bchs football :: essays research papers

     In 1957, many important events occured. Possibly the most important was, the launching of Sputnik 1, the first satellite sent into space, on October 4, 1957 by the terra firma of Russia. This event left many Americans shocked and surprised, that it was possible to send something into space successfully. Four months after the launch of Sputnik 1, America launches Explorer 1 the first U.S. satellite, this sparked the commence of the space race. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock, Ak, to ensure the integration of Central High School. He also signs the Eisenhower Doctrine, promising that the United States would resist either Communist aggression in the Middle East.      This year is also the year the frisbee and the hula hoop are introduced. The Boeing 707 passenger jet makes itsinnaugural flight this year as well. In Disneyland, the "House of Tomorrow" opened its doors to the public.   & nbsp In the music industry Rock & Roll as well as Doo Wop, made their statements to the world. social disease became the king of Rock & Roll after releasing two hit stars Jailhouse Rock and All Shook Up. Buddy Holly and the Crickets released their single Thatll Be The Day. Other career musicians who made their mark during this year include Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, The Everly Brothers, and Sam Cooke. American Bandstand goes coast to coast on August 5, 1957, after being a local Philadelphia show since 1952.      In 57 Elvis made another big impression on the country as well with his music, this was the year his first movie opened it was called Love Me Tender. The same year a twenty-two year old unknown Michael Landon has the starring role in the B-movie I Was A Teenage Werewolf.     As all this stuff was going on in the world, Coach Don Wilson of Bolivar, Tn was getting ready for a new season of good old highschool

Crusades :: essays research papers

Later Crusades Essay.After the first Christian Crusade that begun in 1095 there were eight separate presss that gener wholey aimed towards the area of Sirya and Palestne that lasted untill the 1270s. Yet after much humiliation and the repeated defeat of the Crusaders in the Lavant, most of the Eropean powers understood the fact that the Holy Land was unnatainable. virtually the crusading efforts were aimed at the enemies of Catholics such as the Turkish invaders who sought to destroy Christianity and the doctrinal heretics in Bohemia. Two such crusades are The Crusade agains the Ottoman turks which started around the middle 14th century and the crusade agains the Hussite heretics which started in 1420. To further understand the similarities and differences between these two crusades perhaps it would be best to associate them to our definition of a crusade and see how they compare and differ from each other as well as compare them to the first crusade. The reason I chose to anali ze particularly these two crusades is because they come upon into the same time frame, have different objectives and perhaps hinder the each others succes.After the defeat of the Seljuk Turks by the Mongols in 1243 a Ghazi prince by the name of Ertugrul had assimilated a small state by his death in 1280. This state, later discoverd by his son Osman had spread its rule over a large area in north-west Asia Minor, as far as the Agean and the Black sea. This was the beginning of the Ottoman Turks as well as the beginning of their wide spread conquest of the region due to their state being well governed as well as having a disciplined army. By 1331 the Ottoman Turks have taken Nicaea and Uskudar (across the Bosporus from Constantinople) and by 1389 had singificant dominance over the Balkans. In 1370 the new Catholic pope, Gregory XI was already raising the threat of the Ottomans to the European lords. Yet a major unity of European powers were wrecked by the self-interest of each countr y and its benefit. For example the German princes did not want to have a major crusade for the fear of rising imperial authority. During this time every ruler in Europe acknowledged the request for a crusade, as the only practicable means of pooling the resources required to combat this massive and hostile power but in practice nearly all of them blocked its organization .

Essay --

Hannah Ricks Ricks, 1Mrs. Miller English 1211 November 2013 genus Rosa position How important atomic number 18 rights and equality? How many would walk 20 miles a day in rain or snow just to get the point across that peck segregation, among other forms of segregation are unjust or how many would be willing to give up their lives, jobs, protection for their families, homes, friends and others for change that is deserved? Rosa Louise McCauley park among many other civil right activists did just that. Rosa went through many struggles and trials in her life for the fight for freedom. She was an amazing example to all people, not just African Americans. Even though she wasnt well educated she still made a huge impact in golf club. By Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus, she changed society in many ways she gave hope to those races that wanted change and equal rights for themselves. Rosa got her high shallow diploma at age twenty thanks to encouragement of her husband Raymond she dropped out in eleventh grade to take care of her mother and grandma. As children the black students had to walk to their school, which was often inadequate man the whites had school buses that took them to their brand new school. As long as she could remember, there was a black adult male and a white world, the bus was among the first ways she realized it. Parks recalled a time when the Ku Klux Klan marched down the street in front of their house while her grandfather guarded the front door with a shotgun, she could not ignore the racism of her society. Ricks, 2Rosa suffered many things in her life but some... ...t to perform this goalPresident Barack Obama unveiled a statue honoring Parks in the nations Capital building. He remembered Parks, according to The New York Times, by reflection In a single moment, wi th the simplest of gestures, she helped change America and change the world. . . . And today, she takes her rightful place among those who shaped this nations course. Rosa Parks helped shape society into what it is today. Not all racism is gone but she made a huge impact, and tried her best to for equal rights to the oppressed. She gave so much in assemble for blacks to have a little bit of freedom. It took quite a while to make an impact but it had to start somewhere, and that somewhere was in the heart of Rosa Parks, it was on that bus when she decided she had had enough, it was in all the Negros that joined in a gave their lives for equality and civil rights.

Essay on Achilles as the Hero of Homer’s Iliad -- Iliad essays

Achilles as the Hero of homing pigeons Iliad When Homer lived, the stature of a hero was measured by the yardstick of fighting ability. In Homers Iliad, the character of Achilles represents the epitome of the Greek heroic code. Only Achilles fights for pure heroics, while the characters of Diomedes and push around provide unassailable contrasts. Prowess on the trothfield was ranked supreme, high above any considerations of morality(Martin 26). Nestor, for example, tells Agamemnon and Achilles that he has known much better custody than them meaning men who are better at fighting. Achilles refuses Lycaon clemency because Patroclus. who is dead. was a much better man than he is by far i.e. a much better fighter. Achilles urges Hector to show his worth and fight like a man worth means simply ability to fight. By this criterion Achilles ranks second to none. He is an vastly talented fighter and he considers himself a prince among men. It is a reflection of his ability that the ac tion speeds up rapidly on his return to the battle later on Book 16 and Patroclus death. Two thirds of the epic arc slow and tedious on Achilles return the last third is fast and moves most speedily. Achilles unstoppable battle madness surpasses without doubt that of the other heroes in the lliad. He is brave, vicious and powerful. He splits the Trojans and drives them back without difficulty at all. Moreover, his bravery is not restricted to humans. He is wrothful with Apollo for deceiving him and his battle with the river god Xanthus ends in more success than Diomedes attempts against the gods in Book 5 (although he admittedly has much divine support). The heroic code was recognize as a desire to excel. For the heroes excellent was ... ...Finkelberg, Margalit. Odysseus and the genus hero . Greece and Rome v. 42 (Apr. 95) p. 1-14. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York Orion Press, 1962. Homer Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York Penguin Books, 1990. Martin, Richard. The lyric of Heroes Speech and Performance in the Iliad. Ithaca Cornell University Press, 1989. Parry, Adam M. The Language of Achilles and Other Papers. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1989. Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero An Introduction to Homers Iliad. Berkeley University of California Press, 1984. Shive, David M. Naming Achilles. New York Oxford University Press, 1987. Van Nortwick, Thomas. Somewhere I have travelled the heros journey. New York Oxford University Press, 1996. Whitman, Cedric H. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press, 1958.

Recent Studies Concerning Violent Tendencies and the Confusion that Arises :: Violence Murder Papers

Recent Studies Concerning Violent Tendencies and the Confusion that Arises It was an urge. . . . . A strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and assassinate people-risks that normally, according to my little rules of operation, I wouldnt take because they could lead to arrest. -Edmund Kemper (6) Ted Bundy. Charles Manson. Timothy McVeigh. Bundy murdered pretty women. Manson had followers who killed on his command. McVeigh is responsible for one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks on America, the Oklahoma State bombing. While these three serial killers had different methods for their acts, the one thing they have in common is that they are killers. Murderers who took a number of straightforward lives. Perhaps to non the same extent, but sadly enough the world is full of Charles Mansons and Ted Bundys. Violence has become a common and prevalent occurrence in society today. Everyday on the news one hears sto ries of annoyances-murder, robbery, rape, assault, extortion, kidnapping, homicide, an endless list. Law enforcement works day and night protecting neighborhoods and cities from crimes and violence, but the truth of the matter is that crime still exists and all one can do is ask himself why. Why do such treacherous violent acts exist in society? In essence, one must ask himself whether or not these violent tendencies have any biological relation whatsoever. Do violent tendencies occur as an alter of disruptions or damage to the brain? Is there a genetic correlation? Is violence brought about by some other factor, such as stinting difficulties or social or cultural differences? All these questions remain unanswered. But one even significant, broader question that one must consider is whether or not these factors, biologically related and non, effect the occurrence of violent tendencies in individuals. In 1848, a railroad worker, Phineas Gage, was working when an explosion caus ed an iron rod to impale his skull, electronegative the front part of his brain. Although Gage miraculously survived, his behavior severely changed in that the intelligent and respectful man everyone knew suddenly because fitful, impulsive, and rude (2). This is one of the first date cases insinuating that violence may be related to some kind of damage or abnormality in the brain.

