Economics of Baseball: Revenue Sharing

Economics of Baseball: Revenue Sharing Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada. The organization is comprised of a partnership between the National League, founded in 1876, and the American League, founded in 1901. There are currently 30 teams in Major League Baseball, 14 in the American League and 16 in the National League. â€Å"Since 1903, the best of both of these leagues have met in the World Series, with the winner of the best-of-7 series being declared World Champion† (Burnett). When the World Series ends, baseball's business season starts.Receipts are tallied to determine how much the teams that earned the most will have to pay the teams that have earned the least. Large market teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Chicago cubs â€Å"have an overwhelming advantage over smaller market teams which created an uneven playing field† (Alice). Revenue sharing gives small market teams like the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a better chance at success by providing more resources to improve their roster.In 1999, a â€Å"blue ribbon† panel commissioned by MLB found that â€Å"baseball franchises traditionally generate and retain a large majority of their revenue locally† (Jacobson) rather than nationally, causing a large and growing revenue disparity. Vince Gennaro, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning In Baseball, found that 70 to 80 percent of a team's total revenue is contributed to local revenue. Local revenues consist of gate receipts, local television, radio and cable rights fees, ballpark concessions, advertising and publications, parking, suite rentals, postseason, and spring training.Revenues that are retained locally are a problem because all teams participate in the same national labor market. MLB has no salary cap; therefore, it is the teams’ decision how much they spend on payroll. The teams with the largest revenues have higher payrolls and are able to obtain and make offers on players that teams with lower payrolls cannot. As big market teams began setting up their own sports networks on cable, the revenue disparities accelerated. The clubs started profiting directly from subscriber fees and advertising sales. At the same ime, other clubs began to benefit from building new stadiums. According to the Report of the Independent Member of the Commissioner's Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics, the amount of a club's payroll is determined by the amount of the club's revenue and it has been argued that â€Å"the size of a club's payroll is the most important factor in determining how competitive the club will be† (Elanjin and Pachamanova). It showed in just five years the ratio of local revenues between the top seven clubs and the bottom fourteen clubs more than doubled from 5. :1 in 1995 to 14. 7:1 in 1999, because of fast g rowth rates on already large revenues (8). The ratio of payroll spending between the highest and lowest clubs went from 2:1 in the 1980s to 3. 5:1 in the 1990s (9). From 1995 to 1999, no clubs from the 14 lowest payroll-spending teams won a Division Series game or a League Championship game and no clubs from the bottom 23 clubs won a World Series game (Levin, Mitchell, Volcker, and Will p. 2-9). All of the World Series Championships have been won by one of the top payroll spending teams.The conclusion was drawn that these problems were getting worse and unless the MLB took action, the problems would remain severe. They would have to break more than a century’s worth of tradition, â€Å"to ensure baseball's broad and enduring popularity, and to guarantee it's future growth† (Levin, Mitchell, Volcker, and Will p. 13). The panel recommended that the league should impose revenue sharing, a competitive balance tax, central fund distributions, a competitive balance draft, re forms to the Rule 4 Draft, and should utilize franchise relocation. Revenue sharing money comes from two pools.The first is central funds revenue, which comes from national television and radio deals, MLB Advanced Media, merchandise sales, and the MLB network. The other is net local revenue, which comes from ticket sales, concessions and media deals that each club negotiates individually. â€Å"Against that money, each club is hit with a marginal rate of 31 percent, which is applied across the board to each of the 30 clubs† (Brown). In October 2006, the MLB and the players association reached an agreement that requires all teams to pay 34 percent into a common pool, which is than split evenly among all 30 teams.The Competitive Balance tax, also known as the Luxury Tax, penalizes teams with high payrolls by making them pay a tax rate to the MLB central fund, based on how far they go over their payroll ceiling on opening day. Only four teams have broken the threshold since it w as put in place in 2003, the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and, Tigers. The Yankees have â€Å"exceeded it every year, paying $25,689,173 last year, a high of $33,978,702 in 2005, and a grand total of $174,183,419 over seven years† (Brown). As of 2010, clubs are taxed if they exceed $170 million in total player payroll.Teams who exceed this amount get a further â€Å"repeat offenders† penalty, which raises the percentage they pay to 40 percent. In 2009 alone, $433 million of wealth was transferred from high to low revenue teams (Brown). Major League’s revenue sharing agreement does not dictate what the recipients must do with the money once it is received. Simply stated by Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, all that is required by teams is that they must use their revenue sharing money â€Å"in an effort to improve its performance on the field†.This is so vague; the money can virtually go anywhere, even the club owner's pockets. The main problem is th at the teams receiving payments use them as their primary source of income. This allows them to keep their payrolls low but continue to receive large revenue sharing payments. Two of the biggest offenders of this are the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2003, the Marilins won the World Series with a team of â€Å"great young players† and â€Å"talented veterans† that included Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Mike Lowell, and Ivan Rodriguez. That year, the team had a payroll of $49. 5 million (Cohen). Rather than keeping the players that made up that payroll, they traded Penny and Beckett for much cheaper players, and lost Lowell and Rodriguez to free agency. â€Å"By shedding these stars, Florida was able to cut its payroll down to $14. 9 million in 2006, which is less than 20% of the Major League average of $78 million. It was also less than half of the $31 million in revenue sharing dollars the team received that year. † Instead of using the money to buy or retain talented players, the owners used it as part of the teams $43 million profit in 2006 (Ray).The most extreme example of revenue sharing offenders has been the Tampa Bay Rays. From 2002 to 2006, the Rays received an average of $32 million a year in revenue sharing payments (Ray). In 2006, the team had a payroll of $35. 4 million (Cohen), $42 million less than the 2006 league average. â€Å"It won only 38 percent of its games and filled less than 40 percent of its seats for home games†¦ and collected more than $30 million in revenue sharing† (Lewis). Other teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals, also received significant revenue sharing money but have kept their payrolls low.In Contrast, teams like the Colorado Rockies, have not been so frugal with their money. They received $16 million in 2006 and increased their payroll by around $15 million the following season (Lewis). Since 1999, millions of dollars have been transferred from richer big m arket teams to poorer small market teams in an attempt to create competitive balance and allow all 30 teams to share in the economic advantages associated with playing in big market teams; a large fan base, lots of press coverage, lucrative cable television contracts, and high payrolls and revenues.However, baseball doesn't force revenue sharing recipients to use the money on payroll. All that is required is that the team uses the money to improve the product on the field. The system hasn't restored any true competitive balance for the league since, generally speaking, we see the same teams in the World Series year after year. The stark reality is that lower payroll and smaller market teams can make more money by losing than they can by winning because of revenue sharing.So long as the rules and regulation in Major League Baseball remain lax and enforcement stays nonexistent, teams will continue to take advantage of the system. Work Cited Alice, Lynette. â€Å"Examining why MLB rev enue sharing doesn't work. † Helium. 2002-2010 Helium, Inc. 10 Dec. 2010. Brown, Maury. â€Å"Revenue Sharing Is Making An Impact. † Baseball America. 2 Mar. 2010. Baseball America, Inc. 10 Dec. 2010. Burnett, Dashielle. â€Å"Major League Baseball. † Business Insider. 6 Dec 2010. Business Insider, Inc. 11 Dec. 2010. Cohen, Gary.The Baseball Cube Statistics. 2002. 17 Dec. 2010 Elanjian, Michael, and Dessislava A. Pachamanova. â€Å"Is Revenue Sharing Working for Major League Baseball? A Historical Perspective†. The Sport Journal. Volume 12. Number 2. United States Sports Academy, 2009. 8 Dec. 2010. Gennaro, Vince. Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball. Hingham, Massachusetts: Maple Street Press, 2007. Jacobson, David. â€Å"MLB's Revenue-Sharing Formula. † BNET – The CBS Interactive Business Network. 14 July 2008. CBS Interactive. 8 Dec. 2010.Levin, Richard C. , George J. Mitchell, Paul A. Volcker, and George F. Will. â€Å"T he Report of the Independent Members of the Commissioners Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics†. The Official Site of Major League Baseball. MLB Advanced Media, L. P. , July 2000. PDF. 11 Dec. 2010. Lewis, Michael. â€Å"Baseball's Losing Formula. † The New York Times. 3 Nov. 2007. 11 Dec. 2010. Ray, James Lincoln. â€Å"Baseball's Revenue Sharing Problem: Major League Baseball Hurt By Teams Who Don't Spend Money On Players. † Suite101. 12 Nov. 2007. 11 Dec. 2010

