Symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Abel Girma Mr. Lucky English Language and Literature IB Y1 04 September 2012 Word Count: 1087 The Consciousness of Symbolism in â€Å"A Rose For Emily† â€Å"Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair† read the last lines of â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, a short story written by the American author and Nobel Prize laureate William Faulkner, published in 1931.These last words put a shocking and rather disturbing end to this piece depicting the strange life of Emily Grierson, and her obdurate refusal to adapt to changes in her life, living in her own non-transforming world. Various symbols are used throughout the text although Faulkner did not use any kind of conscious symbolism. The validity of this claim lies in his Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech, his biography and his in terview on the meaning of â€Å"A rose for Emily†. Emily Grierson is portrayed as â€Å"A fallen monument† from the very beginning of the story as the narrator starts to describe the ceremonial procedures following her death.Soon after, her home, a â€Å"house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies. † (Section I of â€Å"A Rose for Emily) Is adjacently undermined as â€Å"an eyesore among eyesores † (Section I of â€Å"A Rose for Emily), invaded by the deteriorating and industrialized neighborhood that used to be an illustriously reputed neighborhood in the 1970s. This is a fine example of symbolism used in the text as it gives an inkling of the stubbornness in which Emily, a southern woman has lived her life cleaved to the past and immersed in old southern traditions.Similarly, the â€Å"Rose† in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a thought-provoking symbo l due to the fact that it is never mentioned throughout the totality of the story. The interpretations of the â€Å"Rose† are unbounded and debatable. It can be understood as being a rose of sympathy Faulkner would like to dedicate to Emily for she had lived an undeniably grim life of solitude and misery. It can equally be interpreted as a rose representing the love Emily desperately needed in her life but never truly found, seeing as a rose generally symbolizes love in most cultures.Likewise, another shock kindling and incontestably pivotal symbol in the story is confined within the last sentence, â€Å"the long strand of iron-gray hair†. These last words reveal the gruesome moral depravity in which Emily lived a great part of her life, sleeping beside the decaying corpse of Homer, the first potential true-love in Emily's life that decided to leave her soon after they started spending a lot of time together. The strand of hair symbolizes the often heretical path which people cross in the quest for love.There is not a clear enough correlation between most of the symbols and what they symbolize for them to have been an application of conscious symbolism. Furthermore Faulkner himself has ascertained that he doesn't rely on consciously using symbolism to channel his philosophies as an author. Effectively, William Faulkner blatantly denies using any conscious symbolism. He explains: â€Å"I was simply trying to write about people [†¦] it was no intention of the writer to say, Now let's see, I'm going to write a piece in which I will use a symbolism [†¦]† (extract from the interview â€Å"A Meaning of â€Å"A Rose for Emily†).This quotation further validates the argument that the symbolism used by Faulkner was unintentional. Ray Bradbury, one of the most renowned American writers of the 20th century explains his take on this topic in a response to a letter from a 16 year old student in 1963. The student wanted to know more abo ut the use of symbolism in literary works so Bradbury stated that â€Å"I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act. [†¦ ] The best symbolism is always unsuspected and natural. Faulkner also describes his main interest as a writer as being about â€Å"the human heart in conflict with itself† (Nobel Prize acceptance speech). Thus, his sole purpose as a writer goes against the act of using conscious symbolism. Accordingly, in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, he tells the outlandish, yet compelling story of Miss Emily Grierson's internal conflict in the pursuit of happiness and love that leads her to unorthodox – even satanic – acts. Faulkner's â€Å"A Rose for Emily† offers symbols with limitless interpretations and therefore proves to a considerable extent that the use of those symbols weren't conscious.Moreover, It would be contumelious not to agree with the author when he denies the use of conscious symbolism. Symbolism in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is consistently present and plays a major role in the possible readers' interpretations of the story's message. However, the use of symbols in a literary work is inevitable and isn't always a product of a conscious act. This means that the fact that there is symbolism in the text isn't a contradiction to the author's initial goal which is writing a mere ghost story inspired by â€Å"a picture of a strand of hair on the pillow in the abandoned house. (Interview on The Meaning of â€Å"A Rose for Emily†). Consequently, the unconscious symbolisms within the story give it sophistication and depth due to its readers' interpretations, not due to the immoral act of imposing symbolism upon them. The American author Isaac Asimov encompasses the answer to the controversy of the use of symbolism in his response to the same letter about from the 16 year old student: â€Å"Conscio usly? Heavens, no! Unconsciously? How can one avoid it? † Faulkner did not use conscious symbolism in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†.Numerous applications of symbolism are present in this short ghost-story and they do hold a non-negligible position in the overall meaning of the piece based on each readers' understanding of them. Nevertheless, the literary virtuoso, William Faulkner did not intentionally place these symbols as a means to convey his message in a latent manner. In lieu of doing so, he straight-forwardly wrote a simple ghost-story containing inevitable symbols. As a matter of fact, we may ask ourselves: to what extent is the conscious use of symbolism in literature in order to convey message, efficient and effective?

Promotion Mix Tools

promotion mix tools The promotion ( Promotional Mix ) is one out of four basic instruments of marketing that has the purpose to inform about other instruments of marketing mix and to contribute to sales increase on the long term. The promotional mixis always serving to specific goal. These goals can be public informing, demand increasing, product differentiation, and product value increasing or sales stabilizing. Usually the promotion is targeting more than one goal.Promotion is the process of communication between the company that sells the product and the potential customer, with the purpose of influencing the attitudes and behavior. There are specific promotional tool that are supporting chosen promotional goal. The promotional mix represents a combination of different promotional tools. The basic elements of promotional mix are Advertising, Public Relationship, Personal Sales and Sales Promotion. Advertising is communication with current and potential customers and consumers, don e through paid mass media. The channels of communication can be TV, radio, Internet, billboards, etc. * Public Relationship ( PR ) is communication toward public, but is turned more to reputation and image of the company, than to it's products. The PR activity can be a press conference, TV interview with company representative,   press article about donation of the company to charity or about latest environmental project. Personal Sales is a way of promotion activity where sales representative is directly contacting the customer. This person-to-person contact has the goal of direct promotion of the product and conclusion of sales. * Sales Promotion represents a set of different promotional activities that has the goal of animating customers for purchasing. This can be value offer ( discount ), quantity offer ( 2+1 ), prize drawings, merchandising, direct contact by animators in retail outlet, etc.

Activities for Building Student Character

Today, it is a topic to include character education in educational programs. According to Jakarta Post (May 22, 2009), character building is a missing link in the Indonesian curriculum. Among them, it is pointed out that the Indonesian curriculum focusing on students who passed the national exam had forgotten the core of education; this seems to grow people physically, academically, and spiritually It is to educate. Ironically, Indonesia is a country that can win the International Science Olympic Gold Award and is one of the most corrupt countries in the world (Wisnu, 2009). The framework of role construction such as six pillars developed by the Josephson Institute of Ethics will lead us to when to consider the role of students. The six pillars are based on several key criteria that allow trusted, respectful, responsible, fair, considerate, and citizenship, and that the students theoretically fully develop I will cover it. One thing is certainly the subject of school personality educ ation and student response, they will face exam questions, it is necessary Character construction will also occupy an important position. Textbooks are rewritten to create personality, nationalism, patriotism. All the students feel like Indians, and finally Indians. They are engaged in constructive activities and are asked to build a new India without poverty, dirt, and drowsiness. Sports and cultural activities are strongly encouraged. Athletes are caught young and receive intensive training to bring fair names to the country at various international conferences The paper If I become Prime Minister of India is 10th grade, 12th grade, and graduation class. Build a personality: If everything is constrained, students can not learn to think about themselves. However, we know that critical and creative thinking is an important skill in the modern knowledge economy. Students need to participate in practical activities, communicate with their colleagues, learn to cooperate, and raise citi zen's awareness. Paying excessive attention to preparing for exams may harm students and teachers. It leaves us a system that teacher's grades are based on the ability to pass a series of standard tests, not based on the actual student's grades. However, the modern working environment has little to do with standardized testing. It requires students to be effective communicators, creative problem solvers, and agile thinkers.

The great gatsby Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The great gatsby - Movie Review Example The important credits of the American Dream as presented in the novel are hope and perseverance and aspiration for success facing all difficult challenges. To be ambitious and work hard with an unquenchable thirst about adventurous life! Jay Gatsby is supposed to pursue all these qualities and he is the main character in the novel representing American Dream. He is fired by the everlasting hope and craves to win Daisy’s love in tandem with the spirit of the American Dream. A pre-decided goal and the relentless pursuit of that goal! His introduction in the novel is dramatic and the author describes it thus: "†¦[with] his hands in his pockets†¦ out to determine what share was his of our local heavens †¦.he [Gatsby] stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,†¦ he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock" (Fitzgerald 21). The restless spirit of Gatsby is evident in this description. The green light is the symbol for his intense desire to possess Daisy, craze for money and he is not satisfied with his present possessions; he craves to achieve and accumulate more. But what is the reality? Nick describes it and argues that the green light is the symbol for success that he is anticipating in the future, by further accelerating the efforts. Undoubtedly, Gatsby’s goal provides him with a direction in life, but in his aggression to move forward he has no time to pause, review or look backward. He chases his dream of securing eternal company with Daisy and, subsequently, he waits patiently for a long time near her house but she has abandoned him. In his effort to emulate the modern face of the American Dream, he has lost touch with the pure, original American Dream. Loss of ethical values is the cause for the shattering of the

