEA is an effective management tool to control industrial pollution not only for developed countries but also for developing countries. If SEA is to meet its potential, as a valuable business tool in addition to its policy role, then SEA must become relevant and responsive to the environmental governance of industry. This requires that SEA should form an integral part of industry planning and decision-making. Organization of dissertation In chapter -1, the introduction of strategic environmental assessment and its application in industry is discussed and organization of dissertation is given. In chapter -2, genesis of strategic environmental assessment is given and its benefits and performance _________________are included. In chapter- 3, a literature review of historical development and Status of SEA in developed and developing countries is presented and its relevance in Indian context is discussed. In chapter-4, the process and methodology of SEA is covered and steps in SEA process, environmental objectives and SEA framework and method are described. In chapter 5, case studies on power industry and auto industry in Shandog Province of China are taken up and various types of problems encountered in SEA are discussed. In chapter -6, results and discussions are included and recommendations for improving SEA system are given. In chapter -7, the conclusion of the study is given and the importance of SEA in future is highlighted. 2.0 SEA: Genesis Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is an impact assessment tool that is strategic in nature and has the objective of facilitating environmental integration and the assessment of the opportunities and risks of strategic actions in a sustainable development framework. The strategic action is strongly linked to the formulation of policies, and they are developed in a context of planning and programming procedures. The strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is the term used to describe the environmental assessment process for policies, plans, and programmes (PPPs). Moreover, individual projects have not only economic but also environmental, social, and political impacts that can be acceptable when considering an isolated project, but unacceptable when taking into account both the direct and indirect effects of projects, policies, and programmes acting in synergy. SEA provides the framework for the articulation of individual projects in a way that is coherent and respectful with the environmental, social, political, and economic conditions. SEA contributes to a better planning and monitoring process and is a potential tool for decision making, as its more integrated assessment procedures improve the coordination between different impact assessments. SEAs should enable foresight and assist policy makers to design projects that maximize environmental, functional, economical, social, and politica l goals. Objectives of SEA The objectives of strategic environmental assessment are to : Contribute to an environmental and sustainable decision-making process. Improve policy, plan and programme quality. Strengthen and facilitate projects EIA. Foster new means of making decisions. Benefits of SEA The immediate benefits of SEA application can be found in information that assists sound decision-making and in the consequent gains achieved in environmental protection and sustainable development. There are secondary benefits of SEA also as it Provides for a high level of environmental protection. Improves the quality of plan and programme making. Increases the efficiency of decision-making. Facilitates the identification of new opportunities for development. Helps to prevent costly mistakes. Strengthens governance. Facilitates transboundary cooperation. 2.3 SEA in the decision-making hierarchy SEA is recognised as an important decision support tool for integrating environmental considerations along with social and economic considerations into proposed policies, plans and programmes (PPPs). There is a hierarchy of levels in decision making comprising projects, programmes, plans and policies. Figure 2.1 SEA : Up-streaming environmental considerations into the decision- making Hierarchy, (Source OECD, 2006) Logically, policies shape the subsequent plans, programmes and projects that put those policies into practice. Policies are at the top of the decision-making hierarchy. As one moves down the hierarchy from policies to projects, the nature of decision-making changes, as does the nature of environmental assessment needed. Policy-level assessment tends to deal with more flexible proposals and a wider range of scenarios. Project-level assessment usually has well defined and prescribed specifications. Policies, plans and programmes (PPPs) are more strategic as they determine the general direction or approach to be followed towards broad goals. SEA is applied to these more strategic levels. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used on projects that put PPPs into tangible effect. 2.4 SEA and Sustainable Development Truly speaking, Sustainable development is meets the demands of today without destroying the possibilities for the future generations to satisfy their needs. Sustainable development is now a generally accepted vision for any sort of development, but there is a concern over how to achieve such a process. The concept of SEA can contribute to the sustainable development process. Over the last 10 years, SEA has become widely recognized by governments and development stakeholders worldwide as a valuable component of the sustainable development process. SEA, involving the environmental assessment of proposed and existing PPPs and their alternatives, is gaining widespread recognition as a supporting tool for decision making towards achieving sustainable development. The contribution of SEA towards sustainability stems from several points: SEA ensures the consideration of environmental issues from the beginning of the decision-making process. Provides a framework for the chain of actions Contributes to integrated policy making, planning, and programming Can detect potential environmental impacts at an early stage, even before the projects are designed. 