Pak mulls removing import duy on Indian Tea Essay Example for Free

Pak mulls removing import duy on Indian Tea Essay Free trade takes place when there are no barriers and no intrusions to trade put by the authority(government and trade organisations). Free trade allows goods and services to flow freely freely from one country to another. The opposite to free trade is Protectionism. There are many protectionism that the government of a particular country can impose on trade. Main types of protectionism: * Tariffs * Subsidies * Quotas * Embargoes The governement of Pakistan has imposed a trade barrier on the import of Tea from India. India tea is under a 10 percent import duty. Some possible reasons for the imposition of Import duty on Tea are given below. * To prevent over specialisation * To raise government revenue * To remove balance of payment deficits Given below is a graph that shows the effect of imposing import duty on the import of Tea. Due to the imposition of import duty the prices for Tea rises from P-world to P- import duty because of which the Supply curve shifts from S-world to S- world+ import duty . Therefore there is an overall consumer loss. Areas a,b,c and d shows the consumer loss. Area a shows the producers gain. Area b shows green loss. It is said to be a Green Loss because there is inefficiency that is creeping in this area as inefficient domestic producers are now producing this area at a higher price. Area c shows the government revenue due the import duty. Area d shows the net loss. d is not being produced or demanded due to the rise in prices, this shows the net loss towards the consumer. Tea is an important drink in every Pakistani house and Pakistan is the second largest importer of Tea. Therefore the demand curve for Tea in Pakistan is very inelastic. The smuggled tea is sold at a low cost but due to the Inelastic demand for Tea, The change in the price of tea should have a realively low change in the demand. However, the article states that Pakistan imports 140 million kg and 20 million kg is smuggled. This shows that 12.5 % of tea is smuggled, which is a very high rate. This indirectly shows that Tea inspite of being very inelastic in demand, a change in price will have a big effect on the demand. Area d in the above graph is consumer loss in Trade between India and Pakistan. However, this area is being demanded and supplied throught smuggling and illegal trade. Therefore, Area d can also be observed as the government loss of revenue. India and Kenya are the two main countrys supplying Pakistan with tea. Due to the drought in Kenya the prices have increased tremendously. This puts Pakistan in a very infavourable situation. S-world takes into account the imported supply of Tea from India and Kenya. Due to the import duty the price shifts from P world to P- import duty and the supply shifts from S- world to S- world+ import duty. Again due to the drougth the price shifts from P- import duty to P1 and the supply shifts from S- world+ import duty to S- world 2. Due to the very high prices people will stop consuming Tea and move to other alternatives like coffee. Also smuggling of Tea will increase tremendously. The net effect will have a tremedous loss of revenue for the government.

My Mentoring Account In Nursing Practice Nursing Essay

My Mentoring Account In Nursing Practice Nursing Essay This is my reflective account of my performance as a mentor in clinical setting, assessing the learning environment and the strategies used for teaching and assessing a student nurse. I have been mentoring student and newly qualified theatre practitioner for many years as a registered nurse for more than 20 years and as a qualified anaesthetic practitioner for 3 years. Working alongside with different mentors in the past help me to understand the different characteristics of being a mentor and developed my own style of facilitating learning within a clinical setting. I have unique experienced of conveying knowledge to others in a way that is comprehensible and significant through my work as a multi-skilled theatre practitioner. Because this assignment is a reflection of my performance in mentoring and assessing a student in nursing practice, Gibbs reflective cycle (1998) will be used the same model I used when I did my University post graduate course 3 years ago. Currently the hospital has program of mentoring university students and newly graduates. The program is in addition to the current program that familiarise students and new graduates to the theatre they will be assigned. It considers influencing the students learning experience by mentorship and assessment. The surgical setting as a learning environment will be examined and the accountability and value of the role of a mentor will be looked upon at. Finally, the overall performance of mentoring will be evaluated. To follow the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC2008) names will be changed and withheld confidential information and the student will be named as my mentee. According to the NMC (2006) students on NMC approved pre-registration nursing course be required to be supported and assessed by a mentor. The nurses / operating department practitioners selected to be mentors should be in the register and should be required to be up to date with their skills, knowledge and competencies with continuity. On the first day of my mentee right after her orientation, we have drawn up her learning opportunities so that there was an awareness of what my mentee hoped to gain