Limitatitons of the Accounting Code of Ethics

Professional values, ethics, and attitudes. (AC 423) Group Assignment QUESTION: With the advantage of hindsight, what advice would you have given the Enron Board to avoid the 2001 disaster? GROUP MEMBERS 1. Augustine KuparaR082559R 2. Tonderai NyamadzawoR082987G 3. Simbarashe ChakaR089613J 4 Brighton Nzvuvu R089824H 5. Walter DangerR082990X 6. Simon ChigwandaR075968L 7. Ashley MurisaR082991Y 8. Frank Garatsa R082988H 9. Presely NheweyembwaR076037L 10. Peter DonaldR055241G 11. Shingirayi GweteR089773H BACKGROUND Enron Corporation was formed in 1985 from a merger of Houston Natural Gas and Internorth, Enron Corp.By early 2001, Enron had grown into the 7th largest U. S. Company, and the largest U. S. buyer/seller of natural gas and electricity. It was heavily involved in energy brokering, electronic energy trading, global commodity and options trading, etc. in 2001 Enron started to show major signs of trouble by announcing a huge third-quarter loss of $618 million. On October 22, 2001, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began an inquiry into Enron’s accounting practices and later that year the company filed for Bankruptcy.Key investigations revealed many shortcomings which include the use of complex & dubious accounting schemes to reduce Enron’s tax payments; to inflate Enron’s income and profits; to inflate Enron’s stock price and credit rating; to hide losses in off-balance-sheet subsidiaries; to engineer off-balance-sheet schemes to funnel money to themselves, friends, and family; to fraudulently misrepresent Enron’s financial Enron also used complex dubious energy trading schemes for instance the â€Å"Death Star† Energy Trading Strategy which was aimed at taking advantage of a loophole in the market rules governing energy trading in California.This essay will attempt to advice the Enron Board to avoid the 2001 disaster with the advantage of hindsight by focusing on the major areas in the paragraphs which fol low RECOMMENDATIONS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ITS FIDUCIARY DUTIES The Board, as the head of the organization is supposed to execute its duties and roles professionally and make sure that the company is run efficiently and effectively. It’s supposed to exercise oversight over all the operations of the organization.These duties includes adopting of corporate strategy, annual budget and formal organisational structure, ensuring that risk management structures are in place, the company is complying with the relevant laws and regulations and that adequate controls are in place, to exercise oversight over management operations, to act as a communication channel between management and shareholders and to ensure that financial information of the organisation is reliable and credible. There is need to ensure that the board is properly structured so that t it adds value to the organization.This means that it was supposed to have a chair, at least one the members is financially litera te and some of its members are non-executive directors. This would ensure that an independent perspective is brought into the board’s operations that would bring experience and expertise to the board The board supposed to follow its code of conduct in carrying out their duties. This ensures that all the activities it undertakes are in the best interest of the shareholders not themselves.For example, in carrying out their duties, all the board members are supposed to exhibit due care and diligence, to be honest and loyal, to exercise confidentiality on the organizational information and to disclose any conflict of interest. Some of the board members had financial interests in the Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) making large profits but they did not disclose this conflict of interest to the board. This would compromise their objectivity and independence in carrying out their duties.Some of the members of the board were not exercising due care and diligence in their operations. They were aware of the unethical and risky business operations that were taking place within the organisation but they took no action and did not bring it to the attention of the board. These included transactions through SPEs and the paying of unauthorised bonuses to senior officials. They even connived with the auditors to structure and perform some of the illegal transactions that were aimed at falsifying the performance and position of the organisation.The board is also supposed to have other special subcommittees that are aimed at enhancing the operations of the board in areas that need special attention. These include the Audit Committee that is aimed at overseeing the internal and external audit functions and the Remuneration Committee that will be responsible for the salaries and allowances of managers and other senior officials. The role of a company’s board of directors is to oversee corporate management to interests of shareholders.However, in 1999 Enron’s b oard waived protect the conflict of interest rules to allow chief financial officer Andrew Fastow to create private partnerships to do business with the firm? Transactions involving these partnerships concealed debts and losses that would have had a significant impact on Enron’s reported profits. Enron’s collapse raises the issue of how to reinforce directors’ capability and will to challenge questionable dealings by corporate managers. Specific questions involve independent or â€Å"outside† directors. Stock exchange rules require that a certain percentage of board members be unaffiliated with the firm and its management. ) Should the way outside directors are selected be changed or regulated? Directors are elected by shareholders, but except in very unusual circumstances these are â€Å"Soviet-style† elections, where management’s slate of candidates receives nearly unanimous approval. Should there be restrictions on indirect compensation i n the form of, say, consulting contracts or donations to charities where independent board members serve?Should the personal liability of directors in cases of corporate fraud be increased? Do the rules requiring members of the board’s audit committee to be â€Å"financially literate† ensure that the board will grasp the innovative and complex financial and accounting strategies employed by companies like Enron. Several of the auditor reform bills cited above would require the audit committee of a corporation’s board of directors to take a more active role in the selection and supervision of audit work.Enron should have kept an element of professionalism; the board of directors should show independence in decision making. The company must not have any close relationship whatsoever with its auditors. A strict and good system of corporate governance should have been set out , which sets out a clear system of duties of each director. They should have set out a syst em of segregation of duties that sees each director have an independent duty. AUDIT COMMITTEE Any effective audit committee must have been in place at Enron comprising of purely independent non-executive directors.Members should have an understanding of internal control system and financial and sustainability reporting experience. This committee reviews the accounting practices and approve the financial statements as integrated reporting. Thus the financial reports of Enron would not have been allowed to be published before the approval of the Audit Committee. Review the effectiveness of the internal control environment as well as oversight over the internal and external audit.The Audit Committee recommend to the Board of Directors the engagement, removal and liaise the terms and remunerations with the external auditor. The issue of non-audit services, it is also the responsibility of the committee to define the policy and approve the contracts. Hence the pure independent audit comm ittee it would have not allow Arthur Andersen to exercise multiple roles at Enron. Reports Management are received and reviewed to check whether in line with the approved internal Audit plan and the quality and effectiveness of the external audit function.Risk management is also pivotal in this committee so as to champion the fraud awareness. As an internal auditor, Sherron Watkins should have not directed her anonymous letter to the chairman of the board, Kenneth Lay but to the committee which oversee the internal control system. The Chief Accounting Officer, Richard A Causey who was getting money through the Special Purpose Entities had been once an auditor at Arthur Andersen an issue which should have been closely examined. An effective Audit Committee consider confidential reporting to facilitate whistle blowing.Overall, Audit committee have a combined assurance role thus monitoring the relations between internal and external audit to reduce duplication efforts as well as enhanc es transparency. AUDITOR ROTATION. The Issue Of Auditor Rotation Is Of Significant To The Quality Of Financial Reports. Auditors Should Be Rotated Every Few Years To Prevent Long Term, Close Ties Between The Enron And The Arthur Andersen Firm. Arthur Andersen is the firm that audited Enron’s books from its inception in 1985 (it was also global crossing auditor).Also there was questionable movement of personnel from between the two companies Richard A Causey, the Chief Accounting Officer had come to Enron after working on Enron audits for Andersen this creates a strong relationship, Familiarity threats and it is easy to can collude with Andersen in perpetuating fraudulent activities. Time should be put at least three years before a member can join Enron from auditing firm. Long term audit client relationships significantly increase the like hood of an unqualified opinion or significantly reduce the auditor’s willingness to qualify the audit reports.Mandatory audit rotat ion is ideal in maintaining the value of an audit for both the internal and external users. Although recurring auditors have got an advantage to Enron of that they will be auditing the business they know very well its environment and internal controls thereby reducing the chances of the auditor making an audit risk which is the risk that the auditor will give a wrong opinion that the financial statements are not materially misstated when in actual fact they are materially misstated. , however the disadvantages seemingly outweigh the costs of retaining the audits.According to Wallace, 1980 and De Angelo (1981) audit quality is a market assessed joint probability that an auditor will both discover a breach in the client’s accounting system and report the breach. According to Shockley (1982) a long auditor client relationship can have the effect of complacency, lack of innovation, less rigorous audit procedures and a learned confidence in the client may arise after long associat ion with the client. It also gives auditor time to develop a close relationship with the client in this case Enron employees..After a number of years there is some kind of turning point in the auditor and client relationship which can be detrimental to the auditor’s independence. Before the decision to rotate there is need to assess the quality of the audit client and this can be done in the following ways according to Shockley and Holt 1983, firstly the perceptions of users should be analysed, the pricing of the audit services has to be analysed and in this case Andersen’s firm was receiving a greater percentage of its revenue from Enron hence there is dependent on the company.The nature of the audit opinion has to be analysed it has a greater impact on the reliance with which we can place to the auditing firm. COMPLIANCE TO ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS The Enron was involved several accounting issues, one concerns the creation of special purpose entities (SPE s), these were established for the special purpose of covering Enron`s losses and there were also being used to transfer debts outside of the company and would not show up on the balance sheet at year end . The SPEs were supposed to be independent companies however they were headed by Enron former employees, and backed, ultimately, by Enron stock.The second issue was that Enron was also involved in other accounting scandals for example Enron took advantage of the limitations in the standards governing the energy business therefore over valued assets and selling some of decreasing assets to the SPEs at huge mark-ups and there realising the profits in the financial statements. As a resulted of these accounting misappropriations, Enron produced favourable financial statements leading to unapproved bonuses being claimed by employees and directors also providing themselves with obscenely generous stock option grants.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) governs the activities of c ompanies registered on the New York stock exchange. Enron`s management should follow the regulations stated by SEC and also to prepare its financial statement according to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The accounting information produced by Enron should have been restated to show a fair financial position of the company. The SPEs should be liquidated no further transactions should be carried out between Enron and its related parties. In correcting its transactions Enron should other external auditors other than Arthur Andersen.These investigations should be carried confidentially so as to protect the manage the situation and also to protect Enron`s reputation. COMPENSATION TO EXECUTIVES AND OTHER PERSONNEL Effects of over paying directors it is results in directors losing focus of their core business, that acting their stewardship and accountability functions . Through good corporate governance directors via the agency theory are responsible to the shareholder s. Directors are independent form management; they are responsible for making sure management are carrying out their fiduciary duties.However if they are over compensated they are more likely to be inclined to favour management over shareholders, as they is a rise of a self-interest threat With no proper monitoring of the board through a remuneration committee, overpaying results bad corporate governance which affect the companies risk management. It results in problems not been brought to light, allowing them not been addressed. As directors ignore their duties and focus on short term profits and rather than maximising company growth in the long term, this reduces their ability to focus on strategic issues and establishment of unrealistic standards of performance.Decision-making is greatly affected as they will be they will be destruction of the authority line by the two boards who will be responsible for the overall well being of the company. As decision making will have been affe cted corporate and accounting practises will greatly be affected, which will increase the chances of fraud and error. These might include recording profits earlier and recognising expenses late. Overpaying also results in changes in the ethical culture of the organisation, as the board can select bad managers to run the business because they will be sharing a common perception.Which is lack of concern for long run of the business? Rather the advice would be for Enron to have a director’s board which contains an equal mix of executive and non-executive directors. This would be to ensure independence and accountability at the highest level, this also reduces self-interest threats . It allows for a board which separates itself from the management of the business Rotation of members at frequent intervals to allow for reduction in familiarity threats if members of the board stay for too long ,e. . more than five years they might become familiar with the management Establishment of remuneration committee which monitors the payment of executives, this ensures that directors are paid according to the tasks performed and not for unnecessary duties INDEPENDENCE Independence is when one makes decisions honestly and truthfully both in fact and in appearance and avoids internal and external pressures which may influence the outcome of a decision under review.The Enron scandal showed a number of independency issues being overlooked by the management of the company and instead concentrated on fraudulent profit making strategies which should have been avoided. These fraudulent activities involved the management of the company and their external auditors (Arthur Andersen), the company’s lawyers, consultants and lenders. The advice that l would have given to the management of Enron concerning independent issues was that they should have at first allowed every employee to exercise his or her duties without influence from anyone either internally or external.The man agement of Enron should have exercised their duties of stewardship to their principles without paying much attention to their excessive and self-centred interest of maximising wealth at the expense of their shareholders. The actions by Mr Ken Lay of forcing all employees to book their corporate travel through his sister’s travel agency was nowhere near independency but only self-interest and greed to accumulate wealth. The board members should have critically analysed the source of the monies they were receiving so as to find facts to justify the revenues.Instead they were only concerned about their packages and approved every idea the management would put before them without taking into consideration the effects of such decisions. This was a clear threat to the board’s independency since they were to choose on whether to be ethical or satisfy their insatiable need for wealth. These high earnings were also received by most of the company’s executives, finance, l egal and accounting professionals and they made them to overlook the questionable accounting practices which were yielding these huge packages.The management also needed to take note of their auditor’s operations when carrying out his mandate, there was need to segregate duties between auditing and non-auditing services. Arthur Andersen should have been engaged to one assignment only of auditing and leave the non-auditing services to other so that independent decisions could be made. The board should have rotated their auditors after a reasonable period of time to avoid familiarity and some associated threats to independence.There was need for the board to also discuss the issues of their auditor’s remuneration and other packages they offered so that they could match with the current market trends this would reduce the auditor’s dependency and force them to report any anomalies within the operations of the company. Role of Sell-Side Analysts Sell-side analysts h ave received considerable criticism for failing to provide an earlier warning of problems at Enron.On October 31, 2001, just two months before the company filed for bankruptcy, the mean analyst recommendation listed on First Call (which compiles and distributes analyst recommendations) for Enron was 1. 9 out of 5, where 1 is a â€Å"strong buy† and 5 is a â€Å"sell. † Even after the accounting problems had been announced in October 2001, reputable institutions such as Lehman Brothers, UBS Warburg and Merrill Lynch issued â€Å"strong buy† or â€Å"buy† recommendations for Enron. Analysts should have not been slow to recognize the problems at Enron.The analysts should not have financial incentives to recommend Enron to their clients. Investment banks earned more than $125 million in underwriting fees from Enron in the period 1998 to 2000, and many of the financial analysts working at these banks received bonuses for their efforts in supporting investment banking. Sell-side analysts must be independent and avoid any self-interest threats which may arise. Corporate Culture Enron has been described as having a culture of arrogance that led people to believe that they could handle increasingly greater risk without encountering any danger.According to Sherron Watkins, â€Å"Enron’s unspoken message was, ‘Make the numbers, make the numbers, make the numbers—if you steal, if you cheat, just don’t get caught. If you do, beg for a second chance, and you’ll get one. ’† Enron’s corporate culture did little to promote the values of respect and integrity. These values were undermined through the company’s emphasis on decentralization, its employee performance appraisals, and its compensation program. Each Enron division and business unit was kept separate from the others, and as a result very few people in the organization had a â€Å"big picture† perspective of the companyâ₠¬â„¢s operations.Accompanying this emphasis on decentralization were insufficient operational and financial controls as well as â€Å"a distracted, hands-off chairman, a compliant board of directors, and an impotent staff of accountants, auditors, and lawyers. † Jeff Skilling implemented a very rigorous and threatening performance evaluation process for all Enron employees. Known as â€Å"rank and yank,† the annual process utilized peer evaluations, and each of the company’s divisions was arbitrarily forced to fire the lowest ranking one-fifth of its employees.Employees frequently ranked their peers lower in order to enhance their own positions in the company. Enron’s compensation plan â€Å"seemed oriented toward enriching executives rather than generating profits for shareholders† and encouraged people to break rules and inflate the value of contracts even though no actual cash was generated. Enron’s bonus program encouraged the use of non -standard accounting practices and the inflated valuation of deals on the company’s books. Indeed, deal inflation became widespread within the company as partnerships were created solely to hide losses and avoid the consequences of owning up to problems.Conclusion In conclusion, one can see that a variety of perspectives can be applied to the Enron scandal which could have averted the 2001 disaster. If those charged with the governance of the entity had taken necessary steps in line with what is outlined in this essay, the corporation would not have collapsed. However even if Enron and its outside accountants and lawyers had done nothing improper, the sudden collapse of such a large corporation would suggest basic problems with the U. S. ystem of securities regulation, which is based on the full and accurate disclosure of all financial information that market participants need to make informed investment decisions. The overarching issue raised by Enron is how to improve the q uality of information available about public corporations. References * Bob Lyke. CRS Report RS21120, Auditing and its Regulators: Proposals for Reform After Enron. * JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION, 2003 Report of investigation of Enron corporation and related entities regarding federal tax and compensation issues, and policy recommendations McLean, Bethany. 2001. â€Å"Is Enron Overpriced? † Fortune. * Paul D. Miller, Brief History of Enron (accessed 27 November 2012) http://www. freegrab. net/enronhist. htm * Paul M. Healy and Krishna G. Palepu, (2003) The Fall of Enron * Powers, William C. , Raymond S. Troubh and Herbert S. Winokur. 2002. â€Å"Report of Investigation by the Special Investigative Committee of the Board of Directors of Enron Corp. † * Steven C. Currall Marc J. Epstein 2003. Lessons From the Rise and Fall of Enron * Watkins, S. , 2002. Email to Eron Chairman Kenneth Lay,

