Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 15

Art - Essay Example Thus, even if they might have been made for different purposes, at least they had similar essences because it is the same Egyptians who were using it as an important sculpture in their society. Khafre Enthroned refers to funerary statue of Pharaoh Khafre who is believed to have ruled Egypt between the years 2520 and 2570. Currently, it is exhibited in the Museum in Cairo, Egypt. It was made using gneiss rock which is closely related to diorite rocks, a valuable, dark extremely hard material that was mined 4000 miles at the royal quarries along the River Nile. The use of such a precious material in the production of this statue was necessary because it equated Khafre’s influences and authority as an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. This statue played a very significant role in Egypt: acting as Pharaoh Ka’s sub statue; and as a sign of peace. This explains why it still plays a significant role in the life of the Egyptians today. Great Sphinx of Giza (Sphinx) which can be literally translated as the father of the dead or a terrifying one is a statue located in Giza Plateau, at the banks of River Nile, Egypt. It was made between the years c. 2558–2532Â  BC during the time when Egypt was under the leadership of Pharaoh Khafra. Just like Khafre Enthroned, this statue has a significant role to play in the lives of the Egyptians. However, the 241Â  ft long, 63Â  ft wide, and 66.34Â  ft high statue depicts an image of a mystical creature which has got a human head and a lion’s body. Thus, it stands as the largest monolithic statue in the entire globe. For this reason, it has had different interpretations especially in the contemporary society. Whereas the London Imperial College’s Surgeon Huan Ashrafian associates it to a depiction of a person suffering from a disease in disease with lion-like conditions, it has been linked to the solar worship that was so prominent amongst the Ancient Egy ptians. This is so because the image of lion has been synonymous with the

Reflecting reality in film documentaries Essay Example for Free

Reflecting reality in film documentaries Essay The paradox of reality stems from the fact that it is a combination of abstract and concrete concepts. Abstract since different kinds of reality can be subjectively formed and understood. It cannot be quantified from a single perspective alone. In the meantime, reality is concrete since it is something that each and every individual must readily confront. Reality is part of mankind’s constant struggle. The puzzling complexity that embodies the notion of reality is even more felt on how it is depicted, presented or articulated in other forms. Literature exploits the power of words to explain reality, singers capitalize on music. But the task becomes even harder as for the case of film makers who are expected to utilize both visual and musical elements to represent reality. In film-making, it cannot be denied that the use of different technologies somehow affect how reality is shown. For every filmmaker, there is the challenge to make their works of art convincing—convincing, in the sense that a film seems to devoid of any technological mediation and corporeal interest—and at the same time retaining the subject matter in its pure and organic form. With this pursuit, the emergence of film documentaries came into life. Kibborn once noted that film documentaries aim to offer a â€Å"window of the world (p. 53). † This would not come as a surprise since films, whether they are created for commercial purposes are indeed reflections of a much wider world view. Some filmmakers have fared well, while some, unfortunately, failed. On the other hand, there are others, who have seen film documentaries as a tool to immortalize not only their works but also their names. The film industry owes it all to the Lumiere Brothers. This generation would not experience the beauty and artistry of films if not for these two. Since early film tools and equipments are not that sophisticated during that time, silent films tend to dominate the (big screen). However, what is even more amazing in this context is the manner in which the Lumiere Brothers have managed to present reality with pure visual images alone. Films do communicate and try to reach to their respective audiences. But then again, the absence of sounds seems to make the presentation a bit complicated and difficult. However, if one would stick to the principle in which reality is comprised of events that are experienced in everyday lives, situations that are commonly confronted by ordinary people, it can be fairly said that the Lumiere Brothers stand out. If one has to take a closer look at Arrival of a Train (Nichols 83), such event is commonly encountered. The camera focuses on the train and the people that arrive in the station. A close shot is chosen as if trying to tell every intricate sequence and details of the said event. Unaware and unscripted, the actors are seen in their most natural ways and manners. Such technique is also used in Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty. However, Flaherty incorporated some texts. Perhaps it can be argued that the Flaherty wants to make the a more vivid and descriptive storytelling approach. There is the intention to relate to the audience what is actually happening rather than to interpret the stories on their own. There is a scene in the film wherein the boat is