Psychological Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychological Research Report - Essay Example The number of items remembered was recorded down. The results from the data collected show that, external stimulus affect one’s memory performance with (P=.045). The human memory is severely affected by external distractions. Many will say that they make mistakes in a location with high noise. The amount of noise has much influence on the way the memory performs according to Douglas, et al. (2000). Distractions and in particular loud noise have varying affects on memory performance. Various studies have indicated that loud noise distractions have both positive and negative affect on memory performance depending on its frequency (Agnes, H 2004). Others have come with the conclusions that distractions have no effect on a memory’s performance. A larger number of studies involving tasks that primarily use short term memory has shown that exposure to loud noise significantly affect memory performance more (Baker et al. 1993). This is attributed to the fact that, distractions will act to avert the degree of concentration. To begin with, a study by Dwivedi’s (1988) proves that, loud noise distractions influence memory performance. In this experiment, students were required to memorize some English words as their teacher spelt them. The teacher repeated them for several times with a different music volumes playing and the number of those that a student could remember against the sound strength was recorded. Results indicated that high intensity noise was significantly detrimental in memory performance than low noise. In addition, Winkler, L et al. (1996) agreed with Dwivedi. They examined the effects of radio noise during class work where students were required to read and answer some simple questions with a radio on during class. The question was again administered to the same students with the radio on. On marking the question and comparing the two performances, it was evident to them that,

Childhood Essay Essay Example for Free

Childhood Essay Essay Natural growth is the child-rearing method that working class and poor parents use to raise their children because there is not a lot of time and money for structured activities and long verbal discussions with the children (Lareau, 2003). Families who practice natural growth child rearing practices need to focus on providing the simpler needs of the child like providing shelter, clothing, food, and water therefore unable to have the structured activities and worry about establishing communication skills. This is important to consider because the way children are raised because this has a social impact. The children that are being raised today will eventually grow up to be a part of their own society; there are social impacts on the current society because of the methods of child-rearing and the consequences that these child-rearing practices are having on children with the way they interact in society, There are benefits and disadvantages to both childrearing methods reported by Lareau (2010) however there are definitive differences in the child’s outcome due to the child’s social class and thus the method the child was raised with. In concerted cultivation children spend a lot of time with adults at structured activities and so they start to communicate with adults as relative equals. The children of concerted cultivation also have longer and more reasoning conversations with their parents which leads them to the sense of entitlement when dealing with institutions (Lareau, 2003). Children raised with concerted cultivation had a larger group of language skills than children raised with natural growth because they communicate longer and more often with adults. This leads to children raised with concerted cultivation having the ability to manipulate rules and thus deal with institutions easier than those of natural growth, however they also have issues figuring out how to occupy their time because they did not often do â€Å"free play† (Lareau, 2003). The children that are raised with natural growth have less communication skills simply because they have less experience talking to adults (Lareau, 2003). Parents of natural growth have to worry about putting food on the table and taking care of many basic needs so when the children are spoken to its often in short direct phrases, without any room for questioning or discussing. The children who are raised with natural growth also do not have that much time spent in structured activities with adults as the children of concerted cultivation (Lareau, 2003). The children who are raised with natural growth developed what Lareau (2003) reported as constraint. Constraint was the disadvantage that natural growth children experience because of their lack of communication skills and the subordination they felt to adults. Children raised with natural growth absorbed their parents feelings of powerlessness with institutions and learned to distrust authority. These differences tend to perpetuate themselves when it comes to differences in child rearing because what class a child is raised in impacts his/her life and then when that child grows up and has children of their own the child rearing practice will most likely be used again if the child grows up to live in the same social class. It is a cycle that continues throughout generations because children usually grow up to be in the same social class they were born into and since the child rearing practices are social class based primarily the children will raise their children as they were raised. After reading Lareau’s (2003) case study I had to do some reflection to figure out with method of child-rearing it was that I was raised in. My family has crossed the line from middle class to working class several times through my childhood, but predominately I feel as if I have been raised using concerted cultivation. My mother and father separated by the time I was seven years old. While at times living with my mother basic necessities were hard to come by because of her poor management of finances, my father always was middle class (I lived with him permanently from age 15 on) and I feel as if I have been raised a middle class child. Since, I was younger I now realize I was active in many structured activities such as: ballet, tap, jazz, girl scouts, youth group at church, choir, bell choir, church plays, cheerleading, cross-country, track, and swim team. Although I did not always think of the activities I participated in to be particularly hard on my family at the time I now realize with my brother, two sisters, and all of their activates my mother must have found it very hard to transport us all to our different activities. The number of activities I was involved in during my childhood shows proof of my upbringing being concerted cultivation because one of the characteristics of being raised with concerted cultivation is a lot of structured activities such as the ones I participated in (Lareau, 2003). Another concept of concerted cultivation which I know I have also be blessed with in my child-rearing is the better communication skills due to long discussions and reasoning with my parents (Lareau, 2003). Both of my parents have always encouraged my sisters, brother, and me to talk openly and voice our opinions. I did not realized it growing up, but now I understand that the lengthy communications I had with my parents enabled me to have a larger vocabulary, good communication skills, and feel comfortable when talking to authority or adults from institutions. The sense of entitlement I feel due to my middle class upbringing makes sense because of the amount of time I spent in structured activities with adults (Lareau, 2003). The time I spent with adults as a child and the way I spoke to them made them relative equals in my perspective. This is an advantage of having a concerted cultivation middle class upbringing because I do not mistrust authority or feel subordinate to intuitions, on the contrary I feel as if they are to serve me and that I can work with institutions to get both my and the institutions needs met. It makes sense that my entitlement feelings allow me to perform well in college and to communication effectively with all professors or staff at the college because of the experience I had dealing with institutions when I was younger. Another concept of concerted cultivation that I have experienced in childhood has to do with social connections. Much like Lareau’s (2003) case study has reported concerted cultivation raised children had weak ties with their extended family. This is true in my upbringing because while I love and sometimes talk to my extended family I seldom see them or would by any means categorize our relationships as strong kinship ties (Lareau, 2003). This I feel has been an unfortunate result of concerted cultivation because I see how some of my other cousins behave towards each other as they are so close talking everyday and meet several times a week for lunch or dinner. I feel this is sad because while I would love to have stronger ties with my extended family I realize it is not a part of the way I was brought up because of my middleclass child-rearing. The concept of my social connections often being mostly in homogenous age groups as a child is very accurate (Lareau, 2003). Because of the activities I participated in and the area in which I lived and went to school I predominately have friendships through activities with children much like I was at the time.

Physics of Baseball :: physics sport sports baseball

Finding and understanding the sweet spot on a wooden bat. When you strike a bat against a ball it sends vibrations, much like the vibrations acting on airplanes or bridges, which travel in waves through the bat. This motion is important to understand because every vibration the bat experiences takes energy away from the ball's speed as it leaves the bat. If you hit the ball at a bat's "nodes", the frequencies (each bat vibrates at several low and high frequencies at once, which is like the harmonics of stringed instruments) cancel out and since this happens you don't feel the sting in your hands that you experience when you hit the ball at different points on the bat. There is some discrepency of where the sweet spot is on the bat. Some believe that the sweet spot is 17 inches from the end and others believe that it is 6 inches from the end. For a wooden bat, I tend to believe that the sweet spot is 6 inches from the end of a 34 inch bat (opposite of where your hands are). This is due to the fact that if you were to hit a ball 17 inches from the end, you would be hitting on the bat's emblem. If hit hard enough, the bat would break because this is a weak spot in the bat due to the stamping of the emblem. It's Basic Physics When looking at a collision between a baseball bat and ball, three things always apply: Conservation of linear momentum- The linear momentum of a particle of mass, m, moving with a velocity, v, is defined to be the product of the mass and velocity: p=mv Elastic collision- An elastic collision between two objects is one in which total kinetic energy (as well as total momentum) is the same before and after the collision. Conservation of energy- Energy can never be created or destroyed. Energy may be transformed from one form to another, but the total energy of an isolated system is always constant. Newton's Third Law- States that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. How hitting the ball works The Swing When a person swings a bat, their arms propel the bat to a high velocity which is needed to transfer momentum to the ball and send it sailing. Also, there is a transfer of energy starting with the batter then moving from the batter's arms to the bat and then when contact is being made with the ball the energy in the bat is transferred to the ball which propels the ball forward (hopefully:)) The force that acts on the ball, as contact is being made (contact is about 1/1000sec.