Glass Cockpit Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Glass Cockpit Technology - Essay Example cial issue that guarantees the safety of a flight and aviation technology and that is the interface between the pilot of a modern aircraft and the glass cockpit display. The safety of every flight will depend on one hand from technological standpoint and on the other hand from the capability, awareness, knowledge and experience of the pilot. (Schmelzer, n.d). Pilots do study in order to learn the systems of an airplane. In every situation, pilots should always have to be alert of the situation, panels and displays, and the controls. The main issue that must be monitored to maintain safety and create awareness is the human-machine interaction. The combination of human cognitive capabilities and the machine is a great help to confront existing problems (Schmelzer, n.d). According to a series of studies on automation in glass cockpit, the lack of pilot â€Å"Situational Awareness† is a concern for those who work in the flight deck safety area. This occurrence has proven to have potential cause, from surprise action of the increasing autonomous automation, to confusion over the state of the automation (Schmelzer, n.d). According to the previous studies, lack of related information and misunderstanding of available data can lead to unwanted decisions and actions on the part of the pilot. Little information of environmental data and automation activity has been considered as factors of the major aviation incidents (ACRC 1996, BEA 1992). There are three steps an achieving situational awareness that Endsley suggest: (1) the way the automation state is assessed; (2) comprehension of the situation; (3) projecting the future condition of the system. They use these steps as their working model in order to identify different problems (Schmelzer, n.d). This paper tackles a new technology known as the glass cockpit and explains the human factors that influence its implementation. It describes the issues of the glass cockpit technology and the human factors related to the

Gilgamesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Gilgamesh - Essay Example The gods recommended that Gilgamesh required a powerful, restless and adventurous hero to be his friend and worthy opponent. Aruru, the womb goddess, decided to pick on Enkidu who lived in the wilderness amongst the animals, disturbing hunters and farmers. Therefore, one of the gods convinced Shamhat, a temple harlot, to make a civilized and humble man out of him by sleeping with him for a period of one week. However, just after having the first taste of sex, Shamhat successfully manages to convince him to come and live in the temple. She promises to introduce her to some good friends and even teach him to live as a civilized human something that he accepts. Gilgamesh and Enkidu became great friends, and since that time, Gilgamesh became so committed to his duties as a king to extent that he turned down goddess Ishtar’s offer to sleep with her. The power of women and sex, in this play, is also demonstrated when Gilgamesh turns down goddess Ishtar’s offer to sleep with her. In response, he asked Ishtar, â€Å"but how could I repay you as a wife and still avoid the bitterness and strife that follow you?† (Jackson 36). This indicates how the gods and goddess were highly powerful and any attempt to reject their demands would result into a serious punishment. In this case, sex is used as a supreme demand that Gilgamesh has to accept. This is the reason why Ishtar released the bull to destroy the people of Uruk and it is what led to Enkidu’s death. This context is further used to change Gilgamesh’s attitudes and behaviors. In the attempt to end shame and acquire immortality, Gilgamesh again is helped by a woman, Utanapishtim’s wife. Gilgamesh is ashamed with his attitudes and behaviors, and he says, â€Å"I now race from place to place, dissatisfied with wherever I am and turn my step to Utnapishtim† (Jackson 59). He asked Utanapishtim, â€Å"Help me

