How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works

Laughing gas or nitrous oxide is used in the dentists office to reduce patient anxiety and relieve pain. Its also a common recreational drug. Have you ever wondered how laughing gas works? Heres a look at how laughing gas reacts in the body and whether its safe or not. What Is Laughing Gas? Laughing gas is the common name for nitrous oxide or N2O. It is also known as nitrous, nitro, or NOS. Its a nonflammable, colorless gas that has a slightly sweet flavor and odor. In addition to its use in rockets and to boost engine performance for motor racing, laughing gas has several medical applications. It has been used in dentistry and surgery as an analgesic and anesthetic since 1844 when dentist  Dr. Horace Wells used it on himself during a tooth extraction. Since that time, its use has become commonplace in medicine, plus the euphoric effect of inhaling the gas has led to use as a recreation drug. How Laughing Gas Works Although the gas has been used for a long time, the exact mechanism of its action in the body is incompletely understood, in part because the various effects depend upon different reactions. In general, nitrous oxide moderates several ligand-gated ion channels. Specifically, the mechanisms for the effects are: Anxiolytic or Anti-Anxiety EffectStudies indicate the anti-anxiety effect from inhalation of laughing gas derives from increased  activity of GABAA  receptors.  The GABAA receptor acts as the central nervous systems principal inhibitory neurotransmitter.Painkiller or Analgesic EffectLaughing gas reduces the perception of pain by facilitating an interaction between the descending noradrenergic system and the endogenous opioid system. Nitrous oxide causes the release of  endogenous opioids, but how this happens is unknown.Euphoria EffectNitrous produces euphoria by causing dopamine to be released, which stimulates the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. This contributes to the analgesic effect, too. Is Nitrous Oxide Safe? When you get laughing gas at the dentists or doctors office, its very safe. A mask is used to first administer pure oxygen and then a mixture of oxygen and laughing gas. The effects on vision, hearing, manual dexterity and mental performance are temporary. Nitrous oxide has both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects, but limited exposure to the chemical tends not to cause a permanent effect, one way or the other. The primary risks from laughing gas are from inhaling a compressed gas directly from its canister, which could cause severe lung damage or death. Without supplemental oxygen, inhaling nitrous oxide can cause hypoxia or oxygen deprivation effects, including lightheadedness, fainting, low blood pressure, and potentially a heart attack. These risks are comparable to those of inhaling helium gas. Prolonged or repeated exposure to laughing gas can lead to a vitamin B deficiency, reproductive problems in pregnant women, and numbness. Because very little nitrous oxide is absorbed by the body, a person inhaling laughing gas breathes out most of it. This can lead to risks to medical personnel who routinely use the gas in their practice.

Sexual Orientation Identity And Its Influence On Student...

Introduction As the student affairs profession develops, it is important to remain aware of how students and their identities are evolving. Higher education is constantly evolving, which is why it is extremely important to take sexual orientation identity and its influence on student development into account. In this paper, I will explore Fassinger’s (1998) sexual orientation identity model and provide an analysis of the theory. I will also share my findings from three interviews with students who are in different stages of sexual identity formation. Finally, I will address how knowledge of Fassinger’s Model and sexual identity development can inform the work of student affairs educators in creating more inclusive college and university environments. Fundamental Ideas Fassinger’s Model is influenced by racial and ethnic identity development models as well as gender identity development models. The theory offers a more inclusive perspective of various individuals in their sexual orientation identity formation (McCarn Fassinger, 1996). Fassinger’s Model was developed in an attempt to address the critiques of previously existing models. Fassinger’s model differs from other preexisting models in that the authors clearly distinguish between the two processes of personal development and group membership of same-sex sexual orientation (Evans et. al, 2010). In contrast to other models, this model uses phases versus stages, in order to provide flexibility and to demonstrate thatShow MoreRelatedSexual Identity And Adolescent Development Essay1464 Words   |  6 PagesAcquiring a sexual identity is very important and critical to the development of adolescents. While neither sexual or gender identity has anything to do with an individua ls’ physical anatomy itself, both have separate, individual meanings. 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PSY3122 with Krystelle Shaugnessy aimed and succeeded to do exactly that — leave students with a sound understanding of the realities of sex and sexuality. Coming into this class, I held a certain set of attitudes, amount of knowledge, and level of comfort communicating matters of sexuality and sexual behaviour. Over the course of the semesterRead MoreSchool Counseling : A Unique Ethical Code739 Words   |  3 PagesCounseling Association (ASAC) website. The code starts with responsibility to students and supporting student development. This means school counselors have an obligation to the students including treating each student with dignity and respect. Furthermore, respecting students and families values, beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identification, and cultural background. School counselors have a goal of supporting students and families in a short-term setting, then referring to outside services for

