Ratio Analysis Essay

The aims and objectives of this report are to compare the two companies, Kingfisher Plc. and Home Retail Group Plc., using their annual report published for the year 2011. With the help of the financial statements, it will be possible to calculate different ratios that are relevant to the comparison between the two businesses. Through this comments can then be made on the performance of both companies for the year, stating some of the possible factors that could have made affected this. Comparison will be on a year-to-year basis and then between the two companies as a whole. When comparing two companies like Kingfisher and the Home Retail Group, there are a few limitations needed to be considered before this is possible. The first would be the different accounting policies that each corporation have chosen to adapt to their financial statements; this could be in regards of the depreciation or inventory valuation method used for the preparation of relevant statements. Another important point to note is that financial statements are based on historical information and therefore this would not be as objective to when we come to use them for the comparison. Expanding on this, the closing balances on the statement may make the ratios appear misleading when comparing the two companies for the period, i.e. seasonal sale boost; Christmas and New Year promotion. The main issue that should be considered is the date that they have published their account Kingfisher being 31st January 2011 and Home Retail Group at 28th February 2011. So it would not be possible to make a more accurate comparison, as the economic conditions may have changed for that one month Kingfisher did not trade. Although it would suggest comparing the two businesses is not ideal, the two companies are somewhat similar. Therefore this should make the approximation more accurate and thus the comparison more meaningful. Kingfisher PLC Kingfisher is a company that focuses on mainly offering its customers home improvements products for DIY and such likes. Its main retail brand in the UK is B&Q with a market share of 14% and they are currently top of the market. They are also making a respectable breakthrough in France with their brands, Castorama and Brico Depot taking 21% of the market share with the top place. Moreover they have expanded to Germany, Turkey, Spain, China, Poland and Russia

Educational psychology Essay

One of the world’s issues of today is on context of education. Many education conventions have been organized to discuss on matters relevant on the development of educational goals and programs. Education should be considered as one factor in the development of man as the most significant since it brings all breakthroughs in all walks of life. From the time of primitive education to the medieval period, education has been playing a great role in the lives of every citizen and the state in general. The very first task of educational contenders was and is to set educational development goals. The challenge of all educational institutions today is to produce a curriculum that will earn high productivity as in lifelong education. The institution should be more focused on creating opportunities where learners can exercise their abilities and potentials. There must be that sense of self-education in order for them to perform better jobs in the real world because their education is gained not only by mere transfer of learning but through applying their skills into the real life setting. Today, people are conscious of searching for breakthroughs be it scientific, cultural, or educational, in order to improve the quality of life. This is one goal in education that must be taken in to account from time to time because it is through this that improvements and developments take place. Along with these breakthroughs, rapid changes in the society’s way of life bring a lot of conflicts in the human life. By conflict, man faces several challenges that will test his true capacity and knowledge in resolving his own issues. That is, by inculcating in the learners the culture of being sensitive to the needs of the people and the nation brings a lot of pressure in our educational today. People are not trained to satisfy themselves but to see to it that the whole nation can benefit what one person is enjoying out of something. However, in the advent of various educational programs and projects, long term education program is still best to be implemented. This is in response to different curriculum reforms to attain quality delivery of instruction. The national government through the education department, has been looking for ways and means in order to help sustain these long term programs in order to provide a standard and suitable curriculum for every Filipino and attain progress in the academe. Moreover, the Department of Education has laid the three millennium development goals to help attain the Education for All by the year 2015. These goals include accessibility, quality, and sustainability. These goals will help improve the number of Filipino children to be in school and complete their education as prescribed by them of their age and as mandated by the constitution of which education is a right. These millennium development goals of the Education for All (EFA) enable schoolchildren to harness their faculties in improving their way of life and participate in the development process in educational reform and societal progress. According to the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, Russian Federation, education will become a social institute providing people with various educational opportunities. With this end in view school and university curricula should be diversified to enable everyone to make up their own educational trajectory in compliance with their aptitudes, thus creating the basis to implement the principle Education for all. Thus, in the Philippines various projects have been undertaken in order to qualify the implementation the Education for All. These projects include MADRASAH (for Moslem schoolchildren), Education for Indigenous Peoples, inclusion of values education in the curriculum, strengthening the higher order thinking skills type of questions in every learning area, the implementation of National Achievement Test (a standardized test), the participatory school improvement planning, the integration of information and communications technology in education (ICT4E), the decentralization of management including the downloading of maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) to specific schools, and the conduct of various trainings and national competency examinations. These are some of the approaches in order to carry out the implementation of Education for All. Nevertheless, Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution cited that the Department of Education as the only agency in the Philippine government, responsible for education and manpower development. It further stated that the state shall protect and promote the right of every citizen to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all. This is still in line with the context that education is a right and is for all. Whether a schoolchild is in the formal or non-formal education, what matters most is his assumption of his respective role in the society, the virtues he shall live with, and the use of his capabilities in attaining the long term goal in education that contributes to the total progress and development of the nation. At the end of the day we do realize that the search for an adequately structured educational system, is to secure our lives from the many challenges of the outside world at all sorts. Hence, education in the new society shall be within the context of national development and value formation in order to help build a nation other than ourselves. —oo0oo—