Russian Politics - Instructions attached Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Russian Politics - Instructions attached - Essay Example The Russian Federation despite formally gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991 stuttered through to the end of the decade despite grave economic, political, and social problems, which President Yeltsin seemed incapable of dealing with. The Soviet Union had an economic system that proved to be highly ineffective, with the black market frequently providing essentials as well as luxury items. Hand in hand with the black markets went corruption and bribery. Black marketers frequently resorted to bribing communist party officials, the police and the KGB or they in turn extorted money off the black marketers. The Soviet leadership started to have concerns about economic stagnation, organised crime and to a lesser extent corruption in the early 1980s without understanding the extent of the economic malaise. Brezhnev had done nothing to halt economic decline and in fact worsened it by accelerating the arms race with the United States. It has been estimated that as much as 50% of the Soviet Union’s annual budgets was spent on weapons. By the 1980s the idea of abandoning the communist command economy in favour of capitalism and liberal democracy gained support in the USSR. For the reformers could look at the neo-liberal experience of the Thatcher and Reagan governments, the devastating economic effects in Argentina and Chile would have been more relevant. There was one group of pro-capitalist economists that hoped to bring in a market system to Russia, the ‘young reformers’.

Critically Assess the Claims That Animals, Particularly Chimpanzees, Essay

Critically Assess the Claims That Animals, Particularly Chimpanzees, Have a Humanlike Understanding of Mental States - Essay Example This paper stresses that there are many debates between scientists over theory of mind and do animals have one? Those who are primatologists and other observors of animal behaviour term theory of mind ‘Machiavellian intelligence’, ‘metarepresentation’, ‘metcognition’, ‘mind reading’ and ‘pan’ or ‘pongo-morphism’. Now a researcher who would use the term ‘mental state attribution’ is likely to believe law-like generalisations underlie mental state ascription. This report makes a conclusion that the report states, ‘theory of attention in which organisms are subjectively connected to the world not through any particular sensory modality such as vision but rather through other (as-of-yet unspecified) behavioural indicators’. As observed, behaviour is not always valid indictor of having a theory of mind. Hence it will not be obvious to the untrained individual if or not chimps have a human like understanding of mental states. In research like povinelli’s ‘reasoning about beliefs, a human specialisation?’ a very striking point is brought up that ‘theory of mind is unique to our species, and that its original function was to provide a more abstract level of describing ancient behavioural patterns (such as deception, reconciliation, and gaze following)-behaviours that humans share in common with many other species.’ This material sheds knew light on what we thought we knew bout the human mind’ s ‘theory of mind’.

Addiction From Historical Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Addiction From Historical Perspective - Essay Example The story of drug addiction actually begins with the opium wars in China and the fight between the Chinese and the English. The English actually brought opium to China as a way to trade something to them that China did not have and to have an alternative to using silver. In 1839, opium had been outlawed by the government of China to only be used for medicine. However, the British were able to purchase cheap opium and bring it into the country through the British East India Company (Allingham, 2006). Suddenly opium was available everywhere and although it started out as something that only the rich could afford, it quickly spread to about 90% of males under the age of 40 in the coastal regions of China. This had a direct impact on business, civil service and the standard of living; they all were falling apart (Allingham, 2006). Lin Ze-xu (1785-1850), the then appointed anti-opium commissioner estimated that about four million people were addicted to opium; however, a British physician working in the area stated that the addiction was more likely to be 12 million (Allingham, 2006). By 1837, opium was a larger import than any other traded commodity. Wars broke out over the sale and use of opium because of the trade laws that were enacted upon the British. By 1773, opium was traded globally but the British Governor-General of Bengal created a monopoly on the sale of opium and continued to sell Indian opium to China regardless of the rules that China had established for trade. By 1797, opium was eliminated in Bengal, but by the late 19th century, Bengal’s opium was being grown, processed and exported in Bengal (McCoy, n.d.). Alcohol Addiction Begins to be Seen More Often Although alcoholism goes back to biblical days, it has always depended on social trends. Usually, alcohol was a part of every ceremony and every culture. Alcohol was used during the colonial period and was used both as a beverage and as a medicine. The early colonists allowed drunkenness as l ong as it did not interfere with an individual’s ability to work and make a living (Anonymous, 2009). By the mid to late 19th Century, people stopped trying to control the individual’s behavior to trying to control the consumption of alcohol. As social problems like crime and poverty began to take its toll on the society at large, the social reform movement began to attempt to stop the sale of alcohol. Most people will remember that the Temperance Movement was set to eliminate all of alcohol but of course this did not work because people continued to make their own alcohol. By 1930s, American â€Å"alcohol science† was recreated and in this decade Alcoholics Anonymous had also begun (â€Å"History†, 2009). The Use of Patent Medicine The use of patent medicines during the 18th and early 19th Century was a precursor to drug regulations. These first medicines had substances like cocaine or heroin in them and the consumers who bought them did not know that th ese drugs could harm them. Patent medicines were sold as elixirs and tonics that could cure many illnesses whether the consumer was an adult, a child or an infant (Drug Addiction, 2010). Many of these medicines were said to cure tuberculosis and arthritis and many people began to take these remedies which lead to addiction. At that time addiction was unknown and there were no restrictions on their use. Many people ended up losing their lives or having them destroyed because of their use of these remedies. Many early doctors saw that these remedies were actually not helping the ailment and that they were creating addictions instead. However, the patent medicine makers protested any laws that were put in place to stop them from selling the medicines. Eventually, these drugs were stopped once journalists began to talk about

Auditing Practices, Professionalism, Ethics, And Standards Essay

Auditing Practices, Professionalism, Ethics, And Standards - Essay Example Auditor independence refers to the internal auditor’s independence and freedom from freedom from any form of control by parties that may have financial interests in the business under auditing (Baker, 2005, p.13). The independence of auditors particularly demands a considerable level of professional integrity, ethics and objective approach to the entire auditing process without any external influence. According to many experts, auditor independence may also be used in reference to the external auditors' exclusion from parties that may have financial interests in the businesses being audited. Generally, achieving independence is critically essential for the auditors to be able to effectively retain their objectivity and service reliability.According to Sikka (2008, p.271), the current auditing practice of making auditors depend on their directors for their fees, remunerations, and profits has been widely blamed for the rising cases of corruptions, manipulations and integrity is sues among auditors. Although it has been argued that auditors still redeem their status by appealing to and incorporating professionalism in their practice, this is not always possible as auditors just like other capitalist enterprises are often driven by personal interests particularly the need to increase their profits and market niches.The contemporary Australian Audit ethical standards particularly require an integrity and objective approach to the audit process (Australia, 2011 p. 123).

Emerging Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Emerging Markets - Essay Example While developing economies are usually flooded with emerging markets, the concept is not novel to developed economies. It is these emerging markets, which when successful in the future, become economic giants in the industry (Garten, 1997). The emerging markets need to consider a lot of geographical and economic concerns before setting in a foreign country. They may be small enterprises or large projects. This paper seeks to evaluate the industry of emerging markets in the Latin America, particularly in Mexico, and see how successful it has been over the years. It would also analyze how these emerging markets have affected the economy of Mexico and all related economies. Emerging markets have had positive impacts and some negative setbacks and this paper would state both sides of the picture. Latin America is a developing nation striving to make its make its mark in today’s world and it is the emerging markets in and of Latin America that will one day, help it in doing so. Mexico is one large country that comes under the flag of Latin America.Latin America is an area of approximately 21 million kilometers square, which is 14.1% of the Earth’s land surface. It holds a population of 570 million and there is a lot of diversity of cultures prevalent in the area. Spanish, Portuguese and French are the three most commonly used languages in Latin America. Its GDP is 4.26 trillion United States dollars and the economy is expanding at a relatively decent rate of 4 percent per annum. The population of Mexico is one of the most diverse in the world. It comprises of different ethnic groups, races, creeds and ancestries. The Europeans or the Whites form the largest community of Mexico contributing to over 80 percent of its population. Other than that, Mexico is home to the Mestizos, Amerindians and Mulattos with Blacks, Asians and Zambos

Philosophy of BSSL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy of BSSL - Essay Example This study is an effort to identify such challenging circumstances, when Blue Star Logistics, a company providing express door to door delivery services to a host of clientele, had to go by the ethical principles rather than sticking to the rule book. 1. One such situation arose when one fine winter morning, a big consignment was due to be packed off to the neighboring city with the instructions from our client that the consignment has to reach there by 12 noon next morning. The customer had paid a handsome amount for the urgency tag, but with specific request that, if the consignment is delayed even by half an hour than it is of no use. That effectively implied that if the consignment is delayed, the company will have to compensate the client. The journey period was 2 hours. The preliminary work of packing was done in the evening itself. Since it was already 9.30 PM in the evening, it was decided by the line manager that the people will be back at work at 9 am next morning, so they were briefed accordingly and all of us went home. Next morning preparations were started by the staff to dispatch the consignment, and they started waiting for the paper work to be done by the documentation manager. When it was 9.30 am, everybody star ted worrying and efforts were started to contact him on phone, but his mobile was out of reach. Gradually the tension started gripping the faces of those present in the office as it was 10 am by now. Thereafter permission was taken from the top to make alternate arrangements and the consignment was somehow dispatched after 10.30 am, the net result it reached the destination after 1 pm. This in turn resulted in a heavy penalty for the company. There were instructions from top to take immediate action against the person concerned, because of whom it happened. By later afternoon, the company came to know that the documentation manager met with an accident and felt

