Saturday, November 30, 2019

Investigating the Relationship Between the Amount of Money a Football Club Receives and its Success Essay Example

Investigating the Relationship Between the Amount of Money a Football Club Receives and its Success Essay Investigating the Relationship Between the Amount of Money a Football Club Receives and its SuccessIn this investigation, I will look at a set of statistics for English football clubs for the 1998 1999 season. Using these, I will look at how the amount of money a football club receives affects its success.Measuring successIt is difficult to measure success, as there is no numerical way to quantify it. In my investigation, I will look at success in terms of achievements on the pitch as opposed to the success of the club as a business. I will measure success by looking at the relationship between money and three factors. These are:* League Position This is a measure of the clubs success as the better the team performs, the higher the league position.* Goal Difference This is calculated by total goals scored minus total goals conceded. This is a measure of the teams success as the better the team performs, the greater the goals scored and the less the goals conceded, thus the greater the goal difference.* Stadium Capacity This can be considered as measure of success. It can be argued that the more successful a team is, the better supported it will be and thus the greater the stadium capacity in order to accommodate more fans. It is important to note that this factor is not as significant a measure of success that the other 2 factors as there could well be exceptions to the above argument. E.g. a successful and well-supported team could play in a very small stadium if the stadium was in a built up area where there was no space to enlarge it.I will investigate the following statement:The more money a football club receives the more successful it is on the pitchWith the above factors in mind, the statement can be split up into 3 sub-statements:* The more money a football club receives the higher its league position.* The more money a football club receives the greater its goal difference.* The more money a football club receives the greater its stadium capacity.I expect to find the more money a football club receives the more successful it is. This is because clubs with more money are able to pay higher transfer fees for better players and are able to employ better coaches.The data I am using for this project provides a considerable amount of information about each club. Not all of this information is relevant to my investigation. The information about each club that I require is:Name of clubLeague positionGoal differenceStadium capacityMoney received from football trustThe information will come from statistics provided in Rothmans yearbook. This is a reliable source of information as it is a reputable publication.The data concerns itself with all clubs in the English football league. These total 92. It is impractical to investigate data for 92 teams; therefore I will use a sample.SamplingI will use a sample of 50 teams. I have decided to use this size as it is just over half the teams and will therefore be fairly representative of the situ ation as a whole and also, 50 is a convenient number.The standard of football within the Football League varies tremendously. For example, Premier Division football will be played at a much higher standard than Division Three football. Thus to get a representative sample which encompasses all standards of football within the football league I will need to use a stratified sample.There are 93 teams in total, 20 in the premier division and 24 in divisions 1,2 and 3. In a stratified sample of 50 teams, this equates to 11 teams from the premier division and 13 from each of the other 3 divisions. Within the 4 strata, the teams will be selected entirely at random using a random number generator.Using a stratified sample, I have selected the following teams to study.Premier Division Aston Villa, Coventry City, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester Utd, Newcastle Utd, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, West Ham Utd ; Wimbledon.Division 1 Barnsley, Birmingham City, Bradford City, Brist ol City, Grimsby Town, Norwich City, Port Vale, Portsmouth, Sheffield Utd, Stockport County, Sunderland, Watford ; WBA.Division 2 Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol Rovers, Colchester Utd, Gillingham, Luton, Millwall, Northampton Town, Oldham Athletic, Preston N.E., Wigan Athletic, Wrexham ; York City.Division 3 Barnet, Brentford, Cambridge Utd, Chester City, Darlington, Exeter City, Halifax Town, Hartlepool Utd, Hull City, Plymouth A, Rochdale, Southend Utd ; Torquay Utd.I am happy that this sample is a fair sample as it is stratified and I expect it to give a good representation of the situation as a whole.I will use my sampled data to compare the amount of money a club receives with my 3 measures of success, league position, goal difference and stadium capacity.I think it will be useful to use two methods, to compare the quantities. One such method is scatter graphs. I will draw 3 scatter graphs to investigate the correlation between money received and league position, goal differ ence and stadium capacity. This will be useful as it will make it easy to see if the 2 factors are linked. Another method I will use is to split the sampled teams into groups according to how much money they receive and find the standard deviation of the league position, goal difference and stadium capacity within each group. This is useful as