from the operating theatre experience. As part of the course work one teaching session and one assessment were arranged. Teaching session includes informal and formal. The formal session happened in the theatre operating room and involved positioning of patients before surgery. My mentee was on her first clinical placement and is not familiar and no experience within a theatre setting. Present during the procedure were myself, my mentee, the rest of the theatre team and an unconscious patient under general anaesthesia. Before any learning lesson took place, it is crucial to build an effective working relationship with the student (Bally, J, 2007). Being kind to her and offering assistance for any needs she might have. My mentee feel that she is part of the team and that she wont feel alone. I build up her confidence by expressing to her that at any point of the teaching session if she did not understand a protocol, or why things were done, or why that thing is important, I will be there to explain and guide her. Learner must be made feel that they are welcome and important; this way will assist the learner to incorporate themselves into the clinical environment (Welsh and Swan 2006). Being approachable and friendly I was enabled to maintain a trusting and comfortable relationship beneficial to learning. My student felt that my character has a strong professional relationship throughout the learning experience. According to the student I am mentoring with, the relationship reduced her tension and anxiety which can affect her ability to learn. Anxiety in students happen to diminished when the mentors are capable of building good working relationship with the students for almost their entire placement (Slevin 2005). Openly welcoming and recognising my student in the team give her a sense of valued as an individual resulting in a positive effect on their self esteem. Personal attributes of the mentor is sometimes the number one barrier when creating effective learning experience. You need to be a good role model to be a good mentor. When I was a nursing student in my own country, I had mentors who were good role models where I learned more and given a chance to share my ideas and feel that I was valued. The results were I enjoyed my placement and excelled in my learning outcomes. To be a successful mentor, it is important that you will find ways to improve the learning environment. It can be a difficult task when creating suitable environment and can affect the learning experience. Nursing students has different backgrounds. Some had good experience working in a healthcare setting as healthcare assistant before entering to University while some just went straight to enrol in a nursing course; therefore, it is necessary to make an appropriate environment for each individual to take full advantage of the learning process (Lowenstein and Bradshaw 2004). The setting for the formal learning session was demanding as my mentee was not familiar working in a hospital theatre based environment. The chosen location was a theatre where it is located at the most secluded area to minimise interruption. This will ensure that my student will give her full attention during the teaching session. Evaluation of the learning process and assessment of the effectiveness of the session will help me to achieve by good planning of teaching session Hinchcliffe (2004). Numerous teaching sessions took place before assessment was done to guarantee that my mentee will feel confident and gained the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out the procedure. We involved each other thru direct questioning, discussion and observation and my mentee is fully aware that she has been assessed at the time of questioning. I taken into account in which the manner my mentee learns as it is important to recognize her learning style so that it can be incorporated to the learning material to facilitate effective learning (McNair et al 2007). Recognizing her individual learning style helps me to arrange her learning preferences. According to Kolb (1984) there are four distinct styles of learning or preferences which are based on four stages, diverging, assimilating, converging and accommodating learning styles. Although mentor and learner has different learning styles the NMC (2006) has developed a standard which point out that mentors have to strive and achieve best fit practice with the level and type of learners that they came upon in training as mentors and learners has different learning styles. It was felt that my mentee is a reflector as she likes to be given adequate time to think things through before reaching to conclusion. She also likes to observe in contrast to direct participation and slow to make up her mind and reach a decision as opposed to her as good in listening and assimilating information. For that reason the diverging learning style was applied for best possible learning. On a variety of occasions, it was clear that my mentee is good in watching a procedure before performing it. Prior to the start of any session, together we made proper visual checks and verbal questionings to the patient and noted in the pre-operative checklist. I pointed out that confirming the patients correct details is of paramount importance and one of the many safety issues she has to consider. Knowing that we have the correct person and the correct procedure, my mentee told me that she is happy and confident to proceed. Surgical room department is one of the most stressful environme nt in the