Purchasing and inventory system Essay

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Batang Convenience Store is a retail business selling dry goods, LPG’s, soft drinks and food that located in Silang, Cavite. It is founded by Yolanda and Eduardo Atienza who started its first operation on 1999. Since its venture to this kind of business, Batang Convenience Store never used any type of record books or computerized systems. The owner arranges the purchasing of  supplies by evaluating documents like delivery receipts and purchasing orders, which is time-consuming, tiresome, and inconvenient. The owner is not aware if product is no longer available or the item is becoming out of stock. If the owner wants to purchase items from the supplier, it must be done in form of writing. Sometimes the owner encounters loss of data due to carelessness. With the company’s manual means of evaluating the inventory and managing the purchasing operations, inaccurate entries are sometimes made. The Purpose of the Computerized Inventory and Purchasing System is to help a company in managing, monitoring and maintaining their Inventory as well as generating necessary reports and keeping important data safe. The researchers of this study will develop a new purchasing and inventory system for the business using Visual Basic.Net and Microsoft SQL Server software. With this system, the evaluation of inventory and management of purchasing operations will become more organized, and thus easier. In this manner, wrong inputs will be avoided, and the checking and organizing of items will be more accurate. 1.2 Statement of Problem 1.2.1 General Problem Batang Convenience Store encounters problems such as in and out of product from the stock room are not properly monitored by the purchasing clerk.Availability of their products is less supervised by the owner that consumes a lot of time by checking each item manually. Human errors in writing reports, miscount of products and tallying of inventory is time-consuming and tiresome due to the nonexistence of record books or computerized system. Purchasing Reports and Documents are also unavailable, hence purchasing processes takes too long and it may affect the overall productivity of the business. Manual process of evaluating, inventory, and managing the purchasing operations by the owner leads to inaccurate entries of data. The lack of proper record keeping also causes the lost of relevant data. 1.2.2 Specific Problems The proposed system intends to answer these following problems: In and out of product is less supervised, Time-consume and tiresome tallying of inventory records, Purchasing processes takes too long, by manually writing each item, Inaccurate entries of data due to manual process of evaluating, inventory, and managing the purchasing operation and Loss of relevant data due to the nonexistence of record books or computerized system. 1.3 Objectives of the Study 1.3.1 General Objective This study aims to develop a computerized Inventory and Purchasing System for Batang Convenience Store. The system will help the business in producing accurate reports, improve transactions and provide a more convenient process for the owner’s /manager and staff. They can also serve their customer in a fastest way and accurate w/out any problem occurs. 1.3.2 Specific Objectives The following specific objectives must be attained to meet the General objective of the proposed system: To develop a system that will help the purchasing clerk to monitor the products in the stock room, To generate a system that will helpto lessen the burden of the store owner in tallying inventory items, To create a system that can help the owner to have faster way of ordering products, To create a computerized system that will help the owner to create evaluation inventory and manage purchasing operation. To develop a system that will automatically keep all the transaction record by updating and putting security measure such as password and backing up of files. 1.4Significance of the Study The Purchasing and Inventory System is one of the key factors to have a successful and profitable business. If the system is not well organized and stable, the business may not be able to meet the target profit in a given period of time. This study will be beneficial to the following: The company, interviewed by the researchers, will be able to monitor the status of materials needed to be purchase on a given period of time. Data inputs will produce an efficient output to be used as basis for making decisions. The owner can easily generate an automated approval report and can monitor the stock with ease and efficiency. Purchasing Clerk can do the processing of order, preparing the purchase order (PO) and monitoring of order status, the Stockman can do the inventory of items easily, and the  Supplier will have a lesser travel time to get the Purchase Order (PO) from the company. Future Researchers can utilize the results of the study as basis or reference when conducting their own research about Inventory and Purchasing System. 1.5Scope and Limitations The researchers of this study will use Visual Basic.Net together with Microsoft SQL Server to develop the system. The proposed system will have three (3) level accesses, one for the owner, one for the manager, and for the Stockman. The owner/manager will have the access to the following modules: The Purchasing Module: This is where the owner/manager approves the Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Request (PR) and in this module the owner/manager can cancel the transaction processing. The Inventory Module: The owner can view the status and movement of the stocks in this module. The owner can also add, edit or deactivate items using this module. The Reports Module: In this module the manager can see the Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Request (PR) and Inventory Reports. The User Account Module: In this module you can add, edit, search and read data that is recorded The Administrative Module: This is for the user’s account creation and editing. The Supplier Module: This is for owner/manager can view the company’s current suppliers, add and deactivate suppliers and in this module the manager can also edit the details of the supplier. The Purchasing Clerk will have the access on the following modules: Purchasing Module: where the input of ordered items, purchase order, purchases Request is being made. Inventory module: where stocks can be viewed. Report module: in this module the purchasing clerk can see the Purchase Order (PO) Reports, Purchase Request (PR) Report and inventory Reports. The Stockman can only access the following modules: Inventory module: where the stockman can report the new products in the inventory and the status of the stocks. Report Module: In this module the stockman can only see the Inventory reports. There will be three (3) workstations in the proposed system – for the Purchasing Clerk, the Owner and the stock room. The workstations will be networked through UTP cables and a switch. We also added a Network Printer which is connected to the  Manager’s Computer for printing Reports and Documents. Limitation The proposed system will concentrate mainly in solving the problems that the company experiences concerning their Purchasing and Inventory System. Some limitations that the proposed system might encounter are the following: Power interruption due to power failure, Exclusion of auditing and transaction of sales, and The network is not connected to the Internet. Our Proposed System will not run in other Operating system environment besides Windows.HIPO

