Friday, December 27, 2019

Comparing The Novel Uglies And The Maze Runner

In today s society, equality is a big deal, with many people still fighting for their rights. People all over the world are still being discriminated against, a topic that is not uncommon for a vast amount of dystopian novels. In fact, it s a very common theme for multiple dystopian pieces. Scott Westerfeld s Uglies, Joelle Charbonneau s The Testing, Liam Hughes The Social Classes, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. s Harrison Bergeron, and Wes Ball s interpretation of The Maze Runner all have social discrimination integrated into their story lines. Despite the many problems in dystopian societies, authors also present the classic hero that rises above those issues and works to rebuild their government or community. However, a hero isn t just born, they re made through a series of events such as problems with social class discrimination. When writing the book Uglies, the author, Scott Westerfeld, used a sufficient amount of details to emphasize the differences in social classes and how each class is distinctly separated. By labeling the citizens in the colonies, Westerfeld was able to show how each class was viewed. The novel follows a character named Tally, who is a teenager living in a time set ahead of our own. In this community there are different stages a person goes through while growing up. All citizens first start out as littlies, or kids younger than twelve. Once over twelve the kids move to their own town, called Uglyville, away from their parents and are

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Factors Leading to Child Abuse - 1856 Words

P3- Explain the factors that would lead to the suspicion of child maltreatment or abuse Unit 10 â€Å"There are several types of child abuse, but the core element that ties them together is the emotional effect on the child. Children need predictability, structure, clear boundaries, and the knowledge that their parents are looking out for their safety. Abused children cannot predict how their parents will act. Their world is an unpredictable, frightening place with no rules. Whether the abuse is a slap, a harsh comment, stony silence, or not knowing if there will be dinner on the table tonight, the end result is a child that feel unsafe, uncared for, and alone.† – Melinda Smith It is not always easy to recognise if you, or someone you know is†¦show more content†¦The activities may involve physical contact, penetrative sex such as rape, buggery or oral sex, or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Sexual abuse can be very difficult to identify. However, there are steps you can take to help keep a child safe from sexual abuse and to protect a child if you suspect, or discover, that they have been abused. Very young children and disabled children are particularly vulnerable because they may not have the words or the ability to communicate what is happening to them to someone they trust. Men, women, teenagers and other children can commit acts of sexual abuse towards children. Children who have been sexually abused, or are being sexually abused may show a variety of signs and symptoms, which may include- There areShow MoreRelated3.08 Critical Thinking Questions . Parenting Skills Essay examples879 Words   |  4 Pages Explain the different forms of child abuse? Include Shaken Baby Syndrome in your response. The different forms of child abuse are , Physical Abuse , Emotional Abuse , Sexual Abuse , and Neglect. Physical abuse is violence directed toward a child by a parent or other adult caregiver. Emotional abuse is when a caregiver causes the child to feel worthless and rejected . Sexual abuse towards a child may be in a verbal way , leading to physical contact with the child. Finally , Neglect is when the parentRead MoreChildhood : Child And Wife Abuse1698 Words   |  7 PagesChild and Wife Abuse Name Institution Introduction Childhood is meant to embrace playing in the sun and the rain as well as being carefree as opposed to living in the darkness of the soul. Child abuse remains one of the most contentious issues in our society that affects many children who lack the courage to open up about it as a result of stigmatization and low self-esteem. On the other hand, wife abuse is also a rampant practice that arises out of a marriage. Both child and wifeRead MoreChild Maltreatment And Its Effects On Children With Disabilities981 Words   |  4 PagesChild Maltreatment Child maltreatment is implicated as a risk factor in many disorders, ranging from externalizing such as conduct disorder to internalizing such as anxiety