A Variety Of Antibiotics Biology Essay

A Variety Of Antibiotics Biology Essay Antiseptics/Disinfectants and antibiotics are used on a regular basis in the health care profession. A variety of antibiotics have been tested and they act by several ways in order to inhibit bacterial growth or kill the bacteria. Antiseptics/disinfectants contain a variety of active ingredients including haloalkanes, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QAC) and Phenols. The antimicrobials used in both experiments display broad spectrum activity. The information on the mode of action is limited, therefore the two experiments compares the effectiveness of each antimicrobial on the two main bacterias, gram negative escherichia coli and gram positive Staphylococcus aureus. Sepsis is usually caused by a bacterial infection; it can also be caused by fungal, viral or parasitic infections. Sepsis can cause blood clotting and inflammation. Blood clotting and inflammation in the body has life threatening consequences such as organ failure this may lead to death. Aseptic surgery was introduced in 1867 by Joseph Lister; the mortality rate of post operative surgery was reduced to 45%. The spray carbolic acid as biocide/germicide was used; biocide is a chemical agent that kills pathogens. The spray was used to dress and clean the wounds; in 1878 Robert Koch introduced the sterilisation of surgical equipment and dressing using steam. A bacterium is a prokaryotic microorganism that is found everywhere, the size of bacteria is usually a few micrometres in length they exist as millions. The shape of bacteria varies from rod, spiral, spherical. Hans Christian Gram in 1884 discovered that certain stains are taken up and retained by the cell. Eventually most of the bacteria were divided to two groups, gram-positive and gram-negative. The bacterial species was classified using the Gram stain test. The Gram stain that emerge as blue or violet it is Gram positive, a gram-positive bacteria has a thick cell wall as there are many layers of peptidoglycan and teichoic acids. This means that gram stain can enter the cell and remain within the cell. If the Gram stain emerges as red or pink it is Gram negative, a gram negative bacteria has a thin cell wall that consists some layers of peptidoglycan, bounded by a second lipid membrane containing lipoprotein and lipopolysaccharides. Escherichia coli (E. Coli) is facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacteria, E. Coli is rod shaped. The digestive system is affected by E. Coli where it causes bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus) is sphere shaped gram-positive bacteria, S. Aureus can be found at several sites in humans such as nasal passages, skin, gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity. S. Aureus causes impetigo, mastitis and scalded skin syndrome. Antibiotic is a drug that inhibits the growth of bacteria or kill the bacteria. Antibiotics are from one class of antimicrobials and are harmless to the host hence used to treat infections. Antibiotics arent successful in treating fungal, viral and other nonbacterial infections. It is effective is treating bacteria but individual antibiotic varies on the type of bacteria. Microorganisms can become resistant towards antibiotics, hence withstand the effect of antibiotics, this is due to chromosomal changes or due to the exchange of genetic material via plasmids. This has been stimulated by the overuse of antibiotics for minor ailments (common colds) and unfinished course of antibiotics. There are many other antimicrobials such as antiseptic and disinfectants, Antiseptics are used to destroy or reduce microorganisms on the skin without damaging tissues; the common form of antiseptic is surgical rub. Disinfectants are used to disinfect inanimate objects such as surgical instruments. Disinfectant tend to have higher killing power as the chemicals used in disinfectants is for objects rather than the skin. In order to research microbial growth, two experiments have been carried out. Experiment one was carried out to measure the effect of disinfectants and antiseptics on microbial growth. A mixture of antiseptics and disinfectants will be taken and the clearance zone will be measured on bacteria S. Aureus and E. Coli. Experiment two was carried out to screen the sensitivity of the multidisc system, this was done by placing two types of discs containing several antibiotics onto two types of bacteria E. Coli and S. Aureus. The mechanism of antimicrobial action of antiseptics and disinfectants has been researched by A. D. Russel from the Welsh school of pharmacy, the conclusion drawn is the target sites and concentrations of the antiseptic/disinfectant were the dependent factors. The activity, action and the resistance of antiseptics and disinfectants has been studies by Gerald McDonnel and A. Denver Russel. The findings were that the antiseptics and disinfectants vary considerably even when the biocide levels are similar in each product. It has been found that there is some biocide resistance and cross-resistance with antibiotics. A pre-prepared culture of E. Coli and S. Aureus grown in a nutrient broth is provided. Using each culture an inoculum was prepared by aseptically diluting 0.1ml of the each culture to a 9ml fresh nutrient broth. The culture was shaken to encourage mixing. The spread plates were prepared by spread plating 0.1 ml of the inoculum on the surface of the nutrient agar. Two agar plates were prepared for each bacterium, four agar plates in total. The bottom of each plate was labelled with the name of the organism (i.e. E. Coli) The eight antiseptic and disinfectant that was going to be tested in the experiment was numbered 1-8. The bottom of the first agar plate for one of the bacterium was separated into four different sectors; a marker pen was used to label each sector 1-4. The bottom of the second agar plate was separated into four different