Health Disparities in Uninsured Americans Essay Example for Free

Health Disparities in Uninsured Americans Essay According to (Kilbourne, Switzer Fine, (2006), Health disparities are significant differences that are needed and viewed clinically and statistically in health care and health outcomes. These differences between groups of people can affect how often an illness(disease) have group affects, the number of people who have gotten sick and how many times do this particular disease or problem ends up with death occurring. There are a number of populations that can be affected by health disparities. ( Felton, (2013). Some of these differences are: Ethnic and racial minorities Rural area residents The elderly, children and women People with disabilities. (Medline Plus.com., (2013). Health disparity can also be defined as differences of populations in health care access, environmental exposures, health status, quality or utilization and outcomes involving your health. Health disparities are related generally to social issues and healthcare systems. The worldwide web coming in existence in the mid 1990s also can lead to health disparities since some ethnic groups would not be able to afford the internet. One of the objectives of Healthy People 2010 was to provide more internet services to the home. (Gibbons, (2005). Since this study will be a quantitative study it will focus on the total number of uninsured or underinsured Americans who didnt have health insurance by the end of 2012. Another focus of this study will be coming up with possible solutions to this growing trend in healthcare. In this study we will also seek to discover how the uninsured or underinsured individuals or families are being effected positively and negatively by gaining feedback from these individuals. There are several ways to obtain this feedback for this study in which we will be conducting surveys and questionnaires to get the answers we need. These ways are: the reasons why they do not have insurance to determine how this may affect their access to care, to determine whether the cost of care is directly affecting the reason why these individuals may not be insured and in this study we need to try to find the problems, come up with solutions and look for ways to get rid of any barriers to persons so that they can find affordable health care policies. Since the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is in effect we need to study how the introduction of a new healthcare law to totally replace the healthcare system that has been in place for years will effect uninsured and underinsured Americans. According to the article by (parkdatabase.org.,(2012). For the surveys we will be conducting our survey samples will be coming from males and females  who are American citizens, all races or ethnic groups, 200 participants will be equally divided by gender. In order to cover a wide variety of people that are being effected by health disparities in quantitative research usually will require a large sample size in order to quantify the research. (Felton, 2013). Background of the Study There are several factors that join together populations to influence someones health and health status which results into health disparity. According to the Healthcare Fairness Act of 2000 House Resolution #3250, populations that have health disparities suffer from numbers that are significant as it relates to the total rate of incidence of disease, mortality, survival and morbidity when compared to the population in general. The most contributing factor to health disparities most often mentioned when watched in the United States population is Socioeconomic status (SES). Other factors related to health disparities include: physical and cultural environment, lifestyle, working and living conditions, and community and social networks. Socioeconomic status can be defined as how persons, households, families, and aggregates and census contracts as it relates to the size to consume or create goods that our society values. (Shavers, (2007). The quality of healthcare experienced by our patients may be related to issues of disparity, socio-environmental determinants of health, practice variation, and substandard of care as scientific evidence seemed to show by the late 1990s. (Gibbons,(2005). Since Disparities in the United States can be caused by rather a mixture that is complex, historic injury intertwined with problems with access along with systematic quality. Health disparities have many sides which include ethnicity, status, geography and race. For policymakers it is critically important to give meaning to the problem in the correct way to make sure any solutions that are goal-related will be able to address the solutions reached. The goal is to provide health security for everyone no matter what your socio-economic characters are. Even though the United States goal is to completely get rid health  disparities there will be efforts to become a part of a broader effort to change health care and by doing so, there must be focus on improving the quality of care delivered to patients individually first and foremost. (Frist, (2005). We can now ask the question, Why the study of health disparity should be pursued and for whom is the study important to? The study of health disparity should be pursued because if nothing else but to determine if the research into health disparity will show any differences in organizational features that are specific. Furthermore the idea that organizational factors may play a significant role in health disparity has brought about more of a deep research on the role of organizational processes that are mutable when you look across the treatment setting. (Kilbourne, Switzer Fine, (2006), Purpose of the Statement The purpose of this study will be to test the framework that is conceptual that will cover health disparities in 3 phases. Detection Reducing and/or Eliminating Understanding The survey will include 200 male and female divided equally on uninsured Americans adults 18 years and older to gain feedback on why they do not have health insurance. (Felton, 2013). Viable Research Questions and Hypotheses What role if any how access to care directly affected your health status because you dont have health insurance? How has the cost of healthcare affected you individually, your families  health status because of no health insurance? How do you think your health status would change if you could afford health insurance? Do you think the new health care law will positively or negatively affect your ability to purchase health insurance? What factors do you believe are directly associated with the uninsured status as it relates to health insurance access? (Felton, (2013). Hypotheses Having no health insurance is directly impacting my access to care. Also the cost of care while having no health insurance is directly affecting my general health of me as well as my family. Also, if I had no cost for health insurance or low cost this would positively affect my health status as well as my family. With the Affordable Care Act of 2010 partially enforced, how do you believe this law will be directly associated with your uninsured status when it comes to access to health insurance. (Felton, 2013). Nature of the Study Design The strengths of Experimental Designs research according to the textbook, (Frankfort-Nachmias, Nachmias, (2008), designs begins with the understanding of the 4 components of research design which are: _comparison(correlation of two variables), manipulation(control over), control, (removal of other factors(, and generalization(different settings, larger populations can be use)._ (Frankfort-Nachmias, Nachmias, (2008).  The strengths of experimental designs is it will help a researcher understand the logic behind all other research designs, another strength is that an experiment lets the researcher observe and draw inferences that are casual with less difficulty no matter what type of variable is used and it allows researchers to be able to understand other design limitations. (Felton, (2013). According to the author,( Bhattacherjee, (2012). The limitations of Experimental Design research can be in the world of experimentation, the situation in the real world may not always relate, in situations where you have to randomly assign the persons to groups this may be impossible and unethical and another limitation would be getting rid of variables that are extraneous may not even be possible. (Felton, 2013). According to textbook by, (Frankfort-Nachmias, Nachmias, (2008). When I consider the quantitative research plan I am developing and my research questions, hypotheses, and variables, I would recommend the classic experimental design for research. The reason is my research plan involves, Health Disparities, which is a topic that can touch on several specific groups whether it be based on race, gender, insured, uninsured. In the classic experimental research design as the researcher you do have more control over the intrinsic and extrinsic variables for your research which is an advantage for me. Also in experimental design it allows the researcher to have control to introduce the variable that independent to help determine which direction the causation is being led to. Since Health Disparities will need to cover several areas in order to be effective I feel that experimental research design offers me the best chance of reaching the goal of my research which are three phases: 1. Detection, 2. Understanding of the problem and 3. getting rid of or eliminating health disparities all together. ( Felton, 2013). Since there are so many issues that are affecting Health Disparities in our world today, I feel I need to choose a research design plan that offers flexibility to the researchers which allows them to properly research the  issue, look at all sides to the issues to help come up with valid and ethical conclusions. Also, since I want to focus on uninsured Americans, just like me, and a hot topic in our world today, I will need an research design that will aid in my success to properly research this issue fully. iii. Instrumentation and materials According to the authors, (Keppel, Pamuk, Lynch, Carter-Pokras, Kim, Mays, Pearcy, Schoenbach, Weisman, (2005). S The levels of measurement that will be important for my study in Health Disparities can involve at the nominal level, ordinal level and ratio level. Health disparities can be measured according to six issues that are between populations and groups: 1. a reference point will need to be selected in order to measure disparity. 2. Disparity need to be measured in either relative or absolute terms. 3. Measurements for health disparities need to be in terms of adverse or favorable events. 4. Health disparity needs to be measured in summary fashion or pair-wise. 5. In health disparity you need to choose whether to weigh groups according to the size of the group. 6. In health disparity there needs to be a decision whether to order the groups in a inherent way. (Felton, (2013). According to the textbook, (Frankfort-Nachmias, (2008). The nominal level will be important to my study on health disparity because at this level you can measure a different symbol that will represent each symbol. For example: ethnicity, gender, nationality, martial status, religion, and where you live. According to Messer, (2008). The ratio level is also another level of measurement that can be used in my research study on Health disparities  because variables at this level have fixed natural zero points and absolute because these variable can be based on length, time, weight and area. Frankfort-Nachmias, (2008). Ratio measurement are the most common level of measurement used in disparity due to the scale of measurement. At the ratio level when measuring disparity it can be used in both as an absolute measure as well as a level of ratio. (Felton, (2013). Validity in research is concerned with whether you are measuring what you really need to or intend to measure for your research. There are three kinds validity in research: content, empirical and construct validity. I will ensure content validity, empirical validity, and construct validity for my study in health disparity in uninsured Americans by first understanding what each of the three types of validity mean: 1. Content validity is when your measurements are actually covering all areas you are intending to measure. In other words, nothing is left out. According to the textbook authors (Frankfort-Nachmias, (2008). Under content validity we have what is called face validity or the researchers evaluation that is subjective in their research. Another content validity is called sampling validity which is concerned about whether the population given in the research is sampled adequately. (Frankfort-Nachmias, (2008). Since health disparity covers a large area to be sampled, as a researcher I will have to find one area to focus on such as uninsured Americans, covering persons 18 years and older, male and females, all ethnic groups will all be a part of the sample. (Felton, 2013). According to authors (Hidalgo Goodman, (2012). Empirical validity refers to the relationship that is between an instrument that needs to be measured and the outcomes of the measurements. Construct validity relates the issues you are measuring to theoretical framework that is general. In disparities research it will be important to assess the standard criteria needed for the research to do what it is intended to do, especially if you are using different populations. In some cases, questionnaires may be needed to create validity in the study, but not in all studies. If in your disparities  research for uninsured Americans, where things like racism, race, ethnic groups which are considered constructs that are social can be hard to measure. (Felton, 2013) According to the article from (Active Campaign, (2009). In order to ensure validity in my research using content research which will be requiring all areas in my research I want to cover as it relates to health disparities for the uninsured American I would need to use a subjective form of measurement.