Are You Creative

Are You Creative Per Steve Jobs: Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. Writers question their creativity. They think it ought to be magic, something that travels down and strikes them out of the ether, when in actuality, creativity isnt so esoteric. While we think it just happens, in reality, it is the culmination of our experiences, our education, and our willingness to let loose of the manacles of rules. The more freedom you allow yourself, the greater your chance of creativity. What does that mean? 1) You avoid copying someone else. 2) You dare to be stupid, ridiculous, just down-right liberated from the norm. 3) You forget about embarrassment. 4) You think 100 percent about the creation instead of how well your creative genius can be marketed. Now, nothing says you cannot be creative in marketing/promotion as well. Again, you dont rely heavily on the how-to books, the classes, or the podcasts that tell thousands of people the secret of marketing. Sorry, but it quits being a secret and quits being quite so phenomenally effective when everyone is doing it. The only reason I might glance at those secrets is to figure out how to avoid what they did and forge an entirely different direction. For instance, selling books for free isnt as financially successful as before. I equate the freebie ebook gimmick to the writing about vampires trend that came and went. And if you are writing to any sort of fad, keep in mind that it too shall wane. Allow yourself to be weird, odd, and abnormal. We admire the people who do take the road less traveled and then find success. So why do we then try to be them, following their steps, copying their lessons, shadowing each move they make? Whywhen we ought to be creating our own path? Creativity takes boldness. Shortcuts are simply flashes in a pan and quickly forgotten.

Does Music Influence Human Thoughts and Actions essays

Does Music Influence Human Thoughts and Actions essays Although I believe music is very powerful, I do not believe its words or tone influence peoples thoughts or behavior. I was raised to believe that a person is responsible for their own actions, regardless of possible influences. As an example I will use the rapper Eminem. For those not familiar with Eminem, his lyrics have been referred to as violent, full of hatred, and pure craziness. One of his songs, 97 Bonnie and Clyde, was very controversial. This was a song about a man killing his wife, putting her body in a lake, and him explaining to their young daughter that mommy was okay, she just wanted to float. Although the lyrics were vulgar, the beat and tempo of the song were very mellow, not a combination one would expect. Many people were upset that this song was released on his cd, but there were others who thought that if someone did not care for the song, then they could chose not to listen to it. Eminems 97 Bonnie and Clyde was a very violent song, I do agree. However, I do not believe that someone listening to this song would decide to do something like the song mentioned just because he was in to Eminems music. I believe that artists and musicians are free to produce whatever lyrics or music they choose. I do not think they should have to worry about the effect their lyrics or music might have on people. I believe it is their right and their freedom to produce what they choose. I certainly have never heard of a movie director decide against a movie just because they think it might to too violent. Like movies, many rap cds now have ratings and warnings for violent and vulgar lyrics, therefore if you dislike this use of lyrics you would know before you purchased the cd. If movies are too violent or not appropriate for some viewers, the rating will let us know that, just as rap cds will. Although, under aged children can get access to violent movies as well as vio...

The relationship between the foreign direct investment and the growth Dissertation

The relationship between the foreign direct investment and the growth and development of the underdeveloped and developing countries - Dissertation Example According to the study the economy of China has been showing continuous growth and development in previous few years. The economists and analysts acknowledge the dramatic improve in the economy of China with the passage of time as the country has evolved from underdeveloped country to an emerging and developed world economy. Most of the countries and analysts have been looking towards China in order to provide financial support to different underdeveloped and developing countries. In this regard huge emphasis is on the Chinese investment in the African countries. Foreign direct investment has an important role to play in improving the economic condition of the country. Particularly if the country is developing then it could assist in improving and igniting investment in the country and therefore creating more employment and more opportunities for people to earn. In addition to this, foreign direct investment could help in growing the economy and improving the productivity of labour. However there are some disadvantages as well. African countries have been one of the most profitable and lucrative and this is the reason why several countries like United States, European Countries, Japan, China and several others have been making investment in African countries. Therefore this indicates that there are several opportunities in this part of the world. The foreign direct investment inflows of several African countries have been improving and the situation looks positive for this part of the world. With more investment, African developing countries would be able to improve their economies. ... 1.2. Background of the Research Study: China has been making investment in different parts of the world including African countries. Ethiopia and Nigeria are also among the two countries that China has eyed already for investment purpose. In both these countries, China has invested in different projects and some of the projects are regarding the infrastructure of the country and therefore China has already completed and has under process different projects with Nigeria and Ethiopia. In Nigeria, China has invested in different sectors including mining, banking sector, service industries, financial sector, manufacturing sector, real estate sector and several others. In addition to this, with Nigeria Chinese firms have formed joint ventures and together they are identifying, analysing and capitalising on the opportunities in the market. Some of the major projects that China has undergone with Nigerian firms are related to oil and gas exploration, service industry, financial services etc (Oyeranti, Babatunde, and Ogunkola, 2011). In comparison to this, in Ethiopia the Chinese government has helped the African nation in several ways as it has invested and helped them in improving the infrastructure of the country. China has already helped by giving financial support in the form of interest free loan to Ethiopia so that the government is able to develop the infrastructure and provide facilities to the people in the country. Also Chinese firms that have started their venture in Ethiopia have also helped the locals to improve their skills and competencies. China also has invested in different projects related to the infrastructure of Ethiopia in order to improve the situation of the

Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Music - Essay Example The main genres of the 17th – 18th centuries’ music are cantata and oratorio. The importance of secular music increased: it sounded at courts, in the salons of the aristocracy, in public theaters (the first such theaters were founded in the 17th century). Opera takes shape as a new kind of musical art.   Ã‚  Ã‚   New genres also emerged in instrumental music. Primarily we can talk about an instrumental concerto. The violin, harpsichord, organ gradually turned into solo instruments. Music, composed for them, made ​​it possible to show not only the composers’ talent but also talent of the performing musicians. Virtuosity was valued most of all. It gradually became an end in itself for many musicians. The composers of the 17th -18th centuries usually composed not only music, but also skillfully played instruments and were involved in teaching activities. Welfare of musicians and composers largely depended on a specific customer. As a rule, every serious musician sought a place at court of a monarch or a wealthy aristocrat (many noblemen had their own orchestras or opera houses) or in a church. And the majority of composers easily combined church services with music-making for their secular patrons. Austria took the leading role in the development of musical culture in the 18th century. European opera, after two centuries of development, finally reached the pinnacle in the work of Viennese composers - Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1782) and Wolfgang Amedeo Mozart (1756 - 1791). Classical symphonic style and classical chamber music were created by an Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and genius Mozart. When people talk about classical music (in the sense of a certain movement, along with the Romantic Movement, Impressionism, etc.), they primarily have in mind the Viennese classical school, represented by Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven in the 19th century. Creative works of Haydn and Mozart, sons of

Individual essay on my team experience Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual on my team experience - Essay Example However, considering the team’s organisation, delegation of duties and communication, Person B can be said to be the team leader. Her leadership traits emerged in the first group meeting, where she coordinated the activities and played the lead role in setting the team’s goals and objectives. Person B ensured that every team member participated in the all the team’s activities and ascertained that we all knew our roles and contributions to the team. She set the team’s activities in motion, facilitated communication within the team and helped in defining clear goals for the team.3 Even though all the team members were equals, she had a certain influence on the group that helped to set the team’s activities in motion. She was leading a group of peers and successfully maintained influence on us without leading into disagreements. This paper will discuss some of the leadership traits and skills that Person B possessed and the manner in which they influenced the whole team. It is difficult to manage a diverse team, especially one that is composed of individuals who bear equal authority. This means that a single individual cannot domineer or assert authority over the others.4 However, one individual can rise above the rest and influence the others by motivating them, facilitating activities, encouraging the team members, enhancing effective communication and maintaining trust, therefore, playing a leadership role in the team. 5 This was the case with our MG100 team. Person B showed leadership skills and helped the team to achieve its goals. We were all held accountable for the team’s performance, meaning that she was not responsible for the team’s output. As team members, we did not report to her but she facilitated the group’s activities because she had great organisational skills, which allowed every team member to trust her with the leadership role.6 We did not conduct a formal selection to instil her as our leader, but the value