Assymetric Information And Financial Market -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Assymetric Information And Financial Market? Answer: Introduction A financial system is the arrangement of all financial entities within a country or a society. Any financial system consists of regulatory authorities (such as Monetary Authority of Singapore), financial intermediaries (such as Commercial Banks) and various stakeholders such as depositors, investors, borrowers etc. A financial system also comprises of the instruments that are used in the process of transactions. For example, currency, securities, Treasury bonds etc are examples of instruments.(Allen Gale, 2001)(Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018) Source: Prepared by Author. Adapted from (Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018)(Kania, 2014)(Allen Gale, 2001) Any Financial System primarily consists of Banking and Non Banking Financial companies as intermediaries as well as exchange markets as market places. For example, the Singapore Capital Markets serve as a market place for borrowers and lenders. These include the Stock Exchange, the Equity Capital Market exchange and Foreign Exchange markets.(Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018) Financial intermediaries perform the function of monitoring and assignment of credit by accepting deposits from depositors and channeling them to borrowers. In this process, the risks associated with earning returns on assets are transferred to the banks and depositors do not necessarily have to bear them.(Claus Smith, 1999) Financial instruments help in creation of liquidity and credit creation. Financial intermediaries are able to provide loans based on the deposits made by depositors.(Claus Smith, 1999) In order to attract depositors, interest is offered to individual and institutional depositors. Financial markets also, mobilize credit amonst themselves.(Hull, 2015) For example, banks may borrow from whosesale markets in order to meet demand for credit in periods when there is not enough liquidity to provide credit during high growth periods. Similarly, stuructured financial instruments help package individual deposits into tradeable securities, thereby facilitating credit creation. Financial intermediaries collect assets in the form of currency , securities etc. High risk assets can be converted into lower risks assets due to the financial system. For example, a bond or a loan may be re-issued or re-secured. The maturity of the bond or the loan is extended. This is known as the transformation of the risks characteristic of an asset.(Claus Smith, 1999) Financial systems, also, solve the Free Rider problem and moral hazards by imposing transaction costs and reducing information asymmetry. The Information Asymmetry function also helps guard against adverse selection. Adverse selection is the provision of credit to the wrong borrowers simply because they have greater access to information or because they try more. Financial system helps reduce adverse selection by providing conditions for advancement of credit. (Claus Smith, 1999) Commercial banks are permitted to accept deposits from customers and use redistribute these deposits as credits. Commercial banks accept credit in the form of savings, current deposits, payment transfers etc. These are known as depository functions of the bank. Finance companies and insurance companies also, perform depository functions by accepting deposits. However, these deposits cannot be repaid on demand by way of cheques, drafts etc. (Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016)(Andoh, 2014). Some other major similarities are as follows: Commercial banks, financial companies and insurance companies accept deposits and can forward secure loans. All three institutions perform the function of credit creation and risk sharing. All three institution can invest and earn interest or return using the deposits.(Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018)(Andoh, 2014) There are a few other dissimilarities between commercial banks, finance companies and insurance companies are listed as below: Commercial banks can forward unsecured loans subject to limits while the other two institutions are not permitted to do so.(Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016) Commercial banks, generally speaking, are able to carry out all the functions such as dealing in securities (domestic as well as offshore) , dealing with foreign currency, and provision of insurance.(Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016) . Finance and insurance companies are not permitted to acquire or trade in foreign currencies or debt securities, stocks, equities, etc. (Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016) Commercial Banks can complete transaction involving gold and other precious metals while finance companies and insurance companies cannot.(Andoh, 2014) In a nutshell, commercial banks can perform universal banking while finance companies and insurance companies cannot. The risks faced by banks on a day to day basis are related to a complex set of factors. Banks are vulnerable to financial risks from the points of view of Assets and Liabilities These risks faced by banks can be described in the T-Account given below: Credit Risk : . Credit risk refers to the risks that a bank may fail to fulfill its credit obligations and pay its lenders.(Bank of International Settlements, 2000) Credit risks may arise , on the assets side, from an excessive number of non-performing assets held by the bank while on the liability side, increases in the values of the liabilities ( for example, increase in value due to currency fluctuations) can lead to credit risks. Liquidity Risk : Liquidity risk refers to the risk that banks may be unable to fulfill its obligations or pay off its dues due to a temporary liquidity crunch. Liquidity risks may arise from not maintaining adequate capital or due to high amounts of borrowing. Liquidity issues may have a domine effect and create further issues. For example, banks may have to borrow at high costs, in distress, in order to solve temporary liquidity issues. Holding too many assets may imply that the bank may face a liquidity crunch to fulfill its liabilities. Similarly changes in cash flows expected from assets can also, create liquidity risks. For example, high number of bad loans may create a liquidity crunch from asset side . On the other hand, sudden surge in the liabilities of the bank may also have the same effect.(Epstein, 2016)(Hull, 2015) Interest Rate Risks: Interest rates are volatile . Banks may suffer if banks forward high amounts of debt at low rates and the borrowing rates for banks become higher due an increase in the rates by Central Banks. Similarly, the rates of bonds held by the bank are subject to volatility. Sharp dips and increases may affect the management of the assets and liabilities.(Epstein, 2016) Yield curve risks, high number of forward rate agreements are some of the common types of credit risks(JP Morgan Asset Management, 2001) Market Risks: Market risks generally, arise from the movements in the markets. These could include movements in the capital markets , currency markets etc.(Epstein, 2016) The sudden changes in values of all commodities and securities held by the banks underpin the market risks. (Bank of International Settlements, 2000). On the Asset side, a sharp dip in the value of the assets held by the bank may lead to heavy profits or losses. On the liabilities side, increases in the price of the liabilities may lead to high market risks. For example, Forward Rate Agreements are a great source of Market Risks. (JP Morgan Asset Management, 2001) Operational Risks: Major operational risks faced by banks are internal frauds, external frauds, risks related to employee safety and practices, malpractices from the other party such as clients, suppliers etc., risks relating to damage of physical assets, disruption of business due to failure of security and IT infrastructure, mismanagement and wrongful execution of processes by staff. (Karam Planchet, 2012 ) The sub-prime loans are an example of a bad product that turned into a high number of Non Performing Assets. Such products are operational risks. Similarly, purchasing bad products can increase liability side risks. Banks must follow best practices regarding asset and liability management, in order to minimize these risks. Additionally, banks must at all times aim at sound full disclosure practices. Credit Risks: Financial institutions must create a sound practices document that lists out, in detail, the processes regarding processing and monitoring the approval of credit. (Bank of International Settlements, 2000). Financial institutions are exposed to systematic credit risks (factors at the macro level that may cause risks of default) and firm specific risks (risks arising from the institutions own decisions regarding credit, investment etc.) Diversification is a key strategy used by financial institutions to manage credit risks. This includes diversification of credit sources, investments as well as other sources of earnings such as deposits. Any portfolio of credit or investment held by a financial institution is an optimal mix of low risk assets or liabilities to maintain stability and high risk assets and liabilities to maximize earnings. (Hull, 2015) Generally speaking , financial institutions heavily rely on two risk measures to measure the credit risk within a portfolio: Migration Analysis: The credit ratings of some prominent firms (which represent the structure of the industry) of an industry are monitored for ratings. If credit ratings show a decline that is greater than the historical trend, then the lending to firms of the specific industry is reduced. Generally, a loan migration matrix is also used to forecast the probability of default and whether the loans will be downgraded, uograded or are at default risk within a specific time period. Imposition of Concentration Limits: An upper limit of ten per cent of the entire capital of the insitution is set for loans. Financial institutions cannot advance loans to an individual entity that exceeds 10% of their capital. This helps diversify risks and prevents concentration. Apart fro this, firms can set det upper limits or reduces the loans advanced to specific industries or within specific geographic are to minimize concentration of risk. Liquidity Risks: The Bank must first and foremost, ensure that it meets the minimum capital requirements of Basel II Accord and maintain Capital Adequacy. (Prokopenko Bondarenko, 2012). Apart from the this, the most commonly used strategy to minimize liquidity risks used by banking firms is diversification. For example, a bank may have both individual depositors and institutional (business firms) depositors. In periods of high growth, deposits by institutional depositors may be low buy deposits by individual depositors may be high. Thus diversificatiion helps banks avoid liquidity crunch.(Hull, 2015) Diversification strategies include maintenance of a base that makes recurrent deposits (such as salary depositors), maintenance of liquid or semi-liquid assets (such as equities) , buffer of high quality and assets such as government securities etc. Diversification of liabilities is also a key strategy for liquidity management. Interest Rate Risks: Banks must identify the expected yields of bonds and expected losses of asset values well. Measures like Gap analysis, scenario analysis, duration analysis, value at risk analysis and all best practices are used by banks to protect against interest rate risks.(JP Morgan Asset Management, 2006) Market Risks: Market risks are inversely proportional to knowledge. Information about the markets helps traders understand their risk exposure and enables them to compare the returns on every risk planned. Efficient markets are markets that allow easy access of information to every stakeholder. (Samuelson NordHaus, 2004) As an example, a trader may be able to identify the potential returns on every Electronic Traded Fund simply because exchanges provided information freely on the potential earning on every unit traded, thereby helping them understand not only which ETFs they must trade in but also, the desirable quantity of trading. This helps reduce risk exposure and maximize earning potential for any trader. Similarly, a consumer may be able to identify which mutual fund they must invest in due to the easy access to historical data of the performance of different mutual funds. This helps the consumer reduce market risks. Market Risks are minimized by using the available information and a variety of indicators that help understand the potential profits or loss. The most common measure used to understand market risks is Value-at- Risk model that measures the potential loss of a risky asset or portfolio within a defined period. Operational Risks: Banks are, generally, required to follow international standards and best practices such as setting up Firm wide Regulatory and Control Committees or other such bodies.(JP Morgan Chase and Co, 2013) Primarily, for all kinds of risk, a bank may use the Three line of Defense framework to manage all the different kinds of risks(Infosys Limited, 2017) The three line od defense relates to actions by staff, policies set by policy makers and responsible over view and pro-activeness from the supervisory authorities such as Board of Directors. (KPMG, 2018) (The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2013) Managers are agents of the bank and may not necessarily be shareholders of the bank. Hence, they do not have incentives to maximize the profits of the bank itself. This leads to agency costs for the bank. Agency costs may come in various forms. For example, a manager may not take appropriate care while forwarding loans to deposits. In some cases, managers may take excessive risks in order to meet their targets. The costs of these actions may be borne by the bank.(Diamond, 1996) (Kania, 2014) Agency Costs are costs that arise due to an agents conflicts of interest against those of the Principal. For example, in a Financial system, a bank is an agent while the economic system is a Principal. A bank may take excessive risks , jeopardizing the health of a financial system. Similarly, in a bank or a finance company, a manager may forward excessive unsecured loans to meet targets, putting the firm in a bad position. There are costs attached to the conflicts of interests that arise between the agent and the principal. These are agency costs. Similarly, agency costs may also referred to the costs incurred due to the process of delegated monitoring. (Kania, 2014) A Free rider Problem exists when there is a market failure and some people or entities manage to take advantage of those goods and services that they do not pay for . For example, when two people make a transaction without any transaction costs, they take the advantage of the economic system without paying for it.(Venu, 2003)(Brealey, et al., 2012) For example, one way that commercial banks can overcome the Free Rider problem within a financial system is by introducing transaction costs on all parties that conduct the transaction. The Free rider problem arise when individuals/entities are able to profit from the system without paying for the costs associated. An example of the Free rider problems is when individuals gain high returns from the stock exchange and currency trade simply due to the fact that they can take advantage of weak markets with a high degree of asymmetric information. (Buckle Thompson, 2004)(Heinrich, 2002) The three conditions are adverse selection, moral hazard and asymmetrical information. A financial system cannot function well in the presence of these problems Moral Hazard: Moral Hazard occurs when the agents that benefit do not have to bear the fulfill costs for their actions. For example, excessive speculative activities can distort stock exchange returns but speculators do not pay the price for it. Adverse Selection: The selection of wrong kind of benefactors is known as adverse selection. Conditions when the agents with highest potential of risk are selected over and above that have lower risk is known as adverse selection. Adverse selection causes the prevalence of high risk arrangement and increases the vulnerability of the financial system.(Johnston, et al., 2000) Asymmetrical information: Asymmetrical information is lack of full information to all stakeholders of the system. Some entities such as institutional investors may have more information that ordinary investors giving them an unfair advantage. Asymmetric information can lead to problems of adverse selection or selection of wrong borrowers for credit disbursement, moral hazard and free rider problem(Venu, 2003) Delegated Monitoring: Delegated Monitoring refers to the function of overseeing the flow of credit/liquidity by virtue of being a channel for the flow. Thedelegated monitoris a financial intermediary because it borrows from small investors (depositors), using unmonitored debt (deposits) to lend to borrowers (whose loans itmonitors)(Diamond, 1996) Delegated monitoring can help reduce the three conditions. Delegated monitoring brings its own agency costs. For example, banks may forward excessive credits to maximize their profits but may jeopardize the health of the financial system. However, delegated monitoring is essential and the key is to fix the ownership structure. (Broz, 1998) The process of Central Banking and regulatory authorities helps eliminate the Free Rider problems, Agency costs problem and assigns delegated monitoring.(Broz, 1998) Similarly, the delegated monitoring of banks, internally, is generally entrusted to the Board of Directors.(Brealey, et al., 2012)(Heinrich, 2002) References Allen, F. Gale, D., 2001. Comparing Financial Systems. 2nd ed. Massachussets , USA: London, England; Cambridge, USA. Andoh, S. K., 2014. Essentials of Money, Banking and Financial Institutions: With Applications to the Developing World. First ed. New York, USA: Lexington Books. Bank of International Settlements, 2000. Principles for the Management of Credit Risk - final document. [Online] Available at: https://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs75.htm [Accessed 31 January 2018]. Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., Allen, F. Mohanty, P., 2012. Principles of Corporate Finance. Tenth ed. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill Education. Broz, J. L., 1998. The Origins of Central Banking: Solutions to the Free-Rider Problem. The MIT Press, 52(2), pp. 231-268. Buckle, M. J. Thompson, J., 2004. The UK Financial System. Fourth Edition ed. Manchestor, UK; New York, USA: Manchetor University Press. Claus, I. Smith, C., 1999. Financial intermediation and the monetary transmission mechanism. RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND: Bulletin, 62(4), pp. 4 -16. Diamond, D. W., 1996. Financial Intermediation as Delegated Monitoring: A Simple Example, Richmond, USA: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly . Epstein, S., 2016. The Different Types of Risks Faced by Banks. [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/different-types-risks-faced-banks-stanley-epstein [Accessed 31 Januaury 2018]. Heinrich, R. P., 2002. Complementarities in Corporate Governance. Berlin, Germany: Springer. Hull, J. C., 2015. Risk Management and Financial Institutions. Fourth ed. Hoboken , USA: John Wiley and sons. Infosys Limited, 2017. Operational Risk Management in Banks: The Way Forward. [Online] Available at: https://www.infosys.com/industries/financial-services/white-papers/Documents/risk-management-banking.pdf Johnston, B., Chai, J. Schumacher, L., 2000. Assessing Financial System Vulnerabilities, Washington DC: International Monetary Fund . JP Morgan Asset Management, 2001. The use of Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs) to manage interest rate risk. [Online] Available at: https://treasurytoday.com/2001/06/the-use-of-forward-rate-agreements-fras-to-manage-interest-rate-risk [Accessed 31 Januaury 2018]. JP Morgan Asset Management, 2006. Management of Interest Rate Risk. [Online] Available at: https://treasurytoday.com/2006/03/interest-rate-risk-management-measurement [Accessed 31 Januaury 2018]. JP Morgan Chase and Co, 2013. JP Morgan Annual report. [Online] Available at: https://read.jpmorgan.com/i/292944-jpmorgan-chase-co-annual-report-and-letters-to-shareholders/148 [Accessed 31 January 2018]. Kania, E., 2014. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS MANAGEMENT. [Online] Available at: https://www.kb.ue.wroc.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/fim_03.pdf [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Karam, E. Planchet, F., 2012 . Operational Risks in Financial Sectors. Advances in Decision Sciences, 2012 (2012 ). KPMG, 2018. The three lines of defense: Making the transition to a mature risk management model. [Online] Available at: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/ca/pdf/2017/01/three-lines-of-defense-kpmg.pdf [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016. Commercial Banks. [Online] Available at: https://www.mas.gov.sg/singapore-financial-centre/types-of-institutions/commercial-banks.aspx [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2016. Finance Companies. [Online] Available at: https://www.mas.gov.sg/singapore-financial-centre/types-of-institutions/finance-companies.aspx Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018. Singapore Financial Centre. [Online] Available at: https://www.mas.gov.sg/Singapore-Financial-Centre/Types-of-Institutions.aspx [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Prokopenko, Y. Bondarenko, D., 2012. Operational Risk Management: Best Practice Overview and Implementation. Tirana, Albania, International Finance Corporation: World Bank Group. Samuelson, P. A. NordHaus, W. R., 2004. Economics: Seventeenth Edition. 2002 ed. New Delhi: Tata- McGraw Hill Publishing Company. The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2013. IIA POSITION PAPER: THE THREE LINES OF DEFENSE IN EFFECTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL. [Online] Available at: https://na.theiia.org/standards-guidance/Public%20Documents/PP%20The%20Three%20Lines%20of%20Defense%20in%20Effective%20Risk%20Management%20and%20Control.pdf [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Tinca, A., 2007. The Operational Risk in the Outlook of the Basel II Acord Implementation. Theoretical and Applied Economics, pp. 31 -34. Venu, S., 2003. Assymetric information and financial markets' regulation. [Online] Available at: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/02/10/stories/2003021000030900.htm [Accessed 30 January 2018]. Wright, R. E. Quadrini, V., 2018. 8.2 Transaction Costs, Asymmetric Information, and the Free-Rider Problem. [Online] Available at: https://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/30?e=wright-ch08_s02 [Accessed 30 January 2018].