Business Intelligence System modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Intelligence System modeling - Essay Example In order to remain relevant in a competitive business environment, an organization should have a strong change management strategy that must influence all departments within an organization. In this business model, management processes, supportive processes and operational processes are interlinked to avoid departmental miscommunication. Centralization of information and data is vital in ensuring appropriate decision making process and implementation of an organization’s policy (Tennet &Economic group, 2005). Exponential Smooth This system modeling technique is essential in making future projections that are essential for risk aversion and developing financial strategies that can withstand economi9c shocks. A business may be affected by fiscal and monetary factors that may lead to inflation. As such, it is important for any business to develop computer programs that can utilize present performance of a business to detect future trends. One of the essential concepts that need to be applied is triple exponential smoothing. This business modeling technique takes into account seasonal changes when projecting possible business performance. This technique analyses the present business trends and uses them to make future projections. It takes into account the time variable (t), sequence of best time estimate for seasonal change (b), seasonal correction factor sequence c1, and the expected proportion of the forecasted trend (c2) (Tennet &Economic group, 2005). Data envelopment Data envelopment enhances productivity. It is essential in management and cost accounting department of an organization. This technique is used to measure the productive efficiency of decision making units in the organization. Data envelopment utilizes the cost variable such as labor cost in searching for the lowest unit in any given cost output in order to promote an efficient frontier. Any organization that does not have an efficient frontier is considered as ineffective in a competitive business environment. Different variables that include quality of service, number of employees, and safety of the environment can be analyzed and compared with other companies in order to determine strategies that can enhance business performance. The advantage of this technique is that it has the ability of accommodating a multiplicity of outputs and inputs. It is also essential in calculating efficiency by allowing the analysis of output level and size in determining efficiency. Cost management i s essential for any business because it maximizes profit and minimizes cost. Since one of the major factors of any business is to increase profit, data envelopment is useful because it promotes efficiency of costing techniques and developing managerial decision based on cost accounting data (Tennet &Economic group, 2005). Non linear programming This method uses mathematical optimization in solving non linear problems. It applies equalities and inequalities systems in determining long term business survival strategies. This technique is essential in forecasting an organization’s income statement to determine its profitability. In a typical non- convex problem, it can be used to optimize a specific expense among different forms of expenses to determine one that is economical. For instance, it can minimize transport cost by selecting a transport system that is economical. This technique is

Glass Ceiling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Glass Ceiling - Research Paper Example This means that even though women are currently able to move up to higher positions, at a certain point they are stopped by an unseen barrier. This is experienced by those who are hindered from being promoted because of their ethnic affiliation and/or because they are women. Still, progress has been made in the last ten years. According to the CEO of Highfield Human Solutions, Sherilyn Shackell, â€Å"There is no doubt that women have progressed considerably among our global workforce, especially over the last few decades† (AMA, 2010, para 7). She further added, â€Å"Yet, despite reports that women are breaking through the ‘glass ceiling,’ it appears that the ceiling is just ‘slightly cracked’ rather than broken† (AMA, 2010, para 7). The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) research in 2010 reported several disturbing trends: a mere 20 per cent of all executives are women, with almost 50 per cent of respondents admitting the total absence of women within the executive committee group; and, roughly 10 per cent of executive members belong to minority groups (AMA, 2010, para 4-6). Still, in spite of all the protests against the glass ceiling, corporate America is in fact accomplishing much in terms of allowing women to occupy powerful corporate positions. In fact, as stated in the survey of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States has the least discrepancy between the percentage of women occupying senior management posts and the percentage of male senior managers (Rampell, 2013). Since the 1960s’ social turmoil, the American government has been vigorously engaged in prohibiting gender discrimination in organizations. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the key statute addressing the issues of glass ceiling. The law firmly forbids all kinds of discrimination based on national origin, sex, religion, or race in the workplace (Palmer &