Recent Studies Concerning Violent Tendencies and the Confusion that Arises :: Violence Murder Papers

Recent Studies Concerning Violent Tendencies and the Confusion that Arises It was an urge. . . . . A strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and kill people-risks that normally, according to my little rules of operation, I wouldnt take because they could lead to arrest. -Edmund Kemper (6) Ted Bundy. Charles Manson. Timothy McVeigh. Bundy murdered graceful women. Manson had followers who killed on his command. McVeigh is responsible for i of the most horrendous terrorist attacks on America, the Oklahoma State bombing. While these three serial killers had different methods for their acts, the one social function they have in common is that they are killers. Murderers who took a number of innocent lives. Perhaps to not the same extent, but sadly enough the world is across-the-board of Charles Mansons and Ted Bundys. Violence has become a common and prevalent occurrence in society today. Everyday on the news one hears stories of crimes-murder, robbery, rape, assault, extortion, kidnapping, homicide, an endless list. Law enforcement whole kit and boodle day and night protecting neighborhoods and cities from crimes and force-out, but the truth of the matter is that crime still exists and all one can do is ask himself why. Why do such treacherous violent acts exist in society? In essence, one must ask himself whether or not these violent tendencies have each biological relation whatsoever. Do violent tendencies occur as an affect of disruptions or damage to the brain? Is there a genetic correlation? Is violence brought about by some other factor, such as economic difficulties or social or cultural differences? All these questions remain unanswered. But one even significant, broader question that one must consider is whether or not these factors, biologically related and non, effect the occurrence of violent tendencies in individuals. In 1848, a railroad worker, Phineas Gage, was working when an explosion caused an iron rod to impale his skull, damaging the front part of his brain. Although Gage miraculously survived, his behavior severely changed in that the apt and respectful man everyone knew suddenly because fitful, impulsive, and rude (2). This is one of the first dated cases insinuating that violence may be related to some kind of damage or abnormality in the brain.

Janet Fitch Essay

Over the years, Janet foumart has enjoyed wider and more diverse audience. Her works were appreciated by critics, regular readers and even by celebrities. ane of the popular followers of Janet Fitch is the celebrity television show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey who fell in love with Janet Fitchs works especially White Oleander, a story which, according to Oprah herself, is something that moved her (Oprah Talks to Janet Fitch 2).But the power of Fitchs works is appreciated even by ordinary individuals. One of the very good examples illustrating this fact is the numerous comments among readers and prospective readers found in the Amazon. com section for Paint It sour. The readers/bloggers as come up pointed to the fact that the stories depict a certain mellowed degree of realism in comparison of real lifespan and the story.It was enveloped in a wide range of emotions (Hughes 4), a feel of closeness to real life that others describe as stories told by characters, the st ory and the characters both ring with authenticity (West 2) While other critics believe that the talent of Fitch involves the creation of characters which possess unmistakable and believable characteristics typical of an ordinary human individual (Ginsberg 4). Janet Fitchs works is considered as praiseworthy and notable by many critics.One of the reasons why this is the effect is because of how Janet Fitchs works transcend the literary realm and impact real life. The lessons and realizations derived from her works argon constructed in a design that maximizes and optimizes the mogul of the works to touch the senses of the readers through Fitchs discussion of life, final stage and finding lifes paths (not before losing the sense of direction first) in her works, particularly in the White Oleander and Paint It slow.An essential approach that Janet Fitch takes in tackling the issues of real human life, that makes her works and stories appreciated by the readers and touches the emot ions of the readers, is her use of contemporary setting (or close to contemporary setting) and tackling about issues that almost every individual is vulnerable to suffer or is constantly suffering. The readers are more attached to the stories that Fitch paint.There are many cases that the aspect of life as tackled by Fitch through her character are issues that are seldom addressed by society and issues that many individuals are easily vulnerable to, wrapping it up around a very emotional life not just for the shoplifter but also exposing the depth of the serious emotional vein found in other major and minor casts in her stories. For example, the White Oleander is a work that breaks off from the traditional feel good reading that gives readers an escape.Through the White Oleander, Fitch does not provide escape from reality as tabby tales do, but instead, remind the readers of the social problems and real life as reflected in White Oleander and its characters, a story described by L aura Miller as something that is no fairytale (Miller 1). The impact of the stories Janet Fitch wrote is centered largely on realizations which readers often can relate to, particularly during the realizations happening in the end or close to the end of the story.It is an aspect of Janet Fitchs writing style and design which is considered by some readers as matchless of Fitchs strengths as an effective writer (West 1). One of the prevailing realizations about life is how the characters eventually end up getting enough courage to face the past and the present. This was the case of Astrid in White Oleander and the case of Josie in Paint It dark-skinned (Hughes 3). But the lessons and realizations is not just facilitated by the aspects of life, of being alive and living. The instances of death also often touch a raw nerve among the readers who are affected by the works.Death, especially the death of someone special or important to ones life, is something that everyone experienced or will soon experience. Fitch has effectively painted the emotions engulfing the person during the time of death, like the anguish Astrid felt after(prenominal) the death of Claire Richards in White Oleander. Depiction of death-related emotions in Paint It Black involving the suicide of Michael and the impact it has on the state of emotional and mental stability of Josie immediately after the tragedy. It is an analogy of powerful emotions including anger and dislocation something considered as beautifully described by Fitch (Campbell 3).There are also other subplots and aspects of the stories Fitch creates that are constantly present like drug addiction and sex, issues that face many individuals today. It can be one of the linchpins that allows readers to relate to the story and to the main characters, like Astrid in White Oleander and Josie in Paint it Black, who tried to cope with emotional problems through alcohol and drugs (Boulter 1). It is the same predicament of Astrid and th e same predicament of many individuals in todays life.The greatest source of emotional impact that readers can easily detect and relate to is the presence of significant mother-daughter relations as well as problems (Oktay 256) and the strong role of family in the stories written by Fitch, and with focus as well to the narcissistic tendencies of mothers both in White Oleander and in Paint it Black (Valby 1). It was revealed in the musings of the lead characters like when Astrid noted how her mother was not herself in the time of the Santa Anas (Fitch 1), noting the central role of the mother in the daughters life, not just in White Oleander but also in Paint It Black.In White Oleander, the struggle of Astrid in her emotionally unstable relationship with her mother Ingrid, who she still loved in the end, despite how Ingrid treated her when she was young, provides many instances that many mother-daughter relationships experience. Astrids journey around several(prenominal) foster home s and the perpetual need to be loved, accepted and taken care of is also a perennial emotional issue many individuals struggle with openly or in their own private recluse. A more distorted or more complex mother-daughter relationship is found in Paint It Black (Campbell 4).In these two stories, several roles of the mother and the daughter and several different situations allow readers to pick points wherein they can relate to, allowing Fitchs fanbase to grow because of this sense of attachment to the characters/story/predicament presented in Fitchs works. In a way, it makes Fitch a catalyst or even a carry on for individuals to find someone (even fictional) that they can relate to and share similar experiences with, in the hope that the later realizations can assist the readers towards certain realizations and closures in their own face-to-face lives and in their own in the flesh(predicate) struggles, challenges and problems.There is no doubt that in the analysis of what critics, observers, analysts and even the ordinary individual reader, Janet Fitch is a writer in a higher place average. This is because of what she wrote, how she wrote it, how she developed characters, and how these characters and stories have the power to influence the emotions of the readers as it reflected real life, real death-related issues and the process and journey towards self discovery and the unfolding of the path for the individual despite what the characters have undergone in the story, despite Josie couldnt settle anywhere (Fitch 8). It is, in its own way, inspiring the readers and empowering them towards inward personal values that can make them wear individuals and cope better with their own personal challenges like how the characters of Fitch did in the stories, doing in a manner considered as masterful storytelling. Boulter describes Paint It Black as well written (Boutler 4). Ginsberg believed that Fitch was able to make an indelible literary mark because of her opus White Oleander (Gindsberg 1).Farr discussed in the book about the personal connections the reader has on the different aspects of White Oleander like story and characters and how these affected them and how they reacted to it (Farr 105). Works Cited Boulter, Maryann. Paint It Black Janet Fitch. Nightsandweekends. com. 2006. 16 May 2009 . Campbell, Karen. Paint It Black is a compelling tale of suicide, memory, and perception. Boston Globe. Globe Newspaper Company. 18 September 2006. 16 May 2009 . De Turenne, Veronique. White Oleander Author Returns with Paint It Black. NPR. 4 October 2006. 16 May 2009