one would expect that clubs that receive similar amounts of money would have similar levels of success and thus a low standard deviation of success measuring quantities. Using standard deviation, I will be able to show whether this is the case.One problem of using league position that I can foresee is the fact that there is not the same number of teams in all for divisions. This is a problem because it makes the results of plotting a scatter graph misleading. If a scatter graph is plotted of money Vs. league position, problems could arise. For example, a team finishing 20th in Division 1 (24 teams) is more successful than a team finishing 20th in the Premier Division (20 teams). This could not be shown on a graph of money Vs. league position. A way to remedy this problem is to represent league position as a percentage (e.g. last in league = 100%, 10th in league of 20 = 50%, 12th in league of 24 = 50%).Investigating how money affects league positionA scatter graph of football trust grant vs. % league position was plotted:It would appear that there in no correlation between the two factors. Separate graphs for teams from each division were plotted however these also suggested no correlation.The data was grouped according to how much money the club receives. The standard deviation of each group was then calculated. Generally a group will be of size à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000 however, for the groups 2.5M 3M and 3M 3.5M, there is only one team in each group. Therefore it is impossible to calculate the standard deviation.Grant (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½)Standard deviation of % league position within group0 500k23.85500k 1M13.111M 1.5M32.251. 5M 2M29.352M 2.5M24.732.5M 3.5M19As standard deviation is calculated bythe maximum possible value for the standard deviation of % league position within a group is 50 as percentages are numbers between 0 and 100.I expected the standard deviations within each group to be low (i.e. low compared to a maximum value of 50). This is not the case. This shows that there is great variation in the league position of teams within each group and that teams which receive similar grants do not finish in similar league positions.Both methods which I have used suggest that there is no link between football trust grant and league position. Evidence for this is the fact that there is no correlation between the two on the scatter graph and the fact that standard deviation has shown that teams which receive similar grants do not finish in similar league positions. This provides a strong argument that my hypothesis, the more money a football club receives the higher its league position was incorrect. Investigating how money affects goal differenceA scatter graph of football trust grant vs. goal difference was plotted:Again, it would appear that there is no correlation between the two factors.Again, standard deviation was applied to the grouped data. The results were as follows:Grant (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½)Standard deviation of goal difference within group0 500k16.71500k 1M8.811M 1.5M22.91.5M 2M16.392M 2.5M19.262.5M 3.5M35The standard deviations are not particularly low. This shows that within each group, there is great variation in goal difference. The slight exception to this is the 500k 1M group where there is less variation. However, in general, these results show that teams which receive similar grants do not have similar goal differences.Both methods which I have used suggest that there is basically no link between football trust grant and goal difference. Evidence for this is the fact that there is no correlation between the two on the scatter graph and the fact that standar d deviation has shown that teams which receive similar grants do not have similar goal differences. This provides a strong argument that my hypothesis, the more money a football club receives the greater its goal difference was incorrect.Investigating how money affects stadium capacityA scatter graph of football trust grant vs. stadium capacity was plotted:It would appear that there is a weak positive correlation between the 2 factors. A line of best fit has been added. To verify that this line is accurate, I will check that it passes through the point (x,y). This point has been found to be (1155200,19072). This graph shows that in general, the greater the grant, the greater the stadium capacity.Again, standard deviation was applied to the grouped data. The results were as follows:Grant (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½)Standard deviation of stadium capacity within group0 500k5037500k 1M36001M 1.5M156511.5M 2M104082M 2.5M65522.5M 3.5M10927Stadium capacities are relatively large numbers therefore these standard deviations are quite low. Looking at the data, it is clear that these standard deviations would be considerably lower were it not for the odd extreme value within the groups. These values show that within each group there is not a great amount of variation in stadium capacity and that teams with receive similar grants have fairly similar stadium capacities.Both methods which I have used suggest that there is a link between football trust grant and stadium capacity. Evidence for this is the fact that there is a weak positive correlation between the two on the scatter graph and the fact that standard deviation has shown that teams which receive similar grants have fairly similar stadium capacities. This provides a strong argument that my hypothesis, the more money a football club receives the greater its stadium capacity. was