hospital, thus, we give our student an assurance and support that they need from us. When doing the safety positioning of patient before surgery, I was talking to my mentee through the procedure step by step as I put the patient under anaesthesia, intubating and positioning the patient for a procedure. A number of questions followed to test my mentees understanding of the process and she correctly prioritised the order of step by step procedure. In this assessment, my mentee demonstrated theoretically her ability to integrate to the team to provide safe and effective care for the patient. It was also felt that my mentee was learning in an andragogical way, the teaching methods for adult learners, a term used by Knowles (1970). This became obvious when drawing up her learning opportunities. As the formal session involved not only my mentee it was felt that all different types of the learning styles should be consider as every student had their own styles of learning. Realising what the individual characters and needs is important for learning to be effective. Audio-visual materials were used for teaching as this type of learning aids can speed up learning through the use of diverse senses (Neeraja 2008).It is evident that group work allowed the student to produce a working relationship and expectation and it made the learning environment enjoyable and gives me a greater insight into different learning styles when doing it within a group. A written self-assessment followed the session to support my student to assess her strengths and weaknesses. This style of assessment can be valuable for the students as when they assessed themselves can occasionally focus on a negative or limitation. This gives me a chance to advise and correct the weakness and help to point out positi ve aspects of my mentees practice (Welsh and Swann 2006). I told my mentee that she needs to improve her self confidence to make a speedy safe decision before and during a procedure. I also pointed out some concerns on her practice document leaving it out to the last minute and be assertive enough to get it filled in at a regular intervals. Also discussed was her progress and conversely how she taught she was doing. At this point I discussed her development and that she is progressing well and that I was very pleased with her overall performance. I ended the review of her performance with a sandwich feedback (Hinchcliff 2004). It consists of giving not so good feedback inserted between positive feedbacks. My mentee was pleased to fulfil her learning objectives and that she enjoyed the way teaching happens as I took into consideration her individual learning style. She pointed out that an up to date induction pack before placement will be of big help as it makes her less anxious about working in the different surgical department after only having her hospital placements. An action plan has been drawn in response to this. The website directory of the university has been made up to date so students can now access up to date information in relation to this placement. Students should be provided with an induction pack as it will prepare them for the placement ahead (RCN 2007). On reflection the learning experience in general was very encouraging as my mentee was able to accomplish her competencies in an environment conducive to learning. I was able to established effective working relationship and leadership with by influencing and being a role model. By acting as a role model in clinical setting and looking to address natural obstacles in the surgical theatres as operating room are known to be full of activity and issues with staffing levels which contribute to effectiveness on the quality of assessing students (Phillips et al, 2000). I probably could not only develop myself and my student but also other mentors conduct and practice in a constructive way (Girvin 1998). My mentee has given me a positive feedback on my performance as her mentor and made very supportive and encouraging comments. She felt she was fully integrated into the learning environment and thought she was part of the surgical team. Upon reflecting on what I have found difficult about the learning experience, I found that as a mentor I can be faced with different forms of liability as I should be able to validate the marks given for an assessment. As a registered professional, I am accountable in the decisions I will make and must act in the best interests of service users (HCPC 2012). This is obviously no different to the role of the mentor and assessment of student in clinical practice. For that reason, assessing my students competencies brings the same responsibility I have to my patients (Jarvis and Gibson, 1997). After much examination and evaluation of the whole learning experience, I am looking forward to further develop my role as mentor to be a good contributor in educating future nurses. I will attempt to speak more slowly and clearly and learning more about my student before the assessment. I would consider gaining feedback of my student performance from my colleagues as it would allow taking into account the view of other professionals to promote clinical excellence and professionalism. To conclude, mentoring and assessing is fundamental in helping the student to have a complete learning experience. Mentors and student should outline their aims and objectives at the beginning and a professional relationship should be preserved throughout. Assessing nursing student is paramount in delivering a safe and competent nursing care.