Babysitting: Game and Kids

No matter how much a person loves kids or the money received from the job, babysitting for an entire night can take you to hell and back; if not done right. Babysitting is a tough job, and it takes a lot of effort and patience. Being prepared and doing the job right can save a lot of time and trouble. Some ways to maintain a person's sanity and do the job correct include; being prepared beforehand, having a schedule, and making sure you have time to relax after all the kids are in bed. Before arriving to the house, be sure to have appropriate â€Å"play† clothes on. Anytime a person baby-sits, they risk having their clothes stained with snacks, or even tugged and pulled on. Also, taking off your flip flops or wearing tennis shoes could help while you're chasing that cute little scoundrel around the house. Your handbag should contain snacks, coloring books, toys, and maybe even a schedule if one is not provided at the house. The snacks for you as the babysitter should be healthy and energizing, and the kids should consume food that's not too high in sugar. Just so they don't have an urge to play tag all night. Coloring books are a great activity to calm the kids down, which can be relieving. New toys are always exhilarating to kids at any age and could keep them entertained, which would help time go by faster. As you arrive at the front door, you should have a schedule planned out in your head if the guardians don't have one for you. Having activities planned and knowing when certain things should be done can save a lot of stress. The activities for the kids should be entertaining as well as safe. You don't want the kids getting boo boos. When babysitting at night, it usually means the kids need to be put to bed. That means they have to get their pajamas on, brush their tiny teeth, and maybe even bathe. At this point your exhausted and just want them to be perfect little angels, but in reality that doesn't always happen. The trick is for the you as the babysitter to keep them entertained while they do it. A kid could use a mouthwash that colors their teeth. You could even find a way to play a game or sing a song while they brush. When it comes to bathing, good luck. That depends on the child, but toys and bubbles are always helpful in the bathtub. After all the kids have fallen asleep, it is time for the babysitter to take a quick break. Sit down for a little, and relax. After a couple minutes, its time to clean up all the little messes that were made. Cleaning up is very important, especially if the you want to be asked to come back. As a babysitter you should always try to make sure that the kids and parents are satisfied. Once you know how to keep everything under control, babysitting will be enjoyable. Kids are full of life and entertaining. Babysitting is always fun when everything is under control. It has its pro's and con's, but as long as you like the kid your taking care of and have everything under control; it will be a breeze.

Marketing of product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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The Emergence of Modern Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Emergence of Modern Science - Essay Example Whereas it is healthy to ask critical questions, scientific proof, and evidence, accepting the scientific reality is a necessity. For instance, whereas our ancestors gladly accepted polio vaccine and eradicated polio, it is overwhelmingly difficult for present generation to accept genetically modified foods as a solution to rising food crisis. As argued by Michael Specter, healthy skepticism calls for asking the right questions, at the right time, to the right people. Pinpointing a problem is also a prerequisite to healthy skepticism. 3. A healthy skepticism requires an understanding between correlation and causation. Learning widely and gaining all round knowledge provides a basis for unbiased skepticism. Additionally, critical review of previous fundamental scientific theories makes it possible to question scientific knowledge based on scientific questions and scientific assumptions. 4. Articulate use of brains is one of the key to success in education. Understanding the unlimited relations between brain hemispheres is overwhelming. However, understanding that such relations exist makes it possible to prepare psychologically to expect, accept, interpret, and analyze wide array of knowledge. I hope to learn more about how brain hemispheres work in preparation for optimal use of brain resources. 5. Whereas it has been argued that schools kill creativity, I believe creativity starts with oneself and can be nurtured with time. Going beyond classwork and course books for search of knowledge is a prerequisite for creativity. Working in tandem with lecturers and like minded students will go a long way into cultivation creativity in my journey through UHD. 6. The first cartoon is funny because it depict a scientist in denial of scientific evidence. Whereas many scientists are looking hard for evidence to support theoretical predictions, it is funny that a scientist would disregard archaeological evidence of evolution in first the first

Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management Essay

Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management - Essay Example Louis is no longer working as a stock broker and Simon is now using the services of Cheryl who has strong views about Simon’s portfolio. Cheryl, a graduate in finance from York University, believes that markets are essentially efficient and admires the work of Harry Markowitz and Fama and French. She believes that the important thing is to have a good portfolio rather than good individual investments. Cheryl tells Simon that she doesn’t feel that he even has the best companies now even if they had been when the portfolio had been set up. Cheryl goes on to say that that a good portfolio needs to include exposure to overseas companies and smaller companies thus reducing the â€Å"beta† and improving the â€Å"alpha† of the portfolio. Cheryl also argued that it is vital to watch the â€Å"momentum† and have stop-losses on all the holdings in order to protect against primary downside movements. Simon is very concerned about his share holdings after talk ing to Cheryl and has approached you for advice. You ascertain that Simon, who doesn’t work, is 65 years old and is receiving a more than adequate income from his existing portfolio. Simon rents a flat in a seaside resort and does not wish to buy property. Simon is not willing to take on any additional risk. In addition to the shares discussed above Simon has ?14,000 in a bank account and ?300,000 in medium dated conventional gilts. Simon has two children from his short lived marriage to Susan who both have well paid jobs. Simon does not wish to transfer assets to his children as he would prefer to support any future grandchildren he has through their education. Simon’s ten equity holdings are: Company PE Ratio Dividend Yield Dividend Cover Equity Market Capitalisation (?m) BAE Systems 7.9 4.96% 2.5 11,003 BP 7.2 8.84% 1.6 77,353 British American Tobacco 15.4 4.2% 1.5 47,264 BT Group 7.6 4.89% 2.7 10,956 Diageo 14.8 3.47% 1.9 66,234 GlaxoSmithKline 10.5 4.78% 2.0 66,23 4 HSBC 29.9 3.34% 1.0 116,479 Marks and Spencer 10.9 4.16% 2.2 5,705 Rolls Royce 14.7 2.56% 2.6 10,847 Unilever 16.1 2.31% 3.2 23,281 Required: (a) With relevant statistics, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Simon’s existing portfolio above (make reference to eps/dps growth; betas; price performance; and sector spread of the ten shareholdings). (35 marks) Simon’s stock portfolio has been constructed according to the established views of modern portfolio theory, which seeks â€Å"alpha† by selecting stock holdings in companies that will outperform the return of the general stock indices or interest rates over time. Modern portfolio theory is based in the tenets of risk management, which analyze security investments according to â€Å"beta† or the volatility of stock pricing due to company specific business activities, market factors, macroeconomic changes, natural disasters, wars, etc. Investors have different expectations, personal, and professional motivations in building their investments and with this also comes varying appetites or tolerances for risk. Modern portfolio theory was developed largely before ETF vehicles existed to track index performance through large, distributed

