Monday, January 27, 2020

Seven Ancient Wonders Of The World

Seven Ancient Wonders Of The World The seven ancient wonders of the world are one of the most extraordinary lists of artifacts in history. Even today there are several different branches of this list that include different categories of wonders in the world. Some of the other popular lists include wonders of the modern, medieval, natural world, and several others. Among the latest seven wonders is the Wilder beast migration scenario visible Maasai Mara game reserve in East Africa, which is being claimed to, seen from outer space great distances in the atmosphere. The great walls of china are also visible from outer space, built in 200 years B.C and stretches over eight thousand kilometers have also been featured in this list. Listing of the seven wonders can be traced back to the ancient Greek historians who developed a trend of documenting the most amazing sceneries and features in their land together with the surrounding regions that they had knowledge about during their time. The very first list of seven wonders wa s documented around first or second century before Christ (B.C) by Greek historians and consisted of constructions or natural sceneries around the modern day Mediterranean region together with some parts of Asia (Roberts, 16). This list came to be known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The list is credited to historians like Antipater of Sidon, Diodoros and Herodotus although Antipater is given much of the credit. In this regard, this paper aims at discussing which of the ancient wonders should not have been included in the list. The first seven wonders to have been documented in human history included the great pyramid of Giza, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Hanging gardens of Babylon, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. During that time, the above named were classified as the most spectacular and remarkable manmade structures but some people have argued that this would not have been the case had the Greek historians and travelers had more knowledge about other regions of the world. Different people point out that certain wonders In the list should not have been included but according to my own point of view, the hanging gardens of Babylon should not have been included in that list for a number of reasons. For a long time now, there has been a raging debate on the actual existence of the gardens in question (Optic 6). Up to date, there has never been concrete proof that the gardens of Babylon actually existed in the areas documented during the first account. In Babylonian history both now and in the past, there is no such documentation of its existence, which casts doubt about whether the Greek historians were right or wrong (Price Clayton, 22). Compared to the other wonders of the time, there has been sufficient proof of existence and has been presented with ruins of some being seen even as of date. In fact, the Great pyramid of Giza is still physically visible even today. People living in regions where other members in the list had documented the existence of the respective structures in the writings, drawings and other types but Babylonians had not. This is a strong reason as to why the hanging gardens should not have been included considering prove of existence of the other six. Secondly, it cannot be said as to who really was responsible for building the gardens if they indeed existed. The Greek historians who developed the list attributed the building to Nebuchadnezzar II, a powerful king who reigned around 600 B.C but other documentation shows otherwise. It is now a well-known fact that no artifacts, ruins, and walls of Nebuchadnezzars kingdom have ever shown that he was responsible for building the gardens (Price Clayton, 32). Other historians of the ancient times recorded that a man named Sennacherib was the one who built the hanging gardens after he took over the kingdom of Assyria in the year 705 B.C. Other historians of both modern and ancient times argue that the Gardens were a creation of the mind and artistry build upon stories that were taken to Greece by visitors who came from Babylonia. Being a land that had great architecture, tower of Babel, fertile soils, Palm tree plantations, beautiful gardens and great prosperity, merchants and soldiers who went back to Greece gave exaggerated stories about the region ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. On hearing this, artists and historians created mental pictures of the place and eventually came up with drawings. For this reason, I think hanging garden should have been excluded from the list. Largely, the intention of constructing a building determines whether it will have great value or not. Some buildings are constructed for use as residential areas, places of worship, food stores, recreational and libraries among other reasons. In ancient times, buildings were built for various reasons some of which are explained above. With respect to the seven manmade structures that were listed as wonder of the world, all of them had a distinct purpose for their creation but according to my own personal view, the main intention for constructing the gardens was relatively less valuable or meaningless compared to the other six. The great Pyramid of Giza was built to act as a tomb for pharaohs, temple of Artemis at Ephesus as a place of worship, Lighthouse of Alexandria as a guide to seafarers or sailors. Similarly, Statue of Zeus at Olympia as a depiction of matured artistry, and Colossus of Rhodes a symbol of one of many gods worshipped by Greeks called Helios. On the other hand, the hanging gardens had been built to make Nebuchadnezzars wife feel more as if she was at her ancestral home (Woods Michael, 69). In short, it was built to satisfy the ego of only one person resulting to wastage of massive