Waiting For The Mahatma

R. K. Narayan is one of the postcolonial writers of India who are found to project the nation building attitude in their writings. His Waiting for the Mahatma, set in the surroundings of the writer’s created village Malgudi, is woven against the unconventional backdrop of the freedom movement. But in spite of using directly the national experience as the central theme as did Raja Rao, Narayan puts it in the background giving preference to the personal narrative.In Waiting for the Mahatma, the story develops through the development of Sriram’s character, his encounter with different situations and his romance with Bharoti. At first, Sriram is presented a lazy and complacent young high school graduate living with his grandmother. He has no knowledge of the condition of the country. But once he meets and falls in love at first sight with a young woman, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and is involved in the freedom struggle. Actually his development through the novel from part 1 to 5 is our medium to know different aspects of the novel.The protagonist, Sriram, is an insipid person who can be easily influenced by anyone. At the outset of the novel, in Part I, we acknowledge that he grows up under the loving care of his grandmother, after the early death of his parents. In that time his life was controlled by his granny. When he is twenty, his grandmother hands over the fat sum of money she had been saving in his name. His irresponsibility is known immediately, when he wants to withdraw a huge sum of Rs. 250/-, but his watchful grandma restricts it to a decent Rs. 50/-. He had no choice rather obey her.Then he came into contact with Bharati and fell into love at first sight. He met her as she was making tin collection for the freedom movement. Bharati’s father had been shot dead while offering Satyagraha against the British during the first Non-cooperation Movement. She, who was just an infant then, was adopted and brought up by the Sevak Sangh, a G andhian institute, as a foster daughter to Gandhi. Bharati has no existence without Gandhi. She has no independent character of her own. She only symbolises Gandhi model of love, non-violence and freedom.Sriram comes into contact with Gandhi through Bharati. The nearer he goes to Bharati the more he learns about Gandhi. Sriram left his Granny at Kabir Road at night leaving behind his household things and went to become a non-violent soldier of Gandhi. His aim was to remain with Bharati. â€Å"Gandhiji welcomed Sriram and told him: ‘â€Å"Before you aspire to drive the British from this country you must drive every vestige of violence from your system. . . . You must train yourself to become a hundred percent ‘ahimsa’ soldier’†. Gandhi could easily read what type of a man Sriram was.So he advised him to leave his materialistic life and accept a spiritual life. Meanwhile Sriram, a pleasure seeking man, was totally changed to a freedom fighter and a fo llower of Gandhi. As part of propagating Gandhi’s message, especially ‘Quit India’, Sriram came to the village named Solur. He halted before a shop and bought two plantains and a bottle of soda. The shop man told Sriram that he had nice biscuits and asked if he wouldn’t try it. Sriram asked him if the biscuit was English. He replied, ‘â€Å". . . Purely English biscuits which you cannot get for miles around.In these days no one else can get them. ’ ‘Have you no sense of shame? ’ Sriram asked. Sriram has transformed from a wayward selfish modern materialist to a spokesman of traditional values, swaraj and nationality. In pursuance of Gandhi’s wishes, while Bharati courted arrest, Sriram kept himself out of it and fell a prey to the machinations of a revolutionary terrorist Jagdish. Temporarily he found satisfaction in his job of setting fire to the records in half a dozen law courts, derailing a couple of trains, paralyzing the work in various schools and exploding a crude bomb.â€Å"But he enjoys these bouts only as â€Å"a relief in his lonely drab life, isolated from all human association. His revolutionary activities give him a feeling of romantic importance and an image of a character out of an epic† but he feels a loss of direction and â€Å"a certain recklessness† about himself. The freedom that he abrogates for himself in disorder as destruction proves him false† Sriram became a violent soldier of freedom. He became a slave of Jagdish who was a follower of Subash Chandra Bose. Jagdish turned the Mempi temple into a fortress.â€Å"Sriram did many destructive works on the request of Jagdish. Soon he understood that by destroying things none could oust the British from India. He felt that Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent weapon was superior to the violent weapon. He was arrested under the Defence of India rule† . Sriram needed a prolonged training in understanding a nd realizing the meaning of love and the wider implications of non-violence in this and the context of freedom. Bharati made him aware of the feminine beauty and Gandhi truth.The materialist Sriram was converted into a spiritualist and patriot by the effort of Bharati and Gandhi. Sriram’s name recalls that of the great hero of the Indian epic the Ramayana. â€Å"While there is some irony here, considering the nature of this particular hero, the detail is significant. The novel could be read as a kind of parable with Sriram as a figure representative of the Indian nation, attracted to the Gandhian teachings but lacking the moral fibre necessary for faithful continued adherence to them†.In the plot of this book, the transformation of the protagonist due to his meeting and falling in love with Bharati is significant. The path of the protagonist’s progress has been from a state of isolated individualism to a state of involvement with others and issues that transcend the self such as love and nationalism. The novel clearly shows how personal life of people is affected by political events. Sriram and Bharati cannot consummate their relationship until India is independent.Even the scope of romantic love is severely crippled under British colonialism. Waiting for the Mahatmais a story of progress and growth of the hero Sriram. From a materialist he has grown to a patriot and man of values. â€Å"At one level, therefore, Waiting for the Mahatma is a story of progress of young, irresponsible, carefree Sriram into a passionate lover, a responsible citizen of the country with a record of considerable sacrifice and a term in jail to make him a complete patriot† Waiting for The Mahatma R. K. Narayan is one of the postcolonial writers of India who are found to project the nation building attitude in their writings. His Waiting for the Mahatma, set in the surroundings of the writer’s created village Malgudi, is woven against the unconventional backdrop of the freedom movement. But in spite of using directly the national experience as the central theme as did Raja Rao, Narayan puts it in the background giving preference to the personal narrative.In Waiting for the Mahatma, the story develops through the development of Sriram’s character, his encounter with different situations and his romance with Bharoti. At first, Sriram is presented a lazy and complacent young high school graduate living with his grandmother. He has no knowledge of the condition of the country. But once he meets and falls in love at first sight with a young woman, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and is involved in the freedom struggle. Actually his development through the novel from part 1 to 5 is our medium to know different aspects of the novel.The protagonist, Sriram, is an insipid person who can be easily influenced by anyone. At the outset of the novel, in Part I, we acknowledge that he grows up under the loving care of his grandmother, after the early death of his parents. In that time his life was controlled by his granny. When he is twenty, his grandmother hands over the fat sum of money she had been saving in his name. His irresponsibility is known immediately, when he wants to withdraw a huge sum of Rs. 250/-, but his watchful grandma restricts it to a decent Rs. 50/-. He had no choice rather obey her.Then he came into contact with Bharati and fell into love at first sight. He met her as she was making tin collection for the freedom movement. Bharati’s father had been shot dead while offering Satyagraha against the British during the first Non-cooperation Movement. She, who was just an infant then, was adopted and brought up by the Sevak Sangh, a G andhian institute, as a foster daughter to Gandhi. Bharati has no existence without Gandhi. She has no independent character of her own. She only symbolises Gandhi model of love, non-violence and freedom.Sriram comes into contact with Gandhi through Bharati. The nearer he goes to Bharati the more he learns about Gandhi. Sriram left his Granny at Kabir Road at night leaving behind his household things and went to become a non-violent soldier of Gandhi. His aim was to remain with Bharati. â€Å"Gandhiji welcomed Sriram and told him: ‘â€Å"Before you aspire to drive the British from this country you must drive every vestige of violence from your system. . . . You must train yourself to become a hundred percent ‘ahimsa’ soldier’†. Gandhi could easily read what type of a man Sriram was.So he advised him to leave his materialistic life and accept a spiritual life. Meanwhile Sriram, a pleasure seeking man, was totally changed to a freedom fighter and a fo llower of Gandhi. As part of propagating Gandhi’s message, especially ‘Quit India’, Sriram came to the village named Solur. He halted before a shop and bought two plantains and a bottle of soda. The shop man told Sriram that he had nice biscuits and asked if he wouldn’t try it. Sriram asked him if the biscuit was English. He replied, ‘â€Å". . . Purely English biscuits which you cannot get for miles around.In these days no one else can get them. ’ ‘Have you no sense of shame? ’ Sriram asked. Sriram has transformed from a wayward selfish modern materialist to a spokesman of traditional values, swaraj and nationality. In pursuance of Gandhi’s wishes, while Bharati courted arrest, Sriram kept himself out of it and fell a prey to the machinations of a revolutionary terrorist Jagdish. Temporarily he found satisfaction in his job of setting fire to the records in half a dozen law courts, derailing a couple of trains, paralyzing the work in various schools and exploding a crude bomb.â€Å"But he enjoys these bouts only as â€Å"a relief in his lonely drab life, isolated from all human association. His revolutionary activities give him a feeling of romantic importance and an image of a character out of an epic† but he feels a loss of direction and â€Å"a certain recklessness† about himself. The freedom that he abrogates for himself in disorder as destruction proves him false† Sriram became a violent soldier of freedom. He became a slave of Jagdish who was a follower of Subash Chandra Bose. Jagdish turned the Mempi temple into a fortress.â€Å"Sriram did many destructive works on the request of Jagdish. Soon he understood that by destroying things none could oust the British from India. He felt that Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent weapon was superior to the violent weapon. He was arrested under the Defence of India rule† . Sriram needed a prolonged training in understanding a nd realizing the meaning of love and the wider implications of non-violence in this and the context of freedom. Bharati made him aware of the feminine beauty and Gandhi truth.The materialist Sriram was converted into a spiritualist and patriot by the effort of Bharati and Gandhi. Sriram’s name recalls that of the great hero of the Indian epic the Ramayana. â€Å"While there is some irony here, considering the nature of this particular hero, the detail is significant. The novel could be read as a kind of parable with Sriram as a figure representative of the Indian nation, attracted to the Gandhian teachings but lacking the moral fibre necessary for faithful continued adherence to them†.In the plot of this book, the transformation of the protagonist due to his meeting and falling in love with Bharati is significant. The path of the protagonist’s progress has been from a state of isolated individualism to a state of involvement with others and issues that transcend the self such as love and nationalism. The novel clearly shows how personal life of people is affected by political events. Sriram and Bharati cannot consummate their relationship until India is independent.Even the scope of romantic love is severely crippled under British colonialism. Waiting for the Mahatmais a story of progress and growth of the hero Sriram. From a materialist he has grown to a patriot and man of values. â€Å"At one level, therefore, Waiting for the Mahatma is a story of progress of young, irresponsible, carefree Sriram into a passionate lover, a responsible citizen of the country with a record of considerable sacrifice and a term in jail to make him a complete patriot†

learning journal Essay

A learning journal is a collection of notes, observations, thoughts and other relevant materials built-up over a period of time and usually accompanies a period of study, a placement experience or fieldwork. Its purpose is to enhance your learning through the very process of writing and thinking about your learning experiences. Your learning journal is personal to you and will reflect your personality and experiences. Structuring your learning journal A learning journal may be called several different things: a learning log, a fieldwork diary or personal development planner, for example. Different subject areas may ask you to focus on different aspects of your experiences and may also have a different format. A journal could be a notebook, an electronic document or sometimes can be recorded verbally on a tape. You will need to check which format is required with your module tutor. Why use a learning journal: To provide a ‘live picture’ of your growing understanding of a subject or experience To demonstrate how your learning is developing To keep a record of your thoughts and ideas throughout your experiences of learning To help you identify your strengths, weaknesses and preferences in learning Essentially, a learning journal helps you to be reflective about your learning, this means that your learning journal should not be a purely descriptive account of what you did etc but an opportunity to communicate your thinking process: how and why you did what you did, and what you now think about what you did. What is reflective learning? Reflective learning is a learned process that requires time and practice. It is also an active process: involving thinking through issues yourself, asking questions and seeking out relevant information to aid your understanding. Reflective learning works best when you think about what you are doing before, during and after your learning experience. Reflective learning is therefore not only about recognising something new (new learning), it is also about seeing reality in a new way. Reflection is an important skill to develop, and requires you to think about how you personally are relating to what is happening on your course, during your assignment, or in your placement. The following diagram illustrates the process of reflective learning.

T.V and Children essays

T.V and Children essays From what I've experienced from hours in front of this controlling box, I have learned very little compared to real life experiences. But what else could be easier than to relax on a nice soft couch, and push a button? The television business has gotten attention from us all. From the classroom, the home and the workplace, the television industry has us right where they want us. We pay the high prices monthly. Television watching is a necessity in most people's live. Available to all, a cable network for the people. Why do people sit around and watch this? Not all television shows are bad. Educational shows are found daily on many channels at my house. The issue to many is appropriate television for the children. Once a child has been to a friend's house, he or she has most likely played outside, played with toys, colored a picture, and watched TV. Cable TV, with its wide variety of channel topics, has changed the way children and adults live their lives. Where as before, years ago, television was not available to all like it is today. Americans would read books and newspapers and listen to the radio. Living in a new millenium, people of this country are spoiled with technology. The television is the leading piece that Americans own. There are seven televisions in my home currently. There are five people living in my house. I don't know what to say. An older brother coming home with little sisters watching his show creates no other feelings but perhaps disappointment and disgust. The television is hardly regulated; thus many influences began to pour upon society and fuse into the slow process of change which resulted in the characteristics of our present day society. The television took America from an organized and uniform nation, transforming it into a somewhat disarray of mixed thoughts, different attitudes 5 and new understandings. The statistics on television in the average Americans' life is shocking, yet believable. To share jus...

Geodesy essays

Geodesy essays Geodesy is a scientific branch that is gaining more popularity over the years. It is still quite an unknown as far as the world of jobs go, but it is a very interesting field that should quickly grow. Geodesy is the science of mathematically determining the size and shape of the earth and the nature of the earths gravity field. It applies the principles of geometry to surveying and mapping the earth. Geodesy itself has many avenues that an interested person could travel. Many specialists in the filed also refer to something called geomatics, which directly connects to geodesy. Geodesists will take geographical information and analyze it with computer hardware and software. This process is very important to environmental studies, monitoring dams, oil fields, navigation of ships, and oceanography. A typical person in the field of geodesy could have many various tasks throughout their day. Some would use Geographical Information Systems to perform computer queries between maps and databases. Others would use GPS to make observations, process data, and train. There is also a need for urban and rural planning or software development. Basically, as a geodesist there are a variety of tasks that one could perform throughout any given day, but for the most part one would be surveying and observing the land. To become an elite geodesist is not an easy task. It takes a lot of hard work and education to get to the point where one can begin to work. Good High School grades are important so that a person can get into a college with a geodesy program. Science and math grades are the most important as that is what is used on the job. Going to an undergraduate program at a four year college is next in the educational ladder. There are schools in the U.S. and abroad that train in this field. For example, a prospective student could go to school all the way in Australia, or they could attend a closer program at the Universit...