Induction Theory Essay

Karl popper made his contribution on the induction theory in Vienna during the period of Logical Positivism despite the fact that he was not a Positivist. Before Poppers contribution, Hume, another philosopher had already critised the theory of induction saying that the theory could not provide rational support for their terminus (Karl, Raimund P. , 2002). His argument was based on assumption that induction assumes un find events which follow the pattern of observed events and ultimately it could not be logic e real(prenominal)y justified whether it was allowable or in-deductible(Nelson, 1992).Hume justified that the theory of induction does not hold since its not logically true (Marc, 2000). Later Karl Popper supported Humes opinion on induction theory by fact that it could not give amicable solution but disagreed with Humes suggestion that science yield no experience of the nature of the world. On Poppers side, he strongly felt that induction theory can be replaced by the princi ple of supposal and refutation. On the experiment of conjecture, its not manageable to give positive inductive reasons for thinking that they argon true while we can give justification of thinking that they ar false.To experiment this scenario we feature Poppers deductive method of conjecture and refutation principle together with induction principle to test scientific hypothesis. We can determine the anticipate results if the hypothesis is true, we can say the hypothesis is inductively confirmed if our observation agrees with our expectation while using induction theory. Such criteria of reasoning is not deductively correct, hence as an inductive argument, it faces the problem of induction. It therefore provides a convectional justification that H is true. And, given this and the truth of the first premise, 0 would follow.But 0contradicts not 0which is asseverate by second premise. From the hypothesis we can conclude that its not possible for premises to be true and conclusio n be false. Poppers method of conjecture and refutation provide us with the global knowledge to avoid the problem of induction. Karl Popper also asserted that there is no rational method that can be utilize to evaluate scientists justification about the hypothesis, further, there is no sufficient and appropriate evidence that can inductively confirm the hypothesis, that it can give us a positive reason to think that our hypothesis are true.Popper Karl contributed too in improving the meaning theory by providing an alternative solution to prescribed verification which sorted out the demarcation issues (Nelson, 1992). Before the invention of Positivist verification there was a major problem in differeciating legitimate scientific inquiry from aspects such as religion and pseudo science. His methodology of conjecture and refutation still provides another basis for finding science from non science since it enables us to take a hypothesis to be scientifically investigated if and only its falsifiable (Karl, Raimund P. 2002).For a hypothesis to be false we only highlight any likeliness observable thoughtfulnesss under which one can judge to ascertain to be false. To justify that it is false that all crows are black, we must state round true-to-life(prenominal) observable situations. By so doing we can categorically be certain that it is surely false, in case we observed a white crow. So, the assertion that all crows are black can be scientifically investigated. Also for a claim that opium makes sleep since it has normative virtue.This is a pseudo-scientific explanation since its not possible to state any observation for us to ascertain it is false. It will not be realistic and permissible to assume for instance, that the total population in Texas is 50 people (in millions) while in actual sense its 45 million people. The presumption would only be having some detail of truth which could be realistically correct to around 0. 9 percentage of the total population which can be inherited with questionable justice. If for instance to say that Jack is borderline statuesque so that Jack is tall is assigned the value 0. , then there could be a necessarily falsehood that Jack is tall but not very tall to get a value of 0. 5.The most definite disadvantage for relying on such logistics is that they do not dispense with any tangy transition for they only accommodate very gradual heap to non heap at the very expense of exposing a sharp transition from heap to borderline, and from dog-iron line to non-heap (Catherine, 1997). This can be illustrated by the problem of higher-order vagueness as below Its shows from the above scenario that we avoid assigning more precise numerical figures as degree of truth since such assignment will not have any substance either (Karl, Raimund P. , 2002). This is because true statements ought to be somehow differeciated from true statements or to daintiness them as neither true nor false, and categorize them as those which could become true or false (Marc, 2000). Goodman was for the idea that no answers which neither nor justifies limitations of induction. This is because we can satisfactorily distinguish among deductive and in-deductive.This is what made Goodman make tremendous efforts towards formulating canons off inductive interference which had to emphasize on Emerald1 is green and Emerald 2 is green. Goodmans refreshing riddle approach on induction indicates that this is a false step since not all instances are confirmed by their instances. This pioneered the invention of the predicate gruewhich is delimit as an object is grue only and if only the object is (1) green, and has been observed in front now,or (2),blue, and has been observed before.Such definition gives a clear definition by the condition on when the expression grue applies to an object, nevertheless it creates a problem when used inductive argument. If experiment 2000 green emeralds it provides sufficient evidence of beli eving that both the next emerald to be experimented will definite be green after observation, and that it will be blue, but this is absurd, to this assumption will worsen the scenario because inductive theory has weakness with the word grue and possibly with inductive arguments involving greenGrue, if in the first instance presumed to be illicit for it makes reference to a particular time and its defined by the outcome color of an observation if observed at the moment. This makes it appear to be artificial while in actual sense it natural which makes its use an illegitimate inductive arguments. By defining grue in of two more other predicates that is green and blue which are not very simple and elaborative makes it unusual.Goodman has also highlighted that differences between properties of being grue and green which is dependent for them to be restricted to properties. In analyzing evaluation techniques in Goodmans New Riddle of induction he ascertained that the blunt techniques a re most likely to attain the goal of reliably arriving at the most right answer, while the most skeptical technique does not at all mean that in skeptic there is violation of canon of rationality or may be false to recognize nature uniformity.The metaphysical learning analysis wholly concedes to be skeptic regardless the many ravens observed in the past, the next one could be white(Catherine, 1997). The rationality of this is that if all observed ravens are generally black, the skeptic doesnt answer the question that all ravens will be black.In generalization of emeralds where green and blue colors were used Nelson puzzled about new riddle induction by performing the following experiment supposing that all the examined emeralds before a particular time y are green, our evidence statements indicates that emerald n is green and so onexamining another spices which is less familiar than green it is the predicate blue and this could mean that it applies to all items which were examined before y just incase they were green but to other things just incase they are blue.In such scenario the challenge is to we should conjecture that all emeralds are green rather than that all emeralds are grue when we obtain a sample of green emeralds examined before. We can still analyze induction theory in making projections, for instance a natural projection rule which conjectures that all emeralds are green as long as only green emeralds are found, and grue, some rule which keeps projecting the next grue predicate consistency with available evidence (Peter, 2003).The theory of meaning from philosophers analysis has been difficult to come up with a very clear definition of meaning theory this has been generally because meaning can only be specified by its wording and syntax. This is because only words or marks put on a paper can generate a meaning. Sentence is a composition of prepositions which indicate satisfactory conditions to make each sentence correct. Aspects such as beliefs , hopes and intention which explain speakers nervous system are found in the context of language.

Is Banning Books Constitutional? Essay

The Catcher in the Rye. The Scarlet Letter. Huckleberry Finn. Harry Potter. The Diary of Anne Frank. animal Farm. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Da Vinci Code. The Grapes of Wrath. These literary classics bear been vital to the education of many, especially children and adolescents (Banned Books). These great novels both teach important values and educate children close human being affairs and classic themes. Unfortunately, each of these novels has been banned at one point in time. In a country where isolateddom is so adamantly advocated, it is a wonder that an issue like censorship would even come up, that such a controversy would sink its claws into the minds of states boards of education across the nation. Censorship is a needless restriction placed on developing minds that need the morals and values that banned books can give. Many of these classic stories devour been banned because of familiar references, racial slurs, religious intolerance, or supposed witchcraft promotion.A lthough some may consider these books controversial or inappropriate, many English classes have required their students to bring these books (About banned). It should be believed that even controversial books could ultimately boost, not deter, our educational wealth. Book banning should be opposed for three main reasons education should be impolite to bothone, citizens should have access to the press, and, lastly, parents should monitor what their own children involve and not what other children can obtain. For these reasons, I conclude that the government should play no role in what books any age group can obtain. At first glance, the debate over banning books appears unimportant. Nevertheless, this debate has divided our nation into those who favor censoring books to cherish their impressionable adolescents, and those who argue that education should be open for everybody without interference from the government in restricting the publishing and accessing of these books.The aut hor, Micah Issitt, argues that censoring books violates the First Amendment, stating, Citizens must be free to seek out any media, regardless of content, that they deem appropriate for entertainment, information, or education. (Kelly) All citizens should have the choice to read whatever they want, but should not have the mighty to dictate what others may read. If a person considers a book inappropriate or offensive, then he or she does not have to read it, but to someone else, that same book may be exactly what he or she needs to move beyond ignorance and into the world of the informed and educated. By beingness exposed to new ideas and information through reading and various styles of expression, young adults have the opportunity to learn tolerance, acceptance and respect for others. He or she learns to form his or her own opinion and learns how to understand the world a little more.In a country such as the United States, it is the right of the pile to respectfully share their v iews through the spoken or written. It is also the right of the people to listen and ac experience such views. It is not only illegal to oppose certain books and prevent children and young adults from reading them, but it can be construed as unconstitutional. If anyone had the right to challenge inappropriate books, it would be the parents of the susceptible children being protected. Parents are the only adults responsible for what kinds of book their children digest. Only they can know what may be suitable and what their children can handle. Even though not every book will be right for every reader, the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely are core American values, states Barbara Jones, director of the American depository library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom. Protecting one of our most fundamental rights- the freedom to read- means respecting each others differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves, what they and their famil ies read.So, how is it that boards of education are the ones making decisions on books? Which ones should be censored? What right do they have to do so? The boards are not the ones who should be held accountable for what books children and adolescents absorb this is primarily the responsibility of parents. Many conservative groups make the argument that the books that have been banned have material that is inappropriate, immoral or contradicting the beliefs they have ingrained in their children and/or their society. Book-banning cases usually concern the protection of children and their innocence, but all that is happening is sheltering parents trying to avoid an awkward confrontation with their child intimately uncomfortable matters. It is not only selfish, but also harmful to the overall education of their children.The touchy subjects of banned books contain issues that are part of everyday life, and for a group to attempt to censor this subject from younger society is almost abs urd these issues are not monstrous and the censorship of them not only shows damage but lack of respect. Others would say that it is the governments duty to regulate these books. It is the exact opposite of the governments role- the private lives of U.S. citizens and the books they read should be adjust and controlled at his or her own digression. (Banned books) Topics that seem socially outlawed in public have been banned because their immoral content may have a negative affect on younger children. In these books, authors do not promote or encourage bad behaviors they prepare their readers for some of the real worlds challenges.Even though these books center around scary topics, they are educating children on real-life matters that they will be exposed to once they venture into the world themselves. With the knowledge that some of these books have to offer, children can learn how not to act and what can be the consequences if they do misbehave. Banning books not only hinders a ch ilds educational development but also leaves them unaware of the true state of the world. This learning experience could be a turn-around with the help of a parent and nous a positive affect on to the child. Books do not simply impart general information they heavily influence a child, the future generation.Without uninterrupted access to books, both adults and children could not form sound opinions, only narrow-minded ones. Both advocates and opposers of book banning agree, Books are powerful instruments. (Kelly) Any person should lie free to select his or her reading material. This personal issue of selecting reading material has no relation to the government. On the contrary, government and school board achieve interferes with the individual education, a primary American value. Ultimately, children can learn personal responsibility in determining which books to regard and which to discard. In the future, these children will become well-read adults who can benefit the America n society.Banned Books and CensorshipA Closer Look at Book Banning. BooksAtoZ. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. .Kelly, Melissa. Censorship and Book Banning in America. About.com. New York Times, n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. .About Banned & Challenged Books. American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. .Banned and Challenged Classics. American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 19 Jul 2012. .

