Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Security And Confidentiality Of The Information - 1428 Words

Security and Confidentiality of the information Introduction In this task, I have been asked summarise the Data Protection Act (1998) and Computer Misuse Act (1990). Also I will have to explain the ethical issues surrounding the code of practice (when using email and internet) and information ownership and talk about the importance of backing up information and impact of increasing the sophistication of systems. [P3] Legal Issues – The Data Protection Act 1998 is the act to control how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. All businesses, organisations and even the government must abide by this Act so that personal information must be used lawfully and fairly this means that everyone who has access to your personal information must use it for limited, specifically stated purposes and must inform the corresponding person of how his/her personal information is going to be used. Below are some of the strict rules organisations/businesses must follow when in possession of your personal information: †¢ Used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive. †¢ Accurate. †¢ Kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary. †¢ Handled according to people’s data protection rights. †¢ Kept safe and secure. †¢ Not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is the act that makes the unauthorized access to a computer or network systems illegal. Force entry or hacking is illegal because when anShow MoreRelatedSecurity Privacy Confidentiality of Health Information in the Philippines2076 Words   |  9 PagesSECURITY, PRIVACY, AND CONFIDENTIALITY (SPC) OF HEALTH INFORMATION IN THE PHILIPPINES DEFINITION OF TERMS Due to the special nature of health information, the legal and technical aspects of the concepts of security, privacy, and confidentiality (SPC) have a particular meaning in the context of healthcare. Privacy is the right of an individual to limit access to others to some aspect of their person. A more specific type of privacy is informational privacy (which is the notion of privacy we are mostRead MoreThe Information Security Team Commits Confidentiality, Integrity, And Availability Of Assets1205 Words   |  5 PagesThe Information Security team commits to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of assets. Even more, security policies clarify how the company intends to protect company assets against similar breaches in the future. For example, the Monitoring and Logging Policy define the following procedures to review: systems logs; access reports; administrator and operator logs; fault logs. Monitoring and logging are important to any information security program. In general, monitoring ensures usersRead MoreEffectiveness Of The Security Controls On The Confidentiality, Integrity And Availability Of Information At The Organization s Disposal783 Words   |  4 Pagesthe breach, effectiveness of the security controls in place and the impact on the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information at the organization’s disposal due to the breach. As a next step, investigation should focus on checking if the intrusion was caused due to any malware. If any malwares were detected, IR team should start analyzing the traits of the malware. If the IT team didn’t have the skillset to do so, then our organization’s IT security partners, an external consultingRead MoreA Security Plan Policy For An Dod Information Protection From Loss Of Confidentiality, Integrity, And Availability1246 Words   |  5 Pagescivilian personnel. With such a huge organizat ion does come with a huge network, and security infrastructure network, and the burden to protect the information transferred or stored on that network. This means information is a strategic asset to the Department of Defense; it’s therefor the goal of this security policy to provide guidelines of implementing information security and awareness to insure that information transferred or stored over the DoD network is appropriately protected, shared, andRead MoreRelationship Between Info Sec And Cia Model1437 Words   |  6 PagesCIA 4) Confidentiality with Policy, Technology and Education. Two examples with how confidentiality is lost with policy and technology on Storage/Processing/Transmission aspects. The practice of defending digital information from unauthorized Access, Use, Recording, Disruption, Modification and Destruction is Information Security. There comes a question as to how do we start building or evaluating a security system. The answer is CNSS model or McCumbers cube (Committee on National Security Systems)Read MoreInformation Classification Plan For Kingsley Media Enterprises1212 Words   |  5 Pagesreport is introductory to an information classification plan related to Kingsley Media Enterprises This report explains the importance of information classification and introduces three labels that can define any information, and the countermeasure that aid to mitigate the risk and impacts of information being exposed. Proper security measures must be accompanied with information classification and practical workshops for employees to learn how to label information. Read MoreMedical Professionals Should Always Value A Patient s Ethical Right833 Words   |  4 PagesMedical professionals should always value a patient’s ethical right to privacy and confidentiality. Under the HIPPA law, there are still concerns with the protection of patient privacy; therefore, healthcare professionals must confront the growing technological environment and find ways to increase access security, as well as discipline employees that violate a patient’s privacy. Electronic health records can be beneficial to providers from a cost and efficiency standpoint, but are patients reallyRead MoreEssay On Non Technical Manager896 Words   |  4 PagesSecurity for Non-Technical Managers Information security is one of the weakest links on the information system management. Thus, non-technical managers lack knowledge on the subject. This increases the risk of threats by driving them to comply with the organization security policy. To protect, the organization information security assets, non- technical managers should be exposed to the three main areas of accountability such as Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA). By doing so, itRead MoreNetwork Security Applications1063 Words   |  5 PagesNetwork Security Applications and Countermeasures |Domains |CIA Functions | | |Ethical Hacker |User domain |Confidentiality | |Intrusion Detection system / intrusion |WAN Domain |Integrity | |prevention system | | | |Access controlsRead MoreChallenges Faced By Large And Small Enterprises1372 Words   |  6 Pagesthe rise in increasing number and complexity of attacks, vigilant approaches to security in both large and small enterprises are a must. These days even a small sized business organizations as well as medium sized organizations have lot of money due to repeated fraudulent transactions. These are mainly due to the fraudulent electronic financial transactions. Individuals are really the weakest connection in any security composition. A great many people are not cautious about keeping secrets, for example

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Initiative Of The Pathways Programs Essay - 874 Words

Achieving goals on the roadway to twenty-first century jobs is the initiative of the Pathways Programs. These programs help high school students and adults achieve a college bond high school diploma or equivalent, and technical skills that will build a career and educational pathway. Community Colleges work toward â€Å"partnerships with K-12 schools, the private sector, government, higher education and other entities as one cohesive unit,† preparing students for industry occupations and furthering educational opportunities for students. (Campbell, 2012) These benefits go beyond the individual affecting the colleges, communities and workforce needs of local industries. The changing tide in colleges from the traditional 18-24 year old students to the non-traditional student that attends school and works or re-trains for career advancement works well with Pathway Programs. All students should leave high school with a college ready diploma even if they choose a technical or trade career, recognized as one of the goals of the Common Core State Standards. (Campbell, 2012) Pell Grants are available for adults entering the Career Pathways programs making college success easier and the early numbers are showing an upward trend in retention to graduation rates for adult learners in these programs. (Jobs for the Future, n.d.) The integration of Common State Standards and Common Career Technical Core readies students for the workforce and community technical colleges. (Pahlow Show MoreRelatedThe Bridge Of Opportunity Initiative778 Words   |  4 PagesThe Bridges To Opportunity Initiative helps to ready low-income under skilled adult students to obtain workforce ready skills using community and technical colleges to achieve jobs with livable wages and an educational pathway. (Ford Foundation, n.d.) The Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-Best) works with adults who want to better their basic educational skills to increase employability and the opportunity to advance their education in a career development direction. (Wachen, JenkinsRead MoreHow Does The Linked Learning Approach Increase The College And Career Readiness Of Hispanic And African American Males At Essay1388 Words   |  6 Pagescollege and career readiness of Latino and African American males at the high school level? 11. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: There are many factors that could affect the college and career readiness of African American and Latino males, however programs that marry career and technical skills with academics like the Linked Learning Approach may help to improve that readiness drastically Growing up, my family has always been close, especially my brother and I. Although we are six years apart, weRead MoreReflection On Work Experience842 Words   |  4 Pagesassignments and work experience regarding my career pathways. As I look back and reflect on my time at this course, I am able to explore the graduate qualities and capabilities I have achieved over the duration of this study period, as well as the skills and abilities I need to improve on. Graduate qualities are skills that have been learned by students throughout the course of their schooling life, for example, it is a learning outcome of a program specifically stating the things thats been learnedRead MoreThe Postsecondary State Policy Network972 Words   |  4 Pagesassists states in setting policies that will lead to student success and completion. The supporters of this initiative are Achieving the Dream, Completion by Design and Student Success Center. The primary focus is supporting structured student pa thways from connection to college through completion. The four pathways are connection, entry, progress and completion (2014). I agreed with this initiative and believe the network is well needed, and is committed to help states create legislative policies thatRead MoreCurrent Event : Child Abuse Prevention909 Words   |  4 Pagesmembers who participated struggled in raising awareness of this painful subject but was recognized as something that needs to be confronted and discussed to prevent the abuse and neglect of children throughout the state (Smith, D. 2015). One of the program managers of Idaho’s child welfare services, Marian Woods, said there is good news to share, as research shows it is possible to keep children safe; however, this requires the help of everyone in the community to take part, especially in creating andRead MoreHealth Care Quality Improvement Process Essay1212 Words   |  5 Pagesimprovement initiatives work best when geared toward an individual organization’s resources, procedures and current services. Improving Quality in a Complex Environment Caregiving organizations use process mapping to outline their practice and processes. The map visually represents organizational service sequences and processes, while revealing possible improvement opportunities. Organizations optimize their clinical practices using process maps to achieve positive outcomes called critical pathways. SimilarRead MoreComparing The Philosophies Of The Institutions1338 Words   |  6 PagesVision Goals Northern Illinois University/ Public â€Å"According to Northern Illinois University 2016 The Division of Student Affairs Enrollment Management supports student academic and personal success through strategic recruitment and retention initiatives. The Division makes efforts to ensure student welfare and provide opportunities for engagement, leadership, and services that promote persistence through the collegiate experience in preparation for the entirety of their lives.† â€Å"According to NorthernRead MoreBuilding A New Referral At The Aduol s Sexual Assault1716 Words   |  7 Pagespolicies between existing and new systems can be difficult since multiple representatives have individual interests and goals. In the span of a few days, Aduol and her mother see 11 people; some of whom they see multiple times. A more established pathway must be developed to increase coordination while addressing the needs of the individual in the context of the community. It is evident that most representatives know what is needed to do their jobs but do not understand the big picture beyond theRead MoreCrime Prevention in New Orleans729 Words   |  3 Pagesrebuilding neighborhoods also helped the crime rate. These initiatives are a way to get younger people off the streets by mentoring and educating at risk youth. The government inaugurated a new approach for reducing crime by creating an organization called â€Å"NOLA for Life.† It was established to provide crime prevention strategies for determining the causes of the problem and involves a strengthening in the Law Enforcement with Intervention Programs that have been proven effective in other cities aroundRead MoreModule 7 : Leadership Development1528 Words   |  7 Pageslearning opportunities, the authors discussed the growing amount of leadership knowledge available. They also discussed the increase in leader development programs offered at â€Å"institutions of higher education† and â€Å"within work organizations† (Hackman Johnson, 2013). They highlighted that work organization are implementing leadership programs to improve leadership success. (McDermott, Kidney, Flood, 2011) reported that, â€Å"From an organizational perspective, a growing body of evidence suggests