financial resources, human labor, and time. All the other structures had been for a noble course of either helping humanity, understanding life aspects more or helping create a better link between humans and their God but the gardens had been built to impact just one person who happened to be the wife of a king. The actual location of the gardens is a matter of speculation and not factual like is the case with the other constructions (Clayton Prince 58). Given that, ruins the other six structures have precise locations that are known to historians and ordinary persons, documentation of the gardens in relation to different historian of the time confirm that the precise location of the place is not known. There is a possibility that the gardens, if they ever existed may have been built elsewhere and not in the place recorded by historians as Babylonia (Woods Michael, 97). Studies conducted by modern day archeologists strongly show that the place believed to be the zone where hanging gardens were situated based off ancient Greek historical accounts is actually Nineveh gardens, modern day Tigris which used to be in the kingdom of Assyria. This is strong evidence that Greek historians must have confused the two places making it odd to be included in the list of seven wonders of the ancient worl d. There also exists a major difference between type of architecture used in construction of hanging gardens and others in the record. The gardens had been built using a mixture of clay and straw, which underwent a hardening process to make construction bricks. All the others were constructed using tough or special stones that had the capability of withstanding all types of unfavorable weather conditions for a long period. According to ancient records, walls of the hanging gardens could be fully destructed by exposure to water only that it was it a desert region that experienced region. It is said that the gardens were easily destroyed by an earthquake to an extent where not even ruins remained, an indication that they were less superior to the other wonders. In relation to height, the hanging gardens of Babylon are documented to have been about eighty feet. Others like the Lighthouse of Alexandria were approximately one hundred and twenty meters high and could be seen from long distances. Sailors of the time could see the tower from as far as twenty-six miles and the great pyramid remained to be the tallest manmade structure on earth for over three thousand years. This means that the other six structures were appealing to the human eye compared to the hanging gardens. Having trees and other plants together with a river around it, the gardens could never have been appealing when the desert sun dried up the waters and made vegetation turn brown. From all the above arguments, it would be right to conclude that the hanging gardens should not have been included in that list of ancient wonders given the many weaknesses it had compared to the others.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Product costing and cost accumulation in a batch production environment Essay

As production takes place, manufacturing costs are tracked in the Work-in-Process Inventory account. Every product is made up of three cost components: direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. After products are completed, the corresponding cost leaves the Work-in-Process account and is debited to the Finished-Goods account. (A merchandising firm buys its goods already completed and directly debits the items’ cost to Merchandise Inventory.) When units are sold, the Finished-Goods Inventory account is credited and Cost of Goods Sold is debited. A product-costing system must be adapted to match the environ ­ment in which it operates. A job-order costing system is used in an industry where products are made individually, or in relatively small batches, and one product or batch is readily distinguishable from the other. Candidates for job-costing systems would be custom homebuilding, custom printing, custom furniture construction, legal cases, medical cases, audits, and research projects. A process-costing system is employed in an environment at the other end of the continuum: the mass production of like units. Users might include manufacturers of chemicals, gasoline, and microchips. This topic is discussed fully in Chapter 4. 4.ACCUMULATING COSTS IN A JOB-ORDER COSTING SYSTEM A job-cost record is used to accumulate the actual direct materials, actual direct labor, and applied manufacturing overhead costs for each job. The recording of costs on this record and in the general ledger is triggered by various source docu ­ments. Material requisition forms authorize the transfer of direct materials from the warehouse to production. In many firms, the requisitions are based on a bill of materials that lists all of the materials (e.g., parts) needed. Supply chain—the flow of all goods, services, and information into and out of the organization. The supply chain often has ramifications for materials, as manufacturers work with vendors to achieve improved delivery schedules and reductions in material cost. Time records are used to gather the amount of direct labor worked on a specific job. Manufacturing overhead is entered on the job-cost record in the form of applied (i.e., estimated) overhead. Source documents, such as invoices for factory insurance and schedules for factory depreciation, trigger a general-ledger entry that debits the Manufacturing Overhead account. 