Should smok ban in campus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should smok ban in campus - Essay Example On the other hand opponents argue that smoking is bad not only for the individual himself but can harm the whole society. It is for this very reason that a smoking ban in campus has been implemented in many colleges and states. This essay would further revolve around the ban of smoking in campus and would provide my personal opinion regarding it. It is seen that the colleges which are implementing the ban advocate it because of its influence on the healthy environment in the campus. The authorities put forward that smoking creates an unhealthy environment which can affect individuals in a bad way and hence the bans are implemented to promote an environment in which people do not undergo suffocation. Smoking is an act which poses severe health consequences to the human being. One of five deaths in the United States are considered to be because of smoking (American Cancer Society 2004). The health authorities believe that smoking is causing addiction all over the world and it should be stopped somehow. Campus ban is supported by individuals who believe that smoking in a public place can have a bad influence on the overall environment. Research has been carried out to find out the effect of smoking on the health of individuals who do not smoke. Proponents of the ban put forward that smoking in campus can pose the risk of passive smoking to others and in many cases this has also lead to asthmatic attacks (National Health Survey 1994). They bring forward laws which provide every human life in this world with the right that they should not be exposed to carcinogens which would affect their health and if this ban on smoking does not take place then these individuals would be exposed to the carcinogens of cigarette (U.S Department of Health and Human Services). They also bring forward other harms which may be caused by cigarette smoke to the society. The cigarette butts that are left behind by the smoker can be a cause of fire at many places and by imposing ban on smok ing the government can ensure that these incidents are avoided (Daily Courier 2004). On the other hand the opponents of a ban on smoking in the campus have other views regarding smoking. In 2009 students of the University of Kentucky launched a campaign against the ban of smoking in the campus by smoking cigarettes openly. The ban has been met with great resistance by the students as they believe that they have a right to smoke if they wish to do that (Cruz 2009). The students believe that by banning smoking in the campus the authorities are intervening in the personal life of the students. According to them measures to curb smoking in the campus is just costing money and this money can be used elsewhere for a better purpose. These students believe that other important aspects of the university should be rather maintained instead of wasting the money on a smoking ban. One of the smokers Janelle Johnson from Sioux Falls was stated as saying "You could do so much more with that money. Like pave the parking lots because the parking lots suck" (Murray 2005). The students believe that they are not posing any threat to anyone when smoking in the campus as the campus does not have children which may be found in outdoor places such as restaurants. At one instance it is also found that the non smokers do not support a complete ban on the in campus smoking. One of the non smokers from St Paul was stated as say

Microeonomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microeonomics - Essay Example ompany is working as a private firm and enters into research process in the commercial, corporate and business areas for various manufacturing organizations as their marketing partners and business promoters, and gives them suggestions after conducting a comprehensive research procedure according to the demand curve on the one hand, and the directions and requirements of the client companies on the other. The company has hired the services of three hundred and fifty personnel working at various positions and departments of the company. The companys board of directors consists of seven members working under the dynamic leadership of the chief executive of the company. The main departments include qualitative research, quantitative research, finance and accounts department, data encoding and analysis section, translation and customer care section, human resource management, technical and engineering section and marketing department; all of which are supervised by one director each. The company maintains organizations of national and international reputation as its wide range of clientele, which include Shell Petroleum, Petrochemicals and others. All these companies have sound faith in our company and the alternative fuel generation which have helped in the enhancement of their business and sales volume. Cellulosic feedstocks have many advantages over using corn to produce ethanol. Because cellulosic crops are not used for food, there is inherently less price volatility. And because a wide variety of crops can be used, they can be grown in a wide variety of geographic locations--even on marginal lands--and can, therefore, be more abundant. Plus, with certain crops, more ethanol can be produced per acre than can be made with corn. (Hodge, 2007) Since alternative energy resources generation is in its budding, but is becoming very popular in this country, there are working only few companies in such category. Hence, there is a state of monopolistic competition regarding

The Economic Development of Eastern Asia Countries and the State Essay

The Economic Development of Eastern Asia Countries and the State Intervention - Essay Example Economists attribute the success of the Eastern Asian region to a number of factors and models. Interventions put together by individual States have also had roles to play in the economic development of the region. This essay therefore reviews the economic development of Eastern Asia countries and the State Interventions. Models Accounting for Economic Development in Eastern Asia A number of economic models have been instrumental in the economic development of most countries of the world. Indeed, economic development is not achieved by coincidence or by chance. Countries all over the world, including Eastern Asia countries have had to depend on one economic model at one point in time or the other. Some of these models have been discussed below. Generally, the models are different from the state interventions in the sense that whereas the economic models refer to a collective number of economic strategies, the state interventions refer to specific plans implemented to solve specific e conomic problems. This is to say that models work on long term basis whereas interventions work on short term basis. Factors of Production The International Monetary Fund put labour, capital and technology together and refer to them as factors of production (Sarel, 1996). The region of Eastern Asia shifted a lot of focus on its economic growth strategy into improving the human capital base, making capital available and advancing in technology. This way, not only did it take advantage of its large population (Asia is the most populated continent in the world) but also equipped the population to have the needed skills to lead the new world of industrialization. In some circles of the economic world, debate has always raged as to which of the factors of production to give prominence to in the economic development model. But clearly, all three factors are interrelated and equally important. Empowering human resource through education is an effective way of ensuring that population growt h does not become a curse but a blessing. As Asia and Eastern Asia for that matter is one of the world’s most populated regions, if efforts are not made to resource the human capital with requisite skills and knowledge to play contributing roles in the economic drive, the populace would become a liability instead of an asset. It is also when the populace are adequately skilled that they can made judicious use of the capital and technology that is pumped into the economy. Macroeconomic Stability The region adopted a model of macroeconomic stability instead of microeconomic growth. Microeconomic stability could not have been adopted as a model because it focuses more on short term economic relief than long term strategies. In their quest to achieving this, the economic climate of the region was positioned in a way that ensured that inflation was kept low, real exchange was made stable and competitive and government budgets deficit and foreign debts were kept within acceptable r ange. The long term impact that these policies on the macroeconomic state of the region was that it created very conducive working for investors to choose the Eastern Asian trade corridor instead of other trade corridors. As these investors established their businesses, employed citizens of Eastern Asia countries, paid taxes and undertook social intervention projects, the economic growth of the

Paper 1 edit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper 1 edit - Essay Example As a result, the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S) was established in 2002, to protect the American citizens from terrorist threats (Koestler-Granck 67). However, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the definition of threats shifted from focusing merely on terrorist threats to include the threat of catastrophic natural events (Koestler-Granck 55). Therefore, the DHS works with other agencies to ensure that all American safety is assured whether emanating from natural calamities or threats from terrorism. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security multitasking mission and with it different agencies that come from a different culture, aim to protect, reduce and recover American from unsafe conditions. Indeed, the Department of Homeland Security became the heart and the mind that deal with issues of national security. This paper illustrates the reason the United State is attached to DHS by demonstrating the important role DHS plays in protecting the U.S from threats (terrorist attac ks and natural disaster). The Department of Homeland Security contains 22 federal entities. Therefore, despite their different duties and tasks, these entities are tasked with specific roles that help prevent, counteract and mitigate terror threats (Koestler-Granck 67). Based on the activities each entity performed in the past and the event of 9/11, the DHS role was identified to assist national effort to prevent, minimize and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States. Moreover, DHS is tasked with reducing the U.S weakness against terrorism. Later on, and specifically after Hurricane Katarina in 2005 the role of DHS increased to include protecting the homeland from terrorism, human made calamities and natural disaster. In fact, the DHS role focused on five main missions, which include, preventing terrorism, enhancing security and securing and managing the U.S borders. Moreover, the body also enforce and administrate immigration law, safeguard and secure

Ford Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ford - Case Study Example Another strategic issue that has been recognized in the case was relating to elimination of its 4, 000 to 5000 employees in the year 2001 by employing early retirement incentive schemes with the intention of mitigating its suffered business losses (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson 127-132). In the year 2006, Ford decided to cut 25,000 to 30,000 hourly jobs along with 12 percent of different management positions as a part of huge restructuring plan that can be considered as crucial strategic issue for the company (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson 127-132). In the year 2006, Ford also faced certain strategic issues regarding decrease in market demand and increased competition in the international market (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson 127-132). ... It has been viewed in this similar context that each and every member of Ford was considered as an integral part on global basis. The company remained much committed towards serving the best quality brands to its customers by a significant level. Furthermore, Ford emphasized upon complying with the needs as well as desires of its valuable customers by offering them with their preferred quality products The modern vision statement of Ford has been observed to work as a team as well as serving the best quality product along with top service to its worldwide customers The earlier mission of Ford was to become the world’s largest car selling company. The company realized that it should manufacture its different products on the basis of customers’ preferences (Ford Motor Company, â€Å"Annual Report†). The modern mission of Ford is to deliver new as well as advanced products with distinct features to its customers. Giving more importance to the customer’s prefe rences as well as their values has been recognized to be one of its most significant missions (Ford Motor Company, â€Å"Annual Report†). Dissimilarities The earlier vision as well as mission statements of Ford was to deliver attractive facilities to its customers around the world as well as creating values among the employees in order to raise its business along with operational standards. Moreover, the early vision and mission statements of the company focused upon creating unity amid the workforce along with enhancing the company’s’ brand value and image towards the customers (Ford Motor Company, â€Å"Annual Report†). In contrast, the modern vision of Ford remains