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Fractional reserve banking dissertation Free Essays

Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction Fractional reserve banking concepts, theories and a real life case of debate by the Bank of England Governor Mervyn King have been investigated in this dissertation from a perspective differed to the mainstream. There have been controversy on the discussion on the nature and uprising of fractional reserve banking. We will write a custom essay sample on Fractional reserve banking dissertation or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, the author believes a need for awareness on the history and nature on subject is worth identifying. The approach mentioned above is expected to form a new angle on the issue investigated and conducting further insight for a more dynamic instead of a static framework in forthcoming research. Based on extensive reviews on texts, books, research papers and websites. Appropriately, from the literature review, the author would consider fractional reserve banking as a widely spread banking system in which allows banks to create money in a banking system by lending a fraction of its deposits while keeping only a small fraction of the original deposit as a reserve available for withdrawal and daily operations. This kind of de facto banking operation system has been legit and practiced by all commercial banks. Accordingly, a vase amount of publications have been stating the goldsmiths were the inventors of this banking mechanism. In this dissertation, the author would be looking into the background of a brief history of fractional reserve banking in the 17th century, as this operation has been operating throughout the globe in every commercial banks for decades. In addition, a critical review Fractional Reserve Banking as a system as a whole and its affects on our modern day society. And by explaining some common misconception on fractional reserve banking and full reserve banking. In addition, evaluating a case of speech by the Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and the Bank of England’s view on this banking system and concluding with some perspective on future development and reformation on the current fractional reserve baking system. 1.2 Research Aim The aim of this research is to investigate, identify and indicate the existing critical factors and problems behind the fractional reserve banking system in the UK by going through a critical literature review and a case on the Bank of England’s Governor Mervyn Kings’ speech on the subject and identifying possible reform suggestions. In order too achieve the research aims, the following objectives below have been set. 1.3 Research Objectives This research approach is expected to investigated and identify the background history, insolvency and possible reform suggestions in the current fractional banking system in the UK. It will mainly focus on critical analysis and literature review and case study on fractional reserve banking, full reserve banking, critiques on fractional reserve banking and possible reform suggestions from a financial and ethical perspective. In order too fulfill research approach, the research objectives have been created and summarized as follows: Firstly, identify the concept and background of fractional reserve banking, capital reserve ratios, full reserve banking and reform proposals by reviewing literatures. Secondly, find out the history and possible up rising of fractional reserve banking. Thirdly, distinguish misconceptions and critical analysis on fractional reserve banking. Fourthly, explore and recognize key factors and problems above the theories by critical analysis on the selected case study. Fifthly, perceive possible reform suggestions to the current fractional reserve banking system. 1.4 Research Method In order to achieve a high standard quality of result, it would be important to identify the research method and methodology. General business research stages will be followed in the research process. The general business research stages includes defining the objective, planning a research design, planning a sample, collecting data, analyzing the data, framing a conclusion and lastly, preparing the report (Zikmund,2003) The main research method in this research approach would be literature review. In order to maintain a high quality and thorough systemic research; gathering supportive information, theories and frameworks includes published researches, academic journals, case studies, academic publications is necessary. 1.5 Dissertation Structure Chapter one is an introduction briefly introducing some background information, research aim, and objectives for this research approach. Chapter two largely focus on the relevant literature reviews to the research project which consists of history on fractional reserve banking, definition and concepts and misconceptions on the subject. The literature review is to identify supportive and relevant information to the research area and focus. Chapter three will be providing an overview on the methodology and research method selection, supportive software used for extensive comparative analysis and the chapter will also be identifying data formulation. Chapter four will be revealing the research result, findings and case analysis, which is supportive, and relevance to the further discussion. Chapter five will be concluding the research paper with suggestions for reform and points out critical factors uncovered in this research approach, and future improvement. 1.6 Limitation Because of exceptionally limited time in the whole research process, the result and quality of the research paper is therefore in constriction. On the other hand, a lack of up to date literatures and researches in terms of critiques on fractional reserve banking has inevitably increased the difficulty in acquiring expressive and reliable data in the systemic approach. As stated above, therefore the author would have a level of difficulties in obtaining the perfect research result. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Data Sources The research frameworks are well organized and carried out accurately in order to achieve a research result as precise as possible. First of all, to understand the importance of the research methodology, the research process will be identified and explained. In this case, relevant literature review from all possible sources and formats from books, journal articles, thesis and the internet will be included as the primary source of data. The secondary, research data format would be using a case study as its function is to verify arguments from other sources and helps drawing views and debates on the nature of the subject. 3.2 Methodology Approach 3.2.1 Data Samples The method adopted for this research project involved extended on-site visits to Thomson One Banker and Emerald Journals. In addition to it, SSRN research database Accordingly, Thomson One Banker represents the most important data source. A relevant case from the data sources was carefully selected to achieve a better understanding of the factors and critiques on fractional reserve banking. The author also implemented additional press research to verify the data in the Financial Times and The Economist. 3.3 Selection of Research Methodology In this research paper, the author tends to apply case study approach and sources of data from literatures. Which emphasize on observing and reasoning as a result of understanding the nature of the phenomena in terms of expressing the observation the author’s point of view. The case study method is also known as the realistic analysis that studies a current phenomenon within its present-day and real life perspective involving various sources of data (Yin, 2003). Anderson (1998) added that the case study approach is about the exploration of contextual realities and dissimilarities between what was planned and what have actually occurred in terms of who, why and how things happen. As well, Edge and Coleman (1986) mentioned that the case studies enable researchers to gain high degree of confidence in their judgment and verdict, which as well improve the degree of humility. The case study approach is a common use of technique of corresponding to what, who, when and how things happen. Therefore, the case study approach is chosen in order to assist the author to deliver a conclusive debate. From a several source of supportive evidence, literature review and case study enables the author to look deeply into real life happenings. Furthermore, An explanatory case study offers the data and perception based on cause-effect relationships, responding to whom, why and how things happen in its natural context that includes the point of view of the participants (Kos, 1991). And throughout the methodology progress, it has been a great media of increasing the existing understanding of the processes by businesses and other organizations implemented, this is because it is a way of creating consistent and yet valid evidence. 3.4 Limitations Arising from the extensive case studies and literature reviews, the research methods can hardly be factually completed due to the limitations of the research approaches. There are at least three obstacles in obtaining unbiased references from the methods chosen. Potential inadequacies in this research include the large amount of data, which may have led to missing important data or overweighting some findings due to focusing on a particular and big set of data. Besides, it is possible that revisiting the data would reveal other issues and aspects would occur. Moreover, a research study generally is limited to descriptions of what the author gathered from the case study and literature reviews analyzed, which also limits the ability to generalize the results. On the other hand, the research study is time-consuming to gather and even so it takes lots of time to analyze as cutting corners on either of these aspects can probably cause to lower the value and credibility of the research paper. As a result, the author might or might not give valuable data in the time given. Besides, the author faces the challenges in representing of the information gathered. Every researcher has different ways of presenting the same set of data based on different styles and emphasis which leads the author to have difficulties in summarizing the data collected. Shionoya (1992) defines that methodology is known as the philosophical study of reason behind a prescribed use of methods. Consequently, studies of various definitions, concepts and theories are preferred to verify the functions and importance of methodology. This study correspondingly indicated the purpose for applying different methods and clarified the motive of a specific method which in terms of aiding in framing the particular discussion. Consistently, this theory is considered as predictable and recognizable. As quoted from Easterby-Smith et al (1993), the discipline which investigates and evaluates methods of inquiry, of validation, of teaching etc., a theory within that discipline. It is important to pay attention that methodology is about method and not the same as method (Easterby-Smith et al, 1993). Accordingly, as there are different emphasis within methodology and method, this theory has distinguished the point on investigation and evaluation which has illustrated the methodology and method noticeably. However, in terms of the distinctive yet complex methodology, as the theories gathered and examined is the result the research in which that the real functions might influence the research, therefore, there are still many components to be considered within the research process. In fact, there are array of research methods available is widespread. Khairul (2008) mentioned that the choice of which method to employ is dependent upon the nature of the research problem. However, the actual suitability of a research method comes from the nature of the social phenomena should be explored (Morgan and Smircich, 1980). In substance, Remenyi and Williams (1993) presents as many as 20 types of qualitative methods and Creswell (1994) proposes basic methodological traditions of research namely ethnography, grounded theory, case study and positivism and post-positivism for phenomenological studies. In addition, Quinn-Patton (1987) offers various methods for consideration. Methodology unquestionably can be used as a decision-making procedure, which is carried out for guidelines of one or more analysis or suppositions. Khairul (2008) stated that a paradigm is a hypothetical design that likely to classifies the researcher’s reality yet one may not be aware of it. Consequently, there is a connection of theoretical decision making to strategies of collecting different backgrounds and different types of figures. Furthermore, the choice of which appropriate method to employ is important in terms of those available background information and figures. Under the circumstances, it is clear that every type of methodologies and methods has explicit and implicit research design. Accordingly, methodologies and methods shape the research process in terms of questions asked and answers received, as well it privileges specific ways of knowledge. In the main, paradigm and perspectives are taken adequate account in the framework of the research. Thus, research methodology is the way showing researchers conduct their researches. A paradigm is defined as a worldview representing people’s value judgments, norms, standards, frames of reference, perspectives, ideologies, myths, theories, and so forth, in terms of managing their thinking and actions (Gummesson, 1991). As cited from Leedy (1997), there are mainly two basic methodological traditions of research derives from the nature of reality, known as positivism and post positivism namely phenomenological. In order to maintain the analysis of the phenomena, sufficient information and precise elements might be required in positivist paradigm. Conversely, the use of several sources of information can help extensively in improving the validity and reliability of the research. By studying every aspect of the problem from as many angles as possible, and by using different sources of data, the case study research strategy is a powerful research tool in the hands of a capable researcher (Hodkinsons, 2001). It is believed that bias is everywhere but it can be minimized with following the steps as mentioned above. The author understands that it is the crucial task in the research paper to reduce the bias level. Reference Admati, A.R., DeMarzo, P.M., Hellwig, M.F., and Pfleiderer, P (2010), ‘Fallacies, Irrelevant Facts, and Myths in the Discussion of Capital regulation: Why Bank Equity is Not Expensive’ Stanford Business School, mimeo. Arrow, K.J. (1951), ‘An extension of the basic theorems of classical welfare economics’, In Proceedings of the Second Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability, ed. J. Neyman, Berkeley: University of California Press, 507–32. Arrow, K.J. and Debreu, G. (1954) ‘Existence of an equilibrium for a competitive economy’, Econometrica 22, 265–90. Bagehot, W. (1873), ‘Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market’, Wiley Sons, (reprinted 1999). Bank of England, (2009), ‘Financial Stability Report’, June 2009, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/fsr/2009/fsrfull0906.pdf Diamond, D.W. and Dybvig, P. H. (1983, 91(3)), ‘Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity’, The Journal of Political Economy, pp. 401-19. Brennan, S., Haldane, A. and Madouros, V. (2010), ‘The Contribution of the Financial Sector Miracle or Mirage?’, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2010/speech442.pdf Colangelo, A. and Inklaar, R. (2010), ‘Banking Sector Output Measurement in the Euro Area – A Modified Approach’, ECB Working Paper Series No. 1204. Debreu, G. (1951), ‘The coefficient of resource utilization’, Econometrica 19, 273–92. Fisher, I (1936), ‘100% Money’, Revised edition, New York: Adelphi Company, 1936. Friedman, M. (1960), ‘A Program for Monetary Stability’ New York: Fordham University Press, 1960. Haldane, A. (2010), ‘The $100 Billion Question’, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2010/speech433.pdf Hellwig, M. (1995), ‘Systemic Aspects of Risk Management in Banking and Finance’, Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 131 (4/2), 723-737. IMF (2009), ‘Global Financial Stability Report’, April 2009. Institute of International Finance (2010), ‘Interim Report on the Cumulative Impact on the Global Economy of Proposed Changes in the Banking Regulatory Framework’, available at http://www.ebf-fbe.eu/uploads/10-Interim%20NCI_June2010_Web.pdf Kay, J. (2008), ‘We let down diligent folk at the Halifax’, Financial Times, 24 September 2008 Kay, J. (2009), ‘Narrow Banking: The reform of banking regulation’, CSFI report. Keynes, J.M. (1936), ‘The general theory of employment, interest and money’, London: MacMillan (reprinted 2007). Kotlikoff, L.J. (2010), ‘Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World’s Ongoing Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking’, John Wiley Sons. Lacker, J.M. (2010), ‘Real Regulatory Reform’, available at http://www.richmondfed.org/press_room/speeches/president_jeff_lacker/2010/lacker_speech_201 00301.cfm Miles, D. (2010), ‘Leverage and Monetary Policy’, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2010/speech451.pdf Modigliani, F. and Miller, M.H. (1958), ‘The cost of capital, corporate finance and the theory of investment’, American Economic Review 48, 261–97. Pigou, A.C. (1920) ‘The Economics of Welfare’, 4th edition, London: Macmillan, 1932. Tobin, J (1987), ‘The Case for Preserving Regulatory Distinctions’, in Restructuring the Financial System, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 1987, pp. 167-183 Tucker, P. (2010a), ‘Resolution of Large and Complex Financial Institutions: The Big Issues’ available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2010/speech431.pdf Tucker, P. (2010b), ‘Shadow Banking, Financing Markets and Financial Stability’ available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2010/speech420.pdf Weitzman, M. L. (1974), ‘Prices vs. Quantities’, Review of Economic Studies, vol. 41, p.477-91. Wolf, M. (2010), ‘The challenge of halting the financial doomsday machine’, Financial Times, 20 April 2010. How to cite Fractional reserve banking dissertation, Essays