being covered with a piece of cloth before going down the river. In this case, a close shot was again used, in order to show how intricate the processes are. Yet, during the part wherein the actual trek is going on, a long shot was utilized, thus readily evoking a feeling that the group is on their journey. The characters looked small during that shot and the notion of space and distance were further highlighted. From documenting everyday routines to inserting texts in the film, documentaries are also flavored with the directors’ political perspective as for the case of Dziga Vertov. Hicks even described Vertov as the so-called â€Å"genie† of propaganda films primarily because of its strong Marxist beliefs and visions (8). Taylor described that Vertov depicted reality through the montage technique (74). In this manner, Vertov, since he is also into propaganda reflects life beyond what is â€Å"ordinarily seen,† but rather it is on â€Å"how it should be seen (Taylor 74). † In the film, Three Songs of Lenin, different scenes are patched together. There is the part wherein a group of marching men were shown and followed by a scene that focuses on three statues. Another group of marching people is presented but this time, women, with holding high powered guns are also shown, then it goes back to the three statues. Vertov, as a propagandist who wanted to tell the people what life should be seem to purport that equality between men and women must be readily observed. At the same time, the three statues that are constantly shown is reflective of an ideology or school of thought that must be readily followed and practiced. In the meantime, John Grierson is a film critic who is one of those who laid down the foundations of realism theories in films (Aitken 162). Elis and Mclane noted that Grierson readily influenced many film makers (73). He is also responsible for proliferating such film genre in â€Å"English-speaking nations (Ellis Mclane 73). Grierson firmly believes that in order to depict reality properly, reality should be free from all forms of manipulation—that it should be captured in its raw form rather than mastered in artificial environments (Aitken 167). Works Cited Aitken, Ian. European Film Theory and Cinema: A Critical Introduction. Scotland: Edinburgh Press, 2001 Ellis, Jack and Betsy McLane. A New History of Film Documentary. London: Continuum International Publishing, 2005 Hicks, Jeremy. Dziga Vertov: Defining Documentary Film. London: I. B Tauris Publishers, 2007 Kibborn, Richard. Staging the Real: Factual TV Programming in the Age of Big Brother. Oxford, UK: Manchester University Press, 2003 Nichols, Bill. Introduction to Documentary. Bloomington:Indiana University Press, 2001 Taylor, Richard. Film Propaganda: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. London: I. B Tauris Publishers, 1998

Essay --

In 1931, Samuel Kistler created aerogel, the least dense solid in the world. Known for its ultra lightweight and incredible insulating ability, recent developments have shown aerogel’s potential in a wide variety of areas. Recently NASA for has used it to insulate Mars rovers and space suits. In addition to this, its extremely low density was utilized to catch dust particles in space, which would otherwise vaporize if they came in contact with solids at high speeds. Its insulating ability combined with its hygroscopic nature allow it to be very useful in both spacecraft and aircraft maintenance, as they keep ice from forming on the wings of the vehicle. Due to its incredible versatility and ultra lightweight, aerogel is a material of the future that will be utilized heavily in years to come. In the 1930’s Samuel Kistler removed all liquid from a silicon gel to produce an ultra-light material that functioned as an extremely efficient insulator, and named his discovery aerogel. It was initially marketed as an insulator, but due to developments in efficient insulation not being of priority in the 30’s, Aerogel development stalled. In the 1980’s, Aerogel development resumed as energy efficiency became a salient issue in America. (Aerogel Crystal Structure, 2005) Although it was deemed too costly for domestic use as insulation, the development of aerogels for commercial and military use has since taken off. Aerogel is produced by making a gel out of a desired material such as silicon, and replacing the liquid in a gel with a pure solvent. Then, the liquid in the gel is heated and pressurized so that it enters a supercritical state, where it can expand and compress like a gas, but has the density and thermal conductivity of a liquid. (H... ... greatly reduce the weight of planes and other military equipment. (DARPA Awards Aspen Aerogels, 2004) Due to their relatively high cost, the main consumers of aerogels are government agencies and large companies. The incredible capabilities and extreme versatility of aerogels provide a bright future for this technologically advanced material. As space exploration expands, lightweight insulation will be at a premium, and demand for aerogels will grow exponentially. In addition, its applications in the military and environmental uses will keep this material relevant for years to come. I believe that as research and development of aerogels continues, the cost of this material will decline to the point that it will become accessible to the average consumer, and could be used in protective gear or as originally conceived, as a cost efficient insulator for domestic uses.