Baby Theresa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Baby Theresa - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  approach which regards the possibility of taking one life to save another undermines the value of human life as whole. Here arises the problem of deciding who can be considered alive and who is not. Immediately, one can question the relevance of existence of people in coma and regard them as inferior and less important than conscious people. Similarly, could it touch severely retarded children, who are not capable of making decisions or leading a conscious and reasonable dialogue? The main issue here is that no one should have a right to making evaluations of whose life is more important and who is merely a means and to take a responsibility of talking about the common good and beneficence.As the essay discusses  allowing to donate organs of a child with anencephaly can serve as a precedent and further lead to widening of the law. The following can, eventually, result in a permission to transplant organs without patient’s consent in v arious contexts. For instance, it would give more freedom for medical workers to decide whom to consider eligible for donation. It could happen that soon people in coma or severely ill patients would be used as donors of organs without their permission or will be forced to give such permission. Any human can be exploited and used as a merely an object.  Solution of current bioethical dilemmas is quite a challenging task that presupposes a reconsideration of moral principles, personal values, and legal aspects.  

Banking financial management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Banking financial management - Assignment Example This paper concentrates on the application of these principles in banks and their importance in bank risk management. Corporate governance is important in banking institutions because it ensures that procedures are in adherence. Banks faces various risks which require proper planning on risk management in order to deal with them amicably (Gup 281). Corporate governance ensures equal treatment of shareholders by giving them a chance to participate in critical matters. This is possible in participation of meetings where important matters concerning a bank are in discussion. Here, the bank exposes the shareholders to decision making thus they exercise their rights (Matutes & Vives 5). They contribute by giving their opinions on certain vital issues hence helping the bank management on risks that it is likely to face (Matutes & Vives 5). The shareholders of banks via the participation in meetings feel respected because of involvement in decision making. This way, the bank exercises openness which is an important aspect in corporate governance (Tang & Changyun 52). The application of corporate governance ensures risks such as credit risks, liquidity risks, and market risks are in good management. This is possible through analyses of the risks expected in banks and using corporate governance principles to implement important decisions (Tang & Changyun 54). A banking institution is likely to face severe financial crises if exposed to credit risks. Corporate governance is able to reduce the level of credit risks plus increase the rates of return of bank by conforming to acceptable levels of risk exposures. Corporate governance provides procedure through which banks follow in order to deal with credit risks (Parlour & Plantin 1295). For example, there is a need of evaluation of the risk thus, measurement of the risk is vital. The process of quantification is present in the corporate governance principles. This is possible through

See instructions Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

See instructions - Research Proposal Example Furthermore, in terms of my primary resources, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management and police) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. For the final project, I will conduct interviews with students, teachers, and the police, regarding what they think the motivations of vandalism are and what proper situational (school management) and offender-centered resolutions are. I will interview three from each group- students, teachers (including Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of Community Engagement, and Andrea Goodwin, Director of Student Conduct), and the campus police- using convenient sampling. I will ask them these questions: Besides this interview, I will also conduct a survey in class regarding the prevalence, motivations, and resolutions to vandalism in College Park. I will ask another teacher and student first for the pilot testing of the interview and survey questions to improve my instruments’ validity and reliability. The survey questions are: I will prepare for these interview and survey through asking for participants this week and conducting them as soon as possible. I will contact the target audiences too beforehand to acquire their permission. I will ask them to read the interview questionnaire beforehand if they have time and to tell me if there is anything I need to