The Crimes of Margaret Allen

The Crimes of Margaret Allen On February 5, 2005, Wenda Wright was cleaning the home of Margaret Allen when Allens purse containing $2,000 turned up missing. Allen was furious about the missing money and accused Wright of stealing it. When Wright denied it and tried to leave, Allen struck her in the head, causing her to fall to the floor. Determined to get the housekeeper to confess, Wright asked her 17-year-old nephew Quinton Allen, to bind Wrights wrists and legs with a belt. Allen then beat and tortured Wright for over two hours with bleach, fingernail polish remover, rubbing alcohol and hair spritz, which she poured onto her face and down her throat. Begging for Her Life Barely able to breathe, Wright begged Allen to let her go. Her cries for help woke up one of Allens children who walked into the room and witnessed what was happening. Allen instructed the child to rip off a piece of duct tape that she tried to put over Wrights mouth, but because her face was so wet the tape did not stick. Allen then strangled Wright to death with a belt. Allen, her nephew, and Allens roommate, James Martin, buried Wrights body in a shallow grave off the highway. Later Quinton Allen went to the police and confessed to his part in the murder and led authorities to where they buried the body.​ Margaret Allen was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Autopsy Report During Allens trial, forensic pathologist and chief medical examiner for  Brevard County, Florida, Dr. Sajid Qaiser, testified about the results of the autopsy performed on Wenda Wright. According to the report, Wright had multiple bruising on her face, the front, and back of her ear, her left torso, and all over her left side, trunk, right hand, thigh, knee,  left eyebrow, forehead, upper arm, and shoulder area.   Wright’s wrists and neck showed signs of ligation, which meant she was hung or something was tied tightly around those areas. Based on these discoveries, he concluded that Wright died as a result of homicidal violence. The jury found Allen guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping.   Penalty Phase During the penalty phase of the trial, Dr. Michael Gebel, a neurological physician, testified that he had discovered that Allen suffered over the years from multiple head injuries. He said that she had significant intracranial injuries and was at the lower end of intellectual capacity. He went on to say that Allens organic brain injury likely destroyed her impulsive control and her ability to control her moods. Because of this, Dr. Gebel felt that Allen would be unable to see that her attack on Wright was a criminal act. Dr. Joseph Wu, a neuropsychiatry and brain imaging specialist, also testified that Allen was given a PET scan and that at least 10 traumatic brain injuries were found, including damage to the frontal lobe. A damaged frontal lobe affects impulse control, judgment, and mood  regulation. Due to this, he felt that Allen would not be able to follow the rules of society regarding conduct. Other witnesses, including family members, testified that Allen was subjected to a lot of abuse as a child and had a tough and violent life. Allen testified on her own behalf and recounted that she had suffered multiple head injuries from being beaten as a child. Victim Impact Testimony Wenda Wright’s domestic partner, Johnny  Dublin, testified that Wright was a good person and that Wright believed that she and Allen were good friends. Other family members gave impact statements regarding the impact Wrights murder had on the family. Despite the medical findings, the  jury recommended a sentence of death in a unanimous vote.  Circuit Judge George Maxwell followed the jurys recommendations and sentenced  Allen  to death for the murder of Wenda Wright. On July 11, 2013, the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the conviction and the death sentence. Co-Defendants Quinton Allen was found guilty of second-degree murder and received a 15-year sentence. James Martin was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his help in burying Wrights body.

Different international Human Resource (HR) professional organisations Essay

Different international Human Resource (HR) professional organisations all over the world - Essay Example According to the research findings a suitable career planning process has been conducted with a purpose to select an appropriate HR Professional Organization in order to take my career in the right path. The career planning process has been studied based on Noe’s model. In the career planning process, when the researcher was in the step of self-assessment and reality check, he has recognised that he is in the ‘Exploration Stage’ of career development where the researcher is keen to seek information about jobs, careers and occupations from co-workers, friends, family members along with the experienced person in the HR field and it can assist me for pursuing the needed education or training. The researcher’s short-term goal is to gain more experience in the field of Human Resource Management in order to be effective and efficient in my near future. Similarly, the paper’s long-term goal, when the researcher enters the ‘Establishment Stage’, to be a leading HR manager in a reputed organisation which would provide me a path to attain sustainable growth. In this study, it was found that all the organisations considered have a few benefits and lacunas as well. However, SHRM can be considered as one of the best organisations for HR Professionals in order to provide opportunities for achievement, encouragement for development, and information about career opportunities. Consequently, the researcher prefers to join The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as the researcher found that it can assist me in order to achieve my career objectives. Background I am presently working in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce associated with HR department. I primarily look after the HR issues under the supervision of my mentor. My key responsibility is to manage the various HR issues in order to take the organisation in the path of sustainable growth and development. Subsequently, it can be stated that I am in the ‘Exploration St age’ and I intend to grow at sustainable rate in my near future that can be regarded as an ‘Establishment Stage’. This stage can provide me a place in an organisation which can assist me to make my independent contribution for the work. It often endow with a path to establish a desirable lifestyle along with the financial success (Noe, 2010). Self-Assessment and Reality Check Career development is considered as one of the important aspects for an organisation in order to create and sustain a continuous learning environment. It offers a process through which employee’s improvement has been conducted by a series of stages. Each and every stage is dealing with different developmental tasks, relationship and activities. In the same way, I am currently associated with the ‘Exploration Stage’. At this point, it is measured to be important for me to pursue the needed education or training in order to achieve my career objectives and goals (Noe, 2010) . The composition of different generation creates an appropriate workforce for an employee. With this concern there are mainly four different types of generations that are identified in the

Too Good to Revise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Too Good to Revise - Essay Example There are many offered courses to improve your writing and make it creative for others.Any writer must become an expert reader first, because reading holds a major impact on your writing. The more you’ll read, the more knowledge you’ll gain on the writing styles, characterization and how the language has been used by the Author. Once you write, revise it thoroughly, that is because it will help you to evaluate, pick up your errors (grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, missed-out words/sentences) and re-write.Creative writing not only involves writing, it also involves themes, questions, arguments and ideas.Writing can never be said as hundred percent perfect. A person learns to write more effectively throughout his/her entire life.Improvement in writing covers its path on day to day basis and the more you concentrate & put yourself whole self in it. You can’t just become an Author over-night. (Menand,

Fast food nation book by Eric Schlosser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast food nation book by Eric Schlosser - Essay Example Yes, Mr. Schlosser you have proved it right. Pen is indeed mightier than the sword that the McDonald uses to slaughter the animals. America, wake up! A society that treats millionaires and billionaires only as part of their culture has no future. American courts will have a tough time in doing some real interpretations as to what food is good for the citizens of America. In the name of free economy, the powerful ones cannot hold the population of the country to ransom as for their eating habits. Agreed, the working mothers have no time to cook food at home; but that doesn’t mean they will watch silently when poison is fed to their children in the guise of fast foods. When the mothers wake up, McDonalds will feel sorry for their expansion plans and closure of the branches will be at double the speed of the inaugural tempo. The vigorous churning process is on, on all the above issues as a result of the publication of â€Å"Fast Food Nation†, by Eric Schlosser. He is the c ause of many a sleepless nights to the management of McDonalds! An inquiry commission perhaps cannot do better than the comprehensive ‘report’ that Eric has produced in the form of a book, â€Å"Fast Food Nation.† He has dealt with every conceivable issue social, cultural, political etc. that affects not only America, but the people of the countries all over the world. Eric makes his objectives of writing the book clear. He writes, â€Å"This is a book about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made†¦.I am interested in it both as a commodity and as a metaphor. What people eat (or don’t eat) has always been determined by a complex interplay of social, economic and technological forces†. (3) The industry’s drive for expansion, consolidation, uniformity and speed has transformed the lifestyles of American people. The changes are unfortunately not for the better. What a revolution cannot

Entrepreneurship Climate in the Organization Assignment

Entrepreneurship Climate in the Organization - Assignment Example How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.62). The person who defines and designs various strategies is equally evaluated as for his forwarded strategies. The novel ideas arise from various innovations occurring to contemporary marketing and management necessities. Those identified new approaches are often accepted by almost every firm to a maximum extent as they wish to run with the pace of existing business scenario. But, it is a real-time fact that they are unable to implement those up to a cent percent limit; yet they are approaching of course. Innovation and changes are tried to be adapted and implemented to the organizational structuring and functioning because a delay to capture novel variations in trade sector will make position to be degraded from the current. Traditional approaches keep track of resources and their utilization and related strategic possibilities limited within themselves. This can never help a firm out to a higher status in a current market set up. â€Å"Opportunities are the focus of the entrepreneurially managed firm.† (What I worry? How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.61). Organizations can meet their entire objectives only from chances they achieve in their field of play. So, it becomes to make up for an attitude to accept and work towards modernization and revolutionize organization’s age-old trends and approaches. Entrepreneurial culture can be cultivated to handle threats and challenges just to pace towards excellence of business and profit. The answer can be started with the words of Dave Lakhani who is the entrepreneur in Boise, Idaho saying â€Å"if you’re not a little bit paranoid, your complacent.....complacency is what leads people into missed opportunities and business failure.† (What I worry? How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.61).  

Communication Behaviors and Organizational Culture Research Paper

Communication Behaviors and Organizational Culture - Research Paper Example The two factors can apply individually or intertwine in an organization. In this context, organizational performance may refer to levels of customer satisfaction, quality, and quantity in production, sustainability, motivation, and compliance to set standards. Moreover, communication in the workplace is very fundamental since it defines how different stakeholders relate to an organization. On the other hand, organizational culture derives a lot of significance in an organization in that it defines the uniqueness of operations in the workplace. Notably, there can be an interface between communication behaviors and organizational culture since the design and implementation of organizational culture is the mandate of the same management. At the same time, the interface of communication behaviors among the managers and organizational culture can have subtle effects on the organization and its performance. This leads us to the research question, which seeks to establish how communication behaviors, organization culture, and their interface affect organizational performance. ... Organizational communication measures the levels of transmitting information about the organization from the organization to the stakeholders. It has the direct and indirect influence on organizational performance (Garnett et al, 2008). Notably, communication applies to all stakeholders in an organization. Indeed, there are two types of communication in an organization, which includes internal organizational communication and external organizational communication (Rho, 2009). Specifically, internal organizational communication may be horizontal, downward, or upward depending on the source and recipient of information. Downward communication is the most dominant and it involves the flow of information from the management to the subordinates. The information in this communication relates to job instruction, orders, job description, organizational goals, and company policies (Rho, 2009). Effective downward communication ensures that employees understand and adhere to the objectives, mis sion, and overall strategy of an organization thus improving its performance. Indeed, employees will seek to perform to the organization directives thus ensuring productivity that will reflect the organization’s aims, which will guarantee customer satisfaction and increased returns. On the other hand, upward communication refers to the flow of information from the subordinates to the management. Such information relates to work progress, challenges, opportunities, recommendations, aspects of other competitors, and feelings about the organization and the management (Rho, 2009).  Ã‚  

Entrepreneurship Climate in the Organization Assignment

Entrepreneurship Climate in the Organization - Assignment Example How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.62). The person who defines and designs various strategies is equally evaluated as for his forwarded strategies. The novel ideas arise from various innovations occurring to contemporary marketing and management necessities. Those identified new approaches are often accepted by almost every firm to a maximum extent as they wish to run with the pace of existing business scenario. But, it is a real-time fact that they are unable to implement those up to a cent percent limit; yet they are approaching of course. Innovation and changes are tried to be adapted and implemented to the organizational structuring and functioning because a delay to capture novel variations in trade sector will make position to be degraded from the current. Traditional approaches keep track of resources and their utilization and related strategic possibilities limited within themselves. This can never help a firm out to a higher status in a current market set up. â€Å"Opportunities are the focus of the entrepreneurially managed firm.† (What I worry? How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.61). Organizations can meet their entire objectives only from chances they achieve in their field of play. So, it becomes to make up for an attitude to accept and work towards modernization and revolutionize organization’s age-old trends and approaches. Entrepreneurial culture can be cultivated to handle threats and challenges just to pace towards excellence of business and profit. The answer can be started with the words of Dave Lakhani who is the entrepreneur in Boise, Idaho saying â€Å"if you’re not a little bit paranoid, your complacent.....complacency is what leads people into missed opportunities and business failure.† (What I worry? How smart entrepreneurs harness the power of paranoia, n.d., p.61).  