basically correct.I began the investigation with three sub hypotheses which made up the overall hypothesis that the more money a football club rec eives the more successful it is on the pitch. I have disproved 2 of there hypotheses and proved 1. Thus, it is difficult to say whether my main hypothesis was correct or not. However as already mentioned, it is questionable whether stadium capacity is as significant a factor than league position or goal difference as, for example, a successful and well-supported team could play in a very small stadium if the stadium was in a built up area where there was no space to enlarge it. If one discounts the stadium capacity as less significant, it is possible to state that my main hypothesis was disproved and that the more money a football club receives the more successful it is on the pitch is not the case.One reason which might explain the results of my investigation (money affects stadium capacity but not league position or goal difference) is that the clubs may be spending their grant money on ground improvements rather than players or coaches.One way to improve the investigation to see how money affects the success of a football club would be to acquire the statistics for the total income of a football club as opposed to just the football trust grant. For this, it would be necessary to acquire statistics for all other sources of a football clubs income such as income from ticket sales and merchandising.

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Chronicles of Narnia and Atuhor C.S. Lewis FAQs

The Chronicles of Narnia and Atuhor C.S. Lewis FAQs What are The Chronicles of Narnia? The Chronicles of Narnia consist of a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C.S. Lewis, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The books, listed below in the order in which the C.S. Lewis wanted them to be read, are – Book 1 - The Magician’s Nephew (1955)Book 2 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)Book 3 - The Horse and His Boy (1954)Book 4 - Prince Caspian (1951)Book 5 - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)Book 6 - The Silver Chair (1953)Book 7 - The Last Battle (1956). These childrens books are not only very popular with 8-12 year olds, but teens and adults also enjoy them. Why has there been confusion about the order of the books? When C.S. Lewis wrote the first book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) in what would become The Chronicles of Narnia, he wasn’t planning on writing a series. As you will note from the copyrights in parentheses in the book list above, the books were not written in chronological order, so there was some confusion as to the order in which they should be read. The publisher, HarperCollins, is presenting the books in the order that C.S. Lewis requested. What is the theme of The Chronicles of Narnia? The Chronicles of Narnia deals with the struggle between good and evil. Much has been made of the Chronicles as a Christian allegory, with the lion sharing many of the characteristics of Christ. After all, when he wrote the books, C.S. Lewis was a well-known scholar and Christian writer. However, Lewis made it clear that was not how he approached writing the Chronicles. Did C.S. Lewis write The Chronicles of Narnia as a Christian allegory? In his essay, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best Whats to be Said (Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories), Lewis stated, Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument; then collected information about child-psychology and decided what age group Id write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out allegories to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. How did C.S. Lewis approach writing The Chronicles of Narnia? In the same essay, Lewis stated, Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasnt anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord. Given Lewis’s strong Christian faith, that is not surprising. In fact, once the story was established, Lewis said he ...saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralysed much of my own religion in childhood. How much of the Christian references do children pick up on? That depends on the child. As New York Times journalist A.O. Scott stated in his review of the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, â€Å"To the millions since the 1950s for whom the books have been a source of childhood enchantment, Lewiss religious intentions have either been obvious, invisible or beside the point.† The children I have talked to simply see the Chronicles as a good story, although when parallels to the Bible and life of Christ are pointed out, older children are interested in discussing them. Why is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so popular? Although The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the second in the series, it was the first of the Chronicles books that C.S. Lewis wrote. As I said, when he wrote it, he was not planning on a series. Of all the books in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe seems to be the one that has most captured the imaginations of young readers. All the publicity surrounding the December 2005 release of the movie version also greatly increased the public’s interest in the book. Are any of The Chronicles of Narnia on VHS or DVD? Between 1988 and 1990 the BBC aired The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair as a TV series. It was then edited to create the three movies now available on DVD. Your public library may have copies available. The