Oral Reading Essay Example for Free

Oral Reading Essay Reading is a complex activity. It sends our brains into a frenzy of electrical impulses that zig and zag through matter in ways we still do not totally understand. It organizes sights and sounds in designs that ultimately connect us to the broad vistas of lifes many landscapes. Reading gives us the opportunity to appreciate those landscapes in all their variety. It is remarkable that, whatever approach, method, or ideology is used to teach reading, most students become proficient at it. For many students, successful reading is assimilated into their experience quickly and with seeming smoothness. For perhaps as many as 20% of students however, reading is not an automatic skill. Patterns of understanding have to be systematically instilled so that the reading has the opportunity to crack the alphabetic code. More and more, what we have learned is that connecting these alphabetic symbols to specific sounds in order to create meaningful words. There is considerable longitudinal research to support that we should employ literacy skills every time we read. Without this connection between the basic unit of sound and the alphabetic symbol, reading does not occur for any of us. Accurate identification of children who experience delays in attaining critical early literacy skills is needed to prevent reading problems. Studies have demonstrated that reading problems become increasingly more resistant to intervention and treatment after the 3rd grade. This study will focus on early core literacy skills. These needed core skills for young children are phonological awareness (ability to identify and manipulate sounds), alphabet knowledge (awareness of individual letters and letter names), and grapheme–phoneme correspondence (ability to identify correspondence between letters and sounds). Children’s abilities across these four core skills serve as important predictors of subsequent reading achievement. A screening instrument that does not comprehensively examine all core skills may be ineffective for identifying children who display limitations in a particular area of early literacy. However, failing to identify young children exhibiting delays in early literacy acquisition or lacking core literacy skills is a risky venture and this is a challenge that we will face in this study. Historical Background Name: Alyza Zofia Z. RenonAge: 5 Sex: FemaleDate of birth: March 10, 2006 Identification: Alyza is a normal, outgoing 5 year-old kindergarten girl. Since her mother is a pre-elementary teacher, she teaches her everything when they are at home. She enjoys dancing and playing games. She loves to listen about science-related topics whenever possible. She is talkative and loves to answer questions. She can only read alphabet and one or two syllable words with pictures. Affective Factors Alyzass motivational level apparently varies with the topic. According to her mother, if the topic is interesting to her like books with colorful pictures, she is highly motivated. However, if the topic does not appeal to her, she keeps silent or finds something to play with. Physical Factors Alyza has a very good eyesight, in terms of auditory acuity, Alyza showed no indications of difficulties. Alyza didnt show any other physical limitation; she appears to be physically healthy. This means, there are no obvious health-related reasons for her reading difficulties. Objectives: This research will aim to determine or identify student who is at risk or not at risk for reading problems. This study will also seek to answer the following questions: 1. How do the 3 literacy skills affect the reading of the child? 2. How does the students background affect her reading ability? 3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the child in reading? Significance of the study The researchers hope that the study will be beneficial to the following: To the student, who will learn and improve her reading skills. Likewise, to the teachers of kindergarten, for they will focus more on the three literacy skills. Furthermore, to the researchers, to understand the factors that affect the poor reading ability of the child. Lastly, to the school administration, this study will provide basis to improve their curriculum and to focus more on literacy skills in pre-elementary department. Scope and Delimitation of the study This study will be conducted to determine the literacy skills of a kindergarten child. It will deal on how the child identify and manipulate sounds, her awareness of letter names and ability to identify correspondence between letters and sounds. It will discuss the certain measures, steps and ways on how to develop the literacy skills of the child in reading but it does not deal on the ways on how to pronounce the words correctly nor steps on how to syllabicate the words properly. The respondent of the study will be limited to kindergarten student only. Research Paradigm Chapter 2 Review of related literature Local According to Unicef Philippines, there are only 63% of the children who enroll in school complete primary school, this means that the quality of education remains poor in many areas of the country. A childs literacy skills are important to their success in school and work. Children who learn to read from an early age are generally more successful in academic areas. (Unicef Philippines) There were a research in 2008 conducted by by Bananal, a faculty member of arts and letters in U. S. T on how to measure the reading ability of grades 1 and 2 students. She stated that there were 3 levels in reading: Independent reading level pupil can read with ease without the help or guidance of a teacher. The student can also read with rhythm, with a conversational tone and can interpret punctuation correctly. Instructional reading level pupil can profit from instruction. Frustrated reading level pupils show symptoms or behavior of withdrawing from reading situation and commit multiple type of error in informal reading. Reading levels of children Grade 1 Frustrated reader 64. 41% Instructional reader 20. 17% Independent reader 15. 42% Grade 2 Frustrated reader 49. 98% Instructional reader 31. 40% Independent reader 19. 