Relience Insurance Essay Example for Free

Relience Insurance Essay Reliance Insurance Company, now officially known as Reliance Insurance Company [in Liquidation], was founded in Philadelphia in 1817. In October 2005, Reliance Insurance Company had taken place in India. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited is an associate company of reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Capital Limited is one of India’s leading private sectors. Reliance capital has interests in an asset management and mutual funds, stock broking, life and general insurance’ proprietary investments’ private equity and other activities in financials service. Reliance Group also has presence in Communications, Energy, Natural + interests. Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. is fast emerging as one of the biggest general insurance companies in India. The company offers over 95 insurance products for both corporate and individual customers. The distribution network of Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. extends 200 branch offices spread across 172 cities in 22 states in India. Automobileindia.com furnishes information on Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. Risks Covered by Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.: Reliance General Insurance offers coverage for all the accidental happenings, producing monetary loss or loss of life. It also includes risks of an individual, or a group. Reliance General Insurance offers coverage in case of: †¢Financial loss of the insured †¢Measurable or tangible monetary loss †¢Legal object of the insurance contract Advantages of Insuring with Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.: Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd offers you a number of advantages. Automobileindia.com furnishes information on Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. Some of the advantages of using Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd are †¢Speedy claims settlement through country wide reach †¢Free towing facility for insured vehicles in case of an accident in all metropolitan cities in India †¢Cashless claims settlement in preferred garages of the policy holder. †¢Reliance General Insurance Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd has tie-ups with leading TPAs and hospitals offering cashless facilities, ensuring hassle free returns †¢Easy and prompt E intimation facility Claim Procedure in Reliance General Insurance: The policy holder needs to know the claim process and the different kinds of insurance. Automobileindia.com furnishes information on Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. Claim Procedure in Reliance General Insurance falls into three broad categories: * Theft claims * Own damage claims * Third party claim Information Required for Claiming Policy at Reliance General Insurance: The insurer or policy holder needs to provide the following details, when he or she is claiming for insurance. * Full name of the Insured * the contact details of the policy holder * Policy number * Nature of loss * Place of loss or accident site (in case of accident) * Contact details of insured person (if in case the person intimating the claim is not insured) WHAT IS INSURANCE? Insurance is a specialized type of contract. It is an agreement between two parties one party is insurance company who takes the insurance of other party known as insured party. Premium is consideration of Contract of the insurance. The insurer issues a document in writing in the name of the insured which is called policy. It includes terms and conditions of the insurance contract. The insurer has to pay a certain amount to the insured, if uncertain event takes place after taking the insurance and before the expiry of the policy NEEDS FOR INSURANCE:- Human life is a full of uncertainty and therefore ,there is a need for insurance if there no uncertainty there is no need for insurance .If one can predict the forthcoming dangers ,he can take a proper action and face the crisis . However, death, disaster and  dangers cannot be predicted and hence the insurance is needed. Insurance does not protect the assets. It also does not prevent the losses due to the perils. The perils cannot be avoided by taking the insurance ,but it compensate the losses caused due to the perils which are uncertain . The insurance companies play an important role of implementing the concept of insurance. They collect the premium in advance and create the fund out of which the losses incurred by few a insured people are compensated . Thus the variable need of life insurance can be: (a) Protection of the interest of the family members. (b)Provision for education and marriage of children. (c) Post-retirement income for self and family members. The general insurance helps to protect capital employed in industry and economic activity. Life insurance has become the main vehicle for carrying the social security to the public and the weaker section. Life insurance business is complimentary to the government efforts in social management. LIFE INSURANCE:- Life insurance business was entirely in the hands of LIC till 1999. In late 1999, the government of India allowed the opening up of the insurance sector to private parties by passing the insurance regulatory and development authority (IRDA).foreign companies are also allowed to invest up to 26 percent of equity stake in the insurance sector in the India. The market share of reliance insurance company is 0.47%. Following are the basic types of policies:- (a) Term assurance (b)Endowment product (c)Whole life insurance (d)Money- back policies (e)Annuity plan GENERAL INSURANCE :- General insurance evolved with the evolution of business and the lifestyle of the human beings. Today general insurance cover everything from space expenditure to the voice of the famous singer. general insurance business in India can be traced its roots to the Triton insurance company limited , the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the Britishers. The India mercantile insurance ltd. Was set up in 1907. In 1968 the insurance act was amended to regulate investment and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff advisory committee was set up. Insurance act , 1938 and the general insurance business ( nationalize ) act ,1972 regulate the insurance business. Inter-regulatory committee set up to fix norms on insurance firms Paving the way for guidelines for listing by insurance companies, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has set up a committee to finalize the norms. This committee, appointed recently, would look at the level of disinvestment that a company could undertake through the stock market. Apart from IRDA officials, the committee also consists of members from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The committee is headed by IRDA Member. The move would pave the way for the likes of Reliance Life Insurance to list on stock exchanges. The government is set to ease the norms to allow companies to list after five years of operation, instead of the Current 10-year norm. Reliance, which had sought a relaxation, could be the first beneficiary. The sources said that the matter had also been examined by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and it was decided that SEBI would issue the norms. Apart from Reliance, a host of other life insurers such as HDFC Standard Life and SBI Life could also tap the market. In the run-up to the listing norms, IRDA would issue guidelines related to valuation. The insurance regulator has already issued the disclosure norms for companies. In the past, the government and the market regulator have provided a special dispensation for various sectors, such as information technology, to help companies list. COMPETITORS OF RELIANCE INSURANCE:- 1) LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION IN INDIA THAT IS (LIC). 2) BAJAJ ALLIANZ GENERAL INSURANCE. 3) ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE. 4) ICICI LOMBARD GENERAL INSURANCE. 5) BIRLA SUN LIFE INSURANCE. 6) TATA AIG GENERAL INSURANCE. 7) NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY. 8) IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE. SOME ONLINE POLICIES PROVIDED BY RELIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY:- CAR INSURANCE: Reliance General Insurance offers an online car insurance portal which is quick and fast and one can purchase the automobile Insurance policy in ten minutes if one has all the information about his/her vehicle. Some of the advantages of the reliance private car Insurance policy are: The online policy is issued within 10 minutes. The online policy eliminates the process of paper work. It gives you complete Insurance cover on and off the road. It covers your car against accidents, theft, natural calamities, etc. Cashless facility is provided. In case of claim, the survey of the vehicle is arranged within 24 hours. TRAVEL INSURANCE: Travel insurance or visitor insurance also known as overseas medical insurance can cover your medical expenses, personal accident, trip delay, loss of passport and many more risk while you travel abroad. At insurance Pandit, we offer a convenient way to compare travel insurance plans offered by reliance insurance company. Not only you can compare plans but also buy and print your travel insurance policy online. Individual Overseas Medical Insurance HEALTH INSURANCE: Health and medical insurance is a recent origin in India. Health insurance covers two types of benefits. One is reimbursement of medical expenses related to specific diseases and the other is related to hospitalization. Health insurance cover operates in two ways- cashless and cash reimbursable ones. The health insurance has changed the way medicine is dispensed and sold in most of the parts of the world. In India, the introduction of the new famous policy â€Å"MEDICLAIM† has made a huge difference to an ordinary citizen’s usage of insurance for medical cover purpose. The mediclaim covers the following expenses: PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY: General insurance evolved with the evolution of business and life style of living beings. It took shape in the sea going vessels of the early centuries. Today expeditions to the voice of famous singers. General insurance forms the lifeline of several commerce and trade activities.

