Saturday, January 25, 2020
Mortar Exam 0341 Essay -- essays research papers
0341 NCO Exam 1     What are the Marine Corps' leadership traits?     Judgment, Justice, Decisiveness, Integrity, Discipline, Tact, Initiative, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Endurance 2     What is the purpose of an NCO?     To train and supervise subordinate Marines 3     What is the maximum effective range of the M249 SAW?     1,000 m 4     What is the sustained rate of fire of the M249?     85 rounds per minute 5     What determines a hot barrel for the M249?     200 rounds in 2 minutes 6     What is the maximum effective range of the M203 grenade launcher?     Area Target: 350 m; Point Target: 150 m 7     What are the characteristics of the M252 81mm mortar?     smooth-bore, muzzle-loaded, high-angle-of-fire weapon, consisting of a cannon, mount, baseplate, and sight unit. 8     What is the nomenclature of the M252 81mm mortar components?     M253 mortar cannon, M177 mortar mount, M3A1 baseplate, M64A1 sight unit 9     What are the weights of each of these components?     cannon--35 lbs, bipod--27 lbs, baseplate--29 lbs, sight--2.5 lbs 10     How many mils of elevation does the sight have?     about 800 mils or 0800-1600 mils 11     How many mils of traverse does the sight have?     6400 mils 12     One turn on the traverse handwheel equals how many mils?     10 mils 13     What does boresighting do to the weapon system?     removes the error between the barrel and sight to produce more accurate fire 14     What does reciprocally laying the mortars in a section do?     it puts every mortar on the same azimuth of fire 15     What are the two methods to reciprocally lay a mortar?    ... ...ound do you use for screening, incendiary action, & signaling?     Smoke 58     White phosphorous is stored with the fuze end in what direction?     Up 59     What is the purpose of camouflage?     To provide you with cover and concealment 60     What is Angle T?     When there is more than 500 mils difference between the gun target line and the observer target line.                Practical Application          Adjust indirect fire          Lay a mortar with a lensatic compass          Translate a fire command          Compute firing data with a plotting board          Pass a gunner’s exam              Â
Friday, January 17, 2020
Fdi Walmart-Asda
Foreign Direct Investment Wal-Mart – ASDA Wal-Mart is an American company, based in Arkansas, USA that runs large discount department stores. The company was started in 1945 when Sam Walton open a store in Arkansas, the premise behind the company was to slightly undercut its competitors while still making a profit. This idea proved a large success. In 1962 the name Wal-Mart was established when Walton open ‘Wal-Mart Discount City’ store by the time the company was incorporated in 1969 it had expanded 38 stores spread over 3 states, again operating under the same premise of marking up slightly less than the competitors. ASDAs life began in 1965 with the merger of Asquith supermarkets and Associated Dairies, the name ASDA is an abbreviation of the two names ASquith Dairies. In 1968 ASDA bought two large stores from Government Exchange Mart (G. E. M) that were failing and in the first week of trading by ASDA the sales grow from ? 6,000 a week under G. E. M to ? 30,000. The space given by the size of the stores allowed ASDA to create its own range of goods, which is considered to be on of the reasons behind the company’s early growth. By 1981 ASDA had expanded out of its northern home south with a total of 80 stores. Unfortunately this time also seen the managing director leave the company to be replaced by John Fletcher whose ideas to improve profitability was to increase profit margin on branded items, this increased profits in the short term but lowered the companies price competitiveness, straying away from the company’s founding principals. This led to decline in customer numbers and Fletcher left the company just 3 years later. By the beginning of the 1990’s ASDA was falling apart it had bought a chain stores know as Gateway for a high price and was struggling due to it, and ASDA entered in a doomed loop of increasing prices and loosing customers. Archie Norman took over the company as CEO after the share holders revolted. Made some radical changes to the company, completely changing it management style and returning back to the companies base ‘ASDA price – Pocket the Difference’ In the 1980’s Wal-Mart continued to expand in to southern United States states and by 1987 had 1198 stores. The 1990’s saw continued growth it to other United States states such as New York and by 1993 the company had managed to reach one billion dollars worth of sales in one week. By 1995 Wal-Mart were well on there way in to foreign markets with 276 international stores, by the time Wal-Mart looked in to purchasing ASDA in 1999 it was the world’s largest private employer. After ASDAs struggling period in the early 1990s, its future was looking up towards the end of the 1990s. 1999 saw a large discussion about a ? 18 billion merger between ASDA and kingfisher, but this was no more than just a ruse to cover what was really happening to ASDA. The kingfisher merger was days away when Wal-Mart made a ? 6. 