The Causes and Effects of Yoga On Todays Society - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1149 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/07/04 Category Sports Essay Type Cause and effect essay Level High school Tags: Yoga Essay Did you like this example? Recently in the past couple of years beginning in 2012 according to researchers, an increase in practicing yoga and meditation in not only adults but in children as well has increased. More kids are beginning to learn about yoga, and for them its beginning to become a new form of exercise and more schools are beginning to open it up to them as well. Many more yoga studios are beginning to open up and the new clothing trend is seeming to be active yoga wear. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Causes and Effects of Yoga On Todays Society" essay for you Create order For example lets take a well known yoga brand Lululemon, in recent years statistics have shown their sales have skyrocketed not to mention other well known active wear such as Nike and many more brands that sell yoga attire. Also in many recent commercials that have dealt with anything fitness related you may have come across yoga as a scene in the background, or somehow to whatever is being advertised on tv. Yoga is a type of exercise used to release energy in a peaceful way, but recently over these few years the number of people practicing this technique has increased due to the many benefits it offers such as improving cardiovascular health, sleep cycles and much more, which most likely has been the reason for so many studios to start opening up and for active wear sales to increase. According to an article written about yoga it stated, The 2012 study indicates that 8.7 percent of U.S. adults, or 20.4 million people, practice yoga. Of current non-practitioners, 44.4 percent of Americans call themselves aspirational yogis. (YJ editors) Recently more yoga studios are beginning to open up and more gyms are starting to add studios within their area for classes they offer as well. As I mentioned before fitness seems to be the trend in todays society and since more people have been at the gyms lately, they may see others practicing yoga which may cause them to want to try it out. This also relates to what I talked about in my introduction about the clothing trend. More yoga attire is beginning to sell a lot faster because people are seeming to, either do yoga on a daily basis or they are just purchasing the clothes because its what everyone is wearing these days. Not to mention this is doing very well for many of the sportswear companies such as Nike, Under Armour, L uLuLemon because all of there sales have began to increase drastically. According to an article from Forbes, The sport leisure style has become the largest category in the U.S. sneaker space, beating performance-oriented footwear, according to a study released this week by market research firm NPD Group. In sharp contrast, while demand for sport leisure styles surged 17% last year to $9.6 billion in sales, sales of performance apparel tumbled 10% to $7.4 billion, NPD said, adding the performance categories decline has accelerated the last two years. (Cheng) Practicing yoga techniques has shown to improve cardiovascular health by lowering your blood pressure, and increasing blood flow throughout the body especially to the heart. Yoga, like I explained earlier is a way for the body to let out energy in a way thats not so vigorous. Youre probably wondering, how yoga can improve your cardiovascular health? Well it turns out it actually is better than the normal cardio workouts many people do such as running, treadmills, and many more hardcore workouts. Reducing stress is a way to keep your heart healthy. Dr. Carrie Demers who is an integrative medicine physician said in an interview, I think stress reduction is a big piece of reducing cardiovascular disease risk. (Demers) Although doing the usual cardio workouts alo helps it only has shown to help strengthen the heart or to make it stronger. Yoga is now proven to improve peoples blood pressure and surprisingly has led to weight loss as well. When youre chronically stressed, your blood pres sure goes up. Your cholesterol goes up because of the increase in cortisol. If we simply breathe, stretch, and relax- that is do yoga- we decrease our risk of heart disease. (Dr. Demer) Although all of this is true it doesnt mean we should just forget about the normal cardio workouts and focus only on yoga. It is still important to go on a walk or run every now and then just to keep the heart strong. Taking a deep breath once in awhile is a way of practicing yoga because your allowing for the oxygen to flow sufficiently. Though more research is needed when it comes to answering the why, how, and What kind of yoga? questions, these initial findings are promising. (Heagberg) Another great benefit of yoga is that it has been proven to help with sleep and in some cases insomnia.You may not actually realize it, but sleep is the most important thing for the human body its a time for everything to be at rest. Although not every night is going to be a good nights rest, we often encounter sleep deprivation and disturbances throughout the night which is totally normal. On the other hand though too many disturbances or creating a pattern of sleep deprivation is not good for the body. A mere week of unrest or sleep deprivation can cause severe changes in mood: depression, decreases in emotional regulation, and obvious depletion. It seems that a good nights rest can also enhance the positive feelings and states of being that we cultivate through yoga practice. Theres really something to the idea of sleeping off difficult experiences. (LoRusso) By practicing yoga in a mediation way it allows your mind to come to peaceful state of mind. For example, simply sitting do wn in a quiet area and taking deep breaths and allowing your mind to come to an ease is a form of meditation yoga, which will allow for our minds to be calm at night when sleeping. If youre not up for practicing a full routine of yoga poses, you can also try practising mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation involves learning to accept your thoughts, emotions, and feelings and relies on you to develop an awareness of the sensations youre experiencing in the present, which can be hugely relaxing. Whilst mindfulness is great for unwinding your mind, it doesnt tire out your body. Combining both physical fatigue and mental relaxation is one of the main reasons yoga improves sleep. (Sonno) From what I have researched along the way I have come to a conclusion that the number of people practicing yoga is increasing rapidly due to not only the facts that yoga offers a wide range of health benefits but, also because many people like to do what others do. For example, what I mean by follow was that whatever the trend or current obsession is at the moment people like to do or have whatever that certain thing is. In this case the trend would be practicing yoga.

The Color Purple Essay - 1061 Words

In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Celie leads a life filled with abuse at the hands of the most important men in her life. As result of the women who surround and help her, Celie becomes stronger and overcomes the abuse she experienced. The three most influential women in Celie’s life are her sister Nettie, her daughter-in-law Sofia, and the singer Shug Avery. These are the women who lead Celie out of her shell and help her turn from a shy, withdrawn woman to someone who was free to speak her mind and lead her own independent life. Celie is inspired by her sister’s independence, determination and perseverance in Africa among foreign people whom Nettie cares about deeply. Celie saw the impact that a woman could have on others and felt†¦show more content†¦Shug Avery is someone Celie admired from a young age. Shug’s exuberance and charm with people are qualities Celie never dreamed of having herself until Shug walks into her life and Celie does mo re with her life by actually overcoming the abuse and becomes someone more. â€Å"I ast her to give me the picture. An all night long I stare at it. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery.† (Walker 7). Shug comes into Celie’s life as her husband’s mistress who was very ill but not lacking in character. She treats Celie with disrespect at first, but after living with her for some time and being nursed back to health by her Shug gains a respect for her. She teaches Celie how to speak for herself and to defend herself against Mr. Shug is the one who helps Celie escape by taking her on her tour where Celie learns how to expertly sew pants. This is another major step towards independence because Celie is no longer financially dependent on anyone but herself because she creates a successful business by making pants. Upon her return to her home, she inherits her father’s home thereby completely separating her from the men who held control over her. She can now receive her sister’s letters and make her own money. The people who love her surround her and her personality develops unhindered by abuse. Celie’s idol came through to set her free and now idolizes her to an extent. After Celie’s new independence, herShow MoreRelatedCritical Essay on the Color Purple1343 Words   |  6 PagesWalker’s Purple is Not Just a Color Alice Walker’s epistolary novel The Color Purple demonstrates how the mistreatment of a woman cannot prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Celie, is a young, uneducated black girl who is verbally and sexually abused by her supposed father, Alphonso. He fathers two children with her, kidnapping both and presumably killing one, if not both. 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Her writing’s helped to break the racial tension and barrier that was present in some people’s minds. One of the ways that the barrier was eliminated was through her depiction of an imperfect black person. If a white person were to write about an imperfect black person it would be considered racist. â€Å" I think the most chilling thing to me about the response to The Color P urple was that peopleRead MoreThe Color Purple Essay954 Words   |  4 PagesAn Analysis of three messages from The Color Purple â€Å"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are† Some people cant wait to grow up, whereas others want to hold onto the past and not see what is to come. Those people that hold onto the past or live in the past dont know how to move on. An author by the name Alice Walker(b. 1944) a woman that believed she could do a lot. Alice Walker wrote a book and it was also turned into a movie but a man stated, â€Å"the book — about the abuse andRead MoreThe Color Purple Theme Essay1400 Words   |  6 PagesBeasley, Taliah Mr. Neill Language Arts 11 December 2017 The Color Purple In The Color Purple, there were several themes such as Violence, Sexuality, Power, God or Spiritually. Power is a key role in this novel. Walker focuses throughout the novel that the ability to express someone’s thoughts and feelings is critical to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is truly unable to resist those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso’s warning thatRead MoreEssay Sisters in The Color Purple777 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker, Celies life was falling apart. Due to her step-fathers actions, she became pregnant and then quickly had her children whisked away from her. She was sent away to marry a man she didnt know, and experienced more hardships than many could even attempt to fathom. Thankfully, she had her dear sister, Nettie, to think of and lean on both mentally and emotionally even when she wasnt able to be with her physically. In the beginning, the girls motherRead More the color purple Essay examples1243 Words   |  5 Pages Color of Purple is a Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black womans struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular. African-American people have had to climb over many obstacles to get to their position today. First, was the selling of their people into slavery. Then, they endured slavery itself, being treated likeRead More Summary of The Color Purple Essay2651 Words   |  11 Pages Alice Walkers The Color Purple is a touching story of one African American womans journey through abuse and oppression to finding her own voice and self-worth as well as definite place in the world around her. The novel is written in an epistolary format and has a very confessional and emotionally raw tone. Through using this format, Walker has more freedom to weave an impressive network of heartfelt themes and colorful characters, in addition to displaying her talents for delivering to