5.OVERHEAD APPLICATION Overhead accounting involves a number of steps. Chapter 3 focuses on the final step: the application of overhead to jobs and products. Although overhead cannot be directly traced to the product, the use of an application rate should allocate an equitable amount of cost to each job (known as overhead application). Step 1: Set a predetermined overhead rate at the beginning of the accounting period. This is done by dividing the period’s estimated (budgeted) overhead by the period’s estimated number of cost-driver units. Step 2: Use the predetermined overhead rate to apply an equitable portion of overhead to each job. As the actual number of cost-driver units used on a job becomes known, it is multiplied by the predetermined overhead rate. Actual overhead costs incurred during the year are debited to the Manufacturing Overhead control account. In contrast, applied overhead is debited to Work-in-Process Inventory and credited to Manufacturing Overhead. The year-end difference between actual and applied amounts is known as over- or underapplied overhead. This figure is adjusted in the process of closing the Manufacturing Overhead account to zero by either: Charging or crediting the amount to cost of goods sold. This approach is acceptable if the over- or underapplication is small or if most of the products made during the period have been sold. Prorating the amount among work in process, finished goods, and cost of goods sold. Teaching Tip: Emphasize that under- and overapplied overhead is the difference between actual and applied overhead, not actual and budgeted overhead. The budgeted figure is used solely in the determination of the predetermined rate. 6. EXTENDED ILLUSTRATION OF JOB COSTING As noted earlier, the Work-in-Process Inventory account contains charges for direct materials used, direct labor, and applied manufacturing overhead. Period costs are expensed and not charged to Manufacturing Overhead. A sale requires two journal entries: one to record the sales revenue and another to transfer the goods’ cost from Finished-Goods Inventory to Cost of Goods Sold. Teaching Tip: Although the text illustration appears relatively complicated, it is simply presenting the details that accompany the flow of goods (and costs) from work in process, to finished goods, to cost of goods sold. 7.FINANCIAL SCHEDULES FOR MANAGERS The schedule of cost of goods manufactured details the activity in the Work-in-Process account (beginning balance, direct materials used, direct labor, applied overhead, and ending balance). The schedule of cost of goods sold details the activity in the Finished- Goods Inventory account. It is similar to the cost-of-goods-sold schedule as shown in financial accounting courses for merchandising companies, except the â€Å"purchases† amount is replaced with cost of goods manufactured. 8.FURTHER ASPECTS OF OVERHEAD APPLICATION Actual and normal costing Accountants prefer predetermined application rates, which are used in a normal-costing system. Such rates help to smooth product costs over time and allow users to cost products/jobs upon completion. In contrast, users of actual-costing systems derive an actual overhead rate at the end of the accounting period. Product-cost information to management is therefore delayed. Choosing an appropriate cost driver Direct labor has been a very common and appropriate cost driver. Past processes were labor intensive, and products incurring more labor often produced higher amounts of manufacturing overhead. Today, many processes are automated and less dependent on labor. Thus, firms now use machine hours, process time, throughput (cycle) time (the average amount of time to convert raw materials into finished goods), and other measures as cost drivers. Single vs. multiple overhead rates Companies commonly use multiple (rather than single) application rates. With computerized accounting systems, multiple rates are easily generated, thus lowering the cost of producing highly accurate information. A single overhead rate is commonly known as a plantwide rate; multiple rates are often known as departmental rates. Two-stage cost allocation Stage one: Overhead is first accumulated in production departments. This frequently requires the allocation of service department costs to production departments. Stage two: As a final step, production department costs are assigned to individual jobs and products via overhead application. 9.PROJECT COSTING Project costing refers to job costing in a nonmanufacturing environment. â€Å"Jobs† in this case refer to cases, contracts, and/or programs. Costing involves tracking the direct, easily traceable costs and subdividing them by project. Overhead is then applied by using a predetermined rate, with a possible application base being a project’s direct professional labor cost. Technology such as bar coding may be used to track appropriate costs to projects, although this is just one of many possible applications. Service providers, along with manufacturers, are also making use of: Electronic data interchange (EDI), which involves the electronic transfer of information from one organization to another by using a computer-to-computer interface. Extensible markup language (XML), which is web-based and allows users to share structured data such as product order lists and price data. Teaching Overview I begin the topic of job costing by explaining that students should not expect to apply a so-called â€Å"textbook system† to any real-world company, because cost systems must be designed to meet a firm’s unique needs. However, the two traditional system models, job order and process costing, give users the ability to build-in various modifications for use in actual situations. The major difficulty that students encounter in job costing is the concept of manufacturing overhead. The first area needing clarifica ­tion is terminology, namely: Estimated = budgeted Applied = allocatedIncurred = actual The second area in need of clarification is the sequence of procedures for overhead application: calculating predeter ­mined overhead rates, using the rates, and adjusting the over ­- or underapplied amount. This problem stems from the fact that students are doing textbook assignments where all the information is given simultaneously. Therefore, the question arises, â€Å"Why use an imperfect predetermined overhead rate when I have all the totally correct, actual data in the next paragraph?