Glory Field Essay

Courage in The Glory Field by John C. Wipler The Glory Field, by Walter Dean Myers, is a story about an African American family, the Lewis family, through different generations. All the main characters in the book make important decisions that change their lives forever. There are many examples of bravery in the book, but three character stand out. Lizzy, Luvenia, and Tommy all show acts of braveness. Lizzy, a slave working on a plantation in 1864, showed courage when she makes decisions that could be her life. First, she showed courage when Lem, another slave, has been bound to the tree in the middle of a field as punishment by Mr.Joe Haynes, the plantation overseer. She supports Lem by carry him water. This was courageous because Lizzy knew if she was caught, she would be tortured as Mr. Joe Haynes was doing to Lem. Unfortunately, she was caught and was whipped until Joshua, another slave, tackled Mr. Joe Haynes to save her. All of them knew that if they did not run outside from the Glory Field, they would be killed. Go on, girl, before you prisonbreak everybodys heart. a voice from the darkness said Dont turn back (a lady said). Lizzy stopped, looked down, took a deep breath, and continued (to walk away from the plantation). Once again, Lizzy has shown courage by leaving The Glory Field even though it was the only home she had ever k right awayn. Luvenia, a descendant of the Lewis family, living in Chicago in 1930, showed courage when she chose independence over taking the easy route. Luvenia chooses to stay in Chicago instead of acquittance with her father to the Glory Field, which now is owned by their relatives. She knew she would have to support herself in Chicago but, to her, going to the Glory Field for work would feel like returning to slavery.Luvenia decides to make capital in Chicago by doing hair. Mr. Etta, Luvenia took a deep breath. Is there any place around here where I could do hair? You mean you going to try to make it on your own? Mr s. Etta asked I think I can do it, Miss Etta. I know I can Luvenia showcases her courage when she stays in Chicago alone instead of being safe and going with her father to The Glory Field. Tommya boy living in Johnson City, siemens Carolina in January, 1964had an extreme amount of courage when he handcuffed himself to the sheriff.

Communicating With and About People with Disabilities Essay

1. The lucre etiquette consists of about rules, which are important to adhere to, when you are in the network. There are several rules, which I comply with, when I am communicating in chats, discussing something in forums or exchanging letters. The first rule is that the relation with the jobber in the virtual world has to be like the one in the real world. The second rule is not to abuse your power. In my opinion, these rules are especially important, because they encourage Internet users to be polite in the virtual space.The first rule is very important due to the fact that it perpetually reminds you that in cyberspace you have to behave yourself as if you were speaking to a man or woman face to face. In my opinion, compliance with this rule helps you to observe other rules of network etiquette. The second rule reminds the Internet users to keep their advantages to themselves and not to use these advantages in their own interests. In wider context, this rule corresponds to th e principle of tolerance, which is the cornerstone of the democratic society. Finally, in my come in of view, observance of these two rules of etiquette helps you to behave politely in the cyberspace.2. There are some suggestions of communicating with persons with disabilities, which I have never used before. These are some tips for communicating with individuals who are blind or visually impaired and suggestions that offer assistance, if the individual has difficulty opening a door (1, 2007).If I were therapist, I would always use these suggestions, in order to speak to people with disabilities. For example, when I am speaking with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, my voice is very earthshaking and clear. Sometimes I write what I want to say, so that the patient clearly understands me. If I had a patient with sign language interpreter, it would be very important to speak directly to the person and to look at the patient eyes, but not at the interpreter. In conclusion, observance of suggestions for communication with persons with disabilities allows me to approach their problems to a greater extent closely. I would find common language with patients very quickly, and we would understand each other better.