7 billion offer the ASDA could not refuse. Both ASDA and Wal-Mart had very similar ideas about management style and, giving the customer what they wanted, cheap goods. In addition both had spread out from just groceries in to other areas, such as ASDA’s George Clothing range. The Asda acquisition thrusts Wal-Mart into the midst of a government inquiry of supermarket pricing A regal entrance into the U. K. Chain Store Age, 10870601, Dec99, Vol. 75, Issue 13 The Time that Wal-Mart purchased ASDA may also cause them problems; in 1999 the office of fair trading asked the competition commission to look it to the possibility that supermarkets were bullying suppliers. Wal-Mart are an international brand they would have intended to use this to there advantage and ‘shop around’ for the cheapest goods, this investigation would have caused them to look closely at how they source there suppliers to ensure that they are not caught up in the inquiry. If it wasn’t for the kingfisher merger possibility Wal-Mart may have waited until the air had cleared over the investigation before attempting a purchase. Britain was always a big target for Wal-Mart to step in to, the United Kingdom shopping culture has always been very similar to the United States, ith the tendency to buy everything from one shop. But Britain was always Wal-Mart's great hope. Here was a country with an established supermarket culture. The natives shopped in similar ways to Americans (who tend to prefer large, one-stop excursions, unlike Germans, for example, who buy their ham from one store, their toilet paper from another) A long, long way from Bentonville. Economist, 00130613, 9/30/2006, Vol. 380, Issue 8497 The Asda acquisition provides Wal-Mart with a foothold in the U. K. , where it previously had no retail presence Knestout, Brian P. Wal-Mart Buys Britain! Eyebrows Arch! , Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, 1056697X, Sep99, Vol. 53, Issue 9 ASDA would have been considered a good step by the American giants Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart previously did not have a big grocery stronghold, where as with ASDAs backing there power would be increased. Where as Wal-Mart will give ASDA big purchasing power to enable cheaper purchases and therefore lower cost to the consumer. This was expected to cause a price drop industry wide in order for the other supermarkets to attempt to compete with ASDA / Wal-Mart. Much has been written about the good cultural fit between Wal-Mart and Asda†¦ Wal-Mart should also be able to improve Asda’s buying terms in both foods and non-foods. The result will be sharper prices and reduced margins that will progressively spread throughout British retailing. Asda’s expertise in grocery and petrol retailing may be helpful to Wal-Mart†¦ Rogers, David S, Possible Consequences of Wal-Mart's Acquisition of ASDA, European Retail Digest; Sep99 Issue 23, p51, 2p Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions are very useful when looking at how similar/different two countries are from one and other. The following graphs show both the UKs and the USAs scores relating to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimentions. As you can see from the chart both countries are very similar in each area, I will briefly explain what each category is and how it relates to Wal-mart / ASDA Power Distance Index (PDI), Looks at how business in the country are affected by the small members over the managerial positions. Wal-mart has always pushed its self in this area saying that every staff member is of equal importance, which would imply a low PDI. Which is what both the USA and the UK show, this means there is a large amount of equality between societal levels. Individualism (IDV), Looks at how an individual lives, either by his/her self in small family groups or in larger community based groups, where everyone helps each other. Again both countries are very close to each other, and both with very high scores, implying that both countries are very individualist. There are only 7 countries in the world according to Hofstede that have Individualism as there highest value the USA, Australia and the UK being the top 3. Masculinity (MAS), Refers to how the country is ran, a score around 50 implies that the country is very diverse in sexuality with equal opportunities for both man and women. Both the USA and the UK have scores of around 60 showing that each country is reasonably diverse even if slightly male lead. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Shows how much a country avoids new things and new ideas, until it is certain they good. The UKs uncertainty avoidance index is low, lower than the USAs and low over all, meaning that a new company entering the county is likely to be accepted, where as the USA is higher meaning they are untrusting of new companies, luckily for Wal-Mart they were investing in to the UK meaning a low UAI was good for them, but to avoid any problems the continued to trade under the know name of ASDA. Long-Term Orientation (LTO), examines the culture of the country. A county with a low Long-Term Orientation score tends to prefer to stick to traditional values, and doing as the society expects, where as countries with high long-term orientation scores look more to the future rather than sticking to historical values. Again both countries are very similarly rate but both are very low this was probably one of the reasons Wal-Mart continued to trade under ASDA in the UK so the traditionalist can continue to do there local shopping in the place they are se to under the name they are use to. One of the big problems facing Wal-Mart is that the supermarket industry in the United Kingdom is highly concentrated, and will face a larger amount of competition in a smaller area than they would in the United States. As well as a land issue, Wal-Mart had a tendency to build large stores on unoccupied land, where as in the United Kingdom spare land is scares and local governments are reluctant to allow the building of large American style retail outlets. In the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart will have to deal with a supermarket industry that is more highly concentrated than in the United States, a government probe on pricing as well as resistance by some local governments to the construction of American-style big box retail stores. A regal entrance into the U. K. Chain Store Age, 10870601, Dec99, Vol. 75, Issue 13 Wal-Mart made a very risky decision investing in ASDA when they did, considering ASDAs poor performance in the