Health Policy Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Health Policy Analysis - Assignment Example Patient navigators and navigator programs therefore became necessary in terms of providing the much needed connection between patient populations and providers with an aim of improving healthcare outcomes. Patient navigator and outreach services dates back to the year 1971 when then US President Richard Nixon ratified the National Cancer Act. Since then there have been significant improvements in healthcare outcomes in terms of reducing cancer related mortality. This can be attributed to better measures at preventing, screening and diagnosing cancer as well as the use of better treatments for the same. However, poor persons, those without any medical insurance and those without sufficient insurances covers have continued to show low 5-year survival and high rates of mortality. Disconnects still exist between discovery and delivery enterprises and also between what is known and what is applied to all people. Disparities arise when medical interventions meant for all are not equally distributed. Disparities are also occasioned by a combination of economic, cultural and social issues (Freeman and Rodriguez, 2011). Poverty is a very important cause of healthcare disparities when it comes to the management of cancer and other chronic illnesses. Poverty is a complex problem associated with other issues such as lower levels of educational achievement, squalid living conditions, total lack or insufficient social assistance, lack of employment, risky lifestyles and reduced healthcare service access. As per the 2010 national census, 14.3% of the US population representing a whooping 43.6 million persons was poor the year 2009 alone. In the same year 16.7% (50.7 million) of American citizens did not have any health insurance cover. Furthermore statistics have shown a huge gap in terms of the five year survival rates for cancers between the poor and the rich; survival is ten percent lower among the poor Americans compared to the rich. An emerging

Self-healing Operating Systems Essay Example for Free

Self-healing Operating Systems Essay The dependability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the technological era. Our daily lives are currently governed by complex computer systems (Haugk, Lax, Royer and Williams, 1985). Operating systems capable of managing key application on computer systems should be in a position to cope with the increasing rate of software problems, malicious attacks and hardware flaws (Parhami, 2005 and Lohr, 2001). One of the most significant requirements for operating systems is resilience to errors. Most of the operating systems stop operating once they encounter a problem with the hardware or software. This results to loss of applications and data running in the system. Some common examples of such issues are Windows blue screen errors and kernel panics in UNIX (David and Campbell, n. d). This is unfortunate since the main concern of the users is with the applications and data. They are afraid of losing data out of a fault that it not of their making. Even after a fault is encountered in the software or hardware, the users would want to have their data intact and recoverable. This problem has been taken care of by the invention of Self-healing operating systems. Self-healing operating systems refer to systems that automatically detect, diagnose and repair software and hardware problems that are localized. There are various techniques that are used by the operating system in recovery, once an error has been detected (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). Code reloading Temporary memory errors or memory corruption as a result of an erroneous code can lead to errors like illogical instructions to the software code. Despite the fact that the ECC memory is capable of detecting and fixing some temporary memory faults, it is not capable of handling corruption faults that result from invalid instructions. The simplest most effective technique to handle such a problem is code reloading. This recovery technique reloads the flawed memory work from permanent memory. In case the fault is permanent, a case that can be identified through testing, there is a possibility of recovering through remapping of the faulty hardware page utilizing virtual memory support. In case the processing unit points to an undefined command exception, the command is reloaded by the handler from a copy of the system code in memory-mapped permanent memory and the command that is reloaded is executed. This recovery procedure is the simplest in implementation. However; the procedure is not capable of detecting memory corruption resulting from an opcode transforming into another legal opcode (David and Campbell, n. d). Regular checking of the operating system code is important to better detection of flaws in the memory. Hashing and checksums are simple methods of verifying of running system code. If a fault is detected a reload is triggered very fast. This is a preventive strategy that is capable of detecting flaws before they cause errors. The preventive strategy is also capable of detecting faults that make an opcode to result to another legitimate opcode (Demsky, and Rinard, 2002). CRC-32 checksum of critical kernel code is computed periodically by choices. This is makes sure that the memory where the instruction is stored has not been corrupted. In case the checksum changes as a result of corrupted memory, the block of the memory that is corrupted is reloaded from the permanent memory. Flushing of the instruction cache is carried out to ensure that all the affected commands are disposed of. The checksum can also be computed as soon as an operating system error is detected. This is done to make sure that the system and recovery code is not affected (Liedtke, 1995). Modern ARM-based processor designs consist of Run Time Integrity Checker (RTIC) hardware. This hardware is capable of being configured by the operating system for computation and verification of SHA-1 hashes of specific code areas. Once an error is identified, a communication is made to the processor via an interrupt. The same kind of checksum verification can be utilized in checking the integrity of fixed data. Checking the integrity of changing data is hard. One weakness of this recovery procedure is that it cannot be clearly used for codes that are created at run-time or for self-modifying code. This means that care must be taken to make sure that a replica of the created code is stored in a permanent memory (Shapiro, 2004). Component micro-rebooting This technique has been proven to be effective for application programs. Application of this technique to OS is also practicable (Voas and McGraw, 1998). The technique can help in recovery from temporary hardware flaws and some system bugs. For the Nooks project, this technique as extension restarts was utilized for recovery of the Linux Kernel. The technique involves reinitialising the corrupted part or destroying and recreating it and then re-requesting the component. While in code reloading errors are fixed only in processor commands, in this technique errors are fixed in kernel data structures. The technique works in collaboration with isolated components. The wrapper elements that offer isolation of the components are also utilised in the management of the recovery. The fault model that is addressed in micro-reboot is component-level flaw repression. This can be partly implemented by component isolation (Tanenbaum, Herder and Bos, 2006). Automatic service restarts In case crucial operating system service, like the paging daemon, stops working, it brings the entire system to a stop. Once the failure of such a crucial process is realised, a restart of the process can solve the problem and continue the operation of the operating system. The flaw model that is handled by automatic service restart is single-process failure. In this case there is usually no external state corruption. In micro-kernel OS, this basically involves detection and restarting of the affected system services that are run as application processes (David, Carlyle and Campbell, 2007). For instance, in Minix3, this operation is carried out by reincarnation server. A system process could be developed such that it is mechanically restarted once it encounters an exception. There is a particular system process that loops constantly awaiting a prepared process and acquiesces to the new process. This special system process is the process dispatcher. The system becomes completely useless once the process dispatcher crashes. This is the reason why in some systems the system dispatcher is executed as a restartable process that can be recovered once it crashes (Demsky and Rinard, n. d). Process restarts may fail to work where the process utilizes locks for accessing shared data structures. Such cases are common where the process dies while holding a single or more locks. Even in case the shared data structures are not affected or they can be corrected, recovery will not happen unless there is releasing of all the locks held by processes. This is why the system should be such that it can track all the locks help by processes and forcefully release any that is help once a process is halted. It is possible to implement lock tracking and force unlocking to ensure that the process runs once a fault has been identified and fixed (Tanenbaum, Herder and Bos, 2006). Watch-dog based recovery This technique utilises external hardware watchdog timers. They are utilised in error detection where the operating system is not doing any useful work. This is such a case where the OS is in an infinite loop. There is need for regular resetting of the timer by the operating systems. A signal is sent to the processor once the timer expires. The processor has a reset pin where the timers are usually cabled. They lead to a complete reboot of the system in case of failure. This process has a weakness for a complete reboot results to the loss of user data and applications that are currently in the volatile memory. However, since the memory is conserved after a process reset, reconstruction of both the operating systems and user state is possible. This makes it possible to continue operating after the reset. This way the user data is recovered resulting to higher reliability (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). This technique has been successfully implemented in Linux and Choices. Once there is resetting of the memory management unit (MMU), interrupt subsystem, watchdog bites, and the processor, the system continues to operate effectively. To be able to avoid loosing the user data, the reset handler passes the usual boot procedure when the reset is instigated by the timer. The reset handler turns the memory management unit back on, there is deactivation of the running processes, reinitialising of the interrupts and skips to the OS’s process dispatch loop. After this the system runs the next ready process (Shapiro, 2004). All that is lost is the process state of the one that was running during the resetting of the processor. The process whose state is lost cannot be scheduled once more. As a result, it is eliminated from the process queue. A solution to the lock-up state is delivering of exception to the thread that is locked up. In this case, the thread is free to try local recovery rather than being forced to terminate. Watch-dog based recovery uses single process crash as a fault model without external state corruption. The technique utilises the lock tracking code in the release of pooled resources that are in a process that is terminated. Another kind of lockup that can initiate a watchdog timeout is a deadlock. Recovery in this case can be tried by restarting some parts so as to break cycles (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). Transactional roll-back Once an error results to an exception during an operation, there could be a roll back of the state of the part. This can be achieved through the abortion of the operation. After abortion, the operation is then retried. In Choices, management of a transaction is carried out by the same wrapper elements that offer isolation. The transaction is aborted by the wrapper. Where there is unhandled exception, the state of the part is rolled back. It is also possible to use multi-threaded and non-blocking execution offered by RSTM for better performance (Brown and Patterson, 2001). Support of transactional model on parts results to expenses in terms of space and time. Expenses in terms of space are as a result of storage of backup copies of states prior to transactions. In terms of time, it is due to performance of memory copies and management of the memory during the set up and committing of a transaction (Marathe et al. 2006). Transactional roll-back differ from component micro-booting since the roll back is only on the current process, while the latter re-initialises the entire internal state of the process. Based on the kind of the component, either of the two techniques can be employed. Particularly, in case the component has crucial state information that can be lost if component micro-booting is used, then transactional roll-back can be utilised to retain the state. Component micro-booting is useful when the component can withstand state reinitialisation and has few overheads (Demsky and Rinard, n. d). Process-level recovery Where clear recovery cannot work, or in case the recovery process becomes erroneous, specific process states can be stored to permanent memory. This is carried out as the last option is all the others cannot work. Once the user states are stored, the system can attempt full reboot. The state of the processes can then be saved selectively into the computer. Every operating system state is reinitialised after the reboot probably removing fleeting errors. Process-level recovery ensures that user applications are not lost when the fault affects only a few system applications or immaterial operating system state. The technique can be used in collaboration with file system snapshots to make sure that the file integrity is not affected after the recovery process by going on to run erroneous processes. This procedure needs minimal support from the operating system. All it requires is an operational permanent memory drive and user process state management code. The stored processes can be restored selectively after the healing process (Ghosha, Sharman, Rao and Upadhyaya, 2007). Conclusion The reliability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the modern society. This is because computers have become central to our lives and we depend on them for many of our operations. A reliable computer system is one that can recover from a fault or an error effectively and without loss of either user applications or data. This is the reason why operating systems have been developed such that they are self-healing. This means that they can automatically detect, diagnose and repair software and hardware problems that are localized. The recovery techniques discussed on the paper include: Code reloading; Component micro-rebooting; Automatic service restarts; Watch-dog based recovery; Transactional roll-back; and Process-level recovery. Annotated Bibliography: Andrzejak, A. , Geihs, K. , Shehory, O. Wilkes, J. (2009). Self-Healing and Self-Adaptive Systems, Dagstuhl Seminar 09201, May 10-15, 2009. This paper presented in Dagstuhl Seminar tackles various aspects of self-healing and self-adaptive systems. Among the issues discussed in the paper include fault detection and diagnosis, recovery and repair techniques, frameworks and architectures for self-adaptive systems, self-healing solutions in IT infrastructures, and fault management for application systems. The discussion on recovery and repair techniques makes the paper an important resource for the project. Brown, A. , and Patterson, D. (2001). Embracing failure: A case for recovery-oriented computing (ROC). High Performance Transaction Processing Symposium, Asilomar, CA (October 2001). This paper is generally on recovery-oriented technology. Brown and Patterson discus various aspects related to recovery from faults and errors in computing. In their work, they have not left out the role of operating systems in recovery, which is the focus of this research. As a result, this paper provides very important information for the project. The authors are experts in data recovery and therefore the information provided is reliable in understanding recovery in computing. David, F. Campbell, R. (n. d). Building a Self-Healing Operating System, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. This paper by David, F. Campbell, R. discusses the rationale behind development of Self-healing Operating Systems. They go further to discus the recovery techniques that ensure user applications and data in temporary storage are not lost when an operating system crashes. The techniques discussed include: Code reloading; Component micro-rebooting; Automatic service restarts; Watch-dog based recovery; Transactional roll-back; and Process-level recovery. This makes the paper an important resource for this project. David, F. Carlyle, J. Campbell, R. (2007). Exploring Recovery from Operating System Lockups. In USENIX Annual Technical Conference, Santa Clara, CA. In the recovery process, process restarts may be impossible where the process has locks. This mostly happens where the process terminates while holding a single or more locks. This resource provides crucial information on how to deal with these lock-ups for recovery to be effective. The paper introduces what lock-ups and how to handle them when using different recovery methods. This is what makes it important as an information source for this paper. Demsky, B. and Rinard, M. (2002). Automatic detection and repair of errors in data structures. Technical Report MIT-LCS-TR-875, MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This paper is on mechanical detection and repair of errors in computer systems. The idea of automatic detection and repair reveals the fact that the operation system is involved in the detection and recovery. The paper provides details on how the self-healing operating system detects and repairs errors in data structures. These are the techniques that are used for detection and recovery which are the main focus of the essay. Demsky, B. Rinard, M. (n. d). Automatic Data Structure Repair for SelfHealing Systems. Retrieved on August 3, 2010 from http://people. csail. mit. edu/rinard/paper/sms03. pdf The authors of this paper, Demsky, B. Rinard, M. talk about a system that they came up with that that accepts specifications of key data structure constraints, detects and repairs breaches of these constraints, making it possible for the program to recover from errors and continue working effectively. The paper offers the procedures that the authors use in detection and recovery of their system from the errors. This is what makes the paper significant for the research. Ghosha, D. , Sharman, R. , Rao, R. Upadhyaya, S. (2007). Self-healing systems: survey and synthesis, Decision Support Systems Volume 42, Issue 4. Ghosha, Sharman, Rao and Upadhyaya give a detailed analysis of Self-healing systems. Theirs is a contemporary software-based systems and applications analysis in a world where this has gained significance importance. They discus the ability of Self-healing systems in to manage conflicting resources and service different user needs. They go ahead to discus the need and how to discover and rectify system faults and recovery from errors. They have argued that these systems attempt to â€Å"heal† themselves by recovering from faults and regaining normal performance rates. Haugk, G. , Lax, F. , Royer, R. and Williams, J. (1985). The 5ESS(TM) switching system: Maintenance capabilities. ATT Technical Journal, 64(6 part2). This paper discusses maintenance capabilities of operating systems. It is a useful recourse for the essay that discusses self-healing of operating systems from an historic point of view. Computer systems have been affected by software bugs and hardware faults since the beginning. This article discusses how these bugs and faults that result to errors have been handled since the invention of computer hardware and software. Liedtke, J. (1995). On micro-kernel construction. In SOSP ’95: Proceedings of the fifteenth ACM symposium on Operating systems principles, New York: ACM Press. This book includes the proceedings of ACM symposium on Operating systems principles in 1995. The book contains a discussion of the component micro-rebooting that has been proven to be effective for application programs. The author also argues that the application of this technique to operating system is also practicable. For the Nooks project, this technique as extension restarts was utilized for recovery of the Linux Kernel. This book contains important information on component micro-rebooting as recovery technique for self-healing operating systems. Lohr, S. (2001). Go to: The Story of the Math Majors, Bridge Players, Engineers, Chess Wizards, Maverick Scientists, and Iconoclasts, the Programmers Who Created the Software Revolution. New York: Basic Books. This book provides important information on the evolution and working of software. The book offers reliable information on software management. Software bugs are some of the problems that cause errors on processes. The book offers a clear understanding of these bugs and ways of dealing with them. Marathe, V. et al. (2006). Lowering the Overhead of Software Transactional Memory. Technical Report TR 893, Computer Science Department, University of Rochester, Mar 2006. According to this paper, support of transactional model on parts results to overheads in terms of space and time. Expenses in terms of space are as a result of storage of backup copies of states prior to transactions. In terms of time, it is due to performance of memory copies and management of the memory during the set up and committing of a transaction. After providing this fact, the authors goes on to discuss ways of eliminating these overheads. Parhami, B. (2005). Computer Architecture: From Microprocessors to Supercomputers, New York: Oxford University Press. As the technology has been advancing, so are the changes and needs to have systems that are more reliable. This book has a section that discusses computer operations and it is the section that has significant information for the paper. Faults in computer hardware are as crucial in error detection and recovery as software. This makes the book important for the research. The research would not be complete without the understanding of computer hardware. Shapiro, M. ( 2004). Self-Healing in Modern Operating Systems. Retrieved on August 3, 2010 http://queue. acm. org/detail. cfm? id=1039537 Shapiro gives an introduction to the topic of self-healing operating systems by first discussing the role played by the operating system in a computer system. It is not possible to understand the concept of self-healing operating systems, without understanding operating systems in general. This is the strength of this article for this research. He goes on to discuss the self-healing system model, which leads to the self-healing operating systems, which is the center of this research. Tanenbaum, A. S. , Herder, J. N. and Bos, H. (2006). Can We Make Operating Systems Reliable and Secure? Computer, 39(5):44–51, The reliability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the modern society. This article provides the reasons why computer systems need to be made reliable and dependable. The authors go on to explain ways by which operating systems can be made more reliable in a computing environment prone to hardware faults and software bugs. This book is an important resource for the essay since it provides the solutions to the problem. Voas J. M. and McGraw G. (1998). Software Fault Injection. New York: Wiley, 1998. Software Fault Injection is a book that identifies the fact that software bugs can result to unreliability in computer systems. The book discusses ways in which these bugs and errors in computer systems can be identified and what should be done. The solution suggested by Voas J. M. and McGraw G. is related to the operating systems, leading us to what is referred to as self-healing Operating Systems. This section on how the system can solve the problems with the software is the one that offers important information for the research.

