Denver art museum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Denver art museum - Essay Example It appears, after some time observing it, to be a functional piece of furniture, very chic and flirtatious. The concept and design is simple, but whimsical. It appeared to be made of patent leather or similar material, and it comes in a variety of colors to suit any dà ©cor. This is a very quirky piece, I found it very appealing. The tipi of Standing Bear was very moving to see. It brought feelings of remorse as well as excitement to see such an incredible piece of American history. Given what the white man did to the Indian people, seeing this tipi was and emotional experience. It depicted many horses being ridden as well as herded; perhaps symbolizing the horses Standing Bear took from other tribes. It is a very colorful, beautiful piece that should be regarded with tranquility. â€Å"Dylan†, by Milton Glaser (1966) is definitely apiece appropriate for its time. The colors are vibrant and attracting, reminiscent of the turbulence of the ‘60’s. It portrayed, at least to me, the mix of thought and feelings of that period, and the inner struggles that people had to endure at the time. It is a stunning piece that moves the soul. Hock E Aye Vi Edgar’s â€Å"Heap of Birds† (2004), is simply extraordinary. Its subtle tone leaves the soul feeling pitiful. The trees that he created feel more like tombstones or crosses instead of actual trees. He consciously references indigenous people and their cultures in each tree. The wheel that the trees become represent to me a changing of the tides of the world, culturally, spiritually and economically. It just leaves the heart crying, needing redemption. This is a superb piece that is extremely difficult to take your eye from it is so moving. â€Å"Venturi Faà §ade†, by Rauch, Brown and Venturi (1979) just shrieks 1970’s pop culture. The flowers are unlike any other period of art, loud, vivacious and huge. They used muted tones with a splash of

Kantian and Utilitarian Theories and the Nestle Moral Issue Term Paper

Kantian and Utilitarian Theories and the Nestle Moral Issue - Term Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Nestle is a corporation engaged in home products processing and marketing worldwide. In the mid-1860s, it developed an infant-food formula as a supplement and/or substitute to breastfeeding. It then claimed humanitarian achievement after the formula was used by relief organizations such as the Red Cross to feed starving infants in refugee camps. In third world countries, the Nestle product has also been used as an alternative to less nutritious local infant feeding substitutes. And today, Nestle is the third largest home food company in the world with gross sales of nearly US$39 billion a year. But the Nestle success story is marred by controversy as the company has been charged for gross violations of a World Health Organization Code that affected both first world and third world countries. The controversy first emerged when in 1970, during a UN-sponsored Bogota meeting on infant feeding, a Protein Advisory Group (PAG) expressed concern about a worldwide decline in breastfeeding. PAG also sought examination of undue marketing-and-advertising of infant formula, which may have been the cause of this decline. Taking the cue for a sensational story, media made follow-up reports on unfair, dishonest and deceptive advertising by Nestle (village visits by health care dressed representatives, free samples to new mothers, free or low-cost products, improper labels) allegedly designed for the adoption of bottle-feeding instead of breastfeeding by mothers. Outrage against Nestle came to a high point when a Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute attested that millions of infants suffered ailments or death due to bottle-feeding. The institute, however, did not clarify whether the cause was the infant formula or improper sterilization-and-storage of baby bottles and feed.

Can nurses do to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals

Can nurses do to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals Reducing the incidences of malnutrition that often occurs during admission to hospital has been a priority within the nursing care profession for many years. There have been various explanations for this such as lack of staff, patients not able or are unwilling to admit they require assistance, poor use of assessment tools and care pathways. A key factor in the prevalence of patients presenting with malnourishment is the disturbances patients endure during mealtimes, such as ward rounds, non urgent medical interventions, housekeeping activities and visitors. This essay will explore the incidences of malnutrition, and those who are most at risk and the changes that have been made to reduce such incidences. Change management should be regarded as an ongoing process, which requires good communication, planning, positive leadership and cooperation. This essay will endeavor to explore the change management processes, leadership and team management skills used in the implementation of protected mealtimes. It will explore the negative aspects and problems encountered when implementing a change and the ongoing management skills required to maintain such changes. For many patients admitted to hospital, in particular the elderly, malnutrition is a common occurrence. It is the nurses fundamental duty of care to provide patients with the highest of care possible, a major requirement for any human being to survive and live a healthy life is the intake of a healthy nutritious diet, be that by conventional methods or artificial measures suitable for the patients state of health at that time (Royal College of Nursing 2007). Studies into hospital malnutrition show that as many as four out of ten elderly patients admitted to hospital are already malnourished and as a result of a hospital admission as many as six out of ten elderly patients, become malnourished, their situation worsens and their illness very often escalates (Age Concern 2006; BAPEN 2007). The NHS Improvement Plan (2004) set standards to deal with the increasing incidences of malnutrition within hospital settings; it has become apparent that these examples of good practice recommendatio ns have not been implemented in every hospital in the country, as incidences of malnutrition continue to exist. Davidson and Scholefield (2005) reports that inadequate nutrition can lead to longer hospital stays, impairs the recovery of patients and increases financial costs; several hospitals have indeed planned and implemented changes to reduce such incidences but on the whole have had limited success. The authors found that constant interruptions from drug, rounds, clinical activities and lack of nursing staff being on the ward at mealtimes (due to lunch breaks coinciding with mealtimes) all