Issues with Revenue Recognition Within the Software Industry

Issues With Revenue Recognition within the Software Industry The Isoft Example Financial Controller-SoftWarehouse Ltd This report has been prepared for the Board of Directors of SoftWarehouse Ltd for elucidation about the contentious issues that have given rise to the publication of the article concerning Isoft’s issues with revenue recognition. Finally, it will also assess whether or not these issues are likely to affect SoftWarehouse Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary:3 Introduction:5Part 1- Examining the Isoft Ltd example:5 PART 2 – The issues faced by software companies in relation to revenue recognition:6 Part 3- Issues raised that may impact SoftWarehouse Ltd:7 Part 4 – Future changes in revenue recognition standard:8 Conclusion:9 Reference List:10 Executive Summary: This report has been prepared for the Board of Directors of SoftWarehouse Ltd for elucidation about the contentious issues that have given rise to the publication of the article concernin g Isoft’s issues with revenue recognition.Finally, it will also assess whether or not these issues are likely to affect SoftWarehouse Ltd. In January 2006, Isoft, a Manchester based supplier of software applications for the healthcare sector, announced that its profit would be below market expectations due to a required change in its accounting policy for revenue recognition. Isoft was forced to reverse revenue of approximately ? 70m in 2005 and ? 55m in 2004 – when Deloitte found that Isoft was recognizing revenue sooner than it should have been.The underlying principle of Isoft’s historic revenue recognition policy had been that the value of the product licenses was recognised at the time of delivery, while the value of support and servicers was recognised as they were performed. Moreover, the value of licences was identifiable and separable form the implementation and support services provided. This is not aligned with what the AASB Revenue states. Consequent ly, Isoft engaged in controversial accounting practices. The company recognised revenue at the start of long-term contracts instead of recognising revenue over the life of the contract.Isoft was recognising revenues from contracts even though actual payments for some projects were due over an extended period (for example: one project it recognized revenue even though actual payments were to be paid over a two-year period). The accounting practice of recognising revenue in this method lead to an overstatement of its income, and therefore had the effect of misleading the stock market and Isoft’s overall credibility. After realigning its revenues to the current period (in 2006) to reflect a fair value of its performance, 40% was taken off its share values and the company was forced to lay off 10% of its staff.Isoft adopted a new revenue recognition policy, which more appropriately reflects the changing nature of the business as the group is involved with more complex and long-te rm product supply projects. In the new policy, licence revenues will be recognised over the same period as the implementation of revenues, which may range from a few months to a number of years from contract signature. This will increase visibility and predictability of earnings. At SoftWarehouse Ltd, our contracts with our customers involve the sale of customised software as well as its implementation and maintenance services.We recognise revenue in accordance to AASB 118. The revenue therefore, is recognised over the length of the contract. Due to the fact that our selling prices include an identifiable amount for the subsequent services, that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the period during which the service is performed. We recognise revenue by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the end of the reporting period. Therefore, I am confident that we will not encounter similar issues, which were faced by Isoft.However, due to the lack of guid ance from the IFRS and GAAP standards on revenue recognition, it is foreseeable that interpretations could become misguided or unaligned with these standards in the future. The issues raised by Isoft elucidate the importance of recording an accurate picture of its earnings. The joint project of the FASB and the IASB is trying to converge the two sets of standards and offer a single revenue recognition model that can be applied consistently to various transactions – which would address these issues of lack of guidance.Introduction: In January 2006, Isoft Ltd, a Manchester based supplier of software applications for the healthcare sector, announced that its profit would be below market expectations due to a change in its accounting policy for revenue recognition, when it announced its results for the year ended April 2006. This situation is not unusual within the software industry and reflects the issues that software companies face when it comes to accounting for revenues.As t he financial controller of SoftWarehouse Ltd, my goal is to clarify and explain the main issues faced by Isoft Ltd; the consequences of those issues on the business and finally; to determine if those practices could also impact the financial reporting within SoftWarehouse Ltd. Part 1- Examining the Isoft Ltd example: The underlying principle of Isoft Ltd’s historic revenue recognition policy had been that the value of product licences was recognised at the time of delivery, while the value of support and services was recognised as they were performed (Isoft 2006).Moreover, under this policy, the value of licences was identifiable and separable from the implementation and support services provided (Isoft 2006). AASB 118- Revenue (AASB 2010), gives some guidance on how to recognise revenue: â€Å"When the selling price of a product includes an identifiable amount for subsequent servicing, that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the period, which the service is p erformed. AASB (2010) illustrates that statement by giving an example which can be applied to Isoft Ltd’s situation: â€Å"When the selling price of a product includes an identifiable amount for subsequent services (for example, after sales support and product enhancement on the sale of software), that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the period