decade prior to the purchase. Their timing was probably slightly hastier than they would have liked, but die the kingfisher deal being imminent Wal-Marts directors had to make some quick decisions. As to not open rumours of the purchase to some other competitors the directors visited the ASDA stores as though they were the public to see if they believed that ASDA was a viable purchase and that they could make the company work for them. Wal-Mart and ASDA were built on similar core principals, cheaper prices for the consumers, and during the ASDA re-growth prior to the purchase ASDAs management style changed to one which put the store staff in a better place, similar to the way that Wal-Mart encourages. This meant that a purchase from Wal-Mart would have very little effect on ASDA in the short run which is good for the consumers and hence good for the business. The shopping culture in the United Kingdom was very similar to the United States with UK shoppers tending to buy all there goods from one place. However expansion may have been a problem for them and a large change from what they were use to in the United States but ASDA gave Wal-Mart a good step in to the European market. Bibliography A long, long way from Bentonville. Economist, 00130613, 9/30/2006, Vol. 380, Issue 8497 A regal entrance into the U. K. Chain Store Age, 10870601, Dec99, Vol. 75, Issue 13 About ASDA – History, http://www. asda-corporate. com/about-asda/history. asp (Accessed 10/02/2007) Frank, T. A. â€Å"A Brief History of Wal-Mart. The Washington Monthly. April 1, 2006 Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, http://www. geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_dimensions. php (accessed 22/08/2008) Knestout, Brian P. , Wal-Mart Buys Britain! Eyebrows Arch! Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, 1056697X, Sep99, Vol. 53, Issue 9 Rogers, David S, Possible Consequences of Wal-Mart's Acquisition of ASDA, European Retail Digest; Sep99 Issue 23, p51, 2p Teena Lyons, Competition Commission inquiry into supermarkets, guardia n. co. uk, Wednesday October 31 2007
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
The Trafficking Of Human Trafficking - 1287 Words
Human Trafficking Human trafficking is the modernized version of slavery that involves force, fraud, and/or a type of labor in a sexual act. The United States government defines it to be â€Å"In which a sex act is forced in which the person induced has not yet been attained eighteen years of age†(National Institute of Justice). Human trafficking is a threat to all nations and promotes breakdown of families and can support organized crime. Trafficking can occur everywhere. Human trafficking and human smuggling are related to one another, but different crimes. The difference between smuggling and trafficking is that smuggling is the illegal movement of someone across a border while trafficking is the illegal exploitation of a person.†¦show more content†¦Human trafficking contains three main types of trafficking. Sex trafficking, forced labor, and child labor. Within forced labor, 18.7 million people are subjected. There are also 4.5 million people who are exploited e ach year for sex. Sex trafficking is committing a sexual act with an individual whom is under the age of eighteen. For example, a victim being held captive and forced into prostitution. Forced labor is when an individual is forced to do a service against their will by intimidation, violence, or in order to pay off debt. For instance, a family gives up a child and is sold to a sweatshop owner who forces him to sew garments. Children under the age of eighteen are used in the armed forced, used as cooks, messenger, spies, or sexual purpose (Background). For example, a fifteen-year-old boy or girl runs away and is seduced by a pimp. The pimp coerces him into participating in prostitution and the pimp would control the cost of how much the boy or girl would receive. Around the world, there are 168 million child laborers; 85 million are in hazardous conditions. Other forms of human trafficking include domestic servitude, agricultural work, debt bondage, manufacturing, and prostitution (Hu man Rights Commission). An example of debt bondage is if a possible victim needs to pay off her debt, she is brought to a house and the to be a housekeeper to pay of the cost and is threatened that if she does not she will be killed. Victims are mostly femaleShow MoreRelatedThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking1061 Words  | 5 Pagesare approximately twenty to thirty million slaves in the world today. Unfortunately due to trafficking being a fast growing crime it is very difficult to identify and locate these organizations and victims. Although there are many groups created to support victims, not enough awareness is being made and not enough action is being applied to stop human trafficking. Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking that has been a worldwide issue since ancient times, but regularly forgotten, due to it beingRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking886 Words  | 4 Pages(Attention catcher)What if somebody came into your life and guaranteed a better lifestyle, but instead you were enslaved into human trafficking? Human trafficking is when a person is abducted from their current situation and mostly likely used for sex slavery. Furthermore, did you know human trafficking increased over the years? (Listener relevance) Although you may not be as aware in your comfortable surroundings, you should always be aware of suspicious vehicles and people. Even though we enjoyRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking930 Words  | 4 Pagesman. Regardless of the reasons, there are nearly 30 million victims of human trafficking globally. There are more slaves now than ever before. Trafficking of persons is not a subject that should be ignored or tak en lightly. In order to fully