more recent Narnia movies are also available on DVD. A more recent movie version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was released in 2005. My nine-year old grandson and I saw the movie together; we both loved it. The next Chronicles movie, Prince Caspian, was released in 2007, followed by The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, released in December 2010. For more information about the movies, go to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and . Who was C.S. Lewis? Clives Staples Lewis was born in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland and died in 1963, just seven years after completing The Chronicles of Narnia. When he was nine, Lewis’s mother died, and he and his brother were sent to a series of boarding schools. Although raised a Christian, Lewis lost his faith while a teenager. Despite having his education interrupted by World War I, Lewis graduated from Oxford. C.S. Lewis gained a reputation as a Medieval and Renaissance scholar, and as a Christian writer of great influence. After twenty-nine years at Oxford, in 1954, Lewis became Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University and remained there until he retired. Among C.S. Lewiss most well-known books are Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Four Loves, and The Chronicles of Narnia. (Sources: Articles on the C.S. Lewis Institute Web site, Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories)

Friday, November 22, 2019

Carrying An Activity Is Related To Money

Discuss About The Carrying An Activity Is Related To Money? Business stands for carrying an activity that is related to money. It is operated in every part of the globe and as the business grows, it looks for more opportunities across the border. International business is the term that is used for the operation and objective of a nation that have some interest in other countries. International business includes all the commercial transactions whether it is private or governmental, sales, investments, transportation that takes place between two or more religions, ethics, culture or nation. Many companies such as Tesco, Disney, and Ford are having its business operations in other countries to earn profit and to grow its business. With more opportunities, the international business is also very complex. And for solving these complications, organisations appoints international managers. They are the ones who ease the company’s operations in other countries. An international manager is a wide-ranging title for an executive who handles the c orporation’s global processes. Large companies recruit numerous departmental international managers such as managers who are in charge of worldwide sales, social marketing or foreign business. This study will elaborate the challenges and possible opportunities for the managers that are operating in a global environment. It will outline a brief description of international environment and the challenges that managers face while operating in a global business environment. In addition to this, the essay will also demonstrate some practical examples for an Australian organisation which is facing challenges in the international competition and expansion. At last, the study will outline the personal views of the researcher. International business is the term that is used for the operation and objective of a nation that have some interest in other countries. International business includes all the commercial transactions whether it is private or governmental, sales, investments, transportation that takes place between two or more religions, ethics, culture or nation. It comprises any type of trade operations that overlaps national boundaries. In the terms of definition scale, international business is demarcated as companies that purchases or sell goods or facilities across two or more nationwide borders, even the administration of the company is situated in a single nation (Teagarden, 2017). Starting a commercial operation in a foreign land is a thrilling prospect, but the management of the company must be equipped for the range of encounters that come with functioning in a massively dissimilar situation. It is important for the managers of these organisations to reflect the economic, political and soci al climate of the region in which the company is going to function. Having a rigorous research about the republic in which the company is going to operate will enable the managers to face the difficulties or challenges associated while operating overseas. While the global business context faces environmental issues, a small portion of international manager environmental substructure shows a crucial character for the business. Foreign rivalry impact local competitiveness and its safety is the primary reason that tests every manager ("Managing Human Resources in an International Business", 2017). In order to maintain their visibility in the international marketplace, they must deliberate the encounters and how they discourse them. Here are the main challenges faced by international managers: Communication is the key attribute of every prosperous industry, so international manager has to acquire some level of confidence in the local language and that must be their first importance before interacting with any native client. Not having rudimentary knowledge of local language will create problem for the managers regarding not being able to directly coming to the point. Culture is another problem for managers (Mackenzie, 2010). Not having knowledge about local way of gesture sometimes makes clients unhappy. If the sales are increasing overseas, international managers have to find the means to steer language barricades that may increase towards customer service centre of the organisation.  