during which the service is performed. The amount deferred is that which will cover the expected costs of the services under the agreement, together with a reasonable profit on those services. † Therefore, it seems that Isoft Ltd’s traditional policy is acceptable under AASB 118- Revenue.Isoft Ltd had to change its revenue recognition after Deloitte had found that some revenues had been recognised earlier than they should have been (Stafford 2006), which lead to an overstatement of its income and therefore had the effect of misleading the stock market (Griffiths and Bowers 2006), and thus affect Isoftâ⠂¬â„¢s credibility. When the company was obliged to realign its revenues to the current period in 2006 to reflect a fair value of its performance, its revenues got wiped out and it knocked 40% off its share values. The company also announced that at 10% of its staff would be laid off (Meyer 2006).Under Isoft Ltd’s new revenue recognition policy, licence revenues will be recognised over the same period as implementation revenues, which may range from a few months to a number of years from contract signature, and over the full duration of the contract in the case of managed services (Isoft Ltd 2006). The group stated that a change of accounting policy for revenue recognition is needed to more appropriately reflect the changing nature of the business as the group is involved with more complex and long-term product supply projects (Isoft Ltd 2006).Isoft Ltd also mentioned that its new revenue recognition policy would increase visibility and predictability of earnings (RNS 2006). PART 2 – The issues faced by software companies in relation to revenue recognition: Isoft Ltd was accused of being engaged in controversial accounting practices. The main issue with Isoft Ltd’s accounting practices is that it was recognising revenue sooner than it should have been. The company recognised revenue at the start of long-term contracts instead of recognising revenue over the life of the contract (Moulds 2006).Indeed, during the year 2004-2005, Isoft Ltd accounted in full for the revenue raised as part of long-term contracts at the time of receiving part prepayments. Analysts had found that Isoft Ltd, the main software supplier for the NHS’s ? 6. 2bn IT project, was recognising revenues from contracts even though actual payments for projects were only due over two years time (Neveling 2006). For the year ending April 2004, Isoft Ltd recognised ? 30m of payments from Accenture and CSC who were implementing the NHS’s technology overhaul (UK Parli ament 2007).One of the main issues in accounting is about revenue recognition, especially in our IT industry. As KPMG (2009) stated, IFRS does not provide any specific guidance on revenue recognition for software related transactions. The IFRS standard and the Australian GAAP standard on revenue recognition lack guidance when a transaction involves both a good and services related to that good (IASB 2008) – which is often the case for software companies. The difficulty for software companies resides in the fact that due to this vagueness, it is hard to distinguish the revenue from the software and the revenue from the services offered.As Stafford (2006) mentioned, Isoft Ltd is not the first software company to have had issues with revenue recognition. Part 3- Issues raised that may impact SoftWarehouse Ltd: At Softwarehouse Ltd, we are providing customised software to our customers in the mining industry. Our contracts with our customers involve the sale of customised softwar e as well as its implementation and maintenance services. We recognise revenue according to AASB 118, which we previously mentioned in detail in part 1.AASB (2010) adds an interesting point for guidance: â€Å"fees from the development of customised software are recognised as revenue by reference to the stage of completion of the development, including completion of services provided for post delivery service support. † The revenue is therefore, recognised over the length of the contract. Due to the fact that our selling prices include an identifiable amount for the subsequent services we deliver, that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the period during which the service is performed.We recognise revenue by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the end of the reporting period. We are confident that we will not encounter a similar situation than the one Isoft Ltd went through. However, I have to admit that the AASB is not giving clear guida nce regarding revenue recognition, which leaves us with our own interpretation. Due to this lack of guidance, it could be foreseeable that our interpretation could become misguided or unaligned with the AASB. We should always be aware that even though our policy is acceptable under the Australian GAAP, it doesn’t mean that we are protected from making mistakes.Indeed, Isoft Ltd’s traditional policy was acceptable under the Australian GAAP. However, as their contracts changed, Isoft Ltd did not update its policy, which led to misalignment. At Softwarehouse Ltd, we have to bear in mind that if the type of contracts or transactions that we offer change, then we will have to update our policy to accurately reflect our financial position. Ultimately, we must ensure that we do not recognise revenue too early and overstate our income. Part 4 – Future changes in revenue recognition standard:We are still keeping a close eye on the project regarding the new revenue recogn ition model: the Contract- based revenue recognition model. This is a joint project of the FASB and the IASB whose goal is to converge the two sets of standards (Henry & Holzmann 2009) and to offer single revenue recognition model that can be applied consistently to various transactions (IASB 2008). If adopted the proposed standard will replace existing standards AASB 118- Revenue. The core principle of this model is that an entity would recognise revenue from contracts with customers when it transfers promised goods or services to the customer.The amount of revenue recognised would be the amount of consideration promised by the customer in exchange for the transferred goods or services (RSM Bird Cameron 2011). Under this new revenue recognition model, it is stated that the â€Å"entity should recognise revenue when its net position in a