Robotic surgery

Robotic surgery Information Technology in Medicine: Should patients trust robotic surgery 1 Introduction to the topic Robots are ubiquitous today. They are found in our cars, in our houses, in our industries inside buildings and to places we neglect to notice. We trust robots to do everyday chores for us either by knowing directly or indirectly. Robots are becoming part of our lives and we have all accepted it. Today technology has advanced so that it allows for innovative robotic systems to be inserted in the medical field. New materials, ideas and technological advancements bring robotics into medicine. Robotics in medicine entails many advantages and benefits for both the doctors and the patients. But there are also some limitations in robotic surgery that cause doubt and uncertainty to people. However, as it happens with every new technological development, people need time to become familiar with it, to accept it and finally trust it. So the question is if the world is ready to accept and trust robots in health and more specifically in surgery. There will be people who are pioneers and enjoy trying something new, people who are skeptical and need to know everything about it before agreeing and people who will be afraid no matter how much proof theyre given. There cannot be an abrupt transition from classical surgeries without robots to surgeries all aided with robots. Gradually, the surgeries aided with robots will increase as peoples experience and trust increases. 2 IT Background 2.1 History of robotics Most of us when we hear the word â€Å"robot† we think of science fiction movies showing robots of the future, performing outstanding tasks. In fact, most of these robots seen are now everyday reality making our lives more convenient. One definition that could be given to a robot is â€Å"a reprogrammable multi-functional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.[1] Robotics is the engineering science and technology of robots, their design, manufacturing, and applications. It is related to electronics, mechanics, and software. ht_2bunimate_080415_sshRobots could not be manufactured until the 1960s when transistors and integrated circuits were invented. Compact, reliable electronics and a growing computer industry added intellect to the power of already existing machines. In 1959, researchers demonstrated the possibility of robotic manufacturing when they disclosed a computer-controlled milling machine.[2] The first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate, was installed in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and pile them.[3] Commercial and industrial robots are ubiquitous in performing jobs better, cheaper, more accurately and reliably than humans. They are also found in jobs that are too hazardous, dirty or tedious for humans.[4] 2.2 Robotics in surgery[5] Robotics in medicine is a fairly new, yet advancing field. It is now introduced in medicine, in the field of surgery as it allows for exceptional control and precision of surgical devices in minimally invasive procedures. Robotic surgery has as its main goal to design robots that will be able to be used in performing closed-chest, beating-heart surgery in collaboration with the surgeons. Munich_OR_415Today numerous surgical robots have been adopted by many operating rooms all over the world. Surgical robots are not actually autonomous â€Å"surgeons† capable of performing assignments on their own, but a helping assistant of the surgeons. A number of commercial corporations have been founded in order to create surgical robotic systems. Computer Motion, Inc. developed the AESOP Endoscope Positioner: a voice-activated robotic system for endoscopic surgery. In January 1999, Intuitive launched the DaVinci Surgical System, which is classified as a master-slave surgical system as it uses true 3-D visualization. In 2001 Computer Motion, Inc built the SOCRATES Robotic Telecollaboration System as well. It includes integrated telecommunication equipment along with the robotic devices in order to provide remote surgical telecollaboration. Computer Motion merged with Intuitive Surgical, Inc., in June of 2003. They introduced the ZEUS Surgical System. 3 Robotic Surgery Systems Robotic surgery systems are divided into three types: supervisory-controlled systems, shared-control systems and telesurgical systems. These systems differ in the sense that in each case there is a different degree of involvement of the surgeon. In some cases, the operation is carried out by the robotic system with a minimal intervention of the doctor. In other cases, the surgery is performed by the doctor with the help of the robotic system. 3.1 Supervisory-controlled systems [6] supervisorySupervisory-controlled systems are the most automated systems of all. But they still need the guidance of the surgeon and an extensive preparation before the initiation of the surgery. The surgeon inputs information and programs the robotic system to follow certain instructions. However, once these robots have been programmed, and start operating there is no option for adjustments and thats why the surgeon must keep a close watch of the surgery in the need of intervention. As it is known, not all people have the same body structure and so it is not possible to have standard instructions for the robot to follow. This is done in three stages: planning, registration and navigation. In the planning stage, the surgeon captures images of the patients body. As soon as the surgeon has imaged the patient, he must determine the path that the robot will take to operate. The next stage is registration, in which the surgeon links the images obtained before with points on the patients body. In order for the surgery to be completed successfully, the points must be positioned precisely according to the patients body. The final stage is navigation, which is the actual surgery. In this stage the surgeon places the patient and the robot so as the movements of the robotic system to follow the programmed instructions. When all preparations are complete, the robot is activated and the surgery is carried out. 3.2 Shared-control robotic systems[7] Shared-control robotic systems are a helping hand for the surgeons. The operation is carried out only by the surgeon who uses the robotic system manually in order to have greater efficiency. The robotic system monitors the surgeons actions during the operation and provides support and stability by â€Å"active constraint†.7 â€Å"Active constraint† is the process of labelling regions of the patients body with one of the four possibilities: safe, close, boundary and forbidden. Surgeons label safe regions the regions that are appropriate for the robot to be and to operate. For instance, a close region can be found in orthopaedic surgery in orthopaedic surgery, near the soft tissues. Many orthopaedic surgery tools can damage the soft tissue and so the robot limits the area that the surgery is safe to take place. This is done using â€Å"haptic† technology[8], which is the science and physiology of the sense of touch. This means that as the surgeon approaches the boundary region he will start feeling a resistive force and as he proceeds to the forbidden region the force is getting larger and once he enters the forbidden region the robotic system stops operating immediately. But in order for the robotic system to know which are those regions, the surgeon must program it first as it is done with the supervisory controlled systems. 3.3 Telesurgical systems [9] Telesurgery is a field of telemedicine that was developed in recent years and holds great interest. Today it can be seen as a two way transmission of picture and sound, allowing the communication between surgeons of little experience and surgeons of great experience to cooperate no matter the distance separating them. Also it is understood, this technology needs highly advanced software in order for the simulation to be feasible in the remote surgery room. For this purpose, systems of virtual reality are required that allow the surgeons that are in a different room or city or country to have an actual image of the operating room and of the procedure. Robots with camera will provide a better quality of the images as they will be in colour and enlarged. 3.3.1 Da Vinci Surgical System [10] The Da Vinci Robot is probably one of the most well-known robotic surgery systems in the world. It is a robotic system that is used in minimally invasive surgery, which means that the robot makes a petite aperture in the patients body that brings many positive results. DaVinci-Robot During the surgery, the surgeon sits in a console inside the operating room and handles the surgical tools of the robot. After the patient has been anaesthetized, three apertures are made on the patients body allowing the rods to enter. On the screen the surgeon observes the 3D image that the camera is transmitting through the patients body and which is handled by joysticks. The camera sees every movement of the robot and can be activated or deactivated any time from a button.[11] Every surgical arm is connected with a surgical tool and there is camera in the end of the main arm. One of the rods has a camera on it while the others have surgical tools able to cut, remove or stitch the tissues. The robotic system uses the same stitches and materials used in the traditional surgery. The surgeon can bend and rotate the arms like the human wrist guaranteeing increased percentage of success and important benefits much for the patient as for the surgeon. The Da Vinci robotic system includes a lenses system of three-dimensional view, which can make the surgical field as 15 times larger. Also, the camera allows the surgeon to go closer at the point of surgery than the human vision can and so the surgeon can perform the operation in a smaller scale than the conventional surgery allows. 3.3.2 Zeus Robotic Surgical System[12] The robotic surgical system Zeus was the first system to be used in 1999 to perform the first full endoscopic robotic surgery bypass with a beating heart. It consists of three basic parts: 1. 1zeusconsoleAn ergonomic control console 2. the central control computer 3. Robotic arms, which move with the movement of the surgeons hand. The surgeon sits comfortably in the surgical seat and handles the tools that are placed inside the patient. After the surgeons movements have been digitalized they are filtered, thinned and transmitted to the computers control station, which transfers those movements through an electromechanical interface to the robotic arms and to the tools. In addition, Zeus robotic system enhances the optical field of the surgery by enlarging it and also with the help of AESOP robotic system the surgeons hands are free to handle the surgical tools. 