(Felton, 2013). In the textbook, (Frankfort-Nachmias, (2008). The strengths and limitations in the reliability and validity I chose Construct validity strengths are based on how many dimensions and measures construct validity has, construct validity can be operated in a number of ways. (Felton, 2013). In order to ensure reliability for the measurement in my study, first I need to understand as a researcher the importance in the degree of reliability. Reliability is when your measuring instrument contain variable errors or mistakes that appear not all the time between your observation of your research for one time only or every time a variable is measured. So measurements contain two components which are called error component and true component. To further explain reliability which is measured on a ratio between true-score variance and variance in the total score measured. To ensure that my research study on health disparities is reliable for the measurement I will need to be able to distinguish that the results of the research may not be the exact same each time it is done. (Felton, (2013). The strengths and limitations when it comes to health disparities in the terms of reliability and validity can be linked to the fact that there are several components by which health disparities can be measured. Empirical validity and reliability are part of the research that deals with health disparities. One strength of empirical validity is relationships between prediction and results. According to the authors, (Ogden and Lo, (2011). The scale that is most appropriate to use for researching health disparities in uninsured America  Likert scale (tests attitudes) since it requires the researcher build a list of items that needs to be scaled, random research, then total of results. In using Likert scales there will be some limitations in the research involving health disparities. Some limitations are due to the debate on the role of comparisons socially and the impact it would bring on how the scales are completed and the results of the data being researched. ( Felton, 2013). According to authors Lobo and Mateus, (2013). Since in health disparities there are so many areas that need to be measured even access to health care and scales for measurement can help to achieve the needed results for the researcher if you take into account the aspects of the scale that you can enhance and you will continue to need to validate scales in your other populations. (Felton, (2013). According to ( Nowjack-Raymer, (2013), the test that is appropriate for my health disparities research plan would probably looking to better understand inequalities as well as health disparities, another test could involve developing testing with interventions that would be targeting people living in poverty, and we could also consider testing implementation and dissemination approaches for exploration to findings that would be effective in order to assure translation that is fast that could be put into practice, bring about some policies with action within communities. (Felton, (2013). The populations used for the scale and test as it relates to health disparities according to the NIDCR authors (Nowjack-Raymer, (2013), will involve research that will be focused on the vulnerable and disadvantaged population in subgroups. The testing population could include: Elders All ethnic and racial populations that are considered to be under health disparities, this will include Hispanic(Mexican, Puerto Rican, South and Central America, Cuban, and all Spanish speaking nations), African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islander, and Alaskan Rural low income persons, urban dwellers, including Appalachians Persons who are unable leave their homes due to disabilities and persons who are in institutions  the special needs populations that includes persons living with AIDS, developmental or acquired intellectual or physical disabilities. (Nowjack-Raymer, (2013) Data analysis plan: Since in program research there a number that is limited in the efforts to evaluate and create health disparities involving new strategies with the health care system. Here are some of these program that are being supported by the AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for example: (EXCEED) or Excellence Centers to Eliminate Ethnic/Racial Disparities, this is a grant program that looks for ways to eliminate health disparities. (Gillian, (2004). Sampling According to website (HHS.gov.,(2013), For my Quantitative Research Plan on Health Disparities using ratio measurement because it is the most common level used to measure disparity. The population (units of analysis that are relevant) for this research will include all uninsured African Americans in the United States today. Statistically according to the new Health Care Law or the Affordable Care Act there are 6.8 million African Americans eligible for benefits under the ACA. (Felton, 2013). The population for my study includes all uninsured African Americans in the United States according to the ACA. Population: 6.8 million African Americans (including male and female), almost half of this number of young adults. This population need to be defined on the basis of: A. Content, B. Extent, and C. Time. Size: 6.8 million. (HHS.gov.,(2013). I have made a  change in my population for research which will be first finding a reference point which is critical when doing research on disparity. According to the authors, (Keppel, Pamuk, Lynch, Careter-Pokras, Kim, Mays, Pearcy, Schoenbach, and Weissman,(2005). I will also need to measure disparity in relative or absolution terms. Disparity is very obvious when you realize that disparity occurs when the amount that separates a group from a reference point that is specified on a measure that is particular to health that is expressed in the terms of percentage, rate, means or some other measure that is quantitative. (Felton, 2013). . According to authors, (Keppel, et al, (2005) Sampling: an individual within the Population such as for example the young adult population size of 3.2 million or 47% don t have health insurance from the ages 18 to 35 years of age. Type of Sampling used: Probability sampling. A sample need to be able to represent the population it will be used for. When you want to measure a sample and your objective is to work from individual groups in a certain domain then use comparisons that are pair-wise. When you summarize the measures used in your disparity this will quantify all the groups in opposition and any conclusions based on your summary results should be joined and interpreted using all groups. (Felton, 2013) How the sample will be drawn? When disparities are measured, first the reference point need to be identified, next if any two groups need to be compared the reference point with the favorable group need to be used(lowest rates). When using disparities samples it should be measured in both relative and absolute terms and when you are measuring disparities over various of health indicators it should be shown in terms of events that are adverse. Why did you choose this sample size and why it was chosen in relation to the size of your population? I initially chose this sample size since I had 3 populations to choose from  for the uninsured African American population which were male, female, or young adults and I chose the young adult population since I had a solid statistical number of how many of young adults between the ages of 18 to 35 who are uninsured. I am not totally convinced that choosing a sample size representing millions of people will be the correct course for me to take and I had a terrible time trying to create a graph or chart to show my numbers and I could not get the graph to show. Since the number of uninsured Americans is very high even with the Affordable Care Act being in place, I may have to consider working in another area in health disparity. I was attempting to doing a basic line graph chart showing the age of young adults with no health insurance. Since health disparities covers such a wide range of issues I will have to reconsider what area under health disparity I want to cover and research. Ethical Concerns Health Disparities research has emerging advances which include comparative effectiveness studies and controlled trials that are often conducted at academic sites and multiple communities. The institutional review boards (IRBs) has presented a impediment that is major to the effective and timely conduct of health disparity research. When the research involved the underserved communities and minority along with institutional requirements, ethical standards interpretation may be different. These differences can cause complications in the research protocol and informed consent process and may have a negative effect on how the participants will respect this type of research and the quality of the trials. Also the IRB or institutional review board, can also lead to delays that are unnecessary, jeopardizing the capacity to perform collaborative projects and funding. The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Translational Research Network (TRN) have created a community-partnered approach to run side by side with the IRB review directly across the 18 RCMI institutions grantees that make sure compliance while making it better quality of health disparity research. (Hammatt,. and Nishitani, Junko and Heslin, Kevin and Perry and Szetela, and Jones, and Williams, and Antoine-LaVigne, and Forge, and  Norris, Keith C, (2011). Even though Americans are living longer and are healthier, health disparities still exist. However, policymakers are making a response to the health disparity issue by putting together and introducing legislation that are geared toward getting rid of health disparities. (ncsl.org., (2014). The Uninsured Americans as a health disparity There is about 44 million Americans total without health insurance and another 38 million Americans who do not have enough health insurance to meet their healthcare needs. If persons do not have health insurance it will usually mean putting also necessary care such as: Childhood Immunizations Preventive care Routine check-ups no Primary care doctor no access or limited access to prescription drugs being hospitalized for a condition that otherwise would not have led to a hospital stay that could have been avoided if you had health insurance Because of fear of medical bills you may choose to delay care which will usually lead to more cost to you, especially if you have to go to the emergency room. We must also understand that when the uninsured persons face a health crisis because they cant pay the burden of the cost will be to the insured population. (Glied, (2014). References: Active Campaign, ( 2009). Validity in Research Design. Retrieved from website http://www.activecampaign.com/blog/validity-in-research-design/ Bhattacherjee, A.,(2012). SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH: PRINCIPLES, METHODS, AND PRACTICES. Retrieved from website http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002context=oa_textbooks Felton. (2013). _An analysis of personality theory._ Unpublished manuscript, Walden University. Frankfort-Nachmias, C., Nachmias, D. (2008). Research Methods in the Social Sciences 7th Ed. New York: Worth Frist, W., (2005). Overcoming Disparities in U. S. Healthcare. _Health Affairs. Retrieved from website http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/445.short._ Gibbons, M., (2005). A Historical Overview of Health Disparities and the Potential of eHealth Solutions. _Journal of Medical Internet Research. Retrieved from website http://www.jmir.org/2005/5/e50/_ Gillian, S., (2004). Addressing Unequal Treatment: Disparities in Healthcare. _The Common Fund. Retrieved from website http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/SteelFisher_unequaltreatment_cong2004_70 9.pdf?section=4039_ Glied, S., (2014). The Uninsured. Retrieved from the website http://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/uninsured.html HHS.gov(Health care.,. The Affordable Care Act and the African Americans. Retrieved from website http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2012/04/aca-and-african- americans04122012a.html012). (HAMMATT,. AND NISHITANI, JUNKO AND HESLIN, KEVIN AND PERRY AND SZETELA, AND JONES, AND WILLIAMS, AND ANTOINE-LAVIGNE, AND FORGE, AND NORRIS, KEITH C, (2011). PARTNERING TO HARMONIZE IRBS FOR COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH TO REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITIES. PUBMED.GOV. RETRIEVED FROM WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/PUBMED/22102302 (Hidalgo Goodman, (2012). Validation of Self-Reported Measures in Health Disparities Research. _Journal of Biometrics and Biostatistics. Retrieved from website_ http://www.omicsonline.org/validation-of-self-reported-measures-in-health-disparities- research-2155-6180.1000e114.pdf (Keppel, Pamuk, Lynch, Carter-Pokras, Kim, Mays, Pearcy, Schoenbach, Weisman, (2005). Methodological Issues in Measuring Health Disparities. Retrieved from website http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_141.pdf Kilbourne, A., Switzer, G., Hyman, K., Crowley-Matoka, M., Fine, M., (2006). Advancing Health Disparities Research within The Health Care System: A Conceptual Framework. Retrieved from website http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1698151/ LOBO, A., MATEUS, S., (2013). VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF AN EQUITY IN HEALTH CARE SCALE. _SAGE JOURNALS. RETRIEVED FROM WEBSITE_ HTTP://SGO.SAGEPUB.COM/CONTENT/3/4/2158244013506716 Messer, L., (2008). Invited Commentary: Measuring Social Disparities in Health-What Was the Question Again? _American Journal of Epiderminology._ Retrieved from website http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/167/8/900.full.pdf ncsl.org., (2014). 2014 Health Disparity Legislation. Retrieved from website http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/2014-health-disparities-legislation.aspx nlm.nih.gov., Medline Plus., (2013). Health Disparities. Retrieved from website http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthdisparities.html Nowjack-Raymer, (2013). Health Disparities Research Programs. Retrieved from website http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/Research/DER/ClinicalResearch/HealthDispar.htm Ogden, J., Lo, J.,(2011). How meaningful is data from Likert Scales? An evaluation of how ratings are made and the role of the response shift in the socially disadvantaged. Journal of Health Psychology. Retrieved from website http://hpq.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/08/06/1359105311417192, Parkdatabase.org.,(2012). Qualitative and Quantitative Research Techniques for Humanitarian Needs Assessment. _An Introductory Brief._ Retrieved from website http://reliefweb.int/report/world/qualitative-and-quantitative-research-techniques- humanitarian-needs-assessment. Shavers, V., (2007). Measurement of Socio-economic Status in Health Disparity Research. _Journal of National Medical Association. Retrieved from website_