contract with a customer increases as a result of satisfying a performance obligation. An entity satisfies a performance obligation when it transf ers goods and services to a customer. † (IFRS 2008). The last exposure draft (IFRS 2011) indicates â€Å"if a romised good or service is not distinct, an entity would combine that good or service with other promised goods or services until the entity identifies a bundle of goods or services that is distinct. Therefore, the entity would account for the bundle as a single performance obligation†. The revenue for that performance obligation would then be recognised over time by selecting an appropriate measure of progress towards complete satisfaction of the performance obligation (IFRS 2011). Conclusion: One of the main issues in accounting concerns revenue recognition, especially within the software/IT industry.The IFRS and the Australian GAAP standards on revenue recognition lack guidance when it comes to multiple element transactions. Due to this lack of guidance, it is foreseeable that interpretations could become misguided or unaligned with the IFRS or Australian GAA P standards. The issues raised by Isoft Ltd, elucidate the importance of recording an accurate picture of its earnings. Indeed, Isoft had to change its revenue recognition after it was exposed that some revenues had been recognised earlier than they should have been, which lead to an overstatement of its income and therefore had the effect of misleading the stock market.The joint project of the FASB and the IASB is trying to address these issues of lack of guidance. Reference List: Australian Accounting Standards Board 2010, AASB 118 Revenue. Available from: www. aasb. gov. au. [20 March 2012]. Griffiths, I & Bowers, S 2006, ‘Revealed: Isoft’s U-turn on accounts problems’, The Guardian 2 November. Available from: . [8 April 2012]. Henry, E & Holzmann, OJ 2009, ‘Contract-Based Revenue Recognition’, The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, pp. 77-81. Available from: Proquest [28 March 2011].House of Commons, Committee of Public Accounts 2007, Dep artment of Health: the national programme for IT in the NHS, The Stationary Office, London. International Accounting Standards Board 2008, Discussion Paper Preliminary views on revenue recognition in contracts with customers. Available from: . [20 March 2012]. IFRS 2011, Exposure draft revenue from contracts with customers. Available from: . [5 April 2012]. KPMG 2009, Impact of IFRS on the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing Industries. Available from: < https://www. in. kpmg. com/securedata/ifrs_Institute/Files/IFRS_IT. df>. [ 10 April 2012]. Meyer, D 2006, ‘NHS IT timescale questioned as Isoft CEO resigns’, Zdnet 15 June. Available from: . [7 April 2012]. Moulds, J 2006, ‘Isoft directors and ex- auditors face questioning in new inquiry’, The Telegraph 26 October 2006. Available from: . [5 April 2012]. Neveling, N 2006, ‘What’s going on at Isoft’, Financial Director 31 August 2006. Available from: . [7 April 2012]. R NS 2006, Isoft Change in Accounting Policy. Available from: . [5 April 2012]. RSM Bird Cameron Chartered Accountants, 2011, Revenue Recognition- New and Revised Proposal, Available from: http://www. rsmi. com. au/rsbcwr/_assets/main/lib90034/111220_financial%20insight_revenue%20recognition%20web. pdf>. [28 March 2012]. Stafford, P 2006, ‘Revenue Recognition is Isoft’s Curse’, Financial Times 9 August. Available from: http://www. ft. com. [5 April 2012]. Uk Parliament 2007, Memorandum submitted by Ian Griffiths and Simon Bowers. Available from: . [8 April 2012].

Case Summary: Owens & Minor, Inc.

Minor did not want to pass up. This case explains the strategy Balderdash and his team approached to attain the bold with Ideal. The year prior to the bid, O&M was struggling to contain Its costs while trying to understand the profitability of their customers and services. By the end of 1995 the company had encountered an $1 1 knew that he needed to reevaluate the company's costing and pricing methods If they wanted to even be considered in winning the Ideal contract. Palavered and the team were concerned with their current cost-plus pricing method.Cost-plus signified that the customer paid a base manufacturer price plus a mark-up added on by the distributor. This allowed for drawbacks like customers engaging in â€Å"cherry-picking† and only enabling the distributors to manage low-margin, inexpensive products. This method also tied O's fee to the value of the product rather than the value of the service. The complexity of the pricing structure made it difficult for purchasing manager to track actual product costs or compare quotes from competing manufacturers and distributors.The company did more than what was being paid for. Their tasks included: Own and manage the inventory for the manufacturer Take on the financial risk associated with the function of managing the inventory flow to the hospitals Care for product returns Carry the receivables (cash flow issues due to long payment terms of customers) Carry and manage most of the inventory for the hospitals (stockpiles at times) Track and verify â€Å"customer prices for contracted product purchases† and â€Å"monitor agreements between end-users and manufacturers†.Owens & Minor creates a clear value-add for both manufacturers and suppliers. O&M takes the full responsibility for all parts of selling a product. On the other hand customers don't want to buy and own products before they are ready to use It. Thus O also enables them to achieve more efficient structures, while reducing addition al costs related to managing efficiently. The best decision for this company Is to follow activity based costing and develop that Into activity based pricing.Customers were requesting efferent types of services such as products to be packaged In smaller units and having stockpiles programs. Valves and his tea hoped that activity-based pricing system would align fees with services, reliving O of the burden of unprofitable customers. Using the BBC method would enable the company to evaluate their cost drivers and make efficient decisions based on that data. Although, Palavered and his team submitted a flexible plan where they offered to use both pricing methods, it method proving that they can be leaders in changing the market.