3.3.3 AESOP Robotic Surgical System [13] AESOP Robotic surgical system was developed by Computer Motion Inc. The period when it first came out, the surgeon could control the robotic arm remotely, manually or with a foot pedal but the most recent edition of AESOP 3000 is controlled with voice commands. The robotic arm contains and moves a camera which is used in MIS surgeries for the observation of the surgical field. The camera is placed at the edge of the robotic arm and is inserted in the patients body through an aperture of about 2cm. The robotic system AESOP is the surgeons third arm. By using simple commands such as â€Å"AESOP, move up† or â€Å"AESOP, move left†, the surgeon tells the robot to move the camera as he wishes. Every surgeon records his voice and has a voice card that is inserted into the system whenever he operates, in order for the robot to identify the commands. Usually the system works well. The robot may sometimes not recognize the tone of the voice of the surgeon is different from the recorded voice. But there is a support system with which the surgeon can handle manually if something like this happens. 3.3.4 SOCRATES Telecollaboration System [14] Socrates telecollaboration system was the first system to be approved (October 2001) for the new-founded category â€Å"telesurgery robotic systems†. It consists of advanced telecommunication equipment that is connected with medical devices and robotic systems. The system gives the surgeon who is at a remote location the opportunity to work with another surgeon who may be in an operating room across the globe. The system provides real time view of the surgery. In collaboration with Zeus robotic system, Socrates is the first fundamental step that marks the start of minimally invasive telesurgery. In 2001 Socrates robot along with Zeus robotic system performed the first translantic surgery. On September 7th, 2001 a group of surgeons in New York performed a cholecystectomy surgery on a patient located in France with the help of doctors that were there. The console and the robot were connected with fiber optic wires. This surgery was first tested on six pigs.That was the first com plete telesurgical process that was performed by surgeons 7000 away from their patient. The patient left the hospital 48 hours after the operation and returned to his social activities a week later. 4 Advantages and Limitations [15] 4.1 Advantages The advantages of robotic surgery are listed below: 1. Tinniest incisions result in: * Faster recovery * Shorter hospital stay and reduced costs * Less pain and fear * Less blood loss * Cosmetic benefit * Reduced risk of infection or complications * Less anesthesia required 2. Better sterilization 3. Robot immune to radiation and infections. 4. No muscle tremor or fatigue. 5. Elimination of need for personnel resulting in lower costs for the hospitals. 6. Shorter return to everyday activities(1-2 weeks) 7. Telesurgery: The ability to perform surgery from a different operating room. 8. A 3D camera provides an enhanced view. 9. Robots reach places that surgeons alone couldnt before. 10. Can be designed for a wide range of scales. 11. Surgeons dont get tired quickly as theyre seated and have less eye strain and they have the ability to control their natural flinching or nerves more effectively. 4.2 Limitations However some of its disadvantages and concerns are: 1. Robotic systems have highly complex software and it is very difficult to program and debug them. 2. Costs including the robotic systems ($750.000-$1 million), the maintenance and the training of surgeons are considerably high. 3. Since the need of personnel will be minimized, some surgeons will be left unemployed. 4. Telesurgery is based by a large percentage on the transmission of information between two locations. The more the distance between the two locations the more the time delay is inserted. This increased the period between the action and the result and after a certain point this makes surgery impossible in real time. 5. Synchronization during telesurgery is very critical and is not easy to attain. 6. Telesurgery is highly dependent on the security and reliability of the network. 5 Robotic Surgery in Greece [16] The first robotic navigation system used in a surgery procedure in Greece is the Vector Vision II system in â€Å"Ygeia† (see www.ygeia.gr) hospital in Athens. In February 2003 the robotic surgical system â€Å"Aesop 1000† was used to perform the first laparoscopic operation in the General Hospital of Crete, Greece. â€Å"Aesop 1000† is being improved in the labs of University of Crete and will be released as â€Å"Aesop 2000† and â€Å"Aesop 3000† and soon is expected to be used in more complex operations and surgeries. In addition, the school of medicine in the University of Athens offers advanced courses on robotic surgery. The course aims to teach basic robotic surgery skills such as instrument manipulation, camera control among others. This is done using the Da Vinci surgical system.[17] 1stdayIn November 8th,2006 the opening day of the Da Vinci robotic system took place in the Athens Medical Center Hospital. The president of the Hellenic Scientific Robotic Surgical Association Prof. K. Konstantinidis explained the fundamental principles of the Da Vinci robot to Greek ministers and the establishment of the Hellenic Scientific Society of Robotic Surgery. The first total hysterectomy in Greece was successfully carried out with the latest-generation Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System at the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Centre of Athens HYGEIA. the operation was broadcasted in real time during the daily conference held at the Hospital on Tuesday, July 1st 2008, titled Robotic Surgery in Gynaecology.[18] 5.1 Survey analysis A survey was conducted during October and November 2009 in Athens about robotic surgery, in which 73 people answered (ages 14-50). The survey included a questionnaire and it was distributed by email. Robotic surgery in Greece is in its infancy so it is quite reasonable to see that 72% of the people asked knew nothing about robotic surgery. 6 Social Concerns 6.1 Safety Safety is the prime concern of patients and doctors. People today have trouble trusting robotic devices in general and in the case of their healthcare the issue of trust is intensified. First of all, there is always the possibility of errors happening as total safety is a fallacy. Robots are programmed by humans who in turn are not infallible and are prone to make mistakes. In the case of robotic surgery a fault could have serious health injuries or death. Thus, the probability of errors must be kept at a very low level and in the case of a malfunction the system must be programmed to shut down immediately. Afterwards, the surgeon will have to take over complete the operation manually. So, it is obvious that the presence of a human doctor is mandatory and critical. There are many things that can go wrong which experts must take under serious consideration. Some problems resulting in system failures can be flawed design of the system, malfunction of software and hardware[19]or misinterpretation and inadequate specification. In order to eliminate the possibility of errors, mechanics must undergo â€Å"heavy† testing and reasoning about infinite scenarios. Also surgeons must prepare the robotic system cautiously so as not to forget anything which can backfire. They also need to have contingency plans like converting the robotic surgery to open surgery.[20] The increased testing and reasoning is time-consuming and usually involves high costs. Even though safety is a big issue, 41% of the people asked would go through a robotic surgery. This can be considered a good percentage as 65% of the people asked believed that robotic surgery is safe and reliable. 6.2 Reliability and knowledge Nowadays most people dont trust robots very easily. The reason for this is the lack of information and the fear that these robots/machines can harm them in a physical level or in a professional level. As it can be seen from the above 88% of the people asked have heard of robotic surgery but 56% of the people asked claimed to know very little about it. As it is stressed in a website about robotic surgery, and prostate cancer surgery in particular, most people worry about the side effects it could have on them such as sexual dysfunction and impotence.[21] Another concern was the fear of the robotic system and the probability of errors, but most people do a little research before resorting to robotic surgery. This way they minimize their worries and concerns. However, there still are people who despite the evidence dont trust robots with their health. Therefore, robotic surgery needs time to become known and trusted by the people. This percentage of 56% must be minimized and increase the percentage of knowledge. In the future, as robotic surgery will start being implemented into hospitals, there will be many surgeries done, successful or not, which will enhance robotic surgery by correcting the errors, the failures and any problem that may arise. This way, patients who had successful operations will spread the word and people will become more aware and acquainted with this new technological development. 7. Elevating concerns, resolving problems Robotics in surgery is a great helping tool, which holds many benefits and advantages for the surgeons and the patients. However, since it is still at an early stage of development there are problems in need for resolutions. One great concern is the reliability and safety in delicate surgical procedures. We cannot deny that machines are made from humans, who are not infallible and thus tend to make mistakes. Whether the surgery is done by a plethora of surgeons or by a single surgeon and a robot there is definitely the possibility of error. As with every new technology, people need time to get familiar with it and to start trusting it. Thus robotic-aided surgery just needs time to advance and to become more well-known. People who go through robotic surgery procedures will spread the good news. The media will start making more coverage of the issue as they learn about more cases. As mentioned by many patients in the Da Vinci website, they were very pleased with the surgery and the recovery time which proved to be shorter than expected.