Steps in a jury trial Essay Example for Free

Steps in a jury trial Essay A jury trial is a manifestation of democracy, wherein ordinary citizens have their cases heard and deliberated by people like themselves. A jury trial, based on the idea of an impartial jury, can serve justice, because they are mandated to deliberate on the facts of the case alone. This paper analyzes the steps in a jury trial, including the constitutional trial rights that are enacted during a jury trial. The jury trial rights are expressed in the U.S. Constitution in three ways: the grand jury, the criminal jury, and the civil jury. The Fifth Amendment provides the right to a grand jury: â€Å"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Sixth Amendment states the importance of an â€Å"impartial† and fair jury to criminal proceedings: â€Å"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Seventh Amendment asserts the right of the people to a civil jury: â€Å"In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This paper proceeds to the steps in a jury trial. The first step is the selection of a jury. The trial court judge mails a request to a panel of prospective jurors to attend the jury assembly room for the purposes of the jury selection process (Judicial Council of California [JCC], 2010). After the arrival of the jurors, the judge and lawyers ask the jurors questions for the purpose of assessing, whether the jurors are free of bias, or prejudice, or anything that might obstruct with their ability to be fair and impartial, in a process called voir dire. It is important to find a fair and impartial jury, which the Sixth Amendment asserts. The Fifth Amendment also stresses that the accused in a criminal case has a right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury.In essence, the right to jury trial guarantees to the criminally accused a fair trial by a panel of impartial, indifferent jurors.[1] The law permits the judge and the lawyers to â€Å"excuse† some jurors from service for diverse reasons (JCC, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  If a lawyer seeks to have a juror excused, he or she must use a challenge to excuse the juror (JCC, 2010).   Ã‚  There are two kinds of challenges: for cause or peremptory. Under a for cause challenge, the law provides several reasons that jurors may be excused â€Å"for cause† (JCC, 2010). For example, a juror who is related to one of the parties in the case may be excused for cause. There is no limit to the number of for cause challenges. As for a peremptory challenge, this is a challenge given without the need to provide a reason. The law provides only 10 peremptory challenges in criminal cases and 6 in civil cases (Code of Civil Procedure sec. 231 as cited in JCC, 2010). The procedure of questioning and excusing jurors will continue, until 12 persons are chosen as the jurors for the trial (JCC, 2010). The second step is the trial itself. There are three main duties of the juror: 1) Jurors should not speak to others about the case, especially the lawyers and parties from either side, and even with their family and friends. It is important to avoid being influenced by other people who have not heard the whole facts of the case; 2) Jurors should not make a conclusion about the case without hearing all the facts.   Jurors should only discuss their opinions with fellow jurors and it is their duty to deliberate the facts of the case; 3) Jurors should not conduct a personal investigation of the case (JCC, 2010). If they have questions about the evidence, they should ask the bailiff about it, and he/she will make further decisions (JCC, 2010). During the trial, the jurors will listen to the opening statements of the lawyers (JCC, 2010).   Ã‚  The lawyer for the plaintiff in a civil case or the prosecutor in a criminal case may make an opening statement which expresses their viewpoints about the evidence (JCC, 2010).   Ã‚  The defendants lawyer may also provide an opening statement after the plaintiffs attorney (JCC, 2010).   Afterwards, the lawyers will present the evidence, in forms of written documents or objects, which will all be called as Exhibits (JCC, 2010).   After the presentation of the evidence, the lawyers will present their closing arguments (JCC, 2010). A critical part of the jury trial is the deliberation. After a trial, the jury proceeds to an assigned private room to discuss evidence and testimony, so that it can reach a verdict. Jurors also have a duty to select a foreperson. The jury should select a competent foreperson. The forepersons responsibility is to see that discussion is facilitated in an organized manner, all issues are completely and freely deliberated, and all jurors are allowed to freely participate in the discussions (JCC, 2010). The final stage in a jury trial is the verdict. All jurors should discuss and vote on each issue of the case. In a civil case, the judge will inform the jurors how many of them must agree in order to reach a verdict. In a criminal case, the unanimous agreement of all 12 jurors is compulsory (JCC, 2010).