Employment Benefits Comparison

Employment Benefits Comparison Introduction Employment benefits are the advantages which employees get from various organizations. These benefits act as incentives for workers to perform better for their own benefit and for the benefit of the organization.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Employment Benefits Comparison specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employments benefits differ from organization to organization and they change with time. Most of the benefits offered to workers in 1980’s and 1990’s  ­ are not the same as those offered today. Some of the benefits offered to workers by their employers from the year 2000 up to now are almost the same or have not changed much. Most benefits offered to employees by 1980’s have been completely eliminated by most governments and only few employment benefits offered over two decades ago are still being offered to workers today. Various bills have been passed to protect the w elfare of workers to make sure that organizations offer various benefits to workers. These legislations include: The medical bill of 2003, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Employees Retirement Income Security Act and Family and Medical Leave Act. Some of the employment benefits include: Health care and welfare benefits, Retirement and retrenchment benefits, family benefits, financial benefits, leave benefits, family benefits, flexible working benefits, housing and relocation benefits, employee service benefits and business travel benefits besides others. Most of these benefits have been introduced recently and in 1980’s they were non-existent. Organizations in majority of countries offer these benefits to their workers and indeed the Organization for Economic Co-corporation and Development (OECD) countries are leading in ensuring that workers get their employment benefits.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help y ou! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Healthcare and welfare benefits Healthcare and welfare benefits were offered by organizations in the 1980’s to help employee manage their healthcare and that of their dependents. Most organizations today cover the full cost of healthcare of the employee while in some organizations the cost is shared between the organization and the employee. Currently many healthcare benefits have emerged, for instance some organizations today offer healthcare and welfare benefits which focus on child wellbeing and fertility such as contraceptive coverage, infertility treatment and in-vitro fertilization and this could not happen in the 1980’s and 1990’s (2011 Employment Benefits, 2011). In the1980’s, limited benefit indemnity medical plan and free of service plans were offered to employees. This allowed each employee to compare various providers of healthcare services and then choose the one they liked most . But now very few organizations offer this kind of healthcare benefits to their workers. Currently, firms with high staff turnover or those with high number of part time workers are likely to offer mini-med-health plans to reduce the cost they are likely to incur in case an employee falls sick (2011 Employment Benefits, 2011). Most employers these days offer benefits such as mental health coverage, accidental death insurance, long term care insurance, hospital insurance and intensive insurance to their employees. A good employee-employer relationship is needed to attract and retain employee talent. Some of the benefits particularly these healthcare and welfare benefits are made to nurture such a productive relationship between employers and employees (2010 Employment Benefits, 2009).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Employment Benefits Comparison specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In 2003, Medicare bill was e nacted which led to the creation of Health Savings Accounts (OECD Employment Outlook, 2003).This bill helps employees to save money on a tax free basis for future qualified medical and retirement healthcare cost. About one third of institutions, firms and companies offer these accounts to their workers. Contribution to these accounts is maybe by the employee, employer or both of them. In addition 20% organizations today offer health reimbursement arrangements to their employees. This is aimed at contributing money to the health saving accounts so that the employees can use the money to pay for their health care services. Retirement savings and planning benefits Every organization has its own retirement benefits which cover certain amount of years which are offered to help workers plan for their future lives. Retirement and retrenchment benefits became a common object in the 1980’s and up to now these benefits are offered by organizations across the globe. There are various ty pes of retirement plans offered to employees. Some of them include: Defined contribution retirement plans and Roth 401(K) retirement plan which are two common plans nowadays (2010 Employment Benefits, 2010). Other retirement plans are the traditional defined benefit retirement pension plan and cash balance pension plans which were prevalent in the 1980’s and 1990’s (OECD Employment outlook, 1994).These two are not common in many organization these days. Supplement executive retirement plans (SERPs) are non-qualified plans that offer benefits above those covered in other retirement plans. These SERPs are authorized under the Employees Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More About ten years ago organizations offered financial planning benefits such as individual investment advices and retirement preparation advice. Although these programs do not contribute to employee’s income, they can help employees plan their retirement benefits wisely. However few organizations offer these programs today. On the other hand, phase retirement program is currently offered to employees which involve reduction of schedule or responsibilities for workers who are about to retire. This retirement plan helps employees to ease into retirement while passing on their valuable knowledge which they have accumulated over the years to other employees. Although retirement savings, planning benefit and defined benefit pension plans are old retirement plans they are still offered today. Most of these retirement benefits have not changed very much since the year 2000(OECD Employment outlook, 1998). Financial and compensation benefits Certain group of employees get financial and compensation benefits which help them deal with monetary transactions conveniently. Most of these benefits were non-existent in 1980’s but are common in many organizations today. These benefits include: Membership in credit unions which offer low interest rates on loans, which offer loans for emergency and disaster assistance while others offer no-interest loans for non-emergency situations. Provision of life insurance for dependents, accident insurance, accelerated death benefits, and assistance in case of