[22] Furthermore, the training of surgeons may take a while but it does not compare having to do a 6-hour surgery above the patient, getting tired and stressed with a 4-hour surgery sitting in the robotic device some metres away from the patient. The surgeon will tire less and will finish the surgery in less time. As far as the costs are concerned, patients in the Da Vince website did not worry about the costs so much because they were dealings with their health. And most people will do anything for their well-being.[23] 8. Future Robotic surgery has made quite a progress and development but it still has a long way to go. Many obstacles will be dealt with time and undoubtedly some new concerns may appear. Questions such as malpractice liability, credentialing, training requirements and license granting will have to be resolved in the future. Most people on the survey (49% to be exact) answered that robots could have negative implications on employment as robots will do most of the work that humans currently do and many of related jobs will be reduced. However, as mentioned in the advantages chapter, new fields are inserted into robotic surgery such as telemedicine, which shows that new needs for personnel emerge. Also it is quite interesting to note how the people asked are divided into three groups based on their answers concerning robotic surgeries in the future: There is a 64% of the people asked who have a positive outlook on robotic surgeries in the future and a 36% who are quite intimidated and afraid of this potential change. Part of this comes from the lack of information about robotic surgery and from the fact that it is still in an early stage. As far as robotic surgery is concerned, there is much to be done until it can reach its full potential. Even though, these robotic systems have enhanced dexterity significantly, they still need to advance the full potential in instrumentation or to integrate the full range of sensory input. Most people when hear about robotics, they think of automation. The possibility of automating some tasks is both exciting and controversial. Future systems might entail the ability for a surgeon to program the surgery and merely supervise as the robot performs most of the tasks. The possibilities for improvement and advancement are only limited by imagination and cost. 9. Conclusion Robotic surgery may be at an early stage, but that does not mean that it has not demonstrated its potential and significance, particularly in areas previously inaccessible by traditional procedures. However, it still remains to be seen if robotic surgery will replace completely conventional instruments in less technically demanding procedures. Robotic technology will bring major changes in surgery by enhancing and expanding laparoscopic procedures, advancing surgical technology and thus bringing surgery into the digital age. Not to mention, it possesses the potential to expand surgical treatment beyond the limits of human ability. The benefits of robotic surgery outweigh the costs. 10. Bibliography 10.1 Online (World Wide Web) Sources Pearl Tesler, Universal Robots: The history and workings of robots, 10 October 2009 Wikipedia, Robotics,16 July 2009 History of robotic surgery, Overview of Major Surgical Robotic Systems and Companies,17 July 2009 William Harris, How Haptic Technology Works, 4 September 2009 http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/haptic-technology.htm Youtube, Robotic surgery demonstration, July 24, 2007, 7 September 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZLpWrJGgk Youtube, Robotic Surgery, April 05, 2007,15 September 2009 Youtube, Robotic Heart Surgery, February 12, 2007, 19 September 2009 Youtube, Robotic Heart Surgery Allen Raczkowski, MD, February 03, 2009, 25 September 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezbxU5P1uc Robotic Surgery in Greece,22 April 2009,8 October 2009 http://roboticsurgery.gr Robotic Surgery, Simulation assisted training in Robotic Surgery,15 January 2010 Robotic Surgery ROBOTIC SURGERY IN TELEMEDICINE HYGEIA S.A.: The first total hysterectomy in Greece with the da Vinci  ® S Robotic System,1 July 2008,20 January 2010 http://www.kapetanakis-center.gr/www_eng/news/010708.pdf Robotic Surgery blog, Robotic reliability, 2 March 2007,17 January 2010 http://www.njurology.com/RoboticSurgeryBlog/robotic_surgery_basics/ Da Vinci Surgery, Patient Stories, 25 January 2010 http://www.davincistories.com/search-stories/search-stories-result.html?start=15condition=Prostate%20Cancer 10.2 Works-research papers Ø ΔÎ ­ÃÆ'πΠ¿ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ± ÃŽ §ÃŽ ¹ÃÆ'ÃŽ ¬Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ³ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦,ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ §ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ £Ãâ€¦ÃÆ'Ï„Î ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± (da Vinci, Ze ,Hermes). ÃŽ  Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ²ÃŽ »ÃŽ ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± ÃŽ ºÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹ Ï€Ï ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ­Ãâ€š.( Despoina Xisaroglou ,Robotic Surgical Systems, Problems and perspectives (accessed July 23rd,2009) Ø Caroline GL Cao Gary Rogers, Tufts University, Robotics in healthcare, (accessed June 12th ,2009) Ø Sunitha M.V, Robotic surgery, seminar report, August 2008 (accessed July 10th, 2009) Ø ΓÎ ºÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ·Ãâ€š ΑÎ ¸ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¬ÃÆ'ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š(Grinis Athanasios), ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ · χÎ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ® (robotic surgery) (accessed September 13th,2009) 11. Appendix 11.1 Robotic surgery Questionnaire 1. Have you heard about robotic surgery? a) Yes b) No 2. How much do you know about robotic surgery? a) A lot b) Very little c) Almost nothing 3.Do you know anything about robotic surgery in Greece? a) I know quite a few things b) I know very little c) I know nothing 4.Have you heard of any of the following robotic systems? a) Da Vinci b) Zeus c) AESOP d) Socrates Robotic System e) None of them 5. Do you think robots can perform surgery better than humans? a) Yes b) No c) Im not sure d) Maybe in the future 6. Do you think that robots could have negative implications on employment? a) Yes b) No c) Im not sure 7. Would you undergo a surgery aided with a robotic system? a) Yes b) No c) Im not sure d) If absolutely necessary 8. Do you think that robotic surgery is safe and reliable? a) Yes b) No 9. Would you avoid a robotic surgery due to costs? a) Yes b) No 10. How would you describe a future where all surgeries are done by robots? a) Very appealing b) Very useful and time-saving c) Not so happy about it. d) Quite frightening. 6 [1] Robot Institute of America, hf issues in surgery. PDF(accessed June 12th ,2009) [2] http://www.thetech.org/robotics/universal/index.html (accessed October 10th,2009) [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics (accessed July 16th ,2009) [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics (accessed July 16th ,2009) [5]http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2004_Groups/Group02/Group%2002%20Website/history_robotic.htm (accessed July17th,2009) [6] Robotic surgery, a seminar report by Sunitha M.V. (accessed July 10th, 2009) [7] Robotic surgery, a seminar report by Sunitha M.V. (accessed July 10th, 2009) [8] http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/haptic-technology.htm (accessed September 4th, 2009) [9] ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ · χÎ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ® (robotic surgery)- ΓÎ ºÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ·Ãâ€š ΑÎ ¸ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¬ÃÆ'ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (pdf file)(accessed September 13th,2009) [10] ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ · χÎ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ® (robotic surgery)- ΓÎ ºÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ·Ãâ€š ΑÎ ¸ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¬ÃÆ'ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (pdf file)(accessed September 13th,2009) [11] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZLpWrJGgk (accessed September 7th, 2009) [12] ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ §ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ £Ãâ€¦ÃÆ'Ï„Î ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± (da Vinci, Ze ,Hermes). ÃŽ  Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ²ÃŽ »ÃŽ ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± ÃŽ ºÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹ Ï€Ï ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ­Ãâ€š.(Robotic Surgical Systems, Problems and perspectives) by Despoina Xisaroglou. (pdf file) (accessed July 23rd,2009) [13] ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ §ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ £Ãâ€¦ÃÆ'Ï„Î ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± (da Vinci, Ze ,Hermes). ÃŽ  Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ²ÃŽ »ÃŽ ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± ÃŽ ºÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹ Ï€Ï ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ­Ãâ€š.(Robotic Surgical Systems, Problems and perspectives) by Despoina Xisaroglou. (pdf file) (accessed July 23rd,2009) [14] ÃŽ ¡ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ §ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¬ ÃŽ £Ãâ€¦ÃÆ'Ï„Î ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± (da Vinci, Ze ,Hermes). ÃŽ  Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ²ÃŽ »ÃŽ ®ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±Ãâ€žÃŽ ± ÃŽ ºÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹ Ï€Ï ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬Ãâ€žÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ ­Ãâ€š.(Robotic Surgical Systems,Problems and perspectives) by Despoina Xisaroglou. (pdf file) (accessed July 23rd,2009) [15] Robotic Surgical Systems,Problems and perspectives) by Despoina Xisaroglou. (pdf file) (accessed July 23rd,2009) http://wikipedia.com/robotics (accessed July 16th,2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-PC8kCi_A (accessed September 15th,2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZLpWrJGgk (accessed September 7th,2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3gIa_w4GXQ (accessed September 19th,2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezbxU5P1uc (accessed September 25th,2009) [16] http://roboticsurgery.gr (accessed October 8th,2009) Robotic Surgical Sy