Internet Essay Example for Free

Internet Essay Internet has become one of the basic needs for mostly peoples; we can’t expect our daily life without internet. If we observe, we can easily check out the fact that how internet has dominated in our lives and we are very much dependent on internet. Earlier internet wan the source to collect information only but as time and technology changing day by day, lots of new trends is coming and our daily life has shifted on Internet. If we want to explore any new palace, we use internet, if we want to go for shopping, we use internet and this is not the end point of our list. We use internet to solve our mostly daily uses queries. Internet has become very useful in the field of education. As internet contributing great help in education, here we are discussing how internet contributing for education. With the help of internet, we can easily contact with any one. Internet has diminished the differences and every resource is very near and close to the needy one. Earlier School and College projects were too tough to complete but with the help of internet, information and data is available 24? and every needy student can complete their projects with the help of a small research. In other words, now needy one can achieve the goal, excuses don’t exist now. The biggest source for information that is encyclopedia is available online and any one can use it to get desired information. Now there is no chance to get the incomplete information, Encyclopedia contains the most effective information’s and it is available online. Every news in online available, whatever happens is available suddenly sp there is no scope to look back or wait for some thing. You have internet and you can update yourself any time according to your own needs and time table. What ever is happening is visible. There are lots of Online Learning Programs are available for those who are unable to attend the classes or have any other problems. Even online collages and institute are also available to serve online education.

Production of PR-protein 1 in Mangroves Leaves | Experiment

Production of PR-protein 1 in Mangroves Leaves | Experiment 1. Abstract One important trait of a plant is its ability to form natural barriers that keep harmful microorganisms away. For instance, mangrove leaves may produce a hormone called salicylic acid to inhibit the growth of fungal pathogens. Such a hormone may induce an antimicrobial substance known as Pathogenesis Related (PR) proteins. A lot of Pathogenesis related protein researches have been done with tobacco and tomatoes leaves. In this study, the aim of the experiment is to determine whether mangroves leaves induce the PR-protein 1. The mangrove leaves are treated with salicylic acid and are left for 7 days in order for leaves to induce proteins. The leaves extraction procedure is carried out by the reference procedure Verlag Paul Parey (1980) and Thierry Niderman (1995). The PR-protein 1 in the leaf extraction solution can be identified by using the SDS-PAGE technique, which the SDS detergent is sticking to the protein during denaturing of the protein and electrophoresis gel can separate the different PR protein family based on their molecular size. The molecular weight of protein bands can be categorized by using reference protein and the molecular weight of PR-protein is known as 14-17 kilo daltons. Acknowledgement Initially the gratitude I would like to extend to my supervisor and foremost, Mark Duxbury is of highest praise for his accomplishments in helping me to succeed in our field of study. Through-out my research project there has been a lot of work that i have strived to excel into a project worthy of my subject teachings, the questions that I have asked of him, he has never neglected to reply to in good time. Collectively with all the staff in the AUT laboratory, I would like to thank for providing all the equipment and chemical supplies and gear that have been used through-out the year in my research project. 2. Introduction There are approximately 70 different types of mangrove species in the world. Some countries have a variety of mangrove species, however New Zealand has only one species which is called Avicennia marina or Mana, it belongs to the Verbenaceae family that is a cosmopolitan species which is widely distributed along tropical and subtropical coastlines. Mangroves have been growing in New Zealand for more than 19 million years. Most mangroves tend to grow in warmer climates, which influences the diversity and size of growth in the tropics. Therefore, mangroves do not tend to survive in colder climates, and this is why all the mangroves in New Zealand are likely to grow in Northland because it is warmer there. They grow larger in warmer temperatures,so the optimum growth of mangroves in New Zealand is experienced within 60 centimetres of the tide line, and flourish mostly around placid waters with shelving along the shoreline, in and around harbours and estuaries. Otherwise alternative condi tions, harsh and rough water waves, can dislodge their roots as well as upset the silt that settles, which they require to grow. They can tolerate salt water even if submerged completely. This tolerance is not permanent, they need to be uncovered for half of either tide. 2-1. Importance of mangroves It is important to know about mangroves in New Zealand, what their role is in erosion control and what they support. Mangroves have wide a diversity in their roles of food webs and the support they have for animals and plants in their environment. There are four different reasons why the mangroves are important in New Zealand. Productivity of mangroves The productivity of Mangroves is measurable with close analysis of their reproductive parts, twigs and leaves, this measurement determines the organic matter of the plant, its energy and its ability to contribute environment. Food source The distribution of fresh organic matter is localised, the most important attribute of mangroves in New Zealand, is the dependence the environment has on them. They supports the greater habitat around the nearby harbours and estuaries. Reference to this process is called the food web, when the distribution feeds a range of animals like crabs that digest nutrients from mangrove and return these nutrients into the food web. Support for other plants Different varieties grow in different environments, in tropical environments, this supports low density growth on sandy shores and seagrass beds in between trees, and can form new beds with the upper edges of these mangroves from the edge of the forests. It is clear that these enviroments do not support the same growth as in New Zealand. Support for animals Mangrove beds are located in harsh conditions so the range of dependency on this plant life is limited, reasons being; decomposition of sediment, oxygen starvation, muddy flats and tidal exposure. The variety of animals that feed off mangroves are somewhat small but they include worms, mud crabs, shellfish, mud snails and whelks although terrestrial animals (spiders and insects) are also at home around mangroves. The range of inhabitants also varies with the location and nature of the sediment. 2-2 Defence mechanisms of plant Explanation of the first and second defence mechanisms of plant will follow, in the first defence mechanism the invasion of pathogens is protected by a physical barrier, in the plants developed cell wall, and is composed of cellulose, pectin and lignin etc. The second defence mechanism is different by the use of the plants chemical defence, by alkaloids, saponins and phenols. This process is a constitutive expression of the plants secondary metabolite. The reaction of the defence mechanism involves turning a cascade of genes to produce a plant-pathogen interaction. Production of reactive oxygen species, through cell wall defence and through other group proteins such as PR (pathogenesis-related). 