Curriculum changes and development free essay sample

This chapter describes how the curriculum for Basic Education evolved from 1973 to 2010. It describes the changes and innovations implemented as necessitated by the changing factors in our country’s political, social, economic, cultural and technological environments. The discussions include an analysis of the processes and outcomes in accordance with the prevailing national development agenda. It also presents some best practices and lessons learned. Curriculum Changes and Innovations â€Å"Curriculum is a potent tool for reform when it integrates and interrelates subjects and disciplines in a manner that makes learning experiences meaningful† William Malloy, â€Å"Essential Schools and Inclusion: A Responsive Partnership† in The Educational Forum(1996) Anyone wanting to build must have a plan. Just as an architect always carries along him a blueprint of his house plan, so does a national leader every so often checks if the curriculum reflects the country’s national development aspirations. The curriculum and its implementation in every classroom could be the main reasons for poor education quality. A host of related problems can be said to explain these critical findings, but issues of competence and commitment of every teachers and school head in imparting the curriculum and in equally assuming the responsibility over the student’s outcomes become apparent. This brings to the fore how crucial curriculum planning and development are as the vehicle for developing a national framework to achieve the objectives of attaining quality education as enshrined in the Philippines constitutions of 1973 and 1987. The goal of Education through the curriculum has always been to mold an ideal Filipino who is healthy, responsible, morally upright, capable of learning and relearning, economically productive, hard-working, adaptable to local and international environment, and steadfast in his faith. Translating these quality in operational term 1. Preschool Education Grade K) Sense of God, self and other Starting to imbibe what is good from what is bad Basic etiquettes for dining, playing, hygiene and sharing Distinguish shapes, colours, letters and numbers Readiness for formal elementary education 2. Elementary Level (grades 1 to 6) Sense of God, self, family and community Identify good from bad Understands the virtues of giving and sharing Curious about things Can think and communicates Proud as a Filipino and takes pride in what they do 3. Secondary Level (Grades 7 to 12) Has moral integrity and willingness to engage in hard work Better appreciation of God and self as well as care and concern for others Can create and believe in own ability, including ways to inspire and motivate others Can participate in team effort and appreciates every team member’s contribution Appreciates music, culture and arts Can protect and conserve the environment Understands the need to develop further own capabilities and potentials and strive for excellence Understands the situation of the Philippines and commits to help for its betterment DepEd has always endeavoured to produce a â€Å"Filipino learners who is empowered for lifelong learning, an active maker of meaning and can learn whatever he or she needs to know in any context. Such an empowered learner is competent in learning how to learn and has life skills so that he or she becomes a self- developed person who is makabayan (patriotic), makatao (Mindful of Humanities), maka-kalikasan (respectful of nature) and maka-Diyos (God-centered). To attain this, curriculum design and implementation by DepEd should now consider the desired outcomes and ultimately develop responsible citizens, future leaders and professionals, most especially teachers. Curriculum planners and developers understand their ultimate responsibility to plant the seeds of knowledge and information in the minds and hearts of the next generation. While addressing the students’ differential learning abilities, they lsos aim to integrate urgent societal needs demands and issues such as differences in ethnicity, culuture, creed and language. Once the foundations are laid, curriculum developers and planners should introduce innovations that prepare the students for the future. BASES OF CURRICULUM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRY 1. Preschool Education Readiness for formal education 2. Elementary Education provide the knowledge and develop the skills, attitudes, and values essential for personal development, a productive life and constructive engagement within a changing social milieu: Provide learning experiences that increase the child’s awareness of and responsiveness to the demands of society. Promote and intensify awareness of, identification with, and love for our nation and the community to which the learners belongs Promotes experiences that develop the learner’s orientation to the world of work and prepare the learners to engage in honest and gainful work. 3. Secondary Education Continue the general education started in the elementary; Prepares the learners for college; Prepare the learners for the world of work. 4. Non- formal Education Eradicate illiteracy and raise the level of functional literacy of the population Provide an alternative means of learning and certification for out-of-school youth and adults. Develop among the learners the proper values, attitudes and knowledge to enable them to think critically and act creatively for personal, community and national These objectives must be satisfied by the country’s educational system via the curriculum; moreover, educational systems in the world have emphasized functional literacy. This is officially defined as the range of skills and competencies- cognitive, affective and behavioural PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM The critical years in a child’s life are from birth to six years of age. Then DECS Secretary Lourdes Quisumbing issued in 1989 DECS Order 107, which states: During these critical years, basic character, values, abilities, personality, skills, aptitude, attitudes and knowledge are formed. These qualities when properly developed shape the individual’s overall perspective and preparedness for life. It has been confirmed by studies that the experiences and the learning that preschool children undergo during the first six years of their life have a lasting effect on their intellectual development as well as on the development of their social and physical skills. Preschool programs serve a range of purposes. Recognizing this, the MEC- Bureau of Public Schools issued Memorandum 25, series of 1971, encouraging the school divisions to establish public preschool classes, whenever possible. This policy was issued even before the passage of educational Act of 1982 and the promulgation of the first EFA Philippines Plan of Action 1991-2000 which identified Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), covering ages 0-6 years, as one of its crucial components. As a general guide, DepEd has been prescribing policies to improve preschool education, from the time of Florencio Abad to Mona Valismo. In 2005, President Arroyo mandated universal coverage of five-year-old children for preschool education and directed DepEd to develop the curriculum standards and framework, and to spearhead the training of teachers and day care center workers on these curriculum standards. As part of the government’s commitment to the world EFA movement, there have been several proposed bills to institutionalized and make preschool part of the basic education ladder. The last of which (house Bill 5367) was passed in Congress which constituted a consolidation of ten proposals. One of the outstanding features of the said bill is the provision of free preschool education to all five-year-old children and making this compulsory on the third year of its implementation. Basic Educational Curriculum Revised Elementary and Secondary Curriculum (1973) From 1965 to 1975, the revised Elementary Education Program aimed to develop the spiritual, moral and physical aspects of children by providing them with experiences in the democratic way of life and inculcating ideals and attitudes necessary for patriotic, upright and useful citizenship Under Marcos’s New Society, education underwent a dramatic transformation. The reform initiative was contained in the development plan towards the utilization of human potential to serve national purposes. The Education Department undertook a bold step in the overall restructuring of the curriculum in all levels guided by the following assumptions: 1. If the students can see relationship between what they are being asked to learn in school and the world of occupations they will be motivated to learn more in school. 2. No single learning strategy exists that is ideal for all learners. 3. Basic academic skills, a personally meaningful set of work values, and good work habits represent adaptability tools needed by all who choose to work in today’s emerging complex society. National Elementary School Curriculum (1983) The NESC covered the general education of the child- as a human person, as a citizen, and as a productive agent. It had a fewer learning areas to emphasize mastery learning. More time was allotted to the development of basic skill, specifically the 3Rs in the lower grades. There was greater emphasis on the development of a sense of humanity and nationhood in all learning areas. NESC Time allotment (minutes per week) New Secondary Education Curriculum (1986-1992) To improve the quality of secondary education and to respond to the findings of studies on Philippine education, Bureau of Secondary Education developed the National Secondary Curriculum (NSEC). Values Education; Araling Panlipunan; Filipino; Science and Technology; English; Physical Education; Health and Music; Mathematics; and Technology and Home economics. Furthering Values Education in the NESC and NSEC (1986-1998) 1. The objective of values education was to produce persons with a balanced well-being who will join the country’s human resource. 2. At the tertiary level, universities and colleges followed suit through their social science subjects and courses while teacher education institutes adjusted their pre-service teacher education programs to meet this directive. Basic Education Curriculum (2000-2002) 1. It was under President Arroyo that the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum was crafted based on the report of the Committee on Curriculum Reform under Br. Andrew Gonzales and continued by Raul Roco. 2. Moreover, the four Pillars of Education by UNESCO’s Jacques Delors (1996 : 22-24) also influenced the restructuring of the curriculum. The third and fourth pillars, Iearning to live together and learning to be, which emphasize the use of knowledge gained to improved one’s self and one’s relationship with others, were perceived as very relevant and thus highlighted in the BEC. Structure of the BEC Filipino, English, Science, Mathematics and Makabayan. Connect related subjects from the different learning areas; Increase the time allotted for science, english and mathematics; Create multifaceted basic education teachers; Reduce congestion of subjects offered in basic education Reduce the hiring of teachers if one is able to teach different learning areas (particularly in the elementary level); Improve the positive outlook towards work to increase productivity; Increase each individual’s ability to cope in a fast-changing world; Increase the importance of the arts, music, sports, dance and other aspects of Philippine culture; and Develop nationalism among the Filipinos and increase individual responsibility as a citizen. Elementary Level Sibika at Kultura (SK) (I-III)/ Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, Sibika (HKS) (IV-VI) Musika, Sining at Edukasyong Pangkatawan (MSEP) integrated in Grade I-III; separate subjects in Grade IV-VI Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP) (IV-VI) Edukasyong Pagpapakatao (EP); separate subjects from Grade I- VI Secondary Level Araling Panlipunan Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) Musika, Sining at Edukasyong Pangkatawan at pangkalusugan Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum The 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum (SEC) was implemented in June 2010. Prior to its implementation, DepEd undertook a monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the 2002 BEC involving case studies of 20 schools, coming from the following typologies of High Schools: general high schools funded fully by the national government; newly established high school funded jointly by the national, provincial, and municipal government; science high schools; private high schools; technical-vocational high schools. Summarizing Commonalities of the Past and Current Curricula 1. Emphasis on Major Learning Areas: Science Mathematics Language 2. Socio-Cultural Learning Areas: Citizenship Social Studies History (heritage) religion 3. Cross-cutting Areas Poverty Alleviation Equity/ Inclusive Education Gender mainstreaming Quality from the perspective of EFA Human Rights Other 4. Recognition and Growing Emphasis on New Learning Areas: ICT as a learning area and as a tool for learning Technical- Vocational Education Comprehensive Health Promotion and Care Education for Sustainable Development Climate Change Disaster preparedness Skills

Small Buisness Essays - Great Recession In The United States

Well here we go again, first we started with the Wall Street Bailout then we moved to the Stimulus package, and the government through in a few other tries with TARP (Trouble Asset Relief Program), Mortgage Relief program, PPIP (Public-Private Investment Program) and now we move to the Small Business Bill which as of September 27, 2010 is now a Law. President Obama is really pushing this bill in a statement he summed up his feelings by stating ?This is important because small businesses produce most of the new jobs in this country, they are the anchors of Main Streets. They are part of the promise of America, the idea that if you?ve got a dream and you?re willing to work hard, you can succeed. That?s what leads a worker to leave a job to become his/her own boss. That?s what propels a basement inventor to sell a new product, or an amateur chef to open a restaurant. It?s this promise that has drawn millions to our shores and made or economy the envy of the world.? The problem is that none of the fore mentioned programs or bailouts worked and yet the government is still throwing out half-baked plans at situations to try and fix them. Some of the programs were on the right path to correcting the problem, just either wasn?t strong enough or for instance with the TARP, we just didn?t have enough money to officially bailout the issues. So now we have the new Small Business Bill, on paper it look as if the program would work with one small minor detail, I will get to that later. As for the bill, the tax breaks and money the government is putting into this, small business will get a much deserved break from the economic situation that society is in. Some key points to the bill, cell phone deduction, family health care deduction for the self-employed, changes to the SBA?s (Small Business Administration) loans, and now of course the money aspect. The SBB will give $30 billion in lending and $12 billion in tax breaks. The SBB passed the Democratic Party with ease, then the G.O.P (Grand Old Party) or better known today as the Republican Party blocked it for two weeks and probably would still be that way today if two retiring Republicans wouldn?t have broken rank and voted to end the blocking maneuvers and President Obama wasn?t taking shots at the party for the blocking. President Obama made this statement in a Wall St. Journal report ?It's going to speed relief to small businesses across the country right away,? Obama said. "We've got to keep moving forward. That's why I fought so hard to pass this bill, and that's why I'm going to continue to do everything in my power to help small businesses open up and hire and expand." With the bill passed the estimated incentives could provide up to $300 billion in small business credit and a projected creation of some 500,000 new jobs. Yet in most part the SBB is in effect to help existing small business, and in a study done by Business Dynamic Statistics with data from U.S. Census Bureau, shows how the creation of new companies and not that of companies already is existents is how you produce the largest number of new jobs. Small Business Bill does have some beneficial items for the small business, as stated before, $30 billion in capital lending, new loan amounts from SBA?s to include raises in the 7(a) loan which is the basic and most commonly used type of loans. The other used loan is the 504 loan, this is the loan that is used for a long term tool to help economic development with in a community, and these loans go from $2 million to $5 million. The Express loan will rise to $1 million from the previous amount of $300,000. Small business owners can use a temporary allowance from a 504 loan to finance mortgages to avoid any foreclosures. Startup companies will get a raise of $150,000 for any expense deductions thresholds. There is also a grant pool of $2 million, in which states have to show that there has been $10 in lending for

Communications theory

Child Welfare essays

Child Welfare essays Child welfare is a set of government and private services that protects children and encourages family stability. These services include investigations of alleged child abuse, foster care, adoption services, and services that can provide support at-risk families so that they can remain intact especially in poorer countries where the government infrastructure is much weaker (Child Welfare 2003). However, there are many challenges that child welfare is facing due to lack of funding and resources. Some of these challenges come from child abuse, where parents' rights come first rather than the childs best interest. Another challenge is adoption because so many potential parents are rejected due to their race and more children are left limbo (Bartholet 1999).. There are solutions for these issues; however they remain unused, which puts child welfare into an unfair position. Despite the issues, there are still debates if gay adoption should be allowed because some people believe that lesbians and gay men encourage homosexuality even though there are others that believe that they can provide a stable home. Along with that, it has been proven children from divorced parents or have other issues have problems with low self-esteem and social competence because they left out from one or both parents. This is due to the fact that the parent is usually self-absorbed from their own emotional pain, which causes them to unintentional neglect their son or daughters needs. By this occurring, children become very withdrawn in the classroom even though they do attempt express their emotional pain to their teacher. From there, it has been concluded from research divorced children have more emotional and social issues than those who come from a two-parent home. The present findings support in part Holland's position that persons tend to become like the dominant persons in the environment. Daughters whose mothers and...

Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drugs - Essay Example An example would be, if a person gets addicted to heroine, it is almost impossible to quit. Even though there are other soft drugs like marijuana, and others still they are addictive. And, in this light drugs should be made illegal as they are harmful to people. I strongly, propose that drugs should be made illegal. Another side of the problem is Why should drugs be legal Drugs are used for lot of other useful remedies, and keeping it illegal causes some problems. Government should do something to control the drug problem. It should make people aware that abuse of drugs is illegal. Illegal use of drugs causes several problems of social and criminal nature. This leads to many drug violators and serious offenders behind the bars. The money and expense used in managing the drug related problem is very big. It makes government spend too much money to buildings which are needed to accommodate these criminals. This is also a burden on the taxpayers, and nobody likes this situation. "it is possible to stop most drug addiction in the United States within a very short time. Simply make all drugs available and sell them at cost" (Vidal 384). I think this part is important to support the legalizations. The drugs are now spread out to the black market such as mafia. It relates with money, they make lots of money from drug businesses. However if government make that legal and sell it at cost, then black market could not sell the drugs illegally. The active part to control and legalize the drugs will help solve the problem. The second part of the problem is when it is illegal? Drugs have deep impact on the minds of the people, which make them get involved in crime.

Practical report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Practical report - Essay Example The contents include fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The enzymes that break apart DNA are thereafter destroyed (Bruns 2007, 50). DNA content is then separated from other cell components. The researcher then precipitates the DNA and re-suspends it in a solution suitable for its studies. When extracting DNA from the cheek cells, saline solution used to rinse the mouth helps to prevent the cells extracted from splitting open or lysing too soon. Centrifugation separates the cheek cells from mouth wash used (Johannson 1972, 39). Spinning the mixture in a centrifuge settles the heavier cells to the bottom of the tube to form pellets. Saline solution pours away, leaving the clumped cheek cells at the bottom of the tube. Lysis buffer added to the cell clump splits open the cells to release DNA from inside the nucleus. The buffer contains soap that dissolves and breaks fatty membranes of the cells, buffer that maintains the pH of the solution and ions that increase osmotic pressure outside the cheek cell and aids in ripping open the cell membrane. Incubation in hot water helps denature cytoplasmic enzymes that break up DNA. Concentrated salt solution changes polarity of the solution under study. DNA elements dissolve in ionic solutions. This is as opposed to other components of the solution; proteins, carbohydrates and fats. ... The process is additionally useful in assessing and distinguishing the variable sizes of alleles. This discerning of allele sizes best takes place with the DNA strands placed at a single locus. Gel Electrophoresis also assesses the quantity and quality of DNA that is present in a sample (Komrakova 2006, 51). This method separates chemical molecules and compounds by charge and size. Substances that are separated are stationed in wells in the agarose gel and an electric field applied. Positively charged molecules and compounds move towards the negative terminal while the negatively charged particles and compounds move towards the positive anode. Larger and longer particles experience difficulty in moving across the mixture to the positive or negative terminal, and are suspended in the gel matrix. Smaller and shorter molecules move easily through the agarose gel matrix and take positions according to their polarity. When strained, the small sized segments form a tight band as they move at relatively the same speed. Type of medium and concentration of the gel determines the gel’s pore size and its ability to segregate same sized fragments. While polyacrylamide gels separate DNA segments differing by a base pair, agarose gels separate fragments of DNA differing by hundreds or more base pairs. Combs forming wells are placed into the gel as it solidifies and cools. The combs are then removed after the gel solidifies. Students can use gel electrophoresis in determining quality and quantity of the DNA matter they extract from their cheek cells. In day-to-day applications, the method is useful in fingerprinting or profiling, DNA sequencing and genetic