2.5 Basic principles of SEA To be influential and help improve policy-making, planning and decision-taking, an SEA should: Establish clear goals. Be integrated with existing policy and planning structures. Be flexible, iterative and customised to context. Analyse the potential effects and risks of the proposed PPP, and its alternatives, against a framework of sustainability objectives, principles and criteria. Provide explicit justification for the selection of preferred options and for the acceptance of significant trade-offs. Identify environmental and other opportunities and constraints. Address the linkages and trade-offs between environmental, social and economic considerations. Involve key stakeholders and encourage public involvement. Include an effective, preferably independent, quality assurance system. Be transparent throughout the process, and communicate the results. Be cost-effective. Encourage formal reviews of the SEA process after completion, and monitor PPP outputs. Build capacity for both undertaking and using SEA. 2.6 EIA and SEA Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers. EIA is now practiced in more than 100 countries worldwide. Today, EIA is firmly established in the planning process in many of these countries. In 1989, the World Bank ruled that EIA should normally be undertaken for major projects by the borrower country under the Banks supervision. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also made recommendations to member states regarding the establishment of EIA procedures and established goals and principles for EIA. Despite the existence of good EIA guidelines and legislation, environmental degradation continues to be a major concern in developing countries. In many cases, EIA has not been effective due to legislation, organizational capacity, training, environmental information, participation, diffusion of experience, donor policy and political will. EIAs have not been able to provide environmental sustainability assurance (ESA). This failure and the inherent limitations of EIA lead to the consideration of strategic environmental assessment (SEA). It is the proactive assessment of alternatives to proposed or existing PPPs, in the context of a broader vision, set of goals or objectives to assess the likely outcomes of various means to select the best alternative(s) to reach desired ends. 2.7 The fundamental differences between SEA and EIA SEA and EIA are the tools that share a common root impact assessment, but have different assessment foci: strategies for future development with a high level of uncertainty in SEA; proposals and measures, concrete and objective, for the execution of projects in EIA. This difference between SEA and EIA in the object of assessment generates different methodological requirements related to the scale of assessment and to the decision-making process. In table 2.1, some fundamental differences between SEA and EIA are presented which help to corroborate the different methodological approaches that SEA and EIA must have. Table 2.1: Fundamental differences between SEA and EIA Some fundamental differences between SEA and EIA SEA EIA The perspective is strategic and long-term. The perspective is of execution in the short and medium-term. The process is cyclical and continuous. The process is discrete, motivated by concrete Intervention proposals. The purpose is to help build a desirable future; it is not to attempt to know the future. The intervention project has to be known with the suitable level of detail. The definition of what is intended is vague, there is a large amount of uncertainty and the data are always quite insufficient. The definition of what intends to be done is relatively precise and data are reasonably available or can be collected through field Work. Follow-up in SEA is performed through the preparation and development of policies, plans, programmes and Projects. Follow-up in EIA is performed through the construction and implementation of the project. The strategy may never be put into practice given that the actions established in plans and programmes may never be implemented. Projects requiring an EIA are executed, once their environmental feasibility is guaranteed. Figure 2.2 (a) represents the behaviour of an SEA methodology that follows a traditional EIA-based model. The objective is to assess the solutions proposed by a plan or programme and their effects. The solutions proposed in a plan or programme are taken as outcomes, not as means to achieve objectives, and SEA is going to assess the impact of these outcomes on a set of environmental factors. This approach has very limited or even zero capacity to influence the major strategic options. (b) Figure 2.2: (a) EIA-based methodology, (b) Strategic-based methodology (Source -Partidà ¡rio, 2007) Figure 2.2 (b) represents the behaviour of an SEA methodology that follows a strategic-based model the objective is to assess the proposed strategies during a planning and programming process in relation to the manner in which these strategies seek to respond to strategic problems and objectives. In this case, the aim of SEA is to analyse and discuss strategic alternative options that provide a response to the same strategic problems and objectives in an environmentally more integrated and sustainable context. The analysis is centred on how the plan or programme seeks to resolve the development objectives or the problems in an environmental and sustainable way, and not to assess the actions proposed as solutions or outcomes in the plan or programme. This approach increases the opportunity of SEA to facilitate the integration of environmental and sustainability issues in these strategic processes. 2.8 The Evolving Paradigm-from EIA to SEA The stages from EIA to SEA are given in Table 2.8 Table 2.2: Stages from EIA to SEA Paradigm / stage Key characteristics 1st Generation-Project EIA. Includes social, health and other impacts, cumulative effects and biodiversity. 2nd Generation-SEA. Applies to PPPs and legislation. 3rd Generation-towards environmental sustainability assurance (ESA). Use of EIA and SEA to safeguard critical resource and ecological functions and offset residual damage; plus environmental accounting and auditing of natural capital loss and change. Next generation-towards sustainability appraisal (SA). Integrated or full cost assessment of the economic, environmental and social impacts of proposals. 