The Varied Diet of Turtles

Turtle eating habits are varied and what they eat depends on the available food sources, the habitat in which the turtle lives and the turtles behavior. Most adult land turtles eat a diet that consists of plants. They graze on grass or browse on the leaves of bushes and shrubs that are within their reach. A few species of turtles also eat fruits. Occasionally, some turtles also ingest small insects such as caterpillars that get caught up in the plants they eat, so invertebrates make up a part of a turtles diet as well. One group of turtles well-known for their herbivorous feeding habits are Galapagos tortoises. Galapagos tortoises feed on leaves and grasses and their diet is so influential that over the course of their evolution their shells have been modified in different ways to reflect their eating habits. Galapagos tortoise subspecies that eat grasses that lie close to the ground have shells that are dome-shaped with the rim of their shell lying snugly above their neck. Galapagos tortoise subspecies that eat leaves that are above the ground on bushes and shrubs have shells that are saddle-backed in shape, with the rim of the shell arched upwards enabling them to crane their neck high in the air as they grasp their food. Freshwater turtles such as snapping turtles are ambush predators. Too cumbersome to swim after their prey with any great speed, snapping turtles instead tuck themselves into a bunch of aquatic vegetation and snap at anything that comes within their path. Consequently, snapping turtles eat fish and crustaceans. Most freshwater turtles, when young, eat the larvae of aquatic invertebrates. As they grow older, their diet switches to aquatic vegetation. Sea turtles eat a variety of marine invertebrates and vegetation. For example, leatherback sea turtles feed on jellyfish, loggerhead sea turtles eat bottom-dwelling shellfish, green sea turtles eat seagrass and algae.

The History of Root Beer and Inventor Charles Hires

According to his biography, Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires discovered a recipe for a delicious tisane—a form of herbal tea—while on his honeymoon in New Jersey. Not long after, he began selling a dry version of the tea blend but it had to be mixed with water, sugar, and yeast and left to ferment for the carbonation process to take place. On the suggestion of his friend Russell Conwell (founder of Temple University), Hires began working on a liquid formulation for a carbonated root beer beverage that would be more appealing to the masses. The result was a combination of more than 25 herbs, berries, and roots that Hires used to flavor carbonated soda water. At Conwells urging, Hires introduced his version of root beer to the public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition. Hires Root Beer was a hit. In 1893, the Hires family first sold and distributed bottled root beer. The History of Root Beer While Charles Hires and his family contributed greatly to the popularity of modern root beer, its origins can be traced to pre-colonial times during which indigenous tribes commonly created beverages and medicinal remedies from sassafras roots. Root beer as we know it today is descended from small beers, a collection of beverages (some alcoholic, some not) concocted by American colonists using what they had at hand. The brews varied by region and were flavored by locally grown herbs, barks, and roots. Traditional small beers included birch beer, sarsaparilla, ginger beer, and root beer. Root beer recipes of the era contained different combinations of ingredients such as allspice, birch bark, coriander, juniper, ginger, wintergreen, hops, burdock root, dandelion root, spikenard, pipsissewa, guaiacum chips, sarsaparilla, spicewood, wild cherry bark, yellow dock, prickly ash bark, sassafras root, vanilla beans, hops, dog grass, molasses, and licorice. Many of these ingredients are still used in root beer today, along with added carbonation. There is no single recipe for root beer. Fast Facts: Top Root Beer Brands If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Charles Hires would have a lot to feel flattered about. The success of his commercial root beer sales soon inspired competition. Here are some of the most notable root beer brands.A W: In 1919, Roy Allen bought a root beer recipe and began marketing his beverage in Lodi, California. A year later, Allen partnered with Frank Wright to form AW Root Beer. In 1924, Allen bought his partner out and obtained a trademark for the brand that is now the top-selling root beer in the world.Barqs: Barqs Root Beer debuted in 1898. It was the creation of Edward Barq, who along with his brother Gaston were the principals of the  Barqs Brothers Bottling Company founded in the New Orleans French Quarter in 1890. The brand is still owned by the Barqs family but is currently manufactured and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company.Dads: The recipe for Dads Root Beer was created by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns in the basement of Klapmans Chicago-area ho me in the late 1930s. It was the first product to make use of the six-pack packaging  format invented by the Atlanta Paper Company in the 1940s.Mug Root Beer: Mug Root Beer was originally marketed as â€Å"Belfast Root Beer† during the 1940s by the Belfast Beverage Company. The product name was later changed to Mug Old Fashioned Root Beer, which was then shortened to Mug Root Beer. Currently manufactured and distributed by PepsiCo, Mugs brand mascot is a bulldog named â€Å"Dog.† Root Beer and Health Concerns In 1960, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of sassafras as a potential carcinogen. Sassafras is one of the main flavoring ingredients in root beer. However, it was determined that the potentially dangerous element of the plant was found only in the oil. Once a method to extract the harmful oil from the sassafras was found, sassafras could continue to be used without harmful repercussions. As with other soft drinks, classic root beer is classified by the scientific community as a sugar-sweetened beverage or SSB. Studies have linked SSBs to a number of health concerns including obesity, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay. Even non-sweetened beverages, if consumed in too great a quantity, have the potential for negatively impacting health.