Bicycle Propulsion Systems

Bicycle Propulsion Systems 1.Abstract This report documents the development of bicycle propulsion systems over time and mentions the changes made to make the bicycle more efficient, safe, faster and resistant. It defines what a bicycles drivetrain system is in a few words and what they are used for on a bicycle. It includes brief information about 4 of the first bicycles made in the 1800s and refers to the changes in design and materials used for these bicycles. It also consists information of the 2 main bicycles used today and the improvements they have had compared to the older bicycles. At last, this report recommends improvements that could be made to the bicycle to make it more efficient. 3.Nomenclature Km/h = kilometers per hour Kg = kilograms Torque = a force that causes rotation Cadence = the number of revolutions of the crank per minute 4.Introduction Public transportation has changed and improved over a great period of time. These improvements have helped make transportation ,from one location to another, much easier. The bicycle is a great example of a method of transportation that has gone through a lot of improvements so that it is easier to use, faster, safer and more damage resistant. All this has happened by engineers taking into consideration the materials they use and the design of the bicycle. 5.Discussion and Analysis of Material 5.1 Bicycle Drivetrain Systems (Appendix 1 and 2) Bicycle Drivetrain Systems are used to transmit the riders power to the drive wheels in order to move the bicycle forward. Nowadays, most drivetrain systems include mechanisms that are used to convert speed and torque via gear ratios. Over the years propulsion systems for the bicycle have ranged from the riders legs, to the modern drivetrain systems that include gears and pedals. 5.2 History (Appendix 3) Over the past couple of centuries many different bicycles have been invented that have different characteristics in order to improve safety and efficiency, but still had a similar structure. Many of the different developed bicycles include: Hobby Horse (Appendix 4) The Hobby Horse was invented in 1817, by the German inventor, Baron Karl Drais. This bicycle had a primitive design and did not include a drivetrain. It was a 23kg bicycle which was made out of wood, including the wheels. It also included a leather saddle for the rider to sit on, and resembled a modern handlebar. The riders feet was the propulsion system for this bicycle. This meant that the rider wouldnt be able to go very fast and would require a great amount of effort to move it forward due to its weight. It would also be difficult to transfer the bicycle uphill, thus the rider would have to carry it. Whilst going downhill, the lack of brakes would cause the bicycle to travel at a fast speed without anything, other than the riders feet, to stop it. Velocipede (Appendix 5) The Velocipede was invented in 1858 by the French Michaux company. This bicycle was a great development from the Hobby Horse. It first had a cast iron frame which was then changed to wrought iron for better damage resistance. The seat featured suspension which was inspired by the suspension used in wagons. Although, the bicycle was not comfortable to ride, hence why its also called the Boneshaker. The wheels were wooden but consisted of iron tyres. It also included pedals on the axle of the front wheel as the bicycles propulsion system. The pedals would allow the rider to use less effort, compared to the Hobby Horse, to move the bicycle forward. This bicycle also consists of the introduction of a first brake, which included a metal lever that pressed a wooden pad against the rear wheel, making it much safer as it has the capability of stopping, though the wooden pad would wear out due to the friction between the pad and the wheel. Penny Farthing (Appendix 6) The Penny Farthing was invented in 1869 by French, Eugene Meyer. The bicycles design was based on the desire to make it faster, thus using it for sport. Since gears were not invented yet, the front wheels size was increased so it would travel a longer distance after one full rotation. The frame weight was reduced to increase riding comfort including solid rubber tires, and the use of hollow steel tubes made it lighter. With the introduction of spokes and ball bearings, the wheels were also improved. The Penny Farthing would reach top speeds of 40km/h, but despite its advantages it had many disadvantages. It required a running start and a mounting step for riders to be able to mount it. To stop, the rider would require to jump off the bike. The higher centre of gravity on the bicycle would mean that if the rider fell they would have great accident. And at last, if the rider went over a bump they would be sent flying, leading to a fatal accident. The Penny Farthings propulsion system were still the pedals, although, their positioning on the bigger front wheel would require riders with tall legs to ride them. Due to the bigger wheel, one rotation of the pedals would allow the bicycle to cover a longer distance, hence why it is faster than previous bicycles. This design might my the bicycle faster and more efficient, but it was more dangerous due to the height and centre of gravity of the bike, the lack of feasible brakes and the high speeds it can reach. The Rover (Appendix 7) The Rover was invented in 1885 by English John Kemp Starley. This bicycle was chain driven and was also known as the Safety Bicycle. It featured equal sized wheels and a diamond frame, used to equally distribute the forces throughout the bicycles frame, though it still lacked a seat tube. The solid rubber tires were also replaced in 1888 with pneumatic tires, which made it more comfortable to ride. The original model of The Rover used treadles to turn the rear wheels, but the later updated model used a chain drive which consisted of a large front sprocket and a small rear sprocket used to multiply the revolutions of the pedals without the need of a large front wheel. The pedals were more centred putting the riders feet away from the front wheel, and the centre of gravity was lower making it easier for the rider to stop by putting their feet on the ground. To also better stop the bicycle, it included a lever which pushes a metal pad onto the front wheel. This bicycle was much safer due to its frame design and its low centre of gravity. It had increased efficiency due to the positioning of the pedals and the two same sized wheels whilst still being capable of travelling at high speeds with the brake being able to stop the bicycle if needed. The design of the handlebar also helped to improve the handling of the bicycle. The use of metal on the frame and on the chain mechanism also made it resistant from damage. Although, with the introduction of the new chain mechanism, pebbles or sticks could get caught in the chain, possibly damaging the mechanism. 