[2] People have a right to a jury trial, wherein the jury is impartial and fair. The Constitution provides for this right, as well as the rights of the jurors to have an open and complete deliberation on the facts of the case. The jurors, thus, must be aware of their rights and duties. Being a juror means that they are expected to be people of integrity and to seriously pursue their duties. For in every verdict they provide, lay the fate of fair and truthful convictions. References Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162, 171-172, 94 L.Ed. 734, 742, 70 S. Ct. 519 (1950). Fifth Amendment.(no date). U.S. Constitution. Retrieved May 31, 2010 from   http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/pdf2002/023.pdf Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 6 L.Ed. 2d 751, 755, 81 S. Ct. 1639 (1961). Judicial Council of California (JCC). (2010). Trial process: Three main steps of a jury trial. Retrieved May 31, 2010 from http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/jury/process.htm Seventh Amendment. (no date). U.S. Constitution. Retrieved May 31, 2010 from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment07/ Sixth Amendment. (no date). U.S. Constitution. Retrieved May 31, 2010 from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment06/ United States District Court . (no date). The Eastern District of North Carolina, New Bern Division. [1] See Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 6 L.Ed. 2d 751, 755, 81 S. Ct. 1639 (1961). [2] What happens when there is no verdict? â€Å"If a jury cannot arrive at a verdict within a reasonable time and indicates to the judge that there is no possibility that they can reach a verdict, the judge, in his or her discretion, may dismiss the jury. This situation is a mistrial, sometimes referred to as a hung jury, and may mean the case goes to trial again with a new jury† (JCC, 2010).

Why Is Soil Conservation Important Environmental Sciences Essay

Why Is Soil Conservation Important Environmental Sciences Essay Quantitative determination of the extent and impact of soil erosion by water in the tropics have been sketchy. However all available evidence indicates that accelerated erosion is a problem of serious magnitude and with a multitude of negative effects in many tropical countries. The awareness to conserve soil began approximately nine thousand years ago when human civilization shifted from nomadic hunting and gathering experience to a more permanent, settled and intensive soil-dependent plant and animal farming systems (Miller, Rasmussen and Meyer, 1985). Soil provides the medium from which most of the sustenance for humankind is derived. This thin, complex, crustal carpet uniquely integrates many attributes of the lithosphere, atomosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere (Miller, Rasmussen and Meyer 1985). Soil is regarded as a nonrenewable source since its formation from the parent rock material to an agriculturally productive growth medium is a very slow process (Lal 1990). The top soil is where most of the living activities of both flora and fauna take place. According to Brady and Weil 1999, the top soil is the upper most part of the soil ordinarily moved in tillage or its equivalent in uncultivated soils which range in depth from 7 to 25 cm (the plow layer). Removal of this plant nutrient enriched topsoil due to soil erosion would result in lowering of soil fertility through losses of both organic matter and nutrients which would result in decline of crop yields (Lal 1986; Rose and Dalal 1988). This loss in soil productivity due to erosion is serious in caribbean countries where fertilizer substitute for the lost plant nutrients is not affordable. This would lead to poorer soil profile characteristics such as low organic matter levels (Rose 1989;Rose 1998). Soil Erosion is perhaps the most serious form of land degradation throughout the world. For the tropics specifically, while it is acknowledged that erosion is more serious than else where, no analytical or systematic studies have been undertaken to document the problem, it consequences or potential solutions. Soil erosion results in lost water and plant nutrients at rates even greater than those occurring naturally through leaching ( Brady and Weil 1999). If there are no conservation practices present, soil erosion will occur and land degradation, reduced productivity due to loos of top soil, increased runoff and off site sedimentation problems (such as siltation of bodies of water and damage to crops and roads) will occur. The consequent socio-economic costs of sometimes more obvious off site damage are commonly easier to identify and quantify (Chrisholm 1987; Rose 1993). 