Alienation and Isolation in The Metamorphosis Essay

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a reflection on how distance and detachment start and create in a general public by utilizing the characters in his novella as a portrayal of society overall. Utilizing Gregor’s supervisor to show the inception of confinement and distance of an individual, Gregor as the individual being separated and the occupants of the Samsa family unit as different citizenry, Kafka makes a successful model to speak to the progressively organized impact of nonintervention and estrangement in the public arena for a bigger scope. Kafka utilizes the organization Gregor is compelled to work for to show the various leveled impact of segregation and distance, where the inception of nonintervention starts at the highest point of the order and in this manner makes a far reaching influence down through the remainder of society. The director of the organization that Gregor must work for because of a family obligation is the delegate Kafka decides to show the most notable individual in the chain of importance. By awakening as a creepy crawly and being behind schedule for work, Gregor has broken his adjustment to the boundaries of what is endured by the organization, so the director himself comes to manage the issue since such conditions can â€Å"only be endowed to the insight of the manager† (Kafka, 13). This, just as how the family regards the chief as pleasantly as conceivable when he shows up exhibits the significance of the manager’s choices and their regard for power. Further exhibiting the significance of his choices, the supervisor is the first to respond to Gregor’s change by compromising, â€Å"your position isn't at all the most secure† (17) when Gregor won't open his entryway. This shows he can totally disturb Gregor’s place in the progression and in doing as such, separate and estrange him from the remainder of society. The chief comments, â€Å"that was an animal’s voice† (20) when Gregor talks, which estranges Gregor from mankind and responds emphatically to seeing Gregor by â€Å"pressing his hand against his open mouth and moving back slowly† (23). Subsequent to terminating Gregor, the administrator escapes the structure which causes the commencement of Gregor’s seclusion since work was the most significant and most tedious thing in his life. This shows similarly as with society as a rule, the individual in control holds enormous impact over the remainder of the populace and is equipped f or starting that an individual must be confined. Because the figure in power proclaims that an individual is anything but a decent citizen and ought to be disengaged, in any case, doesn't imply that all citizenry respond a similar way. the range of perspectives that citizenry take against the individuals who have been disconnected is appeared through Kafka’s depiction of the Samsa family’s response to his change. Gregor’s father speaks to the individuals who regard authority and promptly concur with those higher in the chain of importance and unquestioningly help in the disconnection procedure. He wears a â€Å"blue uniform with gold buttons† (62) in any event, when he is at home, snoozing on a seat in the front room which exhibits the worth he puts on the framework. This is likewise represented when the administrator responds to Gregor’s deviation from typical when Mr. Samsa starts to â€Å"drive Gregor again into his room by waving the stick and the newspaper† (29). Different individuals from the family, be that as it may, respond diversely to the circumstance. Grete is the nearest to Gregor and is the most thoughtful to him following his change by putting milk in his room, which â€Å"was his preferred beverage and which his sister had at present put there for that reason† (34). Her response to Gregor’s confinement shows something contrary to Mr. Samsa’s by being as kind as he is powerful in Gregor’s distance. Her relationship with Gregor exhibits how in the public eye, the individuals who realize the individual being detached before its introduction are well on the way to oppose assisting with upholding the seclusion. Be that as it may, Kafka comprehends that individuals are dynamic and frequently change their conclusions. Grete experiences an adjustment in context to such an extent, that before the finish of the novella it is she who pronounces, â€Å"we must dispose of it† (84). This adjustment in context shows how Kafka accepts that citizenry regularly quit feeling for the disengaged bunch when it get s badly designed for them to keep doing as such. Gregor’s mother responds in an underlying way somewhere close to the dad and sister since when first observing him she â€Å"went two stages toward Gregor and fallen right in the center of her skirts† (23). These clashing wants proceed through the novella, for example, when Mr. Samsa attempts to kill Gregor, â€Å"she beseeched him to save Gregor’s life† (65) and yet she is rebuffed by him. This outlines how she needs to support him and attempts to consider him a similar way she did before his change, yet can't. This looks like the dreamers in the public arena who hypothetically bolster the distanced individual however frequently capitulate to social weights when they are compelled to confront the issue. These three responses to Gregor’s change because of the commencement of his disengagement by the supervisor exhibit the range of responses. From the prompt acknowledgment of the progression spoke to by Mr. Samsa, to the genuine empathy of Grete and the optimism of Mrs. Samsa, Kafka shows how a wide assortment of responses is normal from society, and how individuals frequently change their feelings. Likewise to how social weights influence his mom, Gregor is additionally persuaded through his regard for power that he merits the confinement authorized on him by society. He accepts those above him in the progression to such a degree, that he in the long run arrives at the resolution that he would be in an ideal situation dead that to have his family enduring on account of his quality. Like his dad, Gregor has a solid regard for power and served in the military until his dad, who is a legitimate figure in his life, required budgetary assistance so he became â€Å"almost overnight, a voyaging sales rep, who normally had altogether various opportunities for procuring cash (†¦) which could be set out on the table at home before his amazed and pleased family† (43). Gregor’s choice to enable his family to take care of their obligation without thinking about the impact it would have on his own bliss or considering declining shows how immovably he is settled in the vari ous leveled framework. The conviction that definitive figures are consistently right leads him to feel that since society directs that he is useless and merits confinement, he would be in an ideal situation dead than a weight to society. This is appeared after Grete and Mr. Samsa conclude that they need him gone, yet Gregor’s â€Å"own imagined that he needed to vanish was, if conceivable, considerably more definitive than his sisters† (89). He catches his family lamenting their setback and since they are above him on the various leveled structure, Gregor accepts that he needs amazing request to save them the difficulty of managing him. This shows how Kafka accepts that society is so subject to a various leveled structure and the direction from definitive figures that they can't have an independent mind and even the individual who is detached may in any case regard and follow those higher in the progressive system. This is the last advance in the transmission of a thought through a social pro gressive system whereby everybody accepts that an individual is lesser and ought not exist, including the distanced individual themselves. The Metamorphosis meets up to show the various leveled design Kafka accepts a general public follows as to segregation and estrangement. He utilizes the supervisor of the organization Gregor works for to demonstrate the incitement of noninterference, which in the public eye is controlled by the most notable individual in the chain of importance. Gregor’s family speaks to society in general and is utilized to show the assortment of responses the individuals in the public arena after they are advised who to estrange. These responses extend from quick, unquestioning concurrence with those higher in the chain of importance, to optimistically supporting the disengaged individual, to feeling for and attempting to support the distanced individual. He additionally utilizes Grete to show the dynamic condition of human responses, by changing from thoughtful and minding to awful and unsupportive before the finish of the novella. Kafka proceeds with this forming of society from the various leveled structure by causing Gregor himself to concur with the definitive figures throughout his life and fit in with the possibility that he is useless, along these lines forcing self-segregation. the connections between the characters in The Metamorphosis show how Kafka accepts that the disengagement and distance of an individual in the public arena is started by those at the highest point of the social chain of importance and works its way down through the pecking order until in the end everybody in the public arena has been affected to acknowledge the underlying choice of one individual. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Trans. Ian Johnstone. Nanaimo: Malaspina University-College, 1999.

People Only See What They Are Prepared to See Essay

Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, â€Å"People just observe what they are set up to see.† An announcement so veridical, that the individuals to whom it suggests are either not fit for getting it or essentially can't acknowledge it. Indeed, the majority of mankind can peruse the evidently monstrous statement ceaselessly, without fathoming the significant importance behind it. There are four kinds of independences, each responding to the statement in an alternate way. What's more, how people respond to it, decides their general reactions to the circumstances which life brings upon them. Honest personalities can't sufficiently comprehend the noteworthiness of the statement. In light of their naivety, they are neither ready to react understandably to the statement, nor to most circumstances throughout everyday life. They are guileless and non-opinionative, accordingly, just observing what others need them to see. Most of individuals so caracterised are babies and little youngsters. They neglect to take a gander at things from different points of view since they have not yet had enough involvement with life. For example, in the event that you discuss war with a youngster, the individual in question won't realize how to react. The brain of the individual is unreasonably youthful for recognizing what to do when addressed about political clashes, patriotisms, fighting, passing and different genuine issues. As a rule, their blameless, unsophisticated personalities, essentially can't comprehend the contrast among off-base and right until they form into progressively advance d creatures. Uninformed individuals abstain from considering anything which doesn't concern them actually. These individuals obviously can see, but since of their character, can't. Until they begin mindful, they won't have the option to see things which request care, since they are not yet prepared. Numerous teenagers and fruitless individuals would fall into this class. Furthermore, why I generalization numerous ineffective individuals is because of the way that they are oblivious to training and in time, neglect to prevail throughout everyday life. Training is the information on life, and whenever dodged, brings about disappointment at it. Assuming once more, you notice war to a uninformed being, the person in question will excuse the subject before it could come to the brain’s thinking process. These characters would never go underneath the outside of the theme. Tenacity is like numbness, yet not exactly the equivalent. The difficult won't stop for a second to plunge into the sea, yet will never arrive at the base so they can inspect it inside and out. These individuals will hear a subject; they will consider the point; however before taking a gander at it from another perspective, their willfulness will urge them to frame a preference feeling. These eventual the individuals who, when addressed of war, will stand firm on one side before looking at the other. For instance, if America is warring with Iraq, numerous obstinate Americans will bolster their pioneer regardless of how indecent his activities might be. Same would suggest to the obstinate Iraqis, who will deny the way that their pioneer was degenerate without picturing him from his victims’ viewpoint. Since they are the residents of their nation, they will ignore its flaws and never question their government’s activities, consequently, plunging into the circumstance, yet just going mostly down, on the grounds that that is the thing that they are set up to see, in this way, that is the thing that they see. The pragmatists see everything and acknowledge it all things considered. They have the ability to settle on fair choices and suppositions. These are the individuals who will go to bat for what they trust in. They are legitimate and liberal. A pragmatist would plunge into the sea, go to the base, set aside some effort to take a gander at everything top to bottom, at that point, and at exactly that point, will shape a sentiment supported by much thinking. Pragmatists can see everything. Their psyches have no barricades blocking data from entering and preparing through their cerebrums. A pragmatist will take a gander at Emerson’s cite and totally understand its significance. What exactly profundity you comprehend this article will decide how prepared your brain is to acknowledge the realities expressed in it. Actually, you will see everything on these pages. Be that as it may, intellectually, your psyche will appreciate just the subtleties in this, for which it is set up to acknowledge. On the off chance that you have perused this far, you absolutely are not uninformed; you have just gone underneath the outside of the statement. In the event that you have comprehended and acknowledged everything, congrats, you are truth be told, a pragmatist! If not, time might be the solution for your blamelessness or hardheadedness.