† It is helpful to be on the lookout for this line of thinking when discussing homework assignments and to remind students how and when information becomes available in the real world. (I suspect this is a problem mainly for under ­graduates with limited work experience.) Based on many years of teaching, I also find that students struggle with the journal entries required to handle a sale. Two entries are needed: one to transfer the cost of units sold from finished goods to cost of goods sold; another is needed to record revenue. Students often forget one or the other or exhibit some creativity, creating a new account entitled Profit on Sale. Be sure to spend a few extra minutes with this issue. After the preceding issues have been handled, students generally are quite interested in job-costing concepts, particularly those who have worked in a family business or who plan to start their own business. Students are also interested in job costing in a service enterprise (discuss something as basic as the activities of a sports agent who represents clients across the country) and the impact of changing manufacturing techniques (such as the acquisition of new, state-of-the-art production technology) on product-costing procedures. I recommend Exercise 3-35 (manufacturing overhead) and Problem 3-46 (job costing and journal entries) as lecture demonstration problems.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

PEACE Domestic Violence Agency Essay

The PEACE Domestic Violence agency’s mission is to â€Å"reduce victim trauma, empower survivors, and promote recovery through direct services† (University of Phoenix, 2012, para. 9). Also, according to University of Phoenix Appendix B (2012),PEACE also strives to reducing the occurrence of sexual assault and domestic violence by educating the abused and the community and proposing ways to fight against social norms and beliefs. It will reside in the city of Portland, a large metropolitan city, that has been experiencing a rise in reports of not only domestic, spousal, and child abuse, but also youth violence, assault, and road rage over the last five years. PEACE is looking for funding from the National Foundation’s funding program and by doing so strives promote the well-being of people whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, improve the quality of life of families with a member in prison, provide people who are (or have been) involved with the criminal justice system with a rehabilitation program where they can obtain the skills and support networks needed to lead fulfilled lives. â€Å"The Small Grants Program offers one-time grants of up to $5,000 to registered charities with an annual budget under $500,000 and the Investor Program is an innovative funding program designed to support six organizations under each of the objectives of the Supporting Families program, with up to $150,000 a year for up to 3 years† (University of Phoenix, 2012, para. 11). The program needs not only proper funding but the ability to allocate that funding in ways that will benefit the community in the fastest and most effective way possible. Because of this, PEACE will be looking into alternative funding. The Community Innovation Challenge is one of the most important ways PEACE will try and obtain nontraditional funding. The Community Innovation Challenge is a grant program that gives approved organizations money so they can enact faster and more efficient ways of serving and bettering the community. This kind of funding would benefit PEACE because a domestic violence agency like PEACE is helpful to the community on so many levels – children to adults to those looking to be rehabilitated. PEACE would be a prime candidate for this grant because of this reason and the money would be used to assist workers in their education on the matters at hand as well as paying for more workers if the organization gets too large for the current staff amount. PEACE will also be looking into outsourcing and setting up charity booths at frequently visited locations like outside a grocery store or at a shopping center. Sending emails and/or letters to local businesses, companies, and even other organizations looking for financial assistance, ideas, and information is definitely helpful and it also allows smaller businesses to get their name on the map and helping out the organization if they were to become something like a sponsor. Setting up charity booths also allows people from many different walks of life to see my program’s cause and contribute something, anything, if they can. Funding from these two sources can normally be used in many ways but it is also not always a large amount. Access to smaller amounts of funding gives PEACE ways to buy low cost items when they are affordable. Things like more seating, chair cushions, water tanks, even coffee and muffins†¦ All these things can help people feel more welcome and safe which is important with organizations like PEACE. Signing up for a few free subscription/database-type sites will give access to funds as well. These websites allow a program to look for nontraditional sources of funding as well as give them updates for when new opportunities come up that apply to the program. This is especially helpful for busy programs that may not have the man power to go out and hunt for funding sources while also working with the program as much as The mission of the PEACE Domestic Violence Agency is to reduce victim trauma, empower survivors, and promote recovery through direct services. Their curriculum is based largely around the need of the community and they set out to provide the best, most varied care they can. Starting with professionally