Managerial Skills Essay

In rove for four-in-hands to be hard-hitting, they must concord a clear sagaciousness of whether different benefitments be classical in their man advancerial role. In addition, jitneys must earn a mutual understanding of the attainments and responsibilities indispensable for other managers crosswise identical and different organizational take aims and functions (10 Kraut et al. , 1989). If these skills and responsibilities are non clearly soundless, managers bequeath neither be able to coordinate trifle effectively, communicate expectations, deliver feedback, nor be prepared for trade transitions or other readying and career development activities (10 Kraut et al. , 1989). In short, understanding whether certain managerial skills are fundamental to a managers job is demand. A number of look forers have investigated the roles, tasks, or activities of managers (e.g. 18 Mintzberg, 1973 13 Luthans, 1988 10 Kraut et al. , 1989).However, these studies are over a de cade old, near to a greater extent than than than than two or three decades, and have non specifically examined skills. The world of feat has changed since these studies, most notably due to organizational downsizing, technology, and the globalization of the scoreplace. Skills classical to managers in the late 1980s and early 1990s whitethorn not be as main(prenominal) today. As times change, exploreers should update important purposes to determine if those findings are still applicable (4 Cronbach, 1975), especially when considering that the skills and roles of managers need to be clearly defined and understood to effectively t for apiece iodin, select, develop, and promote these individuals in the pee outplace.Based on results of a study of more than 14,000 managers over two distinct time periods, this paper give shine up whether the vastness of certain managerial skills changed over a 15-year time period, and determine which skills are needed at different orga nizational levels and across organizational functions from the opinions of managers themselves. Our important look for question is, to what extent has the importance of certain managerial skills changed, or remained constant, over time, and whether certain skills are important based on organizational level and function.Studies of managers18 Mintzberg (1973) provided one of the most influential works on managerial roles. Prior to his interrogation, the roles of managers were understood to be embedded in a rigid functional salute of planning jobs, organizing staff, and leading personnel (20 Pearson and Chatterjee, 2003). However, Mintzberg get a lined that managers worked at a much faster pace during which they were required to address a range of issues. The job of the manager required an ability to handle more complex roles than those described by classical precaution theory. Using a descriptive diary method to observe managers at work, Mintzberg identify ten roles of manageria l work, which were divided into three categories inter individual(prenominal) roles, informational roles, and conclusional roles.Expanding on 18 Mintzbergs (1973) work, 10 Kraut et al. (1989) investigated the differences between managerial levels in the perception of role importance. They identified seven major factors of management tasks including man age individual performance instructing subordinates planning and allocating resources coordinating interdependent groups managing group performance monitoring the business environment and re rendering ones staff. Their findings likewise revealed distinct differences in role importance based on the level of the manager. For instance, first-level managers reported that managing individual performance and instructing subordinates were the most important set of activities in their job.However, as managers moved up the management hierarchy to the level of middle manager, the importance of these activities dropped and more strain was p laced on tasks related to to linking groups. The act of linking groups include planning and resource allocation, managing group performance, and coordinating interdependent groups. Executive managers took an even broader view of their job as evidenced by their high importance ratings related to monitoring the environment including business, economic, and social trends. The only commonality among the different managerial levels was the importance they placed on re bearing their staff over 50 per penny of managers at each level rated representing staff of utmost or considerable importance. 13 Luthans (1988) research besides examined differences between meridian and middle managers.However the focus was more on the distinction between the activities of an effective manager versus a successful manager. hard-hitting managers were identified by a high level of performance in the unit they are responsible for, whereas successful managers were recognized by their rapid promotions with in an organization. The activities that characterize effective managers included spending time on communication and humankind resource management, which can lead to long-term results. In contrast, successful managers spent more time on networking and aimed for short-term results. In addition to differences between levels, 10 Kraut et al. (1989) also compared managerial activities across the different organizational functions of merchandise, manufacturing, and court.For example, a greater per pennyimeimeage of marketing managers rated monitoring the outside environment more important when compared to other managers. Alternately, few marketing managers rated instructing subordinates as important when compared to managers in manufacturing and administration. Managers from all three organizational functions indicated that activities involving coordinating interdependent groups were important. The present study will attempt to expand on similar research such as those previously ment ioned. First, this research examines managerial skills, which are much different than managerial roles, activities, or tasks.While past research has determined what roles or activities are important for managers and what tasks managers tend to spend much of their time on, this research attempts to determine what skills are important for managerial jobs. Second, this research will use opinions from practicing managers totaling more than 14,000 from two distinct time periods (1988-1992, and 2004-2006) to capture what skills have been important in the past, and determine whether those skills have changed in importance over time. In addition, this research will examine whether managerial skills are important across different organizational levels and organizational functions in the scope of todays work environment.The changing world of workThe aforementioned research regarding the importance of managerial tasks, roles, and activities was conducted in the 1970s and 1980s. in that locat ion is savvy to believe that skills once deemed important for managers whitethorn have adjusted in relative importance since much has changed in the world of work since these studies. One can assume that the changes in the world of work may comply with mathematical changes in the importance of different managerial skills. Organizations have buy the farm flatter and less hierarchical with fewer levels and more responsibilities (2 Allen et al. , 2001 16 McKinley et al. , 2000 17 Miller, 1990).Also, organizational downsizing is commonplace due to the increasing need to reduce costs, to eliminate unnecessary levels of management, and to streamline operations (5 DeMeuse et al. , 2004). As organizations become less hierarchical, thither is reason to believe that the skills managers feeling were important in the past may have changed in scope. Organizations also exist in a different environmental context than 15 years ago. Due to reformd technology such as e- ring armour and the inte rnet, changes have occurred in the way managers and co-workers interact. We have seen the emergence of the Internet as a major form of communication and e-commerce as a advanced source of business. Flexible work patterns and the ability to work in geographically disperse teams is now a common reality in the workplace (27 Wallace, 2004).These changes have cultivated the need for better communication, coordination, improved performance, team monitoring, and more interdependence and confide (22, 21 Salas et al. , 2004, 2005 28 Zaccaro et al. , 2004). Teams and organizations are increasingly becoming more global or virtual in nature. As a result, an awareness of different cultures and attention to multiculturalism and globalization is brisk for the success of m some(prenominal) managers. As organizations become more fast-paced and global, there is also speculation that the importance of different skills managers need may have shifted in scope. 7 Kanter (1989) argued that these rapid changes, spurred by technology and competitive pressures, have made traditional forms of organizing work obsolete.Managers may believe certain skills are important in erect to be a partner with and empower employees to address business riddles on their own and to work in cross-functional teams, which could be different than the skills believed to be important 15 years ago. Managers must fully understand their roles and responsibilities and become adept at a variety of skills to perform their job effectively (1 Ahearn et al. , 2004 6 Halbesleben et al. , 2003 25 Stockdale and Crosby, 2004 27 Wallace, 2004 28 Zaccaro et al. , 2004). As previously mentioned, understanding the skills of managers is essential to coordinate work effectively, communicate expectations, deliver feedback, and for training and career development (10 Kraut et al. , 1989).It is unknown whether the changes over the past 15 years that have occurred in an organizational and global context have also coincided wit h possible changes in importance of managerial skills over time. A recent case study reexamined 18 Mintzbergs (1973) work 30 years after the original research by studying the pattern of behavior among four executives in Sweden (26 Tengblad, 2006). The findings revealed that modern executives are more oriented towards working with subordinates in group-settings and focus more time on giving information rather than performing administrative duties.However, Tengblad followd significant similarities with Mintzbergs original study, indicating that claims of the emergence of radically different managerial work may be exaggerated. However, due to the small sample size and lack of empirical selective information in that study, it is important that further work specifically examine the modern skills of managers with a wide range of managers and ample sample size.In other words, are the skills thought to be important to managers 15 years ago still important to managers in todays work context ? The present research will attempt to answer this question and provide relevant present-day information for managers and those who work with, train and develop them, by re-examining the importance of managerial skills across two distinct time periods and across both organizational level and function in the context of todays work environment.MethodParticipantsThis research apply data from two waves of managers engaged in a leadership development program from a leadership development provider in order to compare differences in managerial skills over time. The first wave consisted of 7,389 managers from the USA involved in a leadership development process between 1988 and 1992. The present moment wave consisted of 7,410 managers from the USA who were involved in a leadership development process between 2004 and 2006. Because of data housing and management issues, demographic data could not be given for the first wave of participants. However, entirety biographical data from the lea dership development provider from the time period of 1988 to 1992 revealed that leadership development participants in general were similar in terms of age, gender, race, education, and job status to those of 2004 to 2006.Demographic data in aggregate could be given for the 7,410 participants of the second wave. The average age of the managers in the second wave was 41.73 years old, 59 per cent were male, 86 per cent were white, 69 per cent worked in the private sector and 77 per cent had a minimum of a bachelors degree. Managers came from over 60 organizational fictitious characters (e.g. aerospace and defense, finance, communications, government, education) and over 1,300 companies.In addition, 999 managers (13.5 per cent) were first-level managers (forepersons, crew chiefs, section supervisors), 3,136 (42.3 per cent) were middle-level managers (office managers, professional staff, mid-level administrators), 2,197 (29.6 per cent) were upper-middle managers (department executives, institute managers, senior professional staff), and 1,078 (14.6 per cent) were top or executive level managers (chief executives or operating officers, presidents, vice presidents, directors).MeasureManagerial skills . Data determining the importance of managerial skills was collected from SKILLSCOPE1 a 360-degree instrument that assesses job related strengths and weaknesses. The instrument has 98 items that are organized into 15 skill clusters. These clusters represent 15 skills and roles managers need in order to be effective in their job which are part of Mintzbergs three categories (interpersonal, informational, and decisional) and two other categories (personal resources and effective use of self).The conceptual backside for SKILLSCOPE is research which focused on managerial skills, roles and tasks (e.g. 3 Beggs and Doolittle, 1988 8 Kaplan, 1987 9 Kotter, 1982 14 McCall and Kaplan, 1984 15 McCall et al. , 1979 18, 19 Mintzberg, 1973, 1990 23 Sayles, 1979 24 Stewart, 1976). As part of their leadership development process, managers chose which five of the 15 skill clusters were the most important for their current job. knock back I Figure omitted. See term Image. describes each skill cluster. runsA frequency count of the data revealed the skills that are most important for managers in their current job. Result show that both Communicating information, ideas (60.1 per cent of the managers in 1988-1992 and 63 per cent of the managers in 2004-2006) and Taking actions, making decisions, quest by dint of (59.7 per cent of the managers in 1988-1992 and 62.9 per cent of the managers in 2004-2006) were the most important skills across all managers. On the other hand, Self-management, self-insight, self-development and Openness to influence flexibility were the least important for managers in 1988 through 1992 (8.