3. Literature review Many of the PR proteins are diverse in their families, so that they are found in a lot of types of plants such as, 33 in Tobacco, 20 in sugar beets also in spinach. Classification of PR proteins that induce pathological and related states (Van Loon 1985), are a classification of family, through relationships of cellular form, amino acid sequences and biological activity, further families are identified as tobacco and tomatoes with classifying PR proteins. Sequence Homology is the term for the families of PR proteins, but are not defined only by this but also by migration, the specific reaction with antisera, biological activity also determines PR and resistance to interactions. Characters of cDNAs that reveal PR genes are seen in the systematic resistance in plants against pathogens, and incompatible hosts house bacteria, fungi and viruses, elicitors of PR genes derive molecules from pathogens. These proteins are found in different plant types, although healthy plants suffocate the c haracteristics of PR, multi gene families have the most PR proteins and are proven to inhibit the growth of fungi. Interestingly the use of large groups of PR genes can be characterised and used to sustain healthier responses to biotic and abiotic stress, to the betterment of transduction mechanisms and the measure of stress signals to return greater defence for enhanced engineering of crop plants. Necrotic lesions in plants, can be a result of the resistance produced by the PR. 3-1. Variation of infectious PR has been identified in the infected tissue of unhealthy plants, as well as in healthy plants, e.g Tomato plants are known to display seven PR's when they are in good health. Varieties of the plants also support PR proteins, in fact PR proteins are usually only present after stress, unlike flowers, pollens, stigma and seeds. Associated stress induced by pathogens is the dominant group PR-1 and is used as a signal for SAR. The research that has produced our current knowledge of PR-1 was undertaken in 1970, limited antifungal activity suggests it is a defence mechanism but the action it takes, and the relationship with other proteins is a new subject. 4. Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins PR proteins induced in a pathological environment allow the role of the proteins defence in the plant, that is the result of a reaction to infection to produce the PR. Antimicrobial proteins attack molecules in the cell wall that are bacterial or fungal. Host plants see the interaction of pathogens that are labelled as hypersensitive reactions, that are the proteins produced in the event of a pathogen attack there are 17 types discovered (Van Loon,2001) 4-1. PR-1 protein family. PR protein typically has 160 amino acids in length, although it is not clearly studied in biochemical properties, the most abundant group in the PR-protein family is PR-1 because of its high sensitivity to infection, it induces a very high level, between 1 and 2 percent of the protein in the leaf. There is a molecular marker of the expression of PR-1 that indicates the plants defence response, this particular protein is most studied in tobacco. Picture 1. Families of PR proteins The picture 1 showed different types of the PR-protein family and different PR-families that have different molecular sizes. The first family is the PR protein 1 and it has a molecular size of 15 to 17 kDa. The biochemical properties of the PR-1 family is not clearly established, so those stated are unknown. However, it is known that the PR-1 family is the most abundant group of proteins, which induce very high levels of PR Protein when infected (approximately 1 to 2 % of the total leaf protein). They are typically 160 amino acids in length and exist as an acid or base dependent on their functional grouping (Punja, Z. 2004). 4-2. Acidic Pathogenesis Related -1 Proteins Tomatoes, barley, maize, parsley, as well as other plants of the Graminae, Solanaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthiceae families have detected acidic pathogenesis related -1 proteins. The high resistance to proteolysis is adapted to the extracellular environment, and the protein in the plant is soluble in acidic buffers with low molecular weights. The protein P14 isoforms have been found in barley, and tomatoes which have a similar protein to tobacco, that respond to different polyclonal antibodies, unlike acidic PR-1 genes that do not target vacuolar peptide sequences form PR-1 has 138 amino acids that synthesize a higher molecular weight that contains N-terminal amino acids that produce K15da mature protein. 4-3. Basic Pathogenesis Related -1 Proteins Basic Pathogenesis Related -1 protein contains 30 amino acids in the hydrophobic N-terminal region of 30 amino acids, this is a signal peptide that is the translocation of endoplasmic reticulum the C-terminal peptide also contains the vacuolar targeting signals, for example in tobacco leaf PR-1 proteins are localised in extracellular space responding to TMV infection. The 17KDA are two basic isoforms, and PR-1 has an isoelectric point of 10.5 and 11.0, the exception between the similarities of PR-1 basic and PR-1 acidic is one amino acid sequence and are identified in maize, celery and other cereals. 5. Salicylic acid The benzoic acid derivative is Salicylic acid (SA), an important phytohormone is involved in the regulation of the plants defense mechanism. The important role that Salicylic acid fills in plant defence for the protection from pathogen attack, recently was proven to be necessary for SAR. Salicylic acid has a role that is observed in the plants defence mechanism was similar to the medication of aspirin in observation, the acid induced resistance to the mosaic virus in tobacco. The accumulation of PR proteins increased in resistance, and assumed as markers of the defence response. Biosynthesis has elucidated in the pathway of salicylic acid and has synthesized from benzoic acid into cinnamic acid, and this reaction catalyzes a function of cytochrome P450 monoxygenase. Salicylic acid is an essential compound in the signal pathways accompanied by an induced excess of acidic pathogens- related protein genes. The production of pathogenesis-related proteins is the role Salicylic acid holds in the resistance to pathogens. 