Friday, December 6, 2019

Television free essay sample

A protocol was demonstrated to the Federal Communications Commission. They were impressed but hesitant to commercialize it due to a black and white standard they had just created (â€Å"Leaving the FCC Website†). Eventually, after lawsuits pursued, the Federal Communications Commission created a colored television and broadcasting standard (Layman 425). Colored televisions started selling quickly when the Korean War had begun because Americans wanted to escape from the terror and violence of the war (Layman 424). They found escapism in their living rooms from the new gadget (Layman 424). Finally in 1972, the colored television sales exceeded black and white television sales, officially making the transition to nearly all homes. Overall, the television became popular after numerous obstacles, but it is now a huge part of society today. Communication was changed immensely locally and nationally after the television had become popular in so many households worldwide. At a local level, news stations would inform viewers of hazardous weather conditions such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and storms (Berg). We will write a custom essay sample on Television or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At a national level, the news station would inform viewers of important events or milestones. Some of those include political voting results or trending global news (Berg). One of the main things that was communicated through television was the Korean War. The Korean War was one of the reasons why television became so popular in the first place. Viewers were updated on the war just as television viewers nowadays are. They were able to keep up to date on the progression of it and also how we were doing in it. One last thing that was broadcasted to viewers was presidential debates. The largely known Eisenhower versus Stevenson election was greatly influenced by the television by using advertisements (Kaid). Not only did television help communicate news to viewers, it also changed how political information was shared. The first presidential election to be televised was the Eisenhower versus Stevenson campaign, though the winner may have only won due to the television broadcasting. Previous to television, all information regarding politics was spread through the radio or not broadcasted to society. Presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower found a simple way to sway the voters; that method involved using commercials (Kaid). The voters â€Å"have credited the spots with helping Eisenhower to craft a friendly, charming persona that contributed to his eventual electoral success† (Kaid). Another presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, refused to produce commercials because he was against electronic campaigning, which also made the election easier for Eisenhower (Kaid). Eisenhower won the election with great numbers due to his television advertising. The use of electronic advertising has drastically grown since then, greatly affecting presidential elections nowadays. It is one of the top methods of candidates communicating with their voters. The television impacts political debates and elections, greatly impacting societies present and future. Television has positively impacted the economy during the 1950’s to a great extent. It was becoming so popular that â€Å"It had become the central piece of ‘furniture’ in American homes, and the most potent engine for driving the postwar consumer economy. † (Berg). In 1951, roughly 1. 5 million television sets were sold in the United States (â€Å"1950s Economics†). Each television set costed $1,100 not including the remote (â€Å"1950s Economics†). That comes out to a total of $1,650,000,000 spent on televisions alone in 1951. Also, a large sum of money goes towards advertising. All of that money stimulates the economy and businesses. That revenue helped the United States recover from the poor post war economy. NBC, CBS, and ABC, all television corporations, had â€Å"provided the business model upon which the television business was built. † Those networks greatly contributed to the revenue generation from the television and were the most popular channels at the time. The economy in the 1950’s had tremendously grown about 40% since the last decade, mostly due to the television boom (Berg). Overall, communication, politics, and economics have been greatly influenced by the television boom in the 1950’s. Breaking news, presidential debates, and economy booms were introduced because of the television. It was primarily adopted by society to escape from the violence of the Korean War, but it soon became an item that was used just for the entertainment. (Layman 424) Technology and society would not be where it is today if it were not for this invention.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Was The Nationalist Movement For A Stronger free essay sample