American Public University System Characteristics

American Public University System Characteristics Delainah E. Borgonia StarTeam StarTeam is a change management system that was developed by a company named Micro Focus. The systems main intent is to support an enterprise that can service anyone, no matter where they are located. This system is mainly used in my organization as a software development tracking tool that allows you to track the software development lifecycle through the StarTeam Change Request Workflow process. It also allows the program managers and system developers the ability to collaborate on projects and track the change management. Workflow is a term used to describe by which members of an organization completes difficult tasks or projects. This process allows one user to begin a task and pass it along to the next individual for review. Once that user is complete with their portion they will pass the project to another person to complete and finalize the review. This process will continue on until the project is developed, tested and deployed into production. Characteristics of the Users of the System The employees that mainly use the StarTeam system are the requirement managers, project managers, project functionals, analysts and system developers. The requirement and project managers responsibility is to review and validate the change requirements and update the objective scoring module in the Requirement Management System prior to it being imported into StarTeam. The project functional system evaluates the request, then decides if the request should be pursued. Once the project is given the go ahead, the project goes through the analysts for review and accuracy, then to the software developers to write code and develop the system. Features and Usage of the System The StarTeam Change Request Workflow strictly defines the change requests process, enhancing productivity and facilitating management oversight. The workflow also enforces the security it requires to ensure only authorized personnel for specific data can update that data element at the appropriate point in the workflow. All change request in StarTeam are controlled by a workflow. The workflow allows users to track the progress of any change request from when it is entered into StarTeam, to when it is closed. Each department that has a role to perform on the change request is reflected by the Air Force Change Request Status of the change request. Upon logging into StarTeam the first thing you see is a listing of projects broken out by system name. When clicking on a project, the main window that pops up is the Cross-Platform Client also known as the project view window. The Content Perspective view is the default view that you see when you open the Cross-Platform Client. On the Cross- Platform Client view is a series of Menus from the folder tree, upper pane, component tabs, and lower pane, and information tabs. The most important menu we use is the Upper Pane menu that consist of a list of items associated with the folder that is displayed in the folder tree. Even though each folder can contain items of different types of projects, the upper pane displays only one type of data at a time. This is where we are able to see where in the workflow process our project is currently at. The Enterprise workflow process starts at the status of Enter. This is a system status that is invisible to the user. The user is automatically advance to New for standard workflow or Technical Analysis for maintenance workflow. Under the New status the change request is imported from another system call Remedy and the Requirements Management System as well as those created manually inputted directly into StarTeam. For all manually created change requirements, the user will enter the required data using the change request form. For all others that are imported, the data required is captured during the import process and the change request is then displayed with an Air Force Change Request Status of New. The status is reviewed by the Air Force Personnel Operations Agency (AFPOA) Management. Once complete, it is then assigned to an AFPOA Functional and the status is changed to AFPOA Functional. While in the AFPOA Functional status the request is reviewed by the assigned AFPOA Functional. Fields such as the Description, Synopsis, Contact, Info, and Application System are validated at this point. This is where any files in support of the change request are checked into StarTeam and linked to the requirement. If the change request affects multiple systems, the AFPOA Functional will coordinate the creation of additional StarTeam change requests. All change requests and requirements arising from the change request will be linked even if they are in different projects originating from this change request. Within this status there are multiple sub-statuses to allow AFPOA to monitor the change request throughout the AFPOA process. Once the change request has moved through the AFPOA process the change request is ready for the business process owners (BPO) input, the AFPOA Functional will then change the request status to BPO Eval and inform the BPO that it is ready for their coordin ation. In the BPO Eval status the BPO will update the weighted factors and review the data entered thus far to ensure the change request accurately reflects the desired system change. When the BPO has finished the actions required, the status is changed to AFPOA QC and the AFPOA point of contact is notified that the change request is ready for their action. While in the AFPOA QC status the point of contact performs their final validation of the change request before it is made available for the Project Management Office (PMO) to begin their work on the change request. Once the change request is ready for the PMO, the AFPOA QC changes the status to Tech Analysis for the Analyst QCs coordination. In the Tech Analysis status the requirement is assigned to an analyst. The analyst will check-in any supporting documentation and link it to the change request. While in this status there are multiple sub-statuses in order to allow the project management office analysts to monitor the coordination throughout the Technical Analysis process. Once complete, the change request status is changed back to the AFPOA Functional for their approval. At this point, the AFPOA Functional reviews the change request to determine if it is ready for development. When the requirement is ready for development, the AFPOA Functional changes the status to Development. During the development step the change request is assigned to a developer by the Developer QC. The developer will complete the required modifications to the code and any documentation will be checked-in to StarTeam and linked to the change request. Once the requirement is coordinated through the developer the change request is developed and ready for testing. The Developer QC changes the status to Testing and the Test Manager is notified that the change request is ready for testing. Once the testing manager assigns the requirement to a tester, the tester executes the test plan in accordance to the requirement. There are several Test Phases that the requirement goes through before the change request is ready for acceptance testing. Once the requirement is ready for acceptance t esting, the Test Manager changes the status to Acceptance Testing, then the Test Manager notifies the AFPOA QC and notifies them that the change request is ready for action. During the Acceptance Testing step the AFPOA QC changes the Test Phase on the Testing tab to User Acceptance Testing and the Test Status to Testing Ready. After testing is completed successfully, the AFPOA QC changes the Test Status to Passed. When the change request is ready for production the AFPOA QC changes the status to Prod Ready and notifies the analyst that the change request is awaiting their action. In Prod Ready status the analyst prepares the change request and links any files for migration to production. After the migration is complete the analyst will change the status to Released. After all the actions are accomplished for production, the requirements status is changed to Closed and the closure reason to Released. That completes the Enterprise Workflow process and the desired system change is released to all users with the new system capability. Impact of the System The lack of StarTeam would hamper the developmental cycle and dramatically increase the time it would take to implement a new IT system. StarTeam is the glue that holds the entire system together. It documents all of the steps in the development cycle. All comments and notes are store on the StarTeam server. If someone needs to go back and check to see if a step was missing, that information is available for everyone on the project team to look at and evaluate. Life without StarTeam would definitely cause our employees to do everything manually. Doing things manually will dramatically increase the time spent on a project, as well as an increase in cost to pay the employees for the additional time needed to process each project. An increase of employees would also be required in order to keep track of each project status. Doing things this way will cause a tremendous delay and an increase in the cost of any system enhancement submitted, which in turn can cause mission degradation for the Air Force. One negative impact StarTeam has, is that the main users of the system are overly-dependent on the system and are not able to accomplish their job if the system was to go down because every change requirement project they are working on is stored in StarTeam. They have no other tracking mechanism they use to track and store the requirements that are being worked. Conclusion StarTeam is a critical system to the Air Force development cycle because of what we use it for. Ive discussed how we used StarTeam through the enterprise workflow process. The first step is for the BPO to submit a needs requirement statement into the Requirement Management System which then flows into StarTeam. Once the requirements needs statement is submitted, the appropriate functional system manger evaluates the request, then decides if the request should be perused. If the project is given the go ahead, the project moves to the next step in the requirements process which is the project development. While in project development, the software developers begin to write code and develop the system. After the development is complete, the project, then moves into the testing cycle. In the testing cycle, bugs and defects are found and fixed. The main goal of testing is to ensure the system works as designed. Once testing is complete the project is deployed with the new or updated syste m capability. The lack of StarTeam will definitely delay any system enhancement submitted and cause us not to complete our Air Force mission.