Nathaniel Hawthornes My Kinsman, Major Molineux as an Allegory Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne's My Kinsman, Major Molineux as an Allegory â€Å"May not one man have several voices, Robin, as well as two complexions?† (1261), asks the friendly gentleman in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux.† Just as one man may have multiple facets, so too may a story, if we correctly interpret samples of Hawthorne’s work. It seems as though modern readers practically assume that his work ought to be read allegorically, and indeed, The Scarlet Letter, and many other famous works of Hawthorne, are brilliant allegories if they are interpreted as such. And yet, Nathaniel Hawthorne, more than a religious zealot or political advocate, was an avid student of colonial history. We read in the Norton Anthology’s brief biography of Hawthorne that, â€Å"[Hawthorne] was steeping himself in colonial history more than the political issues of his time† (1248). Becoming more familiar with the history of his young nation, he even published â€Å"a child’s history of colo nial and revolutionary New England† (1249). This being as it is, it would do Hawthorne’s short stories a great injustice to dismiss their merit as historical commentaries. Obviously, Hawthorne’s works are multifaceted, and one must determine how to best read and interpret them. Can the reader of Hawthorne’s short story â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† interpret this work as an allegory, and if he does, what does the story lose in terms of its historical merit? In many ways, â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† lends itself to an allegorical reading. One interpretation may be that the work is more of a bildungsroman than a true allegory. Understanding â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† as such, the reader sees Robin as a simple country youth, endeavoring first to throw... ...eristics of an allegory, it is now apparent that the work contains more dimensions. The reader need not categorize this story, either as an allegory or as an historical commentary. Indeed, there being evidence to support both interpretations, to do so would be a mistake. Allegorically, the story warns the reader that once one enters Hell, he is destined to participate in it forever. Historically, it paints an uniquely sympathetic portrait of British loyalists and their persecution at the hands of colonial patriots. In both respects, Hawthorne’s work has merit. Thus, in answer to the question previously posed, the reader is justified in interpreting â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† as an allegorical work. However, he is not justified in dismissing its historical virtues. Hawthorne’s story can and should be read carefully, with the reader appreciating its many dimensions.