One Typical Day free essay sample

Dragging my tired self to my locker one Tuesdayafternoon, I picked up my books and shoved them into my bag. I pulled out mysports bag, dreading cross-country practice and thinking of all I had to do thatnight: write an English paper, do a practice math SAT and study for chemistry.Thats when a cheery voice broke in, Hey, Katie, dont forget about ourSPAC performance tonight at the hospital. See you at seven! Thevoice belonged to Adam, the president of Students in the Performing Arts for theCommunity. He and a few of our schools symphonic band members (including me)started the club because we wanted to put some of our time and talents back intothe community by performing at hospitals and nursing homes. At that moment,however, I saw the performance as just one more thing to add to my list. Iarrived at the hospital with my flute in one hand and my chemistry book in theother, hoping to sneak in a little studying. We will write a custom essay sample on One Typical Day or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I walked through the sliding doorsinto a cream-colored hall and saw an audience of older people in wheelchairs.Some were sleeping, others sat with blank stares, but a few looked joyful. Thosewere the faces, rosy with excitement, that made me smile. In their midst Ispotted a thin, pale girl who was no more than 13. Thick black braces engulfedher tiny legs, and I wondered why someone so young was stuck in thisplace. Toward the end of the hour, after Bach and show tunes, my friendSarah asked if anyone had any requests. The girl raised her arm and asked if shecould sing My Heart Will Go On. Sarah happily invited her to sharethe microphone and the girl hobbled past the sea of wheelchairs. When she andSarah began to sing, I noticed the girls cheeks became pinker and her eyesshined. At that moment, I forgot my homework and remembered the true meaning ofSPAC: improving the quality of life for others. After the performance weall talked with the girl and discovered she wants to be a singer. She told usthat singing with Sarah had helped her remember her goal. As she spoke, shelooked down, self-consciously, at her thin legs. Then, she asked if we could allget together for a picture so she could remember this night and never give up onher dream. I stayed longer than Id planned. I was amazed by what one hourof my time could do help someone go from feeling like a prisoner in a hospitalto feeling like Celine Dion performing at a concert. That night, I lingered atthe dinner table with my family. I also called a friend I had not talked to in awhile. I did not do too well on the chemistry test the next day, but it was justone test, and I knew I could take it again. There could be no retake for myexperience that night at the hospital, except the one Ill always replay in myheart.

Creative Writing 5 Tips for Writing a Novel

Creative Writing 5 Tips for Writing a Novel Creative Writing: 5 Tips for Writing a Novel Even though creative writing gives you much more freedom than academic writing, it takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to master. Luckily, if you are writing a novel, there are a few things you can do to make sure you end up with something you can be proud of. 1. Start Small One mistake aspiring novelists make is leaping right into writing a full-length novel. If you’ve not written fiction before, consider starting with a few short stories. This will let you hone your creative writing skills before you set to work on your seven-volume masterpiece! Not exactly what we had in mind, but sure.(Photo: kelly taylor/flickr) 2. Where to Begin? Speaking of starting points, coming up with an idea for your story is one of the trickiest parts of writing a novel. The old adage of â€Å"write what you know† applies here, so one option is to base a story on something in your life or something you’ve observed. Another top tip is starting with a character. Who is your story going to be about? What is their background? Where do they live? What challenges do they face? If you can answer these questions, the rest of your story should start falling into place. 3. Have a Plan Once you have a basic idea for your story, you should take some time to make a plan before you begin writing. Try to consider what the major plot points will be, who the main characters are, and what the end point will be. You might need a bit more detail than this. You don’t have to stick to this rigidly once you get going, but it should give you a basic structure you can use to guide your writing. 4. Give Yourself a Quota Every author has days when they don’t feel like they can get anything done or when the words seem to come out wrong. But don’t let this put you off! Give yourself a quota of words to write each day. This doesn’t have to be much (even a few hundred or a thousand words a day will add up eventually). They don’t even have to be perfect (you can edit later, so resist the urge to hit â€Å"delete†). The important thing is to keep going. 5. Edit Ruthlessly! Once you have a first draft, take some time away (have someone else read it and give you feedback if you can). But when you do come back to your manuscript, be brutal! Editing your own work can be painful, but it has to be done. Make your story as streamlined as possible. This means making small cuts where redundant words and phrases appear. But it can also mean cutting sections that aren’t essential to the plot, such as unnecessary scene-setting. Red pen optional.(Photo: Nic McPhee/flickr) If you can do this, you should end up with a much better novel as a result!

