Praise

Professional practice-rewards and sanctions essay The use of praise within the primary classroom will use this essay to analyses the effective and destructive often harmful use of praise as a reward system within the primary classroom. Firstly it is important to explain what a reward system actually is In terms of a primary classroom, According to the universal Dictionary, (19981†² a reward is â€Å"something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior†.A reward system therefore, is a system adopted by either a class teacher, adult or as a whole school ethos for the delivery of rewards or positive academic or social behavior during the school day. From experience, the reward scheme does not have to finish at the end of the school day and can extend into what children achieve during their own time, whether this is through commendations or simply through public use of praise, perhaps in an assembly, as a form of verbal reward.All reward systems are based around the principal of two forms of praise; these are either extrinsic motivators; these tend to be based around variations of the token economy, or intrinsic motivators. Praise as a system in its own eight falls into the intrinsic motivators category as there is no extrinsic or token reward' physically given to the children. â€Å"Intrinsic motivation occurs when we act without any obvious external rewards. We simply enjoy an activity or see It as an opportunity to explore, learn and actualities our potentials. † Con et al (2010).Praise is a crucial part of all reward systems whether intrinsic or extrinsic, but praise can be a reward system on its own. When praise is used as a reward system within a primary school classroom, according to Sutherland, et al (2002) â€Å"praise is positively related to Intrinsic motivation among students† which Is linked directly to the SHE strands of the National Primary Curriculum and the idea of fostering a culture of intrinsic motivation to ac hieve both academically and within normal social parameters is a cornerstone of primary education.Sutherland argument can be applied to the theory of praise as an Intrinsic reward system, suggesting praise may be a practical method by which to nurture a self-perpetuating cycle of growth, reinforcement and self-worth amongst primary school aged children. Sutherland argument is given rather vigor by Trustees, (2008) who suggested â€Å"a ratio of 4:1 positive to negative feedback has an optimal effect on students learning and behavior†, however according to Episcopate, J, et al (201 1), â€Å"little research has examined the effects of training teachers to provide specific ratio of praise to behavior correction within the classroom setting. Trellis's reasoning does seem to make logical sense and other research does reach similar generic conclusions. Usual (2008) recommended a ratio of six or eight positive to one negative within adult-student interactions, which is an embellis hment of Trellis's theory. Before the government draw up new plans to train all adults within the classroom to work towards these ratios, it should be considered that more research Into the effectiveness and also practicality of these ratios needs to take place.Within the primary classroom setting the practical application of ratios for positive to negative comments is potentially unfeasible and targets which would in effect render the praise worthless as a becomes more of a token gesture rather than an intrinsic reward for a Job well done. Sutherland argument for praise being used to develop intrinsic motivation within children of the remarry age bracket, relies upon positive reinforcement which has to be implemented by the class teacher using a best practice model, with a high ratio of praise-to-behavior correction technique.Clinics-Ross et al, (2008) states that â€Å"classrooms in which teachers use higher rates of reprimand and other reactive strategies tend to have higher rat es of student miss-behavior. † This demonstrates how praise is far more effective a tool that reprimand within behavior management of a primary classroom. Furthermore, as the earlier ratios imply, reprimands can be far more damaging to a child's self-esteem and academic confidence then even over SE of praise.If reprimands are used too often this could possibly lead to children becoming disengaged with learning and also foster lack of self-belief within children. Teachers need to be consistent with their approach to praise. According to Cooley, S (2001) there are basic rules to behavior management which includes consistency as well as others†¦ â€Å"Be definite ‘l know what I want. ‘ Be aware ‘l know what will happen if I don't get what I want. ‘ Be calm and consistent ‘l am always fair and consistent with you. ‘ Give them structure ‘I know where we're going. ‘ Be positive you're doing great!These rules, when applied to the classroom environment along with goal setting to increase the chance for praise and performance, will give teachers the opportunity to use praise effectively to manage behavioral expectations and academic achievement within their classroom. In order to use praise effectively however, there are other considerations that the teacher must apply to each individual class, and undeniably each individual child. Conceivably the most important consideration is that children need to Want' to receive praise. Without this ‘need', praise is an ineffective reward.Potentially there are various reasons why children might not want to receive praise from a class teacher or indeed any other adult in the classroom. According to Docking, J (2002) â€Å"the age of the child, whether the recipient is a boy or a girl, whether the praise is for work or conduct, and with the teacher is in charge of a whole class or Just a small group or an individual† are all variables that could hypothetically lead to praise not working as a reward for an individual child's behavior, or actually being totally or partially ineffective as a behavioral management technique.According to Brakeman, E et al (2013)†¦ Many adults use praise as 'emotional nourishment' for children, in an attempt to help children feel better about themselves. Adults might therefore be especially likely to praise those children who seem to need it the most – children with low self-esteem. † This strategy could have unexpected side-effects for any child with low self-esteem, whether that be directly or indirectly related to his or her academic achievement.Brakeman goes on to discuss in his study how children with low self-esteem are, when exposed to a specific type of praise, potentially predisposed to feeling ashamed following allure. Evidently any child feeling any feelings of inferiority, shame or vulnerability as a direct result of praise being used, would be highly counter-productive within the mind adults need to exercise caution when selecting the correct type of praise for the individual child.A teacher will have the choice to differentiate between two distinct types of praise that could impact each child in very differing ways, both positively and negatively. Of the two types of praise the first is person praise, (praise for personal qualities or directed towards children's abilities) and the second type of praise is recess praise, (praise directed towards a child's effort). Brakeman states that â€Å"person praise contributes to a self-perpetuating downward spiral of self- derogation. This demonstrates that, in children with low self-esteem, the link between praise and conditional regard could be a self-replicating issue in that the more praise the receive the more they will avoid it. This is linked with Gamins & Deck, (1999) â€Å"Person praise may trigger these children's feelings of conditional regard and consequently makes them feel unworthy following failure. à ¢â‚¬  With this in mind, praise when used as a general reward system could potentially lead to a detrimental undermining of some children self-esteem, thus undermining the very nature of a reward system.This point is not to say that teachers should not praise children. In actual fact the research of Hindering & Leper (2002) suggests that process praise is actually beneficial for children's academic motivation. This point is also made by Mueller & Deck (1998) â€Å"praise for effort may help children persist in the face of academic failure. † The general agreement between the different research papers is that any adults issuing praise needs to carefully consider the individual before making any public or indeed private praise.This theory seems to be related directly to the idea of process praise as discussed by Brakeman et al. There is a large proportion of academic research and Journal articles that points towards using process praise in a responsible manner to great effect within the primary classroom. Process praise is described within the literature as to being highly beneficial not only in promoting good academic results, but also in promoting academic resilience amongst children. Academic resilience is of vital importance so that children learn from their mistakes as opposed to being deterred by them.This appears to be in contrast to the general consensus centered around person praise, as it is widely regarded as damaging for children, especially those with low self-esteem to be the recipients of too much person praise, as it can lead to a self-perpetuating downward spiral in both their attitude towards learning and their academic progress. This general statement can only be described as true within children who already are predisposed to low self-esteem. The research of Burlingame implies that children with high self-esteem will benefit from both kinds of praise.From experience forever children with high self-esteem are often praised perhaps too frequently, this can lead to an almost extrinsic motivation effect whereby the children see the praise being given as an extrinsic reward thus fostering a completely unintentional ethos within the classroom or indeed the whole school, whereby children expect to be praised and could potentially end up conditioned to only continue working or behaving to a consistently high standard when praise is being handed out periodically by the class teacher.This adverse effect needs to be avoided; teachers should note â€Å"praise, like penicillin, must not be administered haphazardly. Ignition (1965) Another consideration the teachers when attempting to decide how to give indeed an even more desirable effect could be achieved through non-verbal praise. Non-verbal praise could take on the form of a simple smile, a thumbs-up from across the classroom or even a note quietly written on a student piece of work. Non-verbal forms of praise can be highly useful when dealing with children of low self-e steem countering the issues created from person praise.Non-verbal cues also play a crucial role in communication; according to Spark (2013) furthermore they are especially important when interpreting ambiguous verbal messages. As such non-verbal forms of praise and communication are an important tool when differentiating praise as a reward system for individual members of a whole class. Having reviewed the current academic theories surrounding praise as a reward system, looking at both the positives and negatives associated with praise as a system I can draw several conclusions.The first of which is that praise as an intrinsic reward system is key in fostering a culture of motivation to achieve both academically and socially within primary school children. This is drawn from Sutherland research stating that praise is positively related to intrinsic motivation among students†. The counterarguments raised predominantly by Brakeman are also highly compelling, as they appear to co ndemn the use of some aspects of praise.The issues that can arise when praise is used inappropriately within the primary classroom, as well as the unexpected side-effects for children with low self-esteem mean that praise can sometimes have a seemingly paradoxical effect. This is summarized by Spark, et al (2013) who states†¦ â€Å"Blame after failure sometimes leads to the impression that the recipient has a high ability. In contrast praise after success can lead to an inference of lower ability. † Kappa's research links in with the theories of Brakeman because person praise is the style of praise that would be linked to the inference of lower ability.Process praise however, which can be generically given across the different ability groups, has no such inferences. Pomeranian, M et al (2013) also raise an interesting point that seems to condemn praise when used inappropriately†¦ â€Å"The more personal praise mothers used, the more children subsequently held an en tity theory of intelligence and avoided challenge over and above their earlier functioning n these dimensions† far from praise encouraging children in their attempts to challenge and better themselves, person praise appears to detrimentally affect children's academic drive.If Pomeranian, M is to be believed then all teaching and support staff should adopt a system whereby praise is used sparingly and also in a manner that avoids person praise. Furthermore, process praise should be used throughout the class without highlighting different ability groups. In this manner the paradoxical effect discussed by Spark could be avoided. In practice the literature seems to suggest that simply using praise on its own as a reward system is not efficient to develop children's own intrinsic reward systems and develop and ethos of intrinsic motivation both academically and socially.