trained staff who are looked over by a small administration PEACE locates those in need of assistance and brings them to a place where those needs can be met on an individual basis as well as on a group basis. The stakeholders for PEACE start with the administration and staff of the agency who put themselves on the line taking care of their clients and looking for sources of funding to make sure things are taken care of. Staff and administration need to have their physical and mental needs taken care of and provided for so they can then provide for the community. This may mean more staff need to be trained and employed to keep everyone at the top of their game or the spaces available for clients needs to be cut so staff do not find themselves over-taxed. Domestic abuse is a very serious thing and it cannot be taken lightly by anyone. One false step – be it a forgotten case notebook, a less-than-attentive staff member, or what have you – can severely endanger the clients. It is imperative that the clients are put into the hands of fully educated, completely able staff. A majority of funding sources are open only to non-profit, 501(c)3 organizations. These organizations must also be in good standing to receive funds and therefore PEACE is eligible to apply for this type of funding. A private foundation is deemed to be any non-profit that supports the work of public charities through the award of grants (2009). In order to receive funds a foundation is required to file a Form 1023 with the IRS. Form 1023 is a 28 page form gives the IRS the information they need to conduct audits of the foundation’s activities. The duty of staff and the administration is to make sure the program meets the requirements of the funders constantly because they would lose funding if they have anything that presents itself as a conflict of interest of it there is anything going on that the funders do not like (2009). Non-profit organizations and their boards are bound to very strict rules and therefore discrimination against an individual or treating a group better than another individual or group can result in the foundation being shut down. Records of a program must be maintained in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), including the filing of an annual Form 990 with the IRS. All members of the staff and management are responsible to the rules for non-profits. Documentation has to be well understood and applied consistently and correctly. The administrators of PEACE have to find evaluators that can ensure the evaluations show an honest picture of the group effort, effectiveness, and c ontribution to the community so granters can rely on the information provided. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act is an example of such a funding foundation that can create such a picture. Their mission is to decrease the occurrence of domestic abuse as well as to increase well-being and progress in society as a whole. This foundation is federally funded often pulling in quite a few million dollars that are then allocated to them by the government as well as allocated to sister organizations and other funding opportunities. Being federally funded there is a close eye on the limited resources of the foundation so the funders can be sure the money is spent in the most effective manner to benefit the greatest number of people. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act serves organizations and people all over the United. The foundation has control over where their money is used and they try to concentrate their focus on organizations that will benefit the community around them the most. They, more specifically, tend to fund essential services that sit at the core of ending domestic violence. Emergency shelters, hotlines, and advocacy as well as primary and secondary prevention are all looked at highly. Another stakeholder in the PEACE Domestic Violence Agency is the community itself. Community evaluation will be an active part of the results that affect ongoing funding by attending the program, first of all, and also by giving feedback on the effectiveness of this program and the staff of said program in their community. The input of the community needs to be taken into consideration when looking at progress evaluations and data that has been collected before making decisions to change, mend, or modify the program. Community member have the biggest input on when, where, and how group sessions are bei ng held and, more importantly, when, where, and how private sessions are being held. Children cannot be expected to want to sit through late meetings, parents may not have time during the day because of work†¦ There are so many factors that need to be looked at in order to please the wants and needs of the community. This will be important also keep constant monitoring of to allow individuals and families to have time for different kinds of activities and help, as well as to allow the help they’ve currently received (or have been receiving) to process and sink in. However, the community cannot affect or change the goals of funding institutions. Therefore, they have to work with the funder’s restrictions and requirements so that no single group is held in a higher spot on the list of things that need funding or the list of people that need assistance. Every one of the stakeholders at PEACE Domestic Violence Agency has an effect on the design and implementation of the program. The community, the clients, the staff and finally the administration all s hare a common goal and they all hold the progress and fate of the program in their hands. They all want to see an improvement in the society, they all want to see higher quality of life, and they all want someone (even themselves) to feel safe when they go to sleep at night. This means strong staff, an introduction of life skills, increased community