terminal disease such as cancer are other benefits workers enjoy nowadays especially those in OECD countries (OECD Employment Outlook, 2003). Commuter benefits are offered to offset the cost workers incur as they move from one play to other while carrying out operations of their companies. These include transport allowances, on-site parking, parking subsidies, carpool subsidies. Other recent developments include some organization offering spending accounts, auto-insurance programs and company –owned vehicles to their employees. Education assistance to employees such as career development benefits are important as they both benefit the employee and the employer since the employees have a chance to expound their knowledge and this leads to creation of a better workforce which is a benefit to the employer. Undergraduate and graduate education assistance as well as education assistance to members of employees families are other benefits offered to workers (2010 Employment Benefits, 2010). Most organizations offer monetary bonuses through various ways. Some lay out a criteria which when met by the employees, they will receive more compensation, incentive bonuses, promotions and this leads to high performance. Other incentives include: sign-on bonuses for new workers, retentions bonus for workers who stay in the organization for a considerable period and lastly referral bonuses which are offered to workers who refer and encourage new members to be p art of the organization. In addition some organization recently have been able offer technology services and discounts to their employees such as business cell phones, personal computers, iPads and internet connections and these benefits helps employees cut down the associated costs of such services (2011 Employment Benefits, 2011). Leave benefits Leave benefits include paid time off plan which includes traditional vacation time, sick leave or personal days. Paid vacation plans these days are offered by most organizations to full-time employees which can be inform of cash-out option or a paid vacation leave donation program. Other leave benefits include paid personal leaves and floating holidays whereby employees receive payment on their leaves (2010 Employment Benefits, 2010). Personal days may be used as birthdays, for religion purposes or as mental health days. Most companies now offer these leave benefits because they recognize that there is need for employees to have time-off w ork for purposes other than vacation and illness. Floating holidays are recent development in the employee’s benefit list whereby workers are given certain amount of days of their choice during the year to use for holidays. Other leaves include paid sick leave whereby employees who are sick are paid and this protects the employees from loss of income when they are sick. Some organizations offer stand-alone sick leave plan while others provide a paid sick leave donation program to their employees. Family and Medical leave act of 1993 ensures that every employee has a 12 weeks unpaid job-protected leave for a year if the employee, his/her spouse or child has a serious medical condition. Although the act doesn’t require the various public and private organizations to pay for the leave some organization pay for the leave (OECD Employment outlook, 1999) Military leaves, leave for new parents, paid paternity and maternity leaves are other leaves which have been offered by va rious organizations since 1980’s. Indeed maternity and parental benefits were introduced in the 1980’s and the companies offering them have increased greatly since then. However long-term parental benefits nowadays are restricted to the OECD countries (OECD Employment outlook, 2003). A few organizations today are even able to offer paid adoption leaves to their employees, paid time-off to serve on board of a community group, paid time off for volunteering, paid and unpaid sabbatical program and paid time off for group vacation. Other employment benefits Other employment benefits include family friendly benefits, flexible working benefits, employee service benefits, housing and relocation benefits and business travel benefits. Under family friendly benefits, most organization nowadays are able to provide dependent care flexible accounts to their employees where money is set aside which can be used later to care for the employee’s dependants. In addition some orga nizations offer child care benefits to their employees such as child care emergency, adoption or foster care assistance and child care referral services whereby a portion of companies today allow their workers to bring their babies to work on regular basis. This reduces the cost which is incurred by employees when they access services such as non-subsidized child care or back up child care services. Dependent care flexible account can be used by employees to offset cost of elder care. Other family friendly benefits include back up elder care benefits, geriatric counselling, assisted living assessments and elder care in-home assessment (2011 Employment Benefits, 2011). Employee service benefits offered by companies include provision of language skills and work/life balance benefits. Globalization is happening fast in today’s world and has prompted people of diverse cultures to move from one part of the globe to another. As a result workforce and customers of many organizations consist of people with various levels of language proficiency. Due to this many organization organize for foreign language classes for specific group of employees. On the other hand work/life balance benefits are also offered by organizations today in many OECD countries. Many organizations provide quick access to food and beverages by having automatic vending machines near work place. Banks and Post offices are likewise near workplace and this reduces time workers spend moving to use various services and this optimizes their performance for the benefit of the organization (2011 Employment Benefits, 2011). Housing and relocation employment benefits have existed since time immemorial but recently they have been modified to suit the needs of workforce in many organizations today. Most organizations offer one-time permanent relocation whereby companies offer one time simple relocation lump sum payment. Others offer local visit assistance or house hunting trips to employees, spouse rel ocation assistance, down payment assistance and temporary relocation assistance. However housing and relocation assistance have declined over the last few years. Business travel benefits offered by companies today include travel expenses and additional pay to the employees involved in the travelling (2010 Employment Benefits, 2010). Conclusion Employment benefits have changed over the years since 1980’s through 1990’s to the present day. Various employment benefits have declined and in some countries they have been completely eliminated. For instance labour market leaves existed in some countries in the 1980’s such as Belgium but they declined in the following years