Inkwell Limited Essay

1. TERMS OF REFERENCE 1.1 This report reviews and investigates Inkwell Ltd’s accounting system in relation to establishing and setting recommendations in order to conclude that its system and controls are enhanced as well as protected to minimize the risk of fraud. 1.2 The report investigates the main stakeholders of the organization at large both internal and external as well as the information it needs it has from the system. 1.3 Recommended costs and benefits are analyzed together with the risk of fraud towards the organization. 1.4 Lastly the report is part of the AAT level 4 Diploma in Accounting. 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.1 The report reviews the internal control within the accounting system of Inkwell Limited and recommendations to upgrade them. Findings are concluded that Inkwell Ltd ought to employ enough, fully trained staff with relevant qualifications and work full time as well as following company’s policies. Training staff results in having competent staff which will reduce confusion and enhance confidence of employees in their work. 2.2 The report recommends that accounting system ought to be improved so as to develop controls for the operations of the organization like password access, authorization and attendance record by purchasing clock cards so that the risk of fraud can be minimized too. 2.3 The report recommends that Inkwell Ltd ought to buy an electronic generator which will act as a reserve during time of power cut such that vital information of the company is always protected even if there is power cut. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 A research from books and internet was used as reference in order to come  up with this report and it was based on the case study. 3.2 A fraud matrix was used to investigate the potential of fraud within the accounting system and protecting controls in practice by analyzing them. 3.3 Reviewing the existing accounting system over a period of three months to enable a SWOT analysis to be produced was also used to plan and investigate the report. 4. INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANISATION 4.1 Inkwell Ltd is a large company in Birmingham supplying complete range of re-manufactured inkjet and laser tower cartridges to small retailers and large trade customers. It is a limited company established seven years ago by two of its controlling shareholders, Paul Farnon and Victoria Dawson. So far it has revenue of over  £16 million, 80% being from small retailers while 20% is from large trade customers. It employs around 180 full time employees and 2 part time staff at the head office. 4.2 Inkwell Ltd has grown since the founders of it realized the need to have more professional Accounting expertise like Finance Director and other diverse clerks. The two of Inkwell Ltd’s directors has experience of dealing with this type of business from their prior companies they have worked for. 4.3 The organization has relatively flat structure with two supervisors reporting to the directors and then further clerks reporting to their supervisors. The leadership style used is consultative where combination of democratic and autocratic is involved. Appendix 1 expands the structure in full. 4.4 The accounts system is a centralized system consisting of 28 computers in head office site and 60 in shops/branches where online shops are opened 24/7.The inventory control system is based around on excel spreadsheet, the sage payroll system for payroll calculations and windows vista operating system is used. The password â€Å"Go Green† has been used and currently in use to log on all the computers of the company. In head office site every member of staff has his/her own computer whether full/part time whereas in branches each computer and printer is shared by 3-4 member of staff that are for part time.10% discount is given against the cost of a replacement cartridges if old one s are brought by a customers. 4.5 External regulation affecting the organization 4.5.1 The Company’s Act 2006-This sets out the way in which financial  statements should be prepared so Inkwell Ltd will have to comply with this Act to mitigate all possible fines that might arise. 4.5.2 UK Accounting Standards-This defines procedures and approaches to the preparation of financial statements that the organization must take. They are either known as Statements of Standard Accounting Practices (SSAPs) or Financial Reporting Standard (FRSs) depending on when they were issued. 4.5.3 International Regulations such as International Accounting Standard (IAS) and International Financial reporting Standards (IFRSs) issued by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB)-Inkwell Ltd will have to follow these regulations to have confidence in accounting. 4.5.4 The data Protection Act 1998-The fundamental principle of confidentiality is related to this act and this regulates how Inkwell Ltd processes and stores information of customers, suppliers and employees so as to minimize possible penalties. 4.5.5 Late Payment law-Inkwell Ltd ought to pay its suppliers on time as this is set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998 so as to eradicate the possibilities of being sued and loosing reputation. 4.5.6 Health and Safety Legislation-Inkwell Ltd is obliged to teach its staff how to withstand some of the outcomes that are safety related since harmful substances (Ink) are used and the toner cartridges has some devices that are connected with controlled light and rays. Procedures of dealing with this matter are essential to protect people against any harmful effect. 4.6 Inkwell Ltd-Key external stakeholders 4.6.1 Customers-The customers of Inkwell Ltd are into two categories being small retailers and large trade customers who purchase re-manufactured inkjet and toner cartridges. They expect to be provided with quality service at discounted, reasonable prices. This is happening as they are given 30-60 days of credit after a trial of three months of paying with purchase order. Price lists and credit terms might also be required. 4.6.2 Suppliers-The Company is supplied with re-manufactured inkjet and toner cartridges. Suppliers will require Inkwell Ltd to pay them on time but since Inkwell Ltd operates with relatively small number suppliers, payments period can be extended without complaint. Financial information can be required by suppliers to enable them to decide whether to work with Inkwell Ltd. 4.6.3 Financier/Bank-Producing series of business plans enables Inkwell Ltd to raise enough finance from their banks to expand the business. Financial statements like Income Statement may be needed by the bank. 5. THE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 5.1 Inkwell Ltd has an Accounts Team based in the head office on an Industrial Estate in Birmingham where information from its branches is compiled and processed. All computers are accessed by the password â€Å"Go Green† and reporting does take place to the relevant authorities. The accounts department is highly privileged to have top management like finance director and accountant. 5.2 The purpose of Inkwell Ltd’s accounts department is to complete all activities relating to the production of the accounts including sales and purchases ledgers, payroll and costing. This department has its own weaknesses identified included in appendix 2 and structure in appendix 1. 5.3 The accounts department-Key internal stakeholders 5.3.1 Paul Farnon, owner1(Managing Director)-As the owner and managing director of Inkwell Ltd, Paul will have to strive for the success of the company including managing accounts department. The way Farnon manages will determine where the company is heading. Since Paul has held top position as the UK general sales manager in a major manufacturer of printers (Hewlett Packard), this reflects an advantage to the accounts department and company at large since he has experience. 5.3.2 Victoria Dawson,owner2(Sales Director)-As being another owner, Victoria is obliged to contribute in the success of the accounts department since she once worked as a Marketing Manager for Rymans,a major office supplies retailer in the same industry so Victoria will use previous experience to help accounts department especially in sales of the company. 5.3.3 Anil Gupter, owner3 (Finance Director)-Anil is also expected to deliver a good service looking at the fact that he did not changed his rank of being Fin ance Director unlike other directors when he moved from Epson, a large manufacturer of printer and printers cartridges to Inkwell Ltd. Anil was needed to have more professional accounting expertise since the production of the company was showing that circulation of money has expanded. Anil’s main responsibility is to manage all finance, legal and accounting procedures and system. Gupter has Bsc, FCMA  qualifications. 5.3.4 Michael O’Payne (Company Accountant)-Michael is responsible for managing the work of the accounting technicians and clerks running the transactions accounting system comprising of purchase, sales and general ledger,costing,payroll and personnel database management system. The fact that Michael has been the company’s accountant ever since it was established, it means he understand and familiar with each and every transaction relating to accounts department. Michael has ACCA qualifications. 5.3.5 Michelle Labelle (General ledger & Inventory clerk)-Michelle’s main roles is to keep financial control over company’s inventories, review daily reports from shop manager s, enter all data into general ledger to produce trial balance. Labelle also monitors orders to suppliers placed by Purchase Manager. Michelle has no accounting qualifications but once worked as trainee personnel officer in France. 5.3.6 Liana Khan (Purchase Ledger Clerk)-Liana is responsible for entering all suppliers’ invoices and credit notes into the purchase ledger and arranges payments to suppliers. Liana has foundation level 2 AAT qualifications and is keen in studying for her intermediate level 3 AAT. Khan is employed part time of 20 hours a week and has once worked as Sales Ledger Clerk. 5.3.7 Greg Morris (Sales Ledger Clerk)-Morris input all data into sales ledger and sends monthly statement to trade customers. He once worked for Rymans where Victoria Dawson was working. Greg was a purchase ledger clerk. He has no accounting/credit control qualifications but wishes to have one. Morris is employed on part time 20 hours a week basis. 5.3.8 Alan Cook (Costing Technician)-Alan is responsible for operating Inkwell Ltd’s costing system since the company was formed. Cook has no accounting qualifications and not willing to have one but before joining Inkwell Ltd he was a Purchase and Sales ledger clerk. 5.3.9 Sharon Ward (Payroll & Personnel Database Clerk)-Sharon’s main responsibility is to run Inkwell Ltd’s two payrolls, a monthly payroll for management and salaried staff as well as a weekly payroll for hourly paid staff. She also issues all statutory forms required by HMRC and UK tax authorities and lastly maintain the personnel database. Sharon has BA (Hons) and AAT foundation level 2 accounting qualifications and willing to study for her AAT intermediate exams. Ward once worked as a holiday company resort representative. 6. REVIEW OF THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM 6.1 This report analyses the accounting system that are used by Inkwell Ltd and makes recommendations to enhance it. 6.2 The weakness have been identified with the aid of SWOT analysis expanded in appendix 2.This section also investigates the system within the context of the financial reports the accounts system should provide to stakeholders like suppliers, financier and whether it is suitable to meet their, and company’s needs. 6.3 Working methods and practices 6.3.1 The system in Inkwell Ltd’s accounts department comprises of 8 computers running on an integrated basis and are all linked to the same printers. Inventory information is operated within excel and the payroll system uses sage payroll to calculated the weekly and monthly wages and salaries.Quickcost is used for costing system. Monthly bank reconciliation statement and receipts is produced manually. 6.3.2 All work within the system is password sheltered, using a general password through the organization ‘Go Green’. 6.3.3 Weakness in the working methods and practices within the system at Inkwell Ltd are detailed in the SWOT analysis in appendix 2 as: -Some of the staffs are part time so this can delay day to day work to be fully completed on time since they are not always present and there is no necessity in place for them to all be in the office at the same time. -Employing incompetent staff exposes the company to a great risk of performing poorly since it will be hard to withstand the changes of the profession like being familiar with international standards. Working overtime by part time staff to catch up with the work will cost the company. This may also accumulate errors within Inkwell Ltd and stakeholders like bank, suppliers may resist dealing with them and the reputation of the company may possibly downgrade gradually. -Having no assistants in the company reflects lack of plan and missing the bigger picture because once an employee is not around it means the work stops since there is no a reserve. Keeping cheques and cash in the premises for more than a night is a great risk. -Tendency of backing up the system once instead of twice provided that the policy states that, this may result in loosing critical information to be used in various cases like verification and this will be regarded as failure to retain records. -The use of same password for the entire company  tend to be a secret uncovered because once one computer is logged on, automatically it is possible to log on the rest of the computers of which is unsafe to the side of Inkwell Ltd. 6.4 Recording keeping system 6.4.1 Weaknesses in the record keeping system were recognized as component of the SWOT analysis in appendix 2. -Errors, assumption, inaccuracy may possibly be found for the reason that there is shortage of skillful staff to cover for those who are absent so employees with inappropriate skills will attempt to cover up therefore causing errors. -Reconciling monthly bank statement by hand may cause errors and it is quite slow to do that compared to using computer. -Insufficient training period makes it hard to use new developed system like payroll so being self-doubting with the use of this new system will automatically generate incorrect information done by employees. -Having no attendance time record like clock cards may perhaps lead to underpaying which can decline the drive of employees and at the same time employees may be overpaid and Inkwell Ltd will have to use a lot of cash to pay overtime that were not deserved. 6.5 Training The SWOT analysis in appendix 2 analyses the weaknesses within the system regarding training as follows: -Incompetent staffs are employed which can cause a massive confusion and inaccuracy particularly when workload boost and latest standards of profession are introduced. -Training periods are too short to maintain and attain new changes of the system like being familiar with the use of new payroll software thus causing lack of confidence upon employees. 7. INTERNAL CONTROL AND FRAUD ANALYSIS 7.1 Internal system of control 7.1.1 Within Inkwell Ltd controls resembling payments to staff is very informal. Dependence is habitually based upon trust. Formal controls will sustain the accounting system and diminish the chance of fraud. 