Menopause and Depression Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Coping

Menopause and Depression Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Coping Depression Causes Print An Overview of Menopause and Depression Menopause and Depression: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Coping By Sara Lindberg Sara Lindberg, M.Ed., is a freelance writer focusing on mental health, fitness, nutrition, and parenting.   Learn about our editorial policy Sara Lindberg Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 02, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on January 30, 2020 More in Depression Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Types Childhood Depression Suicide In This Article Table of Contents Expand What Is Menopause? What Is Depression? How They Are Related Symptoms Causes Diagnosis   Treatment   Coping View All Back To Top What Is Menopause? Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when the menstrual period stops, most likely when the ovaries stop making estrogen. Missing a period for 12 consecutive months (in the absence of other obvious causes) is the main criteria for being menopausal?? . When this happens, a woman is no longer able to get pregnant. The average age of menopause is 51, with the transition occurring most often between the ages of 45 and 55.   Despite having an occasional period, many women believe they are menopausal when they are actually in a transition period called perimenopause. This refers to the time when your body makes the natural transition to menopause. It most often occurs sometime in your 40s, or right around the time of menopause. Many of the changes you experience during perimenopause are a result of decreasing estrogen, which along with progesterone, rises and falls as you make your way to menopause. There is some association with these hormonal changes. What Is Depression? Depression is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness or loss of interest and affects how you feel, think, and handle daily activities. The two most common forms of depressive disorders are major (clinical) depression and persistent depressive disorder (Dysthymia).?? Common symptoms of depression include sadness, lack of interest in things you once enjoyed, irritability, fatigue, and feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and pessimism accompanied by physical symptoms. Major depression is the most commonly diagnosed depressive disorder. It is characterized as having symptoms of depression most of the day, nearly every day for at least two weeks that interferes with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. Factors That Could Increase Your Risk of Depression How They Are Related Many women going through perimenopause or menopause can tell you that extreme shifts in hormonal levels often lead to feelings of depression. Whether it’s a new onset of depressive symptoms or exaggerated symptoms from an existing diagnosis, managing the mood swings along with other symptoms can, at times, feel very overwhelming.   It is only recently that the medical community created guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of perimenopausal depression. ?? Some of the challenge in evaluating perimenopausal depression is due to the fact that several of the symptoms related to its hormonal changes overlap with common symptoms of depression and other menopausal symptoms that often present similarly. Symptoms including, insomnia, hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood problems are common during perimenopause and menopause. The risk of developing symptoms related to depression is known to increase among women as they transition to menopause.?? Symptoms The signs and symptoms of depression include:?? Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, or pessimismFeelings of worthlessnessDecreased energy or fatigueIrritabilityLoss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyedDifficulty sleeping or oversleepingAppetite or weight changesDifficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisionsLack of self-careAches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems  Withdrawal from social activitiesThoughts of death or suicide The symptoms of menopause may include?? : Irregular periods or bleeding leading to a loss of a period for 12 consecutive monthsProblems with sleep due to low levels of progesterone and estrogenHot flashes and night sweatsProblems with memory or being forgetful and struggling to focusMood changes such as irritability and crying spellsFeelings of depression or anxietyChanging feelings about your sexual healthVaginal dryness Do You Know the Signs of Clinical Depression? Causes The symptoms of depression that can present during perimenopause and menopause are related to a variety of factors including hormonal changes, underlying vulnerabilities to depression, and other stressors. Hormonal shifts that happen at other times in a womans reproductive life, such as the postpartum period, are also correlated with an increase in depression and mood symptoms. Declining estrogen levels?? that happen as you move through perimenopause towards menopause can contribute to emotional changes such as sadness, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and mood changes. That said, there is no evidence that menopause causes depression. If symptoms are severe or impacting your life more than occasionally, be sure to see your doctor or a mental health specialist.   Diagnosis   Your doctor can perform an evaluation to determine where you are in the transition to menopause and recommend the next steps for potentially treating menopausal symptoms. But if the symptoms related to depression are severe or you have a previous diagnosis of depression, being evaluated by a mental health professional is the next step. They will be able to determine if you have a major depressive disorder or clinical depression.??   Treatment   For perimenopausal and menopausal women diagnosed with depression, adhering to the proven therapeutic options for treating depression should be followed. These include treatment with antidepressants and/or psychotherapy (“talk therapy”). There are several forms of psychotherapy, but one in particular that has been proven successful in treating depression is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).   There is some evidence that treating women entering menopause with hormone replacement therapy may help to enhance mood, but it is not considered a form of treatment for depression. Some findings suggest estrogen, which can help reduce hot flashes and night sweats, may also help with mild to moderate symptoms related to mood swings and feelings of depression.?? There are risks associated with hormone replacement therapy. Thats why talking with your doctor about your health is always the best place to start.   Find Support With the 7 Best Online Help Resources for Depression Coping Coping with depression symptoms that accompany perimenopause or menopause often requires a systemic approach. And like many other recommendations for depression or menopause, lifestyle modifications can make a significant difference in your quality of life.   Daily exercise, socializing with friends and family, meditation, mindfulness, and participating in activities that were enjoyable before depressive episodes started are just a few ways to cope with symptoms related to depression.   Reducing or eliminating alcohol, smoking, or other substances can help with certain symptoms of menopause. Also, taking extra care to follow a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats may help with symptom management.   A Word From Verywell Mood swings and feelings of sadness and irritability are common occurrences during perimenopause and menopause. That said, it can be challenging to distinguish between clinical depression and the ups and downs related to shifting hormones. If you’re concerned about your physical or mental health, take the first step, and make an appointment with your doctor. Being open and honest about how you’re feeling can help relieve the pressure or anxiety you might be experiencing. It also allows your doctor to make a proper diagnosis and create a treatment plan that focuses on your needs. How Estrogens Can Cause Anxiety and Depression

The Anglo Saxon Era Of Rich History And Reflected Literature

The Anglo Saxon Era of Rich History and Reflected Literature The Anglo Saxon Period began in 449 and ended in 1066 AD. This was a time of Viking conquering other nations, patriotism, and Pagan to Christian religious conversion. There are only few recorded authors of this era as a result of literary works such as Beowulf, Wife’s Lament, and The Seafarer being passed down orally through generations of time. The literature serves as a reflection of this ancient time rather than having an impact on this time period. This was a period of great conquering, pride and honor, and Christian expansion with recorded literature that exaggerated and symbolized what was occurring. â€Å"This time remains the darkest, the least documented in British history†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦The religious transformation was a slow but progressive growth. It is definitely certain that the characters of these oral stories were exaggerated or even make believe and as a matter of fact after much studies of the Roman Empire, there has even been controversy over King Arthur’s existence. (Wood 39) â€Å"The question is, what happened in Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire? Bound up with that, there is a second question: did there exist at this time a war leader called Arthur?† (Wood, 39). This shows that not only were the obviously exaggerated heroic characters fake but also some of the seemingly realistic characters were as well. This indicates that these stories were definitely exaggerated for entertainment purposes, but at the same time, used to describe the battles, the honor and events that happened at this time. There are three main liter ary works of this time period: Beowulf, Wife’s Lament, and The Seafarer. Each literary work has unique symbolism and can be analyzed and interpreted to show what they represent. Beowulf highly focuses on battling, one having honor for their kingdom, and even has some religious representation. Beowulf is an epic poem, which is defined as a long, narrative poem about a larger than life, legendary character in pursuit of a goal of national importance. Also, Beowulf’s character is classified as an epic hero, which is defined as one who constitutes superior strength and excellent ethics, one who does many valorousShow MoreRelatedBooks Are Humanity in Print Essay1364 Words   |  6 Pagesmobile worldwide population. Each literary era reflects the human feats, lifestyles, and changing times: Anglo-Saxon epics consist of glory battle scenes, bloodied warriors, and feuding countries; Middle English works consist of glorified knights, the chivalric code, and a greedy, materiali stic court; and, modern literary classics depict worlds of which the human race is ruled by technology. 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Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Patterns...