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 Case Essay

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 Case - Essay Example Tsunamis are undersea-bed earthquakes that create a great effect on the water above the surface. However, in the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, there were no specific indications that something was already happening in the seabed. This is the reason why it was not that easy for the resort goers to immediately flee from the area towards a safer place. They were all caught in surprise when the water waves began splashing huge amounts of water to the sea shore killing hundreds of people who were just sitting and resting around the area. The waves were big and disastrous along with the mixed heavy winds that it comes along with. The complete disaster was even forcefully controlled by the unwillingness of some to flee away from their houses near the sea area believing that this was just a simple sea wave change. Little did these people know that this was a huge tragedy that waits to devastate their lives. Besides the natural reaction of the earth from heating up, the human works of denuding the forests made it harder for nature to control the situation itself. Apparently, the reduction of such trees limited the possibility and the capability of the warmed up earth to cool itself down. Besides this, the lack of signs from the actual behaviour of the sea from where the tsunamis are already happening below its sea bed made it hard for the people to tell that something wrong was going to happen. The bubbling or frothing of the sea at the top portion which is seen by the people has not happened and was not able to signal the people around. Basically, caused by the imbalance in nature, even this warning was not undergone properly by the process that was supposed to give a cue as to what was going to happen next. The incapability of the people to tell made the disaster even more tragic for the human population living within the areas affected. As seen from the television news, some of the tourists were even enjoying the cool breeze of the air when the waves suddenly turned gigantic eating them out from the seashore towards the sea's center turbulent area. Without the capability of the earth to support the need of limiting such disasters from happening, the earthquake lasted for at least several minutes that were enough to kill thousands within Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. This disaster reminds people at present that apparently, too much development may cause devastation on the capability of the earth to heal itself. No matter how prepared people could be, no matter how knowledgeable they may seem about the occurrence of such devastating events in the natural environment, it could not be denied that the imbalance of the earth's temperature and composition makes all these efforts of being prepared worthless. This is the reason why the Hokkaido incident was less damaging compared to the properties lost and the lives that were taken from that of the occurrence of the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004. What mitigation and/or

Patient with Congestive Heart Failure

Patient with Congestive Heart Failure Patient S.V. is a 54 years old female. She is a postmenopausal housewife and her family history is not being recorded. She is a non-smoker and does not drink alcohol at all. She has no-known drug allergic. The past medical history showed us that Madam S.V. is having, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), hypertension (HPT) for 10 years and diabetes mellitus (DM) for 7 years. She was admitted to the hospital on few weeks ago due to congestive heart failure. Madam S.V.s drugs history include: T. furosemide 40mg od Oedema HF T. perindopril 4mg od HF HPT T. spironolactone 25mg od HF T. Losec (Omeprazole) 20mg bd Duodenal ulceration P. Calcium lactate 1 puff od Calcium supplement T. Rocatriol 0.25mg bd Vitamin D supplement T. Metformin 500mg bd DM T. folate 5mg od Folate deficiency T. Methotrexate 20mg/week RA Clinical data The abnormal result of FBC may due to folate deficiency that caused by side effect of methotrexate. Besides that, patient was having high neutrophil number for his differential count which is 8.7 k/ µL (normal range 1.9-8.7 k/ µL). This may due to the long-term use of corticorsteroid. Patients total carbon dioxide in the blood was two times higher than normal range (23-27 Vol%). Prothrombin time and INR of the patient was low: PT =11.1 sec (normal range = 11.9-14.5 sec), INR = 0.82 (normal range 2-4). However, the reason is unknown. Diagnosis ECG and chest X-ray were carried out and the results showed that patient was having sinus tachycardia and cardiomegaly. Cardiovascular system of patient also had been checked. It found that the patient was having a 3rd heart sound. Hence, the patient was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF). Clinical progress DAY 1 Patient is admitted to the hospital at 10.30am by ambulance. She is weak but conscious and alert. The patient complains that she is shortness of breath (SOB) and her sleep has been interrupted due to SOB. It can also be considered as paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (PND) which is sudden, severe SOB at night that awakes a person from sleep, often coughing and wheezing. At the same time, she also experiences from chest discomfort and swelling leg. Besides that, the patient also shows the symptoms of cushings syndrome such as moonface and hirstuism. The blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate (PR) of Madam S.V. are found to be quite high as well, which is 118/87mm/Hg and 146b/min respectively. Test ordered include FBC, RP, LFT, ABG, Coagulation test, UE, CXR, ECG and random glucose test. Nebulizer is given to patient once she is admitted. She is also on high flow mask oxygen 15L/min at the same time to ease the problem of SOB. Salfasalazine 1g bd is added to patient. The management plan is to carry out lung function test, continue to on the face mask for oxygen supply, revise all test results, restrict fluid and continue with old medications. DAY 2 Patient still complain of minimal SOB and minimal chest pain. Another new complain, headache, has been recorded. Her BP and PR have been slowly decreased but they are still not within the normal range. T. bisoprolol 2.5mg od is added for a better control of HPT and HF. Management plan include restrict fluid DAY 3 Patient is no longer complaining for anything. She has no chest pain and SOB anymore. Her PR has back to normal range. However her BP is still slightly higher than normal range. Management plan is same as day 2. Sulphasalazine since the condition of RA is improved. DAY 4 Patient is feeling well, comfortable and tolerating orally. Her BP and PR are within the normal range. The management plan is to perform a CRX report, patient can be discharged if normal result is obtained and continue old medications. Pharmaceutical care issues There are few things need to be taken care of in this case. Firstly, the patient is having the problem of nausea and vomiting and no action is taken to solve this problem. Antiemetic drug (H1 receptor antagonist, cyclizine; D2 receptor antagonist, halopiridol) should be given. At the same time, underlying cause of nausea and vomiting has to be identified if possible. This may caused by side effect of perindopril. Secondly, patient is having cushings syndrome due to long-term usage of steroids for her rheumatoid arthritis. However, there is no any record about the steroids intake for patient in clinical notes. Hence, we have to ask GP or patient to make sure that whether she has stopped taking steroids or still continue with it. According to CSM, long-term corticosteroids therapy should be withdrew gradually. Abrupt discontinuation of corticosteroids therapy may cause severe symptoms because normal production of steroids by the body has been affected. The dose may be reduced rapidly down to physiological doses (prednisolone 7.5mg daily). Then, the progress of dose reducing can be slowed down. The patient is hirudism which is one of the symptoms of cushings syndrome. This problem can be overcome by local measures such as shaving, or depilation such as using wax or cream (eg: eflornithine). The dose of T.folate for patient which is 5mg once daily is indicated for treatment of megaloblastic anemia. However, the FBC test result does not show any symptoms of megaloblastic anemia. The dose of T.folate should be 5mg once daily if it is indicated for folate deficiency induced by mehtotrexate. Blood film should be carried out to make sure that whether the patient is having megaloblastic anemia or not. FBC, serum folate and serum B12 are reliable indicator of folate status. Real indication of T.folate has to be clarified with doctor before dispense the drug. Oedema problem never been improved since the day patient been admitted into the hospital. Restrict fluid intake and strict I/O charting is carried out. However, patient is not compliance to it. Some simple self-care techniques can be taught to patient to reduce the build up of fluid. Counsel the patient about the importance of following Strict I/O chart. Dose of furosemide can be increased if oedema doesnt improve. The blood pressure of patient is still not stable yet. Patient has to be counseled to improve her diet and lifestyle. It is also necessary to monitor BP of patient regularly. Increasing dose of ÃŽÂ ²-blocker can be considered if BP is not reducing. However, due to its negative inotropic effect, ÃŽÂ ²-blocker should be started in very low dose and increase gradually. Lastly, upon discharge, ensure all appropriate medications are prescribed and patient is counseled appropriately. We have to tell patient that Perindopril is added in and ensure patients compliance with medication. Patient should be told to avoid alcohol and cranberry juice and consult GP if anything goes wrong. Disease overview Incidence Heart failure (HF) affects 0.3-2% of general population. In 2001, officially there are 11500 deaths are recorded in the UK due to HF. The incidence rate increase by double each decade from age 45. It affects 3-5% of those over 65 years and 8-16% of those over 75 years. The Rotterdam study shows that prevalence is higher in men compared to women. Pathophysiology Heart failure can be defined as inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the bodys needs. HF can result from any disorder that reduces ventricular filling (diastolic dysfunction) and myocardial contractility (systolic dysfunction). The leading causes of HF are coronary artery disease and HPT. As cardiac function decreases after myocardiac injury, the heart relies on few compensatory mechanisms. Although those compensatory mechanisms can initially maintain the cardiac function, they are responsible for HF symptoms and contribute to disease progression. An initiating event such as acute MI can cause the HF state becomes a systemic disease whose progression is largely mediated by neurohormones and autocrine/paracrine factors such as agiotensin II, norepinephrine, aldosterone, natriuretic peptides, and so on. Some drugs may exacerbate HF due to their inotropic, cardiotoxic and sodium-/water- retention properties. Diagnosis A complete history, physical examination and appropriate lab testing are essential in initial evaluation of patients suspected from having HF. The signs and symptoms are the key for early detection. Breathlessness, angina, fatigue and wheeze are common signs and symptoms. Patient complains that she is having SOB and PND. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and B-type natriuretic peptides (BNP) are essential tests for every patient with suspected HF. ECG is carried out once the patient is admitted into the hospital. Madam S.V. was detected to have sinus tachycardia by ECG which is one for the common ECG abnormalities in HF. Others common ECG abnormalities include sinus bradycardia, atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias and so on. Plasma BNP is not measured in this case. Chest X-ray (CXR) is also an essential component of diagnostic work-out in HF. It is very useful for detection of cardiomegaly, pulmonary congestion and pleural fluid accumulation. It also demonstrates the presence of any pulmonary disease or infection that will lead to dyspnoea. Via CXR, patient is detected from having cardiomegaly which is also one of the abnormalities for HF. Echocardiography (ECHO) should be performed shortly if one or both ECG and BNP get an abnormal result. ECHO is widely available and safe and provides essential information on aetiology of HF. However, ECHO is not carried out in this case. Some other tests such as FBC, RP, LFT, ABG, UE and random glucose test have been carried out to exclude others possible conditions. Pharmacology basis of drug therapy Diuretics The most important function of diuretic drug is to act by decreasing Na+ reabsorption. Diuretic drugs can inhibit Na+ reabsorption by actions on different transport mechanism, which are located at different sites in nephron. All diuretics are acting on the luminal surface of the nephron. They are protein bound in blood and reach the tubular fluid by secretion into proximal convoluted tubule utilizing the organic acid transport mechanism. They are mostly used to control symptoms of breathlessness and fluid retention. However, they do not alter disease progression or prolong survival. Thus they are not considered mandatory therapy for patients without fluid retention. Loop diuretics for example furosemide is most widely used if compared to other thiazide. It produces diuresis with NaCl loss. It also has vasodilator action which is partly mediated via prostaglandin. This will increase blood flow in the medulla and hence contributes to their natriuretic effect. Unlike thiazides, loop diuretics maintain their effectiveness in the presence of impaired renal function, although higher doses may be necessary. Thizide diuretics are relatively weak diuretics and used alone infrequently in HF. However, thiazide like metolazone can be used in the combination with loop diuretic to promote effective diuresis. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs) ACE is binding to the plasma membrane and can also exist as a soluble enzyme. The ACEIs act by substrate competition by binding in the Leu-His binding pocket on ACE. Thus, action of angiotensin-I is inhibited. They also decrease the concentration of angiotensin II and aldosterone and attenuating many of their deleterious effects, including reducing ventricular remodelling, myocardial fibrosis, vasoconstriction and sodium and water retention. In addition, they also very helpful in reducing blood pressure due to arterial vasodilation. However, they will inhibit the breakdown of bradykinin which contributes to strong hypotensive action and cough. There are currently 11 ACEIs available for clinical use with similar structure and properties, including captopril, enalapril, lisinopril and others. ACEIs are indicated in all grades I to IV of heart failure which stated in NYHA. Potassium sparing diuretics should be stopped before starting ACEI. ACEIs may increase the risk of renal failure in patient with high dose diuretics, elderly, those with existing renal dysfunction and patients with grade IV HF. Hence regular renal function monitoring is required once patient has stabilized on drug. ÃŽÂ ²-blockers ÃŽÂ ²-blockers can be either selective for ÃŽÂ ²1-adrenoceptor which is cardioselective such as atenolol, bisoprolol and metoprolol or non-selective which can act on both ÃŽÂ ²1-and ÃŽÂ ²2-adrenocepors such as propranolol and timolol. Blockade of ÃŽÂ ²1-receptors will decrease rate and force of contraction of heart. Meanwhile, ÃŽÂ ²2-adrnoceptor blockade inhibits adrenaline-induced vasodilatation mediated by these receptors. Via these mechanisms, heart rate and cardiac output can be reduced. Beneficial effects of ÃŽÂ ²-blockers may result from antiarrhythmic effects, slowing ventricular remodelling, decrease myocyte death, improving LV systolic function, decreasing heart rate, and ventricular wall stress. The use of ÃŽÂ ²-blockers is not suitable for patients who have unstable HF. Patients should receive a ÃŽÂ ²-blocker even if symptoms are mild or well controlled with ACEI and diuretic therapy. Because of negative inotropic effects of ÃŽÂ ²-blockers, they should be started in very low doses with slow upward dose titration to avoid any symptomatic worsening. ÃŽÂ ²-blockers may worsen HF in the short term, but if use with caution they may be very useful in preventing long-term deterioration. Aldosterone antagonists Aldosterone antagonists such as spironolactone and eplerenone also can be called as potassium sparing diuretics. They act on aldosterone-sensitive portion of nephron (last part of distal convoluted tubule and first part of collecting tubule. They block the mineralcorticoid receptor and inhibit Na+ reabsoption and K+ excretion. Spironolactone can be added to ACEI, diuretic and digoxin to improve morbidity and mortality in patient with severe HF. Eplerenone is more specific compared to spirinolactone as inhibitor of aldosterone receptors and has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in patient with left ventricular dysfunction post-MI. However, the diuretic effects of aldosterone antagonists are minimal. Combination of aldosterone antagonist with thiazide or loop diuretics will potentiate the effect of thiazide or loop diuretics. This is a more effective alternative compared to potassium supplement. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and Digoxin ARBs may be used as an alternative to ACEIs (eg: losartan) when patient is intolerant to ACEIs or may be used as adjunct therapy (eg: valsartan and cadesartan) in patient who remains symptomatic despite the dose of ACE and ÃŽÂ ²-blockers have been optimised. However, ARB is not given to the patient since she is well tolerated to ACEIs. Digoxin is one of the main drugs for HF treatment. However, digoxin is not recommended in this case. Digoxin can only been given if patients HF is worsening or patient is having atrial fibrillation at the same time. Hence, it is reasonable to exclude digoxin from treatment in this case. Evidence for treatment of the conditions Diuretics Diuretic is a very important drug for heart failure treatment especially for symptoms of fluid retention. A meta-analysis which includes 18 randomised controlled trials (RCT), n=982, had been carried out to study the role of diuretics (loop diuretics and thiazides) in patient with congestive heart failure (CHF). 8 trials were placebo-controlled and another 10 were comparison between diuretics and other drugs such as ACEIs, digoxin and ibopamine. The results had shown that diuretics reduce the risk of deterioration of disease and mortality compared to placebo group. When compared to active controls, diuretics also showed significant improvement in patients exercise capacity. The beneficial effects of diuretics are further supported by Cochrane database which also indicated that diuretics cause significant reduction rate and improvement in patients morbidity. Another study also proved that the withdrawal of furosemide will cause increase in volume load and right ventricular pressure. There will lead to deterioration of CHF which include impaired quality of life, weight gain and walking distance reduced. Higher dose of furosemide will have more desirable effects such as increasing general well-being and reducing symptoms of disease. However, the inappropriate high dose of furosemide will lead to hypotension. The risk of hypotension will be increased if patient on ACEIs or vasodilators at the same time with diuretics. According to NICE guidelines, low dose should be prescribed for the initiation of therapy and titrated up according to patients condition. Furosemide is the most commonly used loop diuretic. However, some patients are more responsive to other loop diuretic such as torasemide. This may due to its longer duration of action and high absorption. Some pharmacoeconomic analyses also proved that torsemide reduces hospitalisation for patient with CHF. Hence, overall treatment costs are reduced although torasemide is more expensive than furosemide. Patients that treated with torasemide have improved their quality of life. The data also suggest torasemide to be used as first-line treatment for patients with CHF and for those who are not response to furosemide. Besides that, according to a double-blind study, n= 1663, additional of aldosterone antagonist, spironolactone with furosemide had significantly reduced mortality and morbidity rate of patients with severe HF Hence from the evidences above, we can conclude that furosemide 40mg od is rationale to be given to patient to treat the symptoms of her CHF. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs) The patient is taking perindopril 4mg od for her HF. A clinical trial has been carried out to compare the effectiveness between ACEIs and placebo in patients with symptomatic CHF. The overall results showed the significant reduction in total rate of mortality and risk hospitalisation. The benefits of ACEIs are further supported by five long-term randomised trials which had recruited 12763 patients with heart failure or left-ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) to compare the effectiveness between ACEIs and placebo. Results showed that mortality rate has been reduced by 23%, readmission rate of heart failure reduced by 35% and re-infarction rate had been reduced by 26% for the patients who assessed ACEIs compared to placebo group. The benefits of ACEIs were observed at the beginning of therapy and it persisted long term. In SOLVD investigation, n=4228, ACEIs (enalapril) reduced the rate of hospitalisations and also incidence of heart failure in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fractions compared to placebo group. Some randomised controlled trials proved that ACEIs also improve the exercise capacity and quality of life in majority of the patients. Not all the patients with heart failure due to left-ventricular systolic dysfunction experienced the improvement of exercise capacity. However, ACEIs alone is not enough for the treatment of heart failure with pulmonary oedema. Diuretic is needed to maintain sodium balance and prevent any fluid retention. ACEIs are more often to be prescribed compared to vasodilators and angiotensin receptor blockers due to more evidence supports. ACEIs will cause hyperkalaemia, cough and deterioration of renal function. Hence, renal function and serum potassium level need to be checked before the treatment is initiated. The SOLVD data, a randomised, double-blind and placebo controlled trial with 3379 patients, proved that enalapril caused 33% increased in deterioration of renal function compared to control group (P = 0.03). There is another study (n=191) showed that 44% of patients taking ACEIs suffered from persistent cough compared to controls which is only 11.1% (P The studies above showed that ACEIs are rationale to be used as first-line treatment HF. ÃŽÂ ²-blockers ÃŽÂ ²-blockers should be included in the treatment of HF even though the patient is already well controlled by diuretics and ACEIs. The European Journal of Heart Failure suggested that ÃŽÂ ²-blockers should be prescribed to all patients with stable HF and when left-ventricular ejection fraction à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 40%. A lot of meta-analyses showed that ÃŽÂ ²-blockers play a role in increasing life expectancy in patients with HF due to LVSD. In a meta-analysis which includes 21 trials (n= 5894), ÃŽÂ ²-blockers showed a significantly reduction of overall and cardiovascular mortality by 34-39%in patients with severe HF. Another meta-analysis of 16 clinical studies also showed the reduction of 24% for patients who were taking ÃŽÂ ²-blockers for their HF treatment rather than placebo. An interesting meta-analysis had been carried out to test the efficacy of ÃŽÂ ²-blockers in the patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and CHF. The result of this meta-analysis showed that ÃŽÂ ²-blockers had reduced the mortality rate of patient with DM and CHF. However, the reduction was not significant (P=0.11) compared to CHF patients without DM. Most of the survival benefits for patient with NYHA class II and III are well documented. There is a meta-analysis had proven that ÃŽÂ ²-blockers are having the same improvement of survival rate among the patients with severe HF compared to patients with NYHA class II and III. However, further studies need to be carried out to evaluate overall benefits versus risks of treatment in NYHA class IV. There are three main studies, nà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€ 9000, had been carried out to compare the efficacy between ÃŽÂ ²-blockers (bisoprolol, metoprolol succinate CR, carvedilol) and placebo. Almost 90% of patients involve in there three randomised trials were on ACEIs or ARB. Most of them also took diuretics and digoxin. All trials showed the improvement of mortality rate (RRR= 34%), risk of hospitalisation (RRR= 28-36%) and self-reported well being. So far, there are no significant differences between selective and non-selective ÃŽÂ ²-blockers and those with or without vasodilating propert ies. In one randomised controlled trial (COMET), n=3029, carvedilol was used to compared with the efficacy and clinical outcome of metoprolol tartate. The result has shown that carvedilol reduced the mortality rate significantly among the patients compared to short-acting metoprolol tartate (P=0.0017). However, there is no any clinical trial about comparison between carvedilol and long-acting metoprolol succinate. There is little economic evidence can be found for ÃŽÂ ²-blockers. NICE guidelines suggested that ÃŽÂ ²-blockers are cost effective due to reduction of hospitalisation rate. Bisoprolol 2.5mg od had been added to the patient on second day since patient was admitted. The evidences above do support that the usage of ÃŽÂ ²-blocker should be included in patient with HF. Aldosterone antagonists Spironolactone is the most common aldosterone antagonist used in treatment of HF. In a double-blind study (RALES), 1663 patients with severe HF (NYHA class III and IV), left ventricular ejection fraction à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 35% and being treated with diuretics, ACEIs or digoxin were recruited to test the effectiveness of spironolactone on their morbidity and mortality. The result showed 30% reduction in mortality rate and 35% reduction of frequency of hospitalisation compared to placebo group. Addition of spironolactone to ACEIs, diuretics or digoxin had reduced the mortality rate in patients with severe HF. Additional of spironolactone may lead to hyperkalaemia. However the problem of hyperkalaemia can be solved by closing monitoring the potassium level of patients. Another study also showed that spironolactone reduced 30% mortality rate in patients with HF when it has been added to ÃŽÂ ²-blockers and digoxin. A selective aldosterone antagonist, eplerenone, has fewer side effects compared to spironolactone. A randomised controlled trial (EPHESUS), n=6633, proved that morbidity and mortality rate among patients with left ventricular dysfunction after acute myocardial infarction had been reduced with the addition of eplerenone compared to placebo group. There is no relevant economic evidence of aldosterone antagonist. Eplerenone is mostly used when patients cannot tolerate with spironolactone. Hence, spironolactone 25mg od is appropriate to used as adjunct to diuretics, ACEIs or maybe ÃŽÂ ²-blockers for patient in this case. Since the patient does not suffer any side-effects from spironolactone, it is not necessary to change to eplerenone. Conclusion As a conclusion, patients CHF has been appropriately treated by following the guidelines and also supported by numerous of clinical studies. From the clinical process, we can see that the condition of patient was gradually improved day by day. A ÃŽÂ ²-blocker, bisoprolol was added in the second day in order to achieve a better control of patients HF and also HPT. According to guidelines, the dose of bisoprolol should be initiated with 1.25mg, not 2.5mg. The potassium levels need to be monitored regularly due to the concomitant use of perindopril and spironolactone which may cause hyperkalaemia. ARB and digoxin are not prescribed to the patient because she is well tolerated with ACEIs and she does not have AF. Other treatment for HF such as vasodilators (hydrazine and ISDN) will only be considered when all of the treatment options above have failed to this patient. Non pharmacological treatment such as life-style modification, healthy diet, restrict fluid intake and salt intake als o play a very important in controlling patients HF and HPT for long-term.