A Commentary on the Travel Writing of Pierre Jean Grosley and Ramond de

A Commentary on the Travel Writing of Pierre Jean Grosley and Ramond de Carbonnià ¨res Each summer, for the past five years, I have traveled to Savary Island, B.C. to "repose my wearied spirit" on the mountains, the ocean, and especially on the absence of civilization and the regular amenities thereof. The island is divided: the western half submits to residents who wish for large homes and tennis courts while the eastern half (Indian Point) supports those who want to escape from those very things. There are only a handful of permanent residents on the eastern half and they have built their homes and gardens with a respect and reverence for nature that is rarely found in the city, or Savary Shores (the western half). The visitors to the island fit, generally, into the same western and eastern categories; all escaping the city, but only some willing to leave the city behind. It is a modern distinction between the tourist and the traveler. It is impossible to engage with nature without engaging with the people on Savary Island. I have found that encounters with both visi tors and residents, negative or positive, have influenced my experience of nature and, in turn, knowledge of myself. Therefore, the effects of our Romantic Travelers' encounters with people (tourists, travelers or native residents) on their experience of nature have interested me greatly. Pierre Jean Grosley and Ramond de Carbonnià ¨res' travel writing provides two perspectives (the tourist and the traveler) of both nature and its human inhabitants. How each man engages with the people he meets mirrors the way he engages with his natural surroundings. My desire to blend in with the residents of Indian Point place my traveling experiences on par with de Carbonnià ¨res... ...gages with nature beyond his initial scientific attempts. He accesses nature, and in turn increases his knowledge of self by engaging with the people he encounters, specifically the shepherds of the Pyrenees. I find I am able to relate my own experiences on Savary Island with both of these travelers, although more so with Ramond de Carbonnià ¨res. Works Cited de Carbonnià ¨res, Ramond. Travels in the Pyrenees; containing a description of the principal summits, passes, and vallies. Trans. F. Gold. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Browne, 1813. (Original work: Observations faites dans les Pyreneà ©s, 1789) Grosley, Pierre Jean. New Observations of Italy and its Inhabitants. Trans. Thomas Nugent. London: L.Davis and C. Reymers, 1769. Vol.1 Noyes, Russell. English Romantic Poetry and Prose. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956. Introduction, xxii.

Progressive Movement Essay

The period from 1890 to 1917 in the history of United States is known as Progressive era. This period is marked by an all-encompassing and intensive change in all spheres of American life viz. political, economic and social. The progressive leaders with faith in the traditional American ideals of democratic government, individual liberty, rule of law and protection of private rights and property, felt that Gilded Age was marked by corruption. They further felt that due to the policies and practices of the previous regimes, a privileged wealthy class has been created that had plundered the national wealth and resources. Prof. Ekirch (1978) explored the profound intellectual factors behind the Progressive movement. He illustrates trans-Atlantic roots of this phenomenon that starts with Darwinism. He says in this regard that it was the transformation of â€Å"the Populist and Socialist ideas of the 1890s into an American version of the state socialism or social democracy† (p.34). Furthermore he considers it a response to industrialization of America and Imperialism invasion the world over. Still there is another viewpoint that postulates the theory that â€Å"the progressive movement never existed† (Filene, 1970. p.1) So these motives propelled them to create a new socio-political milieu to nurture the true American ideals. They wanted that majority of the people must be associated with the government and those ruling over the United States must be made answerable to the electorates. They also expected higher standard of professional morality and integrity from the officials. In the economic sphere they were alarmed by the growth of increased monopoly of a few entrepreneurs and exploitations of the farmers and working classes. These leaders from middle class pleaded for government regulation of big businesses to prevent exploitations pf the weaker sections. Stressing on the needs for reforms, Theodore Roosevelt said, â€Å"†No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the way in which such work [reform] must be done; but most certainly every man, whatever his position, should strive to do it in some way and to some degree.† (Roosevelt) Most of the problems that Progressives wanted to tackle was an outcome of the industrial expansion and the political-industrial coalitions of the Gilded Age. During the Progressive almost every department of American life was overhauled and modernized. Thus Progressivism was a movement with â€Å"predominantly middle class objectives and viewpoint, deriving much of its support from small businessmen, farmers and professional people. The typical progressive leader was some lawyer, journalist or businessmen who, aroused by corruption or misgovernment in his own community, started a crusade to elect better men to office, and gradually came to the realization that what was needed was a reform of the system as well as a change of men.† ( Parkes, p.544) Broadly speaking the Progressive reformists fall in to categories. The first category consists of those who had its origin in the agrarian West and concerned themselves mainly with economic issues. The prominent among these Progressives were Henry George (author of Progress and Poverty), Edward Bellamy (author of looking Backward).the chief political spokesman of this category of Progressivism was Altgald and Donnelly, Brian and La Follette. The second category consists of those Eastern Progressives who addressed themselves to the problems like the tariff reform, merit system and anti-Imperialism. The predominant spokesmen of this category were Godkin, George William Curtis and President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard University. Its political spokesmen were Carl Schurz, Abram S. Hewitt and Woodrow Wilson. The Progressives also differed as to how the state should interfere to protect the weaker sections of the society. There were some Progressives like Theodore Roosevelt who held that the growth of business corporations were inevitable economic trend and governments should not abolish them. The government should merely concern itself with the regulation of their affairs. In short, they stood for greater governmental control over large enterprises and industrial units. To undo justices to the weaker sections and labor, they stood for extension of great privileges and compensations to the working classes as well as the strengthening of trade unions, which they believe would counteract the powers of big corporations and their corrupt practices. There was still another group of Progressive, supported by Woodrow Wilson, who emphasized the need of prohibiting monopoly, protecting small business and enforcing effecting competition. In other orders they were more in line with liberalism. The first battle of reforms were fought by the Progressives at the Municipal and state level. This was so because the states under American constitutional system had jurisdiction over almost all matters of social character i.e. working hours, wages of labor, conditions of workplace, welfare of women and children, education, health, suffrage etc. So it was in the states that most national reforms were initially tested at the rudimentary stages. Furthermore these states also served as the testing grounds for reformers who later undertook the reforms at the national level. Thus Roosevelt got his training at New York city and Albany. La Follett learned the economies of railway and trust regulation in Wisconsin and Woodrow Wilson earned the reputation of a great reformer as a liberal Governor of New Jersey. However, the most spectacular reforms in this period were accomplished at state Level by Robert Marion La Follette of Wisconsin (although the spade work for reforms at the state level was done John P. Altgald of Illinois and Hazen S. Pingree in Michigan). He consistently fought for the democratic ideals and was opposed to domination of Government by the business interests. During his Governorship, he gave concrete shape to his Wisconsin Idea†. He enlarged democracy through the direct primary initiative and referendum. He accomplished potation on campaigns expenditures, municipal home rule, civil service reforms and creation of bureau of experts to advise the administration. With a view to protect the people against exploitations by large business corporations, La Follette set up commissions to regulate Railway and other public utility services. He further enforced the law that compelled the rail companies and timber corporations to pay their share of taxes. Additionally, he introduced several reforms that changed the socio-economic set-up of the whole state. At the federal level, the Progressive movement set in with the inauguration of the President Roosevelt, who was the first of the three Progressive Presidents i.e. Taft and Woodrow Wilson. His first act to curtail the powers of the large organizations was epitomized through the suite against The Northern Securities Company in 1903. He introduced other legislative measures to breakdown the monopoly of the large corporations. Elkins Act of 1903, Hepburn Act of 1906 are only some examples.   Second major proponent of Progressivism at the Federal level was President William Howard Taft (1909-1913) who accomplished more progressive legislation than the Roosevelt. He introduced and enacted law to check corrupt practices during the elections. He dissolved ninety trusts under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (these trusts were saving huge taxes in the name of charity and were involved in certain illegal activities). He strengthened the cause of democracy when he propagated the idea of direct elections for the senators and introduced 17th amendments in the U.S. constitutions that provided for direct elections of the members of the Senate instead being elected by the State legislatures. Furthermore, he wanted to reduce tariffs because he felt hat the Dingley Act of 1897 was much too high and enabled the entrepreneurs to charge exorbitant prices. It is often alleged that Taft was not a true Progressive but it remains the fact that more progressive legislation was enacted during his presidency. Woodrow is the next in the row for progressive presidents. He introduced far-reaching economic reforms and adopted a number other progressive measure to capacitate the entire American spirit with purpose. Hs foremost priority was the revision of tariff and introduction of viable reforms. He was successful to get â€Å"The Underwood Tariff Act (1913) passed. Secondly, he introduced another Act to reconstruct the monetary and banking sector. He introduced certain other legislative measure to minimize the effect of Gilded Age[1]. Although his program of more progressive reforms were cut short but the outbreak or WW II but two more constitutional amendment (18th and 19th) became effective in his presidency.[2] Though Progressives could not bring about the revolutionary transformation of the political and economic system, yet it cannot be denied that through their reforms they tried to revitalize democracy and made the rulers responsible and accountable to the public. â€Å"Perhaps the best known results of this era are the 18th and 19th Amendments, Prohibition and woman suffrage respectively. But this legislation really came at the tail end of the period which has come to be known as the â€Å"Age of Reform.† The amendments were actually the byproducts of an immense social and political upheaval which changed forever the expectations of the role government would play in American society.† (PBS) The most important contribution of the progressive era was the change that they incorporated in the attitudes of the political and business leaders. In the subsequent years, the big business corporations could not completely ignore the public and their interests.   Although the Progressive era was a short one but it pioneered a new role for government.       References Ekirch, Arthur A. Progressivism in America. A study of the Era from Theodore Roosevelt to Woodrow Wilson. New York; New Viewpoints. 1974. Filene, Peter G. An Obituary for â€Å"The Progressive Movement†. American Quarterly. Vol. 22, No. 1(Spring, 1970). pp. 20-34 Parkes, Henry B. The United States of America—A History. New York, Knopf, 1959 PBS. The Progressive Era 1900-1918.Retrieved on March 07, 2007 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande08.html [1] Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) and the formation of Federal trade commission to reduce the unfair methods of trade are some other measures. [2] 18th Amendment of U.S. Constitution the process of introduction of Prohibition was completed whereas 19th Amendments granted the right of vote to the women on equal terms with men.