Government A Reaction To Excesses Following The Revolution Essay, Research Paper The nationalist motion for a stronger authorities was non a reaction to excesses following the revolution, instead, it was a reaction to insufficiencies. The Articles of Confederation gave the United States Congress about no power in doing determinations that would find the Torahs of the state and revenue enhancement. The nationalist motion led to the constitutional convention that founded the United States Constitution that finally replaced the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was denied the right to revenue enhancement the citizens it represented. During peace clip this may hold been a minor issue but when it came clip to contend a war or or pay off the Revolutionary War debts, Congress found themselves imploring provinces for fiscal assistance. States seldom cooperated with Congress by giving them the money they asked for and Congress was powerless about this. We will write a custom essay sample on Was The Nationalist Movement For A Stronger or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It needed more power and authorization. If Congress wanted to add or alter a national jurisprudence, every province had to hold by signing it ; otherwise it failed, instead than the now, more appropriate, two tierces of the representatives. Congress was expected to manage the state s concern, such as military issues, province to province differences, foreign dealingss, and Native American personal businesss under such restrictions. The Articles of Confederation united the weak national authorities of the United States by merely two things: one was the United States Congress ; the other was an recognition of the fact that the provinces were physically close together. Congress united the provinces by trying to do Torahs and set guidelines. The provinces were moving as though they were each independent states, non one incorporate democracy. After the war, but before England had even officially signed a pact, merchant ships from Europe surged into American ports and offered consumer points. Peoples who had put off purchasing things during the war because of the British encirclement or because of personal adversity now jumped at the opportunity to purchase goods from Europe. A sudden resurgence of trade put the American economic system through tough times. When the difficult currency of gold and Ag left America, the American economic system suffered an about fatal blow. When merchandiser houses called in their debts, many American consumers found themselves about bankrupt. In 1783, officers of the Continental Army stationed in Newburgh, New York thought that Congress would disband them without funding their pensions. They began to buttonhole for alleviation. In March, meetings were scheduled to protest the Congress failings and fraudulences. Alexander Hamilton hoped that the ground forces had exerted adequate force per unit area on the authorities that Americans would amend the Articles. George Washington would non digest a authorities tally by the military no affair how severely he wanted a strong cardinal authorities. At Newburgh Washington went in forepart of his officers meaning to read a prepared statement. While groping with his spectacless before his work forces he commented, Gentlemen, you must excuse me. I have grown grey in your service and now happen myself turning blind. The exposure of General George Washington sent the military personnels to cryings, and the rebellion was broken that blink of an eye. In 1786, a veteran of the conflict of Bunker Hill, Daniel Shays and his armed neighbours closed a county courthouse in Massachusetts where creditors were actioning to prevent farm mortgages. They even threatened to prehend the federal armory at Springfield. Congress didn Ts have money to set down the rebellion but many affluent Bostonians did. The armory would hold fallen if it hadn t been for the the ground forces of four 1000 military personnels raised by the Bostonians to set down the rebellion. Even though the rebellion failed, in the following general election Massachusetts # 8217 ; electors selected representatives that were sympathetic to Shays demands. When intelligence of this unrest in Massachusetts spread throughout the state, many delegates were persuaded to go to the Philadelphia meeting to outline a new fundamental law. These events helped the patriots change people s heads ; they could non fault the Confederation but they thought stronger cardinal authorities could hold brought more stableness to the state. Contrary to being a reaction to surpluss, it was a last ditch effort to salve the United States of America. 3d4

Monday, November 25, 2019

Introducing Examples

Introducing Examples Introducing Examples Introducing Examples By Maeve Maddox A reader has asked me about my use of the abbreviation Ex. Does [Ex.] mean for example? Ive only known one abbreviation and thats eg. If that is the case can you please explain where eg came from? Sometimes I use Ex. to mean â€Å"for example† or â€Å"an example.† Sometimes I spell out â€Å"for example.† And when I’m feeling academic, I use e.g. to introduce a list of examples. E.g. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase exempli gratia, â€Å"for the sake of example.† In US usage, a comma always follows the abbreviation, but in British usage, a comma after e.g. is optional. In this article, e.g. is written in italics because I’m writing about it. In normal use, the abbreviation is written in roman type: e.g. In the old days, before handy Latin shortcuts were perceived as â€Å"elitist and discriminatory, â€Å"writers threw in e.g. without restriction. Nowadays, style guides impose limitations. The Chicago Manual of Style advises that if e.g. is used in â€Å"running text,† it should be â€Å"confined to parentheses or notes.† Writing in 1926, Fowler (Modern English Usage) didn’t put any restrictions on the use of e.g., but in 1965, his editor, Ernest Gowers, added this advice: [The abbreviation e.g.] should be reserved for footnotes or very concise writing; in open prose it is better to write â€Å"for example.† The most unkindest cut of all regarding the use of e.g. and its ilk came to my attention in 2008 when I read an article in the London Telegraph about a movement in Britain to purge English of such long-established Latin shortcuts: Local authorities have ordered employees to stop using [Latin terms] on documents and when communicating with members of the public and to rely on wordier alternatives instead. The terms to be dropped in official documents included bona fide, ad lib, etc., ad hoc, i.e., per se, quid pro quo, vice versa, via, and status quo. Among the replacement recommendations were â€Å"existing condition† or â€Å"state of things† for status quo, and â€Å"for this special purpose† in place of ad hoc. Here’s the rationale offered by Bournemouth Council: Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult. ESL learners shouldn’t have more difficulty than Latinless native speakers when it comes to learning the traditional Latin shortcuts. All they have to do is look them up in an English dictionary. However, we live in an age that bows before ignorance. Governing authorities and schools seem to feel that eliminating â€Å"hard words† is more desirable than taking the trouble to teach them. As for my use of the abbreviations e.g. and Ex., the only time I choose e.g. is in running text to introduce a short list of things or people to illustrate a concept: I especially love the nineteenth-century novelists, e.g., Herman Melville, Mrs. Gaskill, and George Eliot. And I don’t always put the e.g. bit in parentheses. Related post: The Difference Between e.g. and i.e.? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals11 Writing Exercises to Inspire You and Strengthen Your WritingWriting a Thank You Note

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Final exam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Final exam - Research Paper Example I interviewed two of the students who attended the festival, John and Stephen, and they attended the festival because they have a passion for music, particularly the guitar. In the interview, I asked the students about the course they were pursuing at the university, why they attended the festival, how they came to learn about the festival, and whether they would like to have similar festivals in the future. From the responses obtained, both interviewees were pursuing music as a major course, and that they attended the festival because they have a profound passion for music. Additionally, they noted that they learnt about the event through a poster and that they would like to have such events in the future. The turnout of the event was not pleasing and most of the students who attended the event were pursuing Music. This implies that the event was not publicized enough to grant a huge attendance. As a result, future events should be publicized not only through posters but also throug h word of mouth, posters, and announcements in gatherings. Task 2 I visited Nielsen Market Research Company on 2nd May. This was after I had informed the company about my visit and arranged for it. The organization takes immense pride in its focus group facilities. The company allowed me to be part of a focus group. The company’s focus group facilities are structured with the effort of experienced arbitrators and other company clients. The rooms provide a friendly surrounding for face to face interviews. The rooms can allow a capacity of not more than 30 people at a time. After arrival, I was directed to the focus group rooms where I was ushered in and offered a comfortable seat. I was involved in a focus group that aimed at identifying how to position Pepsi’s new low sugar drink. The discussion was controlled by a moderator. The walls were sound proof to avoid interruptions within the company and the room temperatures were controlled. The room was surveyed through cam eras, which I later learnt that the clients were watching us from a lounge within the company premises. Task 3 Product promotion aims at increasing the sales volume of the product. The effectiveness of such a promotion is determined through numerous factors such as increase in sales and recall among the consumers. Measures of the effectiveness of adverts can be direct or indirect. Direct measures aims at determining the relationship between the advert and product sales. Indirect measures determine factors such as product consciousness among the purchasers and customer recall. In the research to determine the effectiveness of condom adverts, the respondents were exposed to numerous questions. They were exposed to the following questions. i. Please name all the condom adverts that you can remember ii. Do you recognize this advert? (after exposure to the advert) iii. How many times have you seen the advert? a. Few b. None c. Many iv. Do you think the advert is relevant? a. Strongly Dis agree b. Disagree c. Agree d. Strongly Agree v. Would you buy the product? The respondents were exposed to the following adverts Advert 1 Advert 2 The

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Case analysis Scandinavian Airline Systems in 1988 (on vertical Essay