accounted for patients being provided with very little or on occasion no nutritional intake at any given mealtime. Savage and Scott (2005) does agree with this statement to some extent but argues that it is all to easy to blame nursing staff alone, it is the responsibility of each individual NHS trust to implement managerial changes and policies and ensure that they are monitored, evaluated a nd improved to provide the best care possible for each patient. Mamhidir et al (2007) argues that since the implementation of protected mealtimes in some hospitals there is substantial evidence to suggest that patients, particularly the elderly benefit immensely; patients gained weight, healing time reduced, were discharged earlier and mealtime experiences were a more pleasant experience for patients as well as nursing staff. Mooney (2008) argues that there is evidence to suggest even after hospital trusts have been presented with unarguable evidence that malnutrition is a major problem and a catalyst for longer hospital stays, only 43 percent of those trusts have not yet provided evidence that they have implemented schemes in order to reduce hunger and malnutrition. The Hospital Caterers Association (2004) further comment that mealtimes should not primarily focus on the provision of nutrition, it also makes way for social interaction between patients and carers, they further commen t that in general the quality of the food provided is not the issue, the inability of the patient to be able to feed themselves is far more the worrying issue. Council of Europe (2003) comment that hospitals should be designed to be patient centred, ensuring that the delivery of nutrition is flexible and all deliverance of care is set within a framework; all staff should work together in partnership to ensure that incidences of poor nutrition are dealt with. Repetitive reports of malnourishment is evidence enough to suggest that current practices are no longer working, change is a necessary force to ensure incidences are reduced. It is the responsibility of the leader to ensure this is tackled (Age Concern 2006). Change Management can be described as the process of developing a planned approach to change within an organisation. The objective should be to maximise the collective benefits for all stakeholders involved in the change and minimise the risk of failure implementing the change. Change involves assessment, planning and evaluation; changes in which people are nursed should always be focused on the benefits patients will receive if change is implemented (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, 2007). Welford (2006) writes that there are many theories which explore the need for change; the goal should be the provision of the highest quality of care, each individual involved in the delivery of such care should work together, be committed and supportive of each other during times of change. Change within a team which leads to new practices and ideas affects each individual differently; it can be a very daunting task for some and for others it is embraced to allow for personal development and the sharing of knowledge (Murphy 2006). There are many theories which uses steps or phases that can evaluate if a change is needed and if the changes that are implemented work. For the purpose of this essay the author refers to a popular theory developed by Lewin in the 1950s which requires three stages to implement effective change the acceptance and participation of all those involved in the area requiring change. The first phase, commonly referred to as the unfreezing stage of this theory requires the participants to acknowledge the need for change; evidence should be provided to encourage new thinking and beliefs about current practices. Hallpike (2008) writes that there is evidence to suggest that teams can be divided into groups who have their own individual opinion on certain regimes, practices and care deliverance. This can be said for the provision of nutrition to patients. In this particular study the author reports that some team members did not think the re was a problem with the current provision, some were not convinced that changes would be made and others did not have faith in a holistic approach across the team. In this situation it is the responsibility of the team leader to persuade all the team members that the need for change is necessary in order to provide the best service possible, that the whole team work towards a common goal. Welford (2006) discusses the second phase of Lewins theory; describing this stage as the moving stage, allowing individuals to voice their own ideas, experiment with different regimes, it allows time for reflection, to discuss positive or negative findings. Past practices may have seen some team leaders adopt the belief that employees were seen to work better when the leader provided strict job descriptions and a clear plan of what was expected of them; their opinions and ideas were not of value to the overall success of a team. Major (2002) argues that for a leader to adopt such thinking will on ly lead to flaws and a feeling of negativity within a team; the leader should adopt good communication skills and openness to allow for effective team building, positive group dynamics, all working efficiently and productively. Dennis and Morgan (2008) suggests that although change is the responsibility of the service provider, input from the service user is without doubt a valuable tool in assessing if a change is working for the greater good. Feedback, regardless of being positive or negative ascertains if the change has been a positive one. If the new change has a detrimental affect to the service user then the change has been a negative one, this requires a return to the freezing stage to allow the team to make further changes to increase the benefits to the service user. The authors further comment that managers should be seen as advocates for the service user; it should be the responsibility of the manager to challenge team members over poor practice, poor attitudes and resist ance to change for the better. Conflict within a team leads to unrest, a disbelief that change is for the greater good leading to a dysfunctional team. The third phase of Lewins theory can be commonly referred to as the refreezing stage, where new ideas and behaviours become a new or common practice. Pearce (2007) argues that to name this phase as such denotes that the change remains static, leaders should continuously strive to make changes for the better, communication across the whole team allows for individuals points of view to be exposed and discussed; feedback on how a new change is working is necessary in order to achieve the highest levels of quality care. Leadership styles become a key issue when developing, implementing and upholding change. Motivation of staff also plays a key role in