Free Essays on The Goal

The Goal Book Review I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s so unlike any book I’ve had to read for class before, except for novels that we read in English class, of course. It was sort of a text book, but with a story. And an interesting plot, no less. I liked how Goldratt got me all involved in not only Alex’s job at the plant, but his personal life as well. I’ll have to admit that as I was getting into the story, it was easy to guess that the book will conclude with a happy ending. I was enthralled anyway, though. I thought this book was so good, it actually only took me three days to read. I thought that was pretty good considering all the stuff a person does in one day. What got me so interested is the way the story is written. Goldratt kept me trying to guess what Alex was going to do next, and that kept me reading into the next chapter. And not only did he keep me guessing about how in the world Alex was going to save the plant, he also kept me guessing about how Julie was going to react to all of it. But Julie’s reaction is typical. I’m sure I would feel the same as her as well. I think it’s hard when one spouse stays at home while the other one works long hours. What I enjoyed most about this novel is the fact it seemed so real. We’ve got this ordinary guy, who’s an engineer like me. My husband, who is actually an industrial engineer, got excited when he saw me reading this book. He had read it in his intro class and really like it as well. Though he said they read it over the course of several months. Anyway, this ordinary guy has real life problems just like everyone else in the world. There are problems with his job, working too hard, and work cutting into his personal life. I think one great thing that this book tried to teach is how to balance work and life. Sure, we all want to do well in our careers and move ourselves up the ladder, but there really needs to be some s... Free Essays on The Goal Free Essays on The Goal Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s The Goal When I first started reading The Goal, I felt that I couldn’t relate to the topic and setting of the book, since I am still an undergraduate business student who has not even begun studying a specific area of business. But the more and more I read, the more I became interested in the story and the more involved I became in rooting for the success of the plant. Never before have I really thought about the world of manufacturing, especially managing a plant that produces industrial parts. As a marketing major, I think I have always felt that manufacturing was a completely separate part of business like the financial aspects of business (accounting and finance). The Goal brought into perspective the problems that can arise from the different demands on the manufacturing process, especially the differences in goals among the different parts of a business. I never realized, until reading this book, the pressures that marketing puts on manufacturing and the consequences of the pressures to produce more and more to sell at lower and lower costs in order to gain customers. I also thought it was interesting that a business could have been running for so long with different goals- one department was concerned with inventory, one department was concerned with cost, and one department was focused on pleasing customers and trying to sell as many orders as possible. When Jonah helped Alex focus in on the real goal of the plant, to make money, it seemed to me that a goal so simple should have been obvious to everyone in the company from the start. I now realize the importance of communication within an organization on all levels, especially when it comes to matters of money and production, since those two factors almost drove Alex’s plant out of business. In conclusion, I feel that this was an extremely valuable and pleasant read for me as a business student, and I would highly recommend th... Free Essays on The Goal The Goal Book Review I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s so unlike any book I’ve had to read for class before, except for novels that we read in English class, of course. It was sort of a text book, but with a story. And an interesting plot, no less. I liked how Goldratt got me all involved in not only Alex’s job at the plant, but his personal life as well. I’ll have to admit that as I was getting into the story, it was easy to guess that the book will conclude with a happy ending. I was enthralled anyway, though. I thought this book was so good, it actually only took me three days to read. I thought that was pretty good considering all the stuff a person does in one day. What got me so interested is the way the story is written. Goldratt kept me trying to guess what Alex was going to do next, and that kept me reading into the next chapter. And not only did he keep me guessing about how in the world Alex was going to save the plant, he also kept me guessing about how Julie was going to react to all of it. But Julie’s reaction is typical. I’m sure I would feel the same as her as well. I think it’s hard when one spouse stays at home while the other one works long hours. What I enjoyed most about this novel is the fact it seemed so real. We’ve got this ordinary guy, who’s an engineer like me. My husband, who is actually an industrial engineer, got excited when he saw me reading this book. He had read it in his intro class and really like it as well. Though he said they read it over the course of several months. Anyway, this ordinary guy has real life problems just like everyone else in the world. There are problems with his job, working too hard, and work cutting into his personal life. I think one great thing that this book tried to teach is how to balance work and life. Sure, we all want to do well in our careers and move ourselves up the ladder, but there really needs to be some s...

Racial Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System Essay

Racial Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example This essay discusses that the legal system of the United States favored the white part of the population from the very beginning. Indeed, originally all African slaves were not considered to be people in the full meaning of this word, but rather animate property that belonged to their masters. After they have been granted freedom, the governments of the states approved various laws that came to be known as Jim Crow laws which reinforced the segregation of races. Only the second half of the twentieth century witnessed the end of segregation. Prior to that time it often happened that Black citizens would be lynched and the police would not press any charges. As the study highlights the history of crimes committed and the sentencing handed down by judges has often been deemed racist. There is a question of the influx of police in poorer neighborhoods flooding the areas and arresting people for minor crimes. On a personal level, there is a staunch support for treatment for the mentally ill as opposed to incarceration. It was found that there is a number of â€Å"socioeconomic status variables (education, employment, public assistance, residential stability, and household composition)† that should be taken into account while considering the disparities in the legal system of the United States. As for the judicial system in general, it is rather obvious that there is a clear disproportion of judges that belong to different races.

Family Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Violence - Essay Example As the causes of family violence are understood, there are effective methods that society can employ to reduce the frequency of this horrific behavior. Patterns. There are many patterns relevant to family violence which have been identified by health and law enforcement officials. The first of these is the patterns associated with cause. It should be stressed that seeking a simple, single identifying cause is not the correct approach. In fact, "one-dimensional accounts of cause and effect are manifestly inadequate" (Shipway 4). One of the many causes for family violence is the fact that it can be a learned behavior. It is common knowledge that children who grow up in abusive environments have a much higher likelihood of becoming abusers themselves when compared to those children who have been raised in non-violent homes. There is also the matter of individual deviant behavior. Sometimes, regardless of an individual's history, they turn violent and are unable to control their impulses. There are also behavioral patterns associated with family violence. One major pattern in this category is that of substance abuse. Whether they are over-consuming alcohol or using street drugs, individuals who abuse these substances tend to be involved in family violence incidents more frequently. Another behavioral pattern is that of rage, or "acting out." For whatever reason, when these people are under stress, they tend to strike out violently. The most frequent recipient of this violence is a family member. There are two victim response patterns that are particularly noteworthy. The first is the tendency to react to violence with violence. In many cases, an abuser will initiate an act of violence against a family member, only to have that person turn violent themselves. Many a drunken husband has found that a wife with a frying pan can be a formidable opponent. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the victim response of total passivity. In this pattern, the victim never stands up for themselves and just takes whatever abuse the violent party wants to subject them to. Strategies. Once the patterns are identified, there are some strategies that can be implemented which will address and help resolve the problem. In terms of social policy, there is the need to address the issues of negative learned behavior, provide behavioral modification tools for the individual actors, and ensure the protection of the victims. It is important that there be a multi-agency approach to these solutions. For example, instead of simply relying on law enforcement to battle the criminal aspect of family violence, social services should respond by "setting up treatment centers for the violators, offering them aggression management therapy, and at the same time supporting the women through assertiveness training and therapy" (Shipway 15). As education is provided so that the pattern of learned violence is addressed, therapy could be included so that effective behavior modification could supplement that education. These two strategic efforts, combined with law enforcement's protection of the victims or removal of the abuser from the family environment, present a combination of methods that, when taken together, are more effective than each one standing alone. With the combination of understanding the patterns that contribute to