1.2 Soil Conservation Strategies The caribbean is characterized by steep slopes. The degrees of steepness and the proportion of the land area classified as steep may vary. In Trinidad and Tobago, a larger propotion of steep slopes is still covered with natural vegetation which reduces the soil washed off the surface. Trinidad is marked with a long dry season in the early part of the year and then followed by an intense wet season. Most erosion occurs when the land is cleared of vegetation for farming. This usually occurs just before the rainy season. It is important to note however that most food crop production in Trinidad as well as the rest of the Caribbean, is carried out by small farmers on sloping land with no attention to soil conservation practices. This is the main reason for severe soil erosion in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension the Caribbean. Soil conservation is understood as not only involving the control of loss of soil material due to erosion but also the decline in fertility (chemical, physical and biological breakdown of the soil). (Young 1984). The adverse effect of soil erosion is not confined only to decrease in soil depth but ultimately to the loss loss of organic matter and plant nutrients and consequently to degradation of soil physical properties and crop yield decline ( Young 1984). It is important to note however that treating the benefits of soil conservation in isolation from other agricultural improvements does not assure adoption of the soil conservation practice (Young 1984). Integration of soil conservation is important ( Douglas 1988; Shaxson 1988). Sheng and Meiman (1988) stated reasons for the difficulty of farmers in adopting soil conservation practice. The reasons are as follows: i) long time for the result of soil conservation to be realized, ii) identification of benefits from soil conservation and iii) the need for big investments by farmers. It is important to note however that Williams and Walter (1988), in a terracing project in Venezuela, found that improvement in the living incomes and opportunites for employment, increases the difficulty of motivating the farmers to adopt soil conservation practices. Apparently when low income and underemployment prevail, farmers easily participate in soil conservation programmes (Williams and Walter 1988; Liao et al 1988). The adverse effect of soil erosion is not confined only to loss of soil particles but also the loss of organic matter and plant nutrients. As a result of this crop yield decline will occur (Young 1984). Conservation farming should serve as the basis for counteracting the problem of soil erosion. To carry out this approach in developing countries, novel approaches in extension and research are needed. The majority of the soil conservation techniques were developed in the United States of America under condtions different from the other parts of the world experiencing erosion (Sheng, 1982; Hudson 1988; Sheng 1988). The techniques that worked well in the United States were extrapolated to the tropics in the 1930s and 1940s. It took fifty years to realize that these methods were unsuitable for the tropics ( Hudson,1987; Hudson 1988). The dominant traditional farming system in the tropics are the shifting cultivation and related bush fallow systems (Okigbo and Greenland, 1976). The non-ac ceptance of the many recommendations on soil conservation methods is attributed to their in appropriateness and incompatibility with the farmers operating environment (Douglas, 1988). The following agricultural conditions in the United States of America paved the way for the development of soil conservation activities (Hudson,1982;Hudson 1987): Combined good topography and favourable climate Low population pressure for intensive land use Strong and sustained government support well educated and informed agriculture sector Readily available credit and financial support Reliable prices and market outlets for agricultural produce Highly developed and highly mechanized agricultural industry. According to Hudson (1987), the absence of these conditions in most developing countries made the North American approach to soil conseration in appropriate. The absence of political will, or the limitations in or lack of resources often hindered soil conservation programmes in developing countries. The main aim of soil conservation should be preventation rather than cure. Soil conservation activity should be