Case analysis Scandinavian Airline Systems in 1988 (on vertical integration) - Essay Example .. 6 2.4 Evaluation of SAS’s Strategies ................................................................ 7 3.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 8 Reference List .................................................................................................... 9 Scandinavian Airline Systems in 1988 1.0 Introduction The case study under consideration is pertaining to the airline industry. The quintessential aspects of the airline sector are that since the times of its genesis, it has always been profit driven, innovation dependent, service oriented, capital intensive and cyclical (Morrison & Winston 1995). In fact, it is a sector that has witnessed dramatic changes since 70s (Morrison & Winston 1995). Therefore, the airline that constitutes the focus of this case study, which is Scandinavian Airlines System, is not much different. Like most of what one may call successful airlines, SAS has also gone through altering phases of restructuring and consolidation. The period being discussed in this case study is the one spanning from early 70s to the late 80s. Over the years, SAS has metamorphosed from being a small yet innovative airline catering to a limited and localized customer base, to the one that has evolved into being an important international player. This journey for SAS group has not been sans challenges and difficulties that required strategic thinking and leadership pertaining to all the aspects of this business. In its quest for sustenance, SAS resorted to varied permutations and combinations of restructuring, alliances, vertical and horizontal integration. Aided with an all knowing hind sight, it will be really easy to analyze the decisions taken by the SAS leadership. Yes, it would not change SAS’s past. Still, such an analysis extends an important academic opportunity for learning and practical application of strategic management. 2.0 Analysis and Evaluation 2.1 External Environment and Internal Strategic Capabilities of SAS For the purpose of carrying out the SWOT analysis of SAS, it is imperative to have a desirable objective (Barney & Hesterly 2008). The stated objective is to assure the long term viability of the company in the altered external environment, as it existed in 1988. The major strength of SAS is its strong position in Europe and its global route network (Ghoshal et al. 1988). Right from its conception, the organization had an innovative and aggressive approach towards business (Ghoshal et al. 1988). The airline has a history of striking successful alliances in areas of technology, business processes, product distribution and reservation, an approach which so far has consolidated its position (Ghoshal et al. 1988). SAS has a firm financial footing as compared to its competitors (Ghoshal et al. 1988). It has successfully managed to horizontally restructure itself through employee education and empowerment (Ghoshal et al. 1988). The airline has a strong hold over the business traveller segment (Ghoshal et al. 1988). It has a positive reputation for efficiency, service quality and punctuality (Ghoshal et al. 1988). Through forward vertical integration it has developed into an â€Å"A to Z† airline in terms of product differentiation, product distribution and reservation (Ghoshal et al. 1988; Capon 2008). The organization has besides the airline, four other independent business units, which are profit earning and are

Monday, November 18, 2019

The Political System of Mexico and United States Research Paper - 1

The Political System of Mexico and United States - Research Paper Example This paper tells that over the years, Canada has adopted a different type of government in contrast to that of the United States. Since it gained independence from Great Britain, America has chosen the federal presidential form. Canada has long been federal parliamentary. Mexico, on the other hand, seems to base its government structure with America. The United Mexican States (commonly known as Mexico) has no royal families, unlike Canada. Mexico appears to have a very similar political system with the United States due to the following factors: (1) presidential system (2) three autonomous branches (executive, legislative and judiciary) with checks and balances (3) federalism with a good amount of local autonomy. Notably, despite their sameness in a political system, America and Mexico do not have the same economic status. Like Canada, the United States is one of the developed and industrialized countries of the world whereas Mexico belongs to the developing nations. In lieu of that fact, this research paper will explore the respective political system of Mexico and the United States. This will be followed by a brief analysis of their similarities. In the end, an assessment shall be provided on whether or not their similar political structure is the reason for their economic disparity. Rogelio Hernandez-Rodriguez described the Mexican government as authoritative and the most successful to maintain a system which is dominated by one party. The PRI or the Institutional Revolutionary Party has long been controlling Mexican politics. This political party has ruled Mexico for almost seventy-one years. Majority of the elected government officials of Mexico are affiliated with PRI. The authoritative nature of the Mexican government is attributed to this fact. Nevertheless, despite the hegemony of PRI, Mexico has been politically stable. The other political parties have done nothing bad for the government. It has been stressed that the country’s single party and presidential type of government are the major elements of its effective institutional structure.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Influencing Factors of the Company Disclosure Level