the acceptance of change; leaders should demonstrate that they are a good role model, adopt a friendly attitude towards team members, accepting of criticism and be willing to provide positive feedback, when the team endeavour to believe in and implement the change (Darlington 2006). Corkindale (2009) argues that leaders need balance their role within a team to ensure that they do not become too over familiar with individual team members, as this may lead to team members relying too heavily on the leader to make all the decisions and authority may be compromised. Murphy (2006) writes that leaders need to adopt a style of leadership that suits the workforce; a laissez-faire approach can be seen as the leader not taking into account individual team members ideas, work ethics and commitment seriously, it can lead to a team feeling devalued and unorganised. The National Institute for Mental Health (2007) further suggests that leaders who show their commitment, by working alongside their colleagues, adopting and maintaining the changes themselves demonstrates a leader who is at the forefront in the deliverance of quality care. They further suggest that each leader will bring their own set of ethics, life experiences and education to a team, will often adopt their own style of leadership that may be a mixture of several styles moulded to suit the team and the area of practice they are employed to manage. Opportunities for team members to voice their opinions and concerns are invaluable; they are after all the main implementers of the change and wil l have be the first to recognise if the change has gained positive or negative results. The change can only work if leaders allow for reflection, discussion and adaptation of the change to suit each individual involved in the change process. A change that is difficult to implement or maintain will end in failure, this leads a team adopting negative feelings and a resistance to change in the future. Goleman (2000) suggests that to adopt an authoritarian approach, can at times be a positive approach to leadership especially if some team members resist change or there is a need to produce quick results. Goffee and Jones (2000) disagree with this statement and suggest that a good leader is someone who other people want to follow without bullying, threats or the fear of reprisals; they lead by communicating effectively and adopt a style of leadership that allows the team to understand what is expected of them. RCN (2007) writes that the only way malnourishment can be identified and managed effectively is with effective use of recognised screening tools.Perry (2009) argues that in many cases nursing staff are given the means and tools to assess a patient, but many are inadequately trained to understand the findings of the assessment or are unwilling to involve other health professionals in the care of the patient. A multidisciplinary approach to tackle such problems should be used. Protected mealtimes have been proven to be useful to not only the patient but to the whole care team, it allows for assessment in areas such as speech and language, mental health issues and other physical problems which can affect the nutritional intake of individuals. South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (2009) reports that protected mealtimes affects and involves all staff within in the organisation from physiotherapists, domestic staff, maintenance staff through to outside professionals such as social worker s. It involves all areas of clinical practice where patients require nutritional intake, not only for patients who are unable to feed themselves but for those patients who require and deserve a quiet, interruption free period to eat, drink and relax. To maintain and monitor the change process and may require several attempts before the target is reached. takes time and may not always be successful first time. National Patient Safety Agency (2008) states that many clinical staff referred to the implementation of protected mealtimes as a hindrance to their daily routine, but once the benefits for patients as well as the staff members were explained they became more compliant and understanding for the need to change.

Logic: An Empirical Study of A Priori Truths :: Logical Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Logic: An Empirical Study of A Priori Truths ABSTRACT: I distinguish a priori knowledge from a priori truths or statements. A priori knowledge either is evident or is derived from evident premisses by means of correct reasoning. An a priori statement is one that reflects features of the conceptual framework within which it is placed. The statement either describes semantic relations between concepts of the framework or it characterizes the application of the framework to experience and the world. An a priori statement is not necessarily part of anyone’s a priori knowledge. I also distinguish empirical knowledge from empirical statements. Both statements and theories are empirical if they are designed to characterize features of experience and the world. Knowledge is empirical if it fits experience; thus, one must check to see whether it fits. We do not obtain knowledge of logical systems by rational insight of evident truths and careful deductions from evident truths. Adequate logical systems are developed by trial and e rror. Logical knowledge is empirical knowledge that is not generally a priori. It is empirical knowledge of (some) a priori truths and principles of our conceptual systems. Logical systems are empirical theories of these truths and principles. 1. A Priori Knowledge and A Priori Truths In reflecting on our knowledge of logic, I was puzzled because logical knowledge seems to have incompatible characteristics. This knowledge has some claim to a priori status, but logical systems are also developed and "tried out" to capture linguistic practice. Can an a priori body of knowledge have an empirical character? To answer this, we must consider what it is to be a priori. A priori knowledge has traditionally been conceived to be the product of insight and reasoning. Some truths are simply evident to someone who understands them and reflects on them. These truths are known to be such without being checked in experience. Other a priori knowledge is inferred by evidently correct reasoning (this is deductively correct reasoning) which begins from a priori knowledge. That a priori knowledge which is not evident must be obtained by chains of reasoning which ultimately begin with evident premisses. A priori knowledge is the knowledge which Hume claimed to be "either intuitively or demonstratively certain." (An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding) It isn’t clear what there is about the objects of a priori knowledge that makes a priori knowledge possible. If we have a faculty of rational insight, on what does it "operate"?