sectors and labelled 5-8. Repeat number 5 for the other bacterium agar plates. The numbers on the bottom of agar plates link to the numbers on the antiseptic and disinfectant bottles. The tip of the forceps was sterilised by passing it through the Bunsen burner two to three times. Using the sterile forceps the sterile paper disk was picked up and dipped into the disinfectant/ antiseptic that was numbered one. It was made sure that the surplus disinfectant/ antiseptic had drained off before placing the disc into the agar plate. The disc was placed in the centre of sector 1of the S. Aureus inoculated plate Another disc was placed onto the centre of sector one using the same disinfectant for the E. Coli inoculated plate. Step number 8-11 was repeated for the remaining antiseptic/disinfectant. It was vital that the tip of the forceps was washed with alcohol and passed through the Bunsen burner to prevent cross mixing the disinfectant/antiseptic between each step. This is important as we were comparing the effectiveness of the disinfectant/antiseptic of the different types of organisms. The sterile tip of the forceps was used to press the discs gently in order to ensure the disc has contact with the nutrient agar. When the discs were placed into the four sectors of both agar plates, parafilm was used to seal. The plates were inverted and incubated at 37Â °C for 24 hours. After a week the plates were recovered and the diameter of the zones of the inhibition of the bacterial growth was measured in millimetres. As mentioned in the method of experiment one on how to produce spread plates for S. Aureus and E. Coli. This method was used to prepare another set of spread plates. (steps 1-2) The bottom of each plate was labelled with the name of the organism (i.e. E. Coli) The tip of the forceps was passed through the flame of the Bunsen burner two to three times in order to sterilise the tip of the forceps. The multidiscs provided are of two types, multidisc M43 which is gram positive, M14 which is gram negative. The multidisc labelled M43 was placed in the agar plate labelled S. Aureus, gently press down on the disc using the forceps. The tips of the forceps are flamed in the Bunsen burner two to three times. The multidisc labelled M14 was placed in the agar plate labelled E. Coli and gently press down on the discs using the forceps to make sure the discs are in contact with the agar. The lids on agar plates were placed and sealed using parafilm. The plates were inverted and incubated at 37Â °C for 24 hours. After a week the plates were recovered and the diameter of the zones of the inhibition of the bacterial growth was measured in millimetres. Experiment one studied the effect of Antiseptics and Disinfectants against the bacteria E. Coli and S. Aureus. The most effective antiseptic used is Savlon as it has the largest zone of Inhibition for both bacterias, in the bacteria E. Coli the zone of inhibition is 18mm (table 1) and in S. Aureus the zone of inhibition is 25mm (table 1). The active compound is Savlon is Cetrimide which is a Quaternary Ammonium Compound (QAC), QAC is a surface active agent that has a hydrocarbon this is hydrophobic and there is another group which is hydrophilic. Surface acting agents are categorized into four areas depending upon the charge and ionisation of the hydrophilic group. The cationic agents show QACs; these agents are used as antiseptics and disinfectants as they have antimicrobial properties. The least effective antiseptic is TCP as it has the least amount of zone of inhibition for both bacterias, for E. Coli the clearance is 20mm (table 1) and for S. Aureus the clearance is 14mm (table 1). The active ingredient in TCP is a Halophenol, Chloroxylenol is the main Halophenol used in antiseptic formulations as its bactericidal. The mechanism of action has not been studied in detail but as it is a phenolic character it is expected to be an antimicrobial The most effective disinfectant towards the bacterium E. Coli is Wilkinsons pine disinfectant as the zone of inhibition is 21mm (table 2), for the bacterium S. Aureus Dettol surface cleaner is the most effective disinfectant as the zone of inhibition is 37mm (table 2). Overall the most effective disinfectant is Dettol surface cleaner as the inhibition zone is S. Aureus is 37mm (table 2), the inhibition zone for E. Coli is 19mm (table 2). The active ingredient in Dettol surface cleaner is Chloroxylenol which also is a Halophenol. The least effective disinfectant was Zoflora spray as the inhibition zone in the bacterium S. Aureus is 26mm (table 2) and in E. Coli it is 17mm (table 2). The active ingredient in Zoflora spray is Benzalkonium chloride which is a QAC therefore a cationic surface acting agent. In addition, several compounds contain QACs such as Mr muscle and Wilkinsons pine Disinfectant but the zone of inhibition varies this may be due to additives present. The additives would dilute the concentration of QAC present hence decreasing the zone of inhibition. Experiment two studied the sensitivity of the multidisc system with the bacteria S. Aureus and E. Coli. The multidisc M43 contains antibiotics that are sensitive to S. Aureus bacteria. The most effective antibiotic towards the gram positive S.Aureus bacteria is Penicillin G as the zone of inhibition is 28mm. Penicillin G works by inhibiting the formation of the bacterial cell wall, this is done by blocking the cross-linking of cell wall structure. The least effective antibiotic in the M43 disc is Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole, the zone of inhibition is 0 mm. Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole work by inhibiting enzymes that is needed in the production of Folic acid, which is an essential compound in the cell. Therefore, the antibiotics can kill bacteria but the process will be very slow. If we incubated the agar plates for longer zone of inhibition may be seen. However, S. Aureus may have become resistant to these antibiotics. If there is partial resistance to either of the antibiotics, the bacteria can be killed by the combination of these two antibiotics. The multidisc M14 contains the antibiotics that are sensitive to E. Coli bacteria. The most effective antibiotic towards the gram negative E. Coli bacteria is Cotrimoxazole as the zone of inhibition is 28 mm. Cotrimoxazole is a combination of Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole which works by inhibiting enzymes producing Folic acid, which is an essential compound in the cell. The least effective antibiotic towards E. Coli is Ampicillin as the clearance zone is 0 mm (Table 4) Ampicillin works by inhibiting the formation of cell wall by blocking the cross linking of cell wall structure. The antibiotic is resistant towards E. Coli due to chromosomal changes or due to the exchange of genetic material via plasmids. As S. Aureus is a gram positive bacterium, in gram positive the cell wall structure is made of peptidoglycan as well as polysaccharides or teichoic acids. The antimicrobial only has to cross one membrane hence the zone of inhibitions is higher in the S. Aureus plates for both experiments one and two. Overall, antimicrobials effectiveness is affected by many factors, some of which are temperature of incubation, concentration of the antibacterial, molecular weight influences crossing the membranes, thickness of membrane and by which mechanism the antibiotic kills or inhibits the bacterial growth. In conclusion, this experiment would have to be repeated several times in order to test reproducibility, and then a clear conclusion could be made. Many antimicrobials are potentially toxic therefore advice should be sought if unsure. Also, as we can see that disinfectants and antiseptics can vary considerably in spite of similar level of active ingredient. This calls for a closer inspection of claims made by companies regarding their products.

Adoption of Ifrs

ADOPTION OF IFRS: IT`S BENEFITS AND IMPACTS ON FIRMS AND COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD The IASB was established in 2001 and since have assumed the responsibility of the standard setting from its predecessor body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and began issuing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS has recently been dominating the regulatory changes in accounting for listed companies around the world. Through the years, over 100 countries have adopted IFRS reporting, some of which include Australia, the European Union, India, Japan, South Africa, Russia and most recently Canada.In addition, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are working towards the final element of a work plan to incorporate IFRS into the U. S. financial reporting jurisdiction. In November 2007, the SEC voted to allow foreign issuers that report in IFRS to file their financial statements with the SEC without reconciling to U. S. generally accepted accounting st andards (GAAP). Accounting standard setters anticipate that the use of IFRS will improve the comparability of financial statements, improve reporting transparency, and increase the quality of financial reporting which in turn will lead to greater investor confidence.From an economic perspective, some believe that it’s challenging to perceive that such expectations will be achieved as a result of converting to IFRS. However according to proponents of IFRS, publicly traded companies believe that applying these principles will allow for a single set of high quality accounting standards as this will contribute to better functioning of the capital markets (Quigley 2007).In the following paper I will discuss the reasons why firms around the globe have adopted IFRS in relation to the financial reporting and disclosure quality, comparability across firms and countries, and the costs and benefits associated with reporting improvements. Most countries are in favor of adopting IFRS, fro m the viewpoint that IFRS standards are more capital market oriented, which in turn provides higher quality information that will benefit constituencies of financial statement users as supposed to local GAAP (Daske and Gebhardt 2006).If this statement is true, one way to validate it is through recommendations by empirical studies that suggest firms engaging in IFRS implementations should see an increase in market liquidity followed by a decrease in the firm’s value of cost of capital. According to Leuz and Wysocki (2008), they have provided some evidence in relation to the effects of reporting quality on market liquidity. They indicate the issue regarding information asymmetry, where investors who possess less knowledge of a firm’s reporting structure or policies, are concerned about trading with the better informed investors.They indicate how these non-informed investors are to lower the price at which they are willing to buy, to protect themselves from losses incurre d from trading with better informed investors. Hence investors that possess less information about a stock are less likely to trade. These effects of adverse selection and information asymmetry reduce the liquidity of securities market. Therefore, IASB strongly encourages essential financial disclosure. This will alleviate the adverse selection problem and will result in increased market liquidity by leveling the playing field among all market participants.In addition, other studies have shown that improvements in financial reporting and disclosure can affect the cost of capital in a variety of ways. Some of which include, investors that require a higher return from less liquid securities and lower estimation risk as this makes it easier for the investor to estimate a firm’s future cash flow. This in turn, will improve risk sharing in the economy by making investors aware of certain securities or by making them more willing to hold them (Leuz and Verrecchia, 2004). Hence redu cing the cost of