The most energy Essay Example for Free

The most energy Essay Make sure its on the same flame all the time.   Make sure its the same amount of water all the time (20cm )   Make sure the Bunsen burner isnt too close to the test tube. Stir the water before taking the temperature.   Always weigh the crisp each time. RISK MINIMISING RISK Burning bench Use bench mats Tripping over stools or bags Stools and bags under benches Burning of hair Tie hair back Damaging of eyes Wear safety goggles Paper setting alight Tidy desks, clear of paper Burning or scolding hands Use tongs and set Bunsen burner to safety flame Accuracy and reliability This experiment is fairly accurate but not 100%. To prove the reliability of the experiment we decided to do 3 trials of each crisp type and set to an average. The reliability is good also if you make sure its a fair test. Results 1. Crisp type: Cheese and Onion French Fries. Results 3. Crisp type: Ready Salted Hula Hoops Trial no: 1 2 3 Average Mass of crisps (g) 0. These results look fairly reliable, the mass varies quite a lot between each crisp type as the Peak potatoes crisps on average are 0. 26g and the Walkers Lite are 0. 75g. The temperature increase has turned out very high compared to the other crisps, but this is probably because it has a higher fat content than the rest. The equation to find out how much ENERGY RELEASED from 100g of crisp. Mass of water (20cm ) X Temp difference X 4. 2 = Energy Released J/_______g J/________g mass of crisp (J/1g) X 100 (J/100g) 1000 (KJ/100g) = Energy Released from 100g of crisp KJ/100g. Average Energy Released per 100g French Fries: 1 7 Peak Potato: 56 + 115. 2 +90 KJ/100g = 261. 2 3 = 87. 1 Ready Salted Walkers: 240 + 247. 8 +108. 6 KJ/100g = 198. 8 3 = 198. 5 Hula Hoops: 36 French Fries Peak Potatoes Hula Hoops Walkers Lite 144. 7 KJ/100g 87. 1 KJ/100g 348. 7 KJ/100g 198. 5 KJ/100g Analysing and Evaluating my results. There is no pattern in my graph that I can see, the highest average energy released is Hula Hoops, and this is strange because the highest fat content is Walkers with 34g whereas Hula Hoops is only 28. 1g. I predicted that the crisps with the highest fat content will release the most energy, but this is not true because of my anomalous results. My method could have been a bit better by being more accurate. If I was to do this again I would redo the Hula Hoops and Walker Lite to make sure they are completely accurate. Im not sure how theses anomalous results occurred it could be my calculations or results that are inaccurate. I could extend this investigation by looking at different the sizes of the crisps and how much energy they release or a different food similar to crisps. From my results and the manufacturers results I can see there is a big difference this is because the manufacturer uses a calorimeter. The body uses energy to conduct vital functions and maintain itself at a constant temperature. By using a Calorimeter scientists have established the amounts of energy in the bodys fuels-carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. When you read the nutritional information on the foods packets you buy, the amount of calories in the food are stated. This is not the total energy in the food, but the amount of biologically available calories, i. e. the amount of energy in the food that your body can metabolise. A calorimeter of the type invented by Rubner is used to obtain these measurements. The manufacturer most likely used a calorimeter to measure the energy value in their crisps. This would have been tested many times under very controlled circumstances. In a calorimeter, all the heat given off by the food is transferred to a known quantity of water, which rises in temperature. It takes 4. 2 joules of heat to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1oc. I think I have anomalous results because of the way I held the walkers crisp as it is the only odd one; I think that maybe where the tweezers were holding the crisp. The results on my graph are meant to go up in a straight line but it doesnt as the Walkers crisps result is out of place. From my results I can see my prediction is heading in the right way. The crisps with the highest fat content are Hula Hoops with 34g and I predicted that this would have the highest amount of released energy which would be true if my Walkers results were correct. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our  GCSE Electricity and Magnetism  section.

Adolescent Sexual Development

Adolescent Sexual Development Kari Svendsen Abstract: This paper touches on the importance of providing public awareness and education to our educators, parents, and students so that we reduce the number of girls that have onset puberty. It also provides information on how we can teach parents to be supportive during adolescents, which can be a difficult and confusing time for students, which is more important than ever. With the improvement of sexual education programs taught in our school systems, parents and teachers can adequately prepare students for the negative effects of sexual activity before it is too late. The numbers of adolescents engaging in sexual activity, STIs and teen pregnancies can be reduced. Adolescent Sexual Development Sexual maturation and growth spurts both accompany puberty and can be a difficult and confusing time for adolescents, especially with children hitting puberty at an earlier age than ever. It is essential that adolescents have the support of their teachers, parents, and physicians at this transitional time in their lives. Even though sexual education is taught in our school systems, these students are inadequately prepared and a staggering number of students are exposed to sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy; not to mention the emotional distress that adolescents will endure. It takes years for the average adolescents’ body to go through the process of sexual maturation. The onset of puberty is not triggered by any particular event, but rather a multitude of things such as stress, genetics, nutrition and diet as well as the amount of body fat to name a few (Gentry, p. 1, 2002). There is also a growth spurt that is brought on by puberty when the skeletal system grows rapidly. This can occur in girls starting at age 10 and boy at age 10.5; this growth spurt usually ends around 19 for girls and 20 for boys (Headlee, p. 7, 2010). Hands legs and feet are first and then the growth spurt will hit the torso; in girls, the sexual hormone will attribute to broader hips. These growths spurts can be an awkward time for adolescent children as their bodies are evening out. Some researchers say there is no external cause for early onset puberty, while others say different. Some researchers have linked obesity as a contributing factor (Parent, p. 670, 2003). The inactivity and poor diet of our youth is putting them at risk for a higher percentage of body fat which leads to premature puberty. Environmental chemical have also been linked to an onset of puberty. Chemicals are added to almost all commercial cleaning products to include: shampoo, teething toys, bottles. Chemicals can also be in the food that adolescents eat. Another onset of puberty can be linked to the absence of a girl’s father; researchers have shown that the longer the girls has been away from her father the earlier she will start her first menstrual cycle (Parent, p. 671, 2003). Research findings show that girls who are ill-prepared for the physical and emotional changes brought on by puberty will have the most difficult time (Gentry, p. 1, 2002). This means that providing adolescents a stable and encouraging environment with family, teachers, and physicians is crucial. Beth Ross, Director of student services at Rockdale County School, expresses her concern of parent and teacher involvement after uncovering a syphilis outbreak in her school system. Rockdale County is a small, close-knit community, made up of wealthy families in a desirable part of Atlanta. Here, at least 19 females and 4 males were part of the syphilis outbreak (Ross, 1999). Through interviews and investigations it was learned that at the center of the outbreak were a group of young girls that were no older than 16 (Ross, 1999). The sexual activity would sometimes be accompanied with the use of drugs and alcohol, and the sexual interactions were with slightly older boys. These interactions would take place at one of the girl’s home when her parents were not in the house. These girls not only had sex with each other but also with all of the other boys in an open and communal environment. Beth Ross has been a counselor for over 16 years and says that the needs of children into today’s world are the same as 16 years ago when she started; they have not changed (Ross, 1999). These children have the same needs, the only thing that has changed is that both sets of parents are now working and have become too â€Å"busy† (Ross, 1999). She also points out that the young girls, who are at such shockingly young ages, that are sexually active and it stems from being asked as well as needing to feel loved and wanted. This comes from something lacking in the childhood for them to desire to become sexually active at such a young age. She mentions that these students are lacking limits and structure in their lives, lack of parents being there for them to say this is how far you go and what is acceptable. Sixteen years ago parents were more adamant about what children were and were not allowed to do so there was no question in their mind what their limits were. Some par ents say that they did not like the way they were raised and that they would never treat their child the way they were treated, but this is when the structure they hated as a child goes out of the window and where rebellion begins. Rules and structure are crucial to children. After the follow-up interview was conducted at Rockdale County, some 6-12 months later, a few of the girls were still sexually active and also still used drugs. There were just a few of the girls that said they were no longer sexually active due to the stricter rules and supervision enforced by their parents. The girls interviewed all seemed to agree that there was still a lack of communication with their parents and that no real action had been taken since the outbreak occurred. By the end of the follow-up interviews and investigation 8 of the over 20 girls were pregnant (Ross, 1999). An extensive study has been conducted by Selma N. Caal, in 2008, on high-risk sexual behavior. Caal reported that youth with highly cohesive families and low peer norms reported low risk sexual behavior; however, youth with highly cohesive families and high peer norms reported high risk sex (Caal, 2008). Youth coming from low cohesive families did not base their sexuality on their peers. If youth perceived that the peers were okay with and engaging in sexual behavior then they were more likely to be sexually active themselves (Caal, 2008). During adolescence teens try to separate from their parents and become closer to their peers, so parental communication regarding sexual behavior is crucial to the youth’s sexual activity. The more time that parents spend away from their children, the more room for risky behavior. In a time when dual parents are working full-time jobs is it harder than ever to stay in communication and enforce rules. Age also plays a factor with risky sexual behavior; as older youth were more likely for this behavior, possibly because of their sexual maturity level (Caal, 2008). Also media plays a very strong role in adolescent sexual behavior as they are exposed to it constantly, and can send messages that high-risk sexual behavior is welcomed and accepted. The age of youth engaging in sexual activity drops each year and is a great concern which proves that our youth should be better educated and monitored not only at home but also in the school system. The numbers of high-risk sexual behavior adolescents could be significantly reduced by educating our youth and holding them more accountable. Advocate for Youth reports the effectiveness of sexual education in schools has contributed to lower numbers in teen pregnancy, lower numbers of youth engaging in unprotected sex, and also delayed initiation of sexual behavior altogether (McKeon, 2006). Sexual education seems to be failing as a whole, as there are 1 million people a day who acquire a sexually transmitted infection (STI) (WHO, 2013). We are failing our youth and our world at a rate of 30 million people a month, 360 million people a year (WHO, 2013). Our adolescents account for nearly half of these numbers. STI’s are causing major infertility problems and in some cases even death. They are also costing billions of dollars annually. Unprotected sex and teen birth is still a problem; however, we are moving in the right direction as a 9 percent drop was recorded from 2009-2010 (Hamilton Ventura, 2012). This puts us at a record low rate of 34.3 births per 1000 girls between the ages of 15-19 (Hamilton Ventura, 2012). Although numbers are lowering, this is a still a major concern for both mother and child as they are rarely able to financially support themselves and cost the public 10.9 billion dollars annually (Hamilton Ventura, 2012). These staggering numbers can change if we start providing The Development Assets, created by the Search Institute, to our youth; this is a guarantee. These assets are 40 research-based encouraging qualities that affect adolescent development. By providing them to our youth, we are helping them to become caring, responsible, and productive adults. These assets have be proven to work and are quickly becoming the most positive youth development in the United States and globally. All across the world and now in other countries it is apparent the positive affect that the assets have been for all cultural and socioeconomic groups (Institute, 2007). Also, high-risk behavior is better predicted by the level of Developmental Assets one has, than their family, resources, or location. However, like with Rockdale County, most of our adolescents will have less than 40 Assets (Institute, 2007). The Developmental Assets include things such as family support, positive family communication, and service to others as well as integrity, honesty, and restraint to name a few. These assets are a stepping stone and a guideline for parents. They can especially be used in a â€Å"busy† lifestyle with both parents working full-time jobs. This checklist allows no excuses for parents who are at a loss and do not know what to do with their child. It also teaches parents and teachers how to hold the children responsible and how to discipline the children instead of allowing their actions to continue. These assets can be appropriately used from the time they are 3 years old through adolescence, and would help in never seeing situation like Rockdale County arise. The more Developmental Assets that a person is exposed to the more likely they are to thrive and be successful. Researchers show that parents can set their children up for a bright future and almost guarantee that they will not be involved in high-risk behavior such as drug and alcohol use, sexual activity and drug use, by providing more assets to their child (Institute, 2007). When our adolescents have more assets they are more diverse, have better opportunities and less likely to become involved in high-risk behaviors. There are also a few Developmental Assets that can possibly help our children to prolong their puberty. One external asset of empowerment is safety, which can be considered as the normal external world but also internal. Parents are responsible for what their children use as far as cleaning products and the food they eat, which both contain chemicals and can increase onset puberty. It is the parent’s responsibility to provide safe and desirable products and food for their children. This also leads to obesity, as it can promote onset maturation. Another external asset is constructive use of time; this means that children should participate in weekly sports club or organization within the school or community. By keeping our children active there will be less room for obesity. Another contribution to onset maturation was the absentee father, which is also covered in the assets in the support section; it states that family should provide children with a constant loving and supporting relationship. Some reasons for an absent father cannot always be avoided; however, providing the child’s father that just chooses to be absent may be swayed if he were introduced to the determent it would cause his daughter. Again, following the Developmental Assets will not only allow us to prolong puberty in girls but also allow us to provide a promising future for our children. Before researching and learning more about sexual behavior in our youth I would have said that if there were sexual education classes in our schools that they shou ld be kept to a minimum and not go into much detail on the topic, this is because of how I grew up. As a family and a school we were not open about our sexuality at all, nor did we have sexual education in our school system. And I personally, did not engage in high-risk sexual behavior nor did I know it was a concern. This could be contributed to my own Developmental Assets that my parents provided me with as there were very few, if any, that I was not given. My views have changed drastically on the need for better and more thorough sexual education programs in our schools after seeing the drastic change in numbers of teen pregnancy and STIs. We have to prevent the age of youth engaging in sexual activity dropping each year; it is a great concern and our responsibility to educate them in schools. We should provide the parents and teachers education classes addressing these issues as they may not have been educated themselves. Schools should make information more available to parents and maybe they will see the importance of this issue. Brochures that address concerns and causes for onset puberty would be beneficial to parents, and also providing information to parents at PTO meetings, and other meetings when they already have the parent’s attention. Our schools are concerned with meetings about budgets and addressing lunch programs and ignoring important issues such as sexual development. It is one thing to teach our students, but we must also teach their parents. Advocate for Youth reports the effectiveness of sexual education in schools has contributed to lower numbers in teen pregnancy, lower numbers of youth engaging in unprotected sex, and also delayed initiation of sexual behavior altogether (McKeon, 2006). I think this proves that sexual education in our schools without a doubt needed. Schools can provide sexual development information at correct ages instead of local news and radio stations trying to stop the spread of sexual activity and STIs. I know now just riding in the car with my daughter in the middle of the day listening to the radio with my daughter, there are condom commercials. She is 7 years old and should not be exposed to that for many years to come. I think the internet and television are far worse and if we are not around to monitor our children from a young age then they will be more likely to partake in these kinds of activities. School is the place to educate our children where they can ask questions and learn from adults, not just assuming on their own and among their peers. We can also offer students counseling and behavioral interventions, hopefully before, but especially after children like Rockdale County, as this would provide both parents and students to find out the underlying cause for wanting to engage in sexual activity. If counseling and treatment were more readily available student would not continue to engage in inappropriate behavior and quite possibly be prevented from becoming teen parents as we also saw with the Rockdale county students. These counseling sessions and treatments can be a more intense version of the sexual education classes in our schools that can provide students who are already sexually active and those who want to become sexually active. They can provide both pre as well as post STI test counseling so that teens can recognize symptoms of these infections, be encouraged to let their partner know, and not go untreated. Also, counseling and intervention should use condom promotion to influence students to practice safe sex and lower the risk of teen pregnancy. By providing public awareness and education to our educators, parents, and students we reduce the number of girls that have onset puberty. Parents being taught to be supportive during adolescents, which can be a difficult and confusing time for students, is more important than ever. With the improvement of sexual education programs taught in our school systems, parents and teachers can adequately prepare students for the negative effects of sexual activity before it is too late. The numbers of adolescents engaging in sexual activity, STIs and teen pregnancies can be reduced. References: Caal, Selma M. (2008) Adolescent Sexual Development: Contextualizing a Cognitive Process in the Decision to Engage in Protective or Risky Sexual Behavior. George Mason University.UMI. Web. 14 Dec. 2013. http://denhamlab.gmu.edu/Theses and Dissertations PDFs/Caal2008.pdf>. CDC. (2011). Effective HIV and STD Prevention Programs for Youth.Sexual Behaviors.http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/effective_programs.htm Gentry, J. (2002). Developing Assests. Washington: American Physcological Assosication. Hamilton, B., Ventura, S. (2012). NCHS Data Brief. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db89.htm Headlee, K. (2010). Growth and Development, Ages 13 to 17à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ What You Need to Know. Developing Adolescents, 1, 7. Retrieved December 16, 2013, from http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/FCS/FCSPubs/Fact_Sheets/Growth_and_Development_13-17.pdf McKeon, B. (2006). Effective Sex Education. Advocates for Youth. Retrieved December 19, 2013, from http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications450 Parent, A. (2003). The Timing Of Normal Puberty And The Age Limits Of Sexual Precocity: Variations Around The World, Secular Trends, And Changes After Migration. Endocrine Reviews, 24(5), 668-671. Parke, R. D. Gauvain, M. (2009).Child psychology: A contemporary viewpoint(7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Ross, B. (1999). The Lost Children of Rockdale County. PBS. Retrieved December 21, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/georgia/interviews/beth.html Institute. (2007). 40 Developmental Assets. Search Institute. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.search-institute.org/what-we-study/developmental-assets Sexually transmitted infections (STIs). (2013). WHO. Retrieved December 20, 2013, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs110/en/