5.3 The modern bicycles Today there is a variety of bicycles that are used for different situations. To be able to adapt to the different situations, the bicycles have different characteristics but still have similarities structure-wise. The 2 main types are mountain bikes and racing bikes. Mountain Bikes (Appendix 8) Mountain bikes are bicycles designed for off-road riding. They are similar to other bikes but consist features that help enhance performance and durability on rough terrain. They consist of suspension on the frame and fork making the ride on rough terrain more comfortable, knobby tires which adds more grip on the wheels, heavy duty wheels that add durability, and more powerful brakes to help stop the bike instantly when on the rough terrain. The bicycles propulsion system includes derailleur gears (Appendix 2) that consists of a crankset for the rotation of the bicycles pedals, a cogset which is a set of different sized metal cogs or sprockets that are used as the gears, and a chain that links the cogset with the crankset. Different gears provide different torque and speed and requires different amounts of effort to rotate the pedals. The higher the gear, the more torque, speed and effort. The gears are controlled by a shifter which is connected to the gearing gearing mechanism by a cable. Mountain bikes tend to have up to 30 gears, yet mountain bikers choose to use 10 or 9 speed bikes due to the lighter weight and less complexity. The mountain bikes are very efficient and safe bicycle as they include disk brakes that help with instantaneous stopping, a gearing system that helps reduce the amount of effort the rider will have to use and is adaptable to different types of roads, and suspension that provides comfort. Racing Bike (Appendix 9) Racing bikes are designed for competitive road cycling. Its main characteristics are its light weight for higher speeds, and its stiffness due to the lack of suspension also to achieve high speeds with the sacrifice of comfort. The handlebars are designed and positioned lower than the saddle so that the rider has a more aerodynamic posture. The front and back wheels are positioned close together to allow for quick handling. For the propulsion system the bicycle uses a derailleur system similar to the Mountain Bike. The gear ratios have close spacing so that the rider can pedal at the optimum cadence. To shift gears the bicycle consists of an electronic shifting system. The switch is connected wired or wirelessly to a battery pack and to a small electric motor that is used to drive the derailleur, moving the chain between the cogs. This improvement allows for the rider to switch gears faster. The Racing Bike is quite efficient in terms of speed, and quite safe as it includes disk brakes that stop the bike instantly with the exception of knobby wheels as it would decrease the speed of the bike. The materials manufactures use for the frame e.g. Carbon fibre, cause the bike to be light in weight and capable of travelling at faster speeds. 6.Conclusions There have been many major developments in public transport over the years, with the bicycle as a great example. Many improvements have been made to the bicycle and the methods it uses for the rider to move it forwards. The introduction of new drivetrain systems and the vast use of different materials according to their properties are the cause of these improvements. The invention of, more complex, propulsion and brake systems have helped improve the efficiency and safety of the bicycle and the implementation of stronger and lighter materials has increased the bicycles damage resistance and has made it capable of reaching higher speeds (Appendix 10) with less effort required by the rider. Also improvements on the seat and the suspension on the bicycle have contributed to make it a more comfortable method of transportation. 7.Recommendations The bicycle has had great developments over the years, though more improvements can be made in order to make the bicycle safer, faster and more efficient. Such improvements may include: Adding a cover, made of a light plastic, for the gearing system so that nothing can get caught in the mechanism, running the brake lines through the frame of the bicycle so there arent any cords hanging, adding a cogset to the front wheel making it a 2-wheel drive thus making it faster. 8.References Crazyguyonabike April 15, 2009, The Hobby Horse: 1817 Karl Drais and his running machine. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40616 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike May 2, 2007, The Boneshaker: 1867 Pierre Lallement, the Michaux family and their velocipede. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40617 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike July 2, 2007, The Penny Farthing: 1878 James Starley and his ordinaries. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40618 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike March 27, 2009, The Rover: 1885 The modern bicycle born in England. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tSpage_id=40621v=9Y , (accessed 1/3/2017) Wikipedia January 6, 2017, Racing Bicycle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_bicycle , (accessed 2/3/2017) Wikipedia February 23, 2017, Mountain bike. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_bike , (accessed 2/3/2017) 9.Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Appendix 7 Appendix 8 Appendix 9 Appendix 10