focused mainly on preserving good land rather than reclaiming damaged land. Without waiting for visible soil erosion damage, farmers should be encouraged to understand that there is a need for soil conservation due to continuing reduction in agricultural yield (Hudson, 1987). Loss of agricultural productivity should be emphasized in any soil conservation programme. For sometime, soil erosion research activities had almost been exclusively directed towards uantfying soil loss, hence data on the effect of soil erosion on agriculture productivity is seriously lacking (Crosson and Stout, 1983; ASAE,1985; Follet and Stewart, 1985; Stocking, 1985). Removal of topsoil resulted in decline of yield of a variety of agricultural crops (El-Swaify, Dangler and Amstrong 1982). Factors like type of soil, depth of soil, fertility status, topography, and type of crop affected the size of the decline in agricultural yield (Frye et al, 1982; Langdale and Schrader, 1982; Schertz 1983). There is limited data for soil and crops in the tropics (Lal, 1977). The effects of soil erosion on soil productivity in the tropics are move severe than for temperate countries (Moberg, 1972). This is because of highly weathered soils, fragile fertility status and most crop nutrents are found in the topmost layer of the soil. There is also significant deterioration of physical qualities of the soil as a growing medium after soil erosion (Lo, 1990). Higher erosion rates, the more severe changes in chemical qualities resulting from erosion and the inability of the farmer to provide the necessary inputs for restoring those qualities to a sufficient level were the primary reasons given for these conclusions (El-Swaify, 1990). The benefits of soil conservation are not immediately realized in every case and may initially result in crop yield reductions (John 1988). Improvement in agricultural production, rather than mitigating soil erosion, is of more significance and desirable for the farmer, while prevention of soil loss is an unreal concept for them (Hudson, 1987). The new approach of soil conservation will be a mixture of both agronomy measures as well as mechanical works ( Tracy, 1988). Mechanical systems are frequently expensive, consume space and time, need regular maintenance and do not assure improved crop production (Roose, 1988). Too much emphasis put into mechanical works discourages effective soil conservation policies (Rose, 1989). Conservation farming systems include improved farming, with mechanical protection works being a component of last resort. This approach is consistent with the principle that improved agricultural production should lead to better soil erosion control (Hudson 1988). Biological measures provide immediately recognizable short term benefits to farmers. Any mechanical work involved in soil conservation must m aximize the use of locally available experts, minimize, the use of structures and required labour. Community involvement must be involved (Hudson, 1987). To gain acceptance by farmers, any proposed soil conservation strategy should offer short-term, apparent, rapid or immediately recognizable, directly effective benefits and positive results, particularly for subsistence farmers who work in a short-time scale and who comprise a large percentage of farmers in less developed countries (Harper and El-Swaify 1988; Hudson,1988; Lovejoy and Naiper, 1988; Sanders, 1988; Thomas 1988; Tracy, 1988; Wenner, 1988; Williams and Walter, 1988). Soil conservation techniques recommended for farmers should be simple, easily understood and demonstrated, low cost, productive, sustainable and acceptable (Douglas, 1988;Vonk 1988). Conservation measures should involve principles that can be applied to more than one situation. However, methods and techniques are often site specific and caution should be exercised in extrapolating them to other sites (Saunders 1988). Adoption of soil conservation technology is assured if the farmers have full understanding, support and participation in all the stages of the project, from planning, implementation to maintenance (Harper and El-Swaify, 1988; Sanders, 1988; Vonk 1988; Tracy 1988). Farmers full participation is ensured if they are convinced that their relevant and important needs can be adequately met (Sanders 1988). Thus the farmer needs to be recognized as part of the solution rather than a part of the problem (Hudson,1987; Hudson,1988). The three (3) main objectives of this study are: To investigate the effect of slope angle and rainfall intensities on soil erosion under controlled conditions using four distinct soil types To compare this data with that for a cropped plot. To highlight an approach at estimating erosion risk and nutrient loss for Trinidad and Tobago.