understand the enormity of this crisis, we will examine the root causes, facts, and the impact of human trafficking throughout the world. There are several factors to why human trafficking exists: poverty, governmental instability, natural disasters, addictionRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking3494 Words  | 14 Pagesended, never to return, they go back and sneak into our communities in severe forms by human trafficking crimes. When humanity eliminated the phenomenon of human slavery, it returned in different pictures and forms, combining them enslaving people, through the recruitment, transportation, transfer of people by force and threat, and using and exploiting them in different ways. Among the victims of human trafficking crimes, there are those who are subjected to sexual exploitation, labor exploitationRead MoreHuman Trafficking And The Trafficking901 Words  | 4 PagesHuman Smuggling and trafficking continues to be a worldwide plague that has been, thus far been largely ignored by the international community. The paramount reason human trafficking and smuggling has festered and grown roots and spread globally. It started as a grassroots effort on the local level where women and girls (it affects boys as well) would be used and sold for sex. Eventually, greed and corruption tagged along for the ride and at that point the crimes became an organized enterprise. AtRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking Essay1752 Words  | 8 PagesIn this essay, the history of human trafficking will be examined, followed by who is affected by trafficking. Next the scope and types of exploitation will be discussed. Human trafficking is an issue that affects countries all over the world. Governments have made an effort to curb trafficking, however these efforts have been very narrowly focused. American ignorance has led to poor handling of the issues by policy makers. Finally the essay will discuss a proposed solution and set some goals forRead MoreSex Trafficking And Human Trafficking Essay1243 Words  | 5 Pages Human trafficking brings in billions of dollars into the U.S and all around the world. â€Å"The prime motive for such outrageous abuse is simple: money. In this $12 billion global business just one woman trafficked into the industrialized world can net her captors an average $67,000 a year†(Baird 2007). The laws around human trafficking are not strict and vary depending on what country it is happening in. Human trafficking is not something that is strictly foreign, itRead MoreThe Trafficking And Forms Of Human Trafficking Essay1317 Words  | 6 Pages2.1.2 The concept of Human Trafficking and forms of Human Trafficking Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon hence difficult to conceptualize (Maclnnis, 2012). Scholars, nations and international organizations have individually or collectively tried to define human trafficking and, not surprisingly, they disagree with one another. United States (US) for instance does not consider organ trade as human trafficking whereas the United Nations (UN) and Canada do (United States Department of StateRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Sex Trafficking1264 Words  | 6 PagesA challenge that I took interest in is the horrifying problem that women and young girls face as victims of human trafficking and sex slavery. Women and young girls make up 98% of victims of trafficking for exploitation. Human trafficking and sex slavery is a form of modern slavery, in which traffickers profit from the control and exploitation of others. It is a multi-billion industry. Traffickers use control of others for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities and or forcing others to provideRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Human Sex Trafficking1850 Words  | 8 Pagesof human sex trafficking come to one s mind. The United States of America is not immune to this type of horrific behavior. America is the land of the free and yet something as awful as human sex trafficking occurs in our very own backyard each and everyday. According to the Department of Homeland Security the definition of human trafficking is â€Å"modern day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act†(â€Å"What Is Human Trafficking?†)
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Monday, December 23, 2019
Illegal Immigration And The United States - 1481 Words
Purpose Statement Illegal immigration can cause substantial tension on the current economic configuration in a country. However, it can also, assist the said configurations by providing cheap and effective manpower at the same time. Contemporary study on political opinions concerning immigration frequently pits points of view highlighting economic self-interest versus cultural or ideological rationalization. They (studies) are also based on the particular immigration policy at hand at the time, therefore, addressing only the power of that particular policy. In recent times, illegal immigration has become a key political issue in the United States. A great deal of the debate on illegal immigration, centers on a workable path to United States citizenship. Immigration policy has been at the center of large public demonstrations and sustained political debate in the United States. This has resulted in a need for a better understanding of the politics of immigration policy. Immigration policy by its nature has several different aims, supporters and opponents vary based on types of immigration policy.1 When the question asked is, who opposes immigration and who supports it? In fact some individuals have incentives to support some types of immigration policies while others do not, this is more than often overlooked. Regrettably most of the literature seems to overlook this, simply because the research more than often is based on nonspecific questions about the increased orShow MoreRelatedIllegal Immigration And