Scarlet Letter Essays -- essays research papers fc

Similarities in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne The Ambitious Guest is a short story bye Nathaniel Hawthorne that presents deadly irony. Residing in a notch in the mountains of New Hampshire, a cottage sits on the side of a steep mountain. In the house lives a family whose contacts with the rest of the world are from the travelers that pass by. One night when the family was huddled by the fire, a traveler stopped by. The family was happy to have a guest and the guest was happy to have people to talk to. The stranger, normally a quiet person, revealed his desires about life and death. The stranger wanted to be known and to have someone to love him and grieve of his death. The family agreed with him and they all talked about how nice it would be to live in a small town and get to know all the people living in the town. They then started talking about death and how they want to die with people remembering them when suddenly there is an avalanche. They all run out of the house and get killed by the falling rocks. The rocks completely missed the house but the people were never found in the rubble around the house. Most writers have a style in which they write and they follow this style through all their works. Nathaniel Hawthorne is no exception to this. In the Scarlet Letter and in The Ambitious Guest Hawthorne uses the same writing style for both so they have many similarities. Some of these similarities include references to symbols such as the forest, death, solitude and li...

Demands of the Virtual Classroom :: Teaching Education

Demands of the Virtual Classroom Preparing online courses is not easy. In a study by the NEA, 53% of participating instructors admitted that courses online take more time to prepare and deliver. Much of that time is devoted to weekly e-mail contact, a task that 83% stated is part of their regimen. Rarely is additional remuneration given to compensate for the heavier workload. (Newsgroup Message 6/23/00) The additional effort on the part of the instructors does not necessarily facilitate the process for the students. Successful participants must be disciplined, able to work on their own, can deal with uncertainty, and are not easily distracted. (PCC)(Kleiner) In addition, students must be prepared to endure setup difficulties, hardware malfunctions, and Internet traffic (Neal) in addition to the burden of the acquisition of the required technology. The question of whether the return of the student and instructor efforts is worthwhile remains unanswered. To date little empirical evidence exists that proves that electronic technology improves learning. David Noble, a technology historian from York University in Toronto, avers that identity formation is a process that can only occur face-to-face. (Neal) In fact, research has shown that the social interaction in traditional residential programs contributes to the intellectual and ethical development of undergraduates. For the simple dissemination of information where knowledge is passed hydraulically from instructor to student, Internet instruction seems to be an unsuitable methodology. (Neal) Such theories seem to prove out in a retention rate that varies anywhere from 20% to 97%.(Kleiner) Considering the Costs With such doubtable results emanating from greater effort on the part of both student and teacher, the question arises about why Internet classes are becoming so popular. The push seems to come from a joint effort on the part of software developers, legislators, and college administrators who are eager to be known for their technological strides. The resulting trends are demanding that many schools jump on the bandwagon to cater to the non-traditional students. The University of Phoenix has an enrollment of 68,000 students from 15 states, more than Princeton and Duke combined. That figure is expected to triple by the year 2002 and includes only students who are at least 23-years-old and employed.(Marcus, A Scholastic Gold Mine) Peter Drucker has predicted that such trends will result in the "end of the university within 30 years". (Neal). On the opposing side, however, the National Center for Educational Statistics has predicted that the investment may not produce the results that Peter Drucker forecasted.