Securing and Protecting Information Essay Example for Free

Securing and Protecting Information Essay The specific purpose of this paper is to describe the authentication process and to describe how this and other information security considerations will affect the design and development process for new information systems. The authentication process is a necessity for safeguarding systems against various forms of security threats, such as password-cracking tools, brute-force or wordbook attacks, abuse of system access rights, impersonation of attested users, and last but not least reply attacks just to name a few. In addition, it is imperative that authentication policies are interchangeable with the organizations in which information is being exchanged if resources are being shared between alternative organizations. Authentication in definition is simply proof that something is real or what it is meant to be. Public networks as well as private networks to include the internet use passwords as authentication to authorize logins. Data is required and is filtered through the password database if an effort to ensure that the user is authentic. Also, before anyone is allowed to access an organization’s intranet they must first be registered by someone that has the appropriate credentials to authorize them to gain access. There are plenty of businesses and alternative in the need of additional authentication methods and one method worthy of mentioning is the utilization of digital certificates issued and verified by a Certificate Authority or as commonly used the acronym CA. This process includes the creation of a strong password and an account lockout policy is created, logon hours are assigned, a ticket expiration policy is created, and clock synchronization tolerance to prevent replay attacks is set just to name some of what this process consist of. There are some things that must be taken into  consideration when a new system is design. Securing and Protecting Information When a team is appointed to designs a new system, that team must understand that all systems are not the same and that they all have their own unique attributes in their own way but the thought process must be the same in regards to security. It is quite challenging to insure that the application integration setting functions properly in a way that does not compromise the security needs. Security is especially necessary in applications that require systems in a company to be streamlined. Integration services might lead to security breaches because of the integrated systems and the holes that may exist during the integration process. To try to alleviate this from occurring, data security should be integrated into the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) from its beginning phase. This focuses directly on the knowledge security sections of the Syetsm Development Life Cycle. First, an outline of the key security roles and responsibilities should be addressed to insure that everyone involved knows what is expected. Second, ample data concerning the System Development Life Cycle is provided to permit anyone who is unfamiliar with the System Development Life Cycle method in order that they may grasp the connection between data security and also the System Development Life Cycle There are several ways exist that could be employed by a corporation to effectively develop a data system. A conventional System Development Life Cycle is known as a linear sequent model. The linear sequent model assumes that the systems are going to be delivered at a point near the top of its life cycle. Another SDLC technique uses the prototyping model that is commonly accustomed to development and understanding of a system’s needs while not really developing a final operational system. Complicated systems need continuous additional constant development models. Securing and Protecting Information Information system policies address security threats that may be harmful to a company. Sadly, there is no way to alleviate the numerous amounts of threats that haunt networks and computers worldwide. The foundation and framework for choosing and implementing countermeasures against them are very important. A written policy is vital in helping to  insure that everyone within the organization understands and behaves in an appropriate manner with regards to the fact that sensitive data and the security of software should be kept safe. When a security policy is developed, it should be well defined and the information in it should be clear and plainly understand and the objectives should be well defined so that there will be no confusion. Conversely, a data system with security policies is probably going to have an assortment of countermeasures that address a range of threats. Policies, standards, guidelines, and coaching materials that are known to be obsolete and not enforced could be dangerous to a corporation due to the data being outdated. As a result, management is basically drawn into thinking that security policies do exist within the organization when actually that is not the case. Counter measures which are outdated does not do an organization any good because without the appropriate patches in place, the organization’s network could have holes which would leave them extremely vulnerable. All organizations need to be compelled to actively put their security systems to the test and in addition they could even go as far as hiring an outside firm to ping the system to see if any holes appear that could leave the company’s system vulnerable. Of course there are preventive roles and measures that could and should be taken. Data security should be a crucial area of concern for small business owners. Knowledge of security compliance is no longer merely an area of financial concern Securing and Protecting Information As more and more data moves out of the file cabinet and into the electronic space, Information Technology departments will play an integral role in complying with all of the security policies. Once you take into account all the necessary information stored from economic records to customers data, it is not difficult to discover why only a single breach could seriously affect a business. With a number of basic steps and a few sensible on-line habits, youll prevent yourself from turning into simply another victim of cyber crime. (Ratha, Connell, Bolle, 2001) Some of the preventive roles and measures mentioned above are as follows: implementing sturdy strong passwords, use a mixture of capital and lower-case letters, symbols, and numbers and create it eight to twelve characters long, acquire  anti-virus/anti-malware software package, and last but not least, ensure your personal computer (PC) is properly patched and updated. It is important to mention that there is very little purpose in installing a very effective software package if it is not going to be properly maintained. As Watchinski explains, â€Å"while applications arent 100% fool-proofs, its necessary to frequently update these tools to assist in keeping users safe. It is also worthy of mentioning that scheduling regular backups to AN external drive, or within the cloud, may be painless thanks to make sure that all of your knowledge is kept safely. It must also be mentioned that it is not uncommon for an unsuspecting worker to click on a link or transfer an attachment that they believe is harmless just to realize later that the link contained malicious software that has compromised the company’s network. It is extremely important to teach your staff to practice safe on-line habits and beieing proactive with defense is crucial. Employees have a crucial role to play to keep your business and its knowledge secure. Securing and Protecting Information To touch on systems and devices in reference to security, security refers to providing a protection system to ADPS resources such as the central processor, memory, disk, software package programs, and most significantly data/information keep within the ADPS. As a part of the data systems security management, there are square measures peripheral devices installed so that the regulated community so to speak will listen. These peripheral devices will create an unseen threat (insider/third party threat). (Workman, Bommer, Straub, 2008) There are certain devices that appear to be harmless but could prove to cause issues such as USB devices (commonly known as flash/thumb drives), USB patch cords with mini/micro connectors, and Electronic notebooks just to name a few. In conclusion, security authentication is extremely necessary and relevant in the protection of an organization’s information. References CMGT/400-Intro to Information Assurance and Security DArcy, J., Hovav, A., Galletta, D. (2009). User awareness of security countermeasures and its impact on information systems misuse: a deterrence approach. Information Systems Research, 20(1), 79-98 Myers, J. G. (1997). Simple authentication and security layer (SASL). Zhu, J., Ma, J. (2004). A new authentication scheme with anonymity for wireless environments. Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, 50(1), 231- Sandhu, R., Samarati, P. (1996). Authentication, access control, and audit. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 28(1), 241-243. Rocha Flores, Waldo, Egil Antonsen, and Mathias Ekstedt. Information security knowledge sharing in organizations: Investigating the effect of behavioral information security governance and national culture, Computers Security, 2014.

Essay --

Introduction Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a fictional story based on realistic events in history. The main topic presented in the book is the animals wanted to avoid being exploited by their current oppressor; however, their own allies exploited the other animals. The author used animal actions to mirror events that happen in the Russian Revolution. The author’s purpose is to inform his audience to be mindful of government decision, to know those decisions and learn the events in history because history has the tendency to repeat itself. Explain the Relationship: Orwell’s experience in World War Two caused him to produce Animal Farm. While working as a volunteer soldier, he developed hate for fascism and Stalinism. His assertions originated from observing the corrupt government of the Russian Revolution and reading literature. Although the author’s novel has entertained many students, his goal was to inform readers of satire of the Soviet Communism. The author’s studies relate to Dr. Stovall’s social science class, because this novel contains sociology between people and demonstrates human nature inside of the text. The elements of the novel expressed the author’s observations of a corrupt government. The first element is its genre, fiction. The author used fictional animals to depict the humans of the Russian Revolution. These animals’ actions developed themes. When the animals overthrew the farmer, the pigs rose to power and became a corrupt government. This signified the theme that the Soviet’s government ideas were corrupt. Another theme arose when Snowball and Napoleon struggled for superiority. This event was a theme similar to the human story where Stalin, who is represented by Napoleon, vanquishes... ...d power and violated the commandments. The animals were unable to realize they were oppressed like in the past, because they did not learn about the past. The book also implies the readers should become knowledgeable so that they would not become oppressed. My stance about the book is it is a must read for students and people who are a part of the working class. This situation can happen to many people in my generation because students fail to read. Like the farm animals, who could not read, they accept almost anything someone tells them because they do not know their history and rights. While reading the novel, I developed my likes and dislikes. I liked the event, when the animals first had the idea to rebel against the farmer. However, I disliked Boxer’s death the most as well as the farm animals working hard while the pigs reaped the benefits. Essay -- Introduction Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a fictional story based on realistic events in history. The main topic presented in the book is the animals wanted to avoid being exploited by their current oppressor; however, their own allies exploited the other animals. The author used animal actions to mirror events that happen in the Russian Revolution. The author’s purpose is to inform his audience to be mindful of government decision, to know those decisions and learn the events in history because history has the tendency to repeat itself. Explain the Relationship: Orwell’s experience in World War Two caused him to produce Animal Farm. While working as a volunteer soldier, he developed hate for fascism and Stalinism. His assertions originated from observing the corrupt government of the Russian Revolution and reading literature. Although the author’s novel has entertained many students, his goal was to inform readers of satire of the Soviet Communism. The author’s studies relate to Dr. Stovall’s social science class, because this novel contains sociology between people and demonstrates human nature inside of the text. The elements of the novel expressed the author’s observations of a corrupt government. The first element is its genre, fiction. The author used fictional animals to depict the humans of the Russian Revolution. These animals’ actions developed themes. When the animals overthrew the farmer, the pigs rose to power and became a corrupt government. This signified the theme that the Soviet’s government ideas were corrupt. Another theme arose when Snowball and Napoleon struggled for superiority. This event was a theme similar to the human story where Stalin, who is represented by Napoleon, vanquishes... ...d power and violated the commandments. The animals were unable to realize they were oppressed like in the past, because they did not learn about the past. The book also implies the readers should become knowledgeable so that they would not become oppressed. My stance about the book is it is a must read for students and people who are a part of the working class. This situation can happen to many people in my generation because students fail to read. Like the farm animals, who could not read, they accept almost anything someone tells them because they do not know their history and rights. While reading the novel, I developed my likes and dislikes. I liked the event, when the animals first had the idea to rebel against the farmer. However, I disliked Boxer’s death the most as well as the farm animals working hard while the pigs reaped the benefits.