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively as one of the most important skills needed) and managers in 2004 through 2006 (10.9 per cent and 7.2 per c ent selected respectively as one of the most important skills needed).Table II Figure omitted. See Article Image. shows a affinity between managers from 1988-1992 and managers from 2004-2006. Many of the skills were similar in importance for both waves of managers. However, there were three skill clusters with differences of more than 10 percentage points that should be noted. First, 39.9 per cent of 2004-2006 managers rated Relationships as one of five important skill clusters which was an increase from 29.4 per cent of managers in 1988-1992. Second, 33 per cent of 2004-2006 managers rated Administrative/organizational ability as one of five important skill clusters, a decrease from the 45 per cent of managers was from 1988-1992.Finally, 31.7 per cent of managers from 2004-2006 rated Time management as one of five important skill clusters which was an increase from the 19.7 per cent of managers in 1988-1992. The next set of analyses focused only on the 2004-2006 managers. Examinin g the results as a whole may mask important findings based on managerial levels. Consequently, we analyzed the importance of managerial skills across the four managerial levels for the present study, similar to 10 Kraut et al. (1989). Figure 1 Figure omitted. See Article Image. displays the importance rankings for each skill sorted by managerial level.Communicating information, ideas and Taking action, making decisions, following through were the two most important skills for all managerial levels with the bution of first-level managers. While Taking action, making decisions, following through ranked as the most important for first-level managers, Knowledge of job, business ranked as second-most important, followed by Communicating information, ideas. On the other hand, Openness to influence, flexibility was the least important to managers at each level, once again with the exception of first-level managers who believed Risk-taking, innovation was the least important, followed by Openness to influence, flexibility.In general, the importance rankings were similar across managerial levels, though there are some notable exceptions. First, Getting information, making sense of it problem identification was less important for top/executive-level managers (48 per cent) than for other managerial levels (each over 55 per cent). Second, as managerial level increased, so did the importance of Influencing, leadership, and power, (from 21 per cent of first-level managers to 45 per cent of top/executive level managers), and of Risk-taking, innovation (from 7 per cent of first-level managers to 22 per cent of top/executive level managers).Last, as managerial level increased, the importance of two managerial skills decreased, namely Knowledge of job, business (from 63 per cent of first-level managers to 45 per cent of top/executive-level managers) and Time management (from 42 per cent of first-level managers to 19 per cent of top/executive-level managers). In addition, view ing the results from all managers in aggregate may also conceal important findings based specifically on job function, as managers in different functions may have different managerial challenges (10 Kraut et al. , 1989).In order to account for this, the present study mirrored the data analysis of the 10 Kraut et al. (1989) study in that the levels of management were equally weighted in each function so that no one managerial level would have statistical influence over the other managerial levels, and managers from marketing (n =282), manufacturing (n =253), and administration (n =489) would be selected. Due to the functional diversity of the sample of the second wave, managers from engine room (n =413), human resources/training (n =345), operations (n =916) and sales (n =518) were also examined. Figure 2 Figure omitted. See Article Image. provides the rankings for the skills of managers across job function. It is fire to note that the pattern of skill importance is similar across functions.For instance, Communicating information, ideas was most important for marketing, human resource, and sales managers, man Taking action, making decisions, following through was the most important managerial skill for manufacturing, administration, engineering, and operations. In fact, across the seven managerial functions studied, these two managerial skills were among the top three in importance for each managerial function. On the other hand, Openness to influence flexibility was the least important to managers across all functions except for managers in human resources, who believed Energy, drive, and ambition was the least important. Some managerial skills were rated similarly in importance across managerial functions.For instance, between 22 per cent and 27 per cent of managers across different functions believed Coping with pressure, adversity integrity was important. Also, between 8 per cent and 13 per cent of managers thought Self-management, self-insight, self-dev elopment was an important skill to have. There was variability among the importance of some skills across managerial function. For example, Administrative/organizational ability was important for less than 25 per cent of managers in marketing, manufacturing, and sales, but was important for 58 per cent of managers in administration. Getting information, making sense of it problem identification was less important for sales managers (39 per cent) than it was for engineering managers (65 per cent).Regarding Managing conflict negotiation it is interesting to note that most managers rated it the same in importance (between 27 per cent and 31 per cent) except managers from marketing, where only 17 per cent of managers thought it was important. Managers in manufacturing (25 per cent) and engineering (26 per cent) ranked Relationships less important than human resources (51 per cent) and sales (52 per cent) managers. Selecting, developing, accepting people was important to some managers in manufacturing and sales (both 35 per cent), but was not as important to marketing managers (12 per cent).DiscussionIn total, 30 years after 18 Mintzbergs (1973) original study, 26 Tengblad (2006) nominate that while some things have changed, managerial work has remained the same, despite changes in the world of work. In a similar fashion, the present research attempted to determine whether the importance of skills managers need in their job have shifted over a 15-year time period. Though many have commented on how the world of work has changed over the past 15 years (e.g. 2 Allen et al. , 2001 5 DeMeuse et al. , 2004 7 Kanter, 1989 16 McKinley et al. , 2000 17 Miller, 1990 22, 21 Salas et al. , 2004, 2005 27 Wallace, 2004 28 Zaccaro et al. , 2004), the data of the present research suggests that despite the changes in the work environment, the importance of certain managerial skills is somewhat similar.For instance, what was believed to be important in 1988-1992 (i.e. Communicating information, ideas and Taking action, making decisions, following through) is still considered important for managers today. In addition, skills that were not thought of as important in 1988-1992 (i.e. Self-management, self-insight, self-development and Openness to influence flexibility) are still not thought of as important for managers in todays work context. Despite these apparent similarities, there are some noteworthy differences between what managers thought was important 15 years ago and what managers think is important today. First, Relationships seem to be more important now than for managers 15 years ago. 26 Tengblad (2006) hinted at this with the finding that executives are concentrating more today (than 30 years ago) on working with others in a group setting. The increased importance of this skill cluster coincided with the changes in the organizational context that managers today must face.The use of communication technology, such as e-mail, and the existence of geogra phically dispersed teams require managers to be more study in the effort they devote towards forming and maintaining relationships. The nonverbal cues that aid in face-to-face communication cannot be relied on in virtual relationships. By acknowledging and facing the challenges presented by these new forms of communication, managers can successfully execute their job requirements. In addition, the flattening of organizational hierarchies has forced a higher level of coordination and collaboration between peers. As more and more people work in an environment structured around the work team, the more likely a focus on building relationships will be encouraged.For instance, more time is devoted to interdependence and trust in a team setting (22, 21 Salas et al. , 2004, 2005 28 Zaccaro et al. , 2004), where ultimately, building relationships is necessary. 26 Tengblad (2006) found that executives are indeed instruction less time on administrative duties, and 7 Kanter (1989) also reveal ed that organizing work was becoming obsolete with changes in the environment. In a similar fashion, the present study found that Administrative/organizational ability seems to be less important today than it was 15 years ago. One of the reasons could correspond with the recent trend of the flattening of organizations. Organizations have become more streamlined, and responsibility has become more spread out in the organization. In effect, managers do not have a hierarchical structure to manage.The administrative tasks that were needed in more hierarchical structures 15 years ago are not needed as much in the present work context. The advent of technology has also facilitated many organizational processes that were once paper-based. More and more companies have converted to computer-based processes (i.e. online recruiting and staffing) that have minimized the necessity to focus ones skill on administrative or organizational duties. Time management appears more important now than it w as 15 years ago. The reasons why could coincide with changes in the work context.Technology now enables people from around the world to work in real-time, to contact people instantly, and work more quickly. E-mail has replaced mail and fax. The use of cell phones and electronic devices such as blackberries has also increased. At the same time, employees are focusing on creating balance between their professional lives and their personal lives, attempting to get work out of the way faster. Employees and their managers therefore must focus on time management now more than ever. The differences in importance rankings of managerial skills we observed between managers at different organizational levels confirm previous findings in the literature.10 Kraut et al. (1989) found that some managerial roles are considered important at each level, but the degree of importance may be contingent on a particular level. In the present study, Influencing, leadership, and power and Risk-taking and inn ovation showed an increase in importance ranking as managerial level increased. Both of these skills are indicative of senior levels of leadership. As a manager takes on more responsibility, it is precise to the managers success that the managers focus shifts to meet the new demands of the job. Also important to note, some managerial skills differ in importance depending on managerial function and relevance.For instance, Administrative/organizational ability is more important to managers in administration than it is for any of the other functions because administrative ability is intact in the administrative function. Getting information, making sense of it problem identification is more important for engineering managers than it is for any of the other functions because working with information and problem identification is particularly relevant for engineers.Communicating information and ideas and Risk-taking, innovation are more important for managers in marketing than any of th e other functions