6. SDS PAGE(Sodium dodecyl sulfate Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). SDS is anionic detergent consisting of 12 carbon tail attached to sulphate group, which has a negative charge. It also disrupts the non-covalent bond particularly protein and denatures the molecule. The protein can be denatured at certain temperature and lose their shape. At that stage, SDS can stick to the denatured protein due to similar shape and charge ratio as protein. PAGE separates the macromolecule based on their electrophoresis mobility. Smaller polypeptides travel faster and quickly through pores, while large polypeptides travel slower. The polypeptides have similar charge to mass ratio which is dependent only on molecular weight. Factors in Business Cash Budgeting: With Examples Factors in Business Cash Budgeting: With Examples Contents (Jump to) Task One (p3d) XYZ Traders Cash Budget Task Two (p3abc) Alpha Manufacturing Budgets Task Three (p4abc) Beales Manufacturing – Variances Task Four (p2ab) Beales Manufacturing – Standard Cost Bibliography XYZ Traders Cash Budget Introduction In this report Part A presents a cash budget for XYZ Traders for the six month period from December 2008 to May 2009. Part B comments on the cash flow forecast and outlines the benefits of improved cash flow for the Company and recommends management consider a cash flow improvement program. Part A – Cash Flow Budget December 2008 – May 2009 Table 1 Table 1 shows the cash flow budget based on the following criteria: Cash balance as at 1 December 2008 totals  £2,600 Furniture units sold at  £100 each Furniture units purchased for  £60 each Customer collections on the basis of 50% in month of sale and the balance the following month Purchases paid for in the month following delivery Fixed expenses are  £4,000 per month Loan repayment of  £10,000 due in April 2009 Stock units carried over from October into November 2008 unknown Part B – Budget Cash Flow Commentary The cash flow budget/forecast for the next six months: is cash positive for each of the six months under review will generate sufficient cash for the  £10,000 loan repayment on schedule in April 2009 will allow supplier payment on time one month after receipt of goods has a lowest cash balance of  £1,200 at the end of April following the loan repayment in the same month Recommendation – Cash Flow Improvement Program The cash flow budget indicates that XYZ can continue trading for the next six months without recourse to additional funding. However improving cash-flow can have a number of benefits including: reducing the equity required to finance the business reducing loans and interest payments required for working capital releasing funds for expansion and/or new business activities providing funds for profit distribution to the owners/shareholders We recommend management plan and implement a coordinated program to improve cash-flow. Specific areas for consideration are: minimise inventory by introducing a â€Å"just-in-time† (JIT) arrangement where suppliers orders are placed at the time of customer purchase for receipt a day or two before delivery to the customer eliminate inventory (except for show-room stock) by arranging for suppliers to deliver direct to customers under XYZ Traders instructions and identity negotiate extended payment terms with the suppliers, say, three months credit encourage customers to pay the full purchase price on order placement offer sales on credit with a reputable finance company increase sales volumes with well designed and executed advertising and customer incentive programs reduce overheads and expenses with a cost-reduction program Alfa Manufacturing – Budget Report Introduction This report recommends Alfa Manufacturing introduce a budgetary control system. Section A outlines the purpose and benefits of budgets and Section B describes two possible budget formats, incremental and zero based budgeting and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Section A – Budgets, Purposes and Benefits The primary purpose for introducing a budgeting system is to provide the Company with a powerful tool for planning and monitoring business performance. It improves productive effectiveness and enhances coordination between the various arms of management to achieve the overall Company aims. Budgets represent the primary means of communicating agreed-upon objectives throughout the organization. A budget is a formal written statement of the Companies plans for a specified time period. The principle element of a budget is to plan and predict future income and expenditure against a time-scale, usually on a monthly basis covering a calendar or accounting year. Actual income and expenditure is recorded as it occurs and monitored on a regular basis against the plan or budget. The differences between planned and actual results are monitored, reported and the variances analysed and explained. In summary, the benefits of a budget are that: Management must develop a comprehensive plan for the future. Key objectives are agreed for monitoring and performance evaluation. Potential problems are identified well in advance. Coordination of activities within the business is facilitated. Management is more aware of the Companies overall operations. Each level of management participates in the planning, preparation and monitoring of financial activity. The budget must have the complete support of top management and is an important tool for measuring and evaluating managerial performance. Contemporary budgeting has been defined as a system wherein managers are provided with the flexibility to utilize resources as required, in return for their commitment to achieve certain performance results (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2008). Section B – Budgeting Systems This section contrasts and compares two basic budgeting methodologies currently in use in industry today, Incremental Budgeting and Zero Based Budgeting. Incremental Budgeting (IB) is the traditional approach to budgeting which relies on historical information and the previous years budget as a basis for the preparing the input and data for the following year’s budget. For example, let’s say last year’s sales budget was for 1000 units at  £500, giving sales revenue of  £500,000. For next year’s budget the market for the product is anticipated to improve by 10% giving unit sales at 1100 thus giving budget sales revenue of  £550,000. Similarly costs would be based on last years budget, modified by projected inflationary factors. Anticipated raw material price increases and labour rates are used in the cost of production and increases in say, rent and utilities would reflect in overheads. Managers will prepare their individual budgets based on a series of pre-determined criteria and assumptions which are normally provided by top management, finance and accounts. The advantages of IB are that it is: relatively easy to implement easy to understand and appreciate less time-consuming to prepare than ZBB a â€Å"top down† approach with the same basic assumptions for all The disadvantages of IB are that it: assumes that the budget methodology and cost structure is correct encourages expectations of inflationary increases predicts sales will reflect the market without competitive analysis encourages departments to spend all of their allocated budget Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB) is an approach to budgeting that starts from the premise that no costs or activities should be factored into the plans for the coming budget period, just because they figured in the costs or activities for the current or previous periods. Rather, everything that is to be included in the budget must be considered and justified. (Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accounting, 2006). Another definition is the use of budgets which start from a present base of zero and regard all future expenditure as being on new items rather than a continuation of existing ones. In practice this means that a budget has to be justified in full for each year of operation (Steven A. Finkler, 2003). In implementing this process each manager must critically examine his own activities and operations and build his budget from scratch. The advantages of ZBB are that it: questions accepted beliefs focuses on value for money links budgets and objectives involves managers leading to better communication and consensus can lead to better resource allocation is an adaptive approach in changing circumstances The disadvantages of ZBB are that it: is time-consuming and adds to the effort involved in budgeting can be difficult to identify suitable performance measures can be seen as threatening–careful people management is required is about costs and resources of options ignoring