Tyranny in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

Tyranny in Shakespeare's Macbeth   Ã‚  Ã‚   All humanity is tyrannical.  Every person wants the world to conform to their wishes.  A product of the ego, this desire culminates in tyranny among those that have the arrogance, opportunity, and instability to embrace and foster it.  We find Macbeth with the opportunity, and his arrogance and instability are bred by ego and contranatural forces, such that he becomes a tyrant.   Duncan's soft handed rule allows Macbeth the opportunity to plot against him while his proclamation of Malcom as the heir to his throne provides motive, a wounded ego.   Lady Macbeth and the witches, whether they be contranatural forces or perverted minds, prod him into action, exacerbating his tyrannical leanings, and sway the inner conflict which eventually develops.   Macbeth's rise to tyranny and his hold on it are products of his ego, provoked by inner conflict and those around him, and as such are opposed to the natural order which strives for balance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tyranny is not something easily obtainable.   By it's nature, it cannot be.   The rule of one must be a complicated task simply because it requires the subjugation of all others.   At first, Macbeth feigns indifference, claiming that "If Chance will have me King, why, Chance may crown me, without my stir,"1 and "I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none."2   There is an inner conflict inside Macbeth, a sign of his weak character, which outwardly questions the morality of his actions, but more truthfully questions the probability of success.   He is not at all concerned with whether what he is doing is right, he only cares about whether he will succeed.   Finally, his strength comes to him, when "Nature seems dead, and w... ...eclaims the power that Macbeth has usurped.   Each force that played a part in his accession played an equal part in his downfall.   Self, wife, and witch together toppled Macbeth as they proved poor opponents for the force of Nature.   The offensive tyrant is banished, and Nature returns what is rightfully his to Malcom. Work Cited Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚  arstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚   1Act I. Sc. III. Ln. 142-4 2Act I.Sc. VII. Ln. 46-7 3Act II. Sc. I. Ln. 50-1 4Act I. Sc. VII. Ln. 27 5Act I. Sc. VII. Ln. 12 6Act I. Sc. V. Ln. 40-6 7Act V. Sc. I. Ln. 68-9 8Act V. Sc. I. Ln. 9 9Act III. Sc. I. Ln. 60, 65 10Act IV. Sc. I. Ln. 50, 104-5 11Act I. Sc. V. Ln. 1-3 12Act II. Sc. III. Ln. 58-9 13Act II. Sc. IV. Ln. 9-10 14Act II. Sc. II. Ln 60-2

Financial Performance Analysis Essay

This project work has not formed the basis for the award of any degree/ diploma by Bangalore University or any other university. Name of the Guide: Mr. Jagdish Designation: Place: Bangalore Date: Guide’s Signature. This is to certify that this project work title â€Å"A study on the financial performance of the A&S Inc. † is based on an original project study conducted by Monisha Tirkey (07JJC08051) of BBM under the guidance of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This project work is based on original and has not formed the basis for the award of any degree / diploma by Bangalore University or any other university. Monisha Tirkey hereby declare that this project work titled â€Å"A study on the financial performance of the A&S Inc. † is based on the original project conducted by me under the guidance of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This has not been submitted earlier for the award of the award of any other degree / diploma from Bangalore University or any other university. Student Name: Monisha Tirkey Registration Number: 07JJC08051 Place: Bangalore Date: The successful completion of this project would not have been possible without the guidance, help and timely assistance from a number of people. I should at the very outset express my gratitude to the almighty God for his wonderful plan that brought me into this institution for my studies and for helping me throughout the project. I also thank HOD, Mr. Surendranath Reddy, who encouraged me to undertake this project. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Jagdish, my guide, for the valuable help he extended in carrying out this project.