07% The result showed that there many students who encountered difficulties in oral reading. This means that children did not master the three literacy skills when they were in the primary level. The use of accurate, valid, reliable screening tools several times throughout the early years can help in the identification of those in need of monitoring further intervention or remediation. Information obtained from early reading screenings is likely to lead to positive changes in childrens reading trajectories because prevention strategies and interventions provided have a better chances of success when started sooner rather than later (Bananal, 2008). Foreign The negative effects of reading problems are well documented (Harris Sipay, 1990). There is evidence that reading disability is associated with social, economic, and psychological problems. There is little evidence, however, that efforts to correct reading problems through remedial reading programs or through special education placement have been very successful (Allington McGill-Franzen, 1989; Hiebert Taylor, 1994; Johnston Allington, 1991; Karweit, Slavain, Wasik, 1992-93; Kennedy, Birman, Demaline, 1986; Rowan Guthrie, 1989). Instead, there is evidence to suggest that children who encounter difficulty in learning to read fall further and further behind their achieving peers (Stanovich, 1986). Traditional approaches to dealing with reading problems, such as tracking and grade retention, do not help; indeed, they often appear to be detrimental to eventual student achievement (Shepard Smith, 1989; McGill-Franzen Allington, 1993). In contrast, a growing body of evidence suggests that reading problems are preventable for the vast majority of students who encounter difficulty in learning to read, if these students receive extra support in the form of an early intervention program (Goldenberg, 1994; Hiebert Taylor, 1994; Reynolds, 1991). In this paper, the term early intervention refers to early school intervention programs that are designed to prevent problems in literacy from developing rather than trying to correct a problem after it is established. For the most part, such programs have been used in first and second grades. Several of these programs have proven very effective when compared to conventional compensatory reading programs. For example, Hiebert, Colt, Catto, and Gury (1992) report that while 77 percent of the students in their early intervention project were reading at a primer level at the end of first grade, only 18 percent of a comparison group who participated in a traditional Title I program achieved that level of reading proficiency. While almost half (47 percent) of the students in the conventional Title I program remained nonreaders at the end of first grade, only 7 percent of the early intervention students were nonreaders. Thus, a growing body of evidence suggests that almost all reading problems are preventable. A review of the research literature indicates that there are at least five early reading intervention programs that have documented effectiveness. This paper will only very briefly describe the individual programs and then will concentrate on the factors that seem characteristic of all or at least most of these successful intervention programs. Two of the five programs, Success for All (Madden, Slavin, Karweit, Dolan, Wasik, 1991; Slavin, Madden, Karweit, Livermon, Dolan, 1990; Slavin, Madden, Karweit, Dolan, Wasik, 1992), and the Winston-Salem Project (Cunningham, Hall, Defee, 1991; Hall, Prevatte, Cunningham, 1993), involve comprehensive reorganization of the entire classroom routine; all students in the grades in which the program is implemented are affected. In the Winston-Salem Project all first and second grade reading/language arts instruction was reorganized around four major, thirty-minute blocks of activities: teacher-directed group reading activities, word learning activities, writing, and self-selected reading. In addition, in the school that served a very high proportion of at-risk students, an additional 45-minute block of time for very small-group instruction was included. During this small-group instruction time, students had additional opportunities to practice reading, writing, and word learning activities. Though it has now been implemented in more than 85 schools, Success for All was first implemented in schools in major metropolitan areas that served, almost exclusively, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds who had few experiences with literacy. Major features of this schoolwide program included heterogeneous grouping for most of the day, cross-grade grouping according to reading level for 90 minutes of smaller group (15 to 20 students) reading instruction, and one-to-one tutoring for those students  who needed extra support. The Boulder Program (Hiebert, Colt, Catto, Gury, 1992) and Reading Recovery (Clay, 1985; Clay, 1993; Clay, 1993a; Pinnell, 1989; Pinnell, Fried, Eustice, 1990) are add-on, pull-out programs; they are added to whatever approach to language arts instruction is being used in a school. The Reading Recovery Program, which originated in New Zealand, has been widely implemented in the United States and in several other countries as well. It is exclusively a first grade, one-to-one tutoring program. Reading Recovery is also recognized for the extensiveness of its teacher training program, which is conducted over the course of a year with fully certified teachers. The Boulder Program operated exclusively with the resources of a Title I program. The program worked originally with a pupil-teacher ratio of six students for each teacher. Through the use of carefully trained, supervised paraprofessionals who worked closely with certified, trained teachers, the ratio was reduced to three students for each teacher. Instruction was daily for twenty minutes. The Early Intervention in Reading Program (EIR) (Taylor, Frye, Short, Shearer, 1992; Taylor, Strait, Medo, 1994) takes yet another approach. Regular first and second grade classroom teachers work for an extra twenty minutes with the five or six students who are encountering the greatest amount of difficulty in learning to read. Provision is also made for these students to practice their reading for an additional five or ten minutes each day by reading individually or in pairs to the teacher, a teachers aide, a volunteer, etc. All five programs clearly acknowledge that the small-group or individual early intervention instruction that students receive is an addition to, not a substitute for, the instruction they receive as part of the regular classroom program. In the case of two of the programs (Success for All and the Winston-Salem Project), regular classroom reading instruction has been redesigned to ensure that appropriate instructional routines and materials are used. However, even when early intervention instruction is added to an effective existing reading program, there is also the anticipation that the sound practices that are part of the early intervention program will become infused into regular classroom instruction if they are not already part of it. For example, Reading Recovery teachers almost always spend part of their day as regular classroom teachers, reading consultants, language arts coordinators, etc. ; through these roles they attempt to introduce  instructional principles and practices that are part of Reading Recovery into the ongoing regular classroom. All of the programs reflect a model of reading as an active, meaningful, constructive process. Before-reading activities are used to build or activate relevant background knowledge, concepts, and vocabulary. Students are taught to monitor their reading to ensure that what they are reading makes sense. They are taught strategies for correcting word recognition errors that detract from meaning, and they are given opportunities for reacting and responding to selections they have read. The texts they are asked to read are read for enjoyment and for information. Other activities are developed within a framework of reading for meaning. Because reading for meaning is the constant point of reference and because students in these programs need substantial help in building word identification skills, the amount of time spent in discussing selections and in teacher questioning about the selection is kept to a minimum.