Character biography of Wintertime by Charles L. Mee Essay

Character biography of Wintertime by Charles L. Mee - Essay Example Although she is married, Maria is happy to stay in an illicit relationship with her lover Frank. She invents her own views on love in order to justify the complex relationships that define her social life. Maria emphasizes on the value of her freedom on matters of love, family and the discourse of sex. For instance, she reinvents the aspect of womanhood by projecting views that appear abnormal to the larger society. Her philosophies on matters of sex appear to be idiosyncratic and even rebellious. She tells her husband about the desire of a woman to engage in some form of wild sexual engagements and deliberate deviation from the order and tranquility of the domestic space without a free conscience that operates on the sidelines of the acceptable. Although she admits her love deep love for Francois, he shocks him by admitting that she reserves every Friday night for a routine sexual relationship with Frank (Mee 6). This sense of strange freedom and order unsettles Francois whose conce pt of love appears to be bound in philosophies that are more conventional than Maria’s is. A clear understanding of Maria’s peculiar approach to life could gbe drawn from a comparative assessment between her views on love and those projected by Ariel. The two women have exactly opposite views about then discourse of love. While Ariel indulges her mind in the innocence of youth by upholding the sublime and real element of love, Maria takes an opposite view by establishing categories of love. For instance, she views love in two broad perspectives. One of the perspectives is about romantic love. Maria believes that romantic love should be separate from the other kind of love that attaches couples in a marriage. She reminds Frank, her husband, that she never intended to love him in a romantic kind of love. She only loves him as some kind of duty that a wife ordinarily owes to her husband. Maria’s personality has a redemptive effect to the social disadvantages that w omen have to endure because of traditions, values, and expectations. She presents life in terms of a sum total of her own views and the practical things of life. Maria lives in a conservative society. This society demands women to live in accordance with specific laws and specifications. There is a patriarchal undertone in the dominant philosophies that undergird perspectives and reactions. As a result, she rebels and creates a world that would accommodate the feelings and opinions of a liberal woman (Case and Elaine 56). Her defiance could be understood as a rebellion against the domestic space. She affirms ownership of the Winterhouse and does not regard Frank in any terms larger than a companion. She comes to the defense of fellow women whenever situations demand. In this manner, Maria could be considered as an influential matriarch of women liberation with a deep desire to create an alternative frame of reference for the conquered women in the society. On this score, it makes se nse to consider her attitude in terms of the multiple challenges that are systematically created to stifle the course of women empowerment. Normally, the society would want to convert Maria into an ideal woman who dutifully plays the role of wife and mother in total submission. Instead, Maria appears to be untamed and subscribing to strange philosophies that define her relationship to both Francois and Frank. She is a strong defender of women freedom

Global Purchasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Purchasing - Essay Example Purchasing is central to any organization’s activity. They need to purchase raw materials, components and machinery in order to produce or manufacture products. It is stated by Williams (1975, 1985) that an organization’s primary purpose is to reduce negotiations around transactions and to reduce the scrutiny of the same later on. This means that good bargaining and settlement of beneficial terms and conditions ensure that problems do not surface later during delivery or the manufacturing process. It is clear that the profits that will be made on the sale of the product will be largely determined through the effective purchase itself. It is the responsibility of the purchasing department to make what is known as an effective purchase. A purchase is effective when the best price is obtained subject to best delivery schedule and in conformity to the quality parameters that have been explained and accepted by both the supplier and the purchaser. Apart from this, the terms and conditions must also be suitable and not detrimental to the purchaser. There are three types of purchase. One is purchase of Routine Products that are of low financial value not complex and their nature, quality, consistency and value can be determined easily. They are readily available and purchase departments do not spend too much time on their procurement as otherwise the procurement can become more costly than the product itself. Here the relationship with the supplier is nominal. The other type is purchase of Bottleneck Products that are products with a low financial risk and a high complexity. Professional purchasers spend time and money in their determination and in simplifying the relationship with the supplier in order to reduce their complexity. The supplier has the power in this relationship (Five Force Analysis: Porter M.E) and the purchaser is

Homeostasis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homeostasis - Assignment Example This homeostatic regulation is made up of three parts that are an effector, a control center, and a receptor. The main role of the receptor is receiving information about the required as the control center processes the information while the effector executes these commands from the control center by making changes in response (Chiras 2013, 4). In maintaining homeostasis, all the body organ systems work together harmoniously in maintain homeostasis within the body. Most systems in the body maintain homeostasis by either use of a negative or positive feedback mechanism. When the hypothalamus receives messages from the body in regards to an internal change in a system, it works to restore the system to its required normal state. The negative feedback mechanisms found when the body regulates temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. Discussion on how the body is involved in regulating the above is discussed below (Neligan & Baranov 2013, 33). On the other hand, the positive feedback mechanism is a rare mechanism that works by causing even greater changes in the body system instead of restoring the body systems in their normal states. An example is in the release of oxytocin that intensifies contractions during birth. As the birth process takes places, the body signifies more release of the hormone intensifying contractions thus pushing the baby out. The body constantly maintains a set of temperature for its internal environment. The muscles and liver are responsible for the generation of heat within the body. When the body’s temperature is greater than that of the surrounding, the skin loses heat to its surrounding. The standard average homeostatic body temperature is approximately 98.6 F. After or during exercise the body temperature is bound to rise. However, the body will employ some mechanisms to cool itself. The process happens through