and in Denmark they were eliminated by 1999 (OECD Employment Outlook,1999). In most countries, employment benefits allocation in Human Resource budget is fixed or marginally flexible hence job seekers are selective in choosing their employers and are likely to work in those organizations which offer fringe employment benefits. Employment benefits are meant to improve employee’s performance, attract new personnel to an organization and improve employer-employee relation for the benefit of any organization. Governments of various states have passed various bills which act in favour of employees in both private and public organizations to make sure they get various employment benefits. Almost all organizations offer some kind benefit to their employees with big organizations offering more benefits to their employees. The kind of employment benefits offered by organizations depends on their size and workforce. For example a company with high proportion of part-time workers will chose to offer benefits which are suitable for such kind of workforce to cut down the cost spend on employment benefits. References 2010 Employee Benefits. (2010).Examining Employee Benefits in the midst of a recovering economy.pp.1-92.Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/ 2011 Employee Benefits. (201 1). Examining Employee Benefits Amidst Uncertainty, society for human resource management. pp.1-92, Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/ OECD Employment outlook. (1994).Work-force ageing in OECD countries. Retrieved from: oecd.org/ OECD Employment outlook. (1998). Displacement and Job Loss: The workers concerned, pp.1-34, Retrieved from: oecd.org/ OECD Employment outlook. (1999).Recent labour market developments and prospects, Special focus on the quality of part-time jobs, pp.1-33, Retrieved from: oecd.org/ OECD Employment outlook. (2003). Towards More and Better Jobs Benefits and Employment, Friend or Foe? Interactions Between Passive and Active Social Programmes, pp.1-65, Retrieved from: oecd.org/ OECD Employment Outlook. (2009).Is work the best antidote for poverty?. pp.1-46. Retrieved from: oecd.org/

How to Format an NLM Reference List

How to Format an NLM Reference List How to Format an NLM Reference List NLM referencing is used by many medical schools and journals. Thus, if you are studying medicine, you may need to use NLM referencing in your written work. And in this post, we’ll look at the basics of how to format an NLM reference list. Read on to find out more. NLM Reference List Rules In NLM referencing, as well as citing sources in the main text, you need to list each cited source at the end of your document. This list can be titled â€Å"References,† â€Å"End References,† â€Å"Literature Cited,† or â€Å"Bibliography† (check your school’s style guide if you are not sure which to use). Beyond this, there are some rules that apply to reference lists in NLM referencing: Write author and editor names surname first. Use initials in place of first and middle names. List all named authors for each source, regardless of how many there are. Use a comma to separate author names in each entry. Capitalize only the first word of book and article titles, along with proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms in titles and subtitles. Reproduce other titles (e.g., web pages) as they were originally published. Abbreviate significant words in journal titles (and omit other terms). Use a colon followed by a space to separate titles from subtitles. For online sources, include a citation date in square brackets after the date of publication; you should also give a URL at the end of the reference after the words â€Å"Available from.† Beyond this, how you organize a reference list will depend on the citation style used in the document. In the rest of this post, then, we will look at how to format an NLM reference list when using the citation-sequence, citation-name, and name-year versions of this system. NLM Refence List: Citation-Sequence In the citation-sequence system, you cite sources with superscript numbers in the main text. These numbers point to entries in the reference list, with sources listed in the order they are first cited. As such, the first source you cite becomes the first entry in your reference list, the second source you cite would become the second entry, etc. For instance: 1. Hopper D, Farrow A. Medical bibliographies. J Med Writ. 2008 June 15; 4(1): 128-130. 2. Aaronson A. A history of English alphabetization. New York, NY: Penguin; 1998. 480 p. 3. Zedwick Z. Understanding NLM [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine; 2011 Jan 5 [cited 2018 Nov 11]. Available from: nlm.nih.gov/NLM-referencing. Here, for example, the fact that â€Å"Medical bibliographies† by Hopper and Farrow is the first source in the list would mean that it is also the first source cited in the document. We would then know that any citation with a superscript â€Å"1† in the text points to this entry in the reference list. NLM Refence List: Citation-Name The citation-name system is similar to the citation-sequence version in that you cite sources with numbers in the main text, with each number indicating a source in the reference list. However, with this version of NLM referencing, you order sources in the reference list itself alphabetically by author surname. With this version of the system, then, our NLM reference list would look like this: 1. Aaronson A. A history of English alphabetization. New York, NY: Penguin; 1998. 480 p. 2. Hopper D, Farrow A. Medical bibliographies. J Med Writ. 2008 June 15; 4(1): 128-130. 3. Zedwick Z. Understanding NLM [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine; 2011 Jan 5 [cited 2018 Nov 11]. Available from: nlm.nih.gov/NLM-referencing. The â€Å"Aaronson† source is first here because â€Å"A† comes before â€Å"H† and â€Å"Z† in the alphabet. We would then cite each source with the number of its position in the reference list. NLM Refence List: Name-Year Things are a little different in the name-year citation system. In this version of NLM referencing, you cite sources by giving the author’s surname and a year of publication in brackets. In the references at the end of the document, meanwhile, you list all sources alphabetically by author surname: Aaronson A. 1998. A history of English alphabetization. New York, NY: Penguin. 480 p. Hopper D, Farrow A. 2008. Medical bibliographies. J Med Writ. 4(1): 128-130. Zedwick Z. 2011. Understanding NLM [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine; [cited 2018 Nov 11]. Available from: nlm.nih.gov/NLM-referencing. The list here is, then, in the same order as with the citation-name system. However, there are two major differences: We do not number sources as there are no numbered citations. Because we use the year of publication for sources in citations, we give this detail immediately after the author’s name in the reference list. Otherwise, though, this version of NLM referencing is the same as the versions above when it comes to formatting a reference list.