Developing a procedurally Just performance appraisal process essays

Developing a procedurally Just performance appraisal process essays Developing a procedurally Just performance appraisal process When organizations make decisions about people, such as whom to hire or promote, appraisal ratings or merit raise to give, or how important that the decisions are seen as fair and just. Research has shown that at least two aspects of justice influence employees job satisfaction and organizational commitment and both must be considered in organization decisions. The first type is distributive justice, or the perceived fairness of particular outcomes. It has to do with the distribution of rewards and punishments across people. Distributive justice would exist if employees agreed that the best person had been chosen for a promotion, that the punishment fit the crime in a discipline case, or that the size of merit raises accurately reflected true differences in performance across the people involved. Distributive justice is specific to particular decision. We might agree that one promotion decision was fair, but that is no guarantee that we will think the next one is fair. This is because distributive justice doesnt include evaluation of the fairness of the merit or process by which the decision was made. The latter is called procedural justice. Presumably, a just policy or procedure should help assure equitable outcomes every time, whereas single instance of distributive justice could occur by chance, favoritism or some other unfair process. What makes an allocation procedure just following are six rules for procedural justice? Following are six rules for procedural justice Consistency Rule: allocation procedures should be consistent across persons and over time Bias Suppression Rule: personal self interest in the allocation process should be prevented; Accuracy Rule: decisions must be based on accurate information Correctability Rule: Opportunities must exist to enable decisions to be modified: ...

Inventions of the 1800s essays

Inventions of the 1800's essays Many inventions were created during the middle of the 1800s. These inventions helped to improve the areas of farming, lifestyle, communications, and travel. This essay will explain how the inventions and improvements helped to improve these four areas of American culture. One of the many areas of inventions was lifestyle area. Many inventions were consisted in this area, such as the assembly line, sewing machine, and telegraph. I.M. Singer invented the assembly line. The assembly line consisted of a conveyer belt where people would align along the side of it and perform specific tasks. Another invention was the sewing machine. Elias Howe invented the sewing machine in 1846, but I.M. Singer improved it in 1851. Another invention was the telegraph. It was invented by Joseph Henry and improved by Samuel F. B. Morse. The telegraph helped get long distance messages in a quick amount of time. Farming inventions were a major improvement during this time. One invention was the steel plow. It was invented by, John Deere in 1837. Another invention was the Reaper; Cyrus McCormick invented it. A good invention for farming was vulenized rubber. That was invented by, Charles Goodyear. Communications greatly improved during this era. One of those was the telegraph, which helped daily life and helped people get messages quicker. Another thing was the quick and mass producing printing press. This helped newspapers and novels to be produced in mass production. Another thing was Morse code, which is what the telegraph used to get messages sent. Travel greatly improved during this time. Robert Fulton and Oliver Evans invented and started the steam engine that would propel boats at great speed and distances. There was also a great increase in railroad tracks. Canals were used to speed up transportation of heavy items that would take a long time to travel on road. In the 1800s transportation greatly improv ...

Covenants Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Covenants - Research Paper Example The goal of this paper is to take a closer look at 5 of the Old Testament’s greatest covenants between God and certain men. We will take a close look at each of these covenants and look at their details and conditions if any. We will then determine which of these covenants are conditional and dependent on the fidelity of the human, and which one is everlasting and unconditional. This will be done thru the paper's parts and discussions such as: The five covenants of the Old Testament Covenant of God with Noah ?Covenant of God with Abraham ?Covenant of God with Moses ?Covenant of God with David. ... Covenant of God with Noah Definition: This covenant was made between Noah and God, although it does affect all of creation. This came about during the time of the great flood and Noah’s ark. According to presenttruthmag.com, God made the covenant with Noah before the earth was destroyed by flood. This is what saved Noah and his family. Afterwards, when Noah stepped out of the ark and presented the Lord with a sacrifice, God renewed the covenant with Noah that the world would never again be destroyed by flood. Scriptural basis: The covenant of God and Noah started with the story of the world’s judgment, the building of the ark, and the great flood. This story can be found in the bible’s book of Genesis, Chapter 6-8. This chapter was mainly dedicated to the story of Noah’s acts and covenant with God. In Genesis 6:9, Noah is recognized to be a man who â€Å"walked with God†, setting him apart from the rest of the world. Genesis 6:11 then goes on to des cribe the world as being corrupt and the people within it, corrupt as well. The succeeding verses then tell the story of how God told Noah to build an ark, how to build it and what to do in preparation of the flood. This story goes on from the flood its self, to Noah’s burnt sacrifice until finally in Genesis 8:20, the lord renewed the covenant and swore never again to â€Å"curse the ground† for our sake. This makes the covenant a covenant of salvation because the lives of evil men are spared in conjunction with God’s oath to Noah not to curse the land again. According to presenttruthmag.com, this is similar to Acts 27 when a ship full of people was saved because of the presence of Paul in the ship. Features: This covenant mainly revolves around

Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Poetry - Essay Example The first of these poems, Wilfred Owens "Dulce et Decorum Est," is a big example of anti-war poetry. The main theme in this dark poem is definitely war, and it definitely does not show it in a good light. From the very first lines, which describe a group of soldiers as "bent double, like old beggars under sacks, / knock-kneed, coughing like hags" ("Dulce" 1-2), it is clear that this poem is determined to destroy idealized visions of soldiers as glorious defenders of their country. The poem is filled with disturbing images of war, some of which are very realistic. An attack of poison gas is described with unflinching detail, telling how the soldiers, after "an ecstacy of fumbling / [fit] the clumsy helmets just in time" ("Dulce" 9-10). Owen also describes how the unlucky man who did not make it in time was "guttering, choking, drowning" ("Dulce" 16) and how blood was "gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs" ("Dulce" 22). The point of all this is not to gross out the reader, but to ar gue that patriots who "tell with such high zest / to children ... / the old Lie" that was is noble ("Dulce" 25-28) should reconsider their viewpoint. On the other hand, Edward Thomass "This is No Petty Case of Right or Wrong" takes a much more patriotic view. Although the poet seems to argue against war at first, with the lines "I hate not Germans, nor grow hot / With love of Englishmen, to please newspapers" (3-4), as the poem continues it grows clear that what he is protesting is not necessarily hatred of the enemy or love of ones countrymen, but what he perceives as shallow patriotism. This is clear by the end of line four, quoted above, that it is not just for newspapers, or for show, that the poets narrator loves his country. Indeed, for Thomas, it appears impossible to believe that anyone might feel otherwise. It is "with the best and meanest Englishmen / I am one in crying, God save England," he says (19-20), implying

Chipotle relation with Oganizational Structure Controls, and Corporate Essay

Chipotle relation with Oganizational Structure Controls, and Corporate Governance - Essay Example The firm also obtained part of its capital from McDonalds through share offering. From McDonalds, the firm acquired nearly $360 million that rose to almost $1.5 billion. The company managed to gain huge sales because of their unique top-level management system that was effective towards gaining a competitive advantage offer their rivals, which is important in raising the profit margin. The firm was also among the top companies to introduce a sales system in which customers could customize a healthy food of their preferences, at a considerably cheaper price below other restaurants and food vendors without necessarily compromising on the quality. The company has, therefore, become of one of the favorite food vending company among consumers. As a result the firm has realized a significance increase in size, and has subsequently maximized its shareholders, and stakeholders’ value. With the continued growth of Chipotle, a need for the separation between the ownerships, and managerial roles has emerged. Although this can raise serious problems, Chipotle can overcome the challenges by improving their approach to employees’ welfare, critical for gaining synergy, which in turn offers a competitive advantage within the industry. Their agency relationship is reflected by their standard hierarchy, in which restaurant managers’ report to regional manager, who subsequently report to the company’s director. After the company’s director gathers all of the regional managers’ reports, they present the report to the company president. This, therefore, shows the critical role of running the day to day affairs of the firm. On the other hand, the president of the company only makes critical decisions at the top level, but does not directly participate in the firm’s daily operations. To enhance the effectiveness of the board of directors, Chipotle applies executive

A Modest Proposal Essay Example for Free

A Modest Proposal Essay A Modest Proposal is a satiric essay by Jonathan Swift, written in 1729. It is aimed at the rich landowners of Ireland who are keeping the poor of Ireland in poverty and virtual starvation. The narrator is Swift, who seems to be making a strong case for cannibalism as a method for solving the problem of hunger and overpopulation in one ostensibly simple solution. He proposes that the Irish should sell their children under the age of one year as meat for the tables of the wealthy. The problems Swift describes are primarily the number of poor in Ireland who are being forced to work for food in amounts less than that which is needed to feed their families. He hints that because of their religion they over-breed, being catholic and not practicing birth control. The same problems described by Swift in the 18th century are occurring today in many parts of the world. Hunger exists and children are born into families too poor and uneducated to do anything about a pregnancy when they cannot feed or clothe the children they have. The U. N. attempts to ameliorate the hunger but nothing is done about the source of the problem so the food only fuels a new generation who are doomed to be as hungry as the one before it. Swift argues that marriage could be looked upon as a method of producing children as meat for the tables of the rich and that the union of a couple would have great financial benefits. They could produce meat children as a farmer raises pigs for slaughter. Swift speaks ironically of his proposals having the benefit, â€Å"Of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy toward their tenants,† (Swift). Bibliography Swift, J. A Modest Proposal 1729.

Too Much Information? :: Information Management Learning Essays

Too Much Information? The "pervasive, invasive information infrastructure...is as much a part of our lives as religion was for medieval surfs" (Tetzeli 1994, p. 60). But is it too much? We've all seen the mind-numbing statistics about the exponential growth of information and of technological means of distributing and accessing it. However, some people question whether the problem really is one of overload. One source of the problem is actually the multiplicity of communication channels. Unlike earlier eras, such as when printing presses replaced manuscript copying, new technologies are not replacing older ones but are adding to the host of media choices (Davidson 1996). With these multiple channels the information flow is now simultaneous and multidirectional. However, most traditional information management practices are too linear and specific: they were pipes developed for a stream, not an ocean (Alesandrini 1992). The sheer quantity of information and the speed with which it can be acquired give an i llusion of accomplishment (Uline 1996). But what good is all this information if it is not usable? "Almost all our resources are dedicated to gathering the raw material--information--and almost nothing is spent on the most important job of transforming information into intelligence" (Milton 1989, p. 6). Milton suggests that it is possible to have "negative information"--that which causes the recipient to know less than before because it is not integrated, applied, and transformed into knowledge. Essential to information mastery is understanding the relationship between data, information, and knowledge (TAFE-TEQ 1992): data are raw facts and figures, information is data organized into a meaningful context, and knowledge is organized data (i.e., information) that has been understood and applied. Perhaps it is not too much "information," but an explosion of "noninformation" (Wurman 1989) lacking relevance, quality, and usefulness. What is needed is better judgment of the quality, accuracy, and reliability of what is received(Kinnaman 1994). According to John Seeley Brown, people may perceive overload because the information they receive does not fit into current mental models for understanding the world (Tetzeli 1994). The problem of information overload thus has both technological and human aspects. The solution is also two pronged: both technological--create better technological tools and make better use of them--and human--revise mental models and sharpen the capacity for critical reflection and analysis. I've Got to Keep Up! Many people believe they have to try to stay on top of information because of economic, social, and employment-related pressures.