So many people in the world talk about how beneficial massage can be and that it makes you feel more relaxed. They say that if you receive massage, even just once a month, that it could help you in many different aspects of your life, such as helping depression, lessening anxiety, becoming more relaxed more often, and that it can help you become less stressed in your day to day life. In this research study, the researchers hypothesize that massage would have an effect on anxiety, depression, and alertness. The objective was to show that massage can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress by testing cortisol level and increase alertness by comparing EEG patterns by math computations. This research study is a quantitative research. Most†¦show more content†¦The State Anxiety 1nventory is a 20 item scale test that measures anxiety levels. Cortisol is a hormone secretion that becomes present when a person is under stress, so the researchers tested salivary cortisol levels from a saliva sample. Math computations were measured by giving the subjects 7 numbers before the massage and 7 different numbers given after and the subject was asked to add them together. The time it took to solve the question and its accuracy was recorded. To measure the EEG patterns were one of the most important variables in the study. The subjects put on a special cap, called the Lycra stretchable cap, used you measure delta, alpha, beta, and theta. To prevent data from having an incorrect reading, the subjects had to fill out two questionnaire forms. One was the Life Events Questionnaire. It asked if certain events had taken place in your life lately about the death a loved one or major financial situations. The other was the Job Stress Yesterday Questionnaire. It asked about the day you had at work yesterday and how stressful it was. The subjects had to answer these questions on the first day, and the last day of the study procedure. There was a total of 50 randomly assigned medical staff and faculty to be a part of this study. Out of the 50 subjects, 26 of the subjects were given a 15 minute chair massage twice a week for 5 weeks. The other 24 subjects were asked to sit in the massage chair and

The World’s Most Understood Crop Industrial Hemp and Its Economic Benefits Free Essays

Ms. Bonner English 290 16 December 2011 The World’s Most Understood Crop: Industrial Hemp and its Economic Benefits When most people hear the word hemp the first thing that comes to mind is marijuana. While hemp and marijuana are of the same plant species, Cannabis Sativa, they are different plants with their own chemical makeup. We will write a custom essay sample on The World’s Most Understood Crop: Industrial Hemp and Its Economic Benefits or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hemp has been known as one of the world’s greatest agricultural crops of all time with a wide variety of uses. Unfortunately the United States still sees hemp as drug and the manufacturing of hemp is still illegal today. The United States is outlawing one of the most economically beneficial and functional crops of all times because of its cousin marijuana. Hemp was the world’s greatest agricultural crop for more than 1000 years before Christ until 1883 AD (Herer). The manufacturing and cultivation of hemp has been used for thousands of products and many different industries including producing a majority of the world’s fabric, fiber, oil, paper, and even food. The earliest known fabric was made of hemp around 8000 BC (Herer). Ninety percent of all ships’ sails from at least the fifth century BC until long after the invention of the steam engines in the mid- to late-19th century were made from hemp (Herer). Many of the ships’ logs, maps, and charts were made on hemp paper from the time of Columbus to the early 1900s (Herer). In the first century AD, the Chinese found that hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus and that it was 100 times easier and cheaper to make (Herer). Eighty percent of all humankind’s textiles and fabrics for clothes, tents, linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, towels and diapers were made principally from cannabis fibers in much of the world until the 20th century (Herer). Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp and Americans were even legally bound to grow during the Colonial Era and Early Republic (Hemp Facts). With all these uses for hemp, from almost the beginning of the known world, why would hemp be illegal today? Marijuana and industrial hemp come from the same species of plant, Cannabis Sativa. The species can yield two different plants, marijuana and industrial hemp. Comparing marijuana and industrial hemp is like comparing field corn and sweet corn. While they are both from the same species, the chemical makeup and final product is very different. Cannabis produces two major cannabinoids-THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) (West, Hemp and Marijuana). THC is the one responsible for the psychoactive effect that you get from smoking marijuana. CBD, on the other hand, has been found to block the effect of THC in the nervous system (West, Hemp and Marijuana). Marijuana usually contains 3 to 15 percent THC, while industrial hemp being grown normally contains less than 1 percent THC (Industrial Hemp in the United States). Many people believe that if industrial hemp was allowed to be grown that many people would still try and smoke it, but if one was to smoke industrial hemp, which is high in CBD and low in THC, it would actually counter act the THC and block the effect of a marijuana high. This shows that not only is hemp not marijuana but could possibly even be called â€Å"anti-marijuana. Even with this scientific information and the United States continues to outlaw the manufacturing of hemp. Other countries have recognized the difference between marijuana and industrial hemp. Current hemp varieties being grown in Canada and Europe are certified to have THC levels below 0. 3 percent (West, Hemp and Marijuana). The certification system was originally developed in Europe to allow for the commercialization of industrial hemp and takes into consideration the ratio of CBD to THC as well as the absolute percent THC (West, Hemp and Marijuana). The original THC threshold was 0. 8 percent. When varieties with lower levels of THC were developed by French breeders, the breeders were able to persuade the European Union to reduce the tolerance further (West, Hemp and Marijuana). In the United States, Cannabis with any measurable trace of THC is illegal, CBD concentration is not considered at all. The United States is outlawing this potentially economic beneficial crop with no just cause and they are completely overlooking all of its uses and benefits. The United States’ laws have not always treated marijuana and hemp the same. The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act outlawed marijuana. The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act defined marijuana as: â€Å"(A)ll parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L. , whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin; but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin xtracted there from), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination. † The Act outlawed marijuana and punished people who grew it, without infringing on the rights of hemp growers. The act did not make hemp illegal but simply just put a tax on hemp. Dr. Andrew Wright, an agronomist with the University of Wisconsin’s Agriculture Experiment Stati on and steward of the Wisconsin hemp industry during the first half of the twentieth century, wrote in 1918, â€Å"There are three fairly distinct types of hemp: that grown for fiber, that for birdseed and oil, and that for drugs. (West, Hemp and Marijuana). This shows that even in the early 1900s, we knew and understood there being a difference between hemp and marijuana. However, in 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act repealed the Marihuana Tax Act and instead changed its definition: â€Å"The term ‘marihuana’ means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa (L. ), whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin; . . † The key difference in this provision was that the 1937 Act used a system of taxation that allowed the government to punish the marijuana growers without punishing hemp grow ers. The 1970 Act abolished the taxation approach and effectively made all Cannabis cultivation illegal (West, Hemp and Marijuana). This act lumped marijuana and hemp into the same category. Why did the United States change their definition of the word and make hemp illegal? Why the United States changed its mind and decided to make hemp illegal is not really clear. There are not any definite answers. It could be that they realized that they couldn’t tax it anymore, the war on drugs, or that people that were growing hemp were abusing their rights and also growing marijuana. It is up for anyone to speculate on. The only thing that is clear by hemp being illegal is that the United States is ignoring the economic benefits and uses of one of the most functional crops of all times. Hemp has been used for a wide variety of products for almost 3000 years. Overall, hemp is the strongest, most durable, and longest lasting natural soft fiber on the planet, which makes its fabric longer lasting, tougher, cheaper, cooler, and more absorbent than cotton (Herer). Hemp seed can be pressed into a healthy oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids of all plants. The byproduct of the pressed hemp seeds can be baked into cakes, breads, and casseroles and contains high quality protein (Hemp Facts). Another use for hemp is that it can be made into fuel. Hemp is the Earth’s number one biomass resource, capable of producing 10 tons of biomass per acre in only four months (Hemp Facts). This biomass can be converted into methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost very similar to the cost petroleum (Hemp Facts). It can also produce 10 times more methanol than corn (Hemp Facts). Since hemp is a natural plant, the use of hemp as a fuel makes it better for the environment. It does not add to global warming. Not only is hemp as a fuel better for the environment, but using hemp fiber for paper is also better for the environment. One acre of hemp produces as much fiber as 4. 1 acres of trees (Herer). While trees cut down to make paper usually take about 50 years to grow, hemp is ready to be harvested in about 120 days (Hemp Facts). Since hemp takes less time to be ready to be harvested and it can produce more fiber per acre, hemp could possibly be the answer to the deforestation problem. Only eight out of about one hundred known pests cause problem to the plant so hemp is normally grown without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides (Hemp Facts). Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor due to the fast growth of the canopy causing a blockage of the sun that does not allow for the weeds to grow (Hemp Facts). All of these things make hemp a cheaper, more environmentally friendly crop. Hemp has been one of the most widely used crops, all around the world, for more than 3000 years. With hemps thousands of uses, it could possibly save our country in this time of deficit. However, the United States still refuses to recognize it has being a potential economically beneficial crop because of a plant of the same species. Works Citied â€Å"Hemp Facts. † HempUSA. org. HempUSA. org, 1 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Web Herer, Jack. â€Å"The Forgotten History of Hemp. † Earth Island Journal 5. 4 (1990): 35. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. Web Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential. Rep. no. AGES-ERSAGES001. Ers. usda. gov, Jan. 2000. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. Web West, David P. Hemp and Marijuana: Myths and Realities. Prescott, Wisconsin: North American Industrial Hemp Council, 27 Feb. 1998. PDF. How to cite The World’s Most Understood Crop: Industrial Hemp and Its Economic Benefits, Papers