involvement, increased collaboration with funders and the state, a reduction in high risk behaviors, and a decrease in the amount of reported domestic abuse cases. By taking these things into account PEACE Domestic Violence Agency will be a long lasting, effective program. Program planning and evaluation process can provide opportunities for program improvement because they will catch instances of the program not meeting the expectations of the funders, workers, and the community. It is vital for PEACE to carefully create a program plan because, with an organization that is helping a myriad of kinds of victims of domestic abuse, it is easy to give the wrong message to workers and the community. PEACE also provides assistance to people who are looking to be rehabilitated so it would be bad for them if their organization came off as only being there to help the hurt or, in my opinion, even worse: As being there to make sure the people know they did wrong but not actually help them. The evaluation process can keep track of the kinds of clients they get and also what places might need improvement. As the manager of a program anything that improves efficiency and the method for delivery of the service is helpful and those can be found through the evaluation process. As a funder, you would have every right to speak up if you thought your money was not being well spent. This comes into play first in the program planning because if you are looking for a specific kind of program you can gladly put forth an effort to make that happen whether it be with time, money, or both. It also comes into play with the evaluation process. As a funder it would be part of your responsibility to check where funds are going and when and to check if there are more efficient and helpful ways of delivering the funds and how they are spent. Outcome Measure: Reduce the amount of domestic violence report, to assist people and families in dealing with life after abuse, and to help with rehabilitation and reintroduction. * Baseline Data: Portland has experienced increasing reports of domestic and youth violence, spousal and child abuse, assault, and incidents of road rage over the last 5 years. * Evaluation Design: Trained observers, staff * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Police reports, reports from other domestic abuse locations * Who Will Collect the Data: Collection of data will be done by a small team of staff specifically brought together to gather and process data. * Timing of Data Collection: Overall data collection every three months (to look for progress) with an update to data made every forty-five days. * Population or Sample: Population (Applicable men, women and children of Portland) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Total new/repeat counts of domestic abuse in the form of percentages (increase or decrease) Process Measure: Number of staff trained to handle the abused * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Training sign-in sheets * Who Will Collect the Data: Administration assistant will help participants sign-in * Timing of Data Collection: Before the training session * Population or Sample: Population (all participants) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Total number of staff properly trained. Process Measure: Number of sessions delivered per group * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Staff session logs * Who Will Collect the Data: Staff * Timing of Data Collection: During and after each session * Population or Sample: Population (all staff will fill out session logs) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Frequency of sessions per group per staff, as well as an average frequency of sessions across the board. Process Measure: Measures of program fidelity * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Trained observers, staff checklists, client surveys * Who Will Collect the Data: Trained observers, staff, and clients * Timing of Data Collection: Trained observers will attend one session per group each month and staff and clients will fill out biweekly checklists and surveys * Population or Sample: Population (All staff and willing clients as well as observers) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Qualitative data from observations and data collected from checklists and surveys will be compiled, summarized, and given to administration to show who is being passionate and faithful to the cause as well as what improvements need to be made and where. This evaluation plan will include process evaluation, outcome evaluations, formative evaluations, and summative evaluations. Process evaluations will evaluate all procedures and tasks involved with implementing these programs. Process evaluations will also monitor the program and ensure feedback throughout the length of the program. This is exceptionally beneficial when running a program that is solely need-based and those needs only discovered through dealing with the clients the program is trying to help. Without feedback process cannot be made and goals, no matter how small, cannot be achieved. By performing process evaluations on the effectiveness of the groups as well as the staff themselves and comparing that to data collected by clients the best possible steps can be made towards the goal reducing the effect of domestic violence on Portland. Outcome evaluations will collect quantitative and qualitative data from ongoing programs to document any short-term results that have been achieved as well as open doors to any new short-term goals and changes that have to be made to current ones. Task-focused results such as the number of staff who put their name on the sign-up sheet to be trained, how many clients return, and how many young adults seek help with rehabilitation on their own describe the output of the activity and short-term results, like the