The current situations that's facing Russia Research Paper

The current situations that's facing Russia - Research Paper Example As the nature of topic involves the description of current scenario of the Russian federation, so the overview will be provided discussing all the social, political and environmental factors. The Russian Federation is divided into 46 provinces, 4 autonomous okrugs, 21 republics, 9 krays, 2 federal cities, and 1 autonomous oblast. Since 7th May 2012, President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN serves as the head of the state, while the government is administered by Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev. The recent political developments in the country include its relations with the United States. The U.S. Congress has already ascertained to ordain new penalties to be imposed on Russian businesses and officials as a quid-pro-quo for annulling a Cold War-era prohibition on conventional trading associations with Moscow. Few of the people in the Obama administration have proposed the discouraging alternative of developing a â€Å"democracy fund† to channelize U.S. money to the pressure groups that pose a threat to the Russian administration. Russia has been labeled by Mitt Romney as a geopolitical foe, so he has offered to disassemble the reset upon being elected. It raises a concern that regardless who wins in the U.S elections, the Russian-U.S. relations are leading towards a more challenging posture (Rojansky & Gvosdev). Mrs. Clinton while attending the yearly Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Vladivostokhere, on behalf of President Obama welcomed Russian access to the World Trade Organization in August. Moreover it was recommended that the American government should now normalize its trade relations so that the U.S owned businesses can harvest the benefits received from the Russia’s membership that include lower tariffs for United States products. The attempt to concede Russia conventional trade status, still, has turned embroiled in legislation that would penalize Russian officials charged of perverting human rights, refusing them visas and suspending their assets. That has aroused doubts that any arrangement on annulling the Jackson-Vanik provisions can be accomplished before the United States presidential elections (Myers, and Herszenhorn). Russia has recently demanded the U.S to cease its support to groups favoring the institution of democracy within the country (Hersze nhorn and Barry). Russia has experienced significant alters since the break down of the Soviet Union, proceeding from a centrally planned, globally-isolated economy to a more global and market-based economy. Russian industry is principally fragmented between worldwide competitive commodity producers. In 2011, it became leading oil producer of the world, passing by Saudi Arabia. It is the world second largest natural gas producer and bears the world's largest reserves of natural gas, the second-largest of coal, and the eighth-largest reserves of crude oil. It is the 3rd largest exporter of primary aluminum and steel. The Russian economy is also facing various challenges. As reported by the World Bank, Russia is reverberating from the worldwide recession more tardily than other developing nations in spite of high oil prices. Various factors that are contributing to the weakening of the Russian

Residential Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Residential Project - Essay Example Furthermore, any activities that result in wastage of time shall be eliminated. Also, activities that can be done simultaneously shall be grouped for quick results. The desired result of the message is to be able to graphically demonstrate that I have been successful in complying with the schedule. Furthermore, the message shall invite feedback from the audience regarding which activities need to be grouped or which need to be eliminated. This shall ensure that there is communication between my boss and myself. Not only will it allow my boss to keep track of the direction I’m taking in my work but also allow him to provide feedback on the work I’ve completed. This shall further allow him/her to make recommendations for any improvements which I can incorporate into my project to complete it on time. Any bottlenecks shall be identified to which improvements shall be made over time. Although the message is complete in itself, it shall serve as the building block for future discussions. The intended audience is my boss. Assuming that I work in a construction firm as a construction manager, and I am presenting the results of my team before the general manager. The results shall show the number of housing units completed under the private sector, residential housing project. The audience is expected to be knowledgeable about the concepts used in the message; hence, technical terms may be used. Since the graph shall convey its intended meaning through the illustrative element rather than words, display type shall not be used to draw audience’s attention. Using display type may distract the audience from the overall meaning of the message in this case which is to compare the scheduled and actual outcomes. Few words shall be used in the copy area and shall primarily comprise of the graph’s legend.