A Introduction To Satellite Television

A Introduction To Satellite Television Satellite television first the consumer market in the early 1990s. Dishes made for the average household were expensive and took up a lot of space in the garden. I n the first few years of satellite TV only the wealthiest, or more die-hard fans of television, would go to the trouble of buying and setting up a satellite dish. Satellite television was also a lot harder to get than cable or broadcast TV. In the present day you see satellite dishes on the rooftops of most homeowners in the UK and indeed the rest of the western world. The major satellite TV companies are getting more and more people to buy their product with promises of films, sports and especially news from around the world. The advancement into high-definition televisions and being able to get a high definition satellite signal has made it even more prominent. Satellite Television gives us many solutions to the problems that come with broadcast TV and, although not perfect itself, is now the main way to view television. In its basic form satellite television is a lot like broadcast television. They are both a wireless system for delivering television programming to a viewers house. And they both use satellite stations to transmit programming via a radio signal. Using powerful antennas broadcast stations transmit radio waves to the area surrounding them. The viewers, however, pick up the signal with a much smaller antenna. Broadcast television works fine it just has one massive drawback, which is range. When a broadcast antenna shoots out a radio signal it is shot out in a straight line. To receive these signals you have to be in the direct line of sight of the antenna. If you are not the signal may become distorted. Small obstacles such as trees or small buildings should not be a problem but bigger obstacles, such as planet earth, would pose a problem. If you transmitted a broadcast signal over a perfectly flat surface you would be able to pick up a signal thousands of miles away from the source. However in the real world the curvature of the planet distorts and blocks the signal sent out from the satellite, to get a perfect signal you would have to be close to the antenna with no obstacles in between. The Satellite TV Solution Satellite TV solves this problem by transmitting signal from satellites orbiting the Earth. Because these satellites are so high in the sky it means there are a lot more customers in range and line of sight. Satellite TV systems transmit and receive radio signals using specialized antennas called satellite dishes. Diagram of how Satellite TV works . When the satellites that broadcast these radio signals are sent up in to space they are all sent up in geosynchronous orbit. This means that they all stay in one place in the sky relative to the Earth. Some facts: Every satellite is launched into space at 7000mph Each one reaches about 22,200 miles above the Earth. When the satellite is this high and moving at such a speed it will revolve around the Earth once every 24 hours, keeping it in the same position above the Earth giving constant signal to the viewer with uninterrupted signals. The Components of Satellite TV In a DTH (direct to home) or DBS (direct broadcasting) satellite system there are five major components. These are the programming source, the broadcast center, the satellite, the satellite dish and the receiver. Programming source this is where the channels that provide the programmes are based. This is where the satellite TV providers go to pay other companies (for example MTV or Nickelodeon) for the right to broadcast there programmes through their satellites. Broadcast Center The broadcast center is central part of the system. In the broadcast center the people who are providing the TV to the viwers at home receive signals from different programming sources and then beam a broadcast signal to satellites to geosynchronous orbit. Satellites The satellites in space receive the signal sent from the broadcast center and beam them back down to Earth. Dish The viewer then picks up this rebroadcasted signal and the satellite dish passes it onto the receiver in the house. Receiver All the receiver then has to is process the signal and pass it on to a standard TV. This is a very good system to providing a good quality signal to a large area. It has very picture display and sound quality with hundreds of channels and the service is ready to use in rural and urban areas and provides a lot of access to digital and high definition programming. However satellite is not without its drawbacks. It can be quite expensive to buy all the equipment at the outset (satellite dish and receiver etc) and if you want to access satellite television in multiple rooms in your home be prepared for the extra cost. As well as this satellite television can be subject to extreme weather conditions. Satellite TV signals Satellites signals have a very long way to travel before they appear on your TV screen. Because of this and because they contain very high-quality digital data it would be near impossible to transmit them without compression. Compression is defined, in this case, as removing all unnecessary or repeated information. After the signal is transmitted it is reconstructed. Satellite TV has to use a very unique type of video file compression standardized by the Moving Pictures Experts Group or MPEG for short. This allows the provider to successfully transmit significantly more channels than without using this method of compression. MPEG standards exist to promote interoperability among your computer, televisionand hand held video and audio devices. These MPEG standards are: MPEG-1: this is the original standard. It is used for encoding and decoding streaming video and audio files. MPEG-2: this standard compresses files which are used and transmitted for a high quality of video and is the standard for digital television. MPEG-4: the function of this standard is to compress high definition video onto a smaller scale