Various Solutions to Firefighter Food Purchase Essay Example for Free

Various Solutions to Firefighter Food Purchase Essay This research is about the provision of sustainable fire fighting services in a small town in Ohio called Pikering. Pikering has a population of about 8,000 residents and is situated in the rural parts of Southeastern Ohio. It has for over the years relied heavily on volunteers to provide firefighting services in the event of fire breakouts. For the past few years, the pool of volunteers has ranged between 17 and 30 in number. Owing to the few incidences of fire in the town, this small number of volunteers has often responded satisfactorily to save situations in case of fire disasters. Usually, the captain of the team of volunteers makes judgment on how to respond to cases of fore breakouts as communicated to him via telephone calls, through the Sheriff’s office or the City Manager’s office. In the past decade, the number of volunteers in the firefighting unit of Pikering township of Ohio has been dwindling. This has been occasioned by retirement of old volunteers and increased rural-urban migration of the young, energetic generation. The town has virtually remained with the old people and the very young, and the few youths available are not willing to take on the voluntary fire fighting chore. This attrition has caused concerns in the City Council. Due to the availability of state and federal funds to small municipalities like Pikering that lack proper fire emergency systems, the council has opted to put in place a paid, full-time fire department supplemented by volunteers. The council office believes that the new fully-trained fire fighting department will bring higher level of skills. Federal grant money provided to the fire fighting department is budgeted to cater for 18 full time firefighters. The funds will be dedicated towards paying the workers, maintaining high quality fire fighting quality. One of  the focuses of the council is to have a fire fighting department and staff with refined paramedic knowledge for saving lives during fire break outs. It intends to maintain some of the full-time fire fighters within the premises for quick response to emergencies. The department will not only serve the community of Pikering, but extend its services free of charge to The Problem The problem in the proposed system is that the firefighting facility can only accommodate up to 14 of the 18 firefighters. Fortunately, the facility can be modified to accommodate both male and female fire fighters. Arrangements to have the new system working are currently underway with the help of the city council, fire chief and the volunteers. There are plans to expand the annual pancake breakfast fund raisers and meals in the fire station. There are also plans to expand the kitchen into a larger cooking facility with kitchen equipment and food for the firefighters on duty. There are significant concerns about a number of issues in the proposed system: 1. Not all fire fighters are good cooks 2. The firefighters, like all other people have favorite foods and those dishes they dislike 3. Some of the firefighters may think and believe in their ability to prepare good meals, an opinion that may be disputed by other fire fighters 4. The diet provided in the fire station may not concur with dietary requirements imposed upon some of the fire fighters for medical or other special reasons 5. There should be a consideration in the food variety and wholesomeness 6. Further, rotation of the firefighters on duty may cause complications in the firefighters’ feeling of fairness and contentment with the food system. This is particularly true in the event that one’s favorite dish is constantly served while he is away and out of duty. 7. There is another problem related to contributions as there is need to ensure equitable contributions from the firefighters for the foods they consume in the fire station. 8. Additionally, some people in the fire station are bound to eat more than others 9. The city does not want to pay for the food the fire fighters will be eating in the fire station. Since the fire fighters must eat anyway, the city is determined that the amount of donation it provides towards the fire fighters’ upkeep is minimal. Research  Objective This research labors to provide solutions to the problem that are bound to face Pikering Municipality upon introduction of the full time firefighting force. There is need to ensure that the firefighting squad of the municipality feels confident that their basic requirement for food is met. It is imperative that the force remains strong and healthy by consistent and reliable supply of nutritious food in sufficient amounts. There is also need to feel fairness in the purchasing of food for the firefighters if they are to cater for their own food collectively. The report, therefore, finds solutions to these problems. It dissects the situation with an aim of finding helpful information concerning: a) Food Purchase b) Food Preparation c) Cost Sharing Predicament Data Gathering Techniques Gathering data used in this analysis came from a variety of sources. Given the scope of the problem, it was important to conduct comprehensive research on food security issues, ways of creating cheap food and collaboration. For the reasons of understanding teamwork, which is the spirit needed in making the firefighters work together and I coordination in realizing the smooth running of the fire station residence, the research considered empirical analysis of existing literature on the topic. The research made use of books, journals and articles from internet to come up with sustainable means of keeping cooperation and teamwork of the firefighters. In addition, literature on production of affordable food production techniques provided formidable data for solving the food availability issue. In addition, the research considered the people affected by the fire fighting services and sought their opinion on issues such as buying food for the firefighters. A total of 100 people of all ages, sex and race were interviewed to give their opinion on the plans. The data gathering process used questionnaires that were presented in person to the correspondents. The correspondents were arbitrarily chosen from the residents of Pikering. Research Findings Foremost, the research analysis of the problems that were cited as potential  causes of trouble to the fire fighting station residence were analyzed with a view to simplify them. Providing solutions to the problems that were most likely to cause immense challenges had to take a systematic manner and line of thought. Therefore, the research reconsidered the problems presented and classified them into two broad issues; issues of cost management of food and issues of teamwork. The research noted that providing solutions to food affordability and enhancing cooperation ad brotherhood in the working environment of the firefighters would create an environment devoid of the problems cited. From the questionnaires that the residents of Pikering Municipality filled, it was evident that the residents of the municipality were not for the opinion that the city council feeds the fire fighters, 81 of the 100 interviewed held an opinion that the fire fighters are not fed by the council. They argued that the council had more important projects that the funds could be channeled to. 63% of those who responded to oppose the plans of feeding the firefighters by the council argued that the frequency of fire outages in the municipality did not call for such drastic measures by the local government. They felt it would be a waste of resources to feed people who would stay for months without getting involved in anything constructive. The other 35% of the opponents of the move by the council to feed the firefighters felt that the firefighters do not need free food as they are able bodied people and economically gained like the rest of the public. They reasoned that if the firefighters we re to get free food, then all other workers of the council, state and federal governments deserved free food as well. Proposed Alternatives 53% of those opposed to the provision of food grants to the firefighters proposed growing of food by the firefighters in the lands of the council as one of the alternatives they had. As much as this group appreciated the need for the squad to practice eon a regular basis and undergo training, it regarded the firefighting squad as having enough free time to produce its own food. The 53% proposed that the firefighters could engage in food production activities in the vast council farms to cut on the cost of foods they may have to buy. The people reasoned that the squad would probably take 3 hours day training and spend the rest of the time idle. This was the time they would use to grow their own food. The other alternative was that the  council should deduct part of the firefighters’ pay in a mutual agreement before signing contract to cater for their own food. This would be treated as a condition in the terms of agreement to cover for their food expenses. This was an opinion of 43% of the correspondents who opposed the proposition to feed the firefighters by the council. The other 4% did not suggest any alternative to the quandary. Evaluation of the Alternatives As stated before, the research questions that were presented to the public of Pikerign Municipality concerned food production. Issues that would affect the cooperation of the firefighters in peaceful coexistence were dissected through the eyes of authors who have conducted extensive research on team work. Issues to do with cooking, appreciation of the quality of food one cooks, complaints on the types of foods offered during one’s days of duty and issues of some firefighters eating more than others would be best solved with an informed understanding of the need for teamwork. Once the council hires and places the firefighters, it will be imperative that it embarks on a thorough teamwork initiatives to have the firefighters think as a unit (Marinucci, 2009). This would be the only formidable way of ensuring there is harmony and brotherhood in the fire station residence. First, the council will need to instill a culture of inclusiveness from the first bunch of firefighters. It would be impossible to field a strong firefighting team unless all the members of the squad feel that they are part of the team. Early inculcating of such cultures is fundamental so that all who come in later blend in and play along the set rules of the institution (Mills, 2004). Secondly, the council needs to make the firefighters understand that resources of the firefighters’ station belong to all in the firefighting department. It is imperative to understand that the resources are for use by all and need to be used collectively (Mills, 2004). Further, the firefighters need to respect each other and keep confidences. In the event that they have some complaints to make for their sake or about someone, they should remember to be bold and say it to be known (Bryant, 2009). One other factor that would make the firefighting team stick together through inadequacies and disagreements is their ability to celebrate together. The firefighting staff needs to have the culture of cele brating their achievements together as a family (Marinucci, 2009). They need to gather  frequently in provided facilities to get to know each other. Further, the team needs to remember that laughter heals. They need to laugh out, be happy and share humor in good and sad times. Finally, there is need to support and accept one another (Mills, 2004). There is necessity for the firefighters to celebrate the diversity in each individual. In so doing, the fighters remember that not all of them enjoy the same food; eat the same manner and same quantities of food. By understanding these, the team will be willing to contribute towards food purchases even if they are off duty. They will not mind being away when their favorite dish is served for they love the remaining team eating the food. In exploring and realizing the full potential of the options proposed by the public opponents of the feeding program by the council, it will be possible to have the propositions work with an inspired team to work together. A firefighting team that views itself as a family will be willing to work on the farms for their own food production (Piontek, 2008). A motivated and united team is a happy team that works together with enthusiasm. Having the team work together to produce its own food is possible. Additionally, the second alternative of deducting money from the fire fighters’ wages for upkeep is a sustainable feat. The council would save money for other service provisions by teaching the firefighters make purchase their own food and supplement the deficit by farming. The only trick is to teach them to do both with passion. Recommendations From the finding s and the discussions of the research, it is evident that the public of Pikering Municipality is against the council feeding the firefighters. It is, therefore, crucial that the council reads the public mood and follows alternative means of feeding the firefighters. The firefighters should contribute part of their income to purchase their own food. They need to supplement the food deficit by farming in the council vast farms. In order to cure behavioral and social quandaries expected in the department, the council needs to focus on building teamwork and collaboration. References Bryant, M. (2009, May 31). Conflict Resolution in the Fire Service. Retrieved from http://www.firefighternation.com/article/command-leadership/conflict-resolution-fire-service Marinucci, R. A. (2009). Fire Chiefs Guide to Administration and Management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Piontek, A. (2008, July 1). The firefighters perspective. Fire Engineering, 161(7), 91. Mills, S. (2004). Teamwork: The Foundation of the Fire Service. Retrieved from http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-157/issue-8/features/teamwork-the-foundation-of-the-fire-service.html