Literary Translation as a Creative Act Essay

Literary translation implies the translation of all genres of literature, which include prose, drama and poetry. Literature is described as ‘an apparently nebulous body of knowledge in oral or written form, an imitation of life, which reflects civilization and culture, and which covers every angle of human activities-culture, tradition, entertainment, information among others. ‘ It is one of the great creative and universal means of communicating the emotional, spiritual and intellectual concerns of humankind. Literary translation has to do with translating texts written in a literary language, which abounds in ambiguities, homonyms and arbitrariness, as distinct from the language of science or that of administration. Literary language is highly connotative and subjective because each literary author is lexically and stylistically idiosyncratic and through his power of imagination, he uses certain literary techniques such as figures of speech, proverbs and homonyms through which he weaves literary forms. The literary translator is therefore the person who concerns himself with translation of literary texts. A literary translator generally respects good writing by taking into account the language, structures, and content, whatever the nature of the text. The literary translator participates in the author’s creative activity and then recreates structures and signs by adapting the target language text to the source language text as closely as intelligibility allows. He needs to assess not only the literary quality of the text but also its acceptability to the target reader, and this should be done by having a deep knowledge of the cultural and literary history of both the Source and the Target Languages. Language and culture are closely related and one is indispensable to the other. In fact, language acquires its meaning from the country’s culture. A single language may cross several culture borders. There are generally problems in the translation of cultural words in a literary text unless there is a cultural overlap between the source language and the target language. It is not enough for a translator to know what words are used in the target language; he must also make the reader understand the sense as it is understood by the reader of the original. For instance, in a text where there is a cultural focus, there can be translation problems due to the cultural gap between the source and the target languages. The meaning of a single word or expression is largely derived from its culture. Therefore, translation, being a simple linguistic process, a cultural understanding comes into play because the translator is supposed to produce equivalence and where this does not exist, problems occur. The translator is expected to creatively exploit the altered cultural, linguistic and literary context in order to realize the different potentials of the target language in an act or literary creation since translation is an intercultural activity. Linguistically, each language has its own metaphysics, which determines the spirit of a nation and its behavioral norms, and this is what is known as linguistic relativity. Language directs our intellect and even our sensory perception. Since words or images may vary considerably from one group to another, the translator needs to pay attention to the style, language and vocabulary peculiar to the two languages in question in order to produce an ‘exact’ translation of the source language text. Thus while translating something from a language to other, the sense and the behavior of the sentence gets changed obscurely. So as to carry the that sense and the behavior of the sentence the original author meant, the translator himself need to be creative, with a good knowledge of both languages, the one translating to and from.

Functions of Water Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Functions of Water - Assignment Example Water can be got from any drink but more so from milk and water itself. Vegetables are the other types of food that contain a lot of water and hence encouraged to be eaten regularly. Fruits also fall into that category of containing a lot of food. These include fruits such as watermelons and apples which are juicy. This, therefore, means that people should be aware of the type of food they eat in order to ensure they have a lot of water in their body to sustain them even if they cannot drink a lot of water. People are encouraged to take in a lot of fruits and vegetables (Houston and Robin 24). There is no specific amount of water an individual should take. The amount of water needed as it depends on the age of the individual and the amount of water the individual’s body can take. The intake will also depend on the activities one in the undertaking, the weather among other things. The recommended amount is around eight glasses of water daily but this is not a fixed number. People know their ability to take in water and as long as they ensure they drink a reasonable amount of water that can sustain their body as well as eating foods containing water, they are good. The lack of enough water in the body leads to a condition known as dehydration which is also known as water deficiency. This happens when the rate of water intake is minimal compared to the amount being lost and especially during physical exercises or in warm weather. The symptoms include dry mouth, poor skin, breathing shallows, eyes sunken, weakness, exhaustion and even going into a coma for really severe cases. Kidneys and other body organs can also begin shutting down due to the lack of water in the cells and blood. One fact is that if one drinks too much water and too quickly for that matter it can lead to water intoxication where the water will dilute the sodium in the blood causing an imbalance in the brain.  

Define the major flora of the different regions of the human body and Essay

Define the major flora of the different regions of the human body and discuss the methods employed in preventing both exogenous and endogenous wound contamination - Essay Example The mutualistic tendencies these microorganisms exhibit aid in the protection of the individual’s immune system, respiratory system, and even gut (Price & Frey 2003, p. 67). This is especially when it comes to fighting off pathogens. However, they can also cause diseases when not properly monitored. Exogenous and endogenous infections occur as a result of the presence of these microorganisms. Exogenous infections occur when pathogens enter the body through portals such as the respiratory, intestinal, and even reproductive areas. Endogenous infections often occur as a result of the patient’s distorted resistance (immune). Some of the methods implemented to deal with exogenous infections include; sterilization, cleaning, and disinfection (Gruendemann & Mangum 2001, p. 43). In doing some of these operations, it is easier to reduce the manner in which an individual is exposed to a harmful external environment. A technique used to deal with endogenous infections includes; skin preparation, where the patient undergoes thorough screening to determine whether the skin may act as a contaminant or not. Antibiotic prophylaxis is also another method where the surroundings of the patient are treated to reduce or eliminate contamination (Gloster 2010, p.

The use, abuse and misuse of performance enhancing drugs including Research Paper

The use, abuse and misuse of performance enhancing drugs including painkillers in sports - Research Paper Example This normally involves a series of workouts and hard training programs, which may make some of these athletes to turn to performance enhancing drugs (Barr, n.d). Traditional training methods involved by any sports athletes includes keeping on a strict diet of healthy foods and drinks that trainers prescribes, daily and routing work outs on their skills and training sessions to help keep their bodies fit. Some of these athletes turn to performance enhancing drugs to help them improve their performance in the field, or to get faster results in sports without lots of training. In addition, these drugs may be prescribed for medicinal use to athletes, but contain some chemicals that enhance the performance of the athlete unknowingly. The athlete acquires others for the sole purpose of enhancing their performance in the field (Orchard et al., 2006). The need to use drugs by athletes has been researched by Coleman and in an article by Prince (2007), whereby he states that an athlete’ s choice to use drugs is based on some of the following factors. First the athlete may use performance enhancing drugs due to cultural, social policy or attitudes and policing. This implies that the athlete’s cultures and norms may prompt him/her to use the drugs in order to fulfill gain acceptance in their culture. Secondly, environmental factors that includes conditioning, learning and life events, in which the athlete grows in and tries to emulate in sports. Thirdly, athlete’s interpersonal relationship with peers and family members may influence their use of performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, being from a family of athletes or working under the shadow of high performing athletes in the family or society may make them use these drugs to enhance their own performance. Another factor is at an intrapersonal, where the athlete develops cognitively feeling inferior, hence may use performance enhancing drugs to achieve high levels of performance. In addition, with al l these factors in place, the choice of use, abuse or misuse of performance enhancing drugs by any athlete comes to a matter of choice. Athletes use performance-enhancing drugs because in many cases they seek an easy way to achieve maximum performance, with minimum effort. Moreover, they feel that if they use these drugs they shall get a winning edge over their competition. As Coleman relates drive in profit, gaining techniques is the main driving force for any athlete to use performance-enhancing drugs. He clarifies that the athlete has a choice to choose between hard training and work or use performance enhancing drugs. Since benefits of using the drugs outweigh the bad, they turn to these drugs for an extra edge. In addition, athletes have the urge to get socially recognized and approved, and are mainly driven by the rational choice and force to succeed and break records in the fields influence their use of these drugs (Prince, 2007). Increase of use and misuse of performance enh ancing drugs has led to the formation of the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) to combat this in sports world wide. This agency later gave the criteria in which a drug is considered as illegal for use in any sports (Gerrard, 2005). The first criteria is that any drugs that performance enhancing to any athletes or gives them extra help over the other violates this rule. Secondly, it is stated that any drug that is deemed to cause health

Important Sex Linked Disorder That Affects Humans Assignment

Important Sex Linked Disorder That Affects Humans - Assignment Example Crossing a female with the disease with a male that doesn’t have it will result in all male offspring having the disease and all females being carriers. Finally, crossing a female and a male both that have the disease will result in all offspring having it. Many genetic disorders are inherited recessively. As such the child must have two copies of the allele for it to show phenotypically. One such disorder is cystic fibrosis. This condition results in the excess build up of mucus in many organs including the lungs and liver, as well as increased susceptibility to developing infections. Without treatment, the disease often results in death at early childhood. A cross between a female carrier (Cc) and a male with the disease (CC) would result in 50% of the offspring having the disease, and the other 50% being carriers. A cross between two carriers (Cc) would result in a quarter of the offspring having the disease, half being carriers and the final quarter not inheriting the alle le. Lastly, a cross between two individuals with the disease would result in all of the offspring having the disease. ... Thus, a cross between two carriers (heterozygotes) would result in three-quarters of the offspring having the disease and one not. A cross between a female that did not have the disease and a male carrier (heterozygote) would result in half of the offspring having the disease and the other half not. Finally, a cross between two individuals with the disease depends on the genotypes of each. If both have only one copy of the disease allele, the one-quarterer of their offspring will not have the disease. However, if even one of them is homozygous, then all offspring will have the disease.