percentage of clients that are willing to fill out an end-of-session survey, describe the immediate effects of the program on the community. Information such as an increase in knowledge, changed in attitude, and behavioral shifts are part of a long list of data that can be discovered after an outcome evaluation. Outcome evaluations will come in handy the most when trying to figure out if the community is being reached properly and clients are being treated as best as they can be. It will also be helpful determining what activities are out-of-date or just plain not helpful anymore and what activities can take their place. Formative evaluations, which include pre-testing and competency exams, allow an organization to assess the strengths and weaknesses in their approach to their goals, staff, target audience for their services, and even their advertising campaign! Formative evaluations also help an organization discover if any changes need to be made, if they can be made, or if the program is not going to succeed. By testing messages, products, and services on small groups also helps an organization work out kinks before implementing it on a larger scale. By taking the data gained from a finished formative evaluation an organization can get a better idea of their company, its workers, and its clients and will help them decide if it is better to sink, or hopefully more often, swim. Summative evaluations include any combination of measurements and judgments that allow conclusions about the impact, outcome, and benefits of a program or method. Allowing an organization to stick to such an out of the box, abstract, non-linear form of evaluating it can pick and chose what will get them the most information the fastest. This can be, by far, the most efficient way to help an organization make progress. With an organization that has a lot of different sections, like this one, it can produce the best progress reports because there is not a single mainline format that has to be followed; Just whatever works. I believe I would find pre-post surveys with questions that have people rate things one through five, attendance sheets, and tally sheets to keep record of happenings the most useful. In an organization that has sections that help polar opposite cases (e.g. young adults straight from walking the line of a criminal who wish to find assistance in becoming rehabilitated and young mothers who have been abused and who have children who were abused that are looking for help with learning how to get through their fears and move on with life) there cannot be one set way to document things. Surveys will always be near the top of the data collecting tools list because people can put whatever they want however they want and can truly express themselves if they so chose. An organization cannot necessarily ask two groups, like the two mentioned above, â€Å"How did you feel when the counselor asked you to talk about your personal experiences with being abused,† because the young adult who is looking to be rehabilitated may not have been abused. Attendance sheets are a very important part of an organization as well because it will allow the organization to know how many people they are reaching and if they need to step their game up or not. References Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2013). http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and- procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation-challenge-grant/. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation- challenge-grant/ National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2012). Family Violence Prevention & Services Act. Retrieved from http://www.nnedv.org/policy/issues/fvpsa.html United States Interagency Council on Homelessnes. (2011). Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Retrieved from http://www.usich.gov/funding_programs/programs/family_violence_prevention_and_services_act/ University of Phoenix. (2012). Appendix B. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HSM270 – Program Planning and Grant Proposal Writing in Human Services website. Weill Cornell Medical College. (2013). http://weill.cornell.edu/research/grants_and_contracts/research_development/se

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain - 1647 Words

Analyzing Huckleberry Finn: Boyhood to Manhood Scottish industrialist Andrew Carnegie once said, â€Å"As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.† As one travels through the journey from childhood to manhood, one learns to focus more on individual assessments as compared societal values. In the bildungsroman The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the hero Huck, through his adventure from boyhood to manhood, discovers that the civilized society had taught him southern doctrines that went against his individual principles. Twain demonstrates Huck’s growth from childhood to adulthood, with respect to moral values, true friendship, and loss of innocence, in order to help readers connect their common experiences of growth with literature. The protagonist Huck undergoes complete moral transformation due to his experiences throughout his course of maturity. Huck first enters the novel as an adolescent outcast lacking religious and academic education. A lthough his caretakers, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, try to reform Huck’s independent habits, he was tired of being told how to act. Huckleberry Finn only looks up to Tom Sawyer, a typical middle class adolescent indoctrinated with white social principles. When Tom Sawyer decides to create a group of robbers, Huck is excited to join on Tom’s adventures. However, one of the requirements of a participant is to agree with the murder of a family member if the rules of the gang are broken. Lacking a true familyShow MoreRelatedThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain830 Words   |  3 PagesThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is â€Å"A Great American Novel†, because of its complexity and richness. Twain writes dialogue that brings his characters to life. He creates characters with unique voice and helps the reader connect to the book. Anyone who reads it is forced to develop feelings for each character. Even though there is a great amount of c ontroversy over the use of some choices, such as the â€Å"n word†, it makes the book more realistic. In the beginning of the novel Huck,Read MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1103 Words   |  5 PagesDmitri Van Duine Jr English Mr. Nelson November 27th The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Written by Mark Twain filled his stories with many examples of satire as to convey a message while also writing an interesting story. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn revolves around the adventures of a young boy called Huckleberry Finn, who is about thirteen years old. Tom Sawyer is Huck’s best friend and around the same age as Huck. He is onlyRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain Essay1055 Words   |  5 PagesZambrano Mrs. Patmor AP Lit-Period 5 28 September 2016 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1835 Mark Twain embodies realism in almost every aspect of his writing not excluding The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which in he portrays such a lifelike setting that it almost gives you this sense of reality through the point of view of a young man that has an urge for freedom yet struggles to conform to society s norms due to his adolescence. Twain s ability to unmask the true identities of the charactersRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain931 Words   |  4 PagesWolski Mrs. Goska English 2H Period 3 22 October 2014 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mob mentality is the way an individual’s decisions become influenced by the often unprincipled actions of a crowd. Mark Twain penned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain grew up in America’s southern states during the early 1800’s, a time in which moral confusion erupted within the minds of humans. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn s protagonist is a young boy named Huck who freely travels alongRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1375 Words   |  6 Pagesmention the years spent growing and maturing physically. Teenagers are stuck in an inbetween state where they must learn who they want to become and what they want to be when they grow older. The same is true for Huckleberry Finn, from the book â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† by Mark Twain. This is a book that was written in a time of great confusion over moral codes and standards. It was a world split in half by two different worlds of people; those who opposed, a nd those who promoted slavery.Read MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain2083 Words   |  9 PagesSatire in Huckleberry Finn In the novel â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† by Mark Twain, we are told a story about a young boy and his slave companion’s journey down the Mississippi River and all of their encounters with other characters. Twain constructed a beautiful narrative on how young Huck Finn, the protagonist in the story, learns about the world and from other adult characters, how he is shaped into his own person. At the time this book was made however, this novel provided serious socialRead MoreMark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn1575 Words   |  6 Pages Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Controversy Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is a highly recognizable figure in American literature. Born in Florida, Missouri Mark Twain and his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri where Twain discovered and fell in love with the mighty Mississippi River. The river and his life in Hannibal became his inspiration and guiding light in most of his writing. Although Twain loved the river and did a great deal of traveling, he eventuallyRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1005 Words   |  5 Pages In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain in the 19th century is about a young boy named Huck Finn and Jim, a runaway slave who go on an adventure. The two travel on a raft along the Mississippi river creating a bond and making memories. Mark Twain presents Huckleberry Finn as a dynamic character who at first views Jim as property and eventually considers Jim as a friend, showing a change in maturity. In the beginning of the book, Huck Finn clearly sees Jim as nothing more thanRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1335 Words   |  6 Pagesyear The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is placed in the top ten banned books in America. People find the novel to be oppressing and racially insensitive due to its frequent use of the n-word and the portrayal of blacks as a Sambo caricature. However, this goes against Mark Twain’s intent of bringing awareness to the racism in America. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is classified under the genre of satire and is narrated by a fictional character named Huckleberry Finn. The novelRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain810 Words   |  4 PagesBefore Mark Twain started to write two of his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark was known to use his characters to display his own thoughts and opinions. â€Å"This device allowed him to s ay just about anything he wanted, provided he could convincingly claim he was simply reporting what others had said.† (Twain, 1283). Mark Twain used this process to be a foundation of his lectures, by manipulating his popularly with his readers. During the story