so you can stream it to computers, mobile phones and PDAs. MPEG-21: This standard basically interprets digital content so that the media plays flawlessly no matter what machine it is, what language it is in or the user conditions. It is also referred as the Multimedia Framework. Most satellite TV providers used to use the MPEG-2 standard to compress their signals but changed to the MPEG-4 standard of compression. This is because MPEG-4 is more efficient at encoding can provide a much greater bandwidth than MPEG-2. However MPEG-2 still remains the official standard for digital television. This is because it is more able to analyse static images, like those you would see in such programmes like talk shows or newscasts whereas MPEG-4 is better at analysing moving, dynamic images. MPEG-4 can do this through such things as spatial  [1]  and temporal  [2]  compression. This is how satellite TV manages to provide such a high quality picture of fast-moving objects on the screen, that are always moving, like in a football game. Satellite Dish When the signal reaches the viewers house it is captured by the satellite dish. The satellite dish is made up of an aparabolic (bowl-shaped) surface and a central feed horn. The signal passes through the horn and then the dish focuses the signal into a narrow beam. This receiving dish works in the exact opposite way to the transmitter as it cant transmit information, it can only receive it. The dish acts just like a concave mirror in that the shape of the dish reflects the signal inward onto a particular point just like a concave mirror focuses light onto a particular point. The dishes feed horn feeds the signal on to the receiving equipment, and if there hasnt been any obstacles between the satellite and the dish there should be a perfect signal coming into the viewers receiver (unless the weather is bad). Before the dish sends the signal to the viewers receiver it amplifies and filters the signal using LNB, or low noise blockdown converter. After this the LNB passes the amplified, filtered signal to inside the house. Sometimes, in some systems, the dish needs to pick up a signal from two different satellites. Sometimes this may be possible but when it isnt it may compromise the quality of the signal because the dish cannot be aimed at both of the satellites at the same time so either one or both of the signals would be distorted. Satellite Receiver At the end of the satellite TV system is the receiver. It has four important jobs: It takes the encrypted signal and de-scrambles it It takes the digital MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 signal and changes them into an analog signal so the standard television can recognize It also has to sort out the individual As well as this it keeps the providers headquarters up to date with the payments the viewer owes the provider of the satellite television. Conclusion After closely studying satellite television and how it works it is clear to me that is much better and more practical then the older normal broadcast television. This is because of the greater range and line of sight that satellites have got rather than the regular antennas which are impeded by the curvature of the earth and even small obstacles. Although satellite television does have some drawbacks I would say it is definitely the way forward in television broadcasting and has already nearly taken over the market.

Essay --

English 103 Marla Allegre 20 November 2013 Abolishing the Death Penalty for Good One of the most controversial issues in the modern world concerns the acceptability of the death penalty. The death penalty is still exercised in many areas as a punishment for heinous crimes especially murder. Communities from the Europe and North America embrace the death penalty as a suitable punishment methodology and from 1608 to 2011 the United States has executed 14,489 people (Evans, Brian). The death penalty has come a long way from the firing squads that were used for the first recorded execution in 1608 of George Kendall for alleged espionage activity (Evans, Brian). However, pertinent issues concerning capital punishment are unlikely to be resolved soon due to the different justifications given by the different sides. Central issues of the death penalty revolve around the cost of the death penalty for the taxpayer’s verses life in prison, the errors that are made during criminal cases, and especially the argument that the death penalty does little to deter crime. Due to the economic crisis in the United States today death penalty opponents have formed their most successful argument yet-money. Just two states have abolished the death penalty in the past forty years, New Jersey in 2007 and New Mexico in 2009. The cost of capital punishment played a key role in both decisions, and is driving current legislative attempts to repeal the death penalty in a number of other states. The bittersweet reality is that money, not morality has become the reason for saving lives. In California, which houses the largest death row facility in the United States, it costs about $137 million annually to maintain the state’s capital punishment system (Lain,... ...me again that that is just not the case. In a time where the United States is in an economic crisis, it is time to start finding ways to cut budgets, and since the death penalty is a punishment that is rarely carried out, I believe that is a good place to start. Not only would we be saving billions of dollars in tax payer money, we would also cut down the rate of people falsely imprisoned on death row due to false testimony, new DNA test results or other new evidence. The claim that the death penalty deters crime can also be dismissed due to the fact that violent crime has been linked to the socioeconomic state of the country, not to the death penalty. If we abolish the death penalty we could use the billions of dollars we would save towards rebuilding the impoverished cities of our nation, and giving people with mental health issues the kind of care that they need.