Accounting Attachment Report

1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 The objectives of the Industrial attachment The purpose of industrial attachment is to bridge the gap between the theory and the practise of coursework learnt in the University of Botswana. It is meant to give students a clearer perspective of concepts learnt in the academic environment and in turn prepare them for the work environment upon completion of the degree programme. Internship is also aimed at give students a chance to apply the material learnt into a practical environment and get to know the work industry.In applying academic material, it is understood more and in familiarising with the work environment, a career option can be chosen. Part of the attachment was for students to create networks. networks are useful in securing jobs and getting information about the industry. 1. 2 Methodology The industrial attachment was conducted over the period between May 10th and July 27th 2012. This period amounted to a total of 10 weeks over the school holidays. It was after the third year of study in the degree. Each student, with the help of the internship coordinator had to find a company of their choice in the relevant field of study to work in.A place was to be secured through an application letter accompanied by a copy of a transcript, a letter of acknowledgement of student status from the University. A letter of acceptance would then be sent to the university by the company that agreed to attach a student and the area in which the student will work. Students were expected to work in various sectors of the company, but within their course of study while under attachment. The students were also to keep weekly log sheets which were to be signed by the supervisor with the work they had conducted. ? 2. 0 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION . 1 History of Great Advisory Services Dotaka Investments (Pty) Ltd was incorporated in Namibia in the year 2005. It has two businesses operating, an insurance brokerage called Coverage Insurance and an acco unting business called Great Advisory Services. The company has two directors namely Alex Mundey and Gracia Hunde. Mr Mundey is a non-executive director while Miss Hunde is an executive director. The insurance brokerage was the first business to be registered by the company in 2005 and has since grown to be one of the most renowned insurance broking firms in Namibia.The business headquarters are situated in the Windhoek International Finance Park while another branch operates in the Caesar International Office Park. This is because all insurance companies are found in the Caesar Office Park, making it convenient to get quotes upon request or to make an inquiry quicker. Having become a success and seeing the need for better accounting practise for the smaller businesses, the company diversified into the accounting field and registered a business named Great Advisory Services.The role of Great Advisory Services is to assist entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses by upholding proper and consistent accounting ethos. Great Advisory Services was registered in September 2011 and has been in operation since then. Not only does the business deal with accounting but it also in company secretarial and consultancy. It registers companies, sits as a director on the board and act as agents on submitting applications for permits. The staff includes Gracia Hunde, Elaine Chatonga and Palesa Mosa.Gracia Hunde is the executive director having gained all her knowledge from experience and is currently pursuing a degree in the University of South Africa. She mainly deals in company secretarial and business consultancy. Elaine Chatonga is the head accountant, having graduated with an Honourary degree in accounting and is pursuing chartered accountancy. She draws up the financial statements and calculates the tax returns due for all the clients and for the business as well. As head accountant, it is also her duty to supervise the work of the cler and make necessary changes.Palesa Mosa is the accounting clerk, having acquired an AAT qualification. As a clerk she does the day to day recording of accounts for the business and for the clients. She is also in charge of the petty cash book, answering calls, submitting tax returns and miscellaneous work. MISSION The mission of Geat Advisory Services is to provide accounting services to small, medium and large enterprises. In providing accounting services, the aim is to also influence the practise of proper accounting ethos and to improve the running and quality of business in the country.This is will be accomplished by building a relationship with the clients and explaining accounting procedures to them. By building relationships with clients and keeping a small number of clients, the company is able to focus on each client and not do a rush job. By targeting smaller businesses, the company is also able to probe into the finer details. Clientele These consist mainly of small businesses with very few employees as th ese are the main target of the business. Most of the clients are in the motoring industry and have just been contracted; hence there is not much history that has been built.The range of clients runs from auto mechanics to caterers, and interior designers. Clients are drawn in through word of mouth and through networking, as the company barely advertises itself. The biggest client of the firm is its own spear header- Coverage Insurance Brokers. Most of the clients are for accounting services as opposed to the other branches of the business. The business started with a small clientele base of 4, and has since increased to over 10 contracted clients in the accounting branch. 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 2 Supervisor assistanceI was also debriefed on other office duties that I would be taught which would have nothing to do with schoolwork but were skills needed in the office for example, filing, photocopying, faxing, filling bank cheques and deposit slips and go ing to the bank. I was also told that I would not have any specific responsibilities but work would come up as and when needed which I would be given a briefing on how to do what at that moment. 3. 3 Qualities and skills possessed and developed The job called for speed, teamwork capabilities, versatility, fluency, flexibility and grasping concepts quickly.This I had no problem with, having gone through internship before and being a member of clubs that required teamwork. Being tossed around between jobs, and not knowing what to be doing when you get to work in the office ensured that I was always on my toes. As the job went by, I learnt to be quick but thorough, to ask questions; to be accountable- work was tossed form one person to the other. If I was capturing information, I had to be thorough so that the next person, in this case the accountant, would be able to use the information. If I gave her the wrong information, it would mess all the accounts up.I also had to learn to be r esponsible ? 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 1 Job orientation A brief meeting was held on the first day of work in which an assessment of my course work and accounting knowledge was made. The information available on the transcript and curriculum vitae was used for the assessment. This same meeting was also used for the purpose of giving me a tour through the company, debriefing on company history and the services offered by the company. I also got the opportunity to familiarise with the business environment and the rest of the staff around.The next step was to test the skills I had I stated that I had. I was shown how to capture information form a receipt, change it, delete it and create a file for a company in the accounting software. After a series of examples, I was asked to do the same. I went through a series of tests in using the accounting system, which in this case was called Quick books. Having shown adequate knowledge, I was informed that I would as sist in that part of the job. The main job was capturing, but some more office jobs were to be done, which I was kindly briefed on.I was to be the extra hand in the office; hence I would be tossed around everywhere, having been given a short tutorial prior to execution of a task. There were no specific responsibilities that were given to me; most of the work to be done would be broken down before being done. Having been briefed on the jobs to be done, I was shown the office space that I would use. A few minutes later I was assigned to my primary role for the week- filing, organising documents prior to capturing, checking if transactions had been captured properly and at the correct amounts and banking.In between the small jobs, I was to familiarise myself with the software and practise before I could be given any work concerning that. 3. 2 Supervisor assistance My supervisor adequately explained all duties and responsibilities before I undertook them. The first question before doing anything was an enquiry as to whether I had done any such thing. If I answered in the negative, I was shown how to do it. I would then attempt the same job under her watch until I had perfected my work In cases were computer use was required, a different document altogether would be opened for the sake of demonstration.A supervisor was always ready to help if I did not understand anything. As this is a small company, help was easy to find as my slowing down would also affect the other operations. My supervisors were quick to explain and guide through new processes especially those that involved going to NURS, going to clients and going to Company registration. I would receive office calls whenever I spent more time than usual. During the first days in the office, I would also get momentary calls just to check on progress or if everything under control 3. 3 Qualities needed and qualities gainedVersatility and flexibility were needed to succeed in this position as I would be tossed i nto any work. This meant I would have to be a receptionist, or an accountant, or the driver so adaptation and was needed. There was much work to do in the office so I had to be quick to catch onto the job as I would often receive crash courses to do a new task. In a job where there were had no fixed duties, and work to do decided on each morning, it was critical to grasp the concept quickly. The job also called for an ability to work without supervision as there was a lot of work to be done between the three services offered by the company.There was a need to be organised and to ask questions to do with more clarification to get an understanding as soon as a task was given in order to curb backlog. The amount of work to be done was much so that made round the clock assistance rather impossible. Time keeping was also very critical. We all depended on each other as one person’s slow delivery affected everyone. There was a need to pay attention to detail when doing accounts so a s to come up with the correct financial statements and prevent reworking which would waste time.Ten client companies would expected their returns to be calculated every second month so each company had specific time slots for doing their books which had to be maximised in order to prevent a rush job being done or eating into another company’s time. Fluency in English and articulation was a needed quality because there were clients to talk to, going to the Registrar of Companies and calls to be answered when the clerk/receptionist was not around. Qualities gained during the process included the ability to think on my feet, tenacity, responsibility and team working.Concerning the ability to think on my feet, jobs done outside the office required decisions to be made quickly if things did not go according to plan this needed one to exercise discretion and take control without having to call the office first. Thinking on one’s feet required the ability to reason carefully and objectively. Over time, I developed tenacity. It became apparent that not only did the job call for work to be done, but to be completed on or before time. Working after hours became normality and not burdensome and neither was it something to complain over.The key was to understand the importance of completing a task before the next day, regardless of working hours. Honesty and responsibility came with the job. Whenever personal resources were used in incurring company expenses, they had to be accounted for. This called for keeping of receipts and disclosing the corrected amounts actually spent in order to qualify for a refund. These expenses also had to be incurred wholly towards the company and not be mixed with personal expenses. Every business can only achieve its goals through teamwork.Work was passed from one person to the other as processes were interlinked. The clerk and I did most of the primary work- capturing and organising files and it had to be understood by the ne xt user of the information. Having done my part for the day, I would not sit around as others worked but pitch in to also help in order for the task to be completed. ? 4. 0 SPECIFIC JOB INFORMATION 4. 1 Daily Responsibilities There were no specific daily responsibilities given as work arose as and when needed but there were things that became routine, for example filing, faxing and photocopying.The other jobs included capturing invoices and receipts into the accounting system, checking if receipts and invoices had been entered into the system, helping to separate receipts into different expenses and banking. Accounting Capturing accounting information from invoices was a daily task. Expenses had to be separated into cost of sales, company expenses and capital expenditures. That done, a list of all transactions entered would be printed and cross-checked with the corresponding receipts as an internal check on capturing all expenditure and at their correct amounts.Every month end, tax return forms were filled out and withholding tax charges calculated. For those companies which took the liberty to calculate their own taxes, their figures would be matched with those in the tax tables to ensure consistency. The difficult part of this was working with companies that pay employees through commission as they had a different way of calculating applicable charges. Bank reconciliation at the end of each month was a required duty.The task was to go through a monthly bank statement, reconcile the figures with those in the cheque book, adjust for unpresented cheques, account for stop orders and total the bank interest charges for the month. After that the money drawn out for personal use would be calculated for drawings. Filing The first thing upon receipt of files from a client was to sort them out in chronological order. This made it easier to account for the dates on transactions as the date would not be changed with each receipt, it also made it easier to find a missing receipt or to look fo r a query on the receipt if they were in order.The filing work included the tax returns that would come from NURS, documents from the clients in the form of bills, contracts and agreements made between the client and the firm. For withholding taxes, each company had a separate filing place for rental withholding taxes and employee withholding taxes. Printing, copying and faxing Accounting involves a lot of printing, faxing and photocopying. The responsibility assigned was to do exactly that. It was of utmost importance to make sure that the company had one file while the client also had another copy. BankingThis involved drawing up cheques for clients, having been given the due amounts, fill in cheque deposit slips whenever a client made a payment via cheque, signing and accounting for the cheque in the company books before going to the bank to deposit it. This also involved cashing some cheques and depositing them in the respective employee accounts at the en d of the month for salaries. 4. 2 Other responsibilities Messenger Jobs that were done outside the office included fetching files with client’s receipts and invoices for the month and returning them, submitting and collecting returns forms to NURS, getting clients to stamp taxes due forms.Being a messenger also involved following up on company or business name reservations with the Registrar of Companies. The other tasks at the Registrar of Companies were submission of forms for the change of directors and the transfer of ownership of a firm. All paperwork generated from this would be copied and sent to the concerned client Office jobs Part of the office odd jobs was answering the phone when the person responsible was not available. This would involve taking messages and answering for where the required person was, putting through phone calls and answering whatever questions a client had about the business.When clients arrived before their appointed time had to be attended an d entertained until their attendant returned. This was achieved by preparing refreshments and chatting up the client, sitting them comfortably and continuous reassurance that the required person would be with them. Ensuring office security involved locking up doors and cabinets, closing windows, switching off the air conditioners by the last person to leave the office. 4. 3 Knowledge from course work Three years of in the University of Botswana has come with grasping many skills and concepts.Some proved necessary, other premature and some skills use stood out more than others. Knowledge from Accounting Information Systems learnt in BIS309 was the most used and hence the most helpful. It offered a foundation to be able to use any accounting software. BIS309 also helped because it dealt with the daily running of business and how to enter daily transactions into the books of accounts, the separation of bills and invoices and how to create a debit or credit note. BIS309 also included ho w to account for a refund, how to add an account into the list of accounts.Most accounting now is done by software so the ability to use software and the knowledge of the way around the software was an added advantage Knowledge of basic accounting and bank reconciliations was taught in Financial Accounting I (ACC100) and it offered know how on entering costs into books of accounts and drawing up bank reconciliations and treating unpresented cheques. Some clients, being new, lacked adequate accounting information. This amounted to missing receipts and invoices, misnumbered invoices, missing bank cheques or narrations to the cheques.In order to deal with this one had to work backwards from the bank statement to find missing figures and asking for rough estimates for jobs done. Incomplete Records aught in Financial Accounting II (Acc200) was a useful resource. For the purpose of separation of business costs into cost of sales and expenses Introduction to Cost Accounting (ACC201) was ve ry useful. Some business incurred expenses that had to be charged to their cost of sales, not costs of running the business, for example the cost of delivery, the cost of assembly, etc.One company was a delivery company and conducted trade by going to South Africa and taking goods for delivery into Namibia, the cost of the job did not only include fuel to travel to South Africa but it included the driver’s accommodation and food and the cost of toll gates. Dealing with these expenses was leant in Managaemnt accounting applications ACC303. Final accounts are drawn at the end of each month and they have to be drawn up according to the formats in the accounting standards.Knowledge of accounting standards and presentation formats was acquired in Auditing I (ACC301) and Financial Accounting II (ACC 300. ) Upon the calculation of taxes for individual employees, calculating the gross taxes, doing a bank reconciliation, comparison of figures, checking if all receipts had been entered Microsoft excel was used. BIS 205 dealt with the primary use of computers and plugging in formulae. General Education Courses dealt with the use of computers and communication.Businesses require a lot of communication and etiquette. Gec 121,introduction to Computers was useful for the purpose of using email, Introduction to Communication (GEC111 and 112) helped in articulation and Introduction to Rhetoric and Public Speaking (GEC 364) helped in building confidence and addressing people. For the sake of company registration, the difference between a company and a business grasped in Introduction to Company Law (LAW351) was a critical tool in knowing the difference, lest the two be wrongly interchanged.This difference was also critical whenever capturing expenses, keeping in mind that sole traders were not separated from the business and withdrawals made were charged as drawings. 4. 