or depression. In the text, they propose a question as to the timing of abuse. Does the abuse come as a reaction of the parents because the child is difficult to manage? Or does difficult behavior such result from the abuse? Research has shown that children that may be harder to manage such as disabilities are at higher riskRead MoreAnalysis Of A Child Called It By Dave Pelzer1112 Words   |  5 PagesThe Strength to Survive After reading the book, â€Å"A Child Called It† by Dave Pelzer, I will say this a melancholic book that depicts the true child abuse that Pelzer suffered in the hands of his mother. This book describes his horrifying experiences in child abuse and I would greatly recommend reading it. The book is fabulous and once you start reading it you will not want to put it down. Pelzer touches on the cruel abused faced by his mother and his deep willingness to survive and try to get aheadRead MoreInfluence Of Elder Abuse Based On Race And Race932 Words   |  4 Pageshas risk factors associated with just those words alone. However, in elder abuse the descriptive words such as ethnicity and race has little to no effect on the one being abused (Hernandez-Tejada, Amstadter, Muzzy, Acierno, 2013). The study of 5,777 participants in a weighted sample, which was given in English and Spanish. The types of abuse was emotional, physical, and sexual abuse ( Hernandez-Tejada, et al., 2013) In th eir study, to identify what factors were predictive to elder abuse based onRead MoreWhat Affects Child Obesity? Essay1397 Words   |  6 PagesWhat Impacts Child Obesity?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Child obesity is fast growing epidemic throughout the United States, and is becoming a major health concern for the children of today’s society. A child with a BMI (body mass index) greater than 95 percent is considered obese; however, if a child has a BMI of 85, but still less than 95, they are only considered overweight. Since the 1960’s, the prevalence of child obesity has tripled beyond its original percentage. Many factors can influence a child becoming obeseRead MoreChild Sexual Abuse and Its Impact on The Developing Brain, An Annotated Bibliography846 Words   |  4 Pages1) â€Å"Child Sexual Abuse, Traumatic Experiences, and Their Impact on the Developing Brain† Gaskill, Richard L. and Perry, Bruce D. (2012) â€Å"Child Sexual Abuse, Traumatic Experiences, and Their Impact on the Developing Brain† Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse: Identification, Assessment, and Treatment. Online. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118094822.ch2/pdf Annotated Bibliography: In this article, the author is making an argument that sexual abuse causes brain development problems inRead MoreThe Effects Of Childhood Abuse On Children1474 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract: Childhood abuse has been present throughout many years but it has never been brought into life as it is today. The child’s brain is just as a sponge, absorbing every detail of their daily lives. If the child lives in an environment where there is abuse, that child in the future will do the same because it was what he got used to. Many parents use violence as a form of punishment when they do not realize that by only being violent, they are creating a trauma on the child which can lead inRead MoreA Juvenile Delinquent Is Someone Under The Age Of 18 Who1033 Words   |  5 Pagesbe a big factor in a child becoming a juvenile delinquent. Coming from a dysfunctional family unit to having poor role models. By dysfunctional family unit I mean a family separated by divor ce, or single-parenthood. Community is another trait of a juvenile delinquent. Including but not limited to poverty. Coming from a poor community where they do not have everything handed to them is likely a cause for them to commit a crime. Exposure to violence is another factor with a community. A child being witnessRead MoreThe Effects Of Physical Abuse On Child Abuse980 Words   |  4 Pagesthe war against child abuse since the first case of child abuse in 1874 that included a child being beaten and chained against her will (Meadows, 2014). Many people hear the words child abuse and think of physical abuse. While, many people are correct in thinking of physical abuse, an â€Å"Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)† study done by the CDC shows that although physical abuse is the leading form of child abuse, emotional or psychological abuse is the second leading form of child abuse (2014). Although

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Benefit Tax Liability of ABC Pty. Ltd.