The United States1573 Words  | 7 Pagesmillion illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States furthermore, for the United States economy. The correctional prerequisites against migrants were added to enactment to protect it from feedback that acquittal is absolution without outcome. Immigration makes a difference among everybody, and Congress ought to be doing everything in its energy to make it as simple as feasible for settlers to live and work lawfully what s more, openly in the United States. The United States is knownRead MoreIllegal Immigration And The United States1315 Words  | 6 PagesFor ages, the United States has seemed to be the country where people seek to move to for a better life. The United States was built on immigrants. People have always migrated to the United States both legally and illegally. The main problem the country has face with immigrants is the amount that trespass the border illegally. Illegal immigration is the unlawful act of crossing a national border(Illegal Immigration Pros and Cons). The illegal immigrant population keeps growing at an annual averageRead MoreIllegal Immigration And The United States969 Words  | 4 PagesAmerican businessman, politician, television personality, and author, is the presumptive of the y for president of the United States in 2016having won the most state primaries and caucuses and delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention. Trump’s positions in opposition to illegal immigration, various free trade agreements that he believes are unfair, and most military interventionism have earned him particular support among blue-collar voters and voters without college degrees. Many of hisRead MoreIllegal Immigration And The United States1486 Words  | 6 PagesIllegal immigration has been an issue in the United States for a long time so the issues that come with it should not be a surprise. America was established on the basis of newcomers settling here from abroad. Recently though, thousands of illegal immigrants have come into the U.S. through either the Mexico border, the Pacific Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico which has created a new an unanticipated issue for the U.S., in the past immigrants came from Europe and passed through the Ellis Island stationRead MoreIllegal Immigration Is The United States1805 Words  | 8 PagesIllegal immigration is the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Some c ountries have millions of illegal immigrants. Immigration, including illegal immigration, is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country. The easy definition of an undocumented immigrant is someone who was not born in the United States and therefore has no legal right to be or remain in the United States. Not all undocumented immigrantsRead MoreIllegal Immigration : The United States1876 Words  | 8 PagesIllegal Immigration Due to the economic benefits of immigrant labor, the dangers of central American countries, and the basic human rights of noncitizens, the US government must grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants. Illegal immigration has become a rising issue in the US over the past few years, and it will continue to heat up coming into this year s presidential election. This issue is also very present in the local community due to it’s diversity and large Hispanic population. GenerallyRead MoreIllegal Immigration in the United States1864 Words  | 8 PagesIllegal Immigration In The United States: A Controversial Debate Illegal immigration is an on-going issue, which is of much importance in the United States today. It has been overlooked for many years, however it has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored. Most of the illegal immigrants, 54% to be exact, come through the Mexican border. (Hayes 5) Since the early 1980’s, the number of illegal Mexican immigrants has risen at an incredible rate, causing the United States government to takeRead MoreIllegal Immigration in the United States Essay2094 Words  | 9 PagesIllegal Immigration in the United States Illegal Immigration in the United States The United States (US) has always been viewed as the land of opportunity because it is the only true free country in the world. This being the case people have been fighting their way into the country for decades. However, it is becoming more and more of a problem each decade that passes. With the United States border being so close to Mexico it is now seeing the highest population of illegal immigrants toRead MoreDeportation: Immigration to the United States and Illegal Alien2373 Words  | 10 Pagesadvance because of the way the immigration process works. However, one thing we all had in mind, was to see the light of a different country, see different faces and hopefully find ways to stay. Once the airplane took off, words was already spread all over the office of Haiti air in Florida that the airplane left Haiti with more than 30 Haitian illegal on board. The first few 2 hours spent at the arrival office was like a discovery of a new world for every single illegal in that group. This was oneRead MoreIllegal Immigration And Immigration In The United States1091 Words  | 5 Pagesarrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes. (De Leon, K) The new legislation, created by California Senate President Kevin de Leon, officially makes the state of California a â€Å"sanctuary state†. Previously, de Leon determined that Donald Trump is a racist because of his positions on immigration; most notably, Trump’s attempt to defund cities that considered themselves sanctuaries. In a debate that is becoming increasingly more polarized, Brown sought to protect illegal immigrants against
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Night Creature Blue Moon Chapter 1 Free Essays