Brain Death

Death occurs at an individual at the moment that his or her heart and lung stops functioning in such a way that they could never be restored. At the same instance, the brain function also stops. Death had been referred to as cardio respiratory death until technology altered the context death through the introduction of what was known as brain death which refers to the cessation of brain function and activity determined or measured by different test such as EEG diagnostics. Most of the time, the term brain death refers to a patient that lost brain capacity to do important function.They may sometimes be sustained by medical apparatus but is not literally dead in the physical context. However in some countries, these persons are considered dead and organs can be transplanted to some other patients who need body organs and patients who are brain alive. Thus, benefiting the society as a whole and as well as the receivers of the organ. Although the acknowledgment of brain death benefits th e community, several controversies and contradictions arise. Such conflict includes the different views regarding when the patient is to be considered brain dead, which also includes the controversies regarding PVS patients.Although new development on the fields of technology arises to be able to determine if one person is really brain dead, such as Digital Subtraction Angiography, Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT), Dynamic Computed Tomography (DCT), Magnetic Resonance Imaginary (MRI), Echo Planar MRI (EPI) and many other types of equipment, a consensus regarding the acceptance of brain death was never reached because of some ethical and cultural concerns. Such factor includes the different views and stand of the pubic regarding organ transplant.Still, the main factor against the consensus of accepting brain death is the public’s opinion and view, specially the families of the patient who were considered to be brain dead, regarding the matter. They are unlikely to accept th e burial of a breathing human or to intentionally terminate the cardio respiratory function of an individual through lethal injections or some other means. Due to several controversies regarding brain death, several policies had been made. However controversies and contradictions are still present, regarding brain death.Returning to Cardio Respiratory death will eliminate objections regarding brain death which was the original definition of death. Modern advances in medical technology are really challenging our conception of what it means to be human, to be alive. For some, the concept of Brain Death is also a form of legalizing killing.DEFINITION OF BRAIN DEATH: ROBERT BLANKStudies showed that the brain begins to die due to some several causes. One of the major causes was ageing in which there exist a gradual lost of sensory capacities in one’s brain.The higher the age of an individual means higher risk of having a decline in memory and other functions of the brain. Aging is the natural process in which brain functions declines. There are also causes which are not natural such as injuries, cancer, stoke as well as alcohol and drug abuse. However, the concept of brain death does not necessarily refers to this process of brain cell death but rather to the cessation of functions and activity of the brain as indicated by several test such as EEG diagnostics.This concept is different from what we normally regard as death. In a general sense, brain death refers to situation to which the patient was diagnosed to be unable to regain consciousness or unable to recover from his or her current state of having brain damage. When a person is considered brain dead he or she is regarded as already dead and thus, organs can be taken for transplants. Because of this definition, several controversies and contradiction occurs.In the beginning of the issue regarding brain death, several criteria were used conclude that a person was really brain dead: â€Å"(1) unreceptiv ity and unresponsiveness; (2) lack of spontaneous movements or breathing and, (3) lack of reflexes† (Blank, page 3). Due to the seriousness of the issue, there had also been acts in order to determine if the person is brain dead. The concept of brain death is still being debated up to the contemporary time even in the presence of modern technological devices such as Digital Subtraction Angiography, CAT, DCT, MRI and others.WHAT TRIGGERED THE CONTROVERSEY OVER BRAIN DEATH?The very reason for the creation of the concept of brain death was the advancement of medical technology. Although there are some machines in the field that were able to support the lungs and heart of a person, the fact that once the brain stem was seriously damaged. Spontaneous respiration could never be returned, providing a patient with no hope of recovery. Thus, the death of a person was linked to the death of certain brain function rather than to the cessation of the heart and lungs.CEREBRAL DEFINITON OF DEATHThe idea of total brain death has always been surrounded by controversies even it was accepted as the standard practice in most of the Western Nations because some argues that it cannot be referring to the death of the whole brain or the cessation of all the functions of the brain. Since the concept of the whole brain death ignores spinal cords reflexes as well as the emission of small electrical potentials measurable by the EEG continuous in some isolated brain cells. On the other hand, the cerebral death was associated to the cessation of the function of the cerebral cortex that is associated with consciousness and mental activity.Thus whenever specific higher brain functions of an individual ceases, he or she is considered cerebral dead rather than the cessation of all brain activity. The concept of equating death to cerebral death was based on the assumption that human life has no longer exist in the absence of the person’s consciousness. Thus, cerebral death focuses on the death of personhood rather