Putting An End To Worship Wars Essay Example for Free

Putting An End To Worship Wars Essay There are many different kinds of worship styles because there are different kinds of people with different kinds of personalities. America is made up of different races and religion therefore we worship God differently. God created mankind in His image and His likeness to worship Him in spirit and truth. We must Worship God according to the principles of Scriptures so that He is magnified, glorified and exalted. It does not matter that we express our worship differently. What does matter is that we worship God with all our hearts and inner being. We as the church, the body of Christ must learn to except the difference in worship, if the worship is legitimate and stop trying to force our way of worship on other members of the body of Christ. America is the only nation that has different worship styles in the churches. The change in worship is because of culture changes such as the Internet, computerized television screens, and the Interstate freeway. American no longer chooses a church by denomination or church doctrine but by worship service and gift gravitation. Research revealed that churches were growing because of renewal, revival, and excitement not from outreach programs. The excitement of worship produced growth. Worship service are different because of cultural difference, different spiritual gifts and because the commands and principles of Scripture are applied differently. Worship wars have split churches, caused Pastors to be replaced, caused members to leave, and caused drops in church growth. The Evangelistic church exists to accomplish evangelism, which is communicating the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible Expositional Church exists to equip believers for the work of the ministry through the systematic expositional preaching and teaching of Scriptures. The Renewal Church exists to worship God the Pastor is often the worship leader. Worship is the focus of the service and exhortation is the spiritual gift. The Body Life Church purpose and mission is the context of fellowship. The focus is on the cell group and corporate gatherings of believers therefore; their strength is small group ministries. The Liturgical Church exist to serve God with praise and worship and to service other in the name of God. Its strength is their involvement in society causing leaders to emerge. The Congregational Church is a church of balance. They have no single spiritual gift and are described as a single cell churches. Their strength is balance in ministry. These six paradigms mean that Christians worship differently because we are different. We have different spiritual gifts, different callings, different personalities, different background and different doctrine. In the future of worship there will be more of a thirst for God, thirst for worship, and worship will be more spontaneous. The Holy Spirit will inspire, and release whole hearted worship in people of all expressions. Worship will become more of a celebration causing the atmospheric presence of God to be felt in worship. The Impact and Implementation of this Book in My Own Life The knowledge that I received from this book has help me to understand the different worship styles. I have a greater respect for them because I understand that they are worshipping God in their own way. It also help me to understand why I worship the way I do. I am what we call a radical worshipper. I love Worshipping God and I love when others people worship God. I can fit anyway as long as I can worship God.