Question: Discuss about the Benefit Tax Liability of ABC Pty. Ltd. Answer: The Fringe Tax Benefit Tax Liability of ABC Pty. Ltd. for its employee Alan, is calculated in the following table (Ato.gov.au. 2016):- In the Books of ABC Ltd. Calculation of Fringe Benefit Tax Liability as on 31.03.2015 GST Inclusive GST Free Particulars Amount Amount $ $ Payment of Phone Bill 2640 Payment of School fees of Employee's Children 20000 Dinner at Restaurant 330 Providing Mobile Phone 2000 Total of GST Inclusive/Free Benefits 4970 20000 A B Gross-up Rate 2.1463 1.9608 C D Gross-up Value 10667.11 39216 E = A x C F=B X D Total Taxable Fringe Benefit 49883.11 G = E + F Less : Exemption for Mobile Phone at gross-up value 4292.60 ($2000 x 2.1463) H Net Taxable Fringe Benefit 45590.51 I = G - H Fringe Benefit Tax Rate 49% J Fringe Benefit Tax Liability 22339.35 K = I x J The important factors, considered for the calculation of FBT liability of ABC Ltd., are mentioned below:- Salary of Alan is not considered in the calculation, as it is not subject to FBT (Delany 2012). Payment of the mobile phone bill of employee is an expense payment fringe benefit, which is paid by employer to the third party on behalf of the employee. The monthly amount is less than $300, but annually it amounts to $2640 and therefore, considered for FBT (Soled and Thomas 2015). Payment of the school fees of employees children is also an expense payment fringe benefit and included in the taxable value for FBT (Martocchio 2013). The mobile phone provided to the employee is a work-related item, which should be exempt from FBT. However, the cost of the phone is included for deriving the total value of GST inclusive items. Later, the amount of the phone at gross-up value is exempted from the total taxable value of FBT (Kaplan and Price 2014). Expenses incurred for the dinner, arranged for all the employees, is a type of Entertainment Benefits. It must be noted that the employer may apply for reduction under the otherwise deductible rule but only for the amount, attributable to the employees, not for their family members or associates. In this case, as the exact cost for the employee cannot be ascertained, no reduction is made for such benefit (Shields and North-Samardzic 2015). After summarizing all the GST inclusive and GST free benefits, provided to the employee, the individual values for each type of benefits are multiplied by the gross-up rate, applicable for GST inclusive benefit and GST-free benefit (Woellner et al. 2012). The total amount is to be considered as Total Taxable Value of FBT. It is further deducted by the amount of exemptions to ascertain the net taxable value of FBT (Bender et al. 2013). The net taxable value of FBT is then charged with the applicable FBT Rate, which is presently 49%, to determine the Total Fringe Benefit Tax Liability of the employer for the individual employee (Jones 2015). As per the above mentioned process and assumptions, the FBT liability of ABC Ltrd. For the employee, Alan has resulted to $22339.35 for the year ending on 31st March,2015. If the dinner party included 5 employees and the total cost of dinner remained same, then the dinner cost per employee would be $1320. In that case, the FBT Liability would increase proportionately and resulted to $23380.52. The calculation for the alternative FBT liability is shown below (Ato.gov.au. 2016):- In the Books of ABC Ltd. Calculation of Alternative Fringe Benefit Tax Liability as on 31.03.2015 GST Inclusive GST Free Particulars Amount Amount $ $ Payment of Phone Bill 2640 Payment of School fees of Employee's Children 20000 Dinner at Restaurant 1320 Providing Mobile Phone 2000 Total of GST Inclusive/Free Benefits 5960 20000 A B Gross-up Rate 2.1463 1.9608 C D Gross-up Value 12791.95 39216 E = A x C F=B X D Total Taxable Fringe Benefit 52007.95 G = E + F Less : Exemption for Mobile Phone at gross-up value 4292.60 ($2000 x 2.1463) H Net Taxable Fringe Benefit 47715.35 I = G - H Fringe Benefit Tax Rate 49% J Alternative Fringe Benefit Tax Liability 23380.52 K = I x J However, if the per head dinner cost, attributable to each employee would remain unchanged, which is $330, and the total cost of dinner would decrease accordingly, the alternative FBT liability will be same as the actual FBT Liability. If the clients would also included in the dinner, the cost for employees would be considered only for FBT liability. The company would not enjoy any tax benefits for the entertainment cost of the clients (James et al. 2013). According to the Taxation Law, any assets can be depreciated under the two depreciation methods Straight Line Method and Declining Method (Rimmer et al. 2014). In this case, as there is no such specific method is mentioned, both the mehods are apllied to describe the tax consequences of the case event. Moreover, in absence of any certain GST rate, 1/11 part of the purchase and sales prices are considered as the amount of GST, included