than the death of the organism itself. Because of these assumptions, death gains a lot of criticism and objectivity.WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO INSTITUTE A POLICY DEFINING PVS PATIENTS AS BRAIN DEAD?Patients with PVS have a relatively intact brain stem with the complete lost of cerebral cortical function that may be due to lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain for about 4-6 minutes. Thus, the patient is left with a transient coma for days and weeks that sometimes also resulted in eyes-open consciousness for years. Although they have cough reactions as well as times of wakefulness and sleep because of the brain stem, they are completely unaware of themselves as well as their environments. PVS patients also experience no pain during the period.These characteristics that makes PVS patients different from permanent coma patients, patients with locked-in syndrome and irreversibly comatose are also the reason why it is difficult to institute a policy that defines PVS patients as brain dead.Summary: PETER MONAGHAN ARTICLEThe idea of referring to brain dead people as dead resulted in different views and stands taken by different groups and cultures. In the United Sates and Canada, the concept of brain was accepted and organs of people who are considered brain dead can be taken for transplant.Several countries on the other hand have different views regarding the matter specially those that that are outside the United States. Other countries have acknowledge the concept of brain death but were unwilling to view brain dead persons as dead and chose to stick to the cessation of heart and lungs as the indication of death of an individual. The differences in the views of the public regarding brain death creates several issues, controversies and as well as objections of the concept.For some, legalizing brain death is just a way of legalizing killing; others believed otherwise, mostly are professionals in the field of medicine who believed th at this concept will be able to save the lives of those persons whose brains are well functioning but are desperately in need of organ transplant. The acceptance of the whole concept of brain death is likely to produce a great development in the field of organ transplant, cloning and other medical fields. However, this would also mean changing the public’s definition of dead; disregarding mostly religious and biological beliefs of the definition of death.Medical technology developments also complicate the issues regarding brain death. Even the question of when should a person should be considered brain dead was still debatable up to the contemporary time. Still, the significance of death in the societal context still overrides medical authority when it comes to a patient known to be brain dead. One of the strongest issues that were against the concept of brain death was the difficulty of family members of a brain dead person to acknowledge the burial or even cremation of thei r love.Another issue that also arises was whether anesthesia should be used for patients that were brain dead. The concept of brain death really does create a lot of controversies and questions that remained debatable up to the present time.COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE USAIn the United States as well as in Canada, once a person was considered to be brain dead, his or her organs can be removed for transplant. However not all the countries, because of cultural differences, does not view and accept the concept of brain death in the same way.In several European Countries, surgeons could perform the transplant unless the patient forbade it. Still, there are those countries that accepted the idea of brain death and take it into consideration, but still preferred biological death and brain dead persons are not considered dead. There are also some countries that were totally against the idea of brain death. The concept of brain death was merely a convention outside the United States and Canada. Fo r example, in Japan, it took more than 3 decades of debate before the concept of brain death was legally accepted.Still, the issue of brain death remain restricted that allowed for organ transplants. Brain Dead individuals are not considered dead unless they wish to donate their organs. Germany on the other hand first recognized the concept of brain death but reversed its recognition in 1999. Although brain death had been legally accepted in Sweden in 1980’s, the issue is still being debated. On the other hand in the early 1900’s Denmark accepted the concept of brain death but decided not to use this concept in determining if an individual is dead rather they retain the heart and lung cessation of determining death.Thus, because of different views, beliefs and norms, different countries have different approaches regarding the issue of brain death.DECISION MAKING IN OTHER SENSITVE MEDICAL AND SOCIAL ETHICAL AREASThe issue on brain death had made certain impacts when it comes to decision making of some related medical, ethical and social issues. When it comes to ethical concerns, the main question that arises is the issue of life and death. Brain Death had moved some conception of death; it is a new definition of death as some may say.Brain death is a treat to some ethical, cultural and religious beliefs as it offenses certain beliefs of society. On the other hand, brain death offers great advancement in some field such as medicines and other medical aspects. Brain death made it easier for medical personnel to decide on whether to sustain or cut off different medical apparatus that sustains the breathing of the patients. It also helps in deciding to make an organ transplant from patients that are considered brain dead. Thus, it created medical advancement especially in the filed of organ transplant, cloning and other fields.On one point, brain death can be said to help the society by providing organs from those patients who are brain alive and are capable of making