capital.As important as it can be for firms to disclose essential information to investors, other firms can also benefit from these disclosures for the purpose of decision making and will help reduce the agency problem existing between shareholders and management. For example, â€Å"disclosure on operating performance and governance arrangement provides useful benchmarks that help outside investors to evaluate other firms managerial efficiency or potential agency conflicts and, in doing so, lower the costs of monitoring† ( Leuz and Wysocki, 2008).In addition, the information environment has improved as firms switch over to IFRS, which has also contributed to the increase in higher quality financial reporting. According to Mary E. Barth (2006) firms that voluntarily adopted IFRS generally seek lower earning management, lower cost of capital, and more value relevant of earnings. All of which interpret evidence of higher accounting quality. Barth indicates that the accounting quality could be mproved by removing other accounting methods that are not reflective of a firm’s performance and which are used by managers to manage earnings. As part of his testing, he compared firm’s earnings management between those firms reporting under IFRS and firms reporting according to their local GAAP. As a result of his study, it was indicated that after firms had adopted IFRS, they had larger volatility swings in net income, increase ratio of variance in cash flows, higher correlation of accruals and cash flows, small positive net income, and increased occurrence of larger losses.Opponents argue that a single set of internationally accepted high quality financial reporting standards may not be appropriate for certain firms as they are exposed to different cultural, political and legal differences as this might continue to impose major obstacles in the progress towards the harmonization of standards. These differences however may not provide for any greater value relevance and reliability. For example a study conducted by Ball (2006) indicates that pension accounting may be subject to earnings management in countries that have less developed pension systems.Another empirical study indicates that managers can take advantage and use different assumptions to manipulate financial statements (Soderstorm and Jialin Sun, 2006). Proponents of IFRS argue that using common accounting standards across countries will make it more cost efficient for investors to identify earnings management. When accounting standards are uniformed and relevant disclosure is provided, investors are more likely to understand the different assumptions used by management to calculate such pension accounting, which will limit the chances of management to engage in earnings management.The second important factor as to why countries have chosen to adopt IFRS, is mainly because of its increase in accounting comparability across firms. The advantage of a gl obal movement towards IFRS reporting makes it easier for investors and stakeholders to compare different firms and the relevant information to help them assess the company objectives. Comparative reporting will enable users of financial statements in identifying which firms are more or less profitable.Firms that are exposed to high or low risk of return as a result, will reduce investors information asymmetries and lower estimation risk. Moreover, the improvement in comparability across firms allows for increase market liquidity and reduces firms cost of capital (Luez et al. 2008). Studies have suggested that prior to adopting IFRS, firm’s local GAAP standard which were tailored to the needs of analysts and investors would in theory reduce biased information and build investor confidence.A study conducted by Tan, Wang and Welter in 2009, indicated that once firms had adopted IFRS, their foreign analysts had increased significantly more for those who had the greatest level of GAAP differences. There have been a number of studies conducted to test whether IFRS adoption does in fact increase comparability. The outcome of these studies are mixed. Bielstein et al. (2007) concluded that IFRS adoption, results in greater foreign investment for countries that have strong reliability and comparability.Other empirical studies claim that cultural, political and business differences continue to impose significant obstacles in increasing the comparability of accounting information. Lang Maffet and Owens (2010) find that accounting comparability does not improve for IFRS adopters relative to a control group of non-adopters. The two conclude that there is little evidence that IFRS adoption increases comparability. Overall, from the research obtained, there is little empirical evidence proven on the effects of reporting comparability than reporting quality.The third important factor for countries adopting IFRS, are the costs and benefits associated in producing high qu ality accounting standards and the improvement in comparability across firms. As mentioned previously, the ultimate benefit a firm receives by adopting IFRS reporting is from the increase in market liquidity followed by a lower cost of capital. In order to achieve this high standard, there are costs that a firm is exposed to. Such incurred costs include transitional costs, ongoing costs of compliance to the firms, and enforcement costs relevant to government agencies (Standish, 2003).Standish summarizes his findings in relation to cost and benefits of firms moving to IFRS that will tend to see lower transaction costs when preparing financial reports. They will only be reporting against a single set of accounting standards instead of multiple sets. In addition, he makes note of a â€Å"positive network externality† that arises through the use of a single set of accounting standards by all constituencies. This will save market participants from requiring additional time and ene rgy of having to learn, apply and understand multiple