Analytic Hierarchy Process in Operations Management

Question: Discuss about the Analytic Hierarchy Process in Operations Management. Answer: Introduction The project deals with the issue statement where the content is included about the target market, poor management, and lack of supervision by the managers and the supervisors, the focus is given on the profits of the company and the sales of the Custom Gear Inc. The problem the Custom Gear is experiencing is being stated in the project, which includes lack of the order size, lack of the future growth, inventory and the production management and many others. The actions that have been taken by Mr. Rhodes are narrated in the project. Issue statement Inappropriate production process, inappropriate target market, poor management, poor control system, suppliers are not efficiently delivering raw materials and the profit earned by the Custom Gear is not adequate. Eastern Gear is experiencing many problems that include: Lack of the policy of the order size: Eastern gear has accepted a huge lot of the order size which is been seen in the exhibit 2 of the case study. It can be seen that in the order size 1 the total number of orders are taken are 80. In size 2, the number of orders is 53. In size 3 the number of orders are 69 and so on. On the other hand, President of the Eastern Gear has also taken decision to accept the huge orders from the customers. Lack of planning for growth: It appears that the company does not have any plan to expand their business in the future. This may be the reason and the company can face problems with respect to the cash flows, problems of capacity and other problems that are associated with the growth of the company. Inventory and production control: The expediting seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Twenty percent of the total orders have the rush tags on it. The processing time of the production has increased from two to four weeks, and there does not seem the production and inventory system are not in place. There are certain orders are being handled on the rush basis and that may be disruptive with the smooth flow of the production. Objectives that are followed in the operations: It is not clear that the operations should be focusing on the cost of the product, delivery and quality of the product and the flexibility. The focus should be laid down on the objectives of the operations. The order entry system is been flawed: The time is lost between the design that is desired by the customer is flawed because the order is taken by the James and therefore, is reviewed by the engineer. The problems that are faced by Mr. Rhodes are been divided into four parts: 1. Production process, 2. Target market, 3. Management, 4. Suppliers. In case these problems are resolved, the impact of these will be seen in the goodwill of the company. Production process: The sluggish production process of the Custom gear has caused problems related to the delays in the production, late deliveries and the poor quality of the product. The main problem of the production process of the custom gears is the standard job shop layout. Every workflow has the set of the processes. Depending on the operations, the materials flow from one work centre to another. The cycle below shows the path that the typical order will follow is: Taking into consideration the floor layout of the Custom gear, it can be taken into account that the work centres are not arranged into the correct order of the workflow. They can be said to be unstructured. To get rid of this problem the layout of the shop should be arranged in the following manner: Target market: The main target of the Custom Gears is the engineering research and the development laboratories or the manufacturers. These result in the number of the small number of the gears. Custom gear is losing the market share as it is targeting small manufacturers who order very small amount of the gears from the company. This results in the low sales and revenue for the company. In order to increase the sales as well as the profits of the Custom Gear should try and target the large companies that are in need of the more of the custom gears. Doing this Custom Gear does not have to find more of the customers because the profits gained from one company would be huge. The management issues that the Custom Gear is facing are the past due raw materials in the shop. The manager and the supervisor must take note of the inventory that is lying on the shop. The materials that have expired are mostly because of the errors that have been caused by the supervisor or the manager. In order to get rid of this problem the supervisor should take extra care while placing the orders with the suppliers and avoid wastage of the resources. The company has also recorded many lost orders. Therefore, in order to get rid of the problem the management should ensure that all the orders are properly documented this ensures that the files should not be missing and there exists no complaints from the customers side about the lost orders. The operation strategy is related to the product, process, method, quality, cost and scheduling. Moreover, like any other organization the Custom gear has the definite relation with the operations strategy: Design of the product The design of the product should have a match between the operations management, finance department and the supply chain management and should look at the customers need. The methods and the processes The methods take into account the process of transforming raw material into the finished products. The process considers the conversion of inputs into outputs. Therefore, these two process in closely linked to the process design. The process selection and the facility layout takes into account the implications of the supply chain management. Cost A cost is the variable factor that affects the pricing and the profits of the organization. Organizations that have high degree of productivity in comparison with their competitors have a comparative cost advantage. Scheduling Custom Gear must plan the schedule orders deliberately. The rush orders and the large orders should be made carefully. Operating resources Operating resources are necessary for the personnel and material which is generally necessary to carry out the project. The examples of the operating resources are materials, machines, labor, tools, fixtures and many others. Custom Gear must complete the process of the operating resources. Recommendation The above-mentioned analysis that is been done on the Custom Gear Inc. the lack of proper and efficient operational controls will bring adverse changes in the organization. The sluggish production process, selection of suppliers and objectives of the sales target, the poor layout of the job shop also slowed down the production process and created confusion. The Custom Gear should target the large-scale manufacturing companies where they can get huge orders and earn the maximum revenues out of it. The production process should be changed the quality of the products should be given maximum attention. The resources that are getting wasted should be given utmost importance by the supervisor and the managers. Bibliography Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., Brennan, R. (2012).Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Prentice-Hall, London. Becker, J., Kugeler, M., Rosemann, M. (Eds.). (2013).Process management: a guide for the design of business processes. Springer Science Business Media. Chang, J. F. (2016).Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC Press. Davenport, T. H. (2013).Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. Ferrell, O. C., Hartline, M. (2012).Marketing strategy, text and cases. Nelson Education. Fitzsimmons, J., Fitzsimmons, M. (2013).Service management: Operations, strategy, information technology. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Jeston, J., Nelis, J. (2014).Business process management. Routledge. Khanna, R. B. (2015).Production and operations management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. Krajewski, L. J., Ritzman, L. P., Malhotra, M. K. (2013).Operations management: processes and supply chains. New York: Pearson. Subramanian, N., Ramanathan, R. (2012). A review of applications of Analytic Hierarchy Process in operations management.International Journal of Production Economics,138(2), 215-241.

Charles Dickens Essays (1966 words) - Charles Dickens,

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens was born February 7, 1812, in Ports Mouth, Hampshire. In his infancy his family moved to Chatham, where he spent his happiest years and often refers to this time in his novels (1817-1822). From 1822 to 1860 he lived in London, after which he permanently moved to a quiet country cottage in Glads Hill, on the outskirts of Chatham. He grew up in a middle class family. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office and was well paid, but his extravagant living style often brought the family to financial disaster. The family reached financial "rock bottom" in 1824. Charles was taken out of school and sent to work in a factory doing manual labour, while his father went to prison for his debt. These internal disasters shocked Charles greatly. He refers to his working experiences in his writings. Although he hated doing labour, he gained a sympathetic knowledge into the life of the labour class. He also brings forth the images of prison and of the lost and oppressed child in many novels. His schooling ended at 15, and he became a clerk in a solicitor's office, then a short hand reporter in the lawcourts (where he gained much knowledge of legalities which he used in his novels), and finally like other members of his family, a newspaper reporter. Here, he got his first taste of journalism and fell in love with it immediately. Drawn to the theatre, Charles Dickens almost pursued the career of an actor In 1833, he began sending short stories and descriptive essays to small magazines and newspapers. These writings attracted attention and were published in 1836 under the name, Sketches by "Boz". At the same time, he was offered a small job of writing the text for a small comic strip, where he worked with a well know artist. Seven weeks later, the first instalment of The Pickwick Papers appeared. Within a few months Pickwick was the rage and Dickens was the most popular author of the day. During 1836, he also wrote two plays and a pamphlet, he then resigned from his newspaper job, and undertook the editing job of a monthly magazine, Bentley's Miscellany, in which he serialized Oliver Twist (1837-1839). By this time, the first of his nine surviving children had been born, He had married Catherine, eldest daughter of a respected journalist George Hogorth (April 1836). Novels His first major success was with The Pickwick Papers. They were high spirited and contained many conventional comic butts and jokes. Pickwick displayed, many of the features that were to be blended in to his future fiction works; attacks on social evils and the delight in the joys of Christmas. Rapidly thought up and written in mere weeks or even days before its publication date, Pickwick contained weak style and was unsatisfactory in all, partly because Dickens was rapidly developing his craft as a novelist while doing it. This style of writing in a first novel, made his name know literally overnight, but created a new tradition of literature and was made one of the best know novel's of the world. After The Pickwick Papers were published in 1837, he put together another novel, Oliver Twist. Though his artistic talent is very much evident, he refrained from using the successful formula used in The Pickwick Papers. Instead, Oliver Twist is more concerned with social and more evil, though it did still contain much comedy. The long last of his fiction is partly due to its being so easy to adapt into effective stage plays. Sometimes 20 London theatres simultaneously were producing adaptations of his latest story; so even non- readers became acquainted with simplified versions of his works. In the novel Barnaby Grudge he attempted another type of writing, a historical novel. It was set in the late 18th century and graphically explored the spectacle of large scale mob violence. The task of keeping unity throughout his novels (which often included a wide range of moods and materials and several complicated plots involving scores of characters) was made even more difficult because he was forced to write and publish them, while also doing on going serials. His next major work, and probably his most famous was published in 1843, and was called A Christmas Carol. Suddenly conceived and written in mere weeks, while he was preoccupied in writing another serial, it was an unmatched achievement. His view of life was described as "Christmas Philosophy," and he spoke of "Carol philosophy" as the basis of his work. He