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Photosynthesis and aerobic respiration are both part of a cyclic process of biochemical reactions. Photosynthesis requires the products of aerobic respiration (carbon dioxide and water), while aerobic respiration requires the products of photosynthesis (glucose and oxygen). Together, these reactions are involved in how cells make and store energy. The energy transfers in both processes and in how the gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs and the end products that result from each process are somewhat opposite processes, thus aerobic respiration and photosynthesis are in some ways complete opposites of each other. Photosynthetic organisms such as plants use solar energy to reduce carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. During respiration glucose is oxidised back to carbon dioxide, in the process, releasing energy that is captured in the bonds of ATP. Although these two energy producing processes differ in their uses and also their goals, they do have several similarities. Photosynthesis is a chemical process that takes place in the presence of sunlight, wherein plants manufacture their food and build stores of energy. This phenomenon occurs in chlorophyll containing plant cells. Chlorophyll is a pigment found in plant leaves that gives the plant its green colour. Chlorophyll absorbs the light energy and utilises it to produce carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water. These carbohydrates produced are used by the plants as a source of immediate energy for growth, reproduction, and absorption of nutrients. The chemical reaction produces oxygen which is released into the atmosphere. Photosynthesis can be summed up by the following equation 6CO2 + 6H20 + Sunlight à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  C6H1206 + 6O2, (fig1 below illustrates the process of photosynthesis) Occurring in the chloroplast light reaction converts solar energy to chemical energy of ATP and NADPH.The light reactions use the solar power of photons absorbed by Photosystem I and II. These are light gathering antennas containing the chlorophyll primarily responsible for absorbing the light. Electrons are also carried from Photosystem I and II via NADPH to the Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle uses ATP NADPH to convert CO2 to sugar.CO2 enters the cycle leaves as sugar. The sugar product of the Calvin cycle is not glucose but a 3 carbon sugar called 3-Phosphoglycerate. This 3- Phosphoglycerate with the addition of another phosphate group from ATP forms glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate .In order for one of these G3P molecules to be synthesised the cycle must take place 3 times, fixing 3 molecules of CO2.There are 3 phases of the Calvin cycle, the carbon fixation phase, the carbon reduction phase and the regeneration phase. Cellular respiration is the process of oxidising food molecules or breaking down chemical bonds of glucose into carbon dioxide and water. The energy released in the process is trapped in the form of ATP and used by different energy consuming activities of the cell. It is a set of metabolic reactions that unlike photosynthesis which occurs in the chloroplast, cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondria. The complete breakdown of glucose into carbon dioxide and water involves two major steps: glycolysis and aerobic respiration. Glycolysis is the anaerobic catabolism of glucose that occurs in all the cells and produces two molecules of ATP. Aerobic respiration is the process in which the pyruvate molecules produced by glycolysis undergoes further breakdown in the presence of oxygen and generates thirty four molecules of ATP. This reaction can be described as follows: C6H1206 + 602 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy (38 ATP)(fig2 below illustrates cellular respiration) Cellular respiration beginning here with glycolysis catabolises glucose into 2 molecules of pyruvate. The net yield from glycolysis is 2 ATP 2 NADH per glucose. Electrons are carried from here to the electron transport chain via NADH. Pyruvate enters the mitochondrion where it gets modified to Acetyl COA. This then enters the Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle completes the oxidation of the organic fuel to CO2.Electrons produced here are carried via NADH FADH2 to the electron transport chain oxidative phosphorylation. In the Krebs cycle a further 2 ATP is produced. Once there has been a sufficient energy shuttle of NADH from glycolysis, a maximum yield of 34 ATP is produced by oxidative phosphorylation. This then gives a maximum of 38 ATP produced. Photosynthesis is a reduction-oxidation reaction, just like respiration. In respiration energy is released from sugars when electrons associated with hydrogen are transported to oxygen (the electron acceptor), and water is formed as a by-product.   The mitochondria use the energy released in this oxidation in order to synthesize ATP.  In photosynthesis, the electron flow is reversed, the water is split (not formed), and the electrons are transferred from the water to CO2 and in the process the energy is used to reduce the CO2 into sugar. In respiration the energy yield is 686 kcal per mole of glucose oxidized to CO2, while photosynthesis requires 686 kcal of energy to boost the electrons from the water to their high-energy perches in the reduced sugar light provides this energy. Outlined above are the main differences between the two processes. However, photosynthesis and cellular respiration are two processes that both involve electron transport chains and they both affect conc entrations of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere. Both photosynthesis and cellular respiration provide energy to the organisms cells. It is interesting to note the structural similarities between Chlorophyll, that plays an important role in photosynthesis and Haemoglobin that is involved in cellular respiration. Both structures are practically identical except for the fact that haemoglobin has a central Iron atom and chlorophyll possesses a central Magnesium atom. Haemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen in the blood. Where chlorophyll is known for its green pigment, haemoglobin is known for its deep red pigment. (Fig3 illustrates structural  Similarities). Both photosynthesis and respiration are also similar in that they both undergo chemiosmosis.Chloroplasts and mitochondria generate ATP by this same basic mechanism. In both kinds of organelles ,electron transport chains pump protons (H+)across a membrane from a region of low H+ concentration to an area of high H+ concentration. The protons then diffuse back across the membrane through ATP syntheses, driving the synthesis of ATP. To conclude from this, photosynthesis and cellular respiration are the most vital biochemical pathways to life. They both include cycles, stages and many enzymes to function. Although their similarities can be easily recognised, it is their differences that make them stand apart as opposite processes. Photosynthesis requiring light in order to produce its end product, carbohydrate, and cellular respiration requiring carbohydrate in order to produce its end product energy.