7.1.2 The SWOT analysis in appendix 2 analyses the weaknesses within the system as: -Cash and cheques-leaving money and cheques in the premises until the banking day will definitely attract theft to take place since Inkwell Ltd is a huge company despite whether the money is placed in a save place. -Authorization-There are no effective authorization procedures put in place  regarding matters like attendance records and monitoring payments to suppliers. Approved payments were reversed by employees like Purchase Manager. -Access-Since one password is used by Inkwell Ltd, any member of staff could use this password for personal reasons. -Payments-It’s very risky to let customers pay via internet by giving their debit/credit cards details 7.2 Fraud Analysis 7.2.1 Even though there is no confirmation of fraud having taken place within Inkwell Ltd Ltd, fraud is likely to occur within the system and proper controls ought to be in place to put off them. 7.2.2 The SWOT analysis in appendix 2 analyses the weaknesses within the system as: -Authorization-Some employees may tend to overstate hours worked and this is one way where fraud can occur due to lack of having no attendance time records. Monitoring all company’s expenditures like payments to suppliers are less monitored so fraud can find a way through this root as approvement was reversed by the Purchase Manager. -Password-Inkwell Ltd’s information may be extracted through having flexible access and then used to steal money from the company as critical information like bank details may be interrogated from the computers due to having same password. -Cash and Cheques-Leaving cash and cheques in the premises until banking day may provoke fraud because some of the employees might get tempted to steal due to the nature of being closer to a lot of cash having a thought that it would not be identifiable. -Payments-Collecting payments over the internet can also lead to fraud as its quite risky to give debit/credit card details via internet because some people even employees may pretend as if they are Inkwell Ltd representatives by using different names from there take money for their own reasons not for company. 7.2.4 Each of these possible frauds, the contemporary controls in lay, and the recommendations to develop can be found within a fraud matrix in appendix 3.This matrix also comprises the level of risk to the business. 8. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE 8.1 There are numerous recommendations that can be utilized to advance the weaknesses recognized over also in appendix 2. 8.1.1 Training-Training periods should be extended such that staff may be fully trained to use the system and operate it effectively. This will help them to gain confidence  and morale in their work and their daily work will move a bit faster which lead to high productivity. 8.1.2 Policies-Since policies are ethics to channel decisions and accomplish rational outcomes and the source for employment contract with staff, all employees ought to comply with policies set to alleviate possible risks like losing vital information if the system backed once instead of twice. Regular meetings and workshops may facilitate to review the policies and mark the weak areas so that they can be strengthened. This will ensure that aims and target are met which is a good thing. 8.1.3 Attendance-The use of clock cards may be useful to record the exact hours worked for. This will prev ent misstatement of time worked thus help the company not to overstate nor understate payments to employees. 8.1.4 Assistants and qualifications-Enough staff with relevant qualifications ought to be employed so that they can act as reserves when others are absent. This will make certain that external stakeholders are confident to invest in a company that is well equipped in terms of adequate and competent staff. 8.1.5 Advanced Accounting-The use of electronic accounting like pastel should be used to alternate reconciling monthly bank statement and entering receipts manually, this will help to save time and minimize errors. 8.1.6 Access-Inkwell Ltd should set a policy which states that each computer should have its own password so as to restrict access to all the entire computers, this will guarantee that company’s information is embraced. 8.1.7 Approve-All approved payments especially including big amount ought to be thoroughly monitored, this will put off fraud of overstating what it has been approved where people will take advantage of that like what the purchase manager did by changing approved deal. 8.1.8 Banking everyday is the best way for Inkwell Ltd rather than waiting until banking day looking at the fact that Inkwell Ltd generates a lot of money on daily basis, so keeping cheques and cash in the premises is a risk. Security Company will also have to be hired to protect all properties like cash. This will guarantee safety in the company. 8.1.9 Payments-Payments from customers when they are away should be done through post where cheques are sent and should be crossed ‘Account payee’. Names, address and business rates reference should be written properly and correctly. This will minimize delayed payments. 9. COSTS AND BENEFITS ANALYSIS 9.1 The recommendations after cost and benefit analyses to employ adequate, full time, qualified staff, purchase attendance record and bank every day. This has been completed as follows: 9.2 COSTS 9.2.1 Appropriate training staff is required for current account packages like payroll and personal database as well as training other accounts clerks like that one of sales ledger. Inkwell Ltd will have to choose the best institution with reasonable prices to train its staff. 9.2.2 There would be an opportunity cost of staff attending the training in that way they would not be available to complete their work but getting paid and therefore they are not generating chargeable hours. 9.2.3 Well qualified staff with relevant qualifications is required to act as assistants. New staff will have to be posted as clerks assistants. They will become a bit confused to operate in a new environment at first and time will be consumed as well but as time goes on they will adapt and adjust to a new working place. 9.2.4 Inkwell Ltd will require clock cards to record the attendance of the employees and the swiping machine for these cards will have to be connected to the system though this may cause a bit of disruption in the offices. Inkwell Ltd should choose a quality machine that is simple to use. 9.2.5 The electronic generator is needed to help during power cut. Connecting it to the entire accounts department will cause interruption as all connections will have to be switched off for a while. Prices and the quality of the generator should be compared from different shops to choose the best one. 9.2.6 Security company with advanced equipments like cameras, alarms is required for security services. Connecting the security system will as well cause disturbance in the offices. The cost, quality, reliability of the security companies should be compared to see which one is suitable for Inkwell Ltd. 9.2.7 Other staff may be unhappy to see other being trained and this might cause less productivity, commitment, efficiency because they will become jealous. Extended induction of new staff can also cost the company as they are not available for work while some preparations are carried on. Finally ongoing training and extended induction will probably cause client’s dissatisfaction because there would be shortage of workforce thus declining reliability of clients to Inkwell Ltd. 9.3 BENEFITS 9.3.1 The benefits the system will bring are less tangible, so harder to value but possible benefits have been quantified as follows: 9.3.2 The first benefit to Inkwell Ltd is that there will be staff competence as employees will now have relevant skills and knowledge thus leading to quality production and effectiveness. Self confidence will also be improved since they are flexible with their work. 9.3.3 The use of clock cards will enable the payroll department to be accurate in most times. This will also reduce queries from staff if their salaries are underpaid and time set for each employee will be utilized efficiently, unproven overtimes will no longer be found thus reducing cost for the company. 9.3.4 Availability of qualified assistants will then fill gap especially when others are not around due to reasons like sick leaves and this will help the production to keep moving. Clients will also be interested to be given professional service at any time. Relationship between two parties is enhanced due to good cooperation found. 9.3.5 The use of electronic generator will create chances of not loosing critical information during power cut. Inkwell Ltd will always have necessary information needed by internal and external stakeholders. 9.3.6 Having a security services means Inkwell Ltd’s properties are secure but not fully due to inherent risks of some assets like cash. The use of alarms and cameras will reduce the chances of employees stealing. The security company will also help in escorting the cash and cheques while in transit to be banked. 9.3.7 Inkwell Ltd’s reputation is enhanced since clients are provided with professional service from trained and knowledgeable staff and at the same time staff feel valued to the investment in training them, their morale is as well improved. APPENDIX 1-INKWELL (LTD)’S ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE APPENDIX 2-INKWELL (LTD)’S SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES -Quick delivery from Inkwell Ltd no matter where the customer is. -Employees are paid on time because payroll and personnel database is presented to the bank by the 24th of each month. -There is nonstop trading by online shop since they operates 24/7 -Inkwell Ltd has directors with quality and full  experience of dealing with type of business of printer cartridges. -More professional accounting expertise like accountant, financial director, clerks. -The use of centralized accounting system enables Inkwell Ltd to decide decisions quickly and economies of scale as fewer staff overall are needed to complete work unlike if every branch had its own accounts employees. -Flexibility-employees are given chance of advising management in some areas like Alan Cook advised of variances from target. -Cheques are signed by any two of the company’s authorized signatories. -The use of BACS to pay staff is useful since its quick -Giving staff commission is strength itself because their effectiveness and morale tend to improve. -There is a good credit control taking place since all customers that are overdue with their payments are contacted via telephone, written letter. -Good communication i.e. Michelle usually contact shop managers to know when the inventory gets above three days’ holding. -The use of advanced accounting packages like payroll will minimize the errors. -Shortage of staff as well as employing unqualified staff results in poor performance, productivity. Reputation of Inkwell Ltd is at high possibilities of being destroyed. -Short training periods are not suitable for a big company like Inkwell Ltd this will limit employees’ confidence in their work e.g. one day training is not enough. -Inkwell Ltd’s policies are not followed which means they lack direction for example backup is supposed to be done twice a day rather than once. Lack of attendance time record will results in overstatement nor understating figures of hours worked since no control is to be found to record hours worked. -Payments including big amounts are not well monitored, for example Purchase Manager changed what was approved by management that there were to be no increases in prices conceded this year at all but he reversed that, this reflects that follow up was not involved. -Some of the management become reluctant to attend other matters like that one Chapman where there was discrepancies involving big amount and he failed to attend the matter. -Procrastination of some vital areas-differences were caused because the list of people to have access to the general ledger was not yet set so everyone could access. -Some  management like Purchase Manager is short sighted because purchase order processing module had to be bought so that some details of some transactions may not be deleted but Peter concluded it as a waste of money. -The use of one computer by 3-4 part time employees is too bad because it influences less productivity, efficiency since it cannot be used simultaneously so others will have to wait for other to finish and it discourages self independence in workplace. -Recording receipts and reconciling bank statement manually may possibly accumulate errors and consume a lot of time. -Tension between management like that one of accountant and Finance Director may discourages internal relationship and cooperation(team work).The company will suffer since by the time they are obliged to discuss something important they w ill deliberately become pig-headed. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS -Customers are helped to have no history of poor payments so this may enhance the reliability of customers to the company and more customers will be attracted gradually. -There is an opportunity of training staff meaning by the time of completing those studies they will bring huge input that is acquired from outside. -Inkwell Ltd is given an opportunity by suppliers to pay a bit late and this will help Inkwell Ltd to use the money that was to be paid for other like to pay overdraft if there is any. This will also improve cash position -Data Protection Act 1998-Inkwell Ltd is likely to face penalties of failing to keep records since it has the tendency of not keeping records. -Family commitments-Some employees may have family commitments that force them to take some breaks like when family members e.g. when children are sick. This will mean task at work will have to wait especially when company does not have assistants. Some will even take sick leave. -The use of unqualified staff is a huge threat since customers may possibly report that they are not given complete service that match with what they have paid for. This may be reported to consumer affairs and Inkwell Ltd might be penalized. -Power cut may provoke the loss of vital information and Inkwell Ltd may fail to present relevant wanted by external stakeholders e.g. banks so in this way  the company may miss so many chances of opportunities or either be penalized for failing to present information to be used for legal purposes. -There is possibility of theft to take place in the company since Inkwell Ltd is generating a lot of money. -Trading via online might possibly become because it’s a great risk since some may claim to become part of Inkwell Ltd so that they may receive money that was not entitled to them. APPENDIX 4-INKWELL (LTD)’S TECHNICAL NOTES 1) Income Statement-In the context of Inkwell Ltd this will show the owner of the business, sales revenue/income received as well all the cost incurred in the accounting period which will be deducted from the income to arrive at the profit of Inkwell Ltd.This will help the owner to make right decisions and analysis as costs and revenue that has huge impact in the income statement will be highlighted. 2) Statement of Financial Position-Current, non current assets, short term liability and long term liability like loans will be laid down. All liabilities will be added and deducted from all assets for which the amount should be equal to the capital invested in the company by the owners and profit from Income Statement. This will help in terms of planning of how long will the liabilities be paid and when to sell non current assets, how to control receivables. 3) Fraud Detection- The use of regular checking and investigating all discrepancies to conclude what could have went wrong can be one way of detecting fraud. Forensic accountants can as well be useful where investigations will be carried out scientifically. Effective procedures and strategies that are meant to eradicate fraud can be useful in the organization so owners and employees will not want to be associated with fraud cases. 4) Impact of fraud-Fraud can become strong usually if it’s done by the owners of the business, this will include theft of cash, inventory as well as time meant for businesses’ purposes, owners and employees may use business time for their personal activities and this will reduce profitability, production, and effectiveness in the company. Fraud can become a way of life for a business where trustworthy within the business is eroded. Some will be scared of whistle blowing if they are not protected.