Alcohol :: Alcoholism

After doing some research on alcohol I have come to the realization that alcoholism is a disease that affects millions of lives everyday. In the following essay I will discuss some things that I have learned and I will try to give a clear understanding on what steps I will need to take to make appropriate choices in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have learned that alcohol is not all fun and games. It affects many aspects in a person’s life. I learned of the affects it has on my reaction time, my nervous system, obviously my thought process, and also my reproductive system. Alcohol kills in many ways if it becomes an abused substance. It plays a major role in more than half of all automobile accidents. Drinking and driving is dangerous not only to yourself but to others to. Plus it is not worth getting caught by the police driving under the influence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only have I became more knowledgeable about the affects of drinking but I have learned that if I chose to drink not to take the risk of drinking on campus. West Chester has strict rules about this policy and I am now aware of such consequences of getting caught. But I had the worst of it being that I was holding the bag and that we got caught by the police. Now I have to deal with the West Chester bureau police as well, which will wind up many more things happening to me, including going to court and probably getting a hefty fine as well as my license taken away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some good advice I might have for someone who chooses to drink on campus is â€Å"don’t†. It is not worth getting caught by the school and possibly the police. If you do choose to drink do it on safe grounds such as somebody’s house or apartment. But even then it is still possible to get caught by the guard beings that you may be too intoxicated. So the best advice I could give someone is to sleep over a friend’s house off campus somewhere and stay out of trouble with the school because in the

Consumer Behaviour Double Jeopardy Essay

The theory of Double Jeopardy is described as a behavioural phenomenon which relates to the size structure of a market (Bandyopadhyay, Gupta & Dube 2005). This indicates that in any given time a smaller brand typically has fewer buyers compared to those of a larger brand as larger brands often have a higher percentage of penetration and market share (Ehrenberg, Goodhardt & Barwise 1990). A brand with more market share indicates that consumers purchase these brands more frequently compared to other brands. There are a number of reasons why this occurs. For example firms offering products that a consumer perceives as better quality and value, will grow larger (Jacobson 1988). Also, a firm that creates power advantages by introducing inferior products which competitors cannot offer to customer’s also results in a higher market share. Careful analyses of all team members’ individual purchases over the tracking period, it can be noted that a large number of different brands were consumed. By viewing the Duplication of Purchases Table for fast food, out of all the 11 types of brands, McDonalds and Max Brennars were the most frequently purchased brands resulting in a higher percentage of penetration and market share compared to other brands. This is because McDonalds and Max Brennars have multiple locations within Australia which provides better access to customers, both brands participate in extensive television and both brands provide regular promotions in order to make customers more alert and aware. These facts all enforce the theory of the double jeopardy; larger brands have more buyers and have a higher market share. To review the occurrence of the Double Jeopardy effect, Ehrenberg et al. (1990) states that there exists two market level explanations. The first market level consists of the differences in consumer exposure to the market mix efforts (price, promotion, advertising, point of purchase display, discount) of a brand. If a brand has less consumer exposure, it is more likely to suffer (Ehrenberg et al. 990) because they have fewer buyers and lower repeat purchase. Looking at the DOP tables for fast food, TGI Friday’s and Koko Black displayed as the least frequently purchased brands. A reason why these two fast food outlets were the least purchased brands is because of their location as many customers may not have close access to it. Another reason is because there is not much advertising and promotion when compared to fast food outlets such as McDonalds and Max B rennars. The second market level relies on stochastic models of buying behaviour (Ehrenberg et al. 1990) which helps predict the Double Jeopardy trends for competitive brands. This is solely based on the heterogeneity in popularity such as the market share as earlier research shows that the average customer of smaller brands buys less, have lower favourable attitude and manifest lower loyalty than the average customer of larger brands (Ehrenberg et al. 1990).