a change in society. However, the issue also brings disagreement among the members of the society.TERRY SCHIAVO CASEThe Terry Schiavo Case illustrates both societal and ethical issues concerning brain death, the decision that concern individuals and groups have to make. The different views of Terry’s husband and parents brought conflicts and legal issues.The concept of brain death made it legal to cut off the apparatus or the feeding tube used by Terry. Although Terry’s parents appeals to the court to put back the feeding tube, the court had rejected this appeal. It can be said that the court accepts the fact of brain death and agrees with Terry’s husband that she would rather be dead. However it was really hard for Terry’s parents to accept that their daughter was already dead. Different doctors who had seen Terry have different views and beliefs whether Terry would be able to recover or not.Thus, it was really hard even with several de velopments in medical fields to have a consensus of whether a brain dead person can be classified dead or not.CONCLUSIONIt can really say that medical development altered our notion of death. This brings new challenges to every culture and society. Because different cultures are different, they may have different stands regarding brain death. For some, it was proper to view brain dead person as dead because of the lost of the main function or the brain was already dead.However, some argues that legalizing brain death as death is also a form unjustified killing. The issue or concept of brain death will remain controversial and objections will always arise because of the differences of every culture and individual. Thus, the consensus regarding the matter can never be accomplished.ReferencesBlank, R. (2001). Technology and death policy: redefining death. Mortality: Vol. 6.Monaghan, P. (2002, February 22). Unsettled Question on Brain Death. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington : Vol. 48, Iss. 24; pg. A. 14.

Mitten Manufacturing Ltd

Generally, mergers occur for the purpose of improving financial performance or shareholders – making the likelihood of this potential merger ideal. Angela has offered to sell ML to John for the book value of equity, based on the 2014 year. MUMS financial Statements are in accordance with FIRS. John has asked for our help as professional accountants with the firm of Label and Liana ALP (L&L) to assist in determining an estimate of the purchase price. In order to do so we must first address the accounting issues with Mil's current financial statements.It should be noted that Mil's financial statements were prepared for internal purposes and have not been audited. John will want Mil's financial statements to be accurate before agreeing to Angel's suggested purchase price so that he is not overpaying. He will also want accurate financial statements to accurately determine Mil's debt/equity ratio, going concern, and other important ratios/factors. Angela may be biased towards keepi ng her current balance sheet numbers as they most likely overvalue assets and undervalue liabilities, making the sale of her ownership a better deal for her, but not necessarily a better deal for John.As John's accountants we must approach this conservatively in order to ensure that he is not overpaying for the company, focusing primarily on the book value of equity which is to be the selling price. Analysis and Recommendations Issue: $500,000 loss ML experienced a loss of $500,000 during the year which could be due to problems with operations or Accounts Receivable collection. This may have encouraged Angela to bias the numbers to make ML look better to potential buyers. This loss should be kept in mind when reviewing the following issues.While this is a one-time event, working capital, inventory turnover, and debt ratios should be considered when determining the company's future sustainability. This loss will decrease or has decreased shareholders equity by $500,000. The loss may be a positive for John as he will be able to carry forward the loss to a positive net income in the next twenty years, which can potentially reduce Mil's future taxable income. Should John decide to carry forward this loss, the journal entry should kick like the following: 1) Dry. Deferred tax asset 500,000 Cry.Income tax benefit Issue: How to account for the new lease agreement Capital Lease Operating Lease Under FIRS, one of four classification criteria must be met in order to be lassie as a Capital Lease: 1) Reasonably assured that ownership will transfer to lessee at end of lease term 2) Lessee gets substantially all economic benefits from using the leased asset over the lease term 3) Lesser recovers substantially all investment, and earns a rate of return 4) Leased asset is specialized and can only be used by lessee According to the terms of Mil's new lease agreement: 1) Yes, under the assumption that the Bargain Purchase Option of $4,500 will be exercised 2) No, lessee only us es 50% of economic life – not considered substantial as there is still 50% of its life left for economic benefits to be aimed 3) Yes, because the IV of Minimum Lease Payments (where 1=9%, N=5, and is equal to $88,000, which is 100% of the IV of the asset at January 1 , 2014 4) NINA.Information was not provided to answer this The lease meets both the first and third classification criteria Capital Leases must record the asset and liability, depreciation of the asset, and interest expense following the effective interest method Under FIRS, one will account for a lease as operating if the risk and benefits of ownership of the leased asset are not transferred to the lessee If a lease does not meet any of the criteria necessary for a Capital Lease, then it will be ported as an Operating Lease Operating Leases are accounted for as a rental expense After considering the two alternatives, it is clear that the new lease agreement must be recorded in Mil's books as a Capital Lease. Thi s is due to two of the four Capital Lease classification criteria being met, which do not allow for the company to record it as an Operating Lease. The following journal entries should have been entered throughout 2014: 01/01/14: 1) Dry. Lease Equipment Obligation 88,000 88,000 2) or. Lease Obligation Cry. Lease 24,066. 