Architecture History Pyramid Paper -- Architecture Essays

Architecture History Pyramid Paper Pyramids have been around for centuries, and for over 43 centuries some pyramids have been one of the tallest land structures made by man. Throughout the many decades, pyramids have been remade using modern materials and new technologies, but it remains a myth as to how the Egyptians were able to mold such a huge land mass with their lack of technology. One of the most famous pyramids to this day are the Pyramids of Giza. The most famous of all three pyramids of Giza, is the Great pyramid of Khufu as known as Cheops. Khufu was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around 2560 BC to be his burial tomb. Khufu's son Khafre, who was next in the royal line, commissioned the building of his own pyramid complex which includes the sphinxes. Menkarure, who is believed to be Khafre's son, built the third and smallest of the three pyramids at Giza. Giza however, is more than just three pyramids and the Sphinx. Each pyramid has mortuary temple and a valley temple lin ked by long causeways that were roofed and walled. The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20 year period. They first prepared the site, and somehow transported the blocks of stone into there correct placements. In the process of building the pyramids an outer casing was placed over the surface, which was used to smooth the surface, but disappeared over the years. Several theories suggest that ramps were constructed from the sands and the blocks were pushed or pulled into place. Others say that the blocks were placed using long lever with a short angled foot. The Great pyramid was 145.75 m (481 ft) high, which is located in Cairo, Egypt. Over the years, it lost 10m (30 ft) off its top. The ... ... since 1972. This building has so many windows that in order to wash them all, it takes at least a month. The "wings" which start at the 29th floor are necessary near the top of the pyramid to support elevators on the east side and a stairwell and smoke tower on the west side. And being that San Francisco is prone to earthquakes, the foundation consists of a steel and concrete block that sits 52 feet underground and is designed to move during earthquakes. The companies responsible for the building and designing of the Transamerica building are William L. Pereira & Associates, and other firms which also shared input, were Lowe Enterprises, Dinwiddie Construction Co., Chin & Hensolt Inc., Simonson & Simonson, Glumac International, Western Waterproofing Company of America, and Cushman & Wakefield. The total cost for the Transamerica building is around 32,000,000.

Bad Medicine

The continuing rate of unemployment not only continues to cripple the economic standing of the nation but it also poses hard-hitting and greater effects to the people, most especially in their psychological and bodily wellness. This fact is evident on the rate of deaths unemployment has caused to a great number of people over the past years. Most victims of unemployment died due to heart attacks. Unemployment also pushes people to go over the edge and commit crimes, putting people to state prisons.Others lack the psychological capacity to handle the stresses and pains of unemployment leading to insanity and other mental illnesses. The result is the influx of people admitted to mental hospitals and the rising number of mortality caused by suicide. On the economic level, unemployment lowers tax revenue but at the same time heightens the nation’s expenditure due to the need to spend on social welfare programs for unemployed citizens. 2. What are the costs of inflation?The negativ e effects of inflation are less detrimental than the costs of unemployment. This scheme is due to the fact that the effects of inflation can be stabilized through the implementation of fitting policies or programs. Doing so would alleviate the consequences of inflation. To achieve this objective, there is a continuous monitoring for the ratio between the rate of fixed income and the rate of inflation. The government has already implemented a program called the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to realize this end.Moreover, the cost of inflation has moved on to another level where it also takes great effects on housing. Banks do avoid the possible effects of inflation in the future by requiring people in the present to pay for an increased rate in mortgage. This leads to a decline in the number of people who buy lands and houses. Other costs of unemployment have proven to be insignificant and less damaging to the economy and the people. For instance, the shoe leather cost. 3. Who bear s the burden for each of these macroeconomic scourges?In any case, ongoing unemployment or inflation, the people of the nation suffer the most. The citizens, most especially feel and experience the demands of these macroeconomic scourges. For instance, in the relationship of inflation and unemployment, it was stated in the article that a flourishing economy tends to lower the rate of unemployment, as the business sector would look to employ a number of people due to the demands of the growing economy. When this happens, employees would look forward to salary increases and added benefits.If firms and business establishments do so, they would reclaim the finances they lost to the salary increases and added benefits by increasing the prices of commodities and services. In this scenario, it is evident that the people would bear this burden as they are forced to pay for their needs and for services alike on a higher cost and value. If, on the other hand, the economy slows down, there wou ld be a high unemployment rate. The prices of commodities and services would be on the parallel, but as mentioned above, unemployment would lead to higher crime rates, mental illnesses, and deaths.4. Which one do you fear the most? It is evident that both unemployment and inflation pushes down the standing of the people in society. They endure the effects of these macroeconomic circumstances that plague the nation. However, since the facts of the costs of inflation and unemployment are stated above, the one that I fear most is unemployment. Unemployment harms the people as opposed to inflation where it can still be stabilized by the government.

Quick Books Essay

.Rissy Montoya Acct 31 Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries. Accounting/Finance application systems and QuickBooks let you manage your business with a little or no experience.All three application systems allow the users to manage the companies' capital including bookkeeping, inventory, non-inventory & service items, sales orders, purchase orders, and reports. It allows the companies to keep tracking of the financial assets and at the same time have the information the accountant needs. Using the accounting/finance application system, makes it easier to enter and proc ess the data rather than manually enter and process the data.. QuickBooks is an accounting software package which is developed by Intuit, Inc. It was launched in the 90's and since than it is one of the market leaders in accounting software.The software was designed to help the small business owners who had no formal accounting training. Very shortly after the introduction, there was no doubt that the product is going to be a hit. With a deep focus for the non-accountant, and a lower price than the competitor's products, it outsmarted its competitions. Intuit states that the company's mission is to create new ways to manage personal finances and small businesses that are so profound and simple, customers cannot Imagine going back to the old way QuickBooks created an application that is most commonly used accounting product for small businesses QuickBooks ProThe world today is in the computer age. Almost everyone now has a computer or access to a computer. Now that almost everyone kn ows how to use a computer, almost every business has one. Business’s before had to rely on people to do all the accounting by hand, and doing the accounting for a business used to take a lot of man-hours to complete. Business’s slowly moved into letting computers do a lot of the work for them, but they still had people to check on the computers because the applications that they were using would sometimes screw up and cause a lot of confusion or even loss of money.With the latest application QuickBooks Pro 2011, there is little need for any backup measures. This application does everything that the business needs to do, manage your business, track time, do payroll, develop estimates, and much more. QuickBooks Pro 2011 quickly finds the reports you need with the Report Finder, shows you critical information about your business at a glance with Company and Customer Centers, and track Features of QuickBooks that will help the company implement sound internal control polic ies and procedures; Access to accounting records should be limited to designated individuals.Once a transaction has been entered, the ability to change or delete it entirely should be limited to some other individual, preferably an accounting manager. Financial statements should be prepared monthly, with gross profit percentage and expense percentages, so that management can question apparent errors or omissions. The monthly financial statements should be comparative, i. e. show last year’s figures alongside this year’s, preferably with percentages as well as dollar amounts, to make apparent any significant variations in revenue or expense items that should be investigated for possible error or even fraud.Budgets should be prepared, and variances between actual and budgeted figures should be shown on budgetary income statements each month. The deficiencies with this program for internal control starts when you initially set up your accounts, you enter in your beginning account balance amounts (unless you are a brand new company with no activity). The problem is that if you do not input an amount, or input an amount correctly, the difference will go to Opening Balance Equity.If it is not fixed, it will stay there indefinitely. QuickBooks will allow you to enter a transaction for any date that you wish. While this is convenient for purposes of making projections, it can have bad consequences if you go backwards. QuickBooks retains every transaction you enter from the day you started using it. While this is useful to get historical information, on a practical basis, the file sizes can easily get large enough to be unmanageable and slow your computer. Conclucion

Progesterone For Maintenance Tocolytic Therapy after Threatened Preterm Labour Essay