current practice can be difficult to comprehend and execute by managers with little financial knowledge and skills Recommendation Since Alpha Manufacturing has no previous experience of budgetary control it is recommended that an Incremental Budgeting program is introduced initially. The budget can be prepared using historical data with guidelines and assumptions provided to each manager by the Finance Department. Beales Manufacturing plc:  Flexible Budgeting Introduction This report examines the budget and actual results for October. It flexes the budget to actual output, provides a variance analysis and identifies possible causes for each negative variance. Managerial accountability for each variance is suggested and possible remedial actions for the unfavourable variances identified. The benefits of using flexible budgets are explained and it is recommended that this technique be introduced as a feature of Beales’ regular budget reviews. Variance Analysis and Explanations Table1 shows the results of the budget and actual output for October, flexed to actual output with each variance examined for possible causes, accountabilities and suggested remedial actions. Benefits of Flexible Budgeting Static budgets have the disadvantage of providing a single specific predicted volume of output. In reality, it very unlikely that the actual output exactly matches the budget. Thus any comparison of actual output to budget suffers from the problem that some of the variances, particularly for variable costs such as labour and materials, will be as a direct result of the differences in the volume of output. Flexible budgets provide an after the facts device to tell what it should have cost for the volume level actually attained (Steven A. Finkler 2003) They are a useful tool for analysing the effects of variations in volume of output against the original budget. Dennis Caplan (2006) suggests that â€Å"the motivation for the flexible budget is to compare apples to apples. If the factory actually produced 10,000 units, then management should compare actual factory costs for 10,000 units to what the factory should have spent to make 10,000 units, not to what the factory should have spent to make 9,000 units or 11,000 units or any other production level.† Recommendation For Beales Manufacturing to make the best use of the budgeting process it is recommended that flexible budgets are prepared each month. Variance analysis as demonstrated above will assist management to implement contingency plans to correct any unfavorable trends and enhance profitability. Beales Manufacturing plc:  Standard Costing Introduction This section defines and describes the principles of Standard Costing. It is an accounting technique which provides a powerful tool for management to analyze business performance and plan improvements. An example of a standard cost is derived from the October budget and the use of variance analysis to identify problem areas and possible remedial actions. Definition Standard costing involves the development of a product or service cost using estimates of both the resources consumed and the prices of those resources. The standard cost may then be increased by an estimated profit margin to produce a standard selling price. These estimates of cost and revenue then provide a foundation for further planning and control (Barrie Mitchinson 2000) Illustration The best way to illustrate the benefits of standard costing is to use the October budget data to arrive at an example of a Standard Cost. This cost can then be compared with the actual unit cost for October and the variances analysed as shown in Table 3 below. Standard Unit Cost vs. Actual (October) From this analysis specific product cost information can be derived. For example, although raw material costs per meter were below standard cost, more material than standard was required to complete the production schedule. Why was that? The manager responsible for production will be able to use the information to investigate the unfavourable variance. Possibly scrap rates were excessive so improved quality control could help reduce or eliminate the problem. Raw material costs were also above standard which will alert the purchasing manager to an overrun of purchasing costs which may require action. Recommendation We recommend that Beales consider the introduction of Standard Costing to provide management with a powerful tool to improve efficiency, productivity and product profitability. Bibliography Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2008, Budgeting Budget Controls  http://www.deloitte.com Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accounting, 2006, Zero Based Budgeting Briefing Paper, http://www.cipfa.org.uk Steven A. Finkler, 2003, p158, Finance Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers, CCH Tax and Accounting Steven A. Finkler, 2003, p162, Finance Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers, CCH Tax and Accounting Dennis Caplan, 2006, Management Accounting: Concepts and Techniques, OSU College of Business, http://classes.bus.oregonstate.edu Barrie Mitchinson, 2000, Standard Costing and Fixed and Flexed Budgets, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, http://www.accaglobal.com

Environmental Dispossession Essay -- Canada

Canada has a vast and prominent Aboriginal population that requires diverse and culturally safe health care. Milligan (2010) reports that as of 2006 there were 1,172,785 identified Aboriginals residing in Canada. British Colombia is home to 196,075 Aboriginals, the second largest provincial population in Canada, with 7,050 individuals of this reported Aboriginal population residing within Kamloops. This large provincial population of Aboriginals accounts for approximately 5% of BC’s total population and therefore it is vital that the disparity in both access and outcome of health care related shortcomings, which are highly publicised, be addressed. One major health problem, which has gradually increased in prevalence within this vulnerable population over the past several decades, is diabetes. Health Canada reported in 2000 that the prevalence of diabetes among aboriginals is a minimum of three times higher than that of the non-aboriginal population in Canada. This increa sed risk of diabetes can be attributed to numerous factors such as, genetic predisposition (Thouez et al. as cited in Health Canada, 2000) or decreased access to education or services that benefit aboriginal people (Barton, 2008). This paper will analyze the effects of environmental dispossession as a determinant of health, while concurrently connecting intervention strategies with current practices. Definitions For the purpose of this paper, it is important to define several key terms that will be used. The term Aboriginal will encompass individuals who identify as First Nations, Inuit or MÃ ©tis people. Although from a statistical standpoint, there is some noticeable variation in degree of risk regarding diabetes, it is important to recognize that enviro... ...ada. (2000). Diabetes among aboriginal people in Canada: The evidence. Ottawa: Health Canada. Johnson, J. A., Vermeulen, S. U., Toth, E. L., Hemmelgarn, B. R., Ralph-Campbell, K., Hugel, G., . . . Crowshoe, L. (2009). Increasing incidence and prevalence of diabetes among the status aboriginal population urban and rural Alberta, 1995-2006. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 100(3), 231-236. Raphael, D., Curry-Stevens, A., & Bryant , T. (2008). Barriers to addressing the social determinants of health: Insights from the Canadian experience. Health Policy, 88(2-3), 222-235. Richmond, C. A., & Ross, N. A. (2009). The determinants of first nation and inuit health: A critical population health approach. Health & Place, 15(2), 403-411. Shelly, M. (2010). 2006 Aboriginal population profile for Kamloops. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Sri Lanka Essay -- Sri Lanka History, Politics, Economy

