Sunday, May 24, 2020

Why Is Positive Accounting Standards - 1162 Words

1. Introduction: This paper is a contribution made my Ross L. Watts and Jerold L. Zimmerman, titled as â€Å"Towards a Positive Theory of Determination of Accounting Standards† published by American Accounting Association. It explores the factors that have been influencing management’s attitudes in lobbying on accounting standards. It describes an attempt made by two in evolution and development of the Positive Accounting Theory by reasoning, factors like taxes, regulations, management compensation plans, book keeping cots, etc. The results concerned with the theory are consistent. 2. Summary of the Article To begin with it is important to understand why Positive accounting theory is incorporated by a Company. Commonly know as PAT, it†¦show more content†¦This theory has a precondition, which focuses on understanding the management incentives. The paper begins with introduction of the factors affecting management wealth which are listed as; i)Taxes, ii) Political costs, iii) Information Production Costs, and iv) Management Compensation Plans. Moving on, it gives description about various assumption that an organisation needs to consider before they start following the Positive Accounting Theory approach. Two main assumption the research paper is based on are: Individual act to maximise their own utility. (Article) This assumption is also used by Gordon (1964) in an early attempt to derive positive accounting theory. Gordon model and variants of it, were also tested know as the â€Å"smooth† literature. Management utility is a positive function of the expected compensation in future periods and decreases the firms reported earning. The Study 1978 corroborated the hypothesis that management is a determinant role in accounting standard and concretely pointed that firm size is the most consequential factor will influence managerial deportment, which has a paramount implicative insinuation for setting accounting standard. Furthermore, this conclusion of this paper convinced the feasibility of positive theory in accounting research which as a revolution in accounting research area. On the other hand, Study 1998 additionally gave us a paramount conclusion which

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder - 956 Words

Numerous studies have been conducted showing the daily lives of children with autism spectrum disorder, and the battles the parents have to face. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2015), â€Å"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction.† As someone who lives with an autistic child, the daily challenges faced are enormous. Autistic children tend to have specific daily routines, and if those daily routines are disrupted, it greatly upsets the child. The following scholarly journals all discuss the lives of autistic people along with a perspective of their parents. Autism in Vietnam To begin with, Vu Song Ha (2014) states that children with autism go through numerous hardships such as â€Å"lack of education, neglect and rejection, teasing and violence at school, social isolation, dependent living, and health problems† (p. 278). Parents also have shown higher physical and mental exhaustion than other parents (Ha, p. 278). Ha states that he created this study because he wanted to show a viewpoint of someone with autism in a low-income area instead of a high-income area where most studies are performed (p. 278). He also states that the number of people diagnosed with autism has been increasing since the 2000s (p. 279). There is an estimate that 52 per cent of children diagnosedShow MoreRelatedChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder1502 Words   |  7 Pagesby a disorder that affects the very things we need to fit in to society. The ability to be able to fit in, communicate and behave in proper ways, allows us to function, work and survive in life. For ma ny children and adults, they live with a disorder that dictates these behaviors and language skills to be very different from the average American. These skills they are challenged with, make it very difficult to live independently. The disorder these individuals live with is called Autism SpectrumRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder1125 Words   |  5 PagesIn the last decade, the rate of autism has experienced a dramatic increase (Gerber 1). There used to be a speculation of an apparent correlation between the numbers of vaccines children receive and the increase of autism. A predominant controversy regarding vaccinations was whether or not one of the side effects of vaccines is Autism Spectrum Disorder. The probability of vaccines in children resulting in autism was challenged by various researchers from around the world has proven to be untrue (GerberRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder Essay2241 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract Siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder have received little Research attention historically, with most family studies focusing on either the child with the illness/disorder or the parents. More recently, research has identified that these children may need support in their own right, yet little published research is reported to inform this support. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the extent to which siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder facing psychosocialRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder993 Words   |  4 PagesNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Autism is defined as a spectrum disorder (ASD). It refers to a wide range of complex neurodevelopment conditions characterized by repetitive and distinctive patterns of behavior and difficulties with social skills, communication, and interaction. The symptoms start from early childhood and affect daily functioning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) approximates ASD’s prevalence as 1 in 68 children in the United States.  The DiagnosticRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder1796 Words   |  8 PagesParenting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Doctors diagnose one in sixty-eight children with Autism Spectrum Disorder every day. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that affects children’s social skills, communication skills, and their behavior. The symptoms of ASD range from moderate to severe and vary from each child. Raising typical children is difficult, but raising children with disabilities adds to the stress of parenting. There is a strain on parents who have children withRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder949 Words   |  4 PagesAutism Spectrum Disorder is a frightening diagnosis for most families that can bring with it fears of an uncertain future. Support for children with autism and their families is essential because it isn t something that children will just grow out of. It is a life-long condition, but the right treatment, support and care can create a positive outcome for everyone concerned. Diagnosis Early diagnosis is the most important thing you can do to help your child, as it is the first step in understandingRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder869 Words   |  4 Pageswith children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) experiences more stress than the typical family without a children with ASD. A previous research study by Baker-Ericzen, Brookman-Frazee Stahmer(2005, p. 194) supports this statement, â€Å"Both parents of children with ASD report higher levels of both parent and child related stress juxtaposed with parents of typically developing toddlers†. In order to comprehend the information of the study, one must understand what autism spectrum disorder is. AutismRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder1493 Words   |  6 Pagestwo million individuals are affected by autism in the United States and it is one of the fastest growing disorders but with very much research being put behind it. Autism can tend to be one of the most confusing and stressful disorders but yet it is still able to be coped with lots of patience. Imagine being put down or not given an opportunity deserved because of something that is out of one’s control, more specifically children with autism spectrum disorder. Parents have a huge role in preparingRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder2302 Words   |  10 Pagesof all children. Children play for many reasons including learning, exercise, stimulation, and for pure entertainment. They are learning and exploring the world around them by testing out ideas and just having fun playing wit h simple objects. However, like language, play is a skill that develops in stages. As a child gradually learns to understand the world around him or her, they begin to play and learn by engaging in exploratory and manipulative play. This is no different for children withRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder853 Words   |  4 Pageswise) (Green, S., Davis, C., Karshmer, E., Marsh, P., Straight, B, 2005) Autism spectrum disorder pose greater threat to the family because of many reasons like the child with autism spectrum disorder is likely to be accompanied by disruptive antisocial behaviour. Second for the parents the process of make an accurate diagnosis and obtaining treatment is often a frustrating experience. Third after the diagnoses of the disorder the proper access to the services available for the child and family is

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Brain-Computer Interfaces - 1221 Words

Until recently, our relationship with technology has been limited to physical and direct command. To get a device to take action, you must touch it, or speak to it. All of this could change with this new technology called, brain-computer interfaces. This amazing technology will not only revamp military applications, but most importantly help the medical community substantially. It brings the possibility of sound to the deaf, sight to the blind and movement to the physically challenged. However, with all great ideas there is a downside, there are many technical and ethical issues that people are not willing to risk. A brain-computer interface, also known as a BCI, is technology that allows a device to respond neural signals†¦show more content†¦With the help of Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital, Huthinson was able to manipulate a robotic arm to serve herself coffee (Castillo 1). This may sound like a simple task for a normally functional person, but for someone who has been paralyzed for fifteen years this is ground breaking. There have even been new studies of prosthetic limbs that have feeling. This would be perfect for someone whos limb may be absent, in their situation. The University of Chicago has been doing research on robotic limbs that can feel. They did experiments on monkeys since their sense of touch is so similar to humans. The first set of experiments focused on contact location, or sensing where the skin has been touched. The animals were trained to identify several patterns of physical contact with their fingers. Researchers then connected electrodes to areas of the brain corresponding to each finger and replaced physical touches with electrical stimuli delivered to the appropriate areas of the brain. The result: The animals responded the same way to artificial stimulation as they did to physical 275 contact. Next the researchers focused on the sensation of pressure. In this case, they developed an algorithm to generate the appropriate amount of electrical current to elicit a sensation of pressure. Again, theShow MoreRelatedFrom Toys to Practicality: Brain Computer Interface Technology900 Words   |  4 PagesFrom Toys to Practicality: Brain Computer Interface Technology The idea of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology is the subject of high interest for many people and families of the person experiencing considerable physical impairments, such as those with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This knowledge is recognized by several monitors, such as BCI, Brain-Machine Interface (BMI), neuro-brain transmission and Direct Brain Interface (DBI). Conventional computer input and assistive technologyRead MoreBrain Computer Interface2272 Words   |  10 Pagestries to link the human brain with machines allowing humans to control their environment through their thoughts. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s, but it wasnt until the mid-1990s that the first working experimental implants in humans appeared. Following years of animal experimentation, early working implants in humans now exist, designed to restore damaged hearing, sight and movement. The common thread throughout the research is the remarkable cortical plasticity of the brain, which often adaptsRead MoreBrain Computer Interfaces1205 Words   |  5 PagesBrain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, are a developing technology that enable computers to interact directly with the brain for various purposes. They have various current applications, including prosthetic limbs, sight and hearing implants, diagnosis of medical conditions, and research into brain activity (Abdulkader, S 2015). In the future, more advanced forms may provide dramatic changes to communication, entertainment, exchange of knowledge and learning, and other aspects of society (Lance, B KerickRead MoreWhat Is A Brain Computer Interf ace?2728 Words   |  11 Pages BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE Tejaswi Palacharla University of Houston ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION What is a Brain Computer Interface? Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is a communication channel between a brain and the computer. The BCI system transforms specific ‘thoughts’, into control signals. These are then converted to a computer readable form where the output is shown on the computer. This computer follows the instructions or thoughts given by the brain when a patient mentally visualizesRead MoreNeural Technology : Brain Computer Interface934 Words   |  4 Pagestechnology is a field of engineering that specializes in taking information that is present in the brain and translating it to a medium that can be understood by a wide range of people. One of the ways this is done is with systems that take information directly from the brain and enable control over a computerized system. These are referred to as brain computer interfaces, also known as BCIs. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology decodes neural signals in real time to control external devices (Rouse)Read MoreBrain-Computer and Brain-M achine Interfaces Applied to the Medical Field1780 Words   |  7 PagesOver the years, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), or brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), have advanced into a technology that can be regularly be applied to the medical field. BCIs have been used for rehabilitative purposes, such as patients suffering from loss of speech and motor functions. Every year, approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke. Out of these people, 600,000 of these are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent attacks [9]. Stroke patients often suffer from paralysis and loss of speechRead MoreBrain Computer Interface, Vs. Chip Technological Benefits1597 Words   |  7 PagesBrain, Brain Computer Interface, V-chip, and V-chip Technological Benefits In the movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, Dr. Vosknocker implants a v-chip into Cartman’s head. The doctor then tells Cartman to say â€Å"horsefucker† in which, when Cartman complies, he is shocked. In response to the pain, he unconsciously cries out â€Å"Goddamnit† in which he is shocked as well. (Parker, Stone, Brady, 1999) In order to follow the movie’s v-chip, we would have to place the v-chip in two places. The realRead MoreA Paper Presentation on Brain Controlled Car for Disabled Using Artificial Intelligence1667 Words   |  7 PagesA Paper Presentation on BRAIN CONTROLLED CAR FOR DISABLED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Submitted on the event of Zeitgeist’09 At UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Read MoreEmotiv System Essay737 Words   |  3 Pagesof money in 2003, they decided to take a new challenge about processing brain signals. Then, together with Allan Snyder, a physicist and Neil Weste, a chip designer, they founded Emotiv Systems Inc.. The company built a Ramp;D lab to develop a workable system about brain signals process. Finally, the team had a breakthrough-successfully developed basic technology called EPOC, which can detect 30 mental states and process brain signals into software algorithms. Now, The company wants to launch thisRead MoreCommunication Technology Research Project : How It Works, And Its Application919 Words   |  4 Pagescouldn’t believe all the different ways it could be used for all different types of people and the lengths it could reach. The technology that I decided to write my paper on is called Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). I will discuss what exactly BCI is, how it works, and its application in today’s world. Brain-computer interface is a technology that has been around for a while, however the technology has really taken off in recent years. The thing that makes this technology so dynamic is the fact that it

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Customer Service Policy

Question: Discuss about the Customer Service Policy. Answer: Introduction Customer service is an important element for any business. For a business to be successful, it has to identify and develop mechanisms to satisfy customer needs. In todays competitive business environment, customers are the decision makers and dictates the terms of product and service quality. Since, most of the business organizations present more or less similar products with little product differentiation, therefore, in the end, the degree of customer service provided by the business to its customers determines businesss success (Soteriou and Stavrinides 2013). The purpose of this report is to analyse current practice of customer service being followed in the Brads Holiday Retreat and provide recommendations for changing the customer service process and culture. The report has discussed about the customers of Brads Holiday Retreat and aims at developing