in the price. The rate and amount of depreciation is calculated in the following table:- Calculation for Depreciation Rate and Amount Particulars Amount Purchase Price of Machine 1100000 Less : Amount of GST included in the price 100000 Net cost excluding GST 1000000 Estimated Life (Years) 10 Depreciation Rate (%) 10 Depreciation Amount ($) 100000 Consequences under Straight Line Method:- Under Straight Line Depreciation Method, the assets are depreciated by fixed depreciation per annum. For this case, the amount of such fixed annual depreciation is amounted to $100000. The depreciated values in the end of each year are shown below (Ato.gov.au, 2016):- Calculation of Closing Value under Straight Line Method:- Year Opening Balance excl. GST Depreciation Amount p.a. Period Depreciation charged Closing Balance (months) 31-12-2010 1000000 100000 12 100000 900000 31-12-2011 900000 100000 12 100000 800000 31-12-2012 800000 100000 12 100000 700000 31-12-2013 700000 100000 12 100000 600000 Estimation of Capital Gain/Loss on Sale Particulars Amount Sale of Old Machinery 330000 Less: GST included 30000 Net Sale Price exclg. GST 300000 Less : Depreciated Value of the Machine as on 1/01/14 600000 Capital Loss on Sale -300000 As per the table, the net value of the machine on 1st January,2014 is $600000. On the basis of the net value, the capital gain or loss, generated by the sale of the machine is shown in the following table:- Hence, if the machine would be depreciated under straight-line method, the amount of taxable capital loss on sale would be $300000. Consequences under Declining Depreciation Method:- When any asset is depreciated under Declining Depreciation Method, the depreciation amount is calculated by charging a fixed rate of depreciation on the opening balance of the asset for that period. The rate od depreciation in this case is 10% p.a. The detailed calculation of the depreciation for the machine, purchased by the company is as follows (Ato.gov.au, 2016):- Calculation of Closing Value under Declining Method:- Year Opening Balance excl. GST Depreciation Rate p.a. Period Depreciation charged Closing Balance (months) 31-12-2010 1000000 10% 12 100000 900000 31-12-2011 900000 10% 12 90000 810000 31-12-2012 810000 10% 12 81000 729000 31-12-2013 729000 10% 12 72900 656100 As per the declining method, the value of the machine on 1st January,2016 would be $656100. Therefore, the capital gain/loss for the sale of the machine would be:- Estimation of Capital Loss on Sale Particulars Amount Sale of Old Machinery 330000 Less: GST included 30000 Net Sale Price exclg. GST 300000 Less : Depreciated Value of the Machine as on 1/01/14 656100 Capital Loss on Sale -356100 Under declining depreciation method, the company would also generate loss on sale, but the amount of loss would be higher than that under straight-line method. Net GST Credits:- The net GST credit of the company, generated by the purchase of old machinery and sale of new one will be same irrespective of the methods (Ramli et al. 2015). The amount of net GST credit, which the company can claim in the current financial year, is shown below:- Estimation of Net GST Credit Particulars Amount Amount Purchase of Machinery 2200000 Output GST 200000 Sale of Old Machinery 330000 Input GST 30000 Net GST Credits 170000 If the company had not claimed the GST credit for the purchase of old machinery earlier, it can claim it now also, as the taxation rules provide the opportunity to claim such GST within the four years of purchase of the assets. Then, the amount of Net GST credits would be increased by $100000 (Ato.gov.au, 2016). Reference List:- Ato.gov.au. (2016).Claiming GST credits | Australian Taxation Office. [online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/business/gst/claiming-gst-credits/ [Accessed 27 May 2016]. Ato.gov.au. (2016).Fringe benefits tax (FBT) | Australian Taxation Office. [online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Fringe-benefits-tax-(FBT)/ [Accessed 27 May 2016]. Ato.gov.au. (2016).Prime cost (straight line) and diminishing value methods | Australian Taxation Office. [online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Depreciation-and-capital-expenses-and-allowances/General-depreciation-rules---capital-allowances/Prime-cost-(straight-line)-and-diminishing-value-methods/ [Accessed 27 May 2016]. Bender, M., Contacos-Sawyer, J. and Thomas, B., 2013, July. Benefits Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Employees. InCompetition Forum(Vol. 11, No. 2, p. 165). American Society for Competitiveness Delany, T.P., 2012. Fringe benefits tax James, S., Wallschutzky, I. and Alley, C., 2013. The Henry Report and the taxation of work related expenses: Principles versus practice Jones, S., 2015. 'Cost-to-company'explained: tax planning.Tax Breaks Newsletter, (349), pp.6-7 Kaplan, R.L. and Price, D.J., 2014. Change and Continuity in Fringe Benefit Taxation: Seeking Sense and Sensibility.NYL Sch. L. Rev.,59, p.281 Martocchio, J., 2013.Employee benefits. McGraw-Hill Higher Education Ramli, R., Palil, M.R., Hassan, N.S.A. and Mustapha, A.F., 2015. Compliance costs of goods and services tax (GST) among small and medium enterprises.Jurnal Pengurusan,45, pp.1-15 Rimmer, X., Smith, J. and Wende, S., 2014. The incidence of company tax in Australia Shields, J. and North-Samardzic, A., 2015. 10 Employee benefits.Managing Employee Performance Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies, p.218 Soled, J.A. and Thomas, K.D., 2015. Revisiting the Taxation of Fringe Benefits.Washington Law Review, Forthcoming Woellner, R., Barkoczy, S., Murphy, S., Evans, C. and Pinto, D., 2012.Australian taxation law. CCH Australia