Cloning: Many Questions and Few Answers :: Cloning Essays

Cloning: Many Questions and Few Answers The birth of Dolly was announced by Ian Wilmut's team from Roslin Institute in February 1997. There is actually nothing radically new in the way Dolly was made, since lower vertebrates, such as frogs, had been cloned in 1968 by John Gurdon of Cambridge University. The term 'clone' originates from the Greek word 'klwn', meaning 'twig', because whenever we divide an overgrown shrub or successfully cultivate a houseplant cutting, cloning has occurred. Nuclear transfer technology was used in which a donor's udder cell, a nucleus with the genome intact, was fused with an unfertilised egg cell. Dolly is considered a clone of the sheep who provided the udder cell since her genetic makeup is identical to it. What is novel about Dolly is that she is the first mammal cloned from an adult, the result after 277 failed attempts. At present, though nuclear transfer is still a highly inefficient, costly and difficult process, people are already contemplating the advantages of such a breakthrough. Indeed, the possibilities seem endless: hope for infertile couples, cloning for spare parts, replacements for loved ones and the advent of other invaluable benefits in animal husbandry, medical science and biological fields. But what about the ethical considerations we should include? A Time Magazine poll in March 1997 reported that 74% of those surveyed believe it is against God's will to clone human beings. Human cloning is also considered illegal in England and Norway, though not in the USA. There are definitely many issues worth debating. Even if cloning is to become a reality, there should exist some form of control over the nature of research. The question is what kind of controls should this be? Who should have access to the technology and its products?

Dangerous Encounter :: essays research papers

It was a dreadful afternoon, big droplets of rain fell directly on my face and clothes. I tasted the droplets that mixed with my tears, the tears I cried after the incident. The pain in my foot was excruciating. It caused me to make a big decision of whether I should visit you or not. I decided I would. I limped towards my bright, blue car where my bony, body collapsed onto the seat. I started the engine up but at the same time being cautious of my bleeding foot. I then drove to the destination where I was bound to meet you. I was bound to meet you after three years of counselling from my last appearance with you. I guess all I can remember is the scarring.... I remember.... When.... When my friend introduced me to you. My friends were so obsessed and entangled by the wonders you did for them. If I can recall they said you took them to new places and down new paths. They talked about how you healed their sorrows and pain. I could not resist the temptation. Never once did I talk to my parents about my encounters which were influenced by you. What a fool I was. You severely disheartened my life, turned me evil. All my ambitions that inspired me were lost. You and your sharp eyes stabbed me right in the arm. It also stabbed the people I loved right in the arm too. Although, it was so amazing how dependent on you I was during my youth. These memories still sting like a violent slap across the face. Now, facing you today is such a hard task to overcome.... I pulled into the driveway and staggered into the loud, large and mysterious place. I was surprised at how many people were there. It could have been about twenty or so. I would not know because I am not highly educated. My education actually collapsed after being involved with you. I put all my attention and focus towards you. I can’t count the amount of times I missed class or skipped school. Whilst thinking of this, a young girl came strolling over. She had dark, long hair, brown eyes and a slim figure nearly identical to my own appearance. She wore a white garment matched with pure, silk shoes. Her glamour attracted people from all directions. She looked about twenty five years old.

Old Age in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry

Leaving cert study notes  © Paula O’Sullivan Plath and old age. Plath has a fear of growing old, and deals with the passage of time and old age in many of her poems. Morning Song, written after the birth of her first child, deals with Plath’s preoccupation with growing old. The poet has birthed a child, and therefore fulfilled her requirement as a human being to procreate. Human’s get to an optimum age for bearing children, and after that, it is a slow decline into old age and inevitable death. Plath speaks of â€Å"Effacement at the wind’s hand†, which basically means she will be rubbed out and forgotten with the passage of time. Related reading: How to be Old PoemThe poet uses a complex image of rainwater reflecting it’s mother cloud to tell us that she sees herself in her daughter, and now all that’s left is to disappear into nothing. The condensed water of a cloud falls to the ground, and the cloud is no more. Mirror follows the theme of growing old very closely. Time moves on and on in this poem. The first stanza contains phrases like ‘so long’ and ‘over and over’ to tell us that time keeps moving. The second stanza continues to chart the march of time. She comes and goes’ and ‘each morning’ reflect the poet’s unrest and constant awareness that time is still ticking away. The poet sees her youth as wasted, the ‘young girl’ has been ‘drowned’. She has a premonition of the future, in which an old woman has failed to break the cycle, and describes her condition as a ‘terrible fish’. The poet sees herself as elderly and is afraid. The metaphor of the fish is as if the poet is stuck, netted and helpless. Plath shows she is dreading old age in the final lines of the poem. The passage of time throughout the text points to the inevitability of growing old.