a customer service policy for the firm. The report has also discussed a standard for handling customer complaints and a work instru ction for handling a complaint. The report further discusses the elements of customer service that needs to be changed in response to customers complaint about the quality of the meals. Further, the report has also discussed ways to bring desired change in the work culture in the kitchen. In addition, the report discusses the mechanisms that would help in evaluating the customer service that the Brads Holiday Retreat will provide to its customers. Lastly, the report presents a survey questionnaire and survey process that would help in increasing Brads understanding of his and Rosemarys customers needs and wants in relation to meals. Brads Holiday Retreat customers The customer base of Brads Holiday Retreat comprises of 60% domestic tourists and 40% international customers. Domestic customers rely equally on travel agent booking and online/ telephone bookings whereas international customers exclusively uses online/telephone bookings. Although, the return from international customers is better, these customs are more demanding and hard to satisfy. Customer service policy for Brads Holiday Retreat Brads Holiday Retreat is a backpacker hotel that is essentially a service oriented business organization. In order to be successful, the company needs to develop and implement customer service policy to enhance the quality of service it provides to its customers and increase customer satisfaction levels. The customer service policy for Brads Holiday Retreat should include following elements Business mission: the businesss mission is to become a preferred holiday hotel for backpacker community by providing them with best customer service delivery. Customer Service Philosophy: Customer Service Guaranteed. Organization commitment: the hotel is committed to provide customers with optimum levels of service delivery and the organization prides itself on ensuring customer satisfaction every time (Fan et al. 2013). Communication: The Company has devised various means to communicate with its customers with its customers in order to understand their preferences and other needs. 4.1 Telephone the company provides 24/7 customer care services in order to enable customers get their query and other problem resolved in a best possible way. The employees are well trained and are committed to provide optimum services to resolve customers issues. 4.2 E-mail: customers are also having the option to get their queries resolved through e-mails and the companys representative are fully competent to provide customers with best solutions (Fan et al. 2013). Booking, refunds and cancellations: the hotel provides its customers many options to book rooms as per convenience. Customers have the option to book through telephone, e-mails, hotels website, by walking into the hotel and via partner travelling agencies. In addition, the hotel provides customers an option to cancel their bookings by any of the above means. The company provides full refunds in case the customers are rescheduling their trip or when the cancelation request is received one week prior to their arrival. In addition, the company provides partial refund of 40% to 80% depending on customer cancellation request time and management discretion. Further, as the company is committed to provide best customer service delivery, the company provides discounts and other benefits if the customers expectations are not adequately met due to incompetency of the staff or management (Davidow 2014). Training: In order to deliver best service delivery, Brads Holiday Retreat provides its employees with best training in the industry. For this, the company has incorporate various training programs to enable the staff understand customers expectations and provide customers with best service experience from the time of their engagement with the business, at the time of their stay in the hotel and beyond as the company aims at maintaining long term relation with customers. In the training program, more emphasis has been given on the promptness of the service delivery, politeness, professionalism and personalized or customized service delivery to the customers. In addition, employees are given adequate training to be more patient and attentive to customers demands. Therefore, training in the area of developing communication and soft skills are provided (Brock et al. 2013). Feedback: feedback is one of the best ways to understand customers need and expectations; therefore, the company encourages its customers to provide feedback (positive as well as negative) in order to improve customer service delivery and overall experience with the hotel. Customer complaint handling standard Hotel business is a service-oriented business and Brads Holiday Retreat employees have to deal with all types of guests on the daily basis. It is also expected that some customers may not find the service prompt enough, while other may believe that the quality of service or food discouraging. While some complaints are trivial and can be easily mitigated at the point of service delivery, others may require serious consideration and intervention supervisors or managers (Cheng and Loi 2014). Therefore, it is important to implement customer compliant handling standard in the Brads Holiday Retreat to enhance customer satisfaction levels. Customer complaint handling standard can be presented as Acknowledgement: front line employees are trained to acknowledge customers immediately and provide appropriate solution to resolve customer complaints at local level, and if, the complaint cannot be resolved at their level then the customers are assisted and directed to the person who will be responsible to resolve their complaints (Chen 2014). Assessment: the responsible person would access the nature of complaint and provide means to resolve the issue in the best possible manner. Investigation: in some cases due to the complexity of complaint received from the customers, it may be required to investigate the matter in detail to avoid such circumstances. For this the responsible person may require to complete