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) What are They and Why Do We Need Them - The Writers For Hire

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS): WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY DO WE NEED THEM? Just about any business that relies on procedures being done the same way, by different employees, can benefit from having well written SOPs. Companies or organizations that must ensure customer safety are fairly obvious examples of the need for standard operating procedures. Health care organizations, automobile manufacturers, and government entities like the FDA and FAA could not safely function without precise procedures in place. But, what about a company whose mission is a little less life-or-death than the examples above? Those companies can benefit, too. Have you ever been in line at a retail store when the cashier does not know how to process a return and issue a refund? Think about the inefficiency and potential for chaos that might exist without a consistent method for product returns. This is where an SOP can save the day. The employees were likely trained on how to process returns, but without standard operating procedures to remove ambiguity, you are at the mercy of the cashier’s memory of that particular training session. What Are Standard Operating Procedures? Basically, SOPs are step-by-step directions that guide employees through a specific process. By adhering to the procedure, employees’ work products are reliably consistent. The IBM Knowledge Center identifies an SOP this way: â€Å"A standard operating procedure is a set of instructions that describes all the relevant steps and activities of a process or procedure. Standard operating procedures are essential to an organization to deliver consistent, measured, high-quality responses to complex and unpredictable events.† The National Institutes of Health’s US National Library of Medicine references the â€Å"Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle† for effective SOPs. This flowchart demonstrates the steps you can take when creating your own procedures. Leave Nothing to Chance SOPs spell it out without ambiguity, and take out the guesswork to reduce the risk of human error. And, if they are written with input from people who actually perform that particular task, they become a practical guide for everyone to follow. The Penn State Extension, part of the College of Agricultural Sciences, gives this example of SOPs for a dairy farm. The step-by-step instructions, shown in a graphical format, clearly explain how to correctly feed the cows. This is the level of detail you need to be effective. Types of SOPs Different industries need different types of procedures. What works for the retail store is probably irrelevant to what a pharmacy needs to keep things running safely and efficiently. Here are some of the various types of SOPs that may benefit your company: How Your Company Can Benefit from SOPs 1. Save time and money It’s simple: SOPs create efficiency because employees don’t have to re-do mistakes. Established procedures take the questions out of the situation, and spell it out, plainly and clearly. The result is a much higher likelihood of employees doing it right the first time. 2. Create Consistency/Quality Control In any sort of mass-production operation, consistency and quality control can mean the difference in producing products that work, and producing products that don’t work. Products can’t be a little different each time; they each need to be the same, every time. 3. Create a safer workplace Employees need to know that their daily work will not put their health or life in danger. Safety SOPs should include a discussion of the risks of a particular task, what measures employees should take to minimize those risks, and what to do if an injury occurs. A scientific laboratory is a great example of a workplace where safety is paramount.   The Stanford University Office of Environmental Health and Safety offers guidance for protecting workers in a lab environment. Check out their General Use SOP for Carcinogens to see an actual document that works. 