A Plan for Preparing for a Test in Four Weeks

A Plan for Preparing for a Test in Four Weeks If youre preparing for a test thats one month away, it must a big one. Like the SAT or GRE or GMAT or something. Listen. You dont have too much time, but thank goodness youre preparing for a test one month in advance and didnt wait until you only had a few weeks or even days. If youre preparing for a test of this kind of magnitude, read on for a study schedule to help you get a good score on your test. Week 1 Make sure youve registered for your exam! Really. Some people dont realize they have to do this step.  Buy a test prep book, and make sure its a good one. Go for the big names: Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barrons, McGraw-Hill. Better yet? Buy one from the maker of the test.  Review the test basics: whats on the test, length, price, test dates, registration facts, testing strategies, etc.Get a baseline score. Take one of the full-length practice tests inside the book to see what score youd get if you took the test today.Map out your time with a time management chart to see where test prep can fit in. Rearrange your schedule if necessary to accommodate test prep.Review online courses, tutoring programs, and in-person classes if you think that studying on your own will not be ideal! Choose and purchase it, today. Like right now. Week 2 Begin coursework with your weakest subject (#1) as demonstrated by the test you took last week.Learn the components of #1  fully: the types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, knowledge tested. Acquire the knowledge necessary for this section by searching on the Internet, going through old textbooks, reading articles and more.Answer #1 practice questions, reviewing answers after each one. Determine where youre making mistakes and correct your methods.  Take a practice test on #1 to determine the level of improvement from baseline score. You can find practice tests in the book or online many places, as well.  Fine tune #1 by going over questions missed to determine what level of knowledge youre missing. Reread information until you know it! Week 3 Move on to next weakest subject (#2). Learn the components of #2 fully: types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, etc.Answer #2 practice questions, reviewing answers after each one. Determine where youre making mistakes and correct your methods.Take a practice test on #2 to determine the level of improvement from baseline.Move on to strongest subject/s (#3). Learn the components of #3 fully (and 4 and 5 if you have more than three sections on the test) (types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, etc.)Answer practice questions on #3 (4 and 5). These are your strongest subjects, so youll need less time to focus on them.Take a practice test on #3 (4 and 5) to determine the level of improvement from baseline. Week 4 Take a full-length practice test, simulating the testing environment as much as possible with time constraints, desk, limited breaks, etc.Grade your practice test and cross-check every wrong answer with the explanation for your wrong answer. Determine what youve missed and what you need to do to improve.Take one more full-length practice test. After testing, figure out why youre missing what you’re missing and correct your mistakes before test day!Eat some brain food – studies prove that if you take care of your body, you’ll test smarter!Get plenty of sleep this week.Plan a fun evening the night before the exam to reduce your stress, but not too  fun. You want to get plenty of sleep!Pack your testing supplies the night before: an approved calculator if youre allowed to have one, sharpened #2 pencils with a soft eraser, registration ticket, photo ID, watch, snacks or drinks for breaks.Relax. You did it! You studied successfully for your test, and youre as ready as youre going to be! Dont forget these  five things to do on the day of the test!

Critical Evaluation Of Shareholder Wealth Maximisation Research Paper

Critical Evaluation Of Shareholder Wealth Maximisation - Research Paper Example As we enter the 21st century, calling it the postindustrial era or postmodern era, the moral status of the shareholder wealth maximization for the corporate activity has changed. Shareholder wealth maximization is exempt for moral scrutiny, within the disciplines of financial economics and corporate culture. This concept is undeniably protected against the critics by the theory of invisible hand that each individual company that competes in pursuit of shareholder wealth maximization ultimately leads to maximum cumulative economic advantage. "Many managers have considerable discretion to substitute their own interest for that of the stockholders. Stockholder and manager interests can conflict or be independent in significant respects. The extent to which firms are managed in stockholder interests vary considerably" (Findlay & Whitmore, 1974). The term itself appears to entail a narrow worldly focus on shareholders but in reality, it really stands for a focus on the equity market value disclosed in the company's price of the stock. In this respect, the finance manager who is in pursuit of shareholder wealth maximization is in fact only concerned with the things that can have an effect or impact on the company's price or value of stock and therefore, other stakeholders can influence company value. Critical Evaluation of Stakeholder Approach An approach to strategic management was proposed by Edward Freeman in 1984 called the stakeholder approach. The traditional view of corporate strategy, stakeholders were associated with terms such as owners or stockholders of a company. According to Freeman, he described the term stakeholder more broadly and included in his definition that any group or an individual who can influence or is influenced by the company's objectives and goal is a stakeholder of that company. In order to understand the stakeholder model, it should be recognized that this model does not only imply any concern only for the stockholders but also for the stakeholders such as animals or the environment. The concern for finance managers at this point is ineradicably inter-twined with a company's finance concern. A company that is insensitive to the concerns of the stakeholders will not be able to rise financially and therefore would not be able to cater to the needs of the stakeholders.The stakeholder model als o has many drawbacks. The interests of the stakeholders of any company can deviate sharply from one another and managers pursuing the path to keep all the stakeholders happy, who have no sense of compromise, can do more damage than those managers who put the shareholders first in their doctrine and objectives. In modern times, the interests of the stakeholders are inter-twined as aforementioned. To elaborate, employees are shareholders in the company due to the investment in the pension funds.

Pathopharmacology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pathopharmacology - Essay Example There are left-ventricular, right-ventricular, acute, and chronic heart failures. An estimated 70 percent of the patient populations have been found to have systolic heart failure (Mann, 2010). Additionally, the most common etiology of the systolic heart failure is ischemic heart disease. The pure diastolic heart failure may be caused by hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and both hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathies. Clinical manifestation of heart failure include weight gain, dyspnea, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, peripheral edema, JVD, tachycardia, hepatosplenomegaly, ascites, fatigue, weakness, nausea, poor appetite, renal hypoperfusion, and chachexia. Neurohormonal responses to heart failure are adaptive at first, and then become deleterious when they are sustained. Modern treatment of heart failure is based on neurohormonal modulation. (Steimle, 2007) Management of heart failure is a very complex issue that is why heart failure care needs to be delivered in a multi-professional manner. Although the standard of practise of managing heart failure has some consensus among healthcare providers, I based my heart failure disease management on the clinical guidelines that I developed at my organization. Using the clinical guidelines I was able to identify, summarize, and evaluate the highest quality evidence and most current data about prevention, diagnose, prognoses, and provide therapy including medications and cost-effectiveness. Using my clinical guidelines that I developed in the place I worked, I noted that there are four stages in the heart failure development namely stage A, B, C, and D. According to McDonagh et al. (2011), those patients who are in stage A and B usually do not have heart failure. However, they have risk factors that predispose them towards heart failure development. Patients in stage C comprise of those people with current or past