Ã‚   According to Klebber Terra, the director of operations at the Samarco mine in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, stated that BHP Billiton is facing problem while operating in Brazil. The CEO of BHP Billiton, Andrew Mackenzie stated that the company is very sympathetic and distraught on the operation problem faced by the community. Dealing the business operations in different countries with different cultures, background and language, always creates issues for the service department of an organisation. In these situations, it is important for the international manager of BHP Billiton to have native call centres for the customers which can handle the issues. An organisation business operation could falter quickly if international manager of the company are unaware of the commercial legitimacies and guidelines of the nation in which the business is functioning. Governmental controls, tax rules and health and safety principles vary from site to site and country to country ("International Culture", 2017). It is important for the international managers to study the laws that disturb the corporation’s processes. It is important for them to direct all the necessary investigation and connect the findings and prospects all over the business. It is important for them to understand the several rules and guidelines that manage the company merchandises and services. International managers must conform to the tax laws of the dissimilar countries along with constitutional export conventions. The management of BHP Billiton preserves ethical dealings with the administrations and their assistances, officials and staffs. The company’s aptitude to bear business is unswervingly influenced by foreign government decision making and it is significant for the firm international manager to have exposed and productive dealings with the government. In the Samarco disaster, the town of Bento Rodrigues was completely destroyed. It is evident that the Samarco mine is jointly owned by mining giants Vale of Brazil and BHP Billiton of Australia. With the disaster, and with the country’s laws and regulations, BHP Billiton and its ventured company had to sign a deal with the state and federal public prosecutors to pay US$262 million in damages. It is important for the executive of BHP Billiton to keep more concern about the environmental issues of a foreign state so that it could prevent penalty from the foreign government.     Ã‚   An organisation is likely to deal with foreign currency while operating overseas. In order to complete the transactions successfully, international managers must study the conversation rate to keep up with the up-to-date exchange rates ("International Business- An Overview", 2017). Having mistaken in bookkeeping due to inappropriate calculations could generate a false reportage and legal difficulties, which can reduce the solidity of company’s foot line. International managers for preventing incorrect calculations and other matters must progress a clear company-wide strategy to initiate the workers on accounting performs including the foreign exchange.    Another issue in currency is its ups and downs. For BHP Billiton, the fall in the Chinese market is a very big concern. It is important to state here that China represents the 61% of the global seaborne iron ore demand. For BHP Billiton, sales in China generated $21.6 billion during 2012. But a lower economic growth in China market resulted in the lower prices and demands of the company’s products and also negatively impacted in company’s international market result. The revision of International business prominence on the specific difficulties and chances that appear as an establishment is functioning in more than one nation. In real terms, worldwide business includes the most generalised study for the business field that is modified towards an equitably unique across the boundary situation (Guedes & Faria, 2011). Directing worldwide business is like operating a new field where worldwide managers have to absorb the influences that are essential for operating in that field. Managers who are shrewd in recognizing new conducts of doing trade that please the altering primacies of foreign administrations have a clear and chief modest benefit over their participants who cannot or will not familiarize to these altering primacies. It is evident that BHP Billiton is in the commodities business and this is the thing that most of the foreign investors recognise. As the organisation operation is based on the prices it obtain for their oil, gas, minerals in the world markets, which have been subjected to substantial volatility. It is important for the firm betrothed in worldwide business doings to include a global viewpoint. An establishment supervisory principles can be demarcated on the basis of three board categories namely, services or products to the market assisted, abilities and consequences. But, these viewpoint of global business in significant to recognise and appreciate the complete meaning of international trade (Future international manager, 2014). An establishment international manager must openly define the company’s guiding values in terms of international mandate instead of allowing company’s guiding principles on the terms of international adjust to its national happenings. Having a global outlook on the firm’s basic declaration of purpose will assist in focus of the executives on the opportunities outside the domestic market.   