Influencing Factors of the Company Disclosure Level Prior evidence and hypotheses Based on the theoretical framework primarily concerning information asymmetry, agency problem, signalling theory and political costs theory, many previous studies have attempted to formulate and test several hypotheses on the influencing factors of the company disclosure level.  This section will review the findings of several prior researches as well as establishing hypotheses for the current study.   (1). One of the most remarkable features of Chinese capital market is assumed to be its unique market structure, which comprises of three major segments: A shares which are only sold to domestic citizens in domestic currency; B shares which are only issued for foreign investors in foreign currency, but traded in domestic exchange markets; and H shares which are traded in SEHK in foreign currency.   Given their different characteristics, such as listing market, listing requirements, accounting standards and reporting environment, their disclosure behaviours and disclosure policies are expected to vary systematically.  Therefore, one of the basic intentions of the current study is to test whether companies, of which shares are belongs to the three different market segments, exhibit different disclosure patterns. At a glance, foreign listing status is a major feature that distinguishes H shares-issuers from the other companies issuing only A or A+B shares. For this feature alone, compliance with Chinese GAAP and IFRS is mandatory for these Chinese firms that issue both A and H-shares. Accordingly, the IFRS-based annual report must be audited by an internationally recognized auditor; while the Chinese GAAP-based annual report may be audited by local accounting firms, and any difference in net incomes between these two sets of accounting information must be reconciled and presented in the financial statement. In that case, companies with A and H shares are subject to additional listing requirements as well as disclosure rules, consequently greater information disclosure can be expected from these companies than the other firms listed only in the domestic market. Apart from regulatory requirement, H-share companies are also under greater market pressure to disclose more information. Assuming the primary objective for Chinese firms listing on international stock exchanges is to obtain capital at the lowest possible cost, they need to compete with the other SEHK-listed firms of which the westernized corporate governance systems are generally believed to be effective in terms of assuring a high quality financial report through proper internal control systems. Hard to deny that, comparing with other SEHK-listed firms, H-share PRC firms are commonly assumed to have significantly greater adverse selection and moral hazard problems due to their lack of prior trading history, the limited transparency of corporate governance and management control system, and foreign investors’ concern about the magnificent state ownership.   Given these disadvantages raised from information asymmetry and the potential economic consequence of increased discount rate, H-share firms should have greater incentives to commit to more intensive information disclosure in order to reduce their agency cost. Previous empirical study by Ferguson, et. al(2002) found that companies with both A and H-share issuing disclose substantially more financial information than purely domestically listed PRC firms as well as other SEHK listed companies. On the other hand, it is generally observed that companies only listed on the domestic exchanges (including companies with only A shares and companies with both A and B shares) tend to adopt a relatively more secret disclosure policy, which exhibit little voluntary disclosure if any information beyond the exchange requirements (Haw et al., 2000).  Ferguson, et. al (2002) offer several explanations: Firstly, the concept of public information disclosure is relatively new to both the investors and corporate managers in PRC where the basic systematic accounting standard was first promulgated since 1992. Given the less developed market-oriented accounting system and the weak disclosure culture, Tang (2000) points out that comparing to other exchange markets with mature accounting systems, accountability to outside investors is less concerned by most Chinese corporate managers; also, the majority individual investors are unfamiliar with the evaluation and use of financial statement disclosures.  Secondly, Ferguson, et. al (2002) argue that because the current capital market is experiencing the transformation from the formerly state-controlled economy to the new market model, there remains some old concerns of investors emphasizing on the state plan. That is, local investors still tend to focus on â€Å"inside† information such as anticipated actions by the controlling government entities rather than relying on public information like financial statement disclosure (DeFond et al., 1999).  Hence, corporations’ incentives and investors’ desire for information disclosure appear to be less strong for companies only listed on domestic market than firms listed on foreign exchanges; consequently, greater extent of information disclosure is expected for companies issuing both A and H shares than firms listed only on domestic market. The resulting hypothesises are as following: H1: Companies with both H shares and A shares tends to disclose more information than companies issuing only A shares; H2: Companies with both H shares and A shares tends to disclose more information than firms issuing both A and B shares. The most important difference between A share and B share is that A-shares can only be owned and traded by Chinese citizens in Chinese currency, while B-shares can only be owned and traded by foreign investors in either Hong Kong currency or US dollars. Accordingly,  the accounting regulations applicable to firms issuing only A shares is Chinese GAAP; while, for companies issuing both A and B shares are required to apply with Chinese GAAP as well as IFRS. The IFRS-based annual report must be audited by an internationally recognized auditor, while the Chinese GAAP-based annual report may be audited by local accounting firms, and the discrepancy between the two sets of audited financial reports needs to be reconciled with the IFRS and displayed in the annual report for domestic investors. Because of the different regulatory requirements, companies with both A-share and B-share issuing are expected to disclose more information than firms with only A shares. Since comparing with smaller CPA firms, which are assumed to be more sensitive to client demands due to the economic consequences associated with the loss of a client, larger and international well-known auditing firms have a greater incentive to maintain independence from clients pressure for limited disclosure because of the economic consequences associated with potential damages to their reputation (Chow and Wong-Boren, 1986). Therefore, larger CPA firms have a greater incentive to require adverse disclosures by the client, consequently increasing the level of information disclosure (Patteon and Zelenka, 1997). In contrast, accounting information audited by domestic auditing firms may be considered noisy because of sloppy information environment and inadequate regulation. (Fox, 1998; Rask, Chu, Gottschang, 1998). Prior to 1996 no auditing standards existed with the exception of a few guidelines from the sponsoring governmental agencies; and until 1998 all domestic auditors were public employees, who tend to act as government agents and bore little responsibility for any improper behaviour due to the lack of litigation against them. Thus, auditors usually were affiliated with their clients and lacked motivation to be independent from them, consequently information disclosure may be subject to management’s selective bias. Despite of the recent institutional changes such as the reformation of the accounting-information system and the introduction of new auditing standards, which aims to impose stricter disciplinary rules, more intensive monitoring and sanctions, the effective implement of regulatory is still doubt by the market (Haw, 2008). Therefore, companies with only A shares are likely to make less information disclosure than companies with both A shares and B shares of which annual reports are influenced by internationally recognised auditing firms. The resulting hypothesises is: H3: Companies with only A shares are likely to make less information disclosure than companies with both A shares and B shares. (Ferguson, Lam and Lee, 2002) 2.4 Disclosure by PRC-listed Firms PRC firms listed on the two domestic exchanges voluntarily disclose little, if any information beyond the exchange requirements (Haw et al., 2000). Explanations include (1) the lack of sophistication with respect to financial reporting on the part of both investors and corporate managers, and (2) investor reliance on â€Å"inside† rather than public information. Public financial statement disclosure is relatively new to the PRC. The first basic accounting standard was promulgated in 1992 and, of the 30 standards proposed in the intervening years, only eight have been adopted. Thus, accountability to outside investors is new to most corporate managers, and most individual investors are unfamiliar with the evaluation and use of financial statement disclosures (Tang, 2000). Institutional investment in the PRC is in a fledgling state. Local investors are also likely to place greater weight on factors such as anticipated actions by the controlling government entities than on financial statement disclosures (DeFond et al., 1999). Thus, demand for, as well as supply of additional disclosures may be limited in the PRC domestic exchanges. The disclosure practices of PRC firms listed on international exchanges, in which they face sophisticated financial statement users with diminished access to inside information, have not been examined. 2.5 Hypotheses: Disclosure by H-Share Firms on the SEHK Theory (Spence, 1973; Grossman, 1981) indicates that voluntary disclosure can be used to alleviate information asymmetry problems, including moral hazard and adverse selection. A rational strategy to avoid deep discounting of share prices is to disclose additional information to investors to signal firm value (Watts and Zimmerman, 1986). Compared to other SEHKlisted firms, H-Share firms are likely to present significantly greater adverse selection and moral hazard problems. In contrast to the westernized corporate governance systems in place in most SEHK-listed firms, many PRC SOEs still operate in a â€Å"vacuum† with respect to corporate governance and management control (World Bank, 1995). For example, audit committees and shareholder litigation are nonexistent and independent; outside directors are not required (DeFond et al., 1999). Thus, in addition to H-Share firms’ lack of prior history, important investor concerns include management quality, the potential for asset stripping or misappropriation, de-capitalization through excessive wage increases, and the role of the government as a major shareholder (Chen and Firth, 1999). Therefore, ceteris paribus, H-Share firms face significantly greater incentives to voluntarily disclose additional information. Proprietary costs, however, also affect disclosure (Verrecchia, 1983). The benefits of voluntary disclosure must be weighed against the costs of providing information that may invite or assist competition or regulation. Compared to other SEHK-listed firms, H-Share firms also face significantly lower proprietary costs. Most operate in industries deemed by the PRC government to be of strategic importance and are hence shielded from international competition (Lin et al., 1998). Thus, additional disclosure by H-Share firms is also likely to be less costly. This potential for greater incentives and lower disclosure cost leads to our first hypothesis: Hypothesis 1a: Voluntary disclosure by H-Share firms will be greater than that by other SEHK-listed firms. Further, as the primary objective for PRC firms listing on international stock exchanges is to raise capital at the lowest possible cost, we expect that H-Share firms’ incentives will mainly affect disclosure of additional strategic and financial information. Such incentives will have little impact on the disclosure of additional non-financial, social accountability information. Political costs are borne primarily in firms’ local operating environments and are driven by local norms. H-Share firms operate solely in the PRC and political costs within this environment are virtually non-existent. Thus, we expect that differences in disclosure will only be observed for financial and strategic rather than social accountability information: (Sami and Zhou, 2004) In the emerging A-share and B-share markets, however, the value relevance of accounting information has been questioned. Accounting information based on domestic standards may be considered noisy because of sloppy accounting, inadequate regulation, and crony capitalism (Fox, 1998; Rask, Chu, Gottschang, 1998). Besides, accompanying the rapid development of securities markets are some inevitable problems such as lagging legislation issues and multiple regulatory authorities (Liu Zhang, 1996). However, the institutional changes in emerging markets, including the reform of the accounting-information system, could increase market liquidity, reduce transaction cost, and improve pricing efficiency (Feldman Kumar, 1995). In this study, we directly investigate the relative value relevance of accounting information in the two segments to provide further evidence on the value-relevance issue in the emerging market. Our basic intention is to test whether the two market segments differently value the major accounting information disclosed by the same company. Under these regulations, listed companies prepare their financial statements based on the Chinese GAAP, as well as the IAS if they also issue B-shares. They should have their annual reports audited by authorized CPAs and submit copies to government agencies, such as state-owned-asset management agencies, tax authorities, securities regulatory agencies, and banks. They are also required to have copies available for investors. In addition, listed companies are required to publish their annual reports in at least one of the authorized securities’ publications before April 30th the following year.10 For companies with both A-shares and B-shares, the audited annual reports for B-share investors are published in Hong Kong on the same day as those for A-share investors in China. The reconciliation information on the two sets of accounting statements is released to only A share investors, but not to B-share investors. When there is a discrepancy between the two sets of audited financial reports, companies issuing both A shares and B-shares need to reconcile their accounting statements with the IAS for domestic investors. Because the IAS is considered to be of higher quality than local GAAP, and international auditors such as Big Five (Big Four) firms are thought to provide higher quality audits than their Chinese counterparts (Chui Kwok, 1998; DeFond et al., 2000; Lam Jing, 2000), the accounting information in the B-share market should be more relevant to the pricing process, compared with its counterpart in the A-share market. (Sami and Zhou, 2008) To shed light on the economic consequences of the implementation of new auditing standards, we investigate the Chinese emerging market where a set of auditing standards was introduced in a situation where, previously, no auditing standards existed with the exception of a few guidelines from the sponsoring governmental agencies. In addition, in the information environment of an emerging market such as