The Value of my fee Dollars Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Value of my fee Dollars - Research Paper Example at the initial stage, and revenue account for meeting repetitive expenses like salaries, maintenance, student grants/concessions etc. plus projects involving capital expenditure but financed by revenue receipts. Initial capital expenditure is met by raising funds from investors, while revenue expenditure is met by the fees paid by students. Laws enacted under the Utah Constitution provide for issue of bonds for higher education capital projects. For example, Chapter 22, Section 107 deals with ‘class room/physical education facility’ and Section 109 deals with ‘science/major industry building’ for Salt Lake College Community (Utah Code, 2010). chemicals, toiletry etc., to name a few, and these are used by the staff and students. Common facilities like libraries, auditoria, stadia and student/staff rooms require regular upkeep and maintenance. Repair and maintenance of buildings, laboratories and other facilities forms another important item of routine expenditure in order that these facilities are maintained properly and kept up-to-date to attract both faculty and students. One important part of the fee structure in my University is the component that is set apart to service the debt obligations – payment of principal and interest components. The State Board of Regents is authorized to issue revenue bonds on behalf of the Salt Lake College Community to finance ‘construction and maintenance of major capital facilities’ and ‘capital projects of auxiliary enterprises’ under Sections 107 and 109 of Chapter 22 of the Utah Constitution (Utah Code). Such projects are financed by the student building fees, net auxiliary operating revenues and interest earned (Director, Accounts). As explained by the Director, Accounts, the total fee paid by a student includes among other things, fees for tuition, building debt, technology, athletics, transport, activity etc. My college raised funds by issuing revenue

Colonialism in Ukraine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Colonialism in Ukraine - Essay Example As the study outlines that the Ukrainan Hetman BohdanKhmelnytsky signed a treaty with Muscovy which had the effect of causing Ukraine to lose its independence and engage in a colonial unification with Russia that was to eventually last for over 300 years. According to the Soviet propaganda that was spread after the signing of this treaty, the PereyaslavskaRada essentially crowned the constant strife by the Ukrainian people that wished to eventually be together with the Russian people. In the same vein, the Ukrainian Hetman Khmelnytsky was regarded by the propaganda as being the treaty’s principle architect and was as such as the champion and hero of the unbreakable union. However, despite the rosy acclaim that the PereyaslavskaRada and Khmelnytsky received from the Soviet propaganda, Khmelnytsky was regarded by some as having been a traitor to Ukraine’s national interests while others still regarded him as being a victim of the devious policies that were being enforced by Russia. From this study it is clear that Russia’s colonies such as Ukraine did not generally take the form of the colonies obtained by other countries as the United Kingdom. As opposed to the coloniesoftoehrcountries, Russia’s colonies were not overseas possessions that were populated by people with different cultures and different skin colors. When Russia colonized Ukraine, its treatment of Ukraine is seen to have been rather paradigmatic for how it treated all its colonies that it usually referred to as its near-abroads. When Ukraine was colonized by Russia, it was officially not recognized as having a separate nationality, instead, Russia moved to ban the usage of the Ukrainian language and stopped Ukrainian children from being taught the language in school. In addition to tis the Ukrainian churches were all force to comply with the orthodox Russian religious norms or go underground.

Chinas economic rise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Chinas economic rise - Essay Example The rise of the economy of a country means a stable increase in the economic growth of the country for a considerable period of time. By economic growth, we mean the increase in the gross domestic product of the country that in turn means increase in the production of overall sectors of the economy with some sectors contributing more to the growth than the others. Economic growth of a country can even occur with the increase in the key inputs of production mainly labor and capital, which helps in boosting up the productivity that result in the increase in the total production of the country. Increase in the income level of country can also boost up sector wise economic growth. A continuous increase in the real per capita income or output of a country can also be termed as economic growth as it increases the standard of living of the individuals of the country. When a country experiences significant economic growth, the international credit rating of that particular nation increases a nd it is generally said that there occurs an economic rise in the country. Thus in ultimate words it can be concluded that rise in the economy of a country imply a positive breakthrough in the flow of the economy. (Economic growth, 2008: Rise, 2011: Adelman, 1961, p1) The economy of China is experiencing an accelerating growth over the decade and soon from a mere underdeveloped country, it will reach the economic growth rate similar to the developed economies of the world if not more. The economy of the country since its liberalization and open up of the market economy is experiencing a growth rate of 10% per year approximately which increases with the advent of the twenty first century and expected to double itself in the next few years. According to Albert Keidel (2007) by the year 2040, the rapid economic growth of the country will soon overcome that of the United States in terms of the overall gross domestic product of the country. The rise of the economy of the country to a maj or economic power within a period of about twenty-eight years from a stagnant and poor economy can be termed as one of the greatest economic success of the modern time. The economic rise of the country has made it the second largest economy of the world and it could reach the highest position within a decade. According to many economists, the economic growths of the country have been mainly due to the significant increase in the productivity of the country that again resulted from the market reforms undertaken by the government of the country. The market reform of the eighties emphasizes on reduction in the role of the state control or the public sector of the economy and the increase in the ownership and the control by the private enterprises of the economy. Moreover, the country’s policy of opening up the market to international trade also significantly contributed to the gain or increase in the productivity of the country that further resulted in the growth of the economy. Thus, liberalization and privatization are the main cause behind the economic rise of the country in the recent decade. (Elwell, Labonte, Morrison, 2007: Keidel 2007) Three historical rise of the country The economy of the country had also experience modest growth before the year 1937 and according to some economist the country before the modern period thrice in the future have the experience of being the most powerful and prosperous country among the neighboring regions. The country gains prosperity during the first bureaucratic rule of Qin-Han unification. The country had the experience of the second period of prosperity at the time of reunification of Sui-tang. Before the modern period the third and the perhaps the most powerful rise of the country was at the period of reconstruction and the reinforcement of the Confucian tradition as the new orthodoxy in the country. It was the time of the Ming and the Qing dynasties. The rise of the country in these historical periods differs significantly from the rise of the cou

Corruption in Police Services Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corruption in Police Services - Research Paper Example This paper tells that police corruption has augmented noticeably with the unlawful cocaine business, with officials acting on their own or in various groups to steal money from traders or dealing out cocaine themselves. Corruption inside police units falls into two essential groups, which are outdoor corruption and interior corruption. For a corrupt action to take place, three different fundamentals of police corruption must be present all together, namely misuse of power, misuse of official ability and misuse of personal achievement. It can be said that authority certainly lean to corrupt and it is yet to be acknowledged that, while there is no cause to presume that policemen as persons are any fewer imperfect than other people of the civilization, people are often surprised and annoyed when police officials are uncovered while defying the law. The reason is simple, as their deviance draws out an unusual sensation of disloyalty.  Nearly all readings sustain the examination that co rruption is widespread, if not common, in police units. The risk of corruption for police is that it might upset the official objectives of the society and may guide the employ of organizational control to persuade and generate crime rather than to prevent it. Common police deviance can consist of cruelty, unfairness, sexual stalking, intimidation and illegal use of armaments. However, it is not mainly apparent where cruelty, unfairness and bad behavior ends and corruption starts. Basically, police corruption plunges into two main groups, outdoor corruption, which consists of police links with the general public, and inner corruption, which occupies the relations amongst police official inside the police department. The outdoor corruption usually consists of one or more of the subsequent activities, payoffs to police by effectively non illegal factors who fail to obey with severe acts or city laws for instance, individuals who frequently defy traffic rules, secondly, payoffs to poli ce by individuals who repeatedly defy the law as a way of generating money for instance, prostitutes, narcotics addicts, dealers and skilled robbers, lastly, "clean graft," where money is paid to police for services they offer or where politeness concessions are specified as a matter of course to the police. A scandal is supposed for both as a publicly build up happening and as a driving force of alteration that can direct to realignments in the formation of power within organizations.  New York, for example, has had more than a half dozen foremost scandals about its police unit in a century. It was the Knapp Commission in 1972 that originally brought consideration to the NYPD when they unconfined the outcome of over two years of inquiries of supposed corruption.  