Sri Lanka’s main industry during the pre-colonial period, which expands from 6th century BC to 1505 AD, was agriculture or wet Rice Paddy; however, a big change in the industries of Sri Lanka can be seen during the Colonial period, which span from 1505 to 1948 AD. The colonialists who occupied the nation before the British being the Portuguese and the Dutch began commercializing the Sri lanka in making profits from cinnamon and other spices locally available with a low overhead, yet formulate profit in Europe due to scarceness as well as the demand on the commodities (Publications, 2008, p. 129). According to J.W Bennett (1843): The local revenue is derived from the duties on cinnamon, salt, tobacco, fish farms, pearl and chank (Valuta gravis) fisheries, marriage and spirit licenses, judicial and commercial stamps, fines, land commutation tax, auction duties, post-office receipts, charges for boat hire and pilotage, anchorage dues, sales of gunpowder, horses from the government stud at Delft island, Ceylon Gazette, and Calendar, house and land rents, premiums upon sales of bills upon the Treasury, timber, Veddah tribute, and customs' duties upon exports and imports. (p. 45) Furthermore, with the East Indies Trading, company located in India other industries, which were carried locally for individual needs or for trading among each other as Spices, Pearl fishing, Areca nuts, Gems, Elephants and Coconuts were also commercialized (Nubin, 2002, p. 176). Nonetheless, the big boom in commercialized productions mainly commercial agriculture was first introduced to Sri Lanka during the British occupation period between the years 1796 to 1948 AD. Horatio Suckling (1876): With few exceptions, such as plumbago, the same kind of pr... ...ame the primary agricultural commercial products until the end of British era, which came with Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948. The British colonist during their colonial rule introducing their primary cash crops in their colonies as India and Kenya, and which shared many a similar commercial products as Tea under the British. Consequently, with many British colonies like Sri Lanka obtaining independence during mid 1900’s nations producing the same commercial products were abundant. Hence, the post independence leaders of Sri Lanka were faced with finding new commercial products, which appealed to the international market in subsidizing the economic impact faced by low demand for Ceylon Tea, or Natural rubber and Coconuts. Therefore Sri Lanka began seeking and experimenting in opportunities in commodities and services, which were in more demand internationally.

Free Essays - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a renowned novel by Mark Twain, is the story of a young boy, who, in a desperate attempt to escape his abusive and poverty stricken home, escapes and seeks help with the Mississippi River, where he experiences many different trials. The novel was finally published in 1885, being written on spurts of inspiration interrupted by long periods during which it sat on the author’s desk. Now it is published in at least twenty-seven languages. Samuel Clemens, the name that lies under the pen name of Mark Twain, was born in Missouri in 1835. The town where he lived, Hannibal, Missouri, became the model for St. Petersburg, the fictional town of Huckleberry Finn. Missouri was a slave state during this period, and his family owned a few slaves, who worked as domestic servants rather than working on the large agricultural plantations as most slaves in the deep South did. The institution of slavery is prominent in the development of the themes and characters of the novel. Twain received a brief formal education before going to work as an apprentice in a print shop. He later found work on a steamboat in the Mississippi River where he took his pseudonym, â€Å"Mark Twain,† from the call a steamboat worker would make when the ship reached two fathoms. He eventually went to work as a journalist and then as a humorist. Twain is also known to have written The Gilded Age (1873), The Prince and the Pauper (1882), Life on the Miss issippi (1883), and Tom Sawyer (1876). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn outlines the different experiences and developing friendship of the novel’s two main characters, Huck and Jim. Huck, a young boy trying to escape from his life, and Jim, a black slave, wanting to escape from being sold to a farmer in the deep South, join together to sail on the Mississippi River to the Ohio River, which would lead to their freedom, but they miss it in the dark. Huck faces a moral dilemma in helping a slave, but never finds a good enough reason to turn him in, and as a result, the two develop a special bond. Written with much dialogue from the southern dialect, the story depicts a southern society from the mid-1800’s, which is very gullible, and easily manipulated. The tale is full of humor in its accounts of the pair of escapees, but it is full of underlying meaning. Free Essays - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a renowned novel by Mark Twain, is the story of a young boy, who, in a desperate attempt to escape his abusive and poverty stricken home, escapes and seeks help with the Mississippi River, where he experiences many different trials. The novel was finally published in 1885, being written on spurts of inspiration interrupted by long periods during which it sat on the author’s desk. Now it is published in at least twenty-seven languages. Samuel Clemens, the name that lies under the pen name of Mark Twain, was born in Missouri in 1835. The town where he lived, Hannibal, Missouri, became the model for St. Petersburg, the fictional town of Huckleberry Finn. Missouri was a slave state during this period, and his family owned a few slaves, who worked as domestic servants rather than working on the large agricultural plantations as most slaves in the deep South did. The institution of slavery is prominent in the development of the themes and characters of the novel. Twain received a brief formal education before going to work as an apprentice in a print shop. He later found work on a steamboat in the Mississippi River where he took his pseudonym, â€Å"Mark Twain,† from the call a steamboat worker would make when the ship reached two fathoms. He eventually went to work as a journalist and then as a humorist. Twain is also known to have written The Gilded Age (1873), The Prince and the Pauper (1882), Life on the Miss issippi (1883), and Tom Sawyer (1876). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn outlines the different experiences and developing friendship of the novel’s two main characters, Huck and Jim. Huck, a young boy trying to escape from his life, and Jim, a black slave, wanting to escape from being sold to a farmer in the deep South, join together to sail on the Mississippi River to the Ohio River, which would lead to their freedom, but they miss it in the dark. Huck faces a moral dilemma in helping a slave, but never finds a good enough reason to turn him in, and as a result, the two develop a special bond. Written with much dialogue from the southern dialect, the story depicts a southern society from the mid-1800’s, which is very gullible, and easily manipulated. The tale is full of humor in its accounts of the pair of escapees, but it is full of underlying meaning.