Tangible and Intangible Assets

Tangible and Intangible Assets Jennifer Geolfos July 19, 2012 ACC291 Mary Larsen Tangible and Intangible Assets Tangible and intangible assets include everything listed under total assets on the balance sheet. â€Å"Assets consist of resources a business owns,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 12). Tangible assets would include land, land improvements, buildings, and equipment. These types of asset would be classified as fixed assets. Intangible assets are rights, privileges, and competitive advantages that result from the ownership of long-lived assets that do not possess physical substance,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 414). Types of intangible assets include patents, copyrights, trademarks, franchises, licenses, and goodwill. These assets would be classified as long-lived assets. Depreciation â€Å"Depreciation is the process of allocating to expense the cost of a plant asset over its useful (service) life in a rational and systematic manner,† (Kim mel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 02). Depreciable assets include land improvements, buildings, and equipment because the usefulness of the asset decreases over its useful life. Land’s usefulness remains constant over its useful life and is not considered a depreciable asset. A depreciable asset also can be considered obsolete when it becomes outdated before it physically wears out. Computing depreciation involves cost, useful life, and salvage value. Cost is the original asset’s value. Useful life is the expected productive life of the asset to the owner.Salvage value is the asset’s value at the end of the useful life. Depreciation is usually computed using the straight-line method, the declining-balance method, or the units-of-activity method. Straight-line is the most widely used method in the United States. â€Å"Under the straight-line method, companies expense an equal amount of depreciation each year of the asset’s useful life,† (Kimmel, Weyg andt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 441). To record the depreciation on the sale of a depreciable asset, a company increases Depreciation Expense, and decreases Accumulated Depreciation.Declining-balance method uses a declining book value figured over periodic depreciation and is also call an accelerated-depreciation method because the first years of an asset’s life produces higher depreciation in comparison to straight-line method. The units-of-activity method takes the useful life in position of total production units or expected use of the asset. This method is typically used for factory machinery or delivery equipment in terms of hours used. The total amount of depreciation is the same no matter which depreciation method is used. Amortization The process of allocating the cost of intangibles is referred to as amortization,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 414). â€Å"To record amortization of an intangible asset, a company increases (debits) Amortization Expense, and decr eases (credits) the specific intangible asset,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 415). Companies amortize intangible assets over their useful life or legal life, whichever is shorter. This life is never allowed to exceed 40 years, (â€Å"Investing Answers†, 2001-2012). The initial cost of any intangible asset is the cash or cash equivalent price paid to obtain the asset.The company adds any legal fees, acquisition fees, and registration fees to determine the amount to be amortized for that asset. This applies to patents, copyrights, trademarks, franchises, and licenses. Goodwill value is determined by the excess cost over fair market value of the net asset purchased. Acquisition and Disposal Acquisition and disposal of tangible assets refers to the buying and selling of land, buildings, and equipment. Acquisition requires determining the initial cost to add the asset to the company’s financial records.The entry would be an increase (debit) to the asset (Equip ment) and a decrease (credit) to cash or increase (credit) to accounts payable. Companies dispose of a fixed asset by retirement (scrap or discard), sale, or exchange (trade-in). Book value is determined by deducting the accumulated depreciation to date from the initial cost of the asset. â€Å"The book value is then eliminated by (1) debiting (decreasing) Accumulated Depreciation for the total depreciation to date, and (2) crediting (decreasing) the asset account for the cost of the asset,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 10). Conclusion Tangible and intangible assets and the tools to manage each type of asset are important to understand for the financial statements. Each type of asset has its own devices that must be used to represent the appropriate aspects of the asset. Using these tools will create financial statements that show the assets accurately and factually. References Weygandt, J. J. , Kimmel, P. E. , & Kieso, D. E. (2010). Financial Accounting (7th ed. ). H oboken, NJ: John Wiles and Sons. Investing Answers. (2001-2012). Retrieved from http://www. investinganswers. com