26 Cry. Cash 12/31/14: 3) Dry. Interest Expense 3,057. 02 4) Dry. Amortization Expense Cry. Accumulated Amortization 3,057. 02 Cry.Interest payable 4,400 While there are more incentives to classifying a lease as operating such as tax incentives, higher return on asset, and better solvency ratios, the lease must be classified as a Capital Lease so as to stay in accordance with FIRS. However, a Capital Lease does provide a company with a higher operating cash flow, and reduces Net Income, which potentially reduces income taxes. A lower Net Income will result in a lower shareholder's equity. Issue: Entries to reflect changes in the plan asset and liability for current y ear FIRS ASPS FIRS requires that the same discount rate is used for plan asset and liability and the immediate recognition approach must be used.Therefore, using the Projected Benefit Obligation method, and using a 10% discount rate, the Plan Liability would be: $ 694,969 + 35,000 + 69,497 – 40,000 = $759,466 And the Plan Asset, using the 10% actual return on plan assets, would be: $ 525,000 + 52,500 = $537,500 Making the Defined Benefit Obligation: $ 537,500 – 759,466 ($221,966) The Pension Expense: $ 35,000 – 52,500 = $ 51 ,997 And the Net Defined Benefit Liability: – (169,969) = ($ 51 ,997) ASPS allows for either the immediate recognition approach or the deferral and amortization approach ASPS also allows for the expected return on plan assets to be different from the discount rate used for the Accrued Benefit Obligation No calculations are necessary for the ASPS alternative of this issue, as they would not be in accordance with FIRS with which ML must follow. Therefore, in accordance with FIRS, we will account for the changes in the plan asset and liability as stated above.Please note that the Accrued Benefit Obligation (ABA) will be referred to as the Defined Benefit Obligation (DB), s we are working under FIRS rather than ASPS. Following the restriction that the same discount rate (1 0% in this case) be used for both plan asset and liability, the following journal entries should be made to account for the changes for the current year: 12/31/14: 1) Dry. Pension Expense Cry. Net Defined Benefit Liability 51,997 51 ,997 This increase in Net Defined Liability will decrease Shareholder's Equity. Issue: Depreciation of Capital Assets The depreciation of capital assets must be taken out of the provision for income taxes included in the financial statements for the current period.This depreciation is to be included in taxable income, not accounting income and will incorrectly state Mil's provision for income taxes if not removed. The CA amount needed to be removed is equal to x 30% $1 this amount will be deducted from the taxable income. The removal of $1 from the provision for income taxes will increase net income, subsequently increasing shareholders equity. Issue: How to account for the Super Shopper Account Receivable Estimate Unconvertible Receivables Writing Off Accounts Receivable There are two methods to estimate unconvertible receivables: 1) Balance Sheet Method – uses past collection experiences to estimate unconvertible amounts.ML could estimate the amount required for Allowance for Doubtful Accounts as a percentage of the balance in Accounts Receivable. Using an aged receivables analysis, ML could forecast a percentage of estimated unconvertible Accounts Receivables accounts over 90 days old. The journal entry would look similar to the following: Dry. Bad Debts Expense Cry. Allowance for Doubtful Accounts xx 2) Income Statement Method – estimates cost of bad debts as a percentage of Sal es. Mil's journal entry using this method would look the same as the Balance Sheet Method journal entry. If ML determines Super Shoppers account specifically to be unconvertible, they may use the Allowance Method for writing off accounts.The following journal entry would be made: Dry. Allowance for Doubtful Cry. Accounts Receivable -? Super Shopper Should the payment be received after the write – off, the account can be reinstated using the following journal entries: 1) Dry. Accounts Receivable 2) Dry. Cash Cry. Accounts Receivable If the amount is immaterial, ML may also use the Direct Write – Off Method, where no allowance account is used. The journal entry would be as follows: or. Bad Debt Expense Due to the age of Accounts Receivable -? Super Shopper (90 days old) and the financial difficulties that Super Shopper is currently facing, it is unlikely that the account will be paid off and should there for be written off.ML should follow the Allowance Method of writing off journal entries stated above to record the write – off of the Accounts Receivable. This method would be preferred as it allows for the account to be restated should Super Shopper pay off their debt. The Direct Write -? Off Method would not suffice for this account as the amount of $200,000 is not considered immaterial. This Bad Debt Expense needs to be considered as it will impact Mil's assets, and an increase in bad debts is a decrease in the value of the firm (shareholders equity) of the firm for John. This might not be as substantial to consider should ML have already had a bad debt reserve, meaning that the net income would not have been so greatly affected.Issue: How to account for the Tech Outerwear Lawsuit Recognize lawsuit as a provision Recognize lawsuit as a contingent liability Under FIRS, ML should recognize the lawsuit as a provision if: 1) The company has a present legal obligation as a result of a past event 2) It is rabble – â€Å"more likely than not† – that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation 3) A reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation If the lawsuit meets these conditions, it should be recognized in the financial statements Under FIRS, ML should recognize the lawsuit as a contingent liability if either: 1) There is a possible legal obligation as a result of a past event, which will be confirmed on the occurrence of an uncertain future event, not within the reporting individual's control; or 2) There is a legal obligation from past events, which is not recognized as it is to probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation or a reliable estimate cannot be made of the amount of the obligation If the lawsuit meets these conditions, it should be disclosed in the notes of the financial statements. The notes should include the following: 1) Estimate of its financial effect 2) Uncertainties related to the amount and timing of any out flow of resources 3) Possibility of any an outflow of resources The lawsuit by Tech Outerwear for patent infringement has not been properly assessed by Mil's lawyers yet, and therefore they have not determined the likelihood of losing the suit. This information allows us to determine that at this time the lawsuit should be recognized as a contingent liability in accordance with FIRS, as we are unable to meet the conditions to recognize it as a provision on the financial statements.This lawsuit meets the criteria that there is a possible legal obligation that cannot be confirmed until Mil's lawyers assess the lawsuit, and the probability of the outflow of resources and a reliable estimate of the obligation cannot be made. The numbers ($200,000 to $700,000) on past lawsuit settlements are not reliable information. The required disclosed notes stated above should be included in he financial statements. Determining the probability of the lawsuit and the estimated loss should be complete d as soon as possible, as a loss could result in a going concern policy. This information will be very important to John as the company has already experienced a loss of $500,000 during the year. This note has no effect on equity; only when the lawsuit is official will it have an effect on equity.Issue: Retractable Preferred Shares ML also has $50,000 of retractable preferred shares included in their capital stock. These shares a retractable if there is a change in the ownership of cuisines. This will be of concern to John, as the $500,000 loss incurred during the year does not leave the company with the funds available to pay the shareholders should they decide to sell their shares; John must consider day to – day cash requirements for the company's expenditures that are not included in current liabilities. While it was not stated, which might have been done on purpose by ML, it is unclear if dividends were declared during the year for the preferred shares, which may affect John's decision greatly.Cash dividends should not have been declared unless the current and future uncial position justify it; the current loss of $500,000 does not suggest that they should have declared any. Cash dividends would have reduced shareholder's equity. If stock dividends were distributed, then there would have been no effect on the balance of shareholder's equity. On the other hand, non -? payment of dividends can also affect the company as the preferred shareholders may choose to sell their shares if they stop receiving dividends; receiving dividends is usually what attracts investors to preferred stock. John should examine the debt/equity ratio to determine if these referred shares were issued because the ratio became too high and they wanted the company to look more desirable to investors and buyers.Issue: Accounting for Employee Stock Options Recognizing stock options While Compensatory Stock Option plans (COOP) do not involve a transfer of cash when first issued, th ey still must be recognizes in the financial statements and measured at fair value Coops are usually given instead of salary or a bonus, and the economic value lies in the prospective future gains when the options are exercised The Compensation Expense will be recognized as the services are being provided by the employees. Therefore, Total compensation expense is calculated on the day the options are granted and is equal to the fair value of the options. The first journal entry for Mil's stock options should look like the following: 1 2/31 /14: 1) Dry. Compensation Expense XX,XX Cry. Contributed Surplus – Stock Options XX,XX If/when the options are exercised, ML should record the entry as such: XX/XX/1 5: 2) or. Cash XX,XX Dry. Contributed Surplus – Stock Options CALYX Cry.Common Shares XX,XX If the options expire by the end of the three years, then the journal entries for the remaining balance should be the following: 3) Dry. Contributed Surplus – Stock Options Contributed Surplus – Expired Stock Options XX,XX cry. XX,XX Mil's disclosures on the stock options should include the following: 1) Accounting policy 2) Description of plan 3) Details on numbers and values Of options issued, exercised, and expired 4) Assumptions and methods used to determine fair values 5) Total Compensation Expense and Contributed Surplus The recognition of these stock options is required under both ASPS and FIRS, and ML has no option but to record them as such.The first journal entry that records the total Compensation Expense and Contributed Surplus must be made in order for ML to have accurate financial statements. The following journal entries are to be used in the future when options are exercised or expired. As no further information on dates and values were provided, the reporting individual is not able to provide completely finished journal entries. The Compensation Expense will lower the net income, which will subsequently lower shareholder's equi ty. As well, if there is a large amount of option redemption's, this will cause the share price to quickly drop. Investors who sell their shares during this time will incur capital losses, and these losses may be carried forward to reduce tax liabilities.