The Importance Of The American Dream - 1547 Words

The American Dream, an ideal first defined by James Truslow Adams in the 1931 novel Epic of America. Adams (1931) defined the dream as, The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone... (p. 214). The dream of our ancestors has not changed with the passage of time, but achieving the dream has become much more difficult for the average American. Reviewing data compiled the last few decades paints a bleak picture, wage disparities have increased, savings rates fell, pension plan failures have increased, and benefits provided by private defined benefit plans and the US Government continue to see reductions. These sobering facts drive home the need to ensure your own financial†¦show more content†¦This lack of knowledge translates directly into lower saving rates and investment habits. Currently, less than 48% of adults in the United State have savings invested in stocks, one of the best potential options to accumulat e funds for an emergency or retirement. Various options do exist, however, to aid an individual uncomfortable with investing. A passive investor could utilize a broker, a broker is a representative who buys and sells investments on behalf of an individual. However, brokers can be quite expenses to engage as they receive commissions on each buy or sell transaction they execute. Using a broker has other potential drawbacks, an unscrupulous broker may engage in excessive trading to line their pockets with commissions, in a practice known as churning. In addition, a broker may steer you towards investments that are in the brokerage firms best interest, not yours. A potentially less risky option available for investing is to work with an advisor. An advisor provides recommendations, generally do not receive commissions, but receive compensation on a percentage of invested assets. Many excellent firms will provide investment advisory services, but these services often entail a range of fe es. The median fee range is, .50% for high net worth clients to 1.50% for clients with smaller account balances on top of hourly fees. Herein lies the bad news forShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of The American Dream918 Words   |  4 Pagesthere are some individuals who want the American dream, such as non-Americans. Even though immigrants essentially founded the American dream as the thirteen colonies expanded, current bans preventing entry from certain countries and regulations attempting to deport others seem to rip that dream out of their grasp. Contrary to popular beliefs, the American dream is not the white picket fence vision we were taught in high school history. Instead, the American dream is the desire to live comfortably withinRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream918 Words   |  4 Pageswork through the American Dream, but for one American, Lilly Ledbetter, success has not always come that easily. While working for GoodYear, Ledbetter learned that she was earni ng less money than her male counterparts. In addition, she was being sexually harassed by her coworkers and punished with poor reviews when she did not comply with their suggestions. As a result, even though Ledbetter worked just as much, if not more, than her male co workers, she was not rewarded as the Dream promises. ThereRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1321 Words   |  6 PagesFormer First Lady, Michelle Obama, eloquently summarized the American Dream at the Democratic National Convention in 2012. â€Å"Barack knows the American Dream because hes lived it...and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where were from, or what we look like, or who we love. And he believes that when youve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity...you do not slam it shut behind you...you reach back, and youRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream916 Words   |  4 Pages During the 21st century, there has been a realignment of both social classes and habits due to the events of the last 20 years that make the American dream of the second half of the 20th century impossible to attain. According to Dictionary.com, the American dream is the ideals of opportunity, freedoms, and equality for all Americans. The Am erican dream can no longer be attained for many reasons, but one big reason would be that people of this generation’s interests are not the same of those ofRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1363 Words   |  6 Pages its possible to achieve the American dream.† -Tommy Hilfiger. What is the American dream? How is it possible to achieve the American dream if there are large corporations ruining it for the companies trying to reach such dream? The American dream consists of the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. What about those who are starting a new business whose dream is to become a large organizationRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1231 Words   |  5 Pageswanted to be successful and powerful. The American Dream or the idea that everyone in the U.S. has an equal opportunity to succeed has been around since 1931. The problem with the American dream today is that in reality people don’t have the same opportunities as they used to. The American Dream may actually just be a dream with no real evidence to prove it’s true. Rana Foroohar, author of â€Å"What Ever Happened to Upward Mobility,† discusses why the American Dream isn’t the same as it used to be and howRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1057 Words   |  5 Pagesthis country today don’t believe that the American dream is alive. Fifty-nine percent of those polled in June agreed that â€Å"the American dream has become impossible for most people to achieve. More and more Americans believe there is â€Å"not much opportunity† to get ahead†(Alternet). Many adults of the middle and lower classes American population no longer the American dream is no longer attainable because most if not all of the key elements of the American dream are no longer attainable. With financialRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1732 Words   |  7 PagesTo achieve the American Dream, one must work hard and have the dedication to be successful. There are myths relating to this dream leaving lower class members to wonder if the dream exists for them. People in lower class are told if they want to be successful they must put in hard work and true effort. Once they do, they see that they are remaining in the same position they started in. In â€Å"Class of America-2012,† Gregory Mantsios states the ideas of class in the US and explains them. One myth addressedRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream773 Words   |  4 PagesThe American dream has changed drastically thru our history. Back in the 1950 and 1960 the American dream was to have the house with the white picket fence and the 2  ½ kids. Now the dream for a lot of people is to be able to pay their bills and maybe have enough money to go out for a nice little dinner that you did not have to cook yourself. The American dream is dead, it is because the concept has changed from the idea that everyone can improve their life through hard work to the idea that everyoneRead MoreThe Importance Of The American Dream1628 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream, an ideal first defined by James Truslow Adams in the 1931 novel Epic of America. Adams (1931) defined the dream as, The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone... (p. 214). The dream of our ancestors has not changed with the passage of time, but achieving the dream has become much more difficult for the average American. Reviewing data compiled the last few decades paints a bleak picture, wage disparities have