sets of standards.Other benefits that result from the transition to IFRS will improve comparability between firm’s financial statement for investors and shareholders. Thereby, making investment decision’s easier. According to Leuz and Wysocki (2008), there are direct and indirect costs associated with improving reporting. The direct costs include preparation, validity and circulation of accounting reports. These costs can vary and increase significantly. In addition, firms will require assistance and hire consultants that have expertise in IFRS reporting.These specialists help train key personnel in the organizations so that they are able to produce financial statements that are in accordance to IFRS reporting. The costs tend to be more difficult for smaller companies to finance such activities for disclosures and reports, as their profitability margins are small. Disclosure costs have characteristics of indirect co sts. Whereby a firm can reduce its monopoly power by providing too much detail to the market, as sensitive profitability information is assimilated to its competitors.Other empirical studies have noted that with these costs and cost-benefit trade-offs that firms are undergoing, it may not be suitable for them to obtain high quality reporting. Rather, encourage firms to provide certain disclosures which the cost of disclosing such information does not exceed their benefit. Moreover, it is of importance that the standard setters recognize the net benefits obtained from the high quality reporting and comparability, as they differ across firm industries and countries (Leuz and Wysocki, 2008).It’s relatively evident why most companies would like to switch over to IFRS due to the number of benefits that are associated with the transition as described above. One would automatically presume that a single set of accounting standards that are used universally by most firms within diffe rent countries would deliver comparability, increase reporting transparency, allow for foreign investments, hence increasing market liquidity and low cost of capital. However, there is very little empirical evidence that claim these characteristics as being true after conversion.Having said that, Ball (2006) has noted that IASB has been successful in serving the public by developing comprehensive set of high quality standards that have convinced over 100 countries to adopt these principles for the purposes of financial reporting. There are some advantages of having a single set of accounting standards unified. As such, these standards contain characteristics of a â€Å"public good†, for example, the investor can use this information in an annual report without eliminating its usefulness to other investors. In other words, the marginal cost for another investor viewing these annual reports would be zero.A second advantage of unifying accounting standards and disclosure practic es is to reduce management from using their own judgement in financial reporting, by reducing the risk of altering the reports to mislead capital market participants. Moreover, these uniform standards provide protection for auditors against firms. These standards are to also be enforced by auditors, whereby the firm has very little opportunity to shirk, hence reducing information asymmetry and increasing investors and stakeholder’s confidence of the firm. Lastly, unifying these standards will increase the accounting comparability across firms.If each firm or country were to implement different local accounting standards, this can impose high costs for both the firm and its external users, such as investors as this will create negative externalities and will reduce domestic investments which can impact countries trade volume profitability, where the majority of countries main source of income is driven from. Opponents of IFRS adoption feel that a single set of accounting stand ards do not benefit all firms and countries. These differences in countries arise from cultural, economic, political and legal systems.For example, firms may have to respond to political pressures from the government due to balance sheet volatility, as a result of fair valuing. The IASB should review accounting standards as they are released to eliminate the possibility of political pressures on countries that are exposed to such tight regulation. One of the main reasons why countries and firms around the world adopt IFRS is due to the results achieved from reporting quality and disclosure practices. However, IFRS can occasionally produce ineffective reporting quality and disclosure.For instance, IFRS can lack in setting descriptive details in their guidelines that make it difficult for countries to follow. Some countries find their local GAAP easier to read and understand due to the level of detail and examples provided. These complexities in the rules creates havoc for firms that would like to report in IFRS, but find it challenging to exclusively follow these guidelines outlined by the IASB. As a result, this can lead to poor financial reporting quality. Other countries and firms conclude that fewer rules and guidelines will encourage management to produce effective accounting policies that will rompt them to make appropriate judgement calls. Information asymmetry and agency costs play a significant role in relation to the disclosure and financial reporting quality. The key motivating factor for any firm is, the more disclosure provided will create a positive signal to investors and hence, will reduce the information asymmetry and agency costs. Companies will see increases in investor confidence while earning high profitability levels. Moreover, firms adopting IFRS, chances are that they are subject to fewer opportunities to part take in earnings management or deceive investors.Studies have indicated that countries which have adopted IFRS do not all achieve the same degree of benefit. The study implies to those countries which have a weak