Ã‚  Ã‚   For international managers, it is important to formulate and implement a set of commercial plans for defining the company’s guiding philosophies in the marketplace of a foreign land (Dlabay & Scott, 2011). These guiding principles relative to all the other things should deliver a long-term view of what the establishment is trying to become and achieve and should provide way to the central and subsidiary directors operations with the internationalisation of its markets. Every strategy of international manager comprises a number of secondary approach options. The decision procedure that usually develops in the marketing approach area is an operational one (Dlabay & Scott, 2011). As the international managers develop around a decision circle, previously particular strategies need to be modified. The shares of BHP Billiton got tumbled after the announcement of the company about writing down its multi-billion dollar US assets with its news on the Samarco mine, Brazil. The amount of issues a firm faces is increased while it starts operating in an international market. In international market, decision making process of the managers becomes more complicated. It is evident as one is dealing with multiple currency, legal marketing, and political, economic and cultural schemes (Czinkota, Ronkainen & Moffett, 2011). Geographic and demographic factors are the other things that differ widely. In the international context, it is crucial that the strategic level of the international level must be according to the operating country due to the rigidness of the international environment. A company can change in its implementation while operating nationally in a few months, but if a country is operating globally, contract, custom and law may interfere to make the changes more difficult and could take several years to get settled.; It is evident that starting a business is tough and when an individual is looking for international expansion, it is even tougher. But there are many benefits in expensing the business on a foreign land. There are many advantages such as tax incentives, international partnerships, faster growth and streamlining efficiencies. As per the international situation of BHP Billiton, I learned that the main problem is on the momentum of crafting solutions to the international problems. From my point of view, it is important for the international managers to consider the economic, political and social climate of the region in which the business is going to function. Having a more deep study about the Brazil town situation would have given opportunity to the company to prevent the mine accident. Having a concentrated research about the republic in which the company is going to operate will enable the managers to face the difficulties or challenges associated while operating overseas. Another t hing I think is important is the visibility of the international marketplace. In order to maintain the visibility in the international marketplace, international manager of BHP Billiton must deliberate the encounters and how they address them. If the sales are increasing overseas, international managers have to find the ways to steer language barriers that may increase towards customer service centre of the organisation. With the decrease in The Chinese market, the executives of BHP Billiton could also look on other developing economic countries such as India. An establishment international manager of the stated firm must explicitly define the company’s guiding principles in terms of global mandate instead of allowing company’s guiding principles on the terms of international adjust to its domestic activities. Another thing that international managers must consider is the agenda for international business of the countries. It is important to look out for the countries that have strong programs in place to help foreign investors and could help in making the process as smooth as possible. Czinkota, M., Ronkainen, I., & Moffett, M. (2011).  International business. Hoboken (N.J.): Wiley. Dlabay, L., & Scott, J. (2011).  International business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Future international manager. (2014). [Place of publication not identified]. Guedes, A., & Faria, A. (2011). Globalization and International Management: In Search of an Interdisciplinary Approach.  Brazilian Administrative Review. Retrieved from https://www.scielo.br/pdf/bar/v4n2/v4n2a03.pdf International Business- An Overview. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.pondiuni.edu.in/storage/dde/downloads/ibiii_ibe.pdf International Culture. (2017).  THE ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. Retrieved from https://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/iup_cult/_docs/_RUGM_Chapter-05.pdf Mackenzie, M. (2010). Manager communication and workplace trust: Understanding manager and employee perceptions in the e-world.  International Journal Of Information Management,  30(6), 529-541. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.04.001 Managing Human Resources in an International Business. (2017). The Internationalization Of Business. Retrieved from https://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/728/745520/chapter13.pdf Teagarden, M. (2017). International Business in a Wobbly World.  Thunderbird International Business Review,  59(5), 565-566. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tie.21914