Alternative fuel technologies

Oil and petroleum products have been mainstay of world’s economic and technological advancement since past 150 years. The mechanism driving the entire transportation system from automobiles, airplanes, railways, ships to space rockets is based on utilization of energy of petroleum oil. Petroleum products are also extensively used in a number of infrastructure industries that form the core of industrial processes and basis of existence of modern world. However, the petroleum resources of world are very limited and they cannot endlessly meet human demands.Various estimates have put the total extractable oil stock to exist for another 50-75 years if world continues to consume them at present rate. After that the cost of extraction of remaining petroleum products would become much more than the benefits obtained them and world would require new resources of energy to exist. These concerns have already spawned intense research in alternative technologies to meet the future energy n eeds in the face of an impending petroleum crisis.The shortage of oil would be more manifest in coming times as oil demands are growing world wide, especially in China and India with rapidly expanding economy, transportation system and consequently requirement of petroleum oil. Even at present consumption rate there are grave uncertainties on the secure prospects of future supplies within next 50 years time frame, and the rising consumption rates threatens to bring the approaching crisis nearer.United States is thus faced with a great responsibility to secure its future interests without sacrificing its present requirements and needs. This issue forms the topic of the next section. Alternative fuel technologies Past decade has seen great thrust on technological researches in alternative fuels. Various new techniques and models have already been introduced in the market to test their viability and capacity to successfully replace petroleum as chief source of energy.Most of these inno vations are specifically aimed at transportation sector owing to its liability as chief consumer of petroleum oil and as principle cause of soaring oil imports. Due to distinct requirements of different sectors in transportation, the technologies vary. Passenger vehicles, public transport vehicles and freight transportation carry specific needs that are difficult to be met by a single alternative fuel technology (Deutch J, Schlesinger J. R, Victor D. G. 2006).Some of the major and most popular of these technologies, where majority of research and development has taken place, are (Aldrich, 1996) 1. Hybrid Vehicle: As the name suggests, hybrid vehicles combine dual technologies for their operation. Technically they are hybrid electric vehicle with an electric motor that drives the vehicle (Hoogma, Kemp, Schot and Truffer, 2002, 41 ). 2. Bio-diesels: Bio-diesel: Bio-diesel, as the term suggests, is a type of renewable fuel obtained by agricultural products and used as fuel in heavy-dut y vehicles.The major sources currently under research for bio-diesel are soybean, rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, peanut, sunflower, and canola (Aldrich, 1996, 85). 3. Ethanol: Ethanol has emerged as a successful alternative to fossil fuels in Brazil where more than 4 million vehicles on ethanol based fuel and it is finding increasing application in the world as well 4. Hydrogen: : There are great interests in using hydrogen as fuel in transport industry due to the great flexibility of options and performance it offers.Hydrogen can either be used as fuel in place of gasoline in internal combustion engine or it can be used as energy carrier in fuel cells, the latter being the major research area in automobile sector (Aldrich, 1996, 87). Solar energy: : Solar power has turned as a dependable source of energy in areas other than transport. All the initial costs are high in maintaining a solar energy power plant, its been shown that with increasingly sophisticated technology and wider appli cation the cost of installation as well as generation of electricity can get comparable to normal power plants. Mass Transport SystemApart from introducing alternative fuel and technologies to replace and minimize fossil fuel consumption, another area where fuel consumption can be easily reduced is creating a more robust and functional public transport and mass transit system. It is cost effective and time consuming to redesign the existing public transport system, especially in major cities, to cut down fuel consumption by reducing number of vehicles on the road. Socio-cultural impact When fossil fuels were discovered around 150 years back, the existing technologies of steam engines were unable to utilize them.However, soon completely new technologies were developed in the face of these new energy sources and they were used to capitalize on the energy content and efficiency of fossil fuels. Soon petroleum fuels revolutionized the way the world moved and worked. The past 100 years o f consumption has comprehensively depleted non-renewable petroleum deposits and estimates give another 50 more years before the remaining available sources would get almost exhausted. This fact is indeed a cause of concern, but only if viewed from existing technological frame.Declining petroleum resources offer the signal that its time to make transition towards different energy sources. Countries that would fail to read this signal or close their eyes to it are certainly heading for a major crisis. But fortunately the world has the capacity to read these signals and develop reliable intermediate technologies and systems such as hybrid electric vehicle, ethanol and public transit systems that would considerably reduce fossil fuel consumption without adding to infrastructure cost thereby extending the life period of petroleum reservoirs.Meanwhile research can take place on new age technologies such as fuel cell and solar photovoltaic cells to complete replace fossil fuels as a source of energy. It is possible that if government and industry institute providential policy measures, there would be a host of alternative technologies in transportation sector by the time petroleum oil would get exhausted. _ Reference Bob Aldrich.. ABCs of AFVs: a guide to alternative fuel vehicles.California Energy Commission, Sacramento-CA. April 1996. 1st Feb 2007 http://www. p2pays. org/ref/26/25156. pdf Hoogma Recmo, Rene Kemp, John Schot, Bernhard Truffer. Experimenting for Sustainable Transport: The Approach of Strategic Niche Management. : Spon Press: New York: 2002. 3 Deutch J, Schlesinger J. R, Victor D. G. 2006. Consequence of U. S Oil Dependency: Report of an Independent Task Force. 30th Jan. 2007 http://www. cfr. org/content/publications/attachments/EnergyTFR. pdf Alternative fuel technologies Since its discovery 150 years ago, petroleum oil has become lifeline of the world, the functional equivalent of blood in the human body. The mechanism driving the entire transportation system from automobiles, airplanes, railways, ships to space rockets is based on utilization of energy of petroleum oil. Petroleum products are also extensively used in a number of infrastructure industries that form the core of industrial processes and basis of existence of modern world. However, the petroleum resources of world are very limited and they cannot endlessly meet human demands.Various estimates have put the total extractable oil stock to exist for another 50-75 years if world continues to consume them at present rate. After that the cost of extraction of remaining petroleum products would become much more than the benefits obtained them and world would require new resources of energy to exist. These concerns have already spawned intense research in alternative technologies to meet the fut ure energy needs in the face of an impending petroleum crisis. United States of America is world’s leading consumer of petroleum products accounting for approximately 25 % of total consumption of petroleum oil world over.In 2003, world’s consumption of petroleum oil stood at around 80 million barrels per day, out of which US’s share was close to 20 million barrel (Hirsch, Bezdek, Wending, 2005). To meet these huge petroleum demands US depends crucially on oil imports that is well above 50 % today and continuing to rise upward. This overwhelming dependence on imported oil poses various strategic and security challenges for US interests in the long run. The sharp oil price increases of 1973 and 1979-81 serve as testimony to the dangers of import dependence.Further as the oil sources would continue to deplete, the prices of oil would steadily and inexorably rise until the level when world is faced with an acute fuel crisis. Based on these observations it’s v ital that U. S explores alternative technologies and fuels to sustain its development and growth structure. Need of alternative fuels The continuous rise in U. S oil consumption has forced it to rely increasingly on imported oil to meet its expanding requirements. As of today with its 20 million barrel per day consumption U.S is the largest consumer and importer of oil, surpassing the combined consumption of Japan, Germany, China, Russia and South Korea (Reardon, 2004).. The share of oil in total energy produced in USA is just 17. 2 percent while in consumption it rises to 40 percent that explains the need for huge oil import. Imports constitute 11 million barrels per day that is more than the aggregate oil import of Japan, Germany, and South Korea (Reardon, 2004). The bulk of the oil consumption takes place in the transportation sector, which accounts for the 69 percent of the total oil consumption in US (Basic Petroleum Statistics, 2007).Consumption stands highest for motor gasoli ne. Average daily consumption of motor gasoline in U. S, according to Petroleum data (EIA, 2005) is 8933 thousand barrels per day. Distillate fuel oil is the second most consumed petroleum product with daily consumption at 2817 thousand barrels. These figures give a realistic view of inevitable oil import dependency U. S for present and future if it carries on the present rate of consumption. Indeed the chances to curb the massive oil imports are slim considering the fleet of 210 millions vehicle that depend solely upon motor gasoline for their functioning (Hirsch R.L, Bezdek R, Wending R, February 2005, 4). As on 1st January 2006, the total proven oil reserves with U. S was just 21. 6 billion barrels, which implies that in future U. S would be forced to rely almost completely on oil imports for its entire transportation requirements. As the closer sources shall run dry, U. S’ dependency would shift to further sources from where oil must be transported over vulnerable supply lines, leading to rise in global oil price. The greater risk is certainly compromising with U. S national interests.The oil supply lines would always be at risk against subversive elements requiring another set of huge investment in ensuring safe transportation of oil to U. S onshore facilities. It will also place U. S interests in the hands of oil cartels such as OPEC that may freely manipulate oil supplies according to their own interests. Part II: Alternative fuel technologies The impending oil crisis has finally stirred policy makers in US. A number of approaches are suggested that include a. imposing taxes on oil consumption b. using tradable gasoline permits and c. exploration of new sources of oil ( Deutch J, Schlesinger J.R, Victor D. G. 2006 ). However, the pressing need of situation demands measures that would sustain the present structure while safeguarding the future against depleting sources and rising petroleum prices. As the world’s oil reserves are finite, eve n measures such stagnating oil consumption and using oil more efficiently are just helpful in delaying the inevitable without offering any permanent solution to the issue. Oil reserves are going down steadily and within a couple of decades prices will soar up inexorably disrupting the economy, industry and society in turn.The only practical solution to this problem is technological innovations in energy field that can reduce dependence on petroleum oil by providing alternative and sustainable sources of energy. It shall serve two immensely useful purposes that are a. minimizing U. S dependence on foreign oil and b. preventing the environment from damages associated with use of petroleum oils and products. The certainty of oil exhaustion has inspired efforts from both government and corporate sector to research and develop the new fuel technologies as a providential measure for survival, growth and progress in forthcoming days of oil crisis.Past decade has seen great thrust on techno logical researches in alternative fuels. Various new techniques and models have already been introduced in the market to test their viability and capacity to successfully replace petroleum as chief source of energy. Most of these innovations are specifically aimed at transportation sector owing to its liability as chief consumer of petroleum oil and as principle cause of soaring oil imports. Due to distinct requirements of different sectors in transportation, the technologies vary Alternative fuel technologies Since its discovery 150 years ago, petroleum oil has become lifeline of the world. The entire structure of the modern mechanized world, consisting from transportation system, automobiles, airplanes, railways, ships to space rockets today operates primarily on the energy derived from the fossil fuels/petroleum oils. Apart from being mainstay of the transportation sector, petroleum products have also found wide application in a large range of core infrastructure industries that are essential for survival of industrial processes and basis of existence of modern world.This dependence on exclusive use of petroleum resources of world has become cause of serious concern among policy planners. Petroleum resources are very limited and they have cannot be continuously exploited to meet human demand. According to varoius studies and estimates, the total oil stock of world t is expected to last for another 50-75 years if world continues to consume them at present rate. After that the cost of ext raction of remaining petroleum products would rise greatly. It would become so costly that benefits obtained from oil would be lower than expenditure incurred on them.Thus world may need another resources of energy to exist. These fears and concerns have already generated intense research in alternative technologies to meet the future energy needs in the face of an overhanging petroleum crisis. The large part of the oil consumption takes place in the transportation sector, which accounts for the 69 percent of the total oil consumption in the US alone (Basic Petroleum Statistics, 2007). Overall there are five major sectors accounting for petroleum oil consumption. These sectors, along with their consumption share in year 2005 are (Petroleum-EIA, 2006)1. Domestic/Household: Consumption in 2005 was 869 thousand barrels of petroleum per day 2. Commercial: 386 thousand barrels of petroleum per day 3. Industrial: 5061 thousand barrels of petroleum per day 4. Electric Power production: 545 thousand barrels of petroleum per day 5. Transportation: 13, 825 thousand barrels of petroleum per day. The consumption pattern in the transportation sector shows that consumption is highest for motor gasoline. Average daily consumption of motor gasoline in U. S, according to Petroleum data (EIA, 2005) is 8933 thousand barrels per day.Distillate fuel oil is the second most consumed petroleum product with daily consumption at 2817 thousand barrels. These figures show that U. S would be dependent on oil imports for present and future if it carries on the present rate of consumption. U. S has a fleet of 210 millions vehicle that depend entirely upon motor gasoline for their functioning that makes it very difficult to reduce oil consumption. (Hirsch R. L, Bezdek R, Wending R, February 2005, 4). As on 1st January 2006, the total proven oil reserves with U. S was just 21. 