William Shakespeare s Macbeth And Henry Iv - 928 Words

Shakespeare’s plays Macbeth and Henry IV Part One are both plays that are wrought with the notion of destiny. The journeys that Macbeth and Hal undertake throughout these plays are contrastingly different and each play takes on a different perspective of destiny. In Macbeth destiny is attempted to be controlled by Macbeth himself whereas Hal has a destiny that he was born into, a destiny to be king. Both are portrayed differently in different spheres of their society this will be explored further in the examples below. Firstly, language is the first indication of differences in both of these plays. Shakespeare is very good at writing and distinguishing different social classes using different language techniques and manners of expression. In Henry IV this is shown through Hals learning of a gruff and more common language through the bartender, in many ways this ability to shift between a language that the nobility would use and one that the commoners would use aids Hal through his destiny. He is able to befriend the bartender and these commoners hence he gains the trust of his people, which is an integral part of his plan to win back is honour as a prince and the loyalty of his father. Furthermore Hal changes his diction when he declares his loyalty to his father and his king showing his ability to once again use his diverse language skills to gain the power and honour he truly wanted. In contrast the language in Macbeth is specifically used to create imagery, specificallyShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Influence On The Course Of World History1440 Words   |  6 PagesWaldo Emerson, a famous essayist inspired by Shakespeare’s works. William Shakespeare was a renowned author, poet, actor, and playwright. He has contributed to many components of life today such as; founding modern English language, contributing to literature, contributing to modern theater, and contributing many of his works to modern English. William Shakespeare has greatly impacted the course of world history. William Shakespeare was believed to be born on April 23,1564, in his hometown of Stratford-upon-AvonRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare: A Brief Biography651 Words   |  3 Pages William Shakespeare is arguably the most well known and successful author is the history of literature. Little is known about Shakespeare’s childhood and is what questions he’s existence. Besides the lack of knowledge of his childhood, Shakespeare lived a successful adult life. His plays changed the english language language forever. In all of his success, people still doubt he ever existed. William Shakespeare’s birth is unknown but church records show that he was baptised on April 26, 1564Read MoreWhat Events That Changed The Reformation?943 Words   |  4 Pageshe writes a book called The Institutes of the Christian Religion which included the teaching of predestination. Predestination is the belief that God determines before birth which Christians will gain salvation/heaven or go to hell. Some of Calvin s strict moral codes that influence us today were: only simple plan clothes were permitted; fashionable styles, jewelry and make-up could not be worn, men/women had to cut their hair; avoid fancy styles, sex outside of marriage is strictly forbidden (thoseRead MoreEssay on Biography of William Shakespeare2736 Words   |  11 PagesBiography of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. He was baptized on April 24, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He was the third of eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, three of whom died in childhood. John was a well-known merchant and Mary was the daughter of a Roman Catholic member of the gentry, or high social position. The house where Shakespeare spent his childhood stood adjacent to he wool shop in which his father plied a successfulRead More The Supernatural in Macbeth Essay3374 Words   |  14 PagesThe Supernatural in Macbeth       More than a few elements of the supernatural can be discovered within the action and dialogue of Shakespeares plays.   However, the extent and nature of those elements differs to a large degree.   There are traces of it to be found in Henry V, Pardon, gentles all,/The flat unraised spirit that hath dard...to bring forth/So great and object (Lucy   1).  Ã‚   There are also elements of it apparent in Winters Tale, What I did not well I meant well (Lucy  Read MoreMacbeth9435 Words   |  38 Pages------------------------------------------------- Macbeth From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about Shakespeare s play. For other uses, see  Macbeth (disambiguation). A poster for a  c.  1884 American production ofMacbeth, starring Thomas W. Keene. Depicted, counter clockwise from top-left, are: Macbeth and Banquo meet the  witches; just after the murder ofDuncan; Banquo s ghost; Macbeth duels Macduff; and Macbeth. Macbeth  is a play written by  William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkestRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare Biography Essay1691 Words   |  7 Pageswas Shakespeare Biography? Who was William Shakespeare? Where was he born? Where did he go to school? How did William Shakespeare live his life from the beginning to the ending? William Shakespeare’s life became a great mystery with lack of evidence to support any findings. His schooling, his family and parents will be revealed in my paper. Who were William Shakespeare’s parents? The parents of Mr. Shakespeare were John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare. Mary Arden married William ShakespeareRead MoreThe Elizabethan Era Of Europe1531 Words   |  7 Pagesproductions. The Theatre s history includes a number of important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain s Men which employed Shakespeare as actor and playwright. After a dispute with the landlord, the theatre was dismantled and the timbers used in the construction of another famous theatre; Globe Theatre. The Globe was the main playhouse of the Lord Chamberlain s Men. Most of Shakespeare s plays after 1599 were staged at the Globe, including Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, andRead MoreEssay on Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 16054662 Words   |  19 PagesMacbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 Shakespeare’s Macbeth was influenced by the gunpowder plot of 1605. The equivocation that was inspired by this event played an important role in the play. The general theme of Macbeth reflects the mood of society at the time that it was written. This relationship is a direct reflection of the mimetic theory. This paper will examine the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the role of equivocation in the subsequent prosecutions during the time that Shakespeare wasRead More Shakespeares World Essay3144 Words   |  13 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Almost every nation on earth reads, studies and performs the works of William Shakespeare. No writer of any country, nor any age, has ever enjoyed such universal popularity. Neither has any writer been so praised. As William Hazlitt observed, quot;The most striking peculiarity of Shakespeares mind was its generic quality, its power of communication with all other minds.quot; It is perhaps this quality that has earned Shakespeare the supreme accolade, that of lending his name to an era. Other than