Case Study: Goal Orientated Counselling Treatment

Case Study: Goal Orientated Counselling Treatment Case Study Scenario #1 Angela Townsend Scenario Mario is an illegal alien from Mexico. He has lived in the U.S. for five years and worked various construction jobs in the South. Mario’s family stayed behind in Mexico so he struggles with loneliness and has a poor social network except for an outreach ministry at a local Catholic Church. Mario was pulled over and charged with a DUI. He was sent to your agency for mandatory counseling in addition to attending a drug treatment support group like Alcoholics Anonymous. Personal Information In counseling, the first session is very important. As a counselor, it is important to collect as much information from the client as possible. The initial intake with Mario will take about an hour to gather as much about his background and personal information. Also, I would like to get family history, his educational background, any work skills, as well as his current living conditions in order to begin forming his taxonomy needs. The case clearly reveals that Mario now lives in United States away from family for the past five years and worked at various construction jobs. According to Mario, his family stayed in Mexico and he is struggling with loneliness not being with his family. I want to learn as much about Mario as possible to give him the best possible solution to his situation. Utilizing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a premise for disclosure, I can construct needs evaluation that arranges needs as far as characteristic, extraneous, and significance (Maslow, 1943). By evaluating Mario’s needs against Maslow’s hierarchy, I can start finding what is inadequate in Mario’s life which has made the issues he is encountering. Case in point, being isolated from his family is belonging need. Everyone has a need of belonging and this is a physical interconnected need. A need to get affection and recognition as well as being wanted as a person (Maslow, 1943). Based on the information, it seems that this need is not being met, it is showing in his conduct and actions. Personal Biases and Limitations In Mario case study, I would need to consider my own predispositions and restrictions carefully. It is very crucial for a counselor to be as honest as possible about their limitations. As a Christian, I understand the importance of taking care of our bodies according to the Word of God (I Corinthians 6:19-20, NKJV). Our bodies are the temple of God and doing harm to the body either psychically or profoundly could be harming to the soul. One of the real inclinations that I have is with the alcohol and drug addiction treatment. The major problem I have in regards to the addition treatment that people believe that the 12-Step Model does not work. It does if you work it properly. Will power alone cannot do it. This program is based on Christian concepts, even though there is a failure rate in this program, but I do believe it will work for Mario if he allows it to. One thing I do not like is that alcohol and drug addiction is called a disease in which it is not. It is a choice that peopl e make. In this world, we are given choices to make every day. We have the choice to do right or we have the choice to do wrong but the ultimate decision is ours. This is an addiction not a disease. A disease is inward in which sometimes you did not have a choice such as breast cancer. A person did not make a choice to have breast cancer. Drinking alcohol is outward; it is a choice a person makes. It takes faith to be delivered from alcohol and drugs. I tend to believe that people with alcohol or drug problem are more responsible for their condition. No one can want recovery for them. The person must want it and be willing to do what is necessary to heal. When counseling clients, it is important for me to inform my clients of my personal core values and beliefs about my faith in God giving the client the information to make an informed decision to continue counseling sessions Goals Goals should be attainable in Mario’s case. Mario reports of loneliness because not being with his family. He also has poor social skills. He is not a citizen of the United States and have worked various construction jobs. There are several goals that can be implemented for him to achieve. The first thing for him is to do is attend an AA meeting group, which is required by the court for alcohol and drug treatment. I believe signing up for the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program will not only help him develop other relationships but also help him to make better decisions in life. This program will help Mario take control back in his life. The main purpose of him attending these meetings is to see that he is not alone. Loneliness is a human response to being alone because God created humans with a need for relationship. Feelings of loneliness can be helped. Lonely people can attend church (Hebrew 10:25), be a friend to someone else (Proverbs 18:24), listen to Christian music, and pray for God to wok in and through them to take away the lonely feelings. It is very important for Mario to learn how to deal with stressors. Everyone has a need of belonging. In Mario’s case, she will be encouraged to find an activity that will force her to associate with other people. The goal is to get into a situation where other people will get to know him. Since Mario is part of his local church outreach ministry, I will encourage him to get more involved and be committed to it for no less than three months if he is open to incorporating the Word of God in his life more deeply. Too many people leave friends, jobs, or organization because of being offended. I am not sure if this is the case with Mario for the reason to work at various constructions jobs. The important thing is to have a goal in mind to keep him employed. Theoretical Approach The psychodynamic approach I believe will be the most effective in Mario’s case. Mario has a few fundamental issues that are occurring which should be analyzed. Being separated from his family and disengagement from his community is one of the biggest issues. The approach of dealing with these issues Mario is facing would be to utilize journaling as a method for convey mindfulness and control to Mario’s conduct and contemplations (Howes, 2011). At the beginning of each session with me, I will have Mario record anything of significance and importance to him, positive or negative occasions or sentiments that have happened between sessions. It is imperative that Mario and I meet weekly until he accomplished his goals. I would also urge Mario to search out other support group resources because this would give him the required support he needs. Therapeutic Progress and Success The objective is for Mario to achieve his goals. When Mario get involved in a support group and get into healthy activities this should satisfy his need of belonging. All people need to feel like they belong According to Ephesians 1:4-6,which states explicitly that we are chosen for belonging with God, â€Å"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be hold and without blame before Him to love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.† The measure of this achievement is fairly subjective on the grounds that it will be based on his journaling and the assessments of his present way of life. An example, if Mario developed healthy relationships this will reflect his conduct and possibly diminish his drinking. Conclusion The issues that Mario was facing was a great negative impact on his life. Advising Mario with goal oriented counseling approach will keep him on track. Mario must make a decision to stay on track to improve his life. By doing so, he will diminish the drinking problem especially when he gets involved actively in support groups as well as his church ministry. Through regular counseling sessions with Mario, I will be in a position to develop an intervention plan that will lead him to a solid and satisfying life. References ACA Code of Ethics (2015): American Counseling Association, Alexandria, Virginia Corey, G. (2010). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (8th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Howes, R. (2011, January 26). Journaling in Therapy Supersized therapy? Write on! . Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/201101/journaling-in-therapy Khantzian, E. J. (1986). A contemporary psychodynamic approach to drug abuse treatment. The  American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 12(3), 213-222. LeBeauf, I., Smaby, M., Maddux, C. (2009). Adapting Counseling Skills for Multicultural and Diverse Clients. Compelling Counseling Interventions: VISTAS , 33-42. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from York University, Toronto, Ontario : http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm Schmidt, C. D. (2014). Integrating Continuous Client Feedback into Counselor Education. The Journal for Counselor Preparation and Supervision , 6 (2), 2-12. Wilson, W. (2001). Alcoholics anonymous. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. Police Stop and Search Powers: Effects on Public Trust Police Stop and Search Powers: Effects on Public Trust Introduction The increased powers of stop and search afforded to the police by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) have seriously contributed to a lack of trust and confidence in the police service, particularly among ethnic minorities. This essay will focus particularly on how the new powers have been used more extensively on ethnic minorities, which undermines trust and confidence in the police particularly among these communities but also perpetuates ideas of corruption and racism. Stop and search powers have further contributed to the notion of over policing not simply because they lead to greater police intervention in individuals lives, but because it leads to a greater influx into the process of the criminal justice system as a whole, known as attrition, especially among ethnic minorities (Home Office 1998). Stop and Search powers: historical backdrop The history of stop and search powers has provided the context for increasing mistrust of police felt by ethnic minorities and the notion of over policing. PACE was enacted to deal with problems that had resulted from a perception on the part of the public that the previous powers granted to the police to stop and search potential offenders were far too broad. These rules were known as the Judges Rules (Ormerod Hooper 2009). These rules allowed police to stop, search, and then arrest a suspicious person without and need to have obtained a prior search warrant. It is empirically difficult to say whether it was due to actual over-use, or merely a perceived increased resort to this power when police were among the black community. As a result of the powers, there were race riots throughout various parts of the United Kingdom in the early 1980s which resulted in the Judges rules being repealed. Pursuant to PACE, the law states that a police officer must have reasonable suspicion before he has the legal grounds to stop a person and search them. These practices, which confer very broad and intrusive powers, are often seen as the most glaring example of abuse of police powers. Although now under PACE 1984 a stop and search power can be carried out only when there is reasonable suspicion that stolen property or prohibited articles are being carried, the grounds for reasonable suspicion as defined in PACE are not of a very high threshold (Sprack 2008). This has been reinforced repeatedly in the case law regarding police stop and search powers under anti terrorism. Parker v Hampshire Constabulary (1999) note the suspicion must be based on reasonable grounds. Lord Devlins words, a state of conjecture or surmise. He goes on the further add In my judgment this state of mind, suspicious but uncertain, was based on reasonable grounds. The relationship between mistrust and a lack of confidence in the police and the stop and search of ethnic minorities is most keenly felt. Police data for 1999/2000 found that there was a five-fold increase stop and search used on blacks than on white including the same pattern for stops under early Prevention of Terrorism legislation. In 1997, 7% of these stops were black which is a clear example of discrimination and further creates an idea of police racism, over policing and decreases confidence in the criminal justice system overall. Even when deploying these powers outside the Terrorism Act, police intrusion and formal action remains significantly greater where the suspect is not white. More stops, more searches and more intrusive searches lead to increased suspicion. (Hayman Newburn 2001). However there are problems concerning the methodology of this research. The methodology of calculating stop and search is questionable as it can be based on outdated census figures. It is submitted that rates should be calculated on available rather than resident populations then findings for black people and ethnic minorities were mixed, both under and over represented for different localities this research emphasises the need for caution in assessing disproportionality in stop and search. For example, ethnic minorities may be subject to direct discrimination in schools and therefore be excluded, becoming unemployed and therefore more being available to be stopped and searched by the police. Clothing and hoodies and even a certain car type that can be associated with ethnicity. These all contribute to the process of criminalization which increases stop and search, which further increases distrust in the police system and over policing of deprived areas based on what is at least as sumed to be police prejudice. However the 2000 British Crime Survey (BCS) found ethnic origin only a predicator for car stops not foot stops. Clements (2006) found in London, reasonable suspicion was often absent in use of stop and search often used not for detection but for intelligence gathering used by supervisors of the metropolitan police to measure performance in that the more stop and searches conducted, the more successful arrests that will be made and a police officer will gain credit within the police as being successful. What is required is official acknowledgement that stop and search powers must be regulated to safeguard the individuals right to privacy due to the danger extent of discretion and limitations of legal regulation coupled with vague notions of reasonable suspicion. This is further exacerbated by the fact that most stop and searches occur outside the supervision of the police station. The relationship between Stop and Search, Arrest and Over policing The role of stop and search has only one role in explaining the over-representation of black people in arrest and imprisonment statistics due to the fact that only a small minority of stop and search in ethnic minorities lead to arrest. This statistic can further represent the lack of trust and over policing due to the fact that these searches are deemed as, and witnessed to be unnecessary. Undoubtedly, the police