6 billion barrels, which means that in future U.S would be forced to rely almost completely on oil imports for its en tire transportation requirements. As the closer sources shall run dry, U. S’ would be dependent on distant sources from where oil must be transported. The supply lines may become vulnerable to leakage and terrorist attacks and it would lead to rise in global oil price. The greater risk is certainly compromising with U. S national interests. The oil supply lines would always be at risk against subversive elements requiring another set of huge investment in ensuring safe transportation of oil to U. S onshore facilities.It will also place U. S interests in the hands of oil cartels such as OPEC that may freely manipulate oil supplies according to their own interests. The shortage of oil would increase greatly in coming times as oil demands are growing worldwide. Meanwhile China and India are also expanding their economy, transportation system and hence they would need more oil in future. Even at present rate there are serious doubts on the secure prospects of future supplies with in next 50 years time frame, and the rising consumption rates threatens to bring the approaching crisis nearer.United States has thus a great responsibility to secure its future interests without sacrificing its present requirements and needs. This issue forms the topic of the next section. Alternative fuel technologies The forthcoming oil crisis has finally moved policy makers in US. A number of approaches are suggested that include a. imposing taxes on oil consumption b. using tradable gasoline permits and c. exploration of new sources of oil ( Deutch J, Schlesinger J. R, Victor D. G. 2006 ).However, the urgent need of situation demands methods that would sustain the present structure while safeguarding the future against depleting sources and rising petroleum prices. As the world’s oil reserves are limited, even measures such stagnating oil consumption and using oil more efficiently are just helpful in delaying the inevitable without offering any permanent solution to the issue. Oil reserves are going down steadily and within a couple of decades prices will soar up inexorably disrupting the economy, industry and society in turn.The only practical solution to this problem is technological innovations in energy field that can reduce dependence on petroleum oil by providing alternative and sustainable sources of energy. It shall serve two immensely useful purposes that are a. minimizing U. S dependence on foreign oil and b. preventing the environment from damages associated with use of petroleum oils and products. The certainty of oil exhaustion has inspired efforts from both government and corporate sector to research and develop the new fuel technologies as a providential measure for survival, growth and progress in forthcoming days of oil crisis.Past decade has seen great move on technological researches in alternative fuels. Various new techniques and models have already been introduced in the market to test their viability and capacity to successfu lly replace petroleum as chief source of energy. Most of these innovations are specifically aimed at transportation sector because it is the chief consumer of petroleum oil and as principle cause of increasing oil imports. Due to distinct requirements of different sectors in transportation, there are various technologies.Passenger vehicles, public transport vehicles and freight transportation carry specific needs that are difficult to be met by a single alternative fuel technology. Some of the major and most popular of these technologies, where majority of research and development has taken place, are (Aldrich, 1996) 1. Hybrid Vehicle 2. Bio-diesels 3. Ethanol 4. Hydrogen and 6. Solar energy Following section discusses the technology used in each of these new vehicle-systems and their benefits over conventional gasoline based internal combustion engine.Hybrid Vehicles: As the name suggests, hybrid vehicles combine dual technologies for their operation. Technically they are hybrid el ectric vehicle with an electric motor that drives the vehicle (Hoogma, Kemp, Schot and Truffer, 2002, 41 ). In the case of a typical electric vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell or chemical batteries such as advanced sealed lead battery, nickel cadmium and lithium ion are used for auxiliary power (Aldrich, 1996). However in the hybrid electric vehicles, the electric drive technology is combined with a gasoline-based power generator for running the electric motor and charging the batteries.Hybrid vehicles are either full hybrid or mid hybrid. A full hybrid vehicle can move forward from standstill purely on electric power while a mid hybrid requires gasoline power for initial movement, although both technologies concentrate on maximum utilization of electric motor power while reducing the use of gasoline as far as possible (Hybrid Terms, 2007). The electric motor and internal combustion engine (ICE) are connected either in parallel or in series in a hybrid vehicle.In parallel hybrid cars, pow er to engine is supplied by both the electric motor and internal combustion engine while in the series hybrid car the gasoline engine powers the electric motor and batteries to generate electricity, without directly providing power for the vehicle (Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 2007). There is another category of hybrid vehicles, called as ‘plug-in hybrid’ that can operate as a full electric vehicle. They require some additional batteries and use electricity net to charge the batteries thereby minimizing gasoline use to its lowest possible levels (Hybrid Terms, 2007).All hybrid electric vehicle use computer that constantly monitors speed, power required and charge conditions of batteries (Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 2007). Hybrid vehicles offer numerous benefits over the conventional gasoline based ICE, some of which are (Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 2007; Sanna, 2007, 12; Aldrich, 1996, 88 ) 1. Hybrid vehicles are extremely fuel efficient, with most of the driving thrust coming from electric power. 2. Unlike electric cars, they offer unlimited range of traveling and transportation 3.Hybrid technology is combination of the proven technology of ICE with electric motors, thus giving it reliability in the market. 4. Hybrid technology can be used in various sectors of transportation, from personal vehicles to heavy duty vehicles. In fact, both the major US car manufacturers, GM and Ford have come out with a range of hybrid vehicles, that are successful in market. 5. Plug in -Hybrid technology is even more fuel conserving and environmentally benign, cutting down CO2 emission by more than 30 % while using minimum possible use of gasoline.Hybrid vehicles offer the most reliable alternate technology which US can capitalize upon without risking any major upheaval in its current fuel-technology structure. These vehicles promise to drastically reduce fuel oil consumption, reducing the needs of oil imports, meanwhile purchasing time for completely oil free technology. Bio-diesel: Bio-diesel, as the term suggests, is a type of renewable fuel obtained by agricultural products and used as fuel in heavy-duty vehicles. The major sources currently under research for bio-diesel are soybean, rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, peanut, sunflower, and canola (Aldrich, 1996, 85).The process of making bio-diesel involves use of an alcohol such as methanol which is treated with oil of selected agricultural produce to form glycerin followed by separation of fatty esters, recycling of excess alcohol and purification of esters to produce a fuel that bears remarkable closeness to diesel, however with higher octane number (Aldrich, 1996, 85). Currently bio-diesel is used when blended with petroleum diesel, especially in European markets, with commendable results. Bio-diesel offers a host of benefits over conventional petroleum diesel, some of which are (Faupel and Kurki, 2002, 1).1. Reduction in vehicle emission leading to environment safe emission standards 2. As bio-di esel is an excellent lubricant it helps to prolong engine life 3. As the fuel is non-toxic and easily biodegradable it presents high safety standards in storage and transportation. 4. It will give boost to agricultural productions 5. It poses significantly lower health risks than petroleum diesel, successfully meeting health requirement standards established by Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990. 6.The technology of bio-diesel doesn’t require any major altercation in present engine technology and infrastructure models, making it a popular choice in alternative fuel category. 7. The fact that bio-diesel can be completely synthesized domestically gives US a great opportunity to curtail its dependence on fossil fuel, curb imports, optimize its economy and make a transition towards a secure and sustainable future. Bio-diesel has gained wide acceptance as a viable alternative for fossil-diesel and it is increasingly used in mass transit system, freight transportation and heavy duty v ehiclesEthanol: Ethanol as a very long history as an alternative fuel, and it was tried in even 1880 as a fuel option for Ford cars (Aldrich, 1996, 51). Ethanol is derived from agricultural produces by process of fermentation and distillation to form a high-octane liquid fuel. Normally ethanol is not used alone as a fuel, instead it is blended with gasoline in ratio of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline to form a fuel E-85, which is approved as an alternative fuel in US (Ethanol, 2007). The vehicles run on this fuel are called as flexi fuel vehicles.Ethanol has emerged as a successful alternative to fossil fuels in Brazil where more than 4 million vehicles on ethanol based fuel and it is finding increasing application in US as well. The benefits of using ethanol are multifold and they include (Ethanol, 2007) 1. Ease in use: Although E85 engine is somewhat different than ICE, it is possible to alter the existing ICE to accommodate E85 as the fuel 2. Reduced petroleum consumpt ion: Increased use of E85 promises considerable reduction in use of fossil oil. 3.Renewable and sustainable fuel: E-85 is organically synthesized. It is renewable as ethanol can be made from waste bio products, optimizing the energy sector. 4. Environment compatibility: Vehicles using E-85 produce around 50 percent less smog in emission 5. Flexible fuel options: Vehicles using E-85 as fuel can also operate on gasoline, which is useful in case of non availability of E-85 Hydrogen: There are great interests in using hydrogen as fuel in transport industry due to the great flexibility of options and performance it offers.Hydrogen can either be used as fuel in place of gasoline in internal combustion engine or it can be used as energy carrier in fuel cells, the latter being the major research area in automobile sector (Aldrich, 1996, 87). Generally, hydrogen is obtained by decomposing hydrocarbon fuels, electrolysis of water and photolysis. It is stored directly in form of gas, liquid or as chemically with metal hydrides (Hydrogen Economy, 2002, 2). Due to its low energy volume, direct use of hydrogen as a fuel would require considerably large volumes to fuel the vehicle.On the other hand, hydrogen is extremely efficient in fuel cells. In a fuel cell, hydrogen combines with oxygen to produce electricity, Use of hydrogen offers following advantages (Hydrogen Economy, 2002; Aldrich, 1996,87) 1. It is the most abundant element in universe and hence practically inexhaustible as a source of energy. 2. When burned it produces water vapour as only by product. 3. Hydrogen can be used a fuel directly in ICE, requiring no modification in engine design. 4.Hydrogen fuel cells involve no pollution, and provide higher efficiency of the order of 45 percent in combustion. 5. In case of any accidents, hydrogen powered vehicle are likely to cause less damage due to light chemical nature of hydrogen. Solar Power: Use of solar power as energy in transportation sector has been subject of intense technological research. While the solar energy has found wide application as domestic energy supply, there are difficulties in their application in transport sector.Photovoltaic cells, that absorb sunrays to provide electricity, are inefficient under the current technology strains and unable to generate even a fraction of required power to drive a normal passenger vehicle. However, solar power has turned as a dependable source of energy in areas other than transport. All the initial costs are high in maintaining a solar energy power plant, its been shown that with increasingly sophisticated technology and wider application the cost of installation as well as generation of electricity can get comparable to normal power plants (Borowitz, 1999,112).Conclusion When fossil fuels were discovered around 150 years back, the existing technologies of steam engines were unable to utilize them. However, soon completely new technologies were developed as new energy sources were discov ered. They started to use the energy content and efficiency of fossil fuels. Soon petroleum fuels revolutionized the way the world moved and worked. The past 100 years of consumption has comprehensively depleted non-renewable petroleum deposits and estimates give another 50 more years before the remaining available sources would get almost exhausted.US has the capacity to read these signals and develop reliable intermediate technologies and systems such as hybrid electric vehicle, ethanol and public transit systems that would considerably reduce fossil fuel consumption without adding to infrastructure cost thereby extending the life period of petroleum reservoirs. Meanwhile research is continuing on new age technologies such as fuel cell and solar photovoltaic cells to complete replace fossil fuels as a source of energy.It is possible that if government and industry institute providential policy measures, there would be a host of alternative technologies in transportation sector by the time petroleum oil would get exhausted. Economic advantage of using alternative fuels Alternative fuel technologies carry great economic benefit for US. Presently USA is heavily dependent on imported petroleum fuel that accounts for massive expenditure in the federal budget. Increased use of alternative fuel technology would reduce this dependency, saving billions of dollars annually.Further, the domestic production, processing and maintenance of alternative fuel resources and vehicles would create more number of jobs, thus strengthening the economic conditions. Alternative vehicles would also create far less air pollution, which would help the quality of life with reduced lungs diseases, cancers, asthma and various other problems. It would also bring down the need as well as the cost of environmental cleanup, adding to economic benefits further (AFV-2000) Reference Alternative Fuel Vehicles, 2000, Climate Change Technologies, 21st Feb, 2007, http://yosemite.epa. gov/oar/globalw arming. nsf/UniqueKeyLookup/SHSU5BMSCX/$File/alternativefueledvehicles. pdf Basic Petroleum Statistics. Jan 2007. Energy Information Administration. 31st Jan. 2007 http://www. eia. doe. gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil. html Bob Aldrich.. ABCs of AFVs: a guide to alternative fuel vehicles. California Energy Commission, Sacramento-CA. April 1996. 1st Feb 2007 http://www. p2pays. org/ref/26/25156. pdf Borowitz, Sidney. Farewell Fossil Fuels: Reviewing America's Energy Policy. : Plenum Trade: New York: 1999 Deutch J, Schlesinger J. R, Victor D. G. 2006. Consequence of U.S Oil Dependency: Report of an Independent Task Force. 30th Jan. 2007 http://www. cfr. org/content/publications/attachments/EnergyTFR. pdf Ethanol. 2007. Alternative Fuel Data Center. US Department of Energy. 1st Feb, 2007, http://www. eere. energy. gov/afdc/altfuel/ethanol. html Faupel Karen and Al Kukri, 2002. Biodiesel: A Brief Overivew. NCAT Agricultural Specialist. 1st Feb, 2007. http://www. msenergy. ms/biodiesel. pdf Hirsch R. L, Bezdek R, Wending R. February 2005. Peaking of World Oil Production: Impact, Mitigation, & Risk Management. 30th Jan. 2007 http://www. pppl.gov/publications/pics/Oil_Peaking_1205. pdf Hoogma Recmo, Rene Kemp, John Schot, Bernhard Truffer. Experimenting for Sustainable Transport: The Approach of Strategic Niche Management. : Spon Press: New York: 2002. 36 Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Feb 2007. Hybrid & Electric Vehicle: Implementing Agreement. International Energy Agency. 1st Feb, 2007. http://www. ieahev. org/hybrid. html#Anchor3 Hybrid Terms. HybridCars. com. 1st Feb 2007 http://www. hybridcars. com/types-systems/hybrid-terms. html Petroleum. July, 2006. Annual Energy Review-2005. 31s Jan, 2007 http://www. eia. doe. gov/emeu/aer/petro.html Petroleum Overview, 1949-2005. Annual Energy Review. 31st Jan, 2007 http://www. eia. doe. gov/emeu/aer/petro. html Prospects For A Hydrogen Economy. Oct. 2002. Postnote. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. 1st Feb, 2007. ht tp://www. parliament. uk/post/pn186. pdf Sanna Lucy. Driving the Solution: Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles. EPRI Journal. 1st Feb 2007. http://www. calcars. org/epri-driving-solution-1012885_PHEV. pdf U. S. Imports- Petroleum Navigator. Energy Information Administration. 31st Jan 2007 http://tonto. eia. doe. gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_d_NUS_Z00_mbbl_m. htm