Collaborative Learning Heterogeneous Versus Homogeneous Grouping

Collaborative Learning Heterogeneous Versus Homogeneous Grouping As EFL teachers we are concerned with two main issues in language learning. The first issue addresses the skills students should acquire in EFL classes as a result of teaching-learning experiences. Such skills are often measured by students achievement. The second issue takes account of the strategies EFL teachers use to help students acquire such skills and in turn increase their achievement. Writing is a skill which requires efforts from both the student and the teacher. It is one of the four language skills which is given emphasis in second language learning (Inggris 2009). Writing is one of the skills which need to be mastered by the learners. They learn different genres of writing like descriptive, expository, recount and narrative based on the prescribed syllabus of their providers. Language learning involves learning the language code as well as the culture (appropriate ways of thinking and acting) associated with the language (Becket Gonzales 2004). Students writing abilities are affected by the type of instructions teachers use within their classroom practices. Writing is one of the productive skills that learners are expected to achieve in order to ensure their communicative competence. While learning writing, students are supposed to get involved in many activities that enable them to produce a piece of writing at the end. They can be engaged for example in class discussions, act in role playing or get involved in peer editing. While engaged in classroom activities students build up experience and have more practice that may finally give the chance to reach a proper product of writing. In teaching writing, teachers strive hard to find strategies to facilitate increasing students achievement. There are many methods adopted by the teachers in teaching EFL writing in the classrooms. One of the methods recommended in teaching writing is the incorporation of cooperative learning (Kagan 2002). In ability grouping, students are grouped in a variety of more flexible ways so that they spend some portion of a school day in heterogeneous groups and some portion in homogeneous groups. (Grady et al 2007). In most EFL classes, some learners perform better beyond grade-level, others struggle with target language, while another great part of the class falls somewhere in between. In their effort to meet the needs of such a diverse students, educators tend to assign pair and group work with students of different ability levels finding ways to involve all students in the activities. These ways could include communicative and cooperative tasks to allow scaffolding of less advanced students. In this classroom environment advanced level learners act as a bridge to facilitate the learning process and lower level classmates exhibit a willingness to cross that bridge (Sean, 2002.   As a general rule, it would seem reasonable to suggest that classroom harmony might better be achieved in a group of motivated students who are allowed to participate and cooperate. Statement of the problem Teachers and educators seem to have struggled for decades to find answers to questions about heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping: Does anyone benefit from each? Is anyone harmed by each? Who benefits (or is harmed) the most? Why? Are there alternatives to these two types grouping? The answers are not always clear-cut and often depend on whom you ask and what learning outcomes are considered important. To many educators, grouping is considered a sensible response to academic diversity. To others, the practice has harmful unintended consequences and should be abandoned. Indeed, research, logic, and emotion often clash when debating the topic of grouping. But what do we really know? Consequently, this study aims to investigate the effect of homogeneous grouping versus heterogeneous grouping on EFL students achievement in writing in the hope that it may settle the argument on which is better for both high and low achievers. Homogeneous grouping can be defined as dividing students into small groups which include students of the same ability or level for example high achievers together and low achievers together . While heterogeneous grouping can be defined as dividing students into groups that include mixed or different levels, high and low achievers together. Theoretical Framework Cognitive growth springs from the alignment of various perspectives as individuals work to attain common goals. Both Piaget and Vygotsky saw cooperative learning with more able peers and instructors as resulting in cognitive development and intellectual growth (Johnson, et al., 1998). The assumption of behavioral learning theory is that students will work hard on tasks that provide a reward and that students will fail to work on tasks that provide no reward or punishment. Cooperative learning is one strategy that rewards individuals for participation in the groups effort. A review of the literature on cooperative learning shows that students benefit academically and socially from cooperative, small-group learning (Gillies, 2002). Cooperative learning can produce positive effects on student achievement (Cohen, 1986; Davidson, 1989; Devries Slavin, 1978; Johnson Johnson, 1989; Okebukola, 1985; Reid, 1992; Slavin, 1990). Academic benefits include higher attainments in reading comprehension, writing (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, 1997) and mathematics (Ross, 1995; Whicker, Nunnery, Bol, 1997) and enhanced conceptual understanding and achievement in science (Lonning, 1993; Watson, 1991). Social benefits include more on-task behaviors and helping interactions with group members (Burron, James, Ambrosio, 1993; Gillies Ashman, 1998; McManus Gettinger, 1996), higher self-esteem, more friends, more involvement in classroom activities, and improved attitudes toward learning (Lazarowitz, Baird, Bolden, 1996; Lazarowitz, Hertz-Lazarowitz, Baird, 1994). According to Slavin (1987), there are two major theoretical perspectives related to cooperative learning motivational and cognitive. The motivational theories of cooperative learning emphasize the students incentives to do academic work, while the cognitive theories emphasize the effects of working together. Motivational theories related to cooperative learning focus on reward and goal structures. One of the elements of cooperative learning is positive interdependence, where students perceive that their success or failure lies within their working together as a group (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1986). From a motivational perspective, cooperative goal structure creates a situation in which the only way group members can attain their personal goals is if the group is successful (Slavin, 1990,). Therefore, in order to attain their personal goals, students are likely to encourage members within the group to do whatever helps the group to succeed and to help one another with a group tas k. There are two cognitive theories that are directly applied to cooperative learning, the developmental and the elaboration theories (Slavin, 1987). The developmental theories assume that interaction among students around appropriate tasks increases their mastery of critical concepts (Damon, 1984). When students interact with other students, they have to explain and discuss each others perspectives, which lead to greater understanding of the material to be learned. The struggle to resolve potential conflicts during collaborative activity results in the development of higher levels of understanding (Slavin, 1990). The elaboration theory suggests that one of the most effective means of learning is to explain the material to someone else. Cooperative learning activities enhance elaborative thinking and more frequent giving and receiving of explanations, which has the potential to increase depth of understanding, the quality of reasoning, and the accuracy of long term retention (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1986). Therefore, the use of cooperative learning methods should lead to improved student learning and retention from both the developmental and cognitive theoretical bases. Several studies have examined the effects of cooperative learning methods on student learning. Humphreys, Johnson, and Johnson (1982) compared cooperative, competitive, and individualistic strategies and concluded that students who were taught by cooperative methods learned and retained significantly more information than students taught by the other two methods. Sherman and Thomas (1986) found similar results in a study involving high school students taught by cooperative and individualistic methods. In a review of 46 studies related to cooperative learning, Slavin (1983) found that cooperative learning resulted in significant positive effects in 63% of the studies, and only two studies reported higher achievement for the comparison group. Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, and Skon (1981) conducted a meta-analysis of 122 studies related to cooperative learning and concluded that there was strong evidence for the superiority of cooperative learning in promoting achievement over competitive and individualistic strategies. Johnson and Ahlgren (1976) examined the relationships between students attitudes toward cooperation, competition, and their attitudes toward education. The results of the study indicated that student cooperativeness, and not competitiveness, was positively related to being motivated to learn. Humphreys, Johnson, and Johnson (1982) also found that students studying in a cooperative learning treatment group rated their learning experience more positively than did students in competitive and individualistic treatment groups. In a study involving elementary and secondary students Wodarski, et al., (1980) found that 95% of the elementary students enjoyed the cooperative learning activities and that they had learned a lot about the subject. Cooperative learning has its roots in the theories of social interdependence, cognitive development, and behavioral learning. Some research provides exceptionally strong evidence that cooperative learning results in greater effort to achieve, more positive relationships, and greater psychological health than competitive or individualistic learning efforts (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1994( Social interdependence theory views cooperation as resulting from positive links of individuals to accomplish a common goal. The Gesalt psychologist Kurt Koffka proposed in the early 1900s that although groups are dynamic wholes the interdependence among members is variable. Kurt Lewin (1948) stated that interdependence developed from common goals provides the essential essence of a group. This interdependence creates groups that are dynamic wholes. The power of the group is such that a change in any member or subgroup directly changes any other member or subgroup. Within cognitive development theory, cooperation must precede cognitive growth. According to Emmer and Gerwels (2002) some research on cooperative learning has addressed instructional components. In a number of studies students have been taught interaction skills, such as how to question or to help each other so that they did not give answers but facilitated each others thinking (Fuchs, Fuchs, Kazdan, Allen, 1999; Gillies Ashman, 1996, 1998; Nattiv, 1994; Webb, Troper, Fall, 1995). And, when students are taught such skills, positive outcomes such as increased intrinsic motivation, liking for school, and self-esteem can result (Battistich, Solomon, Delucchi, 1993). Homogeneous grouping Homogeneous grouping has been proposed and implemented as a potential solution to meet the needs of the mixed ability classes, suggesting that students of different abilities can be gathered in groups of same ability thereby facilitating instruction (Slavin, 1987). This kind of grouping is based on the pedagogical principle that the teacher has the advantage of focusing instruction at the level of all the students in the particular group (Ansalone, 2000). It is assumed that teachers of mixed ability classes can increase the pace and raise instruction level for high achievers whereas low level students can enjoy individual attention. So, advanced pupils are taught more difficult concepts while low achievers deal with simple and fewer things. Proponents of homogeneous grouping opine that it is an excellent means of individualizing instruction. Achievement is considered to increase as teachers adjust the pace of instruction to students needs. Kulik and Kulik (1982) and Slavin (1987) carried out meta-analyses of studies at the elementary school level, finding benefits of within-class ability grouping. Both low ability students and more advanced ones placed in separate groups, benefited from instruction addressed to their level. More recently, Mulkey et al (2005) found that same ability grouping has persistent instructional benefits for both high and low level students. Marsh (1987) supports HG as a way of coping with mixed ability classes assuming that grouping children homogeneously enables those in lower ability groups to profit with respect to self-evaluation by being isolated from advanced peers. Furthermore, Allan (1991) supports that pupils model their behaviour after the behaviour of similar ability children who are coping well with their school work. The supporters of homogeneous grouping conclude that research fails to support that homogeneous grouping doesnt accomplish anything (Loveless, 1998). Although teachers of mixed ability classes seem to have positive attitudes towards homogeneous grouping (Scherer, 1993, Mulkey et al, 2005), the last quarter of the 20th century witnessed severe criticism of ability grouping. It has been declared that this type of grouping stigmatizes lower ability students, offering them inferior instruction. Several researchers argue that homogeneous grouping does not guarantee that all advanced or all weak students are alike. Matthews (1997) conducted a relevant research with students in grades 6 through 8 finding that gifted students are considerably more diverse than they are homogeneous. They vary in their degrees of advancement, their abilities, their learning styles and interests, their test-taking skills, and their social/emotional development. So, gathering advanced children of the mixed ability classes together in one group may not be the wisest solution to the problem. Ability grouping may decrease the self-esteem and aspirations of low ability children and therefore decelerate their academic progress. Welner and Mickelson (2000) carried out quite an extensive research review finding that low ability children are exposed to lowered expectations, reduced resources and rote learning. Childrens self-concept is affected and expectations are internalized (Ireson and Hallam, 1999, Gamoran, 1987). This implies that students of low ability in mixed ability classes are provided with low expectations if placed in same ability groups causing them feelings of inferiority. This is confirmed by Ansalone (2001) and Hallinan (1994) who demonstrated that children assigned to lower ability groups, are exposed to less and more simplified versions of the curriculum whereas high ability groups have broader and more challenging material covered. In this sense, Oakes (1992) and Wheelock (2005) support that educational benefits in mixed ability settings are not provided b y homogeneous grouping but rather by a challenging curriculum and high expectations. Research has accumulated evidence indicating that schooling tends to increase individual differences (Van der Veer and Valsiner, 1991). Homogeneous grouping seems to add more opportunities to advanced learners who are usually middle-class or upper-middle-class children, depriving pupils who already suffer from socio-economic segregation, or those who are learning less fast. Kozo seems to agree that homogeneous grouping damages not only low but also high-ability students as the