use of stop and search powers makes at least a modest contribution to over-representation of blacks in arrest population, and a significant contribution to the increased arrest statistics which further leads to a notion of over policing among black areas. This perceived abuse of stop and search and poor response to racist victimization has lead to wide ranging loss of confidence in policing and undoubtedly public perception, particularly among ethnic minorities has been harmed by these negative interactions. Arrest PACE 1984 requires that reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed exists before an arrest is made. There was a four times greater rate of expected arrest of blacks in 1999/2000 considering their numbers in general population (particularly for robbery 28%) and arrests for asians also higher than it was for whites (again in fraud and forgery). The fact that once having been arrested and in custody, ethnic minorities tend to exercise the right to silence, opt for legal advice and deny guilt. This can cumulatively disadvantage them in the criminal process, as least punitive outcome of an arrest, a caution, can only be given if guilt is admitted. This leads to higher rates of imprisonment and an even greater perception of over policing as these people become filtered in to the Criminal justice system (Phillips and Brown 1997). Black offenders are therefore both more likely to be arrested and more likely to be held in remand. Moreover being held in remand can mean that the magistrates court is more likely to refer their case to the crown court, which instantly makes their prospective sentence more likely to be serious. This clearly shows that whatever the subjective intent of officers, there is attrition process which results in incorporating more offenders into the net of the criminal justice. Most studies on the actual sentencing of ethnic minorities suggest there is little or no difference in practice but they do not take account of the aforementioned complex process of incorporating black suspects into the system. Hoods ground-breaking study in 1992 using a different 16-point methodology showed that 503 blacks were sentenced to custody when only 479 should have been making an overall increase of 5%, which, if employed in every Crown court in the country would make for serious racist discrimination. Hoods findings have, however, been criticised by Hakevy as having a 0.7% probability that the result was random as opposed to the normally accepted figure of 0.5% which indicates that results are above the level of random coincidence. The attrition process provides further evidence of discrimination against ethnic minorities with them being filtered in to the Criminal Justice System (CJS): ethnic minorities therefore comprise only 7.3% of those arrested but make up 12.3% of those imprisoned (Hood 1992). The cyclical nature of the CJS with reoffenders, who have been in custody before receiving harsher punishments further exacerbates the racist discrimination, leading to a cumulative disadvantage on the part of minorities (Phillips and Bowling 2002). Prosecutorial Decision -Making and Sentencing The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) potentially has the ability to divert individuals from further action after a police officer has officially charged a suspect. The CPS must consider whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether the case should proceed on public interest grounds. These grounds include the seriousness of offence and the involvement of defendant. Case Termination: A break on Criminalization? Only 2 research studies have examined whether these differ depending on ethnic origin. Phillips Brown (1997) 12% cases whites terminated compared to 20% blacks terminated and 27% against asians ethnic origin predicated an increased chance of case termination. This again reinforces that ethnic areas are being over policed, due to ingrained social ideas of racial criminality and institutional racism. It is submitted that this break should be taken note of and provides a real opportunity to change the publics view of over policing if it is used as an opportunity to decrease police stop and searches in ethnic areas. These studies raise serious questions about the use of stop and search powers in our criminal justice system as there is implied discrimination and presumption of guilt selectively applied by police. CPS break on criminalizing ethnic minorities can be explained because at this point in CJS discretion and subjectivity at minimum guided by stringent code for Crown Prosecutors. Pre-sentence processes: decision to remand or bail Remand prisoners are more likely to receive custodial sentences if found guilty cannot be presented in a positive light by smart dress or newly gained employment and unfortunately ethnic minorities are much less likely to be given bail (Hood 1992). This could merely be because ethnic minorities have an increased risk of being of no fixed abode this is apparently a neutral factor but it can still lead to the perception of over policing. The higher acquittal rates for blacks and asians, which are consistent with the case termination by CPS discussed above. This again raises questions about previous actions of police and leads to an even more entrenched mistrust of police action and allegations of over policing. Moreover pre-sentence reports where 16% written on black offenders and 11% on asians reinforced stereotypical attitudes to race. There have been documented higher rates of committal to Crown Court for ethnic minorities even before sentencing decisions are made, blacks face a m ore severe punishment than their white counterparts (Hood 1992). Sentencing Most studies suggest little or no difference exists between those from over policed areas (which tend to be areas dominated by ethnic minorities). However, these studies have a limited methodologically: it is almost empirically impossible to consider the wider range of legitimate legal factors which influence sentencing decisions, including subjective intention on the part of the judge. Hoods (1992) pioneering used 16 variables, which best predicted possibility of a sentence. 503 blacks sentenced when there should only have been 479, which was 5% greater probability of blacks being sentence: if practised in every court would show serious racial discrimination. The results of a study like this originate with over use of stop and search powers. Hoods findings provide clear evidence of discrimination which reinforces negative public opinion and mistrust of police and racially motivated over policing policies. Conclusion Over policing as in the proactive policing of areas populated by ethnic minorities does not go unnoticed and the greater use of stop and search powers creates bitterness and mistrust among these populations, which eventually undermines any positive work the police are trying to accomplish. The perception of over policing undoubtedly starts with the PACE 1984 stop and search powers, but as the offender progresses through the criminal justice system, and these powers are shown to have led to unnecessary arrests, the bitterness created by their use increases. It is difficult to think of a precise solution as the notion of reasonable suspicion, although an objective one in legal terms, is necessarily employed by the police based on their subjective judgment, which as a result of social factors and institutional racism, appears to be geared towards searching ethnic minorities. Mistrust is a two-way street and perhaps even contributes to increased criminality.