What was the sampling technique used and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using that technique? The researchers used a two-stage sampling method that was non-random in the first stage and randomized in the second stage. The total population was made up of 137 patients who were admitted for preterm labour. Selection from this initial population was non-random because there were exclusion criteria. The seventy women included were randomised to their treatment groups by assigning randomly generated numbers. The main advantage of using the technique was its simplicity and straightforwardness. Every individual who fit the inclusion criteria had equal chance of being selected. The disadvantage of the technique was that there was bias in the initial selection. Such bias could have affected the accuracy of the experiment. Was there randomisation? There was randomisation in the second stage of sampling, where all those women who fit the inclusion criteria were part of the sampling population. Randomisation was done by generating random numbers and assigning numbers to the women included in the study. Was it biased? There were several sources of bias in the study. The fact that the patients were all from the same clinic is already in itself introducing bias. The study was not double blind, which could also be a source of bias. The use of exclusion criteria in the first stage of sampling lessened the bias. In the second stage of sampling, efforts were done to further remove bias by assigning treatment to all included patients. No patient also left the study, thus further reducing bias. Describe the validity and power of the study Based on the researchers’ desired results, the statistical power of the study for improving latency was initially calculated be 80% with an assumption of getting standard deviation (SD) of 12 days at 5% level of significance. However, when their results came out, the power was calculated to be lower (value for this was not presented in the paper). By checking the means and SD for latency, and assuming a two-tailed analysis, power was calculated to be 51% only. This could be attributed to the high standard deviation that could in turn be due to the relatively small number of samples tested. In other similar studies, the sample population is much higher. For example, another study testing the effect of vaginal progesterone on preterm birth used 413 women (Eduardo B. Da Fonseca, et al. , 2007). Despite the low statistical power, the results presented here are valid as preliminary data on the supplementation of tocolytic therapy with vaginal progesterone to control preterm labour. The study was able to show that progesterone treatment had an effect on the other outcomes that were measured (please refer to Table 2 in the text). Background information of the hypothesis Progesterone is a steroid hormone that is widely used in hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women. It is also used to induce menstruation in women who suddenly stop menstruating. Its capacity to control preterm labour was first reported in the 1980s. Oral administration of progesterone induces side effects like migraine, dizziness, vomiting and blurred vision. This was the usual mode of administration of progesterone, which was proven effective to reduce preterm labour (Meis, et al. , 2003). Since 2003, studies have reported on the use of progesterone vaginal suppository to treat preterm labour (E. B. Da Fonseca, Bittar, Carvalho, & Zugaib, 2003) and even in high risk women (Eduardo B. Da Fonseca, et al. , 2007). Until this current study, there were no previous reports on the use of progesterone to supplement tocolytic therapy, using magnesium sulphate and intravenous ampicillin, on women who actually had preterm labour. Hypothesis of the study Null hypothesis: The use of vaginal progesterone after inhibition of preterm labour will not change latency period and recurrence of preterm labour. Alternate hypothesis (what the study really wants to prove): After the inhibition of preterm labour, treatment with vaginal progesterone will result in increased latency period and decreased recurrence of preterm labour. Methodology The study was conducted on 70 women who were had arrested uterine activity after they were treated for premature labour. The women were randomized to two groups; one was administered vaginal progesterone and the other, a placebo, until delivery. Subjects were monitored for days to latency until delivery, recurring preterm labour and other primary and secondary outcomes. Different statistical tests were used to determine if the treatments resulted in significantly different outcomes. Comparisons were done using Student’s t-test for quantitative data; chi-square and Fisher exact tests, among others, were used for categorical data. Conclusion of the study The study concluded that the use of vaginal progesterone after tocolytic therapy was effective in increasing latency to delivery but not in decreasing the incidence of recurrence of preterm labour. Is it a valid assumption based on the data of the study? Describe the applicability and relevance of the paper to clinical practice. The conclusion is valid based on the data of the study. The paper and the results presented are applicable and relevant to clinical practice because it proposes a new means of treating preterm labour for increased latency. Although the recurrence of preterm labour appeared not to be reduced with the treatment, this could be due to the advanced stage of the pregnancy when the preterm labour occurred or due to the small sampling population. It is significant to note that this is the first to report on the supplementation of tocolytic therapy with vaginal progesterone. Further studies can also be done to validate the results.