Critical Analysis of Delta Airline

Critical Analysis of Delta Air Lines, Inc. Financial Reporting and Disclosure Table of Contents Description of Delta Air Lines, Inc. Background, Industry, Market3 Financial Reporting Similarities and Differences4-5 Direction of Disclosure Three Year Comparison5-6 Disclosure Techniques7-8 Financial Derivatives8-9 Financial Statement Analysis Three Year Ratio Analysis10-13 Disclosure of Note Items Application of GAAP13-18 Conclusion Closing Comments18-19 Description of Delta Air Lines, Inc. Background and ProductsDelta Air Lines, Inc. was originally formed as Huff Daland Dusters, Inc. on May 30, 1924, in Macon, Georgia. This began as an aerial crop dusting operation until the company moved to Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana, in 1925, and began acting as a passenger airline in late 1929. Collett E. Woolman purchased the company on September 13, 1928, and renamed it Delta Air Service, with headquarters in Monroe. In the ensuing decades, Delta grew through the addition of routes and the acquisition of other airlines.It transitioned from propeller planes to jets in the 1970s, and entered international competition to Europe in the 1970s and across the Pacific in the 1980s. Delta Air Lines, Inc. is currently a major airline based in the United States headquartered in Atlanta. Delta is the world's largest airline operating under a single certificate, operating flights on six continents across the globe. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Australia.Delta and its subsidiary Delta Connection operate over 4,000 flights every day. Delta and the Delta Connection carriers fly to 348 destinations in 64 countries. Industry and Market Typically, airline companies and aircraft manufacturers are more prone to swings in revenue and equity market prices due to the release of economic indicators. Delta had an increase of 38% in domestic revenue since 2 008. This is due to increased cargo and baggage handling fees due to new policy implementation. Delta increased its international revenue by 26% since 2008.This is mostly due to an increased focus in the international arena due to the lower demand and higher competition from discount airliners in the U. S. The airline industry contains a variety of different airlines. Some of Delta’s biggest competitors are AirTran Holdings, Southwest Airlines Company, Continental Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, and US Airway Group. All of these competitors are diversified in terms of the number of different things they offer, allowing companies in the industry to have access to a number of different profitable markets.Similarities and Differences in Financial Reporting Comparison of Annual Report, 10K and 10Q Delta Air Lines, Inc. uses a number of different elements to supply pertinent information to consumers, investors, creditors, employees, and anyone with a general interest in or curiosity about the company. This pertinent information comes in the form of reports that companies file with the Security and Exchange Commission or SEC, such as the company annual report, the 10K and the 10Q.The annual report is a comprehensive report on a company’s activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested persons information about the company’s activities and performance. The 10K is a summary report of a company’s performance that must be submitted annually to the SEC. The 10Q, on the other hand, is a report of a company’s performance submitted quarterly by all public firms to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the 10Q, firms are required to disclose only newly relevant information egarding their financial position. We see that all three reports are very similar in general as to the information they provide, as well as their purpose. There are a numbe r of similarities and differences between the three reports. The annual report, unlike the 10K and the 10Q, is designed for the benefit of the stockholders and any potential investors. The annual report is published once a year, like the 10K, and usually provides information over a two or three year period to show growth or decline.The annual report is produced to be aesthetically appealing, with color, pictures, quality paper, and printing all for the benefit of current or potential stockholders. The annual report usually includes a company overview, a letter to shareowners, information on the company and its brands, products, and initiatives, its financial highlights, a list of the members of the board of directors, goals and opportunities, and then any important financial statements, information and notes, all of which is meant to promote investment and provide information.The 10K is also a form of an annual report but is only filed with the SEC. It is merely a financial snapshot of the company over the previous year and lacks any visually appealing elements. It too includes a company of the important financial statements, information and notes, but unlike the annual report, it gives much more detail and insight into the operations and cash flow functions of the company. The 10K includes detailed information regarding the business, risk factors, properties, legal proceedings, controls and procedures, transaction relationships, and much more.Like the annual report, the 10K provides information for the current year as well as for one or two years before the current. The 10K is not meant for the benefits of stockholders, but is produced for the sole use of being files with the SEC. The last report is the 10Q, which is a quarterly report filed exclusively with the SEC. This report gives a snapshot of the company’s financial situation in the last quarter, usually a three month period, and also supplies the information for the same quarter in the previous year. The 10Q sually contains information for the total year to date as well. The 10Q, unlike the 10K, is an unaudited version of the financial information and may contain a significant amount of estimation. The report contains sufficiently less information than the other two reports, and gives a general overview of the following topics: financial statements, operations, quantitative and qualitative disclosures, controls, and risk factors. Like the 10K, the 10Q lacks any visually appealing elements because its sole use is for that of the SEC and not for the stockholder’s or potential investors.While still being of importance, the 10Q is of less important than that of the annual report or 10K because of its unaudited and estimated nature, as well as the fact that it reports on a significantly shorter time period than that of the reports and therefore enables users of the report to draw fewer conclusions. Overall, the 10Q is not as useful as those interested in the financial in formation because it provides much less detail and gives a much smaller picture of the company’s financial outlook. Direction of Disclosure Three Year ComparisonOver the last three years, Delta Air Lines, Inc. has made few changes in regard to its direction of disclosure. Delta Air Lines, Inc. discloses its Notes to Financial Statements directly following its Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. In 2008 and 2009, Delta Air Lines, Inc. disclosed all of the same eighteen notes to financial statements in the same order. In 2010, the number of notes was increased to nineteen. The three added notes in 2010 consist of Note 8: JFK Development, Note 11: Bankruptcy Claims Resolution, and Note 19: Subsequent Events.In the 2008 10K, Note 17: Valuation and Qualifying Accounts was stated and kept in the 2009 10K as Note 17 as well. However, it was not included in the 2010 10K. All the Notes added in each year were due to issues that arose within the company. Delta Air Lines, Inc. Note 11: Bankruptcy Claims Resolution was added because In September  2005, we and substantially all of our subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter  11 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code. On April  30, 2007, the Delta Debtors emerged from bankruptcy.Under the Delta Debtors’ Joint Plan of Reorganization, most holders of allowed general, unsecured claims against the Delta Debtors received or will receive Delta common stock in satisfaction of their claims. There will be no further material impact to our Consolidated Statements of Operations from the settlement of claims because the holders of such claims will receive under Delta’s and Northwest’s Plan of Reorganization, as the case may be, only their pro rata share of the distributions of common stock contemplated by the applicable Plan of Reorganization.Delta Air Lines, Inc. Note 8: JFK Redevelopment states the company’s annual rent, operation and maintenance payments for the use of terminal facilities at JFK were approximately $135  million in 2010, and estimate the future annual payments to be approximately $200 million after the project is complete in 2016. We will be responsible for the management and construction of the project and bear construction risk, including cost overruns. As construction progresses, the project will be recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet as a fixed asset as if we owned the asset.We will also record a related construction obligation on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Future rental payments will reduce this construction obligation and result in the recording of interest expense on our Consolidated Statement of Operations. The last aspect of Delta Air Lines, Inc. direction of disclosure that has changed with the last three years is Note 19: Subsequent Events. In February 2011, the company completed a $100 million offering of Pass Through Certificates and a $135 million offering of Pass Through Certificates through two separate pass through trusts. This has a final maturity in January 2016.The company received $75 million in net proceeds from the 2010-2B EETC at the closing of the offering and the remaining $59 million is being held in escrow until they refinance other aircraft. Techniques of Disclosure Companies should disclose information as completely as possible in relation to financial condition, contingencies, methods of valuing assets and liabilities, and contracts and agreements. In order to do so, a company may use a number of different disclosure techniques, which include but are not limited to, parenthetical explanations, notes, cross references and contra tems, and supporting schedules. Delta Air Lines, Inc. uses a number of these techniques in the disclosure of their pertinent financial information. Delta Air Lines, Inc. uses parenthetical explanations in a number of different places throughout their financial reporting. Companies use parenthetical explanations to add clarity and com pleteness where it may be needed. This technique brings additional information into the body of the text or statement an afforded for less oversight by readers or users of the financial information. Delta Air Lines, Inc. uses parenthetical explanations in their financial reporting.For example, on the balance sheet under â€Å"Stockholders’ Equity†, Delta Air Lines, Inc. shows parenthetical explanation of the price per share when stating: Shares of common stock issued and compensation expense associated with equity awards (Treasury shares withheld for payment of taxes, $10. 73 per share). (This example is in the 2010 annual report). Notes are another important technique that companies use for disclosure purposes. Notes allow companies to supply additional information or explanations without writing lengthy or inconvenient parenthetical explanations.Notes are commonly used to disclose the existence and amount of any dividends in arrears, terms of or obligations concernin g purchase commitments, special financial arrangements, financial instruments, depreciation policies, changes in accounting principles or policies, and any contingencies. Companies who use notes are obligated to present all essential facts as completely and precisely as possible in an effort to relay the appropriate and accurate information to readers. Delta Air Lines, Inc. relies heavily on notes in their financial reporting and discloses them in a section called Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.Each of these notes adds or clarifies information already presented in the report. An example of such is Note 4: Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. This note in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements section of the annual report describes that the company experienced a significant decline in market capitalization primarily from record high fuel prices and overall airline industry conditions. We determined that these factors combined with further increases in fuel pr ices were an indicator that a goodwill impairment test was required.As a result, we estimated fair value based on a discounted projection of future cash flows, supported with a market-based valuation. We determined that goodwill was impaired and recorded a non-cash charge of $6. 9  billion for the year ended December  31, 2008. This is just one of many notes disclosed by Delta Air Lines, Inc. in their financial reports (this example is in the 2010 annual report). Cross-references and contra items are another important techniques used to supplement the disclosure of financial information. Cross-referencing shows a direct relationship between an asset and a liability on the balance sheet.Cross-referencing is not a technique used by Delta Air Lines, Inc. in their disclosure. Along with cross-referencing, Delta Air Lines, Inc. does not disclose any contra or adjunct accounts in its financial reports. Delta Air Lines, Inc. reports its assets at net and does not quantitatively divulge any contra account information. Contra and adjunct accounts are listed on the balance sheet. Contra accounts either reduce an asset, liability, or owner’s equity account. Adjunct accounts increase an asset, liability, or owner’s equity account. Some examples of such accounts are accumulated depreciation and discount or premium on bonds payable.Delta Air Lines, Inc. does not list any of these accounts specifically in disclosing their financial information, but instead lists all their assets and liabilities at net. The last technique of disclosure to discuss is supporting schedules. Supporting schedules are used to present more detailed information about certain assets or liabilities. Typically, Delta Air Lines, Inc. does not use this technique in disclosure. Financial Derivatives Financial derivative instruments are products developed to manage the financial risks associated with constant change due to volatile markets, new technology, and deregulation.Derivative instr uments help to smooth out fluctuations caused by various types of risk. Companies, such as Delta Air Lines, Inc. use the fair values or cash flows of derivative instruments to offset changes in fair values or cash flows of any at-risk assets. Delta Air Lines, Inc. discloses information on their use of financial derivative products in their Notes under Consolidated Financial Statements. In Note 1: Background and Summary of Significant Policies, Delta Air Lines, Inc. discusses a change in accounting policy in regards to derivative instruments.In March of 2008, FASB issued â€Å"Disclosure about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities†. The standard requires enhanced disclosure about how and why entities use derivative instruments, how the instruments and related hedging items are accounted for and how the instruments affect an entity’s financial position, performance, and cash flows. This standard amends required disclosures about the fair value of financial instru ments in interim and annual financial statements. In Note 3: Risk Management and Financial Instruments, Delta Air Lines, Inc. discuss their disclosure of financial derivatives and how they are accounted for.Delta Air Lines, Inc. results of operations are materially impacted by changes in aircraft fuel prices. In an effort to manage exposure to this risk, the company periodically enters into derivative instruments generally comprised of crude oil, heating oil and jet fuel swap, collar and call option contracts to hedge a portion of our projected aircraft fuel requirements, including those of our Contract Carriers under capacity purchase agreements. All hedges are recorded at fair value, and gains and losses on hedges are recorded in other income (expense) at net.Within the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, settlements for fair value and cash flow hedges are classified as an operating activity, while all other derivatives are classified as a financing activity. Financial Statement Analysis Analysis: Three Year Ratio Comparison | 2010| 2009| 2008| Liquidity Ratios|   |   |   | Current Ratio: | 0. 64| 0. 79| 0. 81| current assets / current liabilities | | | | Quick or Acid Test Ratio:| 0. 61| 0. 76| 0. 77| current assets – inventories / current liabilities | | | | Current Cash Debt Coverage Ratio:| N/A| 0. 14| -0. 15| net cash from operating activities / average current liabilities| | | | | | | |Activity Ratios| | | | Receivables Turnover Ratio:| 21. 81| 20. 74| 15. 73| net sales / average (net) trade receivables | | | | Inventory Turnover Ratio:| N/A| N/A| N/A| cost of goods sold / average inventory | | | | Asset Turnover Ratio:| 0. 74| 0. 64| 0. 50| net sales / average total assets| | | | | | | | Profitability Ratios| | | | Profit Margin on Sales: | 0. 02%| -0. 04%| -0. 39%| net income / net sales | | | | Rate of Return on Assets:| 0. 01%| -0. 03%| -0. 20%| net income / average total assets| | | | Rate of Return on Common Stock Equity| 0. 73%| 0 . 31%| 1. 5%| net income – preferred dividends / average common stockholder’s equity| | | | Earnings Per Share| $0. 71| -$1. 50| -$19. 06| net income – preferred dividends / weighted shares outstanding| | | | Diluted Earnings Per Share| $0. 70| -$1. 50| -$19. 08| given in the financial statements | | | | Payout Ratio| N/A| N/A| N/A| cash dividends / net income| | | | | | | | Coverage Ratios| | | | Debt to Total Assets Ratio:| 33. 59%| 38. 06%| 35. 50%| debt / total assets| | | | Times Interest Earned:| -0. 61| 1. 74| 13. 20| income before interest and taxes / interest expense| | | | Cash Debt Coverage Ratio:| N/A| 0. 3| 0. 04| net cash from operating activities / average total liabilities| | | | Book Value Per Share: | $1. 08| $0. 30| $1. 