Ethical Decision making by School Principals Essay Example for Free

Ethical Decision making by School Principals Essay Principals are faced with the challenge of managing schools and there is need for them to be ethical, respectful, inspiring, creative and knowledgeable about methods of instruction and the culture of the school and curriculum. These principals are also faced with the challenge of knowing and identifying areas of support that is able to enhance the school’s mission and also manage the areas that impede the achievement of a stated mission of the school. Since the needs of students are ever changing, they should also be in a position to make both smaller and larger adjustments that could be beneficial to the school and easily manageable by the organization in the management of these decisions. (Sousa, 2003, pp. 195-198). A decision is termed as ethical when it is able to bring about positive results and does not harm other people or the third party. These decisions are able to bring forth respect, trust, fairness and caring, responsibility and demonstrate good citizenship. When a decision accomplishes the needs of people together with their purposes, it is then termed as an effective decision. Ethically sound decisions are mostly advanced by two critical aspects namely discernment and discipline. For a decision to poses the aspect of discernment, it requires judgment and knowledge. The strength of character on the other hand, makes up a good decision and this takes moral change and the will power to be able to do what needs to be done (Hoy Tarter 2004, pp. 56-60). Ethical decision making calls for good leadership from principals. Leadership may be described as the authority or ability of an individual or individuals to lead others towards the achievement of a goal. It involves directing and influencing others towards the accomplishment of the stated common objectives and involves responsibility and accountability for the group. There are various leadership styles that are used today in many organizations and institutions. The autocratic type of leaders apply unilateralist while dominating their team-members in order to achieve a particular objective. However, this method often results to resistance from the team- members, as this style generally requires constant pressure and a lot of direction to get things done. On the other hand, this style could be more effective in urgent situations requiring urgent action (Schiminke, 1998, pp. 107-110). In the Laissez-Faire leadership, little control is exercised by managers over their groups. This allows the team-members to sort out their duties and obligations but the manager is not in any way involved with them. This style of leadership however is ineffective at certain circumstances since the team is left floundering with limited motivation and direction. Laissez- faire is effective in cases whereby a manager leads a team that is highly skilled and motivated and these people have in the past produced excellent work. The Democratic leader on other hand often uses participation and the groups’ teamwork towards attaining a collaborative decision. This style focuses on communication between the leader and the team and hence a positive climate for achieving results is created. The leaders consult their teams before making a decision while still in control of the team. These leaders allow the team to make decisions on how certain duties will be carried out and by whom (Schiminke, 1998, pp. 107-110). In addition, a good democratic leader is one who approves participation by team members and delegation of duties or tasks is done wisely. This kind of a leader values the points put forward from them and also encourages any group discussion. He also empowers the team through motivation. On leadership styles include a coercive leader, authoritative. Leader, affiliative leader, pace setting and a coaching leader. A coercive leader demands obedience, which should be instantaneous and applies initiative, achievement and self-control. In times of crisis or company turn around, this style is considered to be more effective but it mostly creates a negative climate for the performance in an organization. The authoritative leader on the other hand is considered to be one of the most effective as this leader inspires employees to follow a vision, facilitate change and creates a strong organizational climate that results in positive performance. The affiliative leadership values people, their emotions and their needs and relies on friendship and trust to promote flexibility, innovation and risk taking. A pacesetting leader can create a negative climate because of the high standards he or she sets. This style works best in attaining quick results from highly motivated individuals who value achievement and take the initiative. Lastly, the coaching leader builds a positive climate by developing skills that will foster long-term success. This type of leader also delegates responsibly, and is skillful in issuing assignments that are quite challenging. Leadership entails organizing people in a bid to achieve the stated goals of the group. It is therefore essential that leaders should posses certain basic qualities that will enable them to be effective leaders in whatever situation or task they undertake (Guy, 1990 pp. 105-107). Leaders should display a good work ethic that will enable other employees to emulate. A good work ethic includes: being on time, being organized giving praise to employees, being well prepared for meetings and having good communication within the venture that will go a long way towards achieving emotional and financial success. Therefore a leader should set an example with an ethical set of values for other managers and employees. For a leader to be effective, he/she should be willing to constantly learn at the same time integrate the knowledge they have acquired through learning into their leadership style. They must also develop skills that will promote them into being good leaders. Another quality of a good leader is that they should constantly keep up with the current trends in leadership and be aware that the leadership styles are constantly changing. In other words these leaders should be open to change. A good leader should also be able to mobilize people and acquire their trust in the process. Good leaders should also have the ability to communicate effectively with their subordinates communication is an essential aspect since it involves both listening and sending messages or telling others what needs to be done. Moral leaders are in a position to produce good moral leadership. They mostly apply restraint and power in their leadership. They are willing to accept any results without imposing control on other people. This is stewardship. It enables leaders to accept their faults which are human instead of shielding themselves under their authority and status. Ethics can be described as the codes of conduct that guide on how one should behave regarding moral duties and virtues. These moral principles guide a person in determining what is wrong or right. Morality by principals can be termed as personal ethics. This is because personal ethics reflect the expectations of people of all works in the society. Ethics has got two aspects: the ability to determine right from wrong, propriety from impropriety and good from evil. The second perspective concerns the commitment to perform an action that is proper, right and good. The principles of personal ethics include: trustworthiness and honesty, concern for the well being of others preventing harm refusing to take unfair advantage, respect for the autonomy of others and basic justice. Ethics as displayed by principals in schools or any other leaders could be classified as under written and unwritten codes of ethics: codes of ethics are the efforts which are systematic in nature and are used in defining the right conduct. They also provide guidance and help in the installation of confidence in various aspects of life from the government and all organizations. The main guidance is reflected in the decision making process especially where values seem to conflict. Written codes of ethics can be made known by an organization, professional or jurisdiction. On the other hand unwritten codes that exist and that help us in our lives are more effective than the written ones. Un written codes of ethics include rules such as honesty, security, loyalty among others. These unwritten codes of ethics mostly arise from family and cultural tradition and can also be found in workplace. These written and unwritten codes of ethics mostly arise from family and cultural tradition and can also be found in workplace. These written and unwritten codes of ethics are found in the society and they help one in establishing their personal belief system. Ethical behaviors should be a part and parcel of an individual’s daily routine (Murphy McMurty, 2000. pp. 110-115). I believe that Principals need to make strategic decisions since society and environment are dynamic and this provides them with a means that is strategic in nature that could enable them consider the external environment by focusing on the strength of the school organization, reducing weaknesses in school and also identify all the available opportunities that could put the school at a better position to be able to gain a competitive advantage. School principals are able to make an ethically defensible decision when the decision is well thought considering all the formal possible angels meaning that everybody takes part in decision making. In addition, ethically sound decisions in corporate all the possible solutions regarding the positive and negative outcomes of the decision. The decisions made by school principles need to involve a consultative process, team or group process or delegated duties to the staff members. This will help principals to come up with an ethically sound decision that will have a positive impact to all the members of the society which includes the students. Today, school leaders are the people who are accountable ethically, legally and morally for any decisions that they make in schools. Dempster and Parry (1999) note that the schools pressure mainly arise from four sources that is pressure of involving non-educationalists in the decision making in schools; changes in the growth of knowledge and applying the new advanced technology in learning processes; increased social problems such as suicide, violence and unemployment. This means that school leaders are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas while making decisions in schools hence resulting in conflicting ethical principles. Therefore how ethics/morals impact on decision-making is profound as this could easily change the way society operates. Foster (1986) also notes that it is the actions by the officials of the school that will strongly determine personal codes of ethics and values (Shapiro, 2000, pp. 120-125). On the ethical decision making by principals in schools, Denig and Quinn (2001) proposed a philosophical model with two moral principles namely; care and justice. They argue that most of the decisions that are made by school leaders, are mainly based on formalism which is policy and law and this is aimed at bringing about the greatest good to all (utilitarianism). In other words, this approach clearly views decision making as a rational approach that involves the use of universal principles. The decision maker performs what is right that could result in good deeds to all rather than individualism hence equity becomes the desirable outcome. They also point out that it is only through making decisions by collaborative means that these leaders can be able to analyze the dilemmas and get prepared to encompass the principle of working together with the school system and this eventually results in making decisions that are ethical (Sousa, 2003, pp. 195-198). Greenfield (19991) on the other hand argues that school leaders experience distinct sets of demands concerning ethics. He notes that schools being moral institutions are designed to bring for the social norms and other principles. They should be able to make decisions that are morally acceptable. He further notes that although schools are charged with the responsibility of creating moral values and making moral decisions by dedicating themselves to promote the well-being of their students, it is surprising that the same students have virtually no right to express themselves to what goes on in their schools and it is for these reasons that the conduct of these school leaders need to be moral (Kowalski, 2001, pp. 5-98). Robert Starratt (1991) also talks of equality in social arrangement benefits by arguing that today’s social arrangement results to unequal benefits among people. He argues that school principles should not only behave ethically but also be responsible individuals. Lastly, Green field argues that the authority of the principal is moral and teachers should be convinced that the decisions make by the principal reflects all the values that they support (Nutt, 2002, pp. 50-54). Kidder (1995) defines an ethical dilemma as the responsibilities that people face in making choices between two rights cherished values that conflict are the principle cause of dilemmas. For instance a principal is bound to be faced with a dilemma if at all he/she cherishes both the teacher and student and the teacher decides to enact a policy that will result in low expectations. Some philosophers and thinkers have come up with a number of guidelines that could help to solve these dilemmas faced by school leaders. They argue that leaders should be able and willing to act along the set standards of ethics. They could also address and also should be caring and conscious reflection whenever they lead other people (Nutt, 2002, pp. 50-54). School leaders could also form ethics committees to help them solve ethical dilemmas as these committees could prove helpful in raising the awareness concerning ethical issues, advising educators and also in the formulation of codes of ethics. A quality decision that is made by a school principal will depend on a number of factors made, extent to which others are able to generate a quality solution, how the problem is structured and the degree of commitment. Moreover, decisions made in schools require a lot of staff decision and support. School principals also need to understand the culture of their schools while attempting to make any decisions as this will establish whether the decision made is appropriate for the school. Therefore, these head teachers need to analyze and comprehend any relevant and comprehend any relevant information presented to them together with data. They also need to gather and measure evidence, issue judgments and finally make the necessary decisions. Creativity is essential as these will help in solving any anticipating problems hence development of opportunities for the school. Finally, school principals should be in a position to demonstrate quality judgment. This will enable them to know how and when they need to make any decisions among others. Decisions made by school principals could be autocratic, consultative, Group or Delegated decisions. An autocratic decision is that which the school principal makes it himself / herself by use of the available information or gathered from other groups or people. This therefore requires these school leaders to make appropriate and quick decisions when expected to do them at a particular point in time consultation on the other hand means that a problem has to be shared amongst individuals in order to obtain collective views or ideas but the school principal has to make the final decision afterwards.