structure in place for investor protection, will tend to see the most benefits from adopting of IFRS. In contrary, countries that have a strong structure in place for investor protection will see marginal benefits. The increase in benefits received by a country whether small or large will improve investor protection and provide for more comparable and comprehensive financial reporting.The cost and benefits of a firm converting to IFRS can be substantial depending on how one views it. The benefit driven through the implementation of IFRS will include lower cost of capital, increases firm value and creates a stable level of investors’ confidence. In addition, as discussed above, the benefits will also increase as a result of better financial reporting quality and cross country comparability for foreign investors, auditors and other constituencies. These benefits obtained through adoption of IFRS are not free. The cost of implementing such an accounting standard can cost firms millions.There are various types of costs that are incurred in the different processes a firm undergoes. The transition costs can be significant in relation to auditing fees. The cost of auditing work will increase, due to testing and validating accounting data as most of the assumptions used by firms are judgemental. Other costs involve training key personnel to apply applicable standards in practice. Companies tend to have shortages of staff that have ever been exposed to IFRS accounting, this is more apparent in Canada. As a result, these companies struggle as they need to learn and apply these new standards.Moreover, the cost related to the risk involved of manipulation of accounting standards, as these standards do not provide strict reporting rules for companies to follow, can impose a huge cost on the firm, if the auditor refuses to provide an unqualified opinion on the firm. Overall, the costs are generally higher during the first couple of phases through the transition. In the long run, costs tend to decline as employees are more aware of the standards and a basic foundation has been developed by IFRS consultants and auditors. At the present moment IFRS reporting is widely used by many countries across the globe.Based on the studies gathered above, countries and firms are optimistic about replacing their local GAAP to IFRS accounting standards. By moving towards a universal set of high quality accounting standards this will lead to improving the firm’s performance, by increasing shareholders wealth though investors’ confidence, lower cost of capital hence reducing information asymmetry. In addition, other benefits include comparability across all nations, this will help facilitate in better understanding by investors of accounting information released in public financials.Comparability will result in an increase of auditors understanding in the types of po licies and assumptions companies implement. This will help ensure that companies are not partaking in earnings management. Comparative accounting standards can be most beneficial to analysts. This will enable analysts to predict the firm’s future forecast of cash flows in comparison to the industry average. As mentioned above, the IFRS accounting standards are costly to implement. Studies have made reference to these transition costs as extremely pricy to develop, however, in the long run their costs tend to decline.This may in fact be true, however, for those companies that have incorporated IFRS standards, will continue to see new accounting pronouncements issued by the IASB, as they work to improve their guidelines. As a result, firms will continue to spend in areas of training and seeking professional advice on how these new standards will impact their firm. References 1. Bielstein , 2007. How the IFRS movement will affect financial reporting in the U. S. : Article: KPMG 2. Daske andGebhardt, 2006. Discussion of Daske and Gebhardt, Journal ofAccounting Finance and Business Studies. 3. Lang, Maffet and Owen, 2010. Earnings Movement and Accounting Comparability, the Journal of Accounting Research 4. Leuz and Verrecchia , 2004. Firms Capital Allocation Choices, Information Quality and the Cost of Capital 5. Luez and Wysocki, 2008. Economic Consequences of Financial Reporting and Disclosure Regulation, Journal of Accounting Research 6. Mary E. Barth, 2006. Accounting Quality : International Accounting Standards, The Journal of Accounting Research 7. Ray Ball, 2006.International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): Pros and Cons for Investors, Journal of Accounting Research 8. Soderstorm and Jialin Sun, 2007. IFRS Adoption and Accounting Quality: A review, The Journal of Accounting Research 9. Standsih, 2003. Evaluating National Capacity for Direct Participation in International Accounting Harmonization, Journal of Accounting Research 10. Tang, Wang and Welkor, 2011. Analyst Following and Forecast Accuracy After Mandated IFRS Adoption. Journal of Accounting Research. 11. William R. Scott, Fifth edition , 2009. Financial Accounting Theory

Part One Sunday