latter who are usually the affluent children are not given any opportunities to learn the virtues of helping others or learning about unselfishness (Scherer, 1993). It is inferred that grouping students homogeneously for instruction on the mixed ability classes is one more advantage conferred on those who already enjoy many. Heterogeneous grouping Cooperative learning Heterogeneous grouping, that is gathering children of varying abilities in same groups has been proposed by many researchers as an effective strategy to promote academic development of students having diverse background knowledge and abilities. Brimfield, Masci and Defiore (2002) believe that all students deserve an academically challenging curriculum (p.15). So, our goal is to find a way to engage all pupils of the mixed ability classroom in the lesson irrespective of their abilities. The authors point out that by creating mixed-ability groups, we send the compelling message that everybody is expected to work at the highest possible level as high and low ability students deal with the same challenges. Disadvantaged pupils are at reduced risk of being stigmatized and exposed to a dumped-down curriculum in a mixed-ability setting. Teachers expectations for all pupils are maintained at higher levels and less able students have opportunities to be assisted by more able peers. It is assumed that heterogeneous grouping provides pupils access to more learning opportunities. Johnson and Johnson (1987) recommend assigning children of high, medium, and low abilities in the same group maximizing the heterogeneous make up of each group. Such ability diversity within the same group creates an effective learning environment (Manlove and Baker, 1995) providing learning opportunities for low-level students as well as opportunities to more advanced children to provide explanations to others revising, consolidating and using some things they have encountered before. The teachers can use cooperative tasks among high and low achievers of mixed ability groups or pairs in order to promote task engagement of all students in the mixed ability class as advanced children can provide explanations and guidance in carrying out a task. Cooperative tasks among high and low achievers are valued by the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky (1978). Pupils of mixed ability classes differ at their competence level and prior linguistic experiences. Vygotsky supports that children who are exposed to books and other out-of-school factors which contribute to linguistic development i.e .prior knowledge of English from private institutional instruction, are expected to have already run through a large part of their ZPD. On the other hand, pupils with poor literacy opportunities i.e. without prior knowledge of English may possess a larger Zone of Proximal Development (Van der Veer and Valsiner, 1991). So, they may benefit greatly from peer interactions which are likely to help low level students reach higher levels of performance. In this framework, Lyle (1999) showed that both low and high achieving students value the opportunity to work together as all pupils believed that they benefited. It was concluded that peer interactions can facilitate literacy development especially of low ability students. In this vein, Guralnick (1992) points out that social competence acquired in group work affects the elaboration of all students cognitive competencies, implying that both low and advanced learners of mixed ability classes may gain from such settings. The role of peer learning as contributing to language development has also been emphasized by Mize, Ladd and Price (1985) Webb (1989), Jacob et al (1996) and Slavin (1996). Rogoff (1993) refers to childrens social sharing of their cognition through interaction. When pupils participate in collective activities, they guide each others efforts. According to Tudge and Winterhoff (1993) advanced children give constant feedback through conversation forcing peers to strive for reaching higher levels of performance. Various studies have indicated a positive correlation between cooperative learning and achievement in mixed ability classes. For example, Walters (2000) asserts that cooperative learning is suitable for teachers dealing with increasingly diverse classrooms as it easily accommodates individual differences in achievement. Accordingly, Fulk and King (2001) support that class-wide peer tutoring improves all students learning. They add that serving in the role of tutor seems to be particularly beneficial for improving the self-esteem of students with low achievement while they may, for example, grade their partners reading. Therefore, it appears that CL may satisfy the needs of a mixed ability class. Studies conducted by Pica and Doughty (1985), Porter (1986), and Cotterall (1990) indicate that learners of different abilities produce more in mixed ability pair and group work by helping one another to overcome cognitive obstacles. This conclusion is consistent with Urzuas (1987) finding that the mixed ability children in the observational study conducted, appeared to have developed a sense of power in language through the process of working with trusted peers i.e. writing and revising. The benefits of cooperative learning are more tangible when it comes to written work. ODonnell et al (1985) found that involvement in cooperative dyads can improve the quality of students performance on a written task. Weak students of mixed ability classes can use advanced learners as sources of information, commenting on and critiquing each others drafts in both oral and written formats (Liu and Hansen, 2002). Rollinson (2005:25) attributes this phenomenon to the possibility that peer audiences are more sympathetic than the more distant teacher audience. Peer review groups are also favoured by Huot (2002) and Inoue (2005) and Cotterall and Cohen (2003) who showed the positive effects of scaffolding in mixed ability settings Cooperative activities such as group investigation are likely to encourage shy and low performance students since they have the advantage of requiring the participation of all group or pair members to carry out a task, allowing each member to do something according to ones abilities. Review of Literature Ability grouping can be carried out between-class or within-class (Dukmak 2009). Between-class ability grouping refers to a schools practice of forming classrooms that contains students of similar ability. Within-class grouping refers to a teacherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s practice of forming groups of students of similar ability within an individual class (Gamoran, 1992; Hollified, 1987) An extensive research has been conducted on ability grouping suggesting that academically, high-achieving students achieve and learn more when they are grouped with other high-achieving students (Gentry Owens, 2002; Grossen, 1996; Hollified, 1987; Page Keith, 1996). In mixed-ability grouping it is difficult to provide an adequate environment for teaching to everyone. Since students differ in knowledge, skills, developmental stage, and learning rate, one lesson might be easier for some students and more difficult for the others (Slavin, 1987b). In ability grouping, high-achieving students view their own abilities more realistically and feel that they are appropriately challenged with their peers (Fiedler, Lange, and Wine-Brenner, 2002). Mixed-ability grouping is based on cooperative learning which demonstrates positive success related to students achievement. In this type of grouping, students work collaboratively to successfully achieve a desired educational outcome and develop a greater understanding and respect for individual differences. All forms of diversity within the learning environment are embraced (Felder Brent, 2001; Freeman, 1993; Saleh, Lazonder, DeJong, 2005). Moreover, in a mixed-ability, teachers respond to the individualized needs of all learners (Kulik Kulik, 1992). The most compelling argument against ability grouping is the creation of academic elites a practice which goes against democratic ideals (Slavin, 1987a). Johnson and Johnson (1999) and Johnson, Johnson and Smith (1998) say that cooperative learning has five basic elements. The elements are positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, appropriate use of social skills, and periodic processing of how to improve the effectiveness of the group (Johnson Johnson 1999 ).When these elements are properly implemented, the research has shown that group collaboration in the classroom can increase learning and achievement, social skills, self-esteem, and attitudes toward classmates and school (Slavin, 1990 as cited in Webb, Nemer Zuniga 2002). Placing students in teams or cooperative learning groups has many advantages. It helps to build a students communication skills, can help increase tolerance and the acceptance of diversity, promotes higher level reasoning, promotes increased generation of new ideas, promotes greater transfer of information from one situation to another, increases retention, builds teamwork ski lls, reduces stress, and increased willingness to attempt challenging tasks (Baker Campbell, 2005; Huss, 2006; Lin, 2006; Payne Monk-Turner, 2006; Patrick, Bangel, Jeon 2005; Kim 2004; Vaughn, 2002; Johnson Johnson, 1999; Johnson, Johnson Smith, 1998; Slavin, 1996). The cooperative learning experience also [gives] students the opportunity to review and learn information that they did not understand before the cooperative learning activity (Webb, 2002). According to Lin (2006, ), research has concluded that cooperative learning is the top ranked teaching model that promotes greater higher-order thinking, problem solving, and achievement. Students can remember 75-90% of materials when they learn it in cooperative learning situations (Lin, 2006). In a survey of college students after an experiment involving group work, Payne and Monk-Turner (2006) found that 90% of students favored group work and that 90% learned from their group members. Since 1924, 168 studies have been conducted that compare cooperative learning to competitive and individual learning. These studies have shown that cooperative learning yields higher academic achievement than individual and competitive learning (Johnson, Johnson Smith, 1998). Cooperative learning groups are also said to be particularly beneficial to low academic achieving students and students of color (Huss, 2006; Vaughn, 2002). Cooperative learning groups appear to be successful for many reasons. Students become an instrumental part of the group when they feel their efforts will contribute to the success of the group (Baker Campbell, 2005). Students are successful and learn in cooperative learning groups because [they] learn by doing rather than listening (Payne, Monk-Turner, Smith 2006 ) and because they are actively using the material and information (Zimbardo, Butler, Wolfe, 2003). Cooperative learning also strengthens students social interactions, it gives them the desire to achieve, [to develop] more positive interpersonal relationships, and [have] greater psychological health than competitive or individualistic learning efforts (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1994 as cited in Morgan, 2003, ). Cooperative learning can teach students that (a) that knowledge can be, or should be, shared with fellow students; (b) that differences in opinion can be rationally negotiated even under conditions of test pressur es; and (c) that cooperative learning procedures can be enjoyable and productive (Zimbardo et al., 2003, ). These types of lessons enable students to learn how to work well with others. The interdependent relationships that develop within a group help to facilitate the groups success. Everyone feels the goal of the group will be met if everyone achieves their individual goals (Vaughn, 2002; Morgan, 2004). According to Morgan (2004), group members should also be aware of the fact that a single group member can affect how and/or if the goal is achieved. The cooperative learning experience is most effective when the participants work well together and they successfully achieve their goal. There are many characteristics to successful teams. Some of these characteristics include open communication, effectively listening, open-mindedness, clear roles, an established leader, clearly defined tasks, teamwork where everyone works together and contributes, there are well developed attainable goals (Payne, Monk-Turner, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005), and a timeline (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006). In a classroom, there are also many things a teacher can do to help insure the success of a group activity. The teacher should provide strong guidance (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005), model the desired behavior, provide immediate feedback, and reward desired behavior (Lin, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005). The teacher can also use checks and balances to monitor productivity, employ various problem solving strategies (Friend Cook, 2007), leng then the amount of time the group spends together, provide proper group behavior training, establish ground rules (Mitchell, Reilly, Bramwell, 2004) and allow group members rate each other (Lin, 2006). If the teacher monitors, provides rewards and allows the students to rate each other, it may reduce the effects of a slacker and keep students from getting a grade they do not deserve (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006). Students that slack off can demotivate hard working students and give them a negative feeling about group work (Ashraf, 2004). Many studies have been conducted that demonstrate the success of teaming. Robert Slavin has conducted extensive research on the implementation of cooperative learning models in schools. He has examined the effects schools becoming complete cooperative learning centers on their academic achievement. He has found many successful situations where lower performing schools were transformed because they converted to a cooperative learning format (Slavin, 1999 22-23). Payne and Monk Turner (2006) conducted a study that examined how students felt about teams. In this study, they assigned students to groups, gave them an assignment, and then asked them how they felt about the assignment after the group project was completed. They found that 90% of the students had a favorable experience, 90% of the students learned from their group members, and 85% of the students felt they learned teaming skills that could be transcended into business. Baker and Campbell (2005) conducted a study in which stu dents were placed in groups and observed that the students who worked in groups, as opposed to working individually, were more successful because they had more access to knowledge, they felt pressured to succeed to keep the group from failing, and the various personalities helped alleviate the stress of the problems. For example a member often told jokes to help lesson the tension. Additionally, members often provided positive reinforcement and motivation. Placing students in groups to take tests is another way to use cooperative learning and group work. Morgan examined the benefits and nonbenefits of college students completing exams using cooperative learning groups. She concluded that The increased depth of understanding, the feelings of support, respect for others contributions, and the clarification of information produced more students with a greater awareness of the material and more developed social skills to be contributing members of teams (Morgan, 2004 ). The understanding of successful cooperative learning group models not only affects groups in grade school; it also affects groups in jobs and college. According to Payne, Monk-Turner, and Smith (2006) employers want college graduates that have developed teamwork skills. Miglietti (2002) says that group work is commonly used in the workplace and employers want to hire people with these skills. Furthermore, these skills can be learned when student