Convergence-towards-ifrs-in-malaysia-issues-challenges-and-opportunities Essay Example for Free

Convergence-towards-ifrs-in-malaysia-issues-challenges-and-opportunities Essay In the year 2008 the then Malaysian Accounting Standard Board’s (MASB) chairman, Dato Zainal Abidin Putih, announced that Malaysia will be converging with International Accounting Standard Board (IASB)’s International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). From that point onwards many initiatives were lined up by MASB and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in order to educate, train and inform all the relevant stakeholders in tandem with fast approaching deadline to converge, which is for the earliest year-end financial reporting date, 31 December 2012. On 19 November 2011, MASB issued the third accounting framework to be applied in Malaysia and this new accounting framework that is IFRS-compliant is dubbed as Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). The issuance of MRFS is vital to show and prove the Malaysian commitment and also it becomes a solid guideline for all entities that are administered by Securities Commission of Malaysia and the convergence begin on or after 1 January 2012. Historically, Malaysian accounting standards have always closely followed the former International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the current IFRS. This is due to the colonisation effect on Malaysia, where Malaysia was a British colony up to the year 1957 and many of the accounting standards applied in the United Kingdom has always made its way to be adopted by the Malaysian standard setters authorities and regulators. As Mohammad Faiz Azmi stated in forums that the Malaysian story of convergence has been a ‘slow and steady’ approach and this phased-in approach even though slower is expected to put Malaysian entities in a better position as the problems and challenges faced by Malaysian companies are far much reduced compared to other countries that adopted the ‘big bang’ approach, for example the South Koreans, where the accounting standard setters and regulators in South Korea agreed on full adoption of IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2009; Suh, 2011) ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORKS IN MALAYSIA Currently Malaysian entities are subject to three sets of accounting frameworks, the first accounting framework is the old Financial Reporting Standards framework (FRS), next is the Private Entity Reporting Standards framework (PERS) and finally the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). All these three frameworks are legally approved frameworks by MASB and can be applied by entities in Malaysia but subject to the type of entity. The three types of frameworks are outlined and discussed below. MFRS framework is to be applied by all entities other than private entities for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. Private entities are private companies which are incorporated under the Companies Act 1965, that are not itself required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. Private entities are also not subsidiaries or associates of or jointly controlled by an entity which is required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. However ‘Transitioning Entities’ are excluded from applying MFRS and these ‘Transitioning Entities’ are entities that are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) 15) including its parent, significant investor and venture. These ‘Transitioning Entities’ have an option to either apply the MFRS framework or the old FRS framework, but this leeway is only allowed for one year, as these ‘Transitioning Entities’ need to apply the MFRS framework by  Page 43 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 at the latest (Nazatul Izma, 2009; KPMG, 2011; Accountants Today 2012; Ganespathy, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). PERS framework is to be applied only by private entities but these private entities have an option to apply MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. If the private entities choose to apply MFRS framework and these entities are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to IFRIC 15), therefore known as ‘Transitioning Entities’, they have the choice to either apply MFRS framework or FRS framework, but these freedom is applicable up to 31 December 2012, as these entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). FRS framework which is the Malaysian version of IAS, which has been the main accounting standards framework for nonprivate entities before the introduction of MFRS framework can be applied only by ‘Transitioning Entities’, but as stated earlier, such entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012) ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN FULL ADOPTION OF IFRS IN MALAYSIA MFRS 1 covers issues pertaining to ‘First-Time Adoption of Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards’ and the transition date stated in MFRS 1 is the beginning of the earliest period for which an entity presents a full comparative information under MFRSs in its first MFRS based statements. Following the requirement of MFRS 1, MFRS 101 on ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ requires reporting entities to present three ‘Statements of Financial Position’ and two ‘Statement of Comprehensive Income’, ‘Statements of Changes in Equity’ and ‘Statement of Cash Flows’ each. MFRS also dictates that entities need to present statement of financial position as at the beginning of the comparative financial year, therefore reporting entities requires their financial statements to be prepared based on the requirement of MFRS from the financial year beginning on and after 1 January 2010, or otherwise be very cautious to make retrospective restatements and/or reclassify items in all the financial statements and notes to accounts and the transition date would be on or after 1 January 2011. The expectation is that the entities are able to present MFRS compliant financial statements come the year-end financial reporting on 31 December 2012, which may become an issue, if these entities are not MFRS ‘ready’ (Accountants Today, 2012). Another challenge for full adoption of IFRS in Malaysia is that under MFRS 1, whenever the cost of complying with MFRS exceeds the benefits to the users of financial statements and also if retrospective application would mean that judgement by management of a known transaction is required, IASB would grant exemptions and therefore this would create unlevel playing field amongst non-private entities in Malaysia that are supposed to apply MFRS framework as the criterion for full-adoption. To ensure that the reporting entities in Malaysia are MFRS compliant, these entities should perform a comprehensive, thorough and detailed examination of the readiness of their entity in becoming MFRS compliance to avoid any investigation by the authority due to non-compliance after the grace period for full adoption is over. If Malaysia ends up trimming its MFRS as a convergence framework that can be adapted to fit the local conditions and not a one size fits all set of standards, because a full adoption forces countries to surrender their sovereignty, then Malaysia will have serious issues and will face difficulties to be endorsed as a country that compliances to full IFRS adoption (Nazatul Izma, 2009). But as it is evident, MFRS 141 and IC 15 for ‘Transitioning Entities’ is an exception given to such entities to comply to full IFRS adoption by reverting to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013. Even though the IAS 41 assumption that fair value can be measured for biological assets was an issue, but this sort of issues should be communicated clearly to the practitioners and this is where the education and training of the practitioners is key for a successful full adoption of IFRS. For example MFRS 141 (IAS 41) disagreement with IASB need to be entirely made clear to the Malaysian practitioners, as IASB currently have agreed to recognise palm oil tree as a non current asset and not as an inventory (Nazatul Izma, 2009). One of the most common perceived advantages of convergence to IFRS is the possibility of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) (Gardiner, 2000; Christiansen, 2002), but as of 2010, report on the most attractive FDI destinations, the world’s highest FDI receivers are China, United States of America and India, of which none have converged to IFRS. Therefore, the notion that IFRS convergence will attract FDI is not valid, and this so called advantage cannot be applied to entice countries to adopt IFRS for financial reporting of their entities. IFRSs for SME is another reason to ponder on the real plausibility of full adoption of IFRS. If MASB chooses to adopt IFRS for SMEs to replace PERS, than we will have another version of ‘diluted’ IFRS as a framework within the Malaysia accounting scenario. Dr Paul Pacter, the board member and chairman of the SME implementation group, mentioned that some topics in the IFRS were omitted from the IFRS for SMEs, due to its irrelevance and also due to the fact that the ‘diluted’ version will be a simpler option for the SMEs to apply (Nazatul Izma, 2010). The IFRS for SMEs were simplified on the recognition and measurement and the disclosures were also reduced. Brian Blood, the Chief Executive of Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) mentioned that the IFRS for SMEs were developed to assist SMEs to prepare and present high quality and timely financial statements and information. Other benefits of SMEs applying the IFRS for SMEs are that the financial reporting is done in a consistent manner and not too expensive to prepare (Nazatul Izma, 2010). Having said all that, the fact is that there is a different set of IFRS for SMEs, therefore, it does not allow for full adoption, but maybe just a mere convergence. James Sylph, the executive director, Professional Standards and External Relations of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in a forum in 2012, strongly advocated that national accounting standard setters’ authorities and regulators should move away from the mere concept of convergence to a more profound notion of full-adoption. Page 44 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 Mohammad Faiz Azmi, MASB chairman, indicated that Malaysia will not require the IFRS for SMEs to avoid an ‘underconverged’ version used by SMEs due to the lack of human resources to implement new IFRS based regulations; therefore MASB is still uncertain about how exactly they should deal with the issue related to SME and IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2010) MASB together with MIA will have to look into the issue of the readiness of the Malaysian education system to deliver enough trained accountants that are IFRS savvy, as a full IFRS adoption can be burdensome and the human capital need to be created to fulfill this need. Mohammad Faiz Azmi mentioned that MASB is working with enforcers to amend the Financial Reporting Act (1997) to allow making amendments to accounting standards in Malaysia if there are any substantial issues that MASB disagrees with IASB (Nazatul Izma, 2009). This again will give some space for MASB for not to adopt the full adoption of IFRS as there will be some possible avenue to make changes in the IFRS provided by IASB. Companies Act 1965 and Financial reporting Act 1997 are the two most important acts pertaining financial statements reporting in Malaysia. The directors are supposed to be responsible for the preparation and presentation of a true and fair set of financial statements of reporting entities and these directors should be aware and be sure that their entities are IFRS ready.