and relevant information that may be collected by interviewing the staff involved and getting customers feedback to clear any misunderstandings. Response: Once the necessary information is gathered and intensity of complaint is analysed, the responsible person will provide appropriate solution to resolve customer complaints (Wilson et al. 2012). Improvements and follow-ups: After a customer complaint is received and resolved, it is important to analyse the cause of such complaint and develop means to avoid such instances in future. If the complaints are due to internal factors such as incompetency of staffs then appropriate solution can be providing training to the employees. Work instruction for handling complaints Applies to: Front end employees and executives who handle customer complaints. Objective: To provide an efficient and systematic tool for handling and resolving customer complaints. Policy handbook reference Refer to organizational policy on customer satisfaction. Pre-requisites Refer to customer complaint handling standard. Customer complaint solving process Step Instruction Remarks 1 Listen and emphasize Let the customer know that you care about their issues. 2 Recording and classifying complaints Any complaint raised by the customer must be recorded in the CRM software. The next step is to classify them in order of priority and high priority complaints should be escalated immediately for initiating further action. 3. Acknowledge Customers should be informed about when they will receive response regarding their complaint and person dealing with it. 4. Investigate (if required) All aspects of customer complaint must be investigated to ensure all relevant facts are identified and clarified. 5. Resolve and confirm Appropriate resolution to the customer complaint must be devised in consultation with senior manager and organizational objectives. The solution must base on corporate and customers viewpoint to ensure fairness and clarity. 6. Responding to customer The proposed solution must be communicated to the customers within the timescale promised. 7. Follow up It is important to get customers feedback on the solution provided by the management to ensure customer satisfaction. 8. Evaluate and close The last step is to evaluate the causes of such complaints and devise strategies to stop such incidents in future. Changing customer service system in response to customer complaint about the quality of meals In response to the increasing complaints regarding the quality of food provided at the Brads Holiday retreat, it is important to bring few changes in the customer service delivery system. The major complaints are received regarding the meals is it arrived late, was overcooked or was not warm enough when served. In order to fix this it is important to train employees to effectively manage timing of their service delivery. The waiter would greet the newly seated customers and take initial order within five minutes, if the customers orders entrees with some drinks, it should always be served together, for the main course, the waiter would provide them an option of whether they want it served when ready or wait for the customers request. This new standard would solve all the problems regarding the quality of food. However, for this to achieve a greater coordination between the kitchen staff and waiters would be required (Kaufman et al. 2013). Work culture in the kitchen The hotel needs to change its work culture in the kitchen to provide better quality meals and to improve the quality of services. Waiters need to be given training to handle customers complaints and provide better solutions of customer demands and complaints. How kitchen employees interact with customers has be changed. Further, the task division and work flow needs to be streamlined so that customers receive their meals in prompt and appropriate manner (Cronin et al. 2015). Guidelines for evaluating customer service In order to evaluate the quality of service provided to the customers in future, Brads Holiday Retreat can adopt the following method The best method is to get customer feedback and determining the level of satisfaction they receive from using the hotel services. Further, the less the number of customer complaints, more is the customer satisfaction. Another method can be undertaking an analysis of competitors strategy and comparing it with the firms own strategy of customer strategy (Batt 2014). Customer survey questionnaire and survey process In order to evaluate the effectiveness of customer service, it is important to develop a survey process and survey questionnaires. Sample group: for the survey, the company can randomly select 50 customers that would be interviewed over a period of one month. Survey questionnaires: the following questions would be asked S. no Question Agree Uncertain Disagree 1 I am satisfied with the quality of meals provided by the hotel 2 I am satisfied with the level of services provided by the hotel 3 The staff are competent and well mannered 4 Customer executives are well trained to handle customer complaints 5 Complaints are handled in timely and fair manner 6 Overall experience is excellent Distribution method: this survey questionnaire would be distributed to the customers at the time of their checkout, via emails and telephonic interview to get the customer responses. Use of data collected: the data collected will be used to evaluate the customer satisfaction levels and enable the hotel to implement better customer service practices (Dasu and Chase 2013). References Aryee, S., Seidu, E.Y., Sacramento, C.A. and Martinaityte, I., 2015, January. Proactive Customer Service Performance: Test of a Team-Level Model. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2015, No. 1, p. 11002). Academy of Management. Aziz, Y.A. and Ennew, C., 2013. Assessing the Effects of Empowerment and Emotions on Job Satisfaction in Hotel Service Environments. Pertanika Journal of Social Science Humanities, 21, pp.65-84. Batt, R., 2014. of Human Resource Practices, Turnover, and Customer Service in the Restaurant Industry (Journal of School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University).