China, where the accounting disclosure was criticized for its low quality and quantity, the economic consequences of increased accounting disclosures due to the implementation of a set of auditing standards should be significant. Moreover, auditors played the role of government agents and bore little responsibility for any improper behavior (Xiang, 1998). Because it was common practice to have a company audited by an auditing firm affiliated with the same level of government, auditors bent the rules under pressure from local government officials and company managers to pursue their own interests (Xiang, 1998; Graham, 1996). Additionally, there was no litigation against auditors (Graham, 1996; DeFond et al., 2000; Gul et al., 2003). Thus, auditors usually were affiliated with their clients and lacked motivation to be independent from them. Therefore, Zhou (2007) concludes that the implementation of new auditing standards helps reduce information asymmetry in an emerging market. (Peng, Tondkar, Smith and Harless, 2008) Chinese capital market development and market segmentation A-shares can only be owned and traded by Chinese citizens, while B-shares can only be owned and traded by foreign investors. The accounting regulations applicable to a Chinese listed firm depend on the type of security issued, A- or B-shares or both. Firms that issue A-shares are required to comply with Chinese GAAP, while firms that issue B-shares are required to comply with IFRS. Firms that issue both A- and B-shares are required to issue two sets of annual reports, one based on Chinese GAAP and the other based on IFRS. The IFRS-based annual report must be audited by an internationally recognized auditor, but not necessarily a Big 4 firm, while the Chinese GAAP-based annual report may be audited by local accounting firms. Reports must be released to the public simultaneously and any difference in net incomes between Chinese GAAP and IFRS must be reconciled and presented in the financial statement footnotes. Fig. 1 and Table 1 depict the Chinese capital market segmentation and the evolution of accounting regulations for Chinese listed A-share firms as of December 31, 2005. Compliance with Chinese GAAP and IFRS is mandatory for Chinese firms that issue both A and B-shares. However, Tay and Parker (1990) remark that â€Å"even where compliance with standards is legally required, companies may not comply if it is perceived that the consequences of non-compliance are not serious† (p. 75). Street and Gray (2001) and Xiao (1999) find evidence that Chinese listed firms compliance with accounting regulations is high. (Sami and Zhou, 2008) We mention the stricter disciplinary rules, monitoring, and sanctions imposed by the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) and the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to effectively enforce the new auditing standards. The discussant points out that less effective corporate governance systems (characterized by dominant state and legal-entity ownership) and relatively low litigation risk in Chinas markets (compared to those in the West) could provide opportunities for managers of listed Chinese firms to act in the best interests of the government and its representative organizations rather than report high-quality accounting information or seek quality auditing of their financial reports (Ball, Kothari, Robin, 2000). Thus, the discussant is concerned whether auditing standards could be effectively implemented. While we agree that the Chinese markets are emerging markets, where accounting disclosure tends to be low in quality and quantity, as we mention in our introduction, (Haw, 2008) Corporate governance systems are less effective in Chinas markets than those in the West. In the government-controlled economy of China, managers of listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are frequently appointed by the government, who is the controlling shareholder. Recent studies show that such ownership structures adversely affect the information environment of these firms, which results in a high level of information asymmetry and a low level of informativeness of accounting earnings (Fan and Wong, 2002; Haw, Hu, Hwang, Wu, 2004). The managers of listed Chinese firms, where state and legal-entity (mostly SOEs) ownership dominate, are strongly motivated to act in the best interests of the government and its representative organizations, and have less incentive to report high-quality accounting information or seek quality auditing for their financial reports (Ball, Kathari, Robin, 2000). Until 1998, all domestic auditors were public employees, and there was little incentive for high-quality audits, while litigation for audit failure was infrequent.2 In such an environment, it is doubtful whether auditing standards could be effectively implemented. (2) The following set of hypotheses is concerned with the determinants of the extent of company disclosure. By reviewing the results of prior theoretical and empirical researches as well as considering the special feathers of the Chinese market, and data availability, the current study selects 10 relevant independent variables to be included in our model, which were further organized into three (not strictly mutually exclusive) categories, following the structure by Lang and Lundholm (1993),: Structure-related variables, Performance-related variables, Market-related variables and Other Monitoring factors. Structure-related variables The structural variables generally refer to firm characteristics that are widely known and likely to remain relatively stable over time. Size, leverage, state ownership, and board composition are included in this category. Size Apparently, among other possible influencing factors firm size has been the most commonly suggested variable in the disclosure literature, assumed to be positively associated with the level of company disclosure.  Given the existence of information asymmetry in the capital markets and the agency problem raised from the separation between ownership and control, agency theory suggest that information disclosure can be used as a mean to reduce agency costs (Chow and Wong-Boren, 1987). According to Jensen and Meckling (1976) and Leftwich, Watts and Zimmerman (1981), larger firms with more reliance on external funds potentially are more subject to complicated conflicts among their wider range of stakeholders, consequently increasing agency costs. Also, larger firms are assumed as more sensitive to political costs (Watts and Zimmerman, 1986).  Besides, it is noted by Lang and Lundholm (1993) and McKinnon and Dalimunthe (1993) that in order to enhance firm value, large firms tend to suffer from greater pressures from analysts to disclose more information than smaller firms; as reluctance to disclosure may be interpretated  by investors as unfavourable news. In that sense, larger companies have greater needs to engage in more intensive information disclosure in respect to their higher agency costs and greater disclosure demand. On the other hand, comparing to smaller companies, Singhvi and Desai (1971) argue that due to the generally better-established internal reporting systems of larger firms, the marginal cost for additional information disclosure is lower for larger companies than smaller ones.   Furthermore, larger firms are assumed to have less exposure to competitive disadvantage than smaller companies when disclosing detailed company information (Firth, 1979). Therefore, compared to small firms large firms should have additional incentives for information disclosures.  This argument has been confirmed as the influence of size on disclosure has been successfully tested by studies in various countries: the US (Singhvi and Desai, 1971 and Buzby, 1975), the UK (Firth, 1979), Canada (Kahl and Belkaoui, 1981), Mexico (Chow and Wong-Boren, 1987), Nigeria (Wallace, 1988), Sweden (Cooke, 1989), Austria (Wagenhofer, 1990), Japan (Cooke, 1991), Spain (Garcia and Monterrey, 1992, and Inchausti, 1997),  New Zealand (Hossain et al., 1995), Czech (Patton and Zalenka, 1997), and Greece (Leventis and Weetman, 2004). To summarize, based on all the rationales discussed by previous studies and their supporting evidences, the first hypotheses can be formulated as:   H1: firms with larger size disclose information to a greater extent than do those with smaller size. (Patteon and Zelenka, 1997) Several theoretical propositions from the voluntary disclosure literature support the expectation of greater financial report disclosure by larger firms: (1) lower incremental cost of producing information for larger firms (Lang and Lundholm, 1993); (2) transactions cost hypothesis (King, et a/,,1990), which suggests that incentives for private infonnation acquisition are greater for larger firms; (3) legal costs hypothesis (Skinner, 1994), which notes that damages in securities litigation are greater for larger firms; and (4) reluctance of small firms to inform competitors (Raffottmier, 1995). Although we will not be able to determine which of the above explanations is the actual cause, we expect a positive relationship between firm size and extent of disclosure. Generally, firms with more employees are more complex and create the possibility of substantial infonnation asymmetry between the firm and market panicipants. Thus, firms with a greater number of employees might be expected to have more extensive disclosures in their annual reports. (Malone, Fries and Jones, 1988) Singhvi and Desai (1971) provided several reasons why the extent of financial disclosure is different for firms of different sizes. Singhvi and Desai offered three justifications for their reasoning. First, the cost of accumulating certain infonnation is greater for small firms than for large firms. This difference is attributable to the more extensive internal reporting systems already in place in larger firms. Second, larger firms have a greater need for disclosure because their securities are typically distributed via a more diverse network of exchanges. Last, management of a smaller corporation is likely to believe more strongly than the management of a larger corporation that the full disclosure of infonnation could endanger its competitive position. Foster (1986, 111) suggested three possible proxies for firm size: total assets, net sales, and capitalized value of the firm. Among these, perhaps the one least subject to market fluctuations in the oil and gas industry is total assets. Sales and capitalized value of the firm are subject to relatively extreme fluctuations due to the volatility of oil and gas prices. Total assets, although not completely unaffected by this volatility, is less affected because of the broad capital asset base that already exists in each firm. (Meek, Roberts and Gray, 1995) -As noted by Foster [1986, p. 44], the variable most consistently reported as significant in studies examining differences across firms in their disclosure policy is firm size. Generally, large firms disclose more information than small ones. Unfortunately, it is unclear what size proxies. Larger firms may have lower information production costs, or they may have lower costs of competitive disadvantage associated with their disclosures. Larger firms are also likely to be more complex and have a wider ownership base than smaller firms. Agency theory suggests that large firms have higher agency costs [Jensen and Meckling 1976; Leftwich, Watts and Zimmerman 1981]. Finally, larger firms are more sensitive to political costs [Watts and Zimmerman 1986]. All of these reasons indicate that large firms should have additional incentives for voluntary disclosures, compared to small firms. Size is positively associated with voluntary disclosure levels in all of the country studies noted above. (Raffournier and Geneva, 1995) There is a general agreement that a positive relationship between the size of a company and its extent of disclosure is to be expected. Several reasons have been advanced in support of this influence (Singhvi and Desai, 1971; Firth, 1979). First, disclosing detailed information is relatively less costly for large firms because they are assumed to produce this information already for internal purpose. Secondly, because their annual report is the main source of information for their competitors, smaller firms may be reluctant to make a fuller disclosure of their activities which might place them at a competitive disadvantage. It can also be assumed that large firms which, according to Watts and Zimmerman (1978), are more sensitive to political costs, will disclose more in order to allay public criticism or government intervention in their affairs. The influence of size is well documented. All empirical studies on the content of annual reports found a positive relationship between the size of a company and its extent of disclosure. Salamon and Dhaliwal (1980) noted a similar association for segmental information and Cowen et al. (1987) for social responsibility disclosure. (Inchausti, 1997) It is hypothesized that the larger the firm, the more need for external funds. Therefore there will be more potential conflicts among owners, creditors and managers, and information disclosures may be used to decrease agency costs and to reduce information asymmetries between the company and the providers of funds, and potential providers of funds. Larger firms are also subject to more political costs, and disclosure may be used to reduce such costs. On the other hand proprietary costs are smaller the larger the firm, so there are less incentives to withhold information. The independent variables initially considered as measures of size are total assets and sales. However in order to avoid the problems caused by heterocedasticity natural logarithms of these variables (LASSETS and LSALES) were calculated.' The influence of size on disclosure has been successfully tested by studtes in various countries: the US (Cerf, 1961; Singhvi and Desai, 1971; Buzby, 1975; Salamon and Dhaliwal, 1980), the UK (Firth, 1979), Canada (Kahl and Belkaoui, 1981), Mexico (Chow and Wong-Boren, 1987), Nigeria (Wallace, 1988), Sweden (Cooke, 1989), Austria (Wagenhofer, 1990), and Spain (Garcfa and Monterrey, 1993; Wallace et al. 1994). (Ferguson, Lam and Lee, 2002) Research indicates that voluntary financial statement disclosure is influenced by other factors. Larger firms face higher agency costs (Leftwich et al., 1981), higher political costs (Jensen and Meckling, 1976), greater information demand from financial analysts (Lang and Lundholm, 1993), and lower information production costs (Firth, 1979; Leftwich et al., 1981). Consistent with these arguments, a positive relationship between firm size and voluntary disclosure has been found in studies of US (Firth, 1979), Swedish (Cooke, 1989), New Zealand (Hossain et al., 1995) and Japanese firms (Cooke, 1991), as well as for firms listed on multiple exchanges (Meek et al., 1995). (Hossain, perera and Rahman, 1995) A number of disclosure studies (e.g. Cooke, 1991, 1989) find that firm size is an important factor in explaining variability in the extent of corporate voluntary disclosure. In the agency theory literature. Chow and Wong-Boren (1987, p. 539) argue that potential benefits of voluntary disclosure are likely to increase with agency costs. Moreover, Jensen and Meckling (1976) contend that agency costs increase with the proportion of outside capital. The proportion of outside capital tends to be higher for the larger firms (Leftwich, Watts and Zimmerman, 1981). Thus, agency theory predicts a positive association between firm size and the extent of corporate voluntary disclosure. It is also argued, in the literature, that fiirm size is a comprehensive variable which can proxy for several corporate characteristics, such as competitive advantage and information production costs (see Buzby, 1975; Firth, 1979; Le