2.9 Strategic Environmental Assessment Performance Criteria A good-quality Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process informs planners, decision makers and affected public on the sustainability of strategic decisions, facilitates the search for the best alternative and ensures a democratic decision making process. This enhances the credibility of decisions and leads to more cost- and time-effective EA at the project level. For this purpose, a good-quality SEA process: Is integrated Ensures an appropriate environmental assessment of all strategic decisions relevant for the achievement of sustainable development Addresses the interrelationships of biophysical, social and economic aspects. Is tiered to policies in relevant sectors and (transboundary) regions and, where appropriate, to project EIA and decision making. Is sustainability-led Facilitates identification of development options and alternative proposals that are more sustainable. Is focused Provides sufficient, reliable and usable information for development planning and decision making. Concentrates on key issues of sustainable development. Is customized to the characteristics of the decision making process. Is cost- and time-effective. Is accountable Is the responsibility of the leading agencies for the strategic decision to be taken. Is carried out with professionalism, rigor, fairness, impartiality and balance. Is subject to independent checks and verification Documents and justifies how sustainability issues were taken into account in decision making. Is participative Informs and involves interested and affected public and government bodies throughout the decision making process. Explicitly addresses their inputs and concerns in documentation and decision making. Has clear, easily-understood information requirements and ensures sufficient access to all relevant information. Is iterative Ensures availability of the assessment results early enough to influence the decision making process and inspire future planning. Provides sufficient information on the actual impacts of implementing a strategic decision, to judge whether this decision should be amended and to provide a basis for future decisions. 2.10 SEA as a PPP (policies, programmes and plans) formulation tool SEA methodology should emphasize the role of SEA as a PPP formulation tool. It is at the stage of PPP formulation, rather than of appraisal of an already formulated PPP (for instance, green paper stage, review, public consultation) that SEA can be most effective. PPPs go through a complex process of evolution during their development, and SEA has a significant role to play in this, as shown in Fig. 2.3 Figure 2.3: Role of SEA in PPP formulation (Source Therivel, 2000) SEA should start early in PPP formulation and be integrated, preferably as an active intervention in the PPP design process Fig. 2.3 shows SEA as a design tool and not as a document. The preparation of a report is probably the least important part of the SEA. It should be regarded only as documentation of the processes used, and available, where necessary for later review. The real value in SEA is as a creative tool in the cycle of PPP formulation and reformulation. Bailey and Renton (1997) report, from their study of government agencies in Australia, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the majority of responding agencies view policy formulation as the most appropriate point in the decision-making process for the consideration of environmental effects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This value is derived from the involvement of environmental professionals in PPP formulation and increased environmental awareness amongst decision- makers, which leads to PPP modification where necessary to respond to environmental/ sustainability objectives. SEA also requires that the decision maker be an active participant in the SEA process. Relegation of th e conduct of the SEA to consultants external to the PPP formulation process is unlikely to have the same effect on the outcome as extensive involvement by the proponent who holds the key to PPP modification and the early involvement of the decision-makers themselves. 2.11 Three lines of argumentation and Development of SEA In spite of almost two decades of experience, Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) foundations remain unclear to the point that the case for needing an instrument called SEA could be questioned. The aim is to ask what problems SEA was meant to solve, and what needs it was meant to address, by reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of SEA thinking to date. This critical reflection on the foundations of SEA has helped identify the strengths and weaknesses of arguments relating to the concept and approach to SEA. The three lines of argumentation supporting the development of SEA are summarized in table 2.3 Table 2.3 Three lines of argumentation supporting the development of SEA First line of argumentation On strategic The strategic dimension of SEA originally linked to the paucity of environmental type assessments of policies, plans and programmes (PPPs). Second line of argumentation On procedures, methods and tools The framing of SEAs methodological dimension in response to perceived limitations in EIA practice, and the growing emphasis on process versus technique Third line of argumentation On purpose The purpose of SEA and the increased reference to the contribution to sustainable development (Source -Bina Olivia, 2007) The main factors influencing the early development of these lines of argumentation, and their evolution over the last 15 years are highlighted in below Fig. 2.4 Figure 2.4 : Changing concept of SEA First line of argumentation The first line of argumentation has been a decisive influence in slowing the evolution of SEA in response to identified problems with EIA, by claiming that its strategic dimension was the result of the strategic nature of the planning decisions it was assessing, and by oversimplifying the nature of PPPs and of tiering. This has meant that the development of the strategic dimension of SEA, in terms of its role, procedures, methods and tools, was delayed until the late 1990s. Second line of argumentation Second line of argumentation initially focused on technical and procedural problems (symptoms) related to EIA practice. It was not until the late 1990s that the SEA community began to address the caus