4. Simplify training for employees New-employee training will run much more smoothly if each manager refers to the same source. Rather than managers simply telling new hires how to do something, they can refer to the written SOP for that task. Not only will that ensure managers teach the task the same way, each time, but it gives the employee confidence in their job by having something to refer back to, after training is complete. 5. Protect company standards into the future Every office has an employee who is known as the expert on how things work. Certain people just know the way things are done, and have the experience to help others who may be learning the task for the first time. Resist the temptation to rely on that employee to keep everyone on the same page. That reliance may keep things running efficiently for a while, but what happens if that employee leaves the company? Without written SOPs, all of that knowledge exits the building with them. 6. Help with employee performance assessment When it’s time for performance reviews, a clearly defined SOP can be a valuable assessment tool. Written standards give employees something to work toward, and give managers a way to fairly conduct evaluations. Without something concrete, evaluations become less quantifiable and rely more on the manager’s opinion, which is likely biased. In the Houston Chronicle’s article â€Å"Standardization for Increased Productivity Efficiency,† journalist Morgan Rush discusses how SOPs can assist with this process: â€Å"Once standards have been set for low, average and high performance, employees can be evaluated for their adherence to these standards. Identifying a consistent low performer may not necessarily be cause for penalties, but you may direct additional training and resources the employee to help boost productivity.† 7. Provide a basis for company expansion If your company is looking to expand to an additional location, open a new branch, etc., SOPs are critical to making sure that each location does things the same way. Whatever your operational procedures are, each employee should have a written standard that is the same across the entire company. Creating procedures also allows you to compare productivity between locations. Let’s Debunk a Common Myth: SOPs will NOT eliminate creativity in the workplace Consultant Brad Power, in an article for Harvard Business Review , says â€Å"Most people think standard operating procedures are a strait jacket that limits their flexibility. Yet in our increasingly complex world of work, with so many possible decisions and steps, clever use of standards can liberate.† He gives an example from the Cleveland Clinic marketing department. Because the hospital has a single marketing communications team that works across all medical service lines, they needed to create an overarching brand identity. Employees within the various departments feared that would restrict their ability to creatively market their individual service. What they found was that it actually gave them more freedom. Chief Marketing Officer for the Cleveland Clinic, Paul Matsen, said â€Å"it actually creates freedom within a structure. For example, we are building a development platform for the iPad, and defining how it will interact with our electronic medical record system. When we resolve that for this first application, then our people will be able to create content for other applications using the same standard platform. Once you set up the standards and platforms, you can do more, and you can do it well.† By creating a procedure to ensure operational consistency, Cleveland Clinic knew that everyone would start from the same platform, and that it was one that worked. From there, employees were given freedom to come up with creative solutions that met their particular customer needs. Management had the assurance that the iPad platform would stay consistent across applications, and employees had some autonomy and creative license. It was a win for all involved. Get Started†¦But Do it Right When you determine your company can benefit from uniform procedures, how do you write them? It’s critically important to understand that if the SOPs are not well written, they may be more harmful than not having them at all. Just like making any sort of corporate change, using new SOPs will take time to learn and to put into practice. If done correctly, it will be well worth it down the road. There Will Be Growing Pains While the benefits will ultimately outweigh the costs, companies will likely experience some initial setbacks when implementing new SOPs. The expenses of dedicating employee time to create the procedures, and the potential for a decline in productivity as employees re-learn how to do things are common challenges. Don’t let them deter you. And, remember that even the best procedures need to evolve and grow with the company. Don’t be afraid of re-visiting the documents periodically to determine if they are still working. If you identify problems, it’s time to revise your SOPs.