Aci Financial Statement

ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies: Bangladesh Perspective Mst. Joynab Siddiqua* Mohd. Takdir Hossan* Abstract Cash flow statement is a vital part of the financial statements. Preparation of cash flow statement is required as per Companies Act 1994 and the public limited companies enlisted with stock exchange are to prepare this statement as per other statutory laws and regulations. The acceptance of International Accounting Standard- 7: Cash Flow Statement has added a new dimension to the preparation and presentation of financial statements in Bangladesh.The companies are now preparing this statement as an integral part of their financial statements. This paper examines empirically the current practices followed by sample companies in preparation of cash flow statement and concludes that the sample companies are in line (with few exceptions) with the requirements of International Accounting Stan dard (IAS)-7 or Bangladesh Accounting Standard (BAS)-7. It also proposes some suggestions for improving the presentation of the statement Key words: Cash flow statement, IAS/BAS, Listed Company, Disclosure.Introduction The purpose of a cash flow statement is to provide information on the cash flow from a company’s operating, investing and financing activities to enable the users of its financial statements to evaluate the ability of the company to generate cash and to use the historic cash flows to predict future cash flows. The cash flow information enhances the comparability of the operating performance by various companies, because it eliminates the effects that arise from the use of different accounting treatments for the same transactions and events.The use of cash flow information is gaining importance in the analysis of financial statements (Epstein 1991; Yap 1997; Jones and Widjaja 1998; Previts and Bricker 1994). Cashflow information is considered less open to manipu lation than information on earnings, because it is based on the actual receipt and payment of cash only and not on the accrual and other accounting principles. Rees (1995:75) adds that the cash flow statement can be more informative than the other statements. However, he literature on the cash flow statement indicates that there are grey areas in cash flow reporting that are open to various interpretations (Everingham and Watson 2002). The perceived simplicity of the cash flow statement may therefore create synthetic confidence in the reliability of companies’ cash flow reporting and the comparability of various companies’ cash flow information. The acceptance of IAS-7: The Cash Flow Statement has added a new dimension to the preparation and presentation of financial statements in Bangladesh.This paper is an attempt to investigate into the state of cash flow reporting by the listed Bangladeshi * Lecturers, Department of Business Administration, ASA University Banglades h 210 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 Textiles and Clothing companies in general. The focus is not on the quality of the reporting of the companies but rather on what the reporting levels are in general. Objectives of the study The major objectives of the study are as follows: 1. to identify the current practice of cash flow statement of Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. 2. o provide present cash flow statement format, structure and reporting on the basis of information provided in the annual reports of the selected listed Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. Methodology of the study The study was conducted in accordance with secondary information obtained from various sources. The overview of standardization of financial reporting and the regulatory framework has been based on laws, regulation, and guideline and also on various published sources of information taken from International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and Bangladesh Accountin g Standard 7 (BAS 7).A limited survey has also been made covering a total of 12 Pharmaceutical companies’ annual reports (2009) enlisted in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). These are selected on the basis of convenience sampling procedure. In order to make the study more revealing it also covers some research articles, textbooks, publications and web sites of various accounting bodies. Limitations of the study 1. Applied non profitability techniques have been used. 2. Due to limitation of the extensive materials, books and previous studies in Bangladesh literature review could not be extensive. 3.This study consists of only 12 listed Pharmaceutical companies due to time and resources constraints. Literature review Cash flow statement: A historical surroundings/background Cash flow Accounting (CFA) was the main system of accounting up to beginning of the 18th century (Watanabe, Izumi: The evolution of Income Accounting in Eighteenth and Nineteent h Century Britain, Osaka University of Economics, Vol. 57, No. 5, January 2007, p. 27-30). Till then, accounting allocation and profit measurement were relatively unimportant; the profit and loss account being used to close off ledger accounts at each period end.However, with the advent of concept and practices of business continuity, periodic measure and statement of financial position began to grow. Thus the basis of cash transaction becomes foundation for the allocation based systems of accounting today. Although there has been a reasonably sustained interest in fund flow statements (based on allocated accounting data) since the beginning of the twenty century, CFA appears to have received little or no support from accountants until the early 1960s.At that time there was little concern over the use of ‘cash flow’ data in the financial analysis- cash flow being interpreted as ‘profit plus depreciation (. Winjum, J. o, 1972). In 1961 AICPA recognized the importan ce of fund statement by publishing Accounting Research Study (ARS) Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 211 NO 2â€Å"Cash flow analysis and fund statements†. Before that, accountants had prepared funds statements primarily as management report. The Accounting Principles Board (APB) responded in October 1963 by issuing APB Opinion NO. : â€Å"the statements of and application of funds†, which recommended that a statement of sources and application of funds be presented on a supplementary basis. Because of the favorable response of the business community to this pronouncement, the APB issued Opinion No. 198: â€Å"Reporting changing in Financial Position† in March 1971. This opinion required that a statement of changing financial position be presented as a basic financial statement and be covered by the auditor’s reports. In 1981 the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) reconsidered fund flow issues as part of the conceptual fr amework project taken in 1976.At this time the FASB decided that the cash flow reporting issues should be considered at the standard level. Subsequent deliberation resulted in Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No. 95: ‘Statement of cash flows’ in Nobember1987 (Weygandt, Kieso, Kimmel 1998: 1936). Fund flow statement Vs Cash flow statement Both fund flow statement and cash flow statement serve as a fundamental parts of the financial statements. In 1961, the AICPA issued ARS No. 2, â€Å"Cash Flow Analysis and the Fund Statements† which recommended that a fund statement covered by auditor’s opinion be included in companies financial reports.According to paragraph 5 of Preface to Statement of International Accounting Standard [approved by the IASC Board in November1982 for publication in January 1983 and supersedes the preface published in January 1975 (amended March 1978)], â€Å"the term ‘financial statements’ covers balance sh eets, income statement or profit and loss accounts, statements of change in financial position, notes and other statements and explanatory materials which are identified as being part of financial statements† (IASC, 2000:32).As per paragraph 7 of framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements (approved by IASC Board in April 1989 for publication in July 1989): â€Å"A complete set of financial statement normally includes a balance sheet, an income statements, a statements of change in financial position (which may be presented in a variety of ways, for example as a statement of cash flow or a statement of fund flows) and those notes and other statements and explanatory materials that are an integral part of the financial statements† (IASC : p. 3-44). As per paragraph 4 of the previous IAS 7 (October 1977), statements of change in financial position, the term ‘ funds’ referred to cash, cash and cash equivalents or working capital (IFA C, 1992: p. 813). Funds provided or used in operation of an enterprise should be presented in the statements of changes in financial statement separately from other sources and uses of fund.Unusual items, which are not part of ordinary activities of the enterprise, should be separately disclosed (IASC: Para 21). But many users of financial statements consider current practices of reporting fund flows as confusing because too much information is compressed in the statements of change in financial position, and because no single definition has been established (Mosich and Larsen, 1982; p. 935).In order to develop a conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting, the FASB issued in December 1980 a discussion memorandum â€Å"reporting Fund flow, Liquidity and Financial Flexibility† which was issued for the following reasons: (1) for assessing future cash flow, and (2) current practices regarding the reporting of funds flow information are not entirely satisfactory. As a result of deliberation, FASB issued SFAS NO. 95 ‘Statements of Cash Flow’ in 1987.The statements require the inclusion of statements of Cash Flows rather than a statement of Change in Financial position when issuing a complete set of financial statements 212 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 which was made effective for annual periods ending after July 15, 1988. The major requirements of the statements are of the following two areas: Basis of Presentation: The statement must focus on cash receipts and payments and must explain the change in cash plus cash equivalents.Classification of cash flows: Cash flows are to be classified according to operating, investing and financing activities. The basis of such classification is derived from the financial theory, which state that the enterprise derives the cash used for investing activities and settlement of outstanding financial obligation in an accounting period from internal and external s ources. Internal cash sources emanate from the net cash generated from current operation and perhaps disinvesting and depletion of cash resources at the start of the period.External cash sources come from financing activities such as borrowing and receiving cash from the sale of equity shares to existing and new shareholders (Wallace et,al). Benefits of Cash Flow Information – The information in a cash flow statement helps investors, creditors, and others to assess the following aspects of the firm’s financial position. – Such statements serve as a mechanism for predicting the ability to generate future cash flows for the investors, creditors and others. – This enables managers or management to plan coordinate and control financial operation in an effective manner. It gives an indication of the relationship between profitability and cash generating ability thus of the quality of the profit earned. – It furnishes information to the management regard ing the entities’ ability to pay dividend and meet obligations. – Analyst and other users of financial information often, formally or informally, develop models to assess and compare the present value of the future cash flow of entities. Historical cash flow statements could be useful to check the accuracy of past assessment (ACCA Text book part 2. P. 324). It is free from manipulation and is not affected by subjective judgments or by accounting policies. – Such a statement dictates situations when a business has made huge profit but has run out money or it has sustained loss but has enough cash availability. – The extent of cash generated from operational activity and external finance in order to meet capital, tax, and dividend requirements can be obtained from such statements (Lee, T. A: 1972:27-36). – It aids in the evaluation of risk, which includes both the expected variability of future return and probability of insolvency or bankruptcy ( Hen drickson, Eldom.S, 1982: 237). – Such statements reveal the capability of an enterprise to pay its short obligation as and when due to the lenders. – A cash flow statement in conjunction with a balance sheet provides information on liquidity, viability, and adaptability. The balance sheet is often used to obtain information on liquidity, but the information is rather incomplete for this purpose as the balance sheet is prepared at a particular point of time. Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 213 It may assists users of financial statements in making judgments on the amounts, timing and degree of certainty of future cash flows. – This statement provides information that is useful in checking the accuracy of past assessment of future cash flows and in examining the relationship between profitability and net cash flow and the impact of changing price (IAS 7: Para 3 & 4). – Information on cash flows classified by three groups of activ ities (Operating, investing and financing) that allow users to assess the impact of those activities on the financial position of the enterprise and the amount of its cash and cash equivalents.This information may also be to evaluate the relationship among those activities (IAS 7: Para 11). – This statement is of special importance in assessing future cash flows, quality of income operating capability, financial flexibly and liquidity, and information on financing and investing activities. Using cash flows from operating activities from the cash flow statements, different ratios such as liquidity, ratio, solvency ratio, and profitability ratios can also be calculated to evaluate an enterprise’s liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Aziz uddin and Bala, 2001: p. 14) Overview of Cash flow statement The cash flow statement explains the changes that have occurred in the company’s cash and cash equivalents during the year by classifying the cash flows in its operat ing, investing and financing activities. The statement must focus on cash receipts and payments and must explain the change in cash plus cash equivalents. The classification is done in a way that is most appropriate to the company’s business.The following are the definitions of the components of the cash flow statement: Cash: cash on hand and demand deposits Cash equivalents: short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value. Operating activities: the principal revenue-producing activities of the enterprise and other activities that are not investing or financing activities Investing activities: the acquisition and disposal of long-term assets and other investments not included in cash equivalents.Financing activities: activities that result in changes in the size and composition of the equity capital and borrowings of the enterprise (Epstein, p. 93). Objective and Scope of IAS 7 Information about the cash flow of an enterprise is useful in providing users of financial statements with a basis to assess the ability of the enterprise to generate cash and cash equivalents and the needs of the enterprise to utilize those cash flows. The economic decision taken by users requires an evaluation of the ability of an enterprise to generate cash and cash equivalents and timing and certainty of their generation.The objective of IAS 7 is to require the provision of information about the historical change in cash and cash equivalents of an enterprise by means of a cash flow statement that classifies cash flows during the period from operating, investing and financing activities. An enterprise should prepare a cash flow statement in accordance with the requirements of IAS 7 and should present it as an integral part of its financial statements for each period for which financial statements are prepared.Users of an enterprise’s financial statements are interest ed in how the enterprise generates and uses cash and cash equivalents. This is the case regardless of the nature of the enterprise activities and irrespective of whether cash can be viewed 214 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 as the product of the enterprise, as may be the case with a financial institution. Enterprises need cash for the same reason however different their principal revenue- producing activities might be.They need cash to conduct their operations, to pay their obligations and to provide return to the investors. Accordingly this standard requires all enterprises to present a cash flow (Para 1 & 3). Presentation of Cash flow statement under IAS 7 Cash and cash equivalent: The definition of cash and cash equivalent are central to the preparation and interpretation of cash flow statements. Cash consists of cash in hand and demand deposits, coins and notes of an organization, etc. In our country deposits in postal accounts may be termed as c ash (Cooper and Ijiri, 1984: 88; Ghosh, 2001).Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into known amount of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. According to the definitions of paragraph 6 of IAS 7 cash comprises cash in hand and demand deposits; usually ‘cash on hand’ includes currency, notes, and coin in the cash box of the enterprise. It also includes prize bond, negotiable money orders, postal orders, and under posited checks, bank drafts or pay- order.Demand deposits refer to deposits in checking accounts in banks and other financial institutions that may be withdrawn without notice usually subject to deduction of outstanding check. Thus cash equivalents – 1. are short-term investments but the ‘term’ ‘short’ not clearly specified, although a period of three months and less is suggested to be taken as short term period. 