Free Essays on Graffiti

or phrases on a wall, to a complex artistic form of personal expression. I think that this new form of graffiti first took form in the big cities. It started with people writing their na... Free Essays on Graffiti Free Essays on Graffiti For eternity, people have been writing on walls. The Romans wrote on the buildings of the towns they conquered, and even before words were used, the cave men painted on walls. This writing was first called graffiti in Roman times and holds the same name now. But as the times have changed, so have the forms that this writing on the walls has taken. In the â€Å"Tunnel Notes of a New Yorker† Leonard Kriegel talks about how graffiti’s have polluted the cities/urban places. In the same time he likes some of the graffiti that respond on his thoughts, and he doesn’t like the ones that talk about politics. He is probably (or –to me he seems like) one of these old people who don’t like the new movements of art. I think graffiti is an art, because to make one good graffiti you have to have some skills, not every person can do graffiti. Everyone can come up to a wall, and scribble their names, write something, or draw some abstract lines that have no m eaning. Leonard said, â€Å"†¦ the evidence of the streets insists that graffiti is an urban statement whose ultimate end is nothing less than the destruction of urban life.† I don’t agree with what he said, because if you take Detroit for an example, these abandoned houses look to me more distractive without graffiti on them than with the graffiti drawings on them. Today, there are quite a few different classifications that separate graffiti. There is the gang graffiti that street gangs use to mark their territory, graffiti that people write to express political views and a new form of graffiti that has just emerged in the 80’s till now. This new form is artistic graffiti. Artistic graffiti is a modern day offspring of traditional graffiti that has elevated itself from just scrawling words or phrases on a wall, to a complex artistic form of personal expression. I think that this new form of graffiti first took form in the big cities. It started with people writing their na...

Panama Canal - History and Overview

Panama Canal - History and Overview The 48 mile-long (77 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn. History of the Panama Canal The new Panamanian government authorized French businessman Philippe Bunau-Varilla, to negotiate a treaty with the United States. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal and provided for perpetual control of a zone five-miles wide on either side of the canal. Although the French had attempted construction of a canal in the 1880s, the Panama Canal was successfully built from 1904 to 1914. Once the canal was complete the U.S. held a swath of land running the approximately 50 miles across the isthmus of Panama. The division of the country of Panama into two parts by the U.S. territory of the Canal Zone caused tension throughout the twentieth century. Additionally, the self-contained Canal Zone (the official name for the U.S. territory in Panama) contributed little to the Panamanian economy. The residents of the Canal Zone were primarily U.S. citizens and West Indians who worked in the Zone and on the canal. Anger flared in the 1960s and led to anti-American riots. The U.S. and Panamanian governments began to work together to solve the territorial issue. In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty which agreed to return 60% of the Canal Zone to Panama in 1979. The canal and remaining territory, known as the Canal Area, was returned to Panama at noon (local Panama time) on December 31, 1999. Additionally, from 1979 to 1999, a bi-national transitional Panama Canal Commission ran the canal, with an American leader for the first decade and a Panamanian administrator for the second. The transition at the end of 1999 was very smooth, for over 90% of the canal employees were Panamanian by 1996. The 1977 treaty established the canal as a neutral international waterway and even in times of war any vessel is guaranteed safe passage. After the 1999 hand-over, the U.S. and Panama jointly shared duties in defending the canal. Operation of the Panama Canal It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic). Ships passing through the canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean actually move from the northwest to the southeast, due to the east-west orientation of the Isthmus of Panama. Panama Canal Expansion In September, 2007 work began on a $5.2 billion project to expand the Panama Canal. Expected to be complete in 2014, the Panama Canal expansion project will allow ships double the size of current Panamax to pass through the canal, dramatically increasing the amount of goods that can pass through the canal.

Crisis management and its increasing importance in international Literature review - 1

Crisis management and its increasing importance in international operations - Literature review Example Crisis can also be referred to as the critical phase of a situation. It is essentially a time of instability which is soon to see a decisive change that may result into a highly undesirable outcome or an extremely positive product. Executives that are able to estimate and plan for this change in the organization increases his/her tendency to capitalize on the opportunity hidden therein in comparison to the executives that allow the crisis to approach them unprepared. Thus in contrast to the conventional understanding of a crisis, it may be an opportunity rather than a threat. Nevertheless, a crisis is always characterized by a certain level of uncertainty and risk. Crisis management deals with minimization of risk in the uncertainty with a view to providing an individual or an organization with increased control over the circumstances and exercising the function of management leadership. According to Fink (1986), a crisis consists of four distinct stages namely, the stage of prodroma l crisis, the stage of acute crisis, the stage of chronic crisis, and the stage of crisis resolution. In the anatomy of crisis, these four stages are always existent and unchanged. A business manager who recognizes each of these stages gains the competency to address issues of huge organizational significance. In order to make a proactive approach towards intervention, a manager needs to recognize the prodrome. All crises may not necessarily comprise all four stages, though they are present in a vast majority of major crises. If there is a warning stage, that is essentially the prodromal stage of crisis. A prodrome may become hard to recognize at times and may be evident at other times, though if the required action is not taken in time, it may lead to the occurrence of an acute crisis. In a vast majority of cases, when no action is taken, it is a result of obsessive decision making or analysis paralysis within the company. It is the ease with which a crisis can be managed in the st age of prodrome that makes it very important. If the problem is taken care of before its conversion into acute, the process becomes more convenient and reliable. The whole West is a warren of interconnected transmission lines. The power grid in the West is the largest machine that man has ever made – stretching from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific Coast to the western front of the Rockies †¦ But like any machine, like your lawnmower or your computer or your car, it is susceptible to breakdown. (Hotz and Clifford cited in Mitroff and Anagnos, 2001, p. 12). There is no turning back at the acute stage of crisis in crisis management in many respects. As soon as the organization enters the stage of acute crisis from the prodromal stage and the warnings end up, the ground thus lost can almost never be recovered, though a firm can minimize additional damage by taking necessary actions in time. The key to success is controlling the crisis to the maximum extent. If it seems im possible to control the acute crisis, the management should then try to influence the origin, time, and way of eruption of the crisis. One of the most fundamental challenges that managers encounter while dealing with the crisis in the acute stage despite being ready for it is the intensity and enormity of speed that is often an essential characteristic of the acute stage of crisis. The kind of crisis determines the speed and the value of probable results determines the intensity of this stage.

Maternity Leave and Family Pregnancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maternity Leave and Family Pregnancy - Essay Example The essay "Maternity Leave and Family Pregnancy" talks about the maternity leave which refers to the period of time that a new mother takes off from work following the birth of her baby. It is similar to paternity leave being offered by many companies. And planning a maternity leave is very important for the mother-to-be because it saves them from unexpected financial pressures and burden of family responsibilities. Maternity leave can be started just before the expected date of delivery so that mothers can spend most of their leave with the baby. However, it is important, according to FMLA to provide a notice to the manager, 30 days prior to the delivery. This will be unpaid leave. The maximum leave that a mother can get is a leave of 12 months in a year. The FMLA leave applies both to the mother and the father, who can utilize this leave in the same period like overlapping each other’s leaves, or in consecutive periods so that one of the two parents is available to the child and the rest of the family. Pregnancy and parenting bring new joys to the whole family. A new addition is very exciting for all members of the family. Although the 9-month pregnancy demands much patience and care from the mother-to-be, the rest of the family must play their role in comforting the mother and preparing for the newcomer. For example, the dad-to-be should try to spend extra time with his wife to soothe her and should take care of her if she is in pain or any sort of discomfort that may come with pregnancy.