Koyal – a Multi-Purpose Expert System – Md-Cob-Coa Knowledge Representation Using Prolog in J2Se

Koyal – A Multi-purpose Expert System – MD-CoB-CoA Knowledge Representation Using PROLOG in J2SE Prof. Sreedhar Babu Department of Electrical Engineering Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [email  protected] com Archana, Vineeth & Veena Department of Computer Science & Applications Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [email  protected] com Abstract— Expert systems are AI? s greatest commercial success. It is a research-oriented application area of AI. An expert system uses knowledge specific to a problem domain to provide â€Å"expert quality† performance. Predicate logic is being used for knowledge representation which is further programmed using PROLOG inference engine for deriving intelligent conclusions. The current research paper introduces a rule-based expert system that provides a medical diagnosis for determining the health problems and classification of birds and animals. The user has to have some knowledge about these topics so that he can query the system. Three knowledge bases are provided for each domain. The specialized computer language PROLOG embedded into J2SE is used to develop this system. Keywords-component: Expert System; Knowledge-base; Medical Diagnosis, Rule-based ES, Knowledge representation PROLOG; J2SE. 1. INTRODUCTION : THE KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM The current paper of Koyal has mainly two modules: 1. 1. Knowledge Base 1. 2. User Interface 1. 1 Knowledge Base [1 & 2] Mainly, three knowledge bases are required for the system. They are bird? s knowledge base for identifying a bird, animal knowledge base for identifying an animal and a disease knowledge base for medical diagnose. The system uses this knowledge base for finding solutions. Knowledge is represented in rule-based format. The rule of the system is in the form of: IF first premise and second premise, and †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. THEN conclusion This is semantically same as a Prolog rule: conclusion:first_ premise, second_ premise, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Premises are written as attribute-value pair. The attribute is represented as a predicate and the value as the argument to the predicate. Each knowledge base will have to have a high-level goal, which calls the sub goals to be satisfied. When all the premises are satisfied, then the final conclusion is obtained. . 2. User Interface The user interface is the Prolog interpreter? s interface, and the input data is stored directly in the program. It is implemented in Java by loading the prolog inference engine into the java program. The prolog program itself will provide a user interface. The predicate ask and menuask will provide these functions. The ask is responsible is for getting the information from t he user and remembering the user? s response. The ask predicate will have to determine from the user whether or not a given attribute-value pair is true. The ask prompts the user with the requested attribute and value and seeks confirmation or denial of the proposed information. The ask is represented as object-attribute-value triples where the attribute values are tied to various objects in the system. The menuask will further improve the user interface by adding a menu capability which gives the user a list of possible values for an attribute. The main precondition of our Koyal System is that a common user who has no knowledge about the specialized „domain? annot interact with the system and in such a situation the output accuracy will depend on the user inputs. 2. Description of the System Flow The system flow chart represented in the figure 2 displays the flow of the information from one process to another . We can say that it is a detailed representation of the structured chart in the Fig. 2. 1. 2. 1. User The user will enter the text and this text is passed to the inference engine. 2. 2. Inference Engine A rule-based syste m requires some kind of program to manipulate the rules – for example to decide which ones are ready to fire. (i. . which ones have conditions that match the contents of working memory). The program that does this is called an inference engine, because in many rule-based systems, the task of the system is to infer something from knowledge base. This inference engine will prove or disprove the goal/rules in the knowledge base and used to derive conclusions. e. g. a diagnosis, from the data using the rules. 2. 3. Knowledge base The knowledge base contains rules which describe general knowledge about a particular problem domain. 2. 4. User Interface The User Interface will interact with the user i. e. it will query the user for getting information to satisfy goals inside knowledge base. The predicates ask and menuask works here to gather information from user. 2. 5. Working Memory The working memory of a rule-based system is a store of information used by the system to decide wh ich of the condition-action rules in the knowledge base is able to be fire. It might be used to store intermediate conclusions i. e. the satisfied goals and any other information inferred by the system from the data (using the condition-action rules). Finally the inference engine will infer the working memory more solution. . Knowledge Representation Using PL [4 & 5] Since Predicate Logic is one of the oldest and most important logistical approach for reasoning, primarily developed and used in the area of mathematics by logicians as a means of formal reasoning and now it is vastly being used by the programmers for expert systems for its flexibility of accurate natural language representation, this paper also includes the various methods of knowledge representation supported by Predicate Logic that can be conveniently programmed with the PROLOG programming language. The major predicates that are being used in the paper include: The following symbols will be used for logical connectives. ~ not or negation & and or conjunction V or or disjunction ? if †¦ then or implication ? If and only if or double implication Valid statements or sentences in PL are determined according to the rules of propositional syntax. For the estimated validity of uncertainties, heuristics based on either fuzzy or neural network or neuro-fuzzy can be implemented. Let the predicate function B(X) be a bird with a particular name X, then the composite predicate B(X) which needs various functional variables to be satisfied type of family, color, head, voice, flight type, throat, type of food it eats, country, region, tail, size etc. †¦ Fig. 3. 