6.11 A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred: (a) when a local councillor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or (b) when his notice of resignation is received; or (c) on the day of his death †¦ Charles Arnold-Baker Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition Barry Fairbrother did not want to go out to dinner. He had endured a thumping headache for most of the weekend and was struggling to make a deadline for the local newspaper. However, his wife had been a little stiff and uncommunicative over lunch, and Barry deduced that his anniversary card had not mitigated the crime of shutting himself away in the study all morning. It did not help that he had been writing about Krystal, whom Mary disliked, although she pretended otherwise. ‘Mary, I want to take you out to dinner,' he had lied, to break the frost. ‘Nineteen years, kids! Nineteen years, and your mother's never looked lovelier.' Mary had softened and smiled, so Barry had telephoned the golf club, because it was nearby and they were sure of getting a table. He tried to give his wife pleasure in little ways, because he had come to realize, after nearly two decades together, how often he disappointed her in the big things. It was never intentional. They simply had very different notions of what ought to take up most space in life. Barry and Mary's four children were past the age of needing a babysitter. They were watching television when he said goodbye to them for the last time, and only Declan, the youngest, turned to look at him, and raised his hand in farewell. Barry's headache continued to thump behind his ear as he reversed out of the drive and set off through the pretty little town of Pagford, where they had lived as long as they had been married. They drove down Church Row, the steeply sloping street where the most expensive houses stood in all their Victorian extravagance and solidity, around the corner by the mock-Gothic church, where he had once watched his twin girls perform Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and across the Square, where they had a clear view of the dark skeleton of the ruined abbey that dominated the town's skyline, set high on a hill, melding with the violet sky. All Barry could think of as he twiddled the steering wheel, navigating the familiar turns, were the mistakes he was sure he had made, rushing to finish the article he had just emailed to the Yarvil and District Gazette. Garrulous and engaging in person, he found it difficult to carry his personality onto paper. The golf club lay a mere four minutes away from the Square, a little beyond the point where the town petered out in a final wheeze of old cottages. Barry parked the people-carrier outside the club restaurant, the Birdie, and stood for a moment beside the car, while Mary reapplied her lipstick. The cool evening air was pleasant on his face. As he watched the contours of the golf course disintegrating into the dusk, Barry wondered why he kept up his membership. He was a bad golfer: his swing was erratic and his handicap was high. He had so many other calls on his time. His head throbbed worse than ever. Mary switched off the mirror light and closed the passenger side door. Barry pressed the auto-lock on the key-ring in his hand; his wife's high heels clacked on the tarmac, the car's locking system beeped, and Barry wondered whether his nausea might abate once he had eaten. Then pain such as he had never experienced sliced through his brain like a demolition ball. He barely noticed the smarting of his knees as they smacked onto the cold tarmac; his skull was awash with fire and blood; the agony was excruciating beyond endurance, except that endure it he must, for oblivion was still a minute away. Mary screamed – and kept screaming. Several men came running from the bar. One of them sprinted back inside the building to see whether either of the club's retired doctors was present. A married couple, acquaintances of Barry and Mary's, heard the commotion from the restaurant, abandoned their starters and hurried outside to see what they could do. The husband called 999 on his mobile. The ambulance had to come from the neighbouring city of Yarvil, and it took twenty-five minutes to reach them. By the time the pulsing blue light slid over the scene, Barry was lying motionless and unresponsive on the ground in a pool of his own vomit; Mary was crouching beside him, the knees of her tights ripped, clutching his hand, sobbing and whispering his name.

Counseling Center Analysis - 863 Words

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) oversees a comprehensive, practice-research network, designed to help directors of university and college counseling centers (UCC) monitor clinical trends, enhance treatment effectiveness, and advocate for additional resources (McAleavey, Castonguay, Hayes, Locke, 2014). Through this initiative, standardized measures are used to collect data from UCCs across the United States. One of these, the Counseling Center Assessment for Psychological Symptoms - 34 (CCAPS-34; Locke et al, 2012), was constructed as a brief multidimensional outcome measure, assessing seven clinical subscales including depression, eating concerns, alcohol abuse, generalized anxiety, hostility, social anxiety, and academic†¦show more content†¦More recently, ML methods have also been extended to research applications involving structural equation modeling (Little, 2013), single case research designs (Rindskopf Ferron, 2014), and meta-analysis (Feingold, 2017 ). Also, within a measurement context, psychometric researchers have introduced several strategies for reformulating both Rasch and item response theory (IRT) models to account for clustered data (Rijmen, Tuerlinckx, de Boeck, Kuppens, 2003; Gorter, Fox, Twisk, 2015; Barbieri, Peyhardi, Conroy, Gourgou, Lavergne, Mollevi, 2016; Blanchin, Hardouin, Neel, Kubis, Blanchard, Mirallià ©, Sà ©bille, 2015). From these developments and expanded access to user-friendly software, ML techniques are becoming more common in UCC research to help investigators study complex questions such as college student suicide (Drum, Brownson, Denmark, Smith, 2009), therapeutic outcomes between white counselors and racial/ethnic minority clients (Hayes, McAleavey, Castonguay, and Locke, 2016), therapist effects on premature termination (Xiao, Castonguay, Janis, Youn,, Hayes,, Locke, 2017; Xiao, Hayes, Castonguay, McAleavey, Locke, 2017), and the effects of prior counseling on future outcomes (Boswell, McAleavey, Castonguay, Hayes, Locke, 2012). However, for researchers studying the mechanisms of change in psychotherapy, it is important to understand the advantages of ML models over conventional statistical tests such as ANOVA, t -Show MoreRelatedDetermining Based Outcome Measure For Selecting The Gas Instrument1551 Words   |  7 Pagesbetter serve clients in the counseling field, accountability in the form of evidence-based outcome measures has become an important component within the profession. Erford (2014) states that counselors must offer research based interventions that are empirically sound and has the ability to produce desired outcomes in their clients. In an effort to determine an appropriate evidence-based outcome measure, I went to Capella’s library and entered â€Å"mental health counseling† and â€Å"outcome measure† as searchRead MoreThe Backbone Of The Health Care System1427 Words   |  6 PagesCalifornia. 