The summer I discovered the world was not black-and-white – the way I liked it – but a host of annoying shades of gray was the summer a lot more changed than my vision. However, on the night the truth began I was still just another small-town cop – bored, cranky, waiting, even wishing, for something to happen. I learned never to be so open-ended in my wishes again. We will write a custom essay sample on Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The car radio crackled. â€Å"Three Adam One, what’s your ten-twenty?†â€Å"I’m watching the corn grow on the east side of town.†I waited for the imminent spatter of profanity from the dispatcher on duty. I wasn’t disappointed. â€Å"You’d think it was a goddamned full moon. I swear those things bring out every nut cake in three counties.†My lips twitched. Zelda Hupmen was seventy-five if she was a day. A hard-drinking, chain-smoking throwback to the good times when such a lifestyle was commonplace and the fact it would kill you still a mystery. Obviously Zelda had yet to hear the scientific findings, since she was going to outlive everyone by smoking unfiltered Camels and drinking Jim Beam for breakfast. â€Å"Maybe the crazies are just gearing up for the blue moon we’ve got coming.†â€Å"What in living hell is a blue moon?†The reason Zee was still working third shift after countless years on the force? Her charming vocabulary. â€Å"Two full moons in one month makes a blue moon on the second course. Very rare. Very powerful. If you’re into that stuff.†Living in the north woods of Wisconsin, elbow to elbow with what was left of the Ojibwe nation, I’d heard enough woo-woo legends to last a lifetime. They always pissed me off. I lived in a modern world where legends had no place except in the history books. To do my job, I needed facts. In Miniwa, depending on who you talked to, facts and fiction blurred together too close for my comfort. Zee’s snort of derision turned into a long, hacking cough. I waited, ever patient, for her to regain her breath. â€Å"Powerful my ass. Now get yours out to Highway One-ninety-nine. We got trouble, girl.†â€Å"What kind of trouble?†I flicked on the red lights, considered the siren. â€Å"Got me. Cell call – lots of screaming, lots of static. Brad’s on his way.†I had planned to inquire about the second officer on duty, but, as usual, Zee answered questions before they could even be asked. Sometimes she was spookier than anything I heard or saw on the job. â€Å"It’ll take him a while,†she continued. â€Å"He was at the other end of the lake, so you’ll be first on the scene. Let me know what happens.†Since I’d never found screaming to be good news, I stopped considering the siren and sped my wailing vehicle in the direction of Highway 199. The Miniwa PD consisted of myself, the sheriff, and six other officers, plus Zee and an endless array of young dispatchers – until summer, when the force swelled to twenty because of the tourists. I hated summer. Rich fools from Southern cities traveled the two-lane highway to the north to sit on their butt next to a lake and fry their skin the shade of fuchsia agony. Their kids shrieked, their dogs ran wild, they drove their boats too fast and their minds too slow, but they came into town and spent their easy money in the bars, restaurants, and junk shops. As annoying as the tourist trade was for a cop, the three months of torture kept Miniwa on the map. According to my calendar, we had just entered week three of hell. I came over a hill and slammed on my brakes. A gas-sucking, lane-hogging luxury SUV was parked crosswise on the dotted yellow line. A single headlight blazed; the other was a gaping black hole. Why the owner hadn’t pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder I had no idea. But then, I’d always suspected the majority of the population were too stupid to live. I inched my squad car off the road, positioning my lights on the vehicle. Leaving the red dome flashing, I turned off the siren. The resulting hush was as deafening as the shrill wail had been. The clip of my boots on the asphalt made a lonely, ghostly sound. If my headlights hadn’t illuminated the hazy outline of a person in the driver’s seat, I’d have believed I was alone, so deep was the silence, so complete the stillness of the night. â€Å"Hello?†I called. No response. Not a hint of movement. I hurried around the front of the car, taking in the pieces of the grille and one headlight splayed across the pavement. For a car that cost upward of $40,000 it sure broke into pieces easily enough. That’s what I liked about the department’s custom-issue Ford Crown Victoria. The thing was built like a tank, and it drove like one, too. Other cities might have switched over to SUVs, but Miniwa stuck with the tried and true. Sure, four-wheel drive was nice, but sandbags in the trunk and chains on the tires worked just as well. Besides, nothing had an engine like my CV. I could catch damn near anyone driving that thing, and she didn’t roll if I took a tight curve. â€Å"Miniwa PD,†I called as I skirted the fender of the SUV. My gaze flicked over the droplets of blood that shone black beneath the silver moonlight. They trailed off toward the far side of the road. I took a minute to check the ditch for any sign of a wounded animal or human being, but there was nothing. Returning to the car, I yanked open the door and blinked to find a woman behind the wheel. In my experience men drove these cars – or soccer moms. I saw no soccer balls, no kids, no wedding ring. Hmm. â€Å"Are you all right?†She had a bump on her forehead and her eyes were glassy. Very young and very blond – the fairy princess type – she was too petite to be driving a vehicle of this size, but – I gave a mental shrug – it was a free country. The airbag hadn’t deployed, which meant the car was a piece of shit or she hadn’t been going very fast when she’d hit†¦ whatever it was she’d hit. I voted on the latter, since she wasn’t lying on the pavement shredded from the windshield. The bump indicated she hadn’t been wearing her seat belt. Shame on her. A ticketing offense in this state, but a little hard to prove after the fact. â€Å"Ma’am,†I tried again when she continued to stare at me without answering. â€Å"Are you all right? What’s your name?