4 Beneficial things to have learnt It would have been very helpful to have gone through an introductor y lesson in tax so as to understand the format, the applicable tax figures had and to fill in a tax from with understanding. Most of the workings in tax were done out of memory, having been briefed on before but with no adequate understanding as to why they were done that way for example amounts exempt from tax and the calculations of allowable deductions.Cash flow Statements are part of the final accounts drawn up at the end of the month. This was also something learnt on the job but without full comprehension of what exactly to be done and what to be done. 4. 5 new skills acquired The reservation of a company name and creation of a shelf company is one of the stand out skills I acquired on the job. A lot of companies open new branches, since Botswana is a developing country and there is positive economic growth, many businesses and companies are being opened as a result and know how in reserving a name and registering a business has become a crucial tool that one may use as an age nt.In learning how to reserve company names and creating shelf companies, it was inevitable that I had to learn how to change directors of a company. Some companies do not immediately operate upon been granted approval or even fail to start, these companies can then be taken over by other persons. Forms for changes in directors of a company are retrieved from the Registrar of Companies’ website. The website hosts many forms that can just be downloaded and printed without necessarily collecting them from their offices. I learnt how to collect a tax return form. These forms are collects directly from NURS.A tax return form has to types, one being for VAT and the other being income tax. The person collecting the tax returns forms has to have knowledge of their Tax Identity Number. Other small skills acquired include:- †¢Calculation of PAYE. Pay as You Earn tax is calculated using the tax tables. Each income has a specific tax matched to it and those that go beyond the norma l amount have a specific extra amount to apply. †¢How to register a company for tax. The form is collected from NURS and it contains various areas to be filled out including the type of business, the name of the business.The bank needs to also certify that an account by that person exists. †¢How to fax and photocopy. This was part of daily office work. No knowledge of such skills had been possessed before. †¢How to use Quickbooks. This was the accounting software used by the company. Knowledge of Pastel Accounting and the use of Microsoft in Accounting were the only prior knowledge. Most companies use Quickbooks so this is a relevant skill upon job search at the completion of the degree. †¢How to use office stationery properly. There is some stationery designed for office use that we fail to use properly.Documents need to be filed neatly and in an orderly manner. That said, learnt how to align a paper before punching, refill staples and to use the various types o f files. ? 5. 0 Conclusions and recommendation 5. 1 Career goals versus industrial attachment The Industrial attachment surely did bring some perspective. The daily work in accounting is significantly different from the theory learnt in school. Day to day accounts is routine and very simple. Within a short period of time, one begins to know the routine of recording and creating financial statements at the end of the year.That said, I realise now that accounting needs to be supplemented with other courses, for example ACCA, CFA, CIMA, etc. These professional courses give one the ability to review policies placed by the business in their accounting. They also help one to become more marketable in the industry and prevent the boredom inherent in most office jobs with routine tasks. Looking at the clientele of the business, there is a dire need for accountants and for people to learn to be ‘accounts smart’. Most companies do not even have a clerk and most small businesses d o not have an accounts department as the owner does everything and the results nd up being very poor. I have also come to realise that the lack of consultancy and knowledge of cost versus revenue makes some businesses fail or not realise their full potential as much is taken from the business without replacement via drawings. That said, may career goals really have changed and I would not want to end up sitting in the office, day by day, drawing accounts for people, but instead to give advice on running a business and creating strategies that work. I would like to move into explaining accounts to business owners and creating strategies for the purpose of cost reduction and ensuring longevity in a business.Clients constantly complain about the return on their taxes, some do not even know what it means or how it is calculated and are always disgruntled when they see an accountant coming through. Clients therefore need tutorials in the accounting field so that they just do not accept a nything or begin to distrust their accountants. 5. 2 derivations from the attachment Two stand out lessons were derived from internship, the first being that university education alone does not fully equip one for the work environment; one needs a bit of experience.The second lesson being, there is a lot of ignorance concerning accounting in Namibia, to the point of business owners doing their own book-keeping. This comes from a lack of appreciation of the role of accounting in business. Concerning the equipping by the University, there is not enough room for doing accounting practically. There are too many courses from other faculties that students are encouraged to take up in their first year, which leaves little room for proper accounting courses in the degree.The result is that most accounting is taught in a rush manner without adequate understanding and the result is that students cram without grasping concepts fully. This became apparent on the calculation of a businessâ€℠¢ daily expenses. In the examples given us in school, the figures are already summed up and apparent, most of the work involves drawing final accounts, but in businesses, final accounts are drawn up only once a month. The recording of a business’ daily expenses is critical and needs to be given attention in the foundation courses of the degree.Concerning ignorance of accounting , most businesses have no accountant and do not keep the relevant information used in drawing up accounts. The use of interns is also a wide spread normality among those who wish to have some form of book-keeping in their business. However, interns are fresh from university and often make mistakes. This results in backlogs during work as some of the books have to be redone. 5. 3 most significant learning experience The most significant learning process was that on the importance of teamwork. Business processes are intertwined that each person relied the other person.Slacking was therefore intolerable a s it affected everyone else’s progress. That said, I learnt to rely on other people, and to become a person to be relied upon. I also learnt to value the contribution of other people and the vitality of making a significant contribution in a team. 5. 4 self-evaluation The key strengths I possessed for this job were adaptation and quick-learning. I understood whatever work was assigned to me in a very short space of time. There was a lot of tossing around involved in the job as I had no specific responsibilities, this meant I had to be versatile and ready for anything.The ability to think quickly and summon best judgement in a rash situation was very useful when running errands and things would not go according to plan or clients were late. This required changing things or rearranging with a client on my own without calling the office first. The ability to work without supervision and being self-motivated was an added advantage. Because of the lack of space, I shared the offic e with the other company branch of Dotaka Investments called Coverage Insurance. This meant I had no round the clock supervision in my work. I however managed to complete all my work before time or on time.Being reliable is another quality I possess that the executive director would allow me to run errands for her with her car while she would be in the office. She relied on me to represent her well wherever she sent me on her behalf. Dress was no problem for me as I made sure I was clad formally and presentable each day. Articulation and fluency in English was an added quality as well that enabled me to win over clients and explain to them adequately what we required of them. im formal. time keeping My time keeping in the morning was not the most efficient.Most of the time i was not punctual to work and i would arrive a little bit after time. I however compensated for this shortfall by personally working during lunch or working late. 5. 5 recomendations for improvement in the organi sation Great Advisory Services needs bigger office space. During this period of attachment, there were five employees sharing two rooms. This meant that the main office had three employees which is too large a number for a small space. The room became crowded to the point that clients would notice and either mention in a joking manner or just showed unpleasantness.The company vision has to be printed and stuck on the wall and be used in company stamps. I only knew the vision when I had. A company vision helps in boosting employee morale by showing them that whatever they are doing is contributing to the achievement of the vision. Grievances in the company need to be addressed. There were matters that were swept under the carpet even though they were important. There were times were there would be some tension in the office or gossip over another person over things that were not properly stipulated yet could be solved with a sit down meeting.There needs to be an investment towards th e training of employees. An accounts consultant was employed by the firm for enquiries’ sake. However, his availability was after hours which could go on till midnight this was not an efficient way of working. The problem can be overcome by putting one of the accountants through an ACCA program. Also the clerks’ work was not up to standard as most of it had to be redone. Employee training should also be in answering calls, using appropriate register as there was a tendency for employees to use an incorrect tone or a colloquial term in a formal set-up. Accounting Attachment Report 1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 The objectives of the Industrial attachment The purpose of industrial attachment is to bridge the gap between the theory and the practise of coursework learnt in the University of Botswana. It is meant to give students a clearer perspective of concepts learnt in the academic environment and in turn prepare them for the work environment upon completion of the degree programme. Internship is also aimed at give students a chance to apply the material learnt into a practical environment and get to know the work industry.In applying academic material, it is understood more and in familiarising with the work environment, a career option can be chosen. Part of the attachment was for students to create networks. networks are useful in securing jobs and getting information about the industry. 1. 2 Methodology The industrial attachment was conducted over the period between May 10th and July 27th 2012. This period amounted to a total of 10 weeks over the school holidays. It was after the third year of study in the degree. Each student, with the help of the internship coordinator had to find a company of their choice in the relevant field of study to work in.A place was to be secured through an application letter accompanied by a copy of a transcript, a letter of acknowledgement of student status from the University. A letter of acceptance would then be sent to the university by the company that agreed to attach a student and the area in which the student will work. Students were expected to work in various sectors of the company, but within their course of study while under attachment. The students were also to keep weekly log sheets which were to be signed by the supervisor with the work they had conducted. ? 2. 0 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION . 1 History of Great Advisory Services Dotaka Investments (Pty) Ltd was incorporated in Namibia in the year 2005. It has two businesses operating, an insurance brokerage called Coverage Insurance and an acco unting business called Great Advisory Services. The company has two directors namely Alex Mundey and Gracia Hunde. Mr Mundey is a non-executive director while Miss Hunde is an executive director. The insurance brokerage was the first business to be registered by the company in 2005 and has since grown to be one of the most renowned insurance broking firms in Namibia.The business headquarters are situated in the Windhoek International Finance Park while another branch operates in the Caesar International Office Park. This is because all insurance companies are found in the Caesar Office Park, making it convenient to get quotes upon request or to make an inquiry quicker. Having become a success and seeing the need for better accounting practise for the smaller businesses, the company diversified into the accounting field and registered a business named Great Advisory Services.The role of Great Advisory Services is to assist entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses by upholding proper and consistent accounting ethos. Great Advisory Services was registered in September 2011 and has been in operation since then. Not only does the business deal with accounting but it also in company secretarial and consultancy. It registers companies, sits as a director on the board and act as agents on submitting applications for permits. The staff includes Gracia Hunde, Elaine Chatonga and Palesa Mosa.Gracia Hunde is the executive director having gained all her knowledge from experience and is currently pursuing a degree in the University of South Africa. She mainly deals in company secretarial and business consultancy. Elaine Chatonga is the head accountant, having graduated with an Honourary degree in accounting and is pursuing chartered accountancy. She draws up the financial statements and calculates the tax returns due for all the clients and for the business as well. As head accountant, it is also her duty to supervise the work of the cler and make necessary changes.Palesa Mosa is the accounting clerk, having acquired an AAT qualification. As a clerk she does the day to day recording of accounts for the business and for the clients. She is also in charge of the petty cash book, answering calls, submitting tax returns and miscellaneous work. MISSION The mission of Geat Advisory Services is to provide accounting services to small, medium and large enterprises. In providing accounting services, the aim is to also influence the practise of proper accounting ethos and to improve the running and quality of business in the country.This is will be accomplished by building a relationship with the clients and explaining accounting procedures to them. By building relationships with clients and keeping a small number of clients, the company is able to focus on each client and not do a rush job. By targeting smaller businesses, the company is also able to probe into the finer details. Clientele These consist mainly of small businesses with very few employees as th ese are the main target of the business. Most of the clients are in the motoring industry and have just been contracted; hence there is not much history that has been built.The range of clients runs from auto mechanics to caterers, and interior designers. Clients are drawn in through word of mouth and through networking, as the company barely advertises itself. The biggest client of the firm is its own spear header- Coverage Insurance Brokers. Most of the clients are for accounting services as opposed to the other branches of the business. The business started with a small clientele base of 4, and has since increased to over 10 contracted clients in the accounting branch. 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 2 Supervisor assistanceI was also debriefed on other office duties that I would be taught which would have nothing to do with schoolwork but were skills needed in the office for example, filing, photocopying, faxing, filling bank cheques and deposit slips and go ing to the bank. I was also told that I would not have any specific responsibilities but work would come up as and when needed which I would be given a briefing on how to do what at that moment. 3. 3 Qualities and skills possessed and developed The job called for speed, teamwork capabilities, versatility, fluency, flexibility and grasping concepts quickly.This I had no problem with, having gone through internship before and being a member of clubs that required teamwork. Being tossed around between jobs, and not knowing what to be doing when you get to work in the office ensured that I was always on my toes. As the job went by, I learnt to be quick but thorough, to ask questions; to be accountable- work was tossed form one person to the other. If I was capturing information, I had to be thorough so that the next person, in this case the accountant, would be able to use the information. If I gave her the wrong information, it would mess all the accounts up.I also had to learn to be r esponsible ? 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 1 Job orientation A brief meeting was held on the first day of work in which an assessment of my course work and accounting knowledge was made. The information available on the transcript and curriculum vitae was used for the assessment. This same meeting was also used for the purpose of giving me a tour through the company, debriefing on company history and the services offered by the company. I also got the opportunity to familiarise with the business environment and the rest of the staff around.The next step was to test the skills I had I stated that I had. I was shown how to capture information form a receipt, change it, delete it and create a file for a company in the accounting software. After a series of examples, I was asked to do the same. I went through a series of tests in using the accounting system, which in this case was called Quick books. Having shown adequate knowledge, I was informed that I would as sist in that part of the job. The main job was capturing, but some more office jobs were to be done, which I was kindly briefed on.I was to be the extra hand in the office; hence I would be tossed around everywhere, having been given a short tutorial prior to execution of a task. There were no specific responsibilities that were given to me; most of the work to be done would be broken down before being done. Having been briefed on the jobs to be done, I was shown the office space that I would use. A few minutes later I was assigned to my primary role for the week- filing, organising documents prior to capturing, checking if transactions had been captured properly and at the correct amounts and banking.In between the small jobs, I was to familiarise myself with the software and practise before I could be given any work concerning that. 3. 2 Supervisor assistance My supervisor adequately explained all duties and responsibilities before I undertook them. The first question before doing anything was an enquiry as to whether I had done any such thing. If I answered in the negative, I was shown how to do it. I would then attempt the same job under her watch until I had perfected my work In cases were computer use was required, a different document altogether would be opened for the sake of demonstration.A supervisor was always ready to help if I did not understand anything. As this is a small company, help was easy to find as my slowing down would also affect the other operations. My supervisors were quick to explain and guide through new processes especially those that involved going to NURS, going to clients and going to Company registration. I would receive office calls whenever I spent more time than usual. During the first days in the office, I would also get momentary calls just to check on progress or if everything under control 3. 