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Industrial, French, and American Revolutions: Common Social Revolutions

Throughout history there have been many important revolutions that have help to shape society as it is today. There are different causes, from political to religious, economic to social. Any revolution affects those in society, and creates changes for the people in the society. There are three important revolutions that took place in the late 18th century that changed the world for the better. The French Revolution, the American Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution all took place in the late 1700s. Although each had a different purpose, they all lead to a better way of life for many. The French and American Revolutions are examples of some which are brought about and enforced solely by the people. Although they had different reasons behind them, both had the same idea behind them- social change. The Industrial Revolution was different, it was a technological revolution which had positive social outcomes. While one can easily compare the French and American Revolutions because o f their social causes and outcomes, the Industrial Revolution can only be compared to the other two when examining their outcomes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Investigation for Magnesium Oxide

Hypothesis – The idea I aim to test in this experiment is the relationship between the mass of magnesium and mass of oxygen once the magnesium has been heated and reacted with the oxygen. There will be 3 variables in this experiment. The independent variable will be the mass of magnesium ribbon as different measurements will be taken and used for each trial. The dependant variable will be the mass of Magnesium Oxide, this is a measured variable as the mass of oxygen can be calculated and will enable us to determine the formula for Magnesium Oxide. The controlled variable is that the Magnesium used is possibly from the same ribbon and after being cut into lengths was stored in the same way in plastic containers. Preliminary – I originally did a preliminary test with Iron wool where we used a similar method but Testthe iron wool was held over the flame by tongs and not contained within a crucible. We learnt from this experiment the importance of the crucible to contain all of the metal for an accurate test because the iron wool broke off as it heated and we were left with a lot of the iron wool on the bench mats around the Bunsen burner so our calculation of the mass of iron oxide was not accurate as we had not contained all the wool and couldn’t accurately collect the pieces around that had come away, therefore no giving a true mass of Iron Oxide. Prediction – I predict that when the magnesium and the Oxygen combine and react together the magnesium will oxidise and become heavier. I expect to see a straight line pattern from these results as I believe the more Magnesium there is the more Oxygen it will take on to form the Magnesium Oxide and so believe the results should gradually get heavier and heavier as the Magnesium gets heavier and heavier. The equation for this investigation would be Mg + O2 ?MgO which would balance as 2Mg + O2 ? 2MgO. This is done as the Oxygen has two molecules which would need two Magnesium molecules to balance it out. The physical changes I expect to take place are heat and light as I expect the Magnesium to change colour as it is heated up and reacts with the Oxygen. The Chemical changes I expect to take place are that a new substance will be made and a new formula will be formed. A new substance will be made in the form of smoke and the new formula will be MgO. Apparatus – *Goggles*Crucible and Lid *Bench Mat*Tongs *Tripod*Varied lengths of Magnesium ribbon *Bunsen burner*Scales *Pipe-clay triangle*200g weight Method – All the apparatus was set up to ensure that the experiment was carried out safely. Goggles were worn and the bench mat was put in place in case any sparks or parts of the experiment went wrong to protect our eyes and the work surface. The tripod and pipe clay triangle were used to keep the crucible safely above the heat. The Bunsen burner was used to heat the magnesium and was set to a fierce blue flame. The crucible held the Magnesium above the Bunsen burner, and the lid contained as much smoke as possible to help the reaction to take place. The crucible lid and tongs were used to occasionally let in the oxygen and then replace the lid safely. The apparatus was set up as above and as per the diagram to being the experiment. I first checked the scales using a 200g weight to check their accuracy. When I weighed the 200g weight on the scales prior to the experiment the scales weighed in at 1. 038kg however, as this was a large weight by comparison to my crucible I didn’t account for this slight measurement in my results as I decided it would make the calculations too low as my crucible was only a fraction of the weight of 200g and so for the purposes of this experiment wouldn’t alter my results enough to justify it. I then measured the crucible without the lid to find out its mass (22. 27g), once recorded I then measured the Magnesium ribbon (0. 9g) I then measured the two together to check the accuracy and got a mass of 22. 56g which meant my previous measurements were reliable. The next step was to put the crucible with the magnesium inside and the lid on onto the pipe clay triangle above the fierce blue flame of the Bunsen burner. The lid remained on only except for occasionally lifting it and quickly replacing it to let more oxygen into the magnesium but to t ry and keep as much smoke in as possible. Once the Magnesium Oxide stopped smoking when the lid was lifted the experiment was complete and I turned off the flame and left the crucible to cool. Once cooled I weighed the crucible with the newly formed Magnesium oxide (22. 72g) and then was able to subtract my previous figure of 22. 56g from this to give a difference of 0. 16g. This 0. 16g was my mass of Oxygen. Results – It can be seen from the results that there is a direct relationship between the mass of Magnesium to start with and the mass of Oxygen in the Magnesium Oxide. Using my results I worked out the ratio between Magnesium and Oxygen, from these results it suggests that the ratio is 1. 2 moles of Magnesium to 1 mole of Oxygen. However you cannot have 1. of an atom and so these results can be rounded up to a ratio of 1:1 which would reflect the equation I had predicted of MgO. Conclusion – The mass of Magnesium got heavier in my experiment by 0. 16g because the Magnesium joined with the Oxygen. Other students’ result ranged from 0. 09 – 0. 46 and apart from one anomalous result the heavier the Magnesium was the higher the mass of Oxygen was. Each measure of Magnesium was only tried once and each measurement was done by an individual and so this may account for the random errors in our findings as shown on the graph, but overall our results were fairly evenly spread. From the results I was able to plot a straight line graph by using a line of best fit; which ran parallel to the theoretical line of best fit. My predictions for this experiment were right as the results show that the more Magnesium ribbon that was used the more oxygen was needed to react with it and so the gradient was steady at about a 450 angle gradually increasing in mass as the Magnesium mass increased. I would say there was one anomalous result as it was significantly below the line of best fit but this can be put down to a number of things such as different scales being used, different people doing each result or simple human error. Our line of best fit was slightly below the theoretical line of best fit for this experiment and I mainly believe this could be due to a systematic error such as the scales we used not being precisely accurate. This may however account for the systematic error of the line of best fit being lower than the theoretical line as that slight change along with random errors may have lowered the results; but the results were still valid as the line of best fit was parallel to the theoretical line meaning we had a constant of the scales being slightly light. As can be seen from the results of our Spearman’s rho and Chi Tests our results were within % of the theoretical results and so this suggests we did an accurate and valid test. We did the Spearman’s rho test as this is a measure of the linear relationship between the two variables and shows us that there is a connection between our results and the theoretical ones. The Spearman’s Rho test shows the accuracy of our res ults and our calculation came in at 98. 7% so it proves our results were very accurate. We did the Chi squared test as this determined whether there was a significant different between the theoretical frequencies and the observed/practical frequencies comparing the validity of the results. At least 95% result in the Chi-squared test would prove to be valid and our result was 99. 99% so it shows our results were definitely valid according to the chi-squared test. We did the Spearman’s and Chi-squared tests via the Excel calculations as shown on the table of results. Evaluation – Overall our results were very accurate but there were some random and systematic errors which could be reduced or resolved if we did further experiments. We could have done re-tests for all the Magnesium masses and taken a mean average of those results to get a more accurate reading this would possibly have reduced any systematic errors. I made the test fair by taking the measurements of the crucible and lid and keeping them the same so that I can compare the results between the Magnesium and Oxygen. Also if the same person had carried out each experiment instead of each student doing a different measurement it may have been more accurate as the method may have changed slightly between each student, for example, one person may have lifted the lid a lot more frequently of for longer periods than another. The difference in the scales will also account for the systematic error as shown on the graph. Also the amount of smoke which was let out during each experiment will have varied between each student as the results were being gathered individually and the amount of smoke which escaped may account for some random errors within our results which is why our results are not all as in line as the theoretical results. And e had to find a line of best fit rather than a clear line which went through each individual result as the theory would suggest. If I were to do this experiment again I would repeat the tests with each mass of Magnesium and take a mean average so as to achieve a more accurate result I would also ensure that each mass of magnesium was the same; as in our experiment some students coiled the Magnesium up in the crucible and others ripped it into little strips. By placing the Magnesium in the crucible in different ways it may affect how much oxygen can get to the ribbon, if it is coiled up for example it may need to be prodded and moved to allow all the Magnesium to have exposure to the Oxygen whereas the smaller strips may be more exposed without as much intervention. On both accounts though if you do need to prod the magnesium in that time you may be letting a lot of smoke out as the lid would obviously need to be off the crucible and so this would also need to be taken into consideration. This is why if the magnesium was placed in the crucible in exactly the same way it would make the results more accurate. To take it one step further you could time the lifting of the lid to make it more accurate, for example, lifting it every 30 seconds for a period of say 2 seconds would mean that each mass of Magnesium would be getting the same time exposed to the oxygen and so a more accurate reading of the amount of Oxygen it gains would be achieved if this was carried out with a stop watch. Also if I were to improve the investigation for next time I would increase the number of Magnesium Masses used to gain a more accurate result and having more results would also make any anomalous results stand out and also expose more random and systematic errors which could be dealt with.