Revenue Outstanding Measured as the Weeks Billing Outstanding

MEASURING OUTSTANDING REVENUE AS WEEKS BILLING OUTSTANDING By SACHIN GHOGLE Introduction Financial management focuses in finding the value in accounts receivable by emphasizing on improving the collections process and hence accelerating the cash flow. ‘Revenue Outstanding’ is the amount due from the customer as a result of an organisation’s normal business operation, that is, it is the amount that has been billed by organisations and is due, but which has not been collected. The management of ‘Revenue Outstanding’ is an important source of cash and hence an important parameter that the management should measure. The estimation of time to recoup the revenue outstanding is important to determine the profit of any organisation. Most prefer to receive payment immediately rather than to wait for it, especially because sometimes payment is never made in the latter scenario. There is no one general technique to estimate the time to recoup the revenue that can be adopted by all the organisations. It varies from organisation to organisation depending on the nature of business and the needs and strategies of the management. Although there is no certainty of receiving payments from all the customers, organisations use various methods to calculate the revenue outstanding or the payment that will be recovered later at a any particular point of time. The Weeks Billing Outstanding (WBO) measure calculates the revenue outstanding based on the total number of week’s billings required to recoup current Revenue Outstanding. The WBO is an important financial parameter, which shows the age in weeks, in an organization's accounts receivable and is defined in terms of the average time taken to convert the outstanding revenue into cash. The WBO measure helps the management to measure the effectiveness of collection activities and alert the management with problem accounts. If the WBO is low, then less time is spent to collect outstanding revenue. By quickly converting the billings into cash, the organisation can reinvest this cash and convert it into profits. 1 The WBO Measure A payer is responsible to pay for the services used. The total outstanding revenue of a payer is the sum of invoiced amount minus the cash received against some of the invoices minus the unallocated cash/ payments received as advance or prepayment from the payer. Some organisations report the outstanding revenue as being outstanding from the date of the invoice as opposed to the ‘due date’ of the payment. The Weeks Billing Outstanding is the total number of days billings corresponding to the payer required to recoup the current outstanding revenue for the payer divided by number of days in a week. WBO = DBO/7 This WBO is calculated for an individual payer level whereas the management needs the overall WBO for a single business unit or a particular territory. There are three methods to calculate the overall WBO for a single business unit. The overall WBO (Method 1) for a single business unit or a particular territory can then be calculated as the average of the WBO for all the payers within the corresponding business unit or territory. The overall WBO (Method 2) for a single business unit can be more accurately calculated from the business perspective by considering the weighted average of the individual WBO over an important business parameter (for example, the accumulated revenue over the past one year). These two methods can showcase the weak link or the strong link affecting the outstanding revenue. After identifying the weak link, the management can focus on the weak payers to reduce their outstanding revenue and to improve the overall cash flow within the system. The overall WBO (Method 3) can be calculated as the total number of days billings (cumulative for all the payers within the business unit) required to recoup the current total outstanding revenue for the business unit (cumulative for all the payers). Though this method cannot point the weak link, it is more accurate. 