because those with a marketing background must be able to communicate and be innovative. Finally, Relationships is more important for managers in sales and HR than any of the other functions because sales and HR functions are dependent on forming and building good relationships. In effect, some skills are important to different managerial functions because of relevance of the specific organizational function. applicative applicationsDetermining what is important for managers at each level and each function is crucial to coordinating work effectively, communicating expectations, and facilitating training and career development activities (10 Kraut et al. , 1989). Relying on past (or outdated) information about the importance of certain managerial skills, roles, tasks, or activities could hinder effective work coordination, communication, and effective training and career development. Hence, updating this typesetters case of information may uphold managers in their work and development, even if it is to simply validate or reinforce previous findings. Imagine the challenges managers face if relevant information about the importance of certain skills in their jobs were not correct or outdated.If information from previous research from the 1970s or 1980s is still used for coordinating work activities and it has not been updated, managers may be concentrating on different or unnecessary skills that are no longer relevant. This could greatly impede their work, their advancement, and ultimately, their success. Moreover, managers may not be taught the appropriate skills for the present-day work environment that is needed to succeed if training and development relies on outdated information. For instance, 11 Lipshitz and Nevo (1992) detailed research of the competencies of effective and ineffective managers whose activities and practices aided the design of training and development programs.Knowing which managerial skills are important for different managerial levels and functions would definitely bring knowledge to improve training and development programs. Because of their rated importance, the data suggests that managerial training and development in todays world of work may need to keep focus on communication and decision-making, decrease focus on administration and organization ability, and increase focus on enhancing relationships and the concept of time management.In addition, these findings may help those in selection and in succession planning knowing that certain skills are important at different levels and functions can help determine what type of manager is needed at each level or each function. For instance, time management may be a skill set that is necessary particularly for first-level managers and not top-level executives, and hence, first level managers should have that appropriate skill for the job. Administrative/organizational ability may be important for managers in the administration function, and those i n succession planning or selection for managers in that particular function should keep in mind that information, along with relevant information from any job analysis or competency model.Limitations and future directionsThere are some limitations to this study. First, asking managers to choose five of 15 skill clusters that are important to their current job does not provide the level of detail that could be obtained by evaluating the importance of each cluster using other methodologies. In the present study, a skill cluster is either among a managers top five most important or it is not. Therefore, the data does not earmark an assessment of how much more important the top five skill clusters were than the ten skill clusters not selected. In addition, the data did not allow us to assess any relative ranking among the top five skills. As a result, it would be useful to assess the importance of clusters, competencies, roles, skills, or abilities using a Likert-type scale in the futu re. In this manner, researchers could examine to what extent each cluster is important to managers.Also, examining what managers believe are the most important skills for their job may not yield the same findings as asking what their direct reports or supervisors consider important. Future research should investigate what direct reports and supervisors of managers think are important skills for managers to acquire a more global perspective of managerial competencies, similar to those acquired through competency modeling (e.g. 12 Lucia and Lepsinger, 1999). Also, asking similar questions to managers outside the United States would bring more information about the importance of managerial skills across cultures. Combining the quantitative approach of evaluating to what extent a variety of skills are important for managers along with more qualitative methodologies of on-the-job observation and interviewing to assess competencies should create a more comprehensive picture of todays mana ger.Finally, any future research should capture the demographic data for the sample across successive waves. Without knowing more about the sample composition for the first wave of data, it is not possible to ascertain whether changes over time are due to differences in organizational structure or function, differences in individual jobs represented by the sample, or differences in workforce composition. Therefore, explanations of changes cited in our findings may be due to structure changes and changes in technology or they may be due to changes in workforce demographics (i.e. aging baby-boomers). The best this research can conclude is that shifts in the importance of certain managerial skills have coincided with changes in the context of the world of work.However, with the present research data set, having a large sample of more than 7,000 managers with similar aggregate demographic data for each time period may tend to lead to more generalizable results than would a sample of a l esser number of participants. The world of work has changed over the past 15 years. Results of this study revealed that managers today feel the need to cut more on building relationships and time management skills and focus less on administrative and organizational ability. However, many of the skills managers thought were important to their job in the late 1980s and early 1990s are somewhat similar in importance from the opinions of managers in the first decade of the 2000s, particularly skills concerning communication and decision making.To answer the original research question, much like 26 Tengblad (2006) found, despite noticeable changes in the world of work, while some managerial skills shifted in importance, some managerial skills remain as important today as 15 years ago. The importance of these managerial skills not only coincided with the changes in the work environment, but also are context dependent based on managerial level and function. For instance, though time manag ement has increased in importance over the years, managers at lower levels (i.e. first-level managers) seem to believe time management is more important to their job than those at higher levels (i.e. top- or executive-level managers).In essence, one should take note not only of how the importance of certain skills change over time, but also, that certain skills believed to be important for managers at one particular level or function may be more or less important for managers at other levels or other functions. In the end, knowing this information is essential to effectively teach, select, develop, train, and promote managers in the workplace.Portions of this paper are based on a poster that was presented at the 2007 Society of Industrial Organizational Psychology Conference, unseasoned York City, sassy York. Footnote1. SKILLSCOPE is a registered trademark of the Center for Creative Leadership.References1. Ahearn, K.K., Ferris, G.R., Hochwarter, W.A., Douglas, C. and Ammeter, A.P. (2004), Leader political skill and team performance, Journal of Management, Vol. 30, pp. 309-27.2. Allen, T.D., Freeman, D.M., Russell, J.E.A., Reizenstein, R.C. and Rentz, J.O. (2001), Survivor reactions to organizational downsizing does time ease the pain?, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 74, pp. 145-64.3. Beggs, J.M. and Doolittle, D.C. (1988), Mintzberg revisited a study of chief executive officers, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 9 no. 6, pp. 17-21.4. Cronbach, L.J. (1975), Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology, American Psychologist, Vol. 30, pp. 116-27.5. DeMeuse, K.P., Bergmann, T.J., Vanderheide, P.A. and Roraaf, C.E. (2004), New evidence regarding organizational downsizing and a firms financial performance a long-term analysis, Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 16, pp. 155-77.6. Halbesleben, J.R.B., Novicevic, M.M., Harvey, M.G. and Buckley, M.R. (2003), Awareness of temporal complexity in leadership of creat ivity and innovation a competency-based model, The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 14, pp. 433-54.7. Kanter, R.M. (1989), The new managerial work, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 67, pp. 85-92.8. Kaplan, R.E. (1987), The Warp and Woof of the General Managers Job, Tech. Rep. (27), Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC.9. Kotter, J.P. (1982), The General Managers, The Free Press, New York, NY.10. Kraut, A.I., Pedigo, P.R., McKenna, D.D. and Dunnette, M.D. (1989), The role of the manager whats really important in different management jobs, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 3, pp. 286-93.11. Lipshitz, R. and Nevo, B. (1992), Who is a good manager?, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 3-7.12. Lucia, A.D. and Lepsinger, R. (1999), The Art and Science of Competency Modeling Pinpointing Critical Success Factors in Organizations, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.13. Luthans, F. (1988), Successful versus effective real managers, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 2, pp. 127-32.14. McCall, M.W. Jr and Kaplan, R.E. (1984), Whatever It Takes finding Makers at Work, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.15. McCall, M.W. Jr, Lombardo, M.M. and Devries, D.L. (1979), The Looking Glass Inc. Simulation, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC.16. McKinley, W., Zhao, J. and Rust, K.G. (2000), Sociocognitive interpretation of organizational downsizing, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25, pp. 227-43.17. Miller, D.B. (1990), Organizational, environmental, and work design strategies that foster competence, in Willis, S.L. and Dubin, S.S. (Eds), Maintaining Professional Competence Approaches to Career Enhancement Vitality, and Success throughout a Work Life, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 233-48.18. Mintzberg, H. (1973), The Nature of Managerial Work, Harper & Row, New York, NY.19. Mintzberg, H. (1990), The managers job folklore and fact, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, pp. 163-76.20. Pearson, C. and Chatterjee, S. (2003), Managerial roles in Asia an empirical study of Mintzbergs role formulation in four Asian countries, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22, pp. 694-707.21. Salas, E., Sims, D.E. and Burke, C.S. (2005), Is there a Big five in teamwork?, Small Group Research, Vol. 36, pp. 555-99.22. Salas, E., Kosarzycki, M.P., Tannenbaum, S.I. and Carnegie, D. (2004), Principles and advice for understanding and promoting effective teamwork in organizations, in Burke, R.J. and Cooper, C. (Eds), Leading in Turbulent Times, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, pp. 95-120.23. Sayles, L.R. (1979), Leadership What Effective Managers Really Do and How They Do It, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.24. Stewart, R. (1976), Contracts in Management, McGraw-Hill, London.25. Stockdale, M.S. and Crosby, F.J. (2004), The Psychology and Management of Workplace Diversity, Blackwell Publishers, Malden, MA.26. Tengblad, S. (2006), Is there a new managerial work? A comparison with Henry Mintzbergs classic study 30 years later, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, pp. 1437-61.27. Wallace, P. (2004), The Internet in the Workplace How New Technology Is Transforming Work, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY.28. Zaccaro, S.J., Ardison, S.D. and Orvis, K.A. (2004), Leadership in virtual teams, in Day, D.V. and Zaccaro, S.J. (Eds), Leader Development for Transforming Organizations Growing Leaders for Tomorrow, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 267-92.AppendixCorresponding authorWilliam A. Gentry can be contacted at gentrybleaders.ccl.orgAuthorAffiliationWilliam A. Gentry, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina, USALauren S. Harris, University of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, USABecca A. Baker, JCPenney Co., Plano, Texas, USAJean Brittain Leslie, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA IllustrationFigure 1 immensity rankings for managerial skills (2004-2006) by managerial levelFigure 2 Importance rankings for managerial skills (2004-2006) by organizational functio nTable I Descriptions of managerial skill clustersTable II Overall importance rankings for managerial skills (1998-1992 and 2004-2006)Copyright Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2008