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Individual Case for Taxation Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual for Taxation - Case Study Example ify for both options because of their recent house contract and the mortgage firm’s advice for closing in the course of the fourth week of December 2013. Since the couple’s itemized deductions are far less than their standard deductions, standard deduction is a favorable decision (J. K. Lasser Institute, 2012). To be certain, Michael and Frances can have their lawyer or tax experts draft their returns for both alternatives. Michael and Frances have been handing over joint returns for a while. Inflation fluctuations and changes in the current permanent tax laws are made to aid in easing the marriage penalty. The couple should always want to employ the standard deduction technique that offers them the largest tax merit (Wodon, 2014). As a couple, Michael and Frances spend moderately on health insurance, loan payments, state and domestic taxes, generous contributions, and a range of miscellaneous item. As a result, the couple would largely consider itemizing deductions. However, the recent purchase of a new home makes itemizing option unfavorable. The situation in 2013 is that the purchase of the new home eased the couple’s filing of their joint return owing to paying the deduction of acquisition mortgage and unreimbursed employee business costs. The sum amount of standardized deductions is far more than the itemized ones (Eng, Galper, Ivsin, and Toder, 2013). In 2013, the couple can prepare the joint return by making standard deductions. A standard deduction should allow the couple to go into itemized deductions in the future. A standard deduction in 2014 should allow the couple to choose the most valuable deduction alternative for them or compel them to select one or the other. An issue I identified with the situation is the couple’s filing condition. The case study does not specify whether the couple has ever filed a joint tax return separately before 2013. If so, then the couple’s record should indicate joint effort towards deciding the type of

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Is Current UK Government Policy On Training And Development Fit For Essay

Is Current UK Government Policy On Training And Development Fit For Purpose - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the policy of the United Kingdom on training and development is reflected in the document, Further education-new horizon: Investing in skills for sustainable development, produced by the United Kingdom Department for Business, Innovation & Skills or BIS. One important feature of the UK government policy is that â€Å"the case for state investment is strongest for young people and those with low skills†. In particular, the focus is on â€Å"young people aged 19 up to 24†.   However, â€Å"the further education resource budget will be reduced by 25%†. This is a very important feature of the UK government policy on training on development. The UK â€Å"will progressively introduce a new loan facility, which will remove grant funding from the 2013/14 academic year, providing the capacity to sustain learner participation with government-backed fee loans for individuals aged 24 or over studying at qualifications at leve l 3 and above†. BIS elaborated â€Å"there will be no up-front costs and the repayments made on an income-contingent basis.† In addition, â€Å"the government has made available  £129m in 2013-14 and  £398m in 2014-15 for these fee loans†. The BIS claims, however, that while public investment will be reduced, the UK government will â€Å"free the sector from top-down targets and direction to enable a truly demand-led system to develop†. The government will seek â€Å"greater contributions from individuals and employers who benefit most and can afford to pay†. For 2011-12, â€Å"the total Teaching and Learning budget will be  £3.1bn, of which  £605m will be earmarked for adult apprenticeships†. However, spending on adult apprenticeships and, relative to the previous government, â€Å"will increase by up to  £250m by the end of the SR period†. Informal adult and community learning will be retained although they will be â€Å"r eformed†. There will also be â€Å"progression routes for those looking for a way into formal learning. Importantly, â€Å"there will also be helpful for those who are unemployed on active benefits†. The UK government policy on training and development comes with â€Å"fundamental policy changes†. The â€Å"Train Gain† will be abolished. â€Å"Funding for workplace training on SMEs will be prioritized†.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Value of lessons Essay Example for Free

Value of lessons Essay When the monster recounts the early memories of his life, he explains: it was a long time before I could distinguish between the operations of my various senses. This helps us to sympathise with him as we view him similarly to a helpless new born child. By Shelley providing this knowledge of his innocence, it acts as evidence that he is not an evil creature, and started his life with no malicious intentions, which helps us to identify his motives which occur later in his narrative and drive him to commit his crimes. In his narrative the monster also tells us of the friendship he formed with the cottagers during his observation of them from his hovel. He expresses how he longed to join them, but dared not because the only interaction he has had with humans before this point had left him miserable from the barbarity of man. We sympathise with the monsters feelings of isolation and loneliness as it is clear that the monster longs to feel compassion and belonging, but knows from his previous