2. are highly liquid investments. Here ‘liquid’ means having in a situation where cash equivalents are available in sufficient amount to meet obligation of payments. . are investments that are both: (a) readily convertible, to known amounts of cash and (b) subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. According to SFAC No. 95, the risk categorically refers to risk of change in interest rate. The short-term investments are so near their maturity that they represent insignificant risk of changes in interest rate. Examples include treasury bills, commercial papers, and money market funds purchased with cash that is in excess of immediate needs.However, although by definition, cash equivalents refer to short term highly liquid investments, they are usually held for the purpose of meeting short term cash commitments rather than for other purpose. For an investment to qualify as a cash equivalent it must be readily convertible to a known amount of cash and be subject to insignificant risk of change in value. Therefore an investment normally qualifies as a cash equivalent only when it has a short maturity of, say, three months and less from the date of acquisition. Equity nvestments are excluded from the cash equivalents unless they are, in substance, cash equivalents, for example in the case of preferred share acquired within a short period of their maturity and with a specified redemption date (Para 7). Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 215 Preparation of Cash flow statements IAS 7 requires cash flows to be classified into operating, investing, and financing activities. Example of cash flows by category Operating Activities Inflows Receipts from customers Outflows Payments to suppliersAdvance deposits from customers Wages and salaries to employees Income tax refunds Income tax payments Interest received on customers’ notes or Other tax payments accounts Dividends and interest received from Interest paid on bank debt or bonds outstanding and inve stments and included in determining net included in determining net income income Investing Activities Cash received from sale of capital assets Payments for purchase of capital assets Cash from sale of debt or equity investments Cash flows capitalized as intangible assets, such as:  · development costs  · start-up costs  · capitalized interest  · exploration Costs Collection of principal on loans to others Purchase of debt or equity securities of others Interest and dividends received on investments Loans extended to others and not included in determining net income Financing Activities Net proceed of issuing debt or equity securities Payment of principal on bonds or bank loans Cash proceeds received from bank loans Purchase of the entity’s own shares Interest paid on bank debt or bonds outstanding and not included in determining net income Dividends paid to shareholders Variations in Reporting activities for Cash flows A. Operating or Financing activities Transactio ns with different categories included in cash flows are classified in a different manner. According to IAS 7, Para 12, â€Å"A single transaction may include cash flows that are classified differently.For example, when the cash repayment of a loan includes both interest and capital the interest element may be classified as operating activities and the capital amount is classified as financing activities†. B. Operating or investing and financing activities Some cash flows may be classified as arising from any activities such as ‘interest’, ‘dividend’ ‘income tax’. The detailed provisions of these types are as follows. 216 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 Interest: a. For a financial institution, interest paid and interest received are usually classified as operating cash flows (para 33). b. For other enterprise, interest paid and interest received may be classified as operating cash flows because they enter into the determination of net profit or loss.Alternatively, interest paid may be classified as financing cash flows, because they are costs of obtaining financial resources. Interest received may be classified as investing cash flows, because they are returns on investments (para 33). Dividend: a. For a financial institution, dividends received are usually classified as operating cash flow (Para 33). b. For other enterprise, dividends received may be classified as operating cash flows because they enter into the determination of net profit or loss. Alternatively dividend received may be classified as investing cash flows, because they are returns on investments (para 33). c. Dividend paid may be classified as financing cash flows, because they are costs of obtaining financial resources.Alternatively dividend paid may be classified as component of cash flows from operating activities in order to assist users to determine the ability of an enterprise to pay dividend out of operating c ash flows (para 34). Income tax: a. Taxes on income arise on a transaction that gives to the cash flows that are classified as operating, investing, and financing activities in cash flow statement. While tax expense may be readily identifiable with investing or financing activities, the related tax cash flows are often impracticable to identify and may arise in a different period from the cash flows of the underlying transactions. Therefore taxes paid are usually classified as cash flows from operating activities.However, often it is practicable to identify the tax cash flow within individual transaction that gives rise to cash flows that are classified as investing or financing activity as appropriate. When tax cash flows are allocated over more than one class of activity, the total amount of taxes paid is disclosed (Para 36). In the light of SFAS 95, â€Å"Transaction that enter into the determination of net income† are defined as operating activities and hence, interest re ceived or paid, dividend received and taxes on income are rigidly treated to arise from operating activities. Dividend to stakeholders are treated as cash outflows classified as financing activities (Keiso and Weygandt, 1998: 1275-76) Cash flow statement Practices in BangladeshRegulatory Framework, in the eyes of the Companies Act 1994 (Act no. 18 of 1994): According to Section 183 of the Companies’ Act 1994 (which came into effect from 1 January 1995), a company is required to present balance sheet, profit and loss account (income and expenditure account, in case of non profit companies). Under section 185, the balance sheet and the income statement have to be prepared according to the forms set out in Part –1 and Part –2 of Schedule XI respectively under which information on consecutive two years (concerned year and Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 217 preceding year) are to be provided.However according to note (g) of the general in struction for preparation of balance sheet (given in part –1 of schedule XI after the horizontal format of the balance sheet), â€Å"a statement of change in financial position shall be included as an integral part of the financial statements, and shall be presented for each period for which the profit and loss account is prepared†. However no specific format of cash flow statement has been prescribed in Companies Act 1994. In the light of the Security and Exchange Rule 1987 (S. R. O No. 237-l/87 dated on 28 September 1987): Under the provision of rule 12 (1) of the Securities and Exchanges Rules (SER) 1987(amended by the section notification No.SEC/ Section 7/SER/03/132 dated 22 october1997 published in the official gazette on 29 December 1997), the annual report to be furnished by an issuer of listed security shall include â€Å"a balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow statement and notes to the accounts collectively hereinafter referred to as the financi al statement’. In the part III of the Schedule of the SER 1987, issues relating to interest paid on short-term borrowing, interest and dividend received income taxes are clearly guidelined. For example, interest paid on short-term borrowing shall be a cash outflow under operating activities; ‘interest and dividend received’ shall be a cash inflow under investing activities. And ‘interest paid on long term borrowing’ and ‘dividend paid’ shall be a cash outflow under financing activities.Under paragraph 35-36, ‘taxes on income’ should be treated as operating cash outflow unless they can be identified in financing and investing activities. Findings of the study To know the extent of cash flows statement reporting practices by Pharmaceutical companies, a survey has been conducted covering twelve annual reports (2009) (For detailed the name of the companies see Appendix-1). The major findings of the study are given below in terms of general variations in reporting and voluntary disclosure. General findings It includes the current format and structure of cash flow statement and the extent of compliance of IAS-7, followed by sample Pharmaceutical Companies in Bangladesh. All the sample companies prepare cash flow statement as required by IAS-7/BAS 7 adopted by the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Bangladesh and present it as an integral part of the financial statements. Notes to cash flow statement have been presented as part of the financial statements in case of all the sample companies.  · The sample companies prepare cash flow statement in vertical form and shows figure of cash flows of the current year and the previous year.  · All the sample companies’ cash flow statement contains a classification of operational, investing, and financing activities.  · The sample companies did not illustrate the policy dopted in determining the formulation of cash and cash equivalents although this is r equired by paragraph 36 of IAS 7. 218 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 Variation in Reporting Another objective of the survey was to determine which alternatives, permitted by IAS-7, are used most in practice by Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies. It is found that there are not many differences between companies in their reporting of cash flow information. This is expected because the preparation of cash flow statement does not allow for many choices, differences of interpretation or different accounting treatments. The results are set out in table 1.Table-1 Variations in reporting [Cash flow statement (CFS)] Factors 1 Notes to CFS Options Separately, following the CFS Part of the notes to the financial statements Incorporated in the CFS Total Direct method Indirect method Total Operating activities or no interest Financing Investing activities Total Financing activities or no dividends Operating activities Investing activities Total Part of accounti ng policy note Nothing disclosed Total Operating activities or no tax Financing activities Investing activities Total Number of companies 0 12 0 12 12 0 12 12 0 0 12 12 0 0 12 12 0 12 12 0 0 12 2 Operating activities 3 Interest received and Interest paid 4 Dividend received and Dividend paid 5 Definition of cash and cash equivalents 6 Income tax Notes to table 1  · Refer to point 2 of Table 1.According to IAS-7 and SEC Rule 1987, the enterprises are encouraged to report cash flows from operating activities using the direct method. The direct method provides information which may be useful in estimating future cash flows which is not available under the indirect method. All the sample companies followed the direct method in reporting operating cash flows. One company (Pharmaceutical Mithun Knitting & Dyeing Ltd. ) discloses cash flows from operating activities under indirect method in notes of financial statements as additional information. Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharma ceutical Companies  ·  · 219 Refer to points 3 & 4 of Table 1.All the companies studied have shown ‘interest received and paid’ under operating activities and ‘interest paid on long term borrowing’ and ‘dividend paid’ under financing activities. Refer to points 5 & 6 of Table 1. All the companies studied have shown â€Å"definition of cash and cash equivalents† in the notes of accounting policy and â€Å"income tax† under operating activities. Voluntary disclosure The survey also included an examination of any additional information that is disclosed regarding the company’s cash flow which is not required by IAS-7, but which may be helpful to the user. For example, separate disclosure of cash flows increases operating capacity and cash flows that maintain operating capacity, disclosure of segmental cash flows, cash flow per share etc.The survey found no company to disclose such additional voluntary information in its ca sh flow statement. Conclusion and Recommendation A materially misstated cash flow statement, whether it is in terms of incorrect classification in the categories or numerical accuracy, can be misleading to the user and can lead to wrong decisions taken by the users of the statement. The survey has revealed that although sample companies prepare cash flow statement according to International Accounting Standard-7 (BAS-7), there is also a degree of non-compliance. It is, however, found that there are not many differences between companies in their reporting of cash flow information.This is expected because the preparation of cash flow statement does not allow for many choices, differences of interpretation or different accounting treatments. To make cash flow statement more informative and useful for users, the companies should disclose additional voluntary information such as cash flow per share in their cash flow statements. Items consisting of cash flows from operating, investing a nd financing activities should also be clarified in the notes of the financial statements. Due to the limited scope of the present study, a large number of research issues have not been attempted but are identified in the course of the study.Disclosure practices of additional items other than operating, investing and financing activities, disclosure practices differences between listed and unlisted companies, disclosure practices differences between financial and other institutions are some such potential issues for future research. 220 ASA University Review, Vol. 6 No. 2, July–December, 2012 References Annual Reports of Sample Pharmaceutical Companies Listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange 2009. Aziz Uddin, A. B. M and Bala. , S. K. ( 2001), â€Å"Cash Flow Reporting in Bangladesh†, The Cost & Management, Nov- Dec. ICMAB, p. 13. FASB Discussion Memorandum (1980), Reporting Funds Flow, Liquidity and Financial Flexibility, FASB, Stanford. Thomas H. Beechy. Joan E. D. Conrod, Intermediate Accounting, second Edition, Chpter 5, Exhibit 5-1 pp. 91 Ghosh, Santi N. (2001),â€Å"Workshop Material on IAS # 7 : Cash Flow Statements† compiled under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB)Project, Development of Accounting and Auditing Standards in Bangladesh, The World Bank. Government of Bangladesh (GOB) (1994), The Companies Act 1994 (Act No. 18 of 1994). Gup, B. E. & Samson, W. D. 1993. An analysis of patterns from the statement of cash flows. Financial Practice & Education, 3(2):73-79. Hendrickson, Eldom. S(1982), Accounting Theory, Richard D. Irwin, Inc. , Illinois, p. 236. Hertenstein, J. & McKinnon, S. 1997. Solving the puzzle of the cash flow statement. Business Horizons, 40(1):69-76.International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (2000), International Accounting Standards 2000 International Accounting Standards Committee, London, â€Å"International Accounting Standard IAS 7 (revised 1992): Cash Flow Statements† in pp. 139165. International Federation of Accounting (IFAC) (1992), IFAC Handbook 1992: Technical Pronouncements (New York: IFAC). â€Å"IAS 7 (October 1977): Statement of Changes in Financial Position† in pp. 812- 816. Khan, M. H. & Akter, M. S. & Ghosh, S. K (2005), â€Å"Cash Flow Statement Disclosures: A Study of Banking Companies in Bangladesh†. Available at www. pcte. edu. in/site/OJMR/Finance/cashflow. pdf Keiso, Donald, E. and Jerry. J.Weygandt (1998), Intermediate Accounting, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 9th Edition, pp. 1275-76. Lee, T. A. 1982. Cash flow accounting and the allocation problem. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 9(3):341-352. Lee, T. A (1972), â€Å"A Case for Cash Flow Reporting†, Journal of Business Finance, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 27-36 as quoted in Studies of Accounting Theory, Steyn, B. W. & Hamman, W. D. 2003. Cash flow reporting: are listed companies complying with AC 118? Meditari, 11:167-180. Weyg andt, Kieso, Kimmel, Accounting Principles, 9th edition, John, Wilely and Sons, Inc, pp. 732-733 Wallace, R. S. O. and Choudhury, M. S. I. And Pendelbary, M. 1997), â€Å"Cash Flow Statements: An International Comparison of Regulatory Positions†, The International Journal of Accounting, Vol. 32, No, 1, pp. 1-22 Cash Flow Statement Disclosures in Pharmaceutical Companies 221 Appendix-1 List of the twelve Pharmaceutical companies studied. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. GlaxcoSmithKline Bangladesh Limited (2009) The IBN SINA Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd. (2009) BEXIMCO PHARMACEUTICAL LTD. (2009) ORION INFUSION LTD. (2009) ACI Formulation Limited (2009) Ambee Pharmaceutical Limited (2009) Square Pharmaceutical Ltd. (2009) Libra Infusions Limited (2009) BEACOM Pharmaceuticals Limited (2009) Rahman Chemicals Limited (2009) Renata Limited (2009) Therapeutics (Bangladesh) Limited (2009)