2 How to use WBO Measure Reference Date: 01 March 2008 Listed below are the aggregated Invoice figures for a Payer P1 Invoiced Amount $80,000 Cash Received $20,000 Open Amount $60,000 Unallocated Cash / Payments $15,000 Outstanding Revenue $45,000 Open Amount = Invoiced Amount – Cash Received Outstanding Revenue = Open Amount – Unallocated Cash / Payments Received US $45000 is the Outstanding Revenue from a Payer P1 Listed below is the Billing Details against Payer P1 Billing Date 1-Mar-2008 29-Feb-2008 28-Feb-2008 27-Feb-2008 26-Feb-2008 25-Feb-2008 24-Feb-2008 23-Feb-2008 22-Feb-2008 21-Feb-2008 20-Feb-2008 19-Feb-2008 18-Feb-2008 17-Feb-2008 16-Feb-2008 15-Feb-2008 14-Feb-2008 13-Feb-2008 Billing Amount $0 $0 $0 $1,000 $500 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,000 $0 $0 $0 $2,000 Cumulative Billing Amount $0 $0 $0 $10,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $55,000 DAYNUM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 This chart shows that a Billing of amount $55,000 against a Payer P1 which is greater that the outstanding revenue $45,000 from a payer P1is achieved after 18 days of billing counted from March 1, 2008. Thus the days billing outstanding that will be required to recoup the outstanding revenue is 18 days. 3 Hence the week s billing outstanding that will be required to recoup the outstanding revenue will be calculated as follows: WBO = DBO / 7 = 18 / 7 = 2. 57 Similarly, the WBO for each payer can be calculated. Consider the calculated WBO figures for n Payers to be as follows: Payer P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 †¦ †¦ Pn WBO 4 2 15. 5 1. 5 1 0. 5 And the Management is interested in the Overall WBO measure for a business unit or a territory. Method 1 Overall WBO can be calculated as the average of the WBO’s of all the payers within the particular Business unit or territory. The overall WBO hence will be ? 1-N WBO ————N N = Total number of Payers The Overall WBO = (4 + 2 + 15. 5 + 1. 5 + 1 + 0. 5)/6 = 4. 09 The Overall WBO is 4. 9 even though the WBO for Payer P3 is 15. 5 4 Method 2 Now let us consider the following chart. Payer P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 †¦ †¦ Pn WBO 4. 5 2 15. 5 3. 5 1 0. 5 Accumulated revenue over the past 1 year ( In Millions) 0. 5 1 50 5 2 0. 2 ? 1-n (WBO X Acc. Rev) . 25 2 775 17. 5 2 0. 1 x The considerations of a business parameter, here the Accumulated Revenue over the past one year for each of these payers will alter the view in which the WBO is to be measured from a management perspective. The management weighs payer P3 about 15 times more than payer P5 as the revenue accumulated from payer P3 is approximately 15 times more than that from payer P1. As the WBO for Payer P3 is high compared to the Overall WBO calculated in Method 1, the alternative to improve the calculation is to use a Weighted average of the WBO as opposed to the normal average. As per the new formula Overall WBO = ? 1-n (WBO X Acc. Rev) ——————————-? 1-n (Acc. Rev) Overall WBO = ( 2. 25 + 2 + 775 + 17. 5 + 2 + 0. 1) ——————————————-(0. 5 + 1 + 50 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 0. 2 ) = 798. 85 / 58. 7 = 13. 61 The new Overall WBO is now closer to the WBO of the Payer P3 who is a major payer for the organization. 5 Method 3 Listed below are the aggregated Invoice figures for a single business unit Invoiced Amount $1. 50 Cash Received $0. 80 Open Amount $0. 70 Unallocated Cash / Payments $0. 20 Outstanding Revenue $0. 50 $0. 5 million is the overall outstanding revenue for the business unit Listed below is the overall Billing Details for the business unit Billing Date -Mar-2008 29-Feb-2008 28-Feb-2008 27-Feb-2008 26-Feb-2008 25-Feb-2008 24-Feb-2008 23-Feb-2008 22-Feb-2008 21-Feb-2008 20-Feb-2008 19-Feb-2008 18-Feb-2008 17-Feb-2008 16-Feb-2008 15-Feb-2008 14-Feb-2008 13-Feb-2008 12-Feb-2008 11-Feb-2008 Billing Amount $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 05 $0. 10 $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 07 $0. 00 $0. 05 $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 05 $0. 00 $0. 80 $0. 00 $0. 02 $0. 00 $0. 10 Cumulative Billing Amount $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 00 $0. 05 $0. 15 $0. 15 $0. 15 $0. 15 $0. 22 $0. 22 $0. 27 $0. 27 $0. 27 $0. 32 $0. 32 $0. 40 $0. 40 $0. 42 $0. 42 $0. 52 DAYNUM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 These charts show that a Billing of amount $0. 2 million which is greater that the outstanding revenue $0. 5 million is achieved after 20 days of billing counted from March 1, 2008. Thus the days billing outstanding that will be required to recoup the outstanding revenue is 20 days. Hence the weeks billing outstanding that will be required to recoup the outstanding revenue will be calculated as follows WBO = DBO / 7 = 20 / 7 = 2. 86 6 Based on the pros and cons of the various methods, every organization would select a method to measure its Weeks Billing Outstanding, which wil l form the baseline for their reporting. Then the management has to devise appropriate procedures to gather the required data to implement the selected method. 7