2. Antioch University Counseling Center http://www.antiochla.edu/campus-life/au-counseling-center/ The Antioch University Counseling Center is run by Antioch University Los Angeles. The Antioch University Counseling Center is staffed by authorized Marriage and Family (MFT) therapists and clinicians. AUCC offers counseling services to the communities of West Los Angeles, Venice, Marina del Rey, and Culver City. The Antioch University Counseling Center gives psychotherapy administrationsRead MoreAssessment And Problem Formulation Of Fice Of Student Life At The Ohio State University1627 Words   |  7 PagesAssessment and Problem Formulation Our practice context is the counseling and consultation service of the Office of Student Life at the Ohio State University. We provide a variety of counseling to students such as individual, group, psychiatry, nutritional counseling, couple’s counseling, etc. We provide workshops, crisis debriefing, and community referral. The counseling and consultation service wants to help students with stress management, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, transitionsRead MoreTherapeutic Detention Program Research Paper705 Words   |  3 Pagesand cost of the Therapeutic Detention Center for Juveniles program it will be necessary to conduct a mixed methods research approach that includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Fifty percent of juveniles who have been ordered by the court to this program will be randomly selected to be enrolled into a 5-year study. Juveniles diagnosed with a mental illness based off DSM-5 criteria who have been court ordered to the Therapeutic Detention Center will be eligible for the study. ConsentRead MoreRole of Cognition in Counseling1589 Words   |  7 PagesROLE OF COGNITION IN COUNSELING TABLE OF CONTENT. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Cognitive therapy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Characteristics of cognitive-behavioral therapy†¦.5 Virtual Reality Therapy...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Rational Emotive Therapy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Transactional ANALYSIS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...8 conlusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 reference†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 Role of cognition in counseling Introduction CognitiveRead MoreA Market Plan for People with Disabilities828 Words   |  3 PagesSituation Analysis Over the past years career centers have matched people with jobs to synchronize their career plans with their disabilities. The career center will consist of self-appraisal, career information, career counseling services, career training facilities, and career placement follow up services. The center will reach this by setting in motion of cyclical process of planning, development, implementation, and improvement. With the help of the center the disabled will be able to reachRead MoreHistory of Counseling Essay1131 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ History of Counseling Lead to Multidisciplinary Teams COUN5004 Survey of Research in Human Development for Professional Counselors History of Counseling Leading to Multidisciplinary Teams Counseling is a relatively new profession which has transformed over time from treating mental illnesses to providing educational guidance to counseling with a variety of specializations. Pistole summarizes by stating that counselors, now, aim to, â€Å"contribute to the vitality and vigor andRead MoreUsing A Group Counseling Scale And Related Model For The Articles1049 Words   |  5 Pagesto me that is one of the classification when looking at categorizing the research; therefore each of this articles would qualify as qualitative. Improving the Use of a Group Counseling Scale and Related Model To Teach Theory and Skills Integration: Zimmick, Smaby and Maddux (2000); study tested the Skilled Group Counseling Training Model (SGCTM). Results uncover that understudies in a gathering advising class who were prepared in the model utilized no less than 80% of the SGCTM abilities amid threeRead MoreEffective Methods to Reduce the Spread of HIV1488 Words   |  6 PagesCambodian provinces. The awareness programs were associated with the government and non-profit organizations. Another effective method for prevention and control is through Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT). In the process of learning individual HIV status, the VCT approach incorporates the pretest and posttest counseling and gives critical prevention measures and messages (Department of Planning and Health Information, 2003). Cambodia is a nation of 13.4 million individuals with 80% of the populationRead MoreSocial Support Groups Can Benefit People Suffering Diseases 1265 Words   |  5 Pagessupport groups, it is correct to say that social support parties are doing great in the society. In other dimensions, social support could be in form guidance and counseling in matters such as rape, early pregnancies, Female genital mutilation campaigns and many other mostly social evils affecting our communities today. In this analysis focuses on the role and effectiveness of social support parties in our communities today. (Jeong, 2011) To begin with, Social support groups provide patients with