†She raised her hand to her head. There was blood dripping down her arm. I frowned. No broken glass, except on the front of the car, which appeared to be more plastic than anything else. How had she cut herself? I grabbed the flashlight from my belt and trained it on her arm. Something had taken a bite-sized chunk out of the skin between her thumb and her wrist. â€Å"What did you hit, ma’am?†â€Å"Karen.†Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated; she was shocky. â€Å"Karen Larson.†Right answer, wrong question. The distant wail of a siren sliced through the cool night air, and I permitted myself a sigh of relief. Help was on the way. Since the nearest hospital was a forty-minute drive, Miniwa made do with a small general practice clinic for everything but life-threatening crises. Even so, the clinic was on the other end of town, a good twenty minutes over dark, deserted roads. Brad could transport Miss Larson while I finished up here. But first things first. I needed to move her vehicle out of the road before someone, if not Brad, plowed into us. Thank God Highway 199 at 3:00 a.m. was not a hotbed of traffic, or there’d be more glass and blood on the pavement. â€Å"Ma’am? Miss Larson, we need to move. Slide over.†She did as I ordered, like a child, and I quickly parked her car near mine. Planning to retrieve my first-aid kit and do some minor cleaning and repairs – perhaps bandage her up just enough to keep the blood off the seats – I paused, half in and half out of the car, when she answered my third question as late as the second. â€Å"Wolf. I hit a wolf.†A litany of Zee’s favorites ran through my head. The wolves were becoming a problem. They followed the food, and with the deer herds increasing in alarming numbers despite the generosity of the Department of Natural Resources with hunting licenses, the wolves had multiplied along with their prey. The wolves were not typically aggressive; however, if they were wounded or rabid, typical did not apply. â€Å"Did it bite you, ma’am?†I knew the answer, but I had to ask. For the record. She nodded. â€Å"I-I thought it was a dog.†â€Å"Damn big dog,†I muttered. â€Å"Yes. Damn big,†she repeated. â€Å"It ran right in front of my car. I couldn’t stop. Black like the night. Chasing, chasing – †She frowned, then moaned as if the effort of the thought was too much for her poor head. â€Å"How did you get bitten?†â€Å"I thought it was dead.†A good rule to remember when dealing with wild animals and soap opera villains? They usually aren’t dead – even when everyone thinks that they are. â€Å"Ma’am, I’m just going to check your license and registration, okay?†She nodded in the same zoned-out manner she’d had all along. I didn’t smell alcohol, but even so, she’d be checked for that and drugs at the clinic. I quickly rifled her wallet. Yep, Karen Larson. The registration in the glove compartment proved she owned the car. All my ducks were in a row, just the way I liked them. Brad arrived at last. Young, eager, he was one of the summer cops, which meant he wasn’t from here. Who knows what he did during the other nine months of the year. From the looks of him he lifted weights and worked on his tan beneath an artificial sun. Having dealt with Brad before, I was of the opinion he’d fried his brain along with his skin. But he was competent enough to take Miss Larson to the clinic. I met him halfway between his car and hers. â€Å"We’ve got a wolf bite.†I had no time for chitchat. Not that I would have bothered even if I did. â€Å"Get her to the clinic. I’m going to see if I can find the wolf.†He laughed. â€Å"Right, Jessie. You’re gonna catch a wolf, in the middle of the night, in these woods. And it’ll be the particular wolf you’re searching for.†That’s why Brad was a summer cop and I was an all-through-the-year cop. I had a brain and I wasn’t afraid to use it. â€Å"Call me silly,†I pointed at the blood, plastic, and fiberglass on the pavement, â€Å"but that’s gonna leave a mark. If I find a wolf with a fender-sized dent, I’ll just arrest him. Who knows, we might be able to avoid rabies shots for our victim.†Brad blinked. â€Å"Oh.†â€Å"Yeah. ‘ Oh.’Can you call Zee, tell her what happened, have her inform the DNR?†â€Å"Why?†I resisted the urge to thump him upside the head. Maybe I’d shake some sense loose, but I doubted it. â€Å"Standard procedure when dealing with wolves is to call the hunting and fishing police.†â€Å"Do we have to?†Though I shared his sentiments – no one around here had much use for the Department of Natural Resources – rules were rules. The wolf had been an endangered species in Wisconsin until 1999, when the classification was changed to threatened. Recently they had increased in number to the point where they were delisted. Which meant problems – like rabies – could be handled under certain conditions by certain people. If I had to shoot a wolf tonight. I wanted to do so with my butt already covered. â€Å"Yes,†I snapped. â€Å"We have to. Have Zee get someone else out here to secure, then measure this scene.†I patted the walkie-talkie on my belt. â€Å"I’ll be in touch.†â€Å"But – Uh, I was thinking†¦ Maybe, um, I should, uh, you know†¦ †His uncertain gaze flicked toward the trees, then back to me. â€Å"I know. And you shouldn’t.†Think. Ever. My mind mocked, but I had learned a few things in my twenty-six years, and one of them was to keep my smart-ass mind’s comments to myself. Mostly. â€Å"I’ve lived here all my life, Brad. I’m the best hunter on the force.†A fact that did not endear me to many of the guys I worked with. I couldn’t recall the last time I hadn’t taken top prize in the Big Buck contests run by the taverns every fall. Still Brad appeared uneasy at letting me wander off alone into the darkness. â€Å"Relax,†I soothed. â€Å"I know these woods. You don’t.†Without waiting for further argument, I went in after the wolf. How to cite Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 1, Essay examples