Batch Reactor Is Widely Used In The Chemical Mechanics Essay

Batch Reactor Is Widely Used In The Chemical Mechanics Essay A batch reactor is widely used in the chemical and process industry to perform several operations such as providing an environment of chemical reactions, crystallization, product mixing, dissolution of solids, polymerization, liquid to liquid extraction as well as batch distillation. The equipment comprises of tank that has an integrated heating and cooling system as well as an agitator. The main advantages of using a batch unit is it ability to perform various function without the need to change or break containment. Toxic and highly potent compounds can be processed in the batch unit. Part one Question 1 a) Explain why you would regard this batch chemical reactor as a plant unit. According to the definition of a chemical plant, a plant is comprised of several units that are interconnected by piping. Materials move in and out of these units. These materials or raw materials are converted into different products. In this example, the batch reactor is a separate unit of the plant which processes the raw materials introduced before feeding them to the centrifuge system. This batch reactor is also the principle chemical converter in this plant. b) Explain your reasons for concluding that this unit is critical for production This unit is critical for the production in this process because It prepares and processes the raw materials by heating them to the prescribed temperature and also providing the required pressure for the process. It ensures full utilization of the centrifuge unit; this is because it produces more than the centrifuge can process. the batch unit produces 18 (te) of product The batch unit is the principle raw material processor in this process, it receives raw materials, process them to complete products, thereafter, these materials are sorted out by the centrifuge. There is no other unit for processing materials in this plant unit. The batch unit temporary stores the materials before they are feed to the centrifuge system. b) Extract any user requirements for this designated unit from the plant description. Are there any production ‘windows? The main user information is; The vessel consist of a jacketed agitated glass lined vessel, heated to a certain temperature and pressure and consist of a thermocouple, a temperature alarm and has a safety relief valve The equipment list is also provided to the plant engineer with information about the different components installed on the plant. The drawing of the batch unit also shows the plant engineer the layout of the different components in the reactor. Jacket safety valve, temperature pocket, temperature controller, steam trap, agitator and the pipe work. The batch reactor process is also described so that the user or the operator can clearly understand how the processes are carried out, for example â€Å"the batch unit starts when 18 (te) of raw materials are introduced to the reactor†, the content are heated through to a preset temperature/ time profile that takes 10 hours† the products are then feed to the centrifuge system. This explanation helps the user or the plant operator understand its operation. d) Extract any corporate requirements for this unit from the plant description Some of the corporate requirements for this unit obtained from the text are: The equipment is shutdown for 16 hours during the 40th week of each year. The production of the batch reactor is also indicated, that is â€Å"the manufacturing unit makes 13,000 te of bulk pharmaceutical product within a given year† The information provided for the batch reactor jacket is also vital to the corporate use. This information is â€Å"the jacket is a registered steam receiver and also has a safety relief valve† The company guidelines state that reactors should be maintained to archive 25 years and gear boxes should be maintained to give 15 years life. e) Extract any legislative requirements for this unit from the plant description. The legal requirements include; The procedure for controlling maintenance activities must conform to the environment standard ISO14000. The manufacturing process must be licensed by FDA and the British pharmaceutical product. The manufacturing activities must comply with GMP (good manufacturing practice) and the process must be to the quality standard ISO 9002. f) Table 1 shows the existing life plan for this unit. Comment on whether you think that some of the tasks designated for the scheduled shutdown could be completed during production windows or when the plant is on-line. Could any of the tasks designated for completion during production windows be completed on-line? From the company maintenance guidelines, it can be seen that the company stipulates a 16 hour shutdown for the batch reactor during it 40th week of operation each year. Various test and maintenance activities are carried out to ensure that the batch reactor archives 25 years life and the gear boxes give a 15 year working life. In addition to the maintenance activities, the industry should be kept clean and painted to ensure that it passes the pharmaceutical inspectors test and prevent unnecessary shutdown. The maintenance activities should however be scheduled in such a manner that they dont interfere or affect the operation of the plant thereby maximizing the profits obtained from the production line. This calls for the scheduling of light maintenance operation to be done when the plant is still operating. Based on this classification, three maintenance operation are carried out for this batch reactor these are On line: these are maintenance activities that run concurrent with the production line. The maintenance activities are performed when the machine is still in use. Proper scheduling must be done to ensure that these activities are well planned for. The online and offline maintenance windows should also not coincide. Offline maintenance: These are maintenance activities that are performed when batch reactor is switched off or some interruption has to occur the machine is shut off and a part in the system is removed or repaired. Back up systems are used. Maintenance window:   this is a user defined period of time in which automatic maintenance activities are carried out. During the maintenance window, the need for maintenance activity is first evaluated, and if the system does not meet the required parameters a maintenance activity is carried out. If the required conditions are met the maintenance activity is not carried out (IBM, 2009). The activity for this batch reactor can be scheduled as follows Activity Comments CV1, replacing trim Currently the machine is shutdown before this maintenance activity is performed, based on the time taken to perform this activity and the frequency, it is best that it is done during the production window. Agitator gearbox Checking the oil Checking the oil seals for leaks   Visual check These activities are performed when the reactor is running, due to their frequency and time required these activities they can be done when the machine is still running(online) Agitator coupling Can be done when the production is progressing (online) as the process takes a short time and is performed often. SV1, pressure test and inspection This is a rigorous activity and can only be performed when the reactor is shutoff. Agitator visual check Does not require to be performed during shut off, it can be done as the machine operates (online) and can also be scheduled during the production window. It can also be performed when the agitator coupling is being checked Internal inspection Pressure test Should be done when the equipment is shutoff as it is a rigorous activity and takes a long time Pressure test and inspection It can be done during the production window. Visual checks for leaks Leak test Vibration monitoring of the motor and pump bearing Should be done on daily basis. The pump motor should also be checked as the leak tests are done. This will help monitor the pump. The checks are done by the plant operator. g) Analyze the recorded jobs from the computer maintenance management system (CMMS) for this unit. (These jobs are shown in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet called Worklist.xls.) Is there any evidence which confirms that the life plan is being carried out? Is there any evidence to say if the life plan is effective or not? To check and analyze the data recorded on the computer maintenance management systems for this unit. The different maintenance activity was evaluated and the frequency of these activities, as well as the time taken to complete this activity was evaluated. The excel data was first sorted into the various groups of maintenance activities. The obtained data was as follows For the agitator coupling the Visual check annual ticket for weekly task were as follows 8/8/1996 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/1997 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/1998 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/1999 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/2000 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/2001 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/2002 4.33 5.2 Planned 8/8/2003 4.33 5.2 Planned From the table the maintenance activities were carried out as per the schedule and the activities took a longer time than was actually planned for. were as planned for. For the agitator visual check, the table is as shown in the figure below 3/3/1996 2 4 Planned 3/4/2002 2 4 Planned The activity interval time was 6 years between subsequent maintenance activities and this was carried out as per the life plan specifications. They however took more time than was specified. For the oil seals, the maintenance information was as shown in the table below; Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/1996 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/1997 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/1998 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/1999 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/2000 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/2001 8.67 10.4 Planned Check oil seals and for leaks annual ticket for weekly task 7/7/2002 8.67 10.4 Planned Again the time taken was longer, however the maintenance was according to the life plan. For the vibration monitor gearbox and checking of the motor bearing, the data for year 1996 and 2002 is as shown in the table below; Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 2/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 3/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 4/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 5/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 6/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 7/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 8/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 9/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 10/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 11/10/1996 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 12/10/1996 1 2 Planned For the 2002 data Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 1/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 2/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 3/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 4/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 5/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 6/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 7/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 8/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 9/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 10/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 11/10/2002 1 2 Planned Vibration monitor gearbox motor bearings 12/10/2002 1 2 Planned Again the life plan was strictly followed and all maintenance activities planned were carried out every month. For the pressure test (SV2), again the maintenance activities followed the life plan Pressure test and inspect 9/6/1996 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/1997 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/1998 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/1999 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/2000 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/2001 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 9/6/2002 2 3 Planned For the pressure test and inspection to determine if reconditioning was required, the maintenance was as scheduled and took place after 6 years as shown in the table below; however the time for the activity was longer than it was expected. Pressure test and inspect 3/3/1996 2 3 Planned Pressure test and inspect 3/4/2002 2 3 Planned For the steam jacket, the life plan was followed but again the allocated time was short. Despite the carefully planned maintenance activities, there were some reactive maintenance activities these resulted from detection of anomalies in the system. Some of these activities are shown in the table below. Component Item Activity Date Standard time Actual time Type of job Reactor P1 Replace leaking mechanical seal 7/2/1996 4 4 Reactive Centrifuge P2 Replace mechanical seal 1/18/1997 2 3 Reactive Reactor T1 Re-calibrate temperature sensor 9/1/1998 2 3 Reactive Raw Material Storage P3 Replace seal 11/16/1998 5 5 Reactive Centrifuge P2 Replace mechanical seal 3/29/1999 2 4 Reactive Centrifuge P2 Replace mechanical seal 5/18/1999 2 2 Reactive Raw Material Storage P3 Repair plinth impact damage 10/1/1999 4 4 Reactive Raw Material Storage P3 Repair seized pump 10/3/2000 12 12 Reactive Reactor T1 Re-calibrate temperature sensor 4/17/2001 2 2 Reactive Centrifuge T3 Replace temperature sensor 6/25/2002 2 2 Reactive From this analysis it can be seen that maintenance operations were done as scheduled and planned. However, most of the activities took a longer time than was scheduled. The planned maintenance operations were not wholly effective as reactive maintenance operation were performed. h) Use your experience in conjunction with Figures 1 2, the plant description and the data from the CMMS to analyze the unit into its maintenance causing items From the diagrams 1 and 2, the main areas that are likely to fail include The major maintenance causing units are; (i)The steam unit The unit comprises of the safety valves, the steam jacket, the steam jacket safety valve, the Globe control valve etc. these units are bound to fail and cause critical damage to the equipment as well as the manpower manning the plant. Their maintenance is critical. (ii)The agitator unit: Comprises of the agitator, the agitator motor, the motor gearbox and coupling. The gearbox and the drive mechanism are bound to fail due continuous use as well as the forces acting on the agitator. Bearing wear are also likely to cause vibration on the shaft. (iii)The reactor unit The reactor unit, the reactor safety valve SV2, the safety valve discharge pipe work is also likely to cause plant failure and should be checked regularly. (iv)The centrifuge The centrifuge system is also critical in the operation of this plant and is likely to cause major maintenance problems. Some of the maintenance checks include; testing the motor bearing, checking the vibration on the machine, checking the wear on the seals of the centrifuge, physical check of the centrifuge as well as checking its drive motor and the valves leading to the pump and out of the pump. The minor units likely to cause maintenance problems are: (v)Temperature sensor calibration The failure of the temperature alarm to detect increase in temperature beyond 125 degrees. This is due to a faulty temperature sensor. This calls for regular temperature sensor control, calibration and testing if the system works according to the set parameters. (vi)Checking the pipes Checking of the pipe work for any leakage should also be done. Checks should be done regularly. (vii)Checking the pump for proper workability Pump delivering materials to the centrifugal unit should be checked. Some checks include the driving motor vibration tests, the motor starter tests as well as the functioning of the motor tests. Tests should be performed every month through physical checking of the motor. The agitator motor should also be checked to determine if its working at its rated torque and speed. (viii)Checking the steam trap The steam trap and the heat exchanger should also be regularly checked, this is because it cools the steam efficiently. The condenser should be checked for any leakages, blockages, wear, temperature and heat dissipation as well as its performance and efficiency. Tests involve both the physical checks as well as specialized tests using thermometers and thermocouple sensors to detect if the heat loss in the steam trap is sufficient enough. Checking the raw materials storage The warehouse used to store the raw materials should be regularly inspected to ensure that the materials are not contaminated. Presence of excess water, humidity, temperature and pests may damage the raw materials resulting to inferior products. Checking the raw materials feed mechanism The raw material feed mechanism should be checked to ensure delivery of materials to the batch reactor with ease. The motor used to run the feedstock should be checked, the physical leakages should also be checked and other component of the feed mechanism. The test should be done every month. Checking the paint coating Involves the Physical inspection of the plant to ensure that all the parts are not rusted or the paint has not been scourged. These tests are obligatory to ensure conformity with the pharmaceutical inspectors rules and regulation. The inspection can be done every year. i) Develop your own life plan for these maintenance causing items using the task selection logic for Reliability Centered Maintenance For the implementation of RCM the following main tasks are carried out; Selection of the equipment to perform analysis Identification of potential failures Identification and evaluation of the effects of the started failures Identification of the causes of failure Selecting the maintenance tasks Maintenance packaging 1) Selection of equipment to perform analysis on; The main equipments to perform analysis on are;  · The batch reactor  · The centrifuge  · The steam jacket  · The centrifuge motor  · The raw materials handling equipment The identification of potential failures and the causes of failure The potential problems that are likely to occur are BATCH REACTOR The agitator  · The agitator motor failure  · The agitator gearbox failure  · The agitator coupling failure The centrifuge  · Centrifuge discharge pipe failure  · The centrifuge pump may fail  · The pump motor failure  · The piping system may fail The steam jacket  · Failure of the reactor safety valve  · Failure of the safety valve  · The temperature alarm system failure  · The failure of the pressurized steam pipe network. Sensors and alarms  · Failure of the temperature controller  · The globe control valve failure  · The steam trap Raw materials feed system  · Failure of the inlet pipe work  · Failure of the motors conveying the raw materials The table below shows the maintenance strategy developed after conducting a RCM analysis. Table 1: RCM analysis Item Causes of failure Maintenance activity Frequency of maintenance Time for maintenance The agitator The motor (1)Brush wear (2)Winding may overheat (3)The motor starters may fail Checking the motor 3 months 2 hours The gearbox (oil gearbox ) (1)The viscosity of oil may reduce lubricity Testing the oil viscosity 3 months