3 Qualities needed and qualities gainedVersatility and flexibility were needed to succeed in this position as I would be tossed i nto any work. This meant I would have to be a receptionist, or an accountant, or the driver so adaptation and was needed. There was much work to do in the office so I had to be quick to catch onto the job as I would often receive crash courses to do a new task. In a job where there were had no fixed duties, and work to do decided on each morning, it was critical to grasp the concept quickly. The job also called for an ability to work without supervision as there was a lot of work to be done between the three services offered by the company.There was a need to be organised and to ask questions to do with more clarification to get an understanding as soon as a task was given in order to curb backlog. The amount of work to be done was much so that made round the clock assistance rather impossible. Time keeping was also very critical. We all depended on each other as one person’s slow delivery affected everyone. There was a need to pay attention to detail when doing accounts so a s to come up with the correct financial statements and prevent reworking which would waste time.Ten client companies would expected their returns to be calculated every second month so each company had specific time slots for doing their books which had to be maximised in order to prevent a rush job being done or eating into another company’s time. Fluency in English and articulation was a needed quality because there were clients to talk to, going to the Registrar of Companies and calls to be answered when the clerk/receptionist was not around. Qualities gained during the process included the ability to think on my feet, tenacity, responsibility and team working.Concerning the ability to think on my feet, jobs done outside the office required decisions to be made quickly if things did not go according to plan this needed one to exercise discretion and take control without having to call the office first. Thinking on one’s feet required the ability to reason carefully and objectively. Over time, I developed tenacity. It became apparent that not only did the job call for work to be done, but to be completed on or before time. Working after hours became normality and not burdensome and neither was it something to complain over.The key was to understand the importance of completing a task before the next day, regardless of working hours. Honesty and responsibility came with the job. Whenever personal resources were used in incurring company expenses, they had to be accounted for. This called for keeping of receipts and disclosing the corrected amounts actually spent in order to qualify for a refund. These expenses also had to be incurred wholly towards the company and not be mixed with personal expenses. Every business can only achieve its goals through teamwork.Work was passed from one person to the other as processes were interlinked. The clerk and I did most of the primary work- capturing and organising files and it had to be understood by the ne xt user of the information. Having done my part for the day, I would not sit around as others worked but pitch in to also help in order for the task to be completed. ? 4. 0 SPECIFIC JOB INFORMATION 4. 1 Daily Responsibilities There were no specific daily responsibilities given as work arose as and when needed but there were things that became routine, for example filing, faxing and photocopying.The other jobs included capturing invoices and receipts into the accounting system, checking if receipts and invoices had been entered into the system, helping to separate receipts into different expenses and banking. Accounting Capturing accounting information from invoices was a daily task. Expenses had to be separated into cost of sales, company expenses and capital expenditures. That done, a list of all transactions entered would be printed and cross-checked with the corresponding receipts as an internal check on capturing all expenditure and at their correct amounts.Every month end, tax return forms were filled out and withholding tax charges calculated. For those companies which took the liberty to calculate their own taxes, their figures would be matched with those in the tax tables to ensure consistency. The difficult part of this was working with companies that pay employees through commission as they had a different way of calculating applicable charges. Bank reconciliation at the end of each month was a required duty.The task was to go through a monthly bank statement, reconcile the figures with those in the cheque book, adjust for unpresented cheques, account for stop orders and total the bank interest charges for the month. After that the money drawn out for personal use would be calculated for drawings. Filing The first thing upon receipt of files from a client was to sort them out in chronological order. This made it easier to account for the dates on transactions as the date would not be changed with each receipt, it also made it easier to find a missing receipt or to look fo r a query on the receipt if they were in order.The filing work included the tax returns that would come from NURS, documents from the clients in the form of bills, contracts and agreements made between the client and the firm. For withholding taxes, each company had a separate filing place for rental withholding taxes and employee withholding taxes. Printing, copying and faxing Accounting involves a lot of printing, faxing and photocopying. The responsibility assigned was to do exactly that. It was of utmost importance to make sure that the company had one file while the client also had another copy. BankingThis involved drawing up cheques for clients, having been given the due amounts, fill in cheque deposit slips whenever a client made a payment via cheque, signing and accounting for the cheque in the company books before going to the bank to deposit it. This also involved cashing some cheques and depositing them in the respective employee accounts at the en d of the month for salaries. 4. 2 Other responsibilities Messenger Jobs that were done outside the office included fetching files with client’s receipts and invoices for the month and returning them, submitting and collecting returns forms to NURS, getting clients to stamp taxes due forms.Being a messenger also involved following up on company or business name reservations with the Registrar of Companies. The other tasks at the Registrar of Companies were submission of forms for the change of directors and the transfer of ownership of a firm. All paperwork generated from this would be copied and sent to the concerned client Office jobs Part of the office odd jobs was answering the phone when the person responsible was not available. This would involve taking messages and answering for where the required person was, putting through phone calls and answering whatever questions a client had about the business.When clients arrived before their appointed time had to be attended an d entertained until their attendant returned. This was achieved by preparing refreshments and chatting up the client, sitting them comfortably and continuous reassurance that the required person would be with them. Ensuring office security involved locking up doors and cabinets, closing windows, switching off the air conditioners by the last person to leave the office. 4. 3 Knowledge from course work Three years of in the University of Botswana has come with grasping many skills and concepts.Some proved necessary, other premature and some skills use stood out more than others. Knowledge from Accounting Information Systems learnt in BIS309 was the most used and hence the most helpful. It offered a foundation to be able to use any accounting software. BIS309 also helped because it dealt with the daily running of business and how to enter daily transactions into the books of accounts, the separation of bills and invoices and how to create a debit or credit note. BIS309 also included ho w to account for a refund, how to add an account into the list of accounts.Most accounting now is done by software so the ability to use software and the knowledge of the way around the software was an added advantage Knowledge of basic accounting and bank reconciliations was taught in Financial Accounting I (ACC100) and it offered know how on entering costs into books of accounts and drawing up bank reconciliations and treating unpresented cheques. Some clients, being new, lacked adequate accounting information. This amounted to missing receipts and invoices, misnumbered invoices, missing bank cheques or narrations to the cheques.In order to deal with this one had to work backwards from the bank statement to find missing figures and asking for rough estimates for jobs done. Incomplete Records aught in Financial Accounting II (Acc200) was a useful resource. For the purpose of separation of business costs into cost of sales and expenses Introduction to Cost Accounting (ACC201) was ve ry useful. Some business incurred expenses that had to be charged to their cost of sales, not costs of running the business, for example the cost of delivery, the cost of assembly, etc.One company was a delivery company and conducted trade by going to South Africa and taking goods for delivery into Namibia, the cost of the job did not only include fuel to travel to South Africa but it included the driver’s accommodation and food and the cost of toll gates. Dealing with these expenses was leant in Managaemnt accounting applications ACC303. Final accounts are drawn at the end of each month and they have to be drawn up according to the formats in the accounting standards.Knowledge of accounting standards and presentation formats was acquired in Auditing I (ACC301) and Financial Accounting II (ACC 300. ) Upon the calculation of taxes for individual employees, calculating the gross taxes, doing a bank reconciliation, comparison of figures, checking if all receipts had been entered Microsoft excel was used. BIS 205 dealt with the primary use of computers and plugging in formulae. General Education Courses dealt with the use of computers and communication.Businesses require a lot of communication and etiquette. Gec 121,introduction to Computers was useful for the purpose of using email, Introduction to Communication (GEC111 and 112) helped in articulation and Introduction to Rhetoric and Public Speaking (GEC 364) helped in building confidence and addressing people. For the sake of company registration, the difference between a company and a business grasped in Introduction to Company Law (LAW351) was a critical tool in knowing the difference, lest the two be wrongly interchanged.This difference was also critical whenever capturing expenses, keeping in mind that sole traders were not separated from the business and withdrawals made were charged as drawings. 4. 4 Beneficial things to have learnt It would have been very helpful to have gone through an introductor y lesson in tax so as to understand the format, the applicable tax figures had and to fill in a tax from with understanding. Most of the workings in tax were done out of memory, having been briefed on before but with no adequate understanding as to why they were done that way for example amounts exempt from tax and the calculations of allowable deductions.Cash flow Statements are part of the final accounts drawn up at the end of the month. This was also something learnt on the job but without full comprehension of what exactly to be done and what to be done. 4. 5 new skills acquired The reservation of a company name and creation of a shelf company is one of the stand out skills I acquired on the job. A lot of companies open new branches, since Botswana is a developing country and there is positive economic growth, many businesses and companies are being opened as a result and know how in reserving a name and registering a business has become a crucial tool that one may use as an age nt.In learning how to reserve company names and creating shelf companies, it was inevitable that I had to learn how to change directors of a company. Some companies do not immediately operate upon been granted approval or even fail to start, these companies can then be taken over by other persons. Forms for changes in directors of a company are retrieved from the Registrar of Companies’ website. The website hosts many forms that can just be downloaded and printed without necessarily collecting them from their offices. I learnt how to collect a tax return form. These forms are collects directly from NURS.A tax return form has to types, one being for VAT and the other being income tax. The person collecting the tax returns forms has to have knowledge of their Tax Identity Number. Other small skills acquired include:- †¢Calculation of PAYE. Pay as You Earn tax is calculated using the tax tables. Each income has a specific tax matched to it and those that go beyond the norma l amount have a specific extra amount to apply. †¢How to register a company for tax. The form is collected from NURS and it contains various areas to be filled out including the type of business, the name of the business.The bank needs to also certify that an account by that person exists. †¢How to fax and photocopy. This was part of daily office work. No knowledge of such skills had been possessed before. †¢How to use Quickbooks. This was the accounting software used by the company. Knowledge of Pastel Accounting and the use of Microsoft in Accounting were the only prior knowledge. Most companies use Quickbooks so this is a relevant skill upon job search at the completion of the degree. †¢How to use office stationery properly. There is some stationery designed for office use that we fail to use properly.Documents need to be filed neatly and in an orderly manner. That said, learnt how to align a paper before punching, refill staples and to use the various types o f files. ? 5. 0 Conclusions and recommendation 5. 1 Career goals versus industrial attachment The Industrial attachment surely did bring some perspective. The daily work in accounting is significantly different from the theory learnt in school. Day to day accounts is routine and very simple. Within a short period of time, one begins to know the routine of recording and creating financial statements at the end of the year.That said, I realise now that accounting needs to be supplemented with other courses, for example ACCA, CFA, CIMA, etc. These professional courses give one the ability to review policies placed by the business in their accounting. They also help one to become more marketable in the industry and prevent the boredom inherent in most office jobs with routine tasks. Looking at the clientele of the business, there is a dire need for accountants and for people to learn to be ‘accounts smart’. Most companies do not even have a clerk and most small businesses d o not have an accounts department as the owner does everything and the results nd up being very poor. I have also come to realise that the lack of consultancy and knowledge of cost versus revenue makes some businesses fail or not realise their full potential as much is taken from the business without replacement via drawings. That said, may career goals really have changed and I would not want to end up sitting in the office, day by day, drawing accounts for people, but instead to give advice on running a business and creating strategies that work. I would like to move into explaining accounts to business owners and creating strategies for the purpose of cost reduction and ensuring longevity in a business.Clients constantly complain about the return on their taxes, some do not even know what it means or how it is calculated and are always disgruntled when they see an accountant coming through. Clients therefore need tutorials in the accounting field so that they just do not accept a nything or begin to distrust their accountants. 5. 2 derivations from the attachment Two stand out lessons were derived from internship, the first being that university education alone does not fully equip one for the work environment; one needs a bit of experience.The second lesson being, there is a lot of ignorance concerning accounting in Namibia, to the point of business owners doing their own book-keeping. This comes from a lack of appreciation of the role of accounting in business. Concerning the equipping by the University, there is not enough room for doing accounting practically. There are too many courses from other faculties that students are encouraged to take up in their first year, which leaves little room for proper accounting courses in the degree.The result is that most accounting is taught in a rush manner without adequate understanding and the result is that students cram without grasping concepts fully. This became apparent on the calculation of a businessâ€℠¢ daily expenses. In the examples given us in school, the figures are already summed up and apparent, most of the work involves drawing final accounts, but in businesses, final accounts are drawn up only once a month. The recording of a business’ daily expenses is critical and needs to be given attention in the foundation courses of the degree.Concerning ignorance of accounting , most businesses have no accountant and do not keep the relevant information used in drawing up accounts. The use of interns is also a wide spread normality among those who wish to have some form of book-keeping in their business. However, interns are fresh from university and often make mistakes. This results in backlogs during work as some of the books have to be redone. 5. 3 most significant learning experience The most significant learning process was that on the importance of teamwork. Business processes are intertwined that each person relied the other person.Slacking was therefore intolerable a s it affected everyone else’s progress. That said, I learnt to rely on other people, and to become a person to be relied upon. I also learnt to value the contribution of other people and the vitality of making a significant contribution in a team. 5. 4 self-evaluation The key strengths I possessed for this job were adaptation and quick-learning. I understood whatever work was assigned to me in a very short space of time. There was a lot of tossing around involved in the job as I had no specific responsibilities, this meant I had to be versatile and ready for anything.The ability to think quickly and summon best judgement in a rash situation was very useful when running errands and things would not go according to plan or clients were late. This required changing things or rearranging with a client on my own without calling the office first. The ability to work without supervision and being self-motivated was an added advantage. Because of the lack of space, I shared the offic e with the other company branch of Dotaka Investments called Coverage Insurance. This meant I had no round the clock supervision in my work. I however managed to complete all my work before time or on time.Being reliable is another quality I possess that the executive director would allow me to run errands for her with her car while she would be in the office. She relied on me to represent her well wherever she sent me on her behalf. Dress was no problem for me as I made sure I was clad formally and presentable each day. Articulation and fluency in English was an added quality as well that enabled me to win over clients and explain to them adequately what we required of them. im formal. time keeping My time keeping in the morning was not the most efficient.Most of the time i was not punctual to work and i would arrive a little bit after time. I however compensated for this shortfall by personally working during lunch or working late. 5. 5 recomendations for improvement in the organi sation Great Advisory Services needs bigger office space. During this period of attachment, there were five employees sharing two rooms. This meant that the main office had three employees which is too large a number for a small space. The room became crowded to the point that clients would notice and either mention in a joking manner or just showed unpleasantness.The company vision has to be printed and stuck on the wall and be used in company stamps. I only knew the vision when I had. A company vision helps in boosting employee morale by showing them that whatever they are doing is contributing to the achievement of the vision. Grievances in the company need to be addressed. There were matters that were swept under the carpet even though they were important. There were times were there would be some tension in the office or gossip over another person over things that were not properly stipulated yet could be solved with a sit down meeting.There needs to be an investment towards th e training of employees. An accounts consultant was employed by the firm for enquiries’ sake. However, his availability was after hours which could go on till midnight this was not an efficient way of working. The problem can be overcome by putting one of the accountants through an ACCA program. Also the clerks’ work was not up to standard as most of it had to be redone. Employee training should also be in answering calls, using appropriate register as there was a tendency for employees to use an incorrect tone or a colloquial term in a formal set-up.