Off Balance Sheet Accounting

Off balance sheet financing is financing from sources other than debt or equity offerings, such as joint ventures, research and development partnership and operating leases. For complex institutions such as banks, they increase their use of off shore subsidiaries and swap transactions to avoid disclosing liabilities. In other words, off balance sheet accounting is a process which a business creates what is practically a debt that it must pay off, but the debt is accounted as another type of transaction that does not count as a liability. Similarly, this applies to asset too.Operating leasing is the most common form of off balance sheet financing. With leasing, on the one hand, an entity could acquire the right to use an asset through a rental agreement. On the other hand, the entity could purchase the same asset using external finance. While the two arrangements may result in identical net cash flows to the entity, in the case of a purchase both the asset and the associated financing obligation appear on the entity’s balance sheet whereas in the formal scenario rental payments are accounted for as a period expense, with the asset corresponding liability omitted from the entity’s balance sheet.Entities used Special Purpose Entities (SPE), are also known as Variable Interest Entities (VIE) for off balance sheet treatment of deals. SPE or VIE is a corporation or partnership formed for the purpose of borrowing money to buy financial assets. Debts are move to a newly created company (SPE OR VIE) specifically to make a company look like it has far less debt than it actually does, which was the case with Enron. For example, a company needs to finance a business venture but doesn’t want to take on the risk, or when there is too much debt to get a loan.By starting a new SPE, they can secure a loan through the new entity. There are situations where it makes sense to start a SPE. If a company wants to branch out into another area outside of its core b usiness, a SPE will keep that risk from affecting the main balance sheet and profitability of the company. The main factor that companies are doing off balance sheet accounting is to provide a better looking balance sheet with lower reported debt to equity ratio, which usually results in driving their stock price higher. Nevertheless, omission of the asset could help to inflate return on assets.This may make the firms look more creditworthy. For instance, by having operating leases, debt does not appear; thus, reducing financial leverage with an increase in operating leverage. By having lower leverage ratio or higher operating leverage, it could attract more investments from investors; therefore, it drives up the stock prices. Next, off balance sheet accounting allows the firms to receive benefits of the interest deduction for tax purposes while avoiding the obligation and the interest expense on its financial statements.In other words, firms with off balance sheet financing are lik ely to have tax interest expense that exceeds financial reporting interest expense. However, off balance sheet accounting has brought some impacts toward the stakeholders. Off balance sheet accounting removes the transparency from investors, markets and regulators. Firms use financial engineering to make their balance sheet appear that they are better capitalized and less risky than they really are. Without transparency, investors and regulators can no longer accurately assess risks.This is because investors and regulators use the balance sheet as an anchor in their assessment of risk. The shareholders could only guess at the extent of the firm’s exposure risks. This affects the judgment of stakeholders; and, it could bring tremendous loss to the stakeholders when the firms collapse. The Enron accounting fraud will best illustrate this. In order to overcome this issue, regulators have established several methods through Sarbanes-Oxley Act, MD&A as well as new rules on leasing .The Securities and Exchange Commission issues final rules implementing Section 401(a) of the Act relating to the disclosure of off balance sheet arrangement, contractual obligation and contingent liabilities. These rules require disclosure of off balance sheet arrangement that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on a company’s condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.The disclosure includes elements such as the nature and business purposes to the company of the off balance sheet arrangement and the importance to the reporting company of the liquidity, capital resources, market risk support, credit risk support or other benefits provided by the arrangement. Nonetheless, firms are to disclose the amounts of revenues, expenses and cash flows of the company arising from the arrangements as well as the nature and amounts of interest retained, securities issued and other debt incurred by the company in connection with the arrangements.The rules also require public companies to disclose in a tabular format in their MD&A the amounts of payments due under specified contractual obligations, aggregated by category of contractual obligation. The five categories of contractual obligations, consisting of long term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations and other long term debt liabilities reflected on the company’s balance sheet. The table must disclose what portion of payments under these obligations is due within less than one year, from one to three years, from three to five years and more than five years.To encourage the disclosure on off balance sheet arrangement, the amended rules include a safe harbor that applies the existing statutory safe harbors protecting forward-looking information required by the rules. With regard to the disclosure of off balance sheet arrangements, the safe harbor provision indicates that the meaningful cautionary statements element of the statutory safe harbor will be satisfied if the company satisfies all the requirements of the amended rules relating to off balance sheet disclosures.As mentioned above, operating leases can be exploited by entities for off-balance sheet financing – using an operating lease to obtain assets, thereby not increasing leverage and not decreasing return on assets. The proposed new standard on leases by the joint project of FASB and IASB, currently under development, moves away from the current â€Å"risk and returns† basis to a â€Å"right of use basis†. The lessee and the lessor will recognize assets and liabilities individually for all rights and obligations arising from a lease contract.There will no longer be separate treatments for operating and finance leases – all leases will be accounted for on the same basis. In short, operat ing leasing contract is no longer available and only finance leasing will be used for accounting in the near future. In short, off balance sheet accounting could be use but only with appropriate disclosures are done. By having the disclosures, balance sheet is more transparent to the stakeholders; and, the stakeholders do not need to have a wild guess on the risk of a company. Stakeholders’ investments are said to be more secured.