Preserving Indigenous Languages English Language Essay

Preserving Indigenous Languages English Language Essay Many times when you are asked to describe your heritage it may not include language. In the United States we assume every person born here just speaks English because it is the nationally recognized language. We expect to walk into the grocery store and be able to carry on a conversation with the cashier or ask an individual for help. This is not the case everywhere. Many places such as Oaxaca, Mexico have more than one recognized native language. Many native Indians cannot expect to walk into town and have the cashier at the store speak the same language as them. The issue of language preservation is increasing extensively by the years. Language plays a hefty roll in culture, it has an extensive background, factors working against and for the preservation, and whether we like to acknowledge it or not plays a significant role within our government. Many of us do not realize how important something as simple as language really is. In the world today there are currently between 6-10,000 different languages and this all depends on what is considered a dialect vs. a language (Vazquez). This does not include the unknown languages or the ones that are already lost. Oaxaca is a state of great linguistic diversity. There are 16 indigenous languages and 17 including Spanish that are recognized in Oaxaca (Vazquez). Those however are only the languages the government recognizes. The recognized indigenous languages of Oaxaca consist of; Nà ¡huatl (the languages of 1 million speakers throughout central Mexico),Zapoteca (spoken by 400,000 people and has 5 regional dialects), Mixteca (320,000 speakers and 29 dialects throughout Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla), Mazateca (spoken by 150,000 people in Oaxaca, Veracruz and Puebla), Chinanteco (6 dialectal variants and 77,000 speakers), Mixe (70,000 speakers and 4 dialects), Amuzgo (spoken in Oaxaca and Guerrero by approximately 20,000 people), Chatino (20,000 speakers and 3 dialec ts), Zoque (spoken in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco by 20,000 speakers), Chicateco (14,000 speakers), Popolaca (has 12,000 speakers in Puebla and Oaxaca), Chontal (2 dialects and 10,000 speakers), Huave (10,000 speakers in southwest Oaxaca), Triqui (8,000 speakers throughout Oaxaca, Mexico City, Baja California, Sonora and the U.S), Chocho (3,000 speakers in Oaxaca), and Ixcateco (just 2,000 speakers in Oaxaca) (Languages used in Oaxaca, Mexico). As you can see there are a variety and dialects of indigenous languages in Oaxaca. There are many forces that work against the preservation of languages and even fewer forces that are working to preserve it. This creates a large issue for the indigenous peoples. Language shift or language death can be sudden or gradual due to colonization and globalization (Vazquez). Schooling is not an option in Oaxaca it is required however, there are very few forces to ensure education is received. When Children from villages and small towns attend school, they are taught in the nationally recognized language of Spanish. Many children who many have learned their native language are then forced to learn another language. Their parents cannot speak any language other than the native language, leaving the children as translators with the rest of the world. In Oaxaca, approximately 10-15% do not speak Spanish, 70% are bilingual, and only 15% speak only Spanish (Vazquez). The American idea encourages being bilingual in Mexico and this can have a negative effect. The act of being able to communicate with persons outside of your family is done through Spanish, not Triqui or Mixe, etcetera. Globalization teaches people that their native language is useless, it ha s no value to the outside world, this concept gets into the villages where the elders quit teaching their native language in order to adapt to a new world. This concept not only is the idea of globalization, but the loss of experience. Globalization goes as far as to include those migrants to American who came from small villages. Those migrants are individuals who have come for work however, they must adapt to American culture, a culture that frowns upon the different languages and its a culture that expects outsiders to adapt to it. These migrants spend a great deal of time in America to return with money to their villages taking with them learned American culture to teach, this then adapts into the small villages with endangered languages. Another contributing factor to the loss of language is the outside world delegitimizing language. Many languages are unknown or unwritten. The unwritten languages are ignored as if they do not exist because they cannot be written. Many native speakers are not literate therefore the verbal form of language is their only form of communication; they have no need for written language. According to Dr. Vazquez unwritten languages are ignored but people continue to draw from languages they have delegitimized, add an accent, legitimize it and create a written word. This act not only begins to tell villagers, your language does not exist but it then tells them that since we as higher people have changed this it can now be a written word however, it still gives no credit to the idea that it was a language to begin with. The article Vanishing Voices refers to language as an identity, the ability of a person to represent himself. If people are no longer able to represent themselves, they are no longer able to communicate and they then begin to lose a part of their humanity. This is all part of the process of losing language. While there are factors working against the preservation of language, there are people who are working towards preserving it. The first step in the preservation of language is to increase literacy. The more people can read and write the more they are going to want to read and write within their own language. The increase of literacy leads to documentation of the language not only in written form but in electronic form via computers; there are many different projects towards preserving these languages. In 1987 the Oaxaca Native Literacy Project was founded by H. Russell Bernard and Jesus Salinas Pedraza (Foundation For Endgangerd Lanugages). The project began before its foundation, in 1971 Salinas and Bernard began working on a project to document the Nyahnyu culture in Nyahnyu. They developed a writing system for Nyahnyu and Salinas wrote four books about the culture of the people of the Mezquital Valley. In 1989 the books were published in English. In 1987, building on their book collaboration, Salinas and Bernard conceived of the Oaxaca Native Literacy Center a place where Indian people from around the Americas could learn to read and write their own languages using microcomputers. Their idea was for Indians to write, print and publish their own works, in their own languages, on topics of their choice. They would write their own histories and record their knowledge for their children and for all our children as well. The center began operation in 1989 with support from the Nat ional Bureau of Indian Education and the Center for Advanced Studies in Anthropology in Mexico; from the Interamerican Indian Institute and from the Jessie Ball Du Pont Foundation. Salinas runs the center, along with Josefa Gonzalez Ventura, a Mixtec Indian from Oaxaca. Together they train other Indians to use computers, to write and to print books in Indian languages. In 1993 the project incorporated as a not-for-profit organization called CELIAC the Centro Editorial de Literatura Indigena, A.C. The A.C. stands for Association Civil, which means not-for-for-profit corporation. All five board members of CELIAC are native speakers of Mexican Indian languages. In January 1994, CELIAC moved into its own building in Oaxaca. The building houses up to 16 persons. There are toilet facilities for men and women, an ample kitchen, office space, meeting rooms, and computer work rooms. Indigenous authors spend time in residence at CELIAC and CELIAC is now a publishing house for indigenous lite rature, written in indigenous languages. CELIAC markets its books to scholars, libraries, and individuals. Proceeds from the sale of the books help keep the project going. Books are sold directly by CELIAC and all funds go directly to the project. So far, over 150 people speakers of a dozen languages (Mixtec, Chinantec, Aymara, Quichua, and others) from countries across Latin America (Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador) have spent from four weeks to six months in residence at CELIAC (Foundation For Endgangerd Lanugages). The project is major in documenting languages electronically as well as increasing the ability of native speakers to become literate in their own language. According to Gasper Rivera, To keep a language alive, writing it is fundamental, (Mixtec Revival: Mexican Indigenous Language on the Rise). Oaxaca also has a Mexican government-funded Academy of the Mixtec Language that teaches Mixtec speakers how to read and write their language. Pà ©rez Castro explains that a written script for Mixtec will help inhabitants from different villages communicate with one another, since the creation of a standardized vocabulary will smooth over linguistic variants in the rugged countryside where the language originated (Mixtec Revival: Mexican Indigenous Language on the Rise). [The practical benefits of a written language are obvious, says Domà ­nguez. From public health messages to family correspondence, the writing of our language is a historical necessity. (Mixtec Revival: Mexican Indigenous Language on the Rise)]. Although the project ignores the different dialects of the Mixtec language, it does help decrease the illiteracy rating of the population. Language seems as though it would be strictly a cultural problem. Although it is a cultural problem, it is also a political issue. Many Politics are centralized around developing the culture as well as the language in which it is portrayed. The government is involved because it decides which languages are recognized languages. This creates a problem because the languages that are recognized receive more preservation efforts, where the languages that are not recognized are left to go extinct without a second thought by the government. Governments need to recognize all spoken languages and create efforts towards preserving them. A look back to biblical times tells us that at one time there was only one language. While this may seem the ideal it is not the case today. Throughout the years we have relied on recorded history to teach us about our ancestors and about cultures of the past. Where there has been a lack of recorded history we have relied on artifacts. We use these artifacts as a way to tell us about the lives and cultures of the past. How much easier it would be to communicate history and preserve a culture if these artifacts were accompanied by the written word. Literacy is the primary culprit to lost languages. As literacy becomes far more widespread, so will language preservation. Education is the foundation on which language preservation will stand. To preserve a language there must be education and literacy. This not only leads to people having pride in their culture but will also create a gateway in which to study these cultures in the future. Cultures that have widespread literacy are far mor e likely to survive and be passed on from generation to generation. Foundations such as CELIAC have recognized this need and are addressing the challenges however, this is just one foundation. Many more will be needed to accomplish the literacy challenge on a wide scale. Although education and literacy cannot guarantee that all languages will be preserved, it will most certainly give the future generations a way to study those cultures and languages that are lost.