Accounting Theory And History Accounting Essay

Accounting Theory And History Accounting Essay Accounting has evolved since it was first developed and has continued to evolve. The aim of this essay is to explore and discuss why accounting, both financial and management has changed over the last millennium. In order to achieve this aim an in-depth approach will be taken into the origins of accounting, its purpose and need. This will mean examining history papers which are evidence-based but are intertwined with value judgement. Many alternative theoretical and practical explanations are offered in literature for the development of accounting over time. These course literatures will be evaluated and there theories will subsequently be accepted or rejected. In order to explore the question and because the definitions provided by accounting bodies are themselves are subject to change, it is crucial to first define accounting and its purpose. The purpose of accounting is to provide information based on relevant data that aids users in making economic decisions. Financial accounting is designed mainly to produce financial reports which provide information regarding the firms performance to external users such as Tax authorities, Investors, Customers and Creditors. Financial Accounting is highly regulated in order to ensure they have certain characteristics. These characteristics enhance the usefulness of the financial reports to users. These characteristics are relevance, comparability, timeliness, fairness and objectivity. Management accounting is used to prepare accounts and reports that provide accurate and up to date information that allows management to make decisions. Accounting developed as people needed a method of recording their assets and property. If property was recorded and accounted for, it would be easy to prove legal ownership. Accountancy has been around for thousands of years. Professor L. Plunkett of the College of Charleston calls accounting the oldest profession In this millennium there have been countless changes and developments in accounting. From more primitive methods of simple accounting for property and assets, in order to record for evidence of legal ownership to a complex regulated form. Management Accounting British Entrepreneurs and Pre-Industrial Revolution Evidence of Cost Management a paper by Richard K. Fleischman and Lee D. Parker examines the use and developments of cost accounting in 1760 to 1850. The four main areas looked at in cost management will be: cost control techniques, accounting for overhead, costing for routine and special decision making, and standard costing. These firms used cost data to control raw material input materials. The iron firms broke down costs using raw material controls, whilst taking into account the differential costs of mining and smelting. Textile firms were concerned about the profitable raw mixtures and the cost of raw materials input. Marshall textile firm employ the practise of using performance cards, which is an effective method and is still used by firms today. Performance cards are used daily to monitor and control expenses.. These management accounting practises benefited the business greatly. It allowed marshal to be cost effective and efficient by minimising costs. Gregs was another textile firm which kept wage and expense books to calculate control costs. This helps to identify trends, weaknesses and areas for improvement. For example they experienced losses in 1829 and where able to identify and attribute these to heightened production costs and outdated machinery. The textile and iron firms were in a highly competitive market, and so dependent on a market-driven pricing structure. This gradually changed as with firms using product costing to aid in determining the optimum level of output. Boulton Watt and Wedgewood were able to calculate overheads such as factory costs, fixed costs and selling expense. This enabled them to factor these costs into their selling prices. Industrial Revolution entrepreneurs employed cost analysis to support vertical integration and product line decisions (Fleischman 1990, P367) Decisions such as capital equipment purchases and mineral field leases where taken after careful consideration of costing of alternatives. This enabled them to justify and make potentially better decisions as the quality of information on which to base the decision on was better. The use of standard costing was associated with an awareness of the cost saving available from appropriate inventory control procedures. (Richard K. Fleischman et la 1990) Standard costing saved the time of actually having to accumulate actual inventory costs. This is beneficial for firms as they can create standard costs, which allow the business to: identify and eliminate obsolete items, budget and compare with actual costs, estimate a price more easily than calculating a price based on actual cost, create forecasts for production. An Archivist responds to the New Accounting History: The Case of the U.S. Mens Clothing Industry is a paper by Thomas Tyson that uses factual evidence on the history of accounting to examine the changes. It focuses mainly on the mens clothing industry. Miller and OLeary (1987) implied that the principle of standard costs made it possible to attach to every individual within the firm norms and standards of behaviourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Standard costing and budgeting made possible a pinpointing of responsibility for preventable inefficiencies at the level of the very individual from whom they derived this is true to an extent and can be seen in the British Railways Industrys costing system. BRM failed to budget or use standard costing till they were forced to do so as a result of declining profits. This fail mean preventable inefficiencies were not prevented. Hopper and Armstrong state the reason for these changes to management accounting being due to the direct result of firms struggling. Accounting controls were not a consequence of economic or technological imperatives, but rather were rooted in struggles as firms attempted to control labour processes in various epochs of capitalistic development. (HA 1991, P. 405) Along with changes in accounting, there came changes in innovations in management. Scientific management sought to establish itself a right to interfere in peoples lives. This right was eventually to be taken over by an army of techniques of social and economic life of the enterpriseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the project of scientific management helped to render apparent and remediable the waste lying deep within the every move of the worker. (Tyson. T, an archivists response to new accounting history) it is generally considered that Tysons paper is flawed. Cost accounting in the shipbuilding, engineering and metals industries of the West of Scotland, The Workshops of the Empire, C1900-1960 is a paper by A.I.M. Fleming, S. Mckinstry and K. Wallace. The paper examines the nature and developments of costing systems employed in the shipbuilding, engineering and metals industries of the West of Scotland between the years c1900-1960. These developments can be seen as a progression from the cost management practises employed in textile and iron works examined in the previous paper, adapted to different industries. There were developments necessitated by the fact that most work was contract-based or job based and so required a different method of cost accounting. Standard costing and budgetary control were rejected as a result of scepticism over the relevance of Taylorism and scientific management to the areas industries. As many of the jobs and contracts were unique, this may not have been a bad thing. The ship building industry split the ships costs into three main components, Hull, Boilers and Engine. Each had a separate cost-book which recorded direct wages and materials. This system allowed a comparison between the estimated direct costs and actual direct costs. A detailed wage analysis book was kept, separating wage cost for the three main components (hull, engine and boiler). The wage bill for each component was also split into separate categories e.g. direct workers, class of workman, piece work-based etc. This allowed them to maximise efficiency in terms of labour costs as staff and materials were already supervised. This also reduced the risk of theft. There therefore existed a system that enabled the tracking of costs versus estimate at prime cost level on a progressive basis as contracts proceeded. (K.Wallace Parker 2000, P363) The British Railway Industry tended to sell in fixed price contracts. The Cost and Weight Book recorded the cost associated with each of the major component of the locomotive e.g. Boiler, firebox etc. This book had a strict template each major component was printed on the left and separate costs where printed at the top. This format allowed comparison between different contract cost and understandability. It also allowed for good estimation for future contract costs. This format has changed little in modern management accounting. A failure of the company was to not fully utilise this valuable information as they did not use budgeting, standard costing or marginal costing. Costs were not analysed by department or works. (K.wallace and Parker 2000) Not until the firm began to decline in 1960 did they introduce a form of simple budgeting. This failure to budget was a weakness that was eventually addressed but cost the firm potential cost saving efficiencies. The Industrial Revolution versus the Managerial Revolution: Distinguishing Difference in Accounting Practices a paper by Keith Hoskin and Richard Macve discusses the role of accounting as a producer of Modern Managerialism. The accounting practises of writing, examining and grading came to structure human activity for those who learned to learn under them, it is understandable how accounting could discover a new role in the business context. (Hoskin Macve, 1993, p 9) This statement indicates an evolving role of accounting in business and influencing the structuring of human activity. This theory was seen being employed at Springfield Armoury. The armoury generated a large quantities of accounting information costs were tracked, records of production were kept , full-cost estimates made for pricing decisions, including the application of charges for interest and depreciation. (Hoskin Macve, 1993, p 9) This was done in order to form a complete system of accountability. This was an im portant step along with the introduction of charges for interest and depreciation. This paper relates to economic rational theory which can be used to explain the developments in management accounting. People make choices based on their rational outlook, available information and past experiences. (Investopedia online, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rationaltheoryofexpectations.asp#axzz1g2suXeki) As the result of highly competitive markets and rising labour costs reduced profits, firms developed cost management techniques, such as: cost control to control and break down the cost of individual materials used, accounting for overheads which allows firms to factor costs such as fixed and factory costs into the selling price and standard costing which allows budgeting and comparison with actual costs. An example of economic rational theory is the British Locomotive Company who learned from past experiences of losing cost saving for not using budgeting, standard costing or marginal costing and as a result they introduce a form of simple budgeting. Economic rational also drove the changes in monastic houses. Changes were introduced after rational outlook, weaknesses and past failings were identified were taken into account. Albion Motors and Monastic houses and Estates have also made changes based on their economic rational. These changes represent the evolution of management accounting over the last millennium. In the paper The Industrial Revolution versus the Managerial Revolution we see significant changes to management accounting because of a need to control labour and maximise labour efficiency. This is because of the abolition of slavery which means that employees must be paid. This means employees must maximise labour effectiveness and efficiency. This led to the managerial revolution. Springfield armoury used labour control to increase productivity and reduce costs. We see a development in cost management practises in the in British Entrepreneurs and Pre-Industrial Revolution Evidence of Cost Management paper. Fleischman states the lengthy period of decline of market prices that affected the iron industry firms from 1808 to 1830. The struggle to cope with falling market prices caused firms in the industry to undertake careful investigations of their iron-making costs (K.wallace and Parker 2000, P368) The decline motivated these developments in cost management. They were brought about by a need to adapt to other changes in the market and economy at the time. The practises in use at the time were inadequate and out-dated. The developments allowed them to better identify weaknesses, which had the effect of increasing production, efficiency, decreasing waste and helping set a better selling price. In Cost accounting in the shipbuilding, engineering and metals industries of the West of Scotland, the Workshops of the Empire, C1900-1960 we see further development of cost management system. The reason for these specific developments was that shipbuilding and railway jobs where contract based and so it would not be ideal to use standard costing. It was necessary to use another method of cost accounting. Financial Accounting The first paper that will be discussed is The development of financial management and control in monastic houses and estates in England c.1200-1540 by Alisdair Dobie. The changes focus mainly on the internal function of a monastery. These changes are necessitated by changing influences and pressures, economic and religious which arose from 1200 onwards. (Dobie, 2008 P.2) Monastic houses where not all the same, there were different orders. Each was governed by different sets of rules. New orders were formed when there were perceived weaknesses in established orders. These new orders introduced additional sets of rules. Each Benedictine house was to a large extent autonomous and responsible for its own affairs.