87| common stockholder’s equity / outstanding shares | | |   | Explanation A financial analysis of Delta Air Lines, Inc. is best done through the calculation and interpretation of financial ratios. There are four categ ories of financial ratios: liquidity, activity, profitability, and coverage. Each ratio gives a piece of information about the financial stability of the company and collectively portrays the big picture in regards to finances.The first type of ratios, liquidity ratios, measures a company’s short-run ability to pay its maturing obligations. The first ratio, the current ratio, is mainly used to give an idea of the company’s ability to pay back its short-term debts with its short-term assets. The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations. Delta Air Lines, Inc. current ratio has decreased gradually in the past three current years, which means the company is becoming less capable of paying off their maturing obligations. In all three years Delta Air Lines, Inc. as remained with a current ratio under one. A ratio under one suggests that the company would be unable to pay off its obligations if they came due at that point. The next r atio, the quick/acid test ratio indicates whether a firm has enough short-term assets to cover its immediate liabilities without selling inventory. Like the current ratio, the higher the ratio, the better the financial outlook of the company. Delta Air Lines, Inc. acid test ratio has continued to decrease over the last few years, which is an indication that the company is becoming less liquid. Once again, Delta Air Lines, Inc. atio remained under one, implying that the company is not capable of paying off its maturing debts at this current point in time. The last liquidity ratio is the current cash debt coverage ratio which indicates whether a company can pay off its current liabilities from its operations in a given year. Delta Air Lines, Inc. current cash debt coverage ratio has increased from 2008 to 2009. The information needed to calculate 2010 was unavailable. The higher the current cash debt coverage ratio, the more capable the company is of paying off its current liabilities with the proceeds from its operations in a given year.Delta Air Lines, Inc. ratio was again below one in the two years calculated, meaning that the proceeds from their operations cannot support their current liabilities. The next type of financial ratios is the activity ratios, which measures how effectively the company is using the assets employed. The first ratio, the receivables turnover, measures the number of times on average a company collects receivables during the period. A low ratio implies that a company should re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for the firm.Delta Air Lines, Inc. receivables turnover ratio increased over the last three years, meaning the company gradually started effectively using its employed assets. The inventory turnover ratio shows how many times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. This ratio should be compared against industry averages. A low turnover implies poor sales or ineffective buying. This ratio could not be calculated for all three years because the company does not have a cost of goods sold since they do not sell inventory.The last activity ratio, the asset turnover ratio, is useful to determine the amount of sales that are generated from each dollar of assets. Companies with low profit margins have a high asset turnover ratio, and those with high profit margins have a low asset turnover because of pricing strategies. Delta Air Lines, Inc. asset turnover ratio was increased over the last few years and was highest in 2010. This ratio indicates that over the last few years, the company has not been able to effectively use their assets to generate sales.A third type of financial ratios is the profitability ratios that measure the degree of success and failure of a company during a given period of time. The profit margin on sales measures how much out of every dollar of sales a company usually keeps as earnings . Delta Air Lines, Inc. profit margin on sales had increased gradually over the last few years. While this is a positive indication, the company generally has a lower profit margin than other companies in its industry. The rate of return on assets shows how profitable a company uses its assets during a period of time. Delta Air Lines, Inc. as a low rate of return indicating an inefficient use of assets to generate earnings. This company’s return on assets has increased over the last three years, indicating an increase in profitability. The rate of return on common stockholder’s equity measures a company’s profitability in terms of how much profit the company generates with the money shareholders have invested. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a rather low rate of return on equity and has not shown consistent growth over the last few years. This indicates less profit per dollar invests, as well as a decrease in company profitability.The next ratios are the basic earning s per share and the diluted earnings per share. Basic earnings per share are the portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Diluted earnings per share expand on this idea by including any dilutive securities. Over the last three years, Delta Air Lines, Inc. basic and dilutive earnings per share have increased, indicating an increase in the company’s profitability. The last profitability ratio is the payout ratio, which is the percentage of earnings paid out as dividends to common stockholders. Delta Air Lines, Inc. ayout ratio cannot be calculated due to the fact that this company has no cash dividends. The last type of ratios used for financial analysis is the coverage ratios. Coverage ratios measure the degree of protection for long-term creditors and investors. The debt to total assets ratio shows the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed through debt. Companies with high debt to total asset ratios are said to be â€Å"highly leveraged†, and would be in danger if creditors start to demand repayment of debt. Delta Air Lines, Inc. ratio is on the low side and has been consistently low over the last three years.This could be an indication that many of the company’s assets are not financed through debt, which is good for the company. The times interest earned ratio or TIE is used to measure a company’s ability to meet its debt obligation. It is usually quoted as a ratio and indicates how many times a company can cover its interest charges on a pretax basis. Failing to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy. The next ratio, the cash debt coverage ratio, indicated a company’s ability to repay its obligations from net cash provided by operating activities without having to liquidate the assets employed in its operations.Delta Air Lines, Inc. is very low which means that liquidation of assets would be required to repay current obligation. The last ratio we must analyze is the book value per share. Book value per share is the amount each share would receive if the company were to liquidate in the basis of amounts reported on the balance sheet. Delta Air Lines, Inc. book value per share has fluctuated significantly over the last few years but increased from 2009 to 2010, which is a good indication. Disclosure of Note Items Standard Applied and Application Delta Air Lines, Inc. ses Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for all of their financial reporting, disclosure, and statement analysis. Delta Air Lines, Inc. flies globally after its merge North West. The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U. S. (GAAP). The company’s Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Delta Air Lines, Inc. and their wholly-owned subsidiaries. As a result of the Merger, the accounts of Northwest are included for all pe riods subsequent to the Closing Date.Preparation of these find financial statements require estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Item 1: Equity Disclosure of stockholder’s equity requires a company to disclose changes in the separate accounts comprising stockholder’s equity in order to make financial statements sufficiently informative.These changes may be disclosed in separate statements or in the basic financial statements or notes. In October  2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued â€Å"Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables. † The standard revises guidance on the determination of when individual deliverables may be treated as separate units of accounting and the allocation of consideration among separate ly identified deliverables. It also expands disclosure requirements regarding an entity’s multiple element revenue arrangements. Item 2: DebtIn terms of long-term debt, disclosure generally must indicate the nature of the liabilities, maturity dates, interest rates, call provisions, conversion privileges, restrictions imposed by creditors, and assets designed or pledged as securities. It is recommended that companies show any assets pledged as a security for the debt in the assets section of the balance sheet. The fair values for all long-term debt should be disclosed if a practical estimation can be made. Lastly, it is required that companies disclose future payments for sinking fund requirements and maturity amounts of long-term debt during each of the next five years.This type of disclosure allows users of financial statements to evaluate amounts and timing for future cash flows. Any off-balance sheet accounting that a company may do is required to be included in the notes in extensive detail. In Note 5, Delta Air Lines, Inc. acknowledges debt and gives specific details regarding its terms and conditions. For example, during 2010, the company recorded a $391  million loss on extinguishment of debt, of which $304  million related to a non-cash write-off of debt discounts that were recorded as part of purchase accounting.In the 2010 annual report, the company includes a table summarizing scheduled maturities of the company’s debt, including current. The nature of this disclosure aligns with the GAAP requirements. Item 3: Income Taxes Delta Air Lines, Inc. accounts for deferred income taxes under the liability method. They recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities, as measured by current enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when necessary.Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded net as current and noncurrent deferred income taxes on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The income tax provisions are based on calculations and assumptions that are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the â€Å"IRS†) and other taxing authorities. Although the positions they have taken on previously filed tax returns are reasonable, they have established tax and interest reserves in recognition that taxing authorities may challenge these positions, which could result in additional liabilities for taxes and interest.This company reviews and adjusts the reserves as circumstances warrant and events occur, such as lapsing of applicable statutes of limitations, conclusion of tax audits, a change in exposure based on current calculations, identification of new issues, release of administrative guidance or the rendering of a court decision affecting a particular issue. They adjust the income tax provision in the period in which the facts that give ri se to the revision become known. Item 4: Earnings per ShareBasic earnings per share (EPS) are net income divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS includes the incremental shares assumed to be issued upon exercise of stock options and the incremental shares assumed to be issued under performance shares and restricted stock unit arrangements. For the 2010, 2009, and 2008 EPS computations, 18 million, 26 million, and 12 million stock options were excluded from the calculation of weighted shares for diluted EPS because their affects were ant dilutive.Item 5: Accounts Receivables Accounts receivable primarily consist of amounts due from credit card companies from the sale of passenger airline tickets, customers of the company aircraft maintenance and cargo transportation services and other companies for the purchase of mileage credits under the company’s SkyMiles Program. Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides an allowance for unco llectible accounts equal to the estimated losses expected to be incurred based on historical chargeback’s, write-offs, bankruptcies and other specific analyses.Bad debt expense and write-offs were not material for the years ended December  31, 2010, 2009 and 2008. Item 6: Cash and Cash Equivalents Short-term, highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased are classified as cash and cash equivalents on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. Restricted cash and cash equivalents on the Consolidated Balance Sheets are primarily held to meet certain projected self-insurance obligations and are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value.According to Note 2, at December  31, 2010 and 2009, the company recorded $407  million and $419  million, respectively, in restricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and $33  million and $16  million, respectively, in other noncurr ent assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Item 7: Short-Term Investments Investments with maturities of greater than three months, but not in excess of one year, when purchased are classified as short-term investments on the company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.At December 31, 2010, the short-term investments are treasury bills recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. At December  31, 2009, the short-term investments were invested in a money market fund that was recorded at fair value and liquidated in an orderly manner in 2010. According to Note 2 in the 2010 Annual Report, at December  31, 2010, short-term investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheet consisted of treasury bills and were recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. During the year ended December  31, 2010, Delta Air Lines, Inc. eceived $77  million from an investment in a money market fund that was liquidated in an orderly manner, $71  million of which was recorded in short-term investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December  31, 2009. This investment was classified in Level 3 of the three-tier fair value hierarchy due to uncertainty regarding the timing and expected amount of the distribution. Item 8: Revenue Recognition Delta Air Lines, Inc. recorded the sales of passenger tickets in air traffic liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.Passenger revenue is recognized when they provide transportation or when the ticket expires unused, reducing the related air traffic liability. The company periodically evaluates the estimated air traffic liability and records any adjustments in their Consolidated Statements of Operations. These adjustments relate primarily to refunds, exchanges, transactions with other airlines and other items for which final settlement occurs in periods subsequent to the sale of the related tickets at amounts other than the original sales price.This company is required to charge certain taxes and fees on passenger tickets , including U. S. federal transportation taxes, federal security charges, airport passenger facility charges and foreign arrival and departure taxes. These taxes and fees are legal assessments on the customer for which Delta Air Lines, Inc. acts as a collection agent. Because they are not entitled to retain these taxes and fees, they do not include such amounts in passenger revenue. The company records a liability when the amounts are collected and reduce the liability when payments are ade to the applicable government agency or operating carrier. Item 9: Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Delta Air Lines, Inc. applies a fair value-based impairment test to the net book value of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets on an annual basis and, if certain events or circumstances indicate that an impairment loss may have been incurred, on an interim basis. The annual impairment test date for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets is October 1. They value goodwill and i dentified intangible assets primarily using the income approach valuation technique.These measurements include the following significant unobservable inputs: the projected revenues, expenses and cash flows, an estimated weighted average cost of capital, assumed discount rates depending on the asset and  a tax rate. These assumptions are consistent with those hypothetical market participants would use. Since the company is required to make estimates and assumptions when evaluating goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, the actual amounts may differ materially from these estimates. Changes in assumptions or circumstances could result in impairment.Factors which could cause impairment include, but are not limited to, negative trends in our market capitalization, an increase in fuel prices, declining passenger mile yields, lower passenger demand as a result of the weakened U. S. and global economy,  interruption to the operations due to an employee strike, t errorist attack, or other reasons,  changes to the regulatory environment and  consolidation of competitors in the airline industry. According to Note 4, during 2008, Delta Air Lines, Inc. experienced a significant decline in market capitalization primarily from record high fuel prices and overall airline industry conditions.In addition, the announcement of their intention to merge with Northwest established a stock exchange ratio based on the relative valuation of Delta and Northwest It was determined that these factors combined with further increases in fuel prices were an indicator that a goodwill impairment test was required. As a result, they estimated fair value based on a discounted projection of future cash flows, supported with a market-based valuation. The company determined that goodwill was impaired and recorded a non-cash charge of $6. 9  billion for the year ended December  31, 2008.Item 10: Inventories Inventories of expendable parts related to flight equipmen t are carried at moving average cost and charged to operations as consumed. An allowance for obsolescence is provided over the remaining useful life of the related fleet for spare parts expected to be available at the date aircraft are retired from service. The company also provided allowances for parts identified as excess or obsolete to reduce the carrying costs to the lower of cost or net realizable value. These parts are assumed to have an estimated residual value of 5% of the original cost.Conclusion Closing Statements In summation, Delta Air Lines, Inc. is not a highly profitable company. Although it is currently a major airline in the United States and grew through the addition of routes and the acquisition of other airlines, they are not performing so well due to the economic recession. The current economic environment has taken a toll on the company, like most companies throughout the United States in the last few years. Delta Air Lines, Inc. is not as liquid as it would li ke to be, and the coverage ratios are being affected.Over the last few years, the company’s profitability has increased in all facets. If this trend continues, Delta Air Lines, Inc. will be on its way to becoming more liquid and therefore, more financially stable. Delta Air Lines, Inc. management seems to be trying to efficiently utilize all its resources but is falling short in placing this company in a promising financial position. If this company continues to conduct their business in the same manner and direction as they have thus far, then they will fall short of continuing to be a profitable and successful company for years to come.