Financial Implication of Decision

Evidencing the increased emphasis on exit strategy was research conducted during the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s that analyzed the exit process and created a framework that business decision makers could use to determine when and how to exit. For example, Conrad Berenson posited an exit model in 1963 that identified five categories of criteria used to evaluate a product abandonment decision: 1. Financial security, which entails determining if the minimum return on investment is being met for the firm; 2.Financial opportunity, or calculating the return on alternative uses of the firm's resources; 3. Marketing strategy, which determines the value of the product above pure financial profit, such as brand-name worth and the value of established distribution channels; 4. Social responsibility, or criteria that encompass the firm's responsibilities to customers, employees, suppliers, and so forth; and 5. Organized intervention, which takes into account actions by government, society, o r labor groups as a result of the decision to exit.And you need to anticipate the impact of key business decisions on your accounting and financial reporting. * Is your organization raising debt or equity? Acquiring a business? Carving-out a non-core operation? Complex accounting and financial reporting issues can arise as a result of changes dictated by your entity’s capital agenda. * Are you undertaking a significant business transformation? Assessing how a shared services center can improve efficiencies in your reporting process?Streamlining your accounting policies can help you reduce risk and manage cost. * Does the business operate in multiple jurisdictions? An assessment of your statutory reporting processes can allow you to manage risk, increase consistency in financial reporting, and realize efficiencies. * Are you planning to upgrade or replace your existing ERP system? Early assessment of changing accounting requirements should be incorporated into planned migratio ns to avoid expensive rework later.