(Dobie 2008, P3). This statement indicates a degree of accountability within the houses. As a result of failings due to Benedictine self-regulation, new orders emerged which lead to each house forming a subsidiary part of the whole order. This meant that each separate house was subject to inspection, regulation and control from the order as a whole. These inspections were a form of audit from the order on the house. Changes in management might vary from order to order and house to house, depending upon individual situations, relevance and needs. (Dobie, 2008 P2) Changes were introduced after weaknesses were identified, in order to continued impro vement and bring together all houses from the same orders to using the same set of rules. Financial management and control changes can be broken down into three categories: the safeguarding of the assets of the house; the exploitation of its resources; and, the efforts to ensure that all resources were used effectively and efficiently. Safeguarding the assets of the house meant physically securing and maintaining them against for example encroachment, diminution or alienation. (Dobie, 2008 P4) Exploitation of resources meant making full use of land and estate. This was a response to failing grain prices and rising labour costs. Efficiency and effectiveness referred to the efficiency and effective use of resources by the house. Other major developments during this time were the standardisation of accounts which allowed comparability and relevance, accounting was also taught at university from the fourteenth century onwards. A significant development in the early millennium is seen in renaissance Italy. There was a rise in trade and banking. A form of double-entry book keeping was already being used by banks to keep track of debtors and creditors. Luca Pacioli, the Perfect Accountant is a paper by Dr F G Volmer, University of Limburg, which discusses the life and works of Luca Pacioli. Paciolis work has had a great influence on accountancy. His publication Summa De Arithmetica was widely recognised as a giant leap forward for double-entry book keeping. Paciolis Summa was a conceptual framework of best accounting and business practices. Summa was written in Tuscan and Venetian dialects. Pacioli used these instead of Latin to allow the educated and non-educated to benefit equally from his work. Paciolis conceptual framework is very similar to the FASBs 1976 conceptual framework. the principles of systematicalness, consistency and reliability then emerge. Every item must be systematically and carefully recorded in the inventory with all countermarks, full names and in as much detail an as possibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Volmer P7) 200 years before Pacioli Italians traders began using Arabic numerals in order to keep track of profits instead of roman numerals. This was an important change. Arabic numerals were easier to understand and easier to use in an accounting format. This change is a step in the direction of modern day management accounting where English numbers which are similar to Arabic numerals are used for bookkeeping. Rouse and Rouse sum up Paciolis innovations under different headings: The use of alphabetical order as a means of arranging words and ideas This development of a new visually orientated layout created an easy to use and understand template for double entry. Paciolis fully-developed double-entry system, with bi-lateral layout and systematic cross-referencing of debit and credit, was a particular form of the new general textuality. This bi-lateral layout of the double-entry system is still in use to this day. It allows cross-referencing of credits and debits which is particularly useful for to banks. This partially answers the main question as to why management accounting has changed over the last millennium. Paciolis influential work resulted in necessary positive changes in accountancy. He introduced three books of record: the ledger, the memorandum and the journal. These required debit and credit transactions to be balance. Books that did not balance usually indicated an error. Dowlais Iron Company: Accounting Policies and Procedures for Profit Measurement and Reporting Purposes by J. R. Edwards and C. Baber is a paper that shows development in both financial and management accounting. DIC implemented a robust system of management accounting. Book-keepers were employed by DIC to maintain the books of accounting on a strict double entry basis (a double-entry system developed by Luca Pacioli). This was a family business, but the business was treated as a separate legal entity. This is common in modern businesses as it allows limited liability for the owners. This can also be seen when personal non-business transactions undertaken by owners were properly accounted for through the relevant partners current account. DIC adhered to three out of the four main fundamental concepts of accounting when preparing financial statement. These were prudence, going concern and consistency. Less emphasis was placed on the use of the accruals concept, especially in its application to the treatment of capital expenditure (Edwards and Baber 1979 P142) This is not unusual for businesses in the 1800s and was mainly due to a perceived conflict between the accruals and prudence concepts, with the prudence concept being considered more beneficial. This contrasts with a more balanced use of both concepts currently used today. The use of these concepts shows a development of financial accounting within the organisation. DICs system of capital accounting is said to have helped the firm successfully grow to an immense size. This was funded through internal finance. The reliance on internal finance led to problems during the 1850s. A succession of trading losses drained the reserve funds. This led to DIC reorganising the Works and turn to external finance. Profit returned to acceptable levels in the mid-1860s We see in the private ledgers that there were summary balance sheets till 1861 this suggested that there was information that the management was attempting to hide. From 1861 onwards the company accountant adopted the policy of adding the relevant narrative explaining each total. This policy is still in use today and shows further development in financial accounting at the time. Companies summarise and disclose significant and relevant information relating to the figures in accounts in the notes. This would have been done to enhance the understandibility, allowing for totals to be broken up and examined. The financial reporting practises of British municipal corporations 1835-1933: a study in accounting innovation by Hugh M Coombs and John Richard Edwards is a paper in which we see the government fulfilling the role of a regulatory body. Developments were mainly in response to growing central government concern with corruption, mismanagement and lack of accountability. (Combes Edwards, 1995 P2) This in short led to the introduction of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. This act attempted to ensure proper regulation of municipal corporations. The borough treasures was obliged to: make true accounts of all transactions, make books available for inspection by the councillors, to prepare an account for the council as and when required, to submit accounts to auditors elected by the ratepayers, to sign and cause to be printed a full abstract of his accounts, and to make the accounts available for inspection by ratepayers. (H. M. Combes et la, 1995) This shows a tightening up of regulati on and an increase in accountability. It is a significant development in financial accounting. During this time we also see a move away from cash accounting to accruals. The accruals concept had previously been viewed with scepticism as seen in Dowlais Iron Company as it conflicted with the prudence concept. Cash-based accounting was at times restrictive and its disadvantages far out way its advantages. Accruals based accounting on the other hand: protects against negligence and irregularity by recording every step of a transaction, enables the statement of an entitys profit and loss and financial position; it records values; and it provides a stable and homogenous basis for statistics. (Combes Edwards, 1995 P2) The second development during this time was the use of the double accounting system of financial reporting. This system is able to combine the attributes of charge/discharge accounting with commercial accounting. (Combes Edwards, 1995 P3) It is a combination of stewardship orientation and profit calculation orientation. The advantage of this system is that it would prevent anyone from being misled into assuming a connection between expenditure appearing debited in the capital account and the actual value of works associated with that expenditure In the paper Engineering culture and accounting development at Albion Motors 1900- c.1970 by Sam McKinstry we see the relationship between Albion Motors accounting systems and its engineering-orientated culture. This paper shows changes in both financial and management accounting. Albion motors used a well-developed double entry system, a system no doubt derived from the work of Pacioli. Depreciation was also charged on machinery, by assessing there useful life. Depreciation ranged from between 10% and 33.3%. Albion motors also used one of the first firms to use full accruals accounting, which is a clear change as firms had previously preferred to us prudence. Full accounts were only produced every financial year, as was a full stocktaking. A plant register was kept and maintained by the engineering department. This allowed for accountability and reduced the chances of fraud in the depots. Albion motors employed a highly skilled but unqualified a company secretary and cashier, although this was not uncommon at the time when they became a public company they employed a chartered accountant. This is a significant development as the qualified accountants involvement reinforces the reputability of the companys financial accounts. It is now essential for the public company accounts to be produced by someone who is qualified to do so, as not to do so would lead investors to question their accuracy. The non-qualified employee responsible for all accounting from 1914 until 1950 was succeeded by a chartered accountant. This emphasizes the reputation and influence of the profession of accountancy. It is around 1950s that there is seen the emergence of the financial accountant. The need of the users of financial information is changing, the emergence of this new official role show that clearly. Investors confidence in financial reports is dependent on financial information having characteristics which are discussed in IAS 1. Financial information must be relevant, up to date, reliable and free from bias. The financial accountant is qualified to produce financial information that abides by these criteria. Christie Malrys own double entry by B.S. Johnson: An interpretation as foucauldian disclosures a paper by Sam McKinstry that examines the work of the novelist B.S. Johnson. This paper discusses the idea that accounting can be used to convey certain information to certain people. In this case the issue that the Double-entry system only favours specific interests in society and disadvantages others. (McKinstry 2006 P990) This directly disagrees with public interest theory which states that regulation is initially put in place to benefit society as a whole. (C. Deegan J Unerman 2006, P 65) This paper also takes into account and makes reference to the work of Luca Pacioli in double entry bookkeeping. Malry adapts the double entry system, converting situations in his life into monetary values and inputting these values as either debits or credits. This adaptation was particularly important in the context of British politics and Industrial relations at the time. these and other developmen ts recharged and remorilised capitalism and retooled social democratise ideology and its politics. (McIlorys and Campbells 1999, P 93). Collectively these developments in financial accounting over the last millennium have resulted in financial accounting as we know it today. These changes where brought about by a change in the needs of users of financial information and the identifying of weaknesses. We see many changes in the financial management of monastic houses and estates at the start of the millennium. The early Period of rapid growth in terms of new foundations was over, and the later Middle-ages witnessed the response of organisations in their age of maturity endeavouring to maintain their purpose and position.(Dobie, 2008, P 3) Monasteries changed in order to adapt and survive the economic and religions pressures. These changed allowed them to maintain their positions survive the times. We see the introduction of an audit function and the changing of regulation to deal with the identification of weakness. Other factors such as the Black Death epidemic which impacted on the economy as well as the population influenced developments at the time. Luca Pacioli developed the double-entry system used at the time by traders after identifying room for improvement this system is similar to the one used today. He also developed a conceptual framework of accounting best practises. Its influence can clearly be seen in todays IASB and FASB conceptual frameworks. In Dowlais Iron Company we see the implementing of a sophisticated financial reporting and management accounting system which complimented the financial accounting system. These systems allowed them to the size and success that they did. it is unlikely that any firm would have grown to the size and achieved the significance of DIC in the absence of a satisfactory system for recording both inflows and outflows of cash and other asset and movement of resources within the firm (Edwards and Baber 1979 P139) The Financial reporting practises of British municipal corporations in 1835-1933 show developments in the regulation, disclosure and controls in order to deal with corruption, mismanagement and lack of accountability in municipal corporations. Political factors triggered by the two major wars impacted on both financial and management accounting. This can be seen in Engineering culture and accounting development at Albion motors a paper by Sam Mckinstry. World War 2 led to the introduction of a War pension scheme, which is accounted for using IAS 19. We also see in 1950 the development of the role of the financial accountant. The role of the financial accountant is created mainly to provide credibility and reassurance to financial accounts. The financial accounting is qualified to produce accounts in accordance with regulations, to give a true and fair view of the firms finances in order to maintain investor confidence. This is a contribution factor in accounting being the reputable profession it is today. This is open to debate as it can be argued that this only gives the illusion of reputability. As seen in the collapse of Enron the financial reports approved by the financial accountants didnt give a true and fair view of the organisation. Possible theories into reasons for these changes are given in the demand for and supply of Accounting Theories: The Market for Excuses a paper by Ross L. Watts and Jerold L. Zimmerman. The paper discusses the question of why accounting theories are predominantly normative and why no general theory is generally accepted. It is generally concluded that accounting theory has had little substantive, direct impact on accounting practise or policy formation despite half a century of research (R. L. Watts 1979, P 1) the theory of political process is one theorises the idea that individuals with power in government will attempt to gain wealth through the influence and prescribe accounting procedures that are in their own best interests. There is also the idea that as individuals have different interests there will be a number of different accounting theories on a single issue. This prevents general agreement on accounting history.(R. L. Watts 1979, P 273) This theory can be proven by looking at the recent scandal involving MPs expenses. MPs influenced the regulations on expenses in their own favour, in an attempt to gain wealth. There was also the issue that these individual expense claims were not made public but were leaked. This shows that disclosure requirements were inadequate, as a result of the identification of this weakness regulations have been tightened up. Another example of this is Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair having tax-payers pay for his security when he travels the worlds for his own financial gains. Blairs constitutional reform of the Human Rights Act 1998 when he was in power gives him this right. The demand for public interest-orientated accounting theories depends on the extent of the governments role in the economy. (R. L. Watts 1979, P 275) a clear example of this is the adjusting of interest rates in order to help economic growth. Another example of this is the financial reporting practises of British municipal corporations 1835-1933, where there was corruption, mismanagement and lack of accountability. The government gave the illusion of acting in the public interest but from further analysis it can be seen that this legislation was a response to public protest. We can see that there was a degree of self-interest involved. The motivation for all the developments of in financial accounting can be examined using Self-inte