Elasticity of Demand for Lottery Tickets Essay -- Economics Economy Fi

Elasticity of Demand for Lottery Tickets Elasticity is the responsiveness of demand or supply to the changes in prices or income. There are various formulas and guidelines to follow when trying to calculate these responses. For instance, when the percentage of change of the quantity demanded is greater then the percentage change in price, the demand is known to be price elastic. On the other hand, if the percentage change in demand is less than then the percentage change in price; Like that of demand, supply works in a similar way. When the percentage change of quantity supplied is greater than the percentage change in price, supply is know to be elastic. When the percentage change of quantity supplied is less then the percentage change in price, then the supply then demand is known to be price inelastic. The following text is real world examples of these economic principles. They have been provided to build a bridge between current economic situations and economic principles of elasticity. The Demand for Lotto: The Role of Conscious Selection In this article is a discussion about the elasticity of demand for lottery tickets. Time series data was used in a way in which the expected value of the lottery ticket would vary due to rollovers (Farrel 1). It was found that there are far more rollovers than expected given the lottery design (Farrel 1). There was also some strong evidence found that supported that individuals did not pick their numbers in a uniform matter. The inverse supply function was found by using estimates that enabled them to identify the demand elasticity (Farrel 1). This analysis was based on the U.K. National Lottery that came about November 1994. With this in mind we realize that because game designs are similar throughout the world, these findings are more widely relevant (Farrel 1). The price elasticity of demand for lottery tickets shows that demand varies depending on the expected return from a winning ticket (Farrel 1). From this we deduce that this elasticity is relevant to the design of the lottery (Farrel 1). The way that the demand elasticity is derived is by comparing the rollover weeks with the non-rollover weeks. By doing this, the normal demand is recorded during the non-rollover weeks to see what level the demand is usually at. Then from there they can see how the demand increases as the lott... ...ing how some studies and economic research has been taking place and where. I found some of the studies to be trivial. This meaning that the authors used creative techniques to figure and estimate some of the elasticities. I also found it interesting how I could relate to the real life situations such as the Lottery. For example, when the lottery starts rolling over it creates a hype, and the demand goes up. I was always aware of this phenomenon but never realized what it actually was. Bibliography: Work Cited Farrell, Lisa; Hartley, Roger; Lanot, Gauthier; Walker, Ian The Demand for Lotto: The Role of Conscious Selection, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Apr2000, Vol. 18 Issue 2. Mason, Paul M.; Steagall, Jeffrey W., The elasticity of demand for lotto tickets and the corresponding welfare effects., Public Finance Review, Sep97, Vol. 25, Issue 5. Rashid, Muhammad; Mitra, Devashis, Price Elasticity of Demand and an Optimal Cash Discount Rate in Credit Policy, Financial Review, Aug99, Vol. 34 Issue. Montgomery, Alan L.; Rossi, Peter E., Estimating Price Elasticities with Theory-Based Priors, Journal of Marketing Research, Nov99, Vol. 36 Issue 4.

Jonathans Swifts Real Argument :: essays research papers

Jonathan's Swift's Real Argument God only knows from whence came Freud's theory of penis envy, but one of his more tame theories, that of "reverse psychology", may have its roots in the satire of the late Jonathan Swift. I do not mean to assert that Swift employed or was at all familiar with that style of persuasion, but his style is certainly comparable. Reverse psychology (as I chose to define it for this paper) means taking arguments that affirm an issue to such a degree that they seem absurd, and thus oppose the issue. Swift, in "An Argument [Against] The Abolishing Of Christianity In England" stands up for Christianity, and based on the absurdity of his defense, he inadvertently desecrates it. He sets up a fictitious society in which Christianity is disregarded and disdained, but nominal Christianity remains. The author writes to defend this nominal Christianity from abolition. The arguments that the author uses, which are common knowledge in his time, if applied to Christianity in Swift's time would be quite dangerous allegations. Indeed, the reasons that Swift gives for the preservation of the fictitious Christianity are exactly what he sees wrong with the Christianity practiced in his time. By applying Swift's satirical argument for the preservation of this fictitious religion to that which was currently practiced, Swift asserts that their Christianity served ulterior motives, both for the government and for the people. If we are to prove that the government was using religion for selfish purposes, we must be sure that it was not serving its intended purpose, the assurance of the moral sanctity of its policies. This is quite evident in the author's comment that if real Christianity was revived, it would be, "destroy at one blow all the wit and half the learning of the kingdom; to break the entire frame and constitution of things[.]" This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christianity has no influence on the government's current policies. It even seems as if the government established Church isn't completely rooted in Christianity, as the author weakly suggests that, "[A]bolishing Christianity may perhaps bring the church into danger." The ways that the government actually uses Christianity are completely selfish. One such purpose is the consolation of allies, "among whom, for we ought to know, it may be the custom of the country to believe a God." He later goes on to suggest the abolition of Christianity in peace-time in order to avoid the loss of allies. It also seems as if the government uses Christianity to pacify the commoners. Although Swift sarcastically interjects, "Not that I [agree] with those who hold religion to