1 represents the associate network for the classification of birds. For X = albatross, the functional variables are family type, color, size etc. are indicated, i. e. , if N1(F), N3(C) and N9(S) are the predicate functions with variables, family type, color and size of birds etc. , then the w. f. f. (well-formed formulae) can be written as follows, E1: ? X BIRD(X) E2: B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) E3: B (N1 (albatross) & N2 (tubenose) & N4 (external_tubular) & N5(at_sea) & N6(hooked) & N9(large) & N10(long_narrow) & N3(white) ) E1 > E2 The various predicates for E2 are defined in E3 ? X B(X) > E3 resulting in X = laysan_albatross The various functional predicates of the composite predicate expression E1 specified in E2 as B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) where F indicated family, O indicates order, N indicates nostrils, L indicates live at, Bi indicates bill, S indicates size, W indicates wings, C indicates color . . Working of the System: [6] †¢ User enters the problem which he wants to know about the particular domain. †¢ The entered query is analyzed and a keyword is extracted depending on the â€Å"domains†. †¢ The keyword is passed to the inference engine. †¢ The inference engine will call the high level goal of the knowledge base that starts the program. †¢ ask/2 and menuask/3 predicate will poses questions to the users and get enough information which is used to satisfy the sub-goals. †¢ Known/3 predicate is used to remember the answer entered by the user. The built-in predicate „asserta? stores the satisfied goals dynamically in the working memory. †¢ Another built-in predicate retractall/1 is used to delete clauses dynamically from the prolog internal database during the execution of a goal thus backtracking can be avoided. †¢ Finally the inference engine will retrieve the final goal from the working memory and provide solution to the user problem. Fig 4. 2 describes the various major predicate functions implemented in Koyal J2SE with PROLOG as supportive declarative language. 5. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING [3 & 7] 5. Introduction to System Implementation Implementation is the stage of project. When the theoretical design is turned into a working system. At this stage the main work load, the greatest upheaval and the major impact on the existing practices shifts to the user department. Prolog files include knowledge base and user interface. The size of the knowledge depends on the awareness of the creator about the domain. By referring theses knowledge base the system will derive solution for the problems. Knowledge base is one factor which determines the expertness of a system. It defines a common vocabulary for researchers who need to share information about the domain. It includes machine-interpretable definitions of basic concepts in the domain and relationship among them. 5. 3 TESTING Testing methodologies are adopted in the course of any system development. Any systems performance is based on testing that it follows. Some of the most prominent methods are: †¢ White Box †¢ Black Box 5. 3. 1 White Box Under white box testing the modules were tested individually and all the bugs were eliminated. This testing method has been of little influence to the whole project since most of the modules have to be integrated for well functioning. 5. 3. 2 Black Box The core testing was undertaken under this testing. Once all the modules were integrated the whole system was tested to ensure that it matches with the specification. 6. THE CONSTRAINTS OF KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM: 1. The knowledge of the Koyal expert system is domain specific. 2 . Identification of the keyword is critical 3. The user should have some knowledge about the domain otherwise the system will respond with less accuracy. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We humbly express our gratitude to Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, the Chancellor of Amrita Visva Vidya Peettam and the fellow faculty and student members of computer science for the successful completion in the prototype design and implementation phases. REFERENCES Websites: ? ? ? ? http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Expert_system http://www. wtec. org/loyola/kb/c1_s1. htm http://www. aaai. org/aitopics/pmwiki/pmwiki. php/AIT opics/ExpertSystems http://www. paine. org/students/lectures/lect3/node7. ht ml Fig. 5. is the architectural flow diagram of Koyal for the classification of birds, animals and the medical diagnosis. If the implementation stage is not carefully planned and controlled, it can cause chaos. Implementation involves careful planning, investigation of the current system and its constraints on implementation, design of methods to achieve the changeover, training of staff in the changeover procedure and evaluation of changeover methods. This phase of implementation has allowed us to integrate various cutting edge technologies in the project which involves the implementation of Prolog and Java. Testing phase included white box testing and black box testing thought most of the testing was performed as system testing. 5. 2 IMPLEMENTATION The implementation phase of software development is concerned with the translation of the structural design specification into source code. The primary goal is to write source code and internal documentation. Testing, Debugging and modification are performed in this phase also. The first step in developing an expert system has been the creation of a Prototype model of the actual system on the basis of the reference model available. In case of an expert system each system? s knowledge is domain specific so every system has its own advantage and disadvantage. We cannot consider the system as expert in every aspect. This will require time and much effort to develop such a spool proof system. After testing the prototype further modification were incorporated in it by including extra features and implementing the knowledge base part of our system. The prototype is then tested. After the user is satisfied with the function of the prototype the actual system is developed. JPL is a library using the SWI-Prolog foreign interface and the Java jni interface providing a bidirectional interface between Java and Prolog that can be used to embed Prolog in Java as well as for embedding Java in Prolog. In both setups it provides a reentrant bidirectional interface. jpl allows the loading of prolog engine to Java. Thereby we can load the prolog files which contain knowledge regarding the domains. ? Books: http://www. primenet. com/pcai/New_Home_Page/ai_in fo/expert_systems. html A Guide to Expert Systems by Donald A. Waterman Ist Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. [2] Russell, S. and P. Norvig, 2002. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Prentice Hall, Second Edition. [3] Analysis and design of information systems by V. Rajaraman, 5th print, PH [1] Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems by Dan W. Patternson, PHI Pvt. Limited, Eighth Reprint 2000. [5] Expert Systems Theoty and Practices by Jean-Louis Ermine, PHp Publications, 2007 [6] Introduction to Expert Systems by Peter Jackson, Addison-Wesley, Pearson Education Asia ltd. , Reprint 2000 [7] Foundation of Artificial Intelligences and Expert Systems† by V S Janakiraman, K Sarukesi, P Gopalakrishnan, Macmillan Series in Computed Science, Reprint 2001. [4]