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Financial Accounting Economic Environment
Question: Discuss about theFinancial Accounting for Economic Environment. Answer: Analysis The modern world is concerned with computing proper financial statements of every organization in order to maintain their competitive edge in the economic environment. This study is thus a critical evaluation of three organizations taken from three different sectors. The financial statements to be evaluated are one from the Government, the other from a government trading enterprise and the other from a commercial organization listed in the ASX. The firms, which taken into consideration, are State of Victorian Government for the Government sector, Power Water Corporation under Government trading firm and Virgin Australia coming under the commercial organization. To understand the differentiation in the reporting class of these organizations, an in depth assessment of their financial statements for the accounting period 2015-16 is undertaken. The Victorian Government as the name suggests is the Government itself, and the financial department of the above mentioned is analyzed. The finance department of the Government has a unique reporting mechanism, which evaluates the financial transaction and the services and portfolio of the organization. The financial statement reveals the important performance indicators of the organization. The financial position of the State of Victoria is in a feasible and healthy position with net assets amounting to $140 billion. There is an increase in the balance sheet by $5.7 billion because of excess cash flow operations. The net results of the Government are $50.7 million in surplus. This indicates that there is an increase in the financial assets as the process flows according to the movement of the global equity market. The entity also generates a good amount of revenue through the taxation from the economy. The key performance of Victorian Government is to efficiently looking after the welfare of the state and improving the standard of living of the citizens (Dtf.vic.gov.au. 2016). Power Water Corporation is a Government Trading organization performing in Australia concentrating on providing water to the state. They also focus on repairing pipelines and water lines to the society. They show a net profit after tax as a negative variance of 49.6% thus leading to an increase in the depreciation and amortization to $ 38.2 million. The gearing ratio is also very low due to rise in level of debt and equity. The cash flow created from operating performance is $ 22.6 million lower due to increased net profit after tax. The return on asset is lower than the previous year due to increase in the value of the asset. All the changes in the value of EBIT, operating cash flow, net profit variance has been due to revaluation of the assets. The source of income for this organization is through secured and unsecured loans and from the shareholders equity. The organization also uses its reserves to perform its activities (Powerwater.com.au. 2016). Virgin Australia is a renowned airline organization listed in the ASX, and the annual report of this firm is prepared with accordance with the framework permitted by the Australian Financial board so as to prepare a simple statement to attract potential investors and to satisfy the existing shareholders. The profit and loss statement shows that with the acquisition of Tiger Air, the firm has increased its income by $ 21.8 million. The introduction of new financial methods has led to the increase in the financial costs. The net deferred tax on assets has risen to $ 69.7 million because of extra losses from $ 152.4 million, which is inclusive of 14 million loss on tax due to subtraction of the losses of Tiger Air from the fixed assets. The property and plant has increased by 379 million dollars and the intangible assets by $202 million. The sum total of equity has reduced by $27. 3 million, due to a loss of $ 93.8 million. The other payables has grown by 80.1 million dollar and the pro visions of current and non-current. The interest bearing amount has increased by $ 811.5 million, which is inclusive of the secured and unsecured bonds. The organization focuses on generating high revenue after tax and an increase in the return of the average shareholders equity. The primary source of fund for this firm is through acquisition of new organizations and by releasing shares in the market. The revenue created from the business function acts a reserve to the firm (Virgin Australia 2016). Income Statement Cash Flow Statement Balance Sheet Financial Statements Key Indicators Source of fund Finance department of Victorian Government YES YES YES YES 1.Tax revenue from the state. 2.Funding from central government 3.Departmental funding Power Water Corporation YES YES YES YES 1.Secured and Unsecured loans from banks. 2.Investment from shareholders equity 3.Reserves of the organization Virgin Australia YES YES YES YES 1.Acquisition of new companies 2.Introduction of new shares in the market. 3.Increase in reserves and surplus due to better profit from the business function. Reference List Dtf.vic.gov.au. (2016).Treasury and Finance. [online] Available at: https://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2016]. Powerwater.com.au. (2016).Home - Power and Water Corporation. [online] Available at: https://www.powerwater.com.au/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2016]. Virgin Australia. (2016).Virgin Australia | Book flights holidays with Virgin Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.virginaustralia.com [Accessed 21 Sep. 2016].
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