human reception that this is not a possibility. He takes to doing favours for the cottagers, such as collecting firewood, in an effort to ease their sadness and poverty. We find it endearing how the kindness of the cottagers towards each other inspires the monster to show kindness towards them, this shows evidence of the monster longing to be part of the family which he so avidly admires, thus furthering our sympathy towards him. As the monsters knowledge develops it brings him both happiness and misery. He first feels happiness, as his new found knowledge of language instils him with the hope that this acquired skill will ensure the acceptance of the cottagers. He hopes that upon presenting himself to them his gentle demeanour and conciliating words should win their favour and afterwards their love. This hope is heightened by arrival of spring causing his past recollections of cruelty and the hard learned lessons of the barbarity of man to be blotted from his memory with the disappearance of winter. This increases our sympathy as these delusional hopes he has created for himself emphasise his desperate longing and determination to be accepted and loved. As the monster then continues to observe the cottagers with his new found understanding of their language, he comes to learn more about the strange system of human society. He discovers that he does not possess any of the qualities that will allow him to be accepted amongst mankind, which brings him great misery. He comes to question his existence: was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth? This realisation brings the monster great pain, which Shelley emphasises by its contrast with the hopes and happiness that his earlier knowledge gave him. The monster tells of when he went to speak with De Lacey, the blind man who lives in the cottage, in an attempt to gain his friendship. De Lacey responds to the monster with kindness and sympathises with his plight. He cannot see the monster and believes him to be human, so here Shelley is convincing the reader of the monsters humanity by showing us that only his appearance sets him apart from other humans. The children return home to the cottage during the conversation between De Lacey and the monster. Upon seeing him they react with horror and Conternation. When Felix struck the monster violently with a stick, we feel greatly sympathetic towards him as he was not given the chance to prove himself the way had done to the old man. Shelleys use of this anti-climax reflects the monsters disappointment at the outcome of his plan and helps the reader to empathise with him. This empathy is also created through his language, as he expresses his feelings of pain and anguish and how his heart sank within him as with bitter sickness. The fact that he could have torn [Felix] limb from limb but refrained, conveys how defeated he feels at the loss of his only chance of being accepted by his protectors, who have now become his attackers. The monsters final appearance in the novel shows his reaction to seeing his creators dead body. He is immediately filled with remorse for his crimes and begs for Frankensteins forgiveness: Oh Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? The fact that the monster mourns his creators death, after Frankenstein had shown him nothing but rejection and hatred, shows that the monster is a very compassionate creature. This helps us to feel that we can still sympathise with monster, despite his crimes, as it reassures us that it was the cruelty that life had dealt him which drove him to commit these murders. I think Shelley wanted us to realise that Frankenstein was not born evil; it was the brutal treatment he received by mankind that turned him to be bitter and resentful. Perhaps Shelleys intended to convey that society could have this same effect on anyone, and urge readers to think of the consequences that their actions could have on the lives of others. Or perhaps Shelley is simply urging us not to judge a book by its cover, as the monster is judged solely on his appearance throughout the novel. More specifically, this could be aimed at scientists, like Frankenstein, warning them to think of the potential consequences of their work. Although Shelleys motive for this novel is unclear, evidently she intended for her novel to teach readers a lesson, and I feel the sympathy she creates for the monster helps us to appreciate the value of these lessons.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Life of Vincent Van Gogh Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Life of Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of all time. He is known for his paintings and is hailed as the quintessential expressionist painter in history. Yet, Van Gogh lived one of the most troubling lives one could ever imagine. Almost every painting can be viewed as a look into his troubled soul. Van Gogh’s Paintings today can be sold for millions of dollars, but during his life time he sold a single painting for a measly 40 francs. Van Gogh’s legacy has left behind stories of greatness and sadness having to do with both his personal life and his career as an artist. Vincent Van Gogh was born near Brabant, Belgium, the son of a minister. In 1869, he got a position at the art dealers, Goupil and Co. in The Hague, through his uncle, and worked with them until he was dismissed from the London office in 1873. He worked as a schoolmaster in England (1876), before training for the ministry at Amsterdam University (1877). After he failed to get a post in the Church, he went to live as an independent missionary among t...