Balance Sheet and Annual Financial Statements Essay

The directors be responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the star-twelvemonth financial statements of the high society and conference, comprising the directors report, the statements of financial position as at June 2013, the statements of all-round(prenominal) income, changes in equity and money flows for the grade then ended, and the notes to the financial statements, which include a summary of significant explanation policies and new(prenominal) explanatory notes, in accordance of rights with International financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and the requirements of the Companies Act of mho Africa.The directors ar satisfied that the information contained in the annual financial statements fairly represents the financial position at grade-end and the financial coiffeance and cash flows of the Company and conclave. The directors are also responsible for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of finan cial statements that are free from natural misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and for maintaining adequate accounting records and an effective system of risk management as well as the preparation of the supplementary schedules included in these financial statements.The directors regard that the Company and Group deplete adequate resources to continue trading as a going concern in the foreseeable future. The annual financial statements support the viability of the Company and the Group. The Groups external take stockors, PricewaterhouseCoopers Incorporated, inspected the Company and Group annual financial statements, and their report is presented on page 5. The external auditors were given unrestricted access to all financial records and related data, including minutes of all meetings of shareholders, the board of directors and committees of the board.The directors believe that all representations made to the independent auditors during their audit are valid and approp riate. Approval of Annual monetary Statements The Company and Group annual financial statements of Shoprite Holdings Ltd, as identify in the first paragraph, were approved by the Board of directors on 19 August 2013 and signed on its behalf by CH Wiese Chairman JW Basson Chief Executive officeholder Certificate of the Company SecretaryIn equipment casualty of section 88(2)(e) of the Companies Act no 71 of 2008 (as amended) I, PG du Preez, in my capacity as Company Secretary, confirm that for the year ended 30 June 2013, the Company has lodged with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, all such returns as are required of a public company in terms of the Companies Act and that all such returns and notices are true, correct and up to date. PG du Preez Company Secretary 19 August 2013 Directors Report Shoprite Holdings Ltd and its Subsidiaries 2 NATURE OF BUSINESSShoprite Holdings expressage (Shoprite Holdings) is an investment holding company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE) in the victuals retailers & wholesalers sector. Secondary listings are also maintained on the Namibian and Zambian Stock Exchanges. supermarket premises or developing new shopping centres to accommodate one of the Groups supermarket formats. New retail developments and the redevelopment of animated properties are supervised through every stage of the planning-, design- and construction process. SHOPRITE INVESTMENTS LTD SHOPRITE HOLDINGS COMPRISES OF THEFOLLOWING MAIN SUBSIDIARIES As a wholly owned subsidiary of Shoprite Holdings, Shoprite Investments conducts the Groups treasury function and financing of credit sales to third parties. SHOPRITE chequer (PTY) LTD Supermarkets Serves a broad customer base through our Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper and Usave store formats. fork up Chain Management Supplies the Groups offlets in South Africa and 16 Non-RSA countries. The Group prides itself in running a state-ofthe-art distribution operation and bec ame the first South African retailer to receive the ISO 9002 accreditation for import and export handling.Fast Foods The Hungry Lion chain now boasts modern, well-designed stores with an inescapable focus on fried bellyacher and operates outlets within South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Franchise The OK Franchise Divisions stores offer a wide range of perishable and non-perishable food items and liquor under the OK, Friendly Grocer, 7-Eleven, Megasave en Sentra brands. Freshmark Freshmark is the Groups fruit and vegetable procurement and distribution arm and supplies fresh produce to the Groups retail outlets.As one of the largest buyers of fresh produce in South Africa, Freshmark also imports fruit and vegetables to ensure a wide variety and continuity of traditionally seasonal fresh produce. Liquor Stores Trading under the Shoprite and Checkers LiquorShop brands respectively, the liquor shops choose extended the Groups offering by providing a natural selection of wines, beers and a wide range of premium spirits to its customers. Meat Markets The Groups meat market division is the largest retailer of fresh meat on the African continent.Customers are served through in-store butcheries that employ qualified butchers and technicians. Money Markets Money Markets offer a comprehensive range of financial services and products to the Groups customers through dedicated in-store service counters. Furniture The Furniture division offers furniture, electrical appliances and home entertainment products to customers for cash or credit through its OK Furniture, OK Power Express and House & Home outlets in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia, Mozambique and Angola.Pharmacies and wholesale distribution MediRites in-store pharmacies offer consumers an easy access to affordable healthcare and healthcare professionals. These in-store dispensaries currently operate throughout South Africa and also in Angola and Swaziland. The Groups pharmaceutical wholesaler, Transpharm, sells and distributes a wide range of pharmaceutical products and surgical equipment to hospitals and clinics, dispensing doctors, veteran surgeons and private and corporate pharmacies.Properties This division is tasked with the responsibility of expanding the supermarket portfolio through the identification and leasing of new SHOPRITE HOLDINGS LTD ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2013 COMPUTICKET (PTY) LTD As a premier ticketing solution provider and one of the most recognised brand names, Computicket offers theatre, concert, festival, sport and cinema tickets along with bus tickets and gift vouchers through a network of outlets located across South Africa and Namibia, a call centre as well as the Computicket website. Computicket also offers travel packages.SHOPRITE international LTD Incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius, Shoprite International is the holding company for the bulk of the Gro ups non-South African retail and property investments. SHOPRITE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Provides first and third party short-term insurance to the Group and its customers. OTHER pigeonholing SUBSIDIARIES The interests of Shoprite Holdings in other subsidiaries are set out on page69 of the Annual Financial Statements. FINANCIAL REVIEW The Groups publicise earnings per share amounts to 675,4 cents for the year (2012 607,0 cents).Details of the profit of Shoprite Holdings and its subsidiaries are contained in the statement of comprehensive income on page 7 with reference to the operating element information on page 23. The financial position of Shoprite Holdings and its subsidiaries are recorded in the statement of financial position on page 6. Further elaborate are furnished in the notes to the annual financial statements on page 10 to 68. The Groups net asset value per share as at 30 June 2013 was 2837 cents (2012 2382 cents). DISTRIBUTION TO SHAREHOLDERS PREFERENCE DIVIDENDSDetail s are reflected in note 27 to the Groups Annual Financial Statements. ORDINARY DIVIDENDS An interim cash dividend (no. 128) of 123 cents per share was paid on 18March 2013. A final dividend (no. 129) of 215 cents per share, is payable on 16 September 2013, rescue the total dividend for the year to 338 cents (2012 303 cents) per mundane share. 3 SHARE CAPITAL The authorised share capital of Shoprite Holdings remained unchanged at 650 000 000 (six degree centigrade and fifty million) ordinary shares of 113,4 cents (one hundred and thirteen comma four cents) each.There was no movement in the sum up of issued Shoprite Holdings ordinary shares which remained at 570 579 460 shares of 113,4 cents each. On 28 June 2012, shareholders approved the issue of an superfluous 13803405 non-convertible, non-participating, no par value deferred shares in the share capital of Shoprite Holdings to Thibault Square Financial Services (Pty) Ltd pursuant to the issue of 27100000 ordinary shares during the previous reporting period. These deferred shares were however only issued on 25 July 2012.As at 30 June 2013, 35 436 472 (6,2%) ordinary shares were held as treasury shares by a wholly owned subsidiary of Shoprite Holdings. GOING CONCERN The annual financial statements of the Group were prepared on a going concern basis. The Board has performed a formal review of the Groups results and its ability to continue trading as a going concern in the foreseeable future. The directors of Shoprite Holdings confirm that they are satisfied that the Group has adequate resources to continue in business for the foreseeable future.During the reporting period the following special resolutions were passed by main Group subsidiaries SHOPRITE CHECKERS (PTY) LTD Special resolution number 1 Approval of new inscription of Incorporation and Special resolution number 2 Financial Assistance to Subsidiaries, cerebrate and inter-related entities. SHOPRITE INVESTMENTS LTD Special resolution number 1 A pproval of new document of Incorporation. COMPUTICKET (PTY) LTD Special resolution number 1 Approval of new Memorandum of Incorporation. SHOPRITE INTERNATIONAL LTDSpecial resolution number 1 Approval of new Constitution. SHOPRITE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Special resolution number 1 Approval of new Memorandum of Incorporation. BORROWINGS DIRECTORS AND SECRETARY Shoprite Holdings has unlimited borrowing powers in terms of its Memorandum of Incorporation. The Groups overall level of debt increased from R4035 million to R4151 million during the financial year under review. The directors names and details are furnished on pages 8 and 9 and the company secretarys name, business and postal address on page 67 of the Integrated Report.In terms of the Memorandum of Incorporation of Shoprite Holdings (the MOI), no less than one third of the non-executive directors shall retire by rotation at each Annual General Meeting. Dr CH Wiese, Messrs EC Kieswetter, JA Louw and JF Malherbe retire as direc tors, in terms of paragraph 33. 5. 1 of the MOI of the Company, at the Annual General Meeting. Dr CH Wiese, Messrs EC Kieswetter and JALouw have offered themselves for re-election as directors of Shoprite Holdings. The board supports the re-election of these directors. SPECIAL RESOLUTIONSAt the Annual General Meeting of Shoprite Holdings held on 29 October 2012, shareholders approved the following special resolutions Special resolution number 1 Remuneration payable to Non-Executive Directors Special resolution number 2 Financial Assistance to Subsidiaries, Related and inter-related entities Special resolution number 3 Financial Assistance for Subscription of Securities Special resolution number 4 General Approval to repurchase shares and Special resolution number 5 Approval of new Memorandum of Incorporation as proposed by the Board. Directors Report (continued)The companys directors are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these coalesced and separate fina ncial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act of South Africa, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated and separate financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. AUDITORS RESPONSIBILITY Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated and separate financial statements based on our audit.We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated and separate financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditors judgement, in cluding the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entitys preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entitys internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. OPINION In our opinion, the consolidated and separate financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated and separate financial position of Shoprite Holdings L imited as at 30 June 2013, and its consolidated and separate financial military operation and its consolidated and separate cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act of South Africa. OTHER REPORTS REQUIRED BY THE COMPANIES ACTAs part of our audit of the consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2013, we have read the Directors Report, the Audit Committees Report and the Company Secretarys Certificate for the purpose of identifying whether there are material inconsistencies between these reports and the audited consolidated and separate financial statements. These reports are the responsibility of the respective preparers. base on reading these reports we have not identified material inconsistencies between these reports and the audited consolidated and separate financial statements.Themost significant assumptions and estimates used in applying the Group s accounting policies relate to the following a) Impairment of assets The Group performs a review of loss-making stores and considers the need for the impairment of assets under these circumstances. This determination requires significant judgment. The Group evaluates amongst other things, the duration and extent of the losses, the near-term business outlook for the store, and the possible redeployment of the assets between stores. Refer to notes 3, 9 and 26. routineful lives of assets In determining the depreciation and amortisation deplume for property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, management applies judgment in estimating the useful lives and residual values of these different asset classes. Refer to notes 3, 9 and 21. c) Income taxes The Group is subject to income taxes in numerous jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining the worldwide accrual for income taxes. The Group recognises liabilities for anticipated uncertain income tax positions ba sed on estimates of potence additional taxes due.With regards to deferred income tax assets for unutilised income tax losses, judgment is also required to whether sufficient future taxable income will be available against which these losses can be utilised. Refer to notes 1. 11 and 28. d) Allowances for doubtful debts Trade receivables include instalment sale debtors and franchise debtors for which allowances for impairment are made in accordance with the accounting insurance policy in note 1. 15. These calculations involve the discounting of projected future cash flows and require the use of estimates.Details regarding the allowances are set out in note 12. e) Employee returns accruals and provisions Various assumptions are applied in determining the valuations of post-retirement medical benefits, share based payment accruals and long term employee benefits as set out in notes 1. 20, 1. 22, 14, 17 and 35. Estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a materia l adjustment to the carrying value of assets and liabilities in a subsequent year relate to the following income taxes allowances for doubtful debts and employee benefit allowances.All estimates and implicit in(p) assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis of judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised and any affected future periods.Use of adjusted measures The measures listed below are presented as management believes it to be relevant to the understanding of the Groups financial performance. These measures are used for internal performance analysis and provide additional useful information on underlying trends to equity holders. These measures are not defined terms under IFRS and may indeed not be comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other entities.It is not intended to be a substitute for, or blue-ribbon(prenominal) to, measures as required by IFRS. a) Trading profit on the face of the statement of comprehensive income, existence the Groups operating results excluding foreign supersede rate differences and income or expenditure of a capital nature. b) Income or expenditure of a capital nature on the face of the statement of comprehensive income, being all re-measurements excluded from the calculation of headline earnings per share in accordance with the guidance contained in SAICA Circular 3/2012 Headline Earnings.The principal items that will be included under this measure are gains and losses on disposal and scrapping of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and assets held for sale impairments or rever sal of impairments any non-trading items such as gains and losses on disposal of investments, operations and subsidiaries. c) Interest received on the face of the statement of comprehensive income, being only interest received on call and operating bank account balances.Subsidiaries Subsidiaries are entities (including special purpose entities) which are, directly or indirectly, controlled by the Group. Control is established where the Group has the power to influence the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities. The existence and effect of potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are considered when assessing whether the Group controls another.