Healthcare External and Internal

Question: Create a mission and vision statement for your organization. Determine three specific strategic goals that align with the ideals in those two statements. Answer: External And Internal Factors Affecting Healthcare Organizations The present scenario for hospitals is very unpredictable, uncertain and complex. To sustain in the business of healthcare, organizations need to provide quality care to the patients, meeting their need and satisfaction. Patients satisfaction is associated with their loyalty and belief in the organization, adding up to the profitability. However, currently one of the major challenges to the healthcare system is the advent of patient protection and affordable care act- 2010 (PPACA), which further affects the internal functioning of hospitals. According to the act, hospitals and physicians will be altering their practices by demanding lesser fees and providing technologically and clinically efficient treatment for better health outcomes of patients. Thus, it has put an extra burden on these organizations to sustain their services, causing many of them to shut. Although being one of the most regulated industries, healthcare industry is getting weaker owing to this act, wherein underpayme nts to physicians has compromised the patient care. Hence, to provide quality care to the patients and remain financially solvent, strategic management has become a necessity. Internal and External Factors in Healthcare A clear understanding of antecedents to quality care can help develop a better strategy and framework for an organization to excel in medical services. Proper functioning of an organization is dependent on its productivity, profitability, and patients satisfaction. Hence, firstly it needs to identify the internal and external forces in their growth. (Templeton et. al., 2016) External factors. a) Government laws. Certain state and federal level regulations by government in favor of the patients negatively impact the healthcare organizations. The PPACA act in US has pressurized the healthcare systems to cut down the cost and increase the quality and technology of treatment. However, in small scale organizations like ours, due to lack of sufficient finance it gets difficult to implement the changes. Additionally, lowering down of primary physician fees and prescription of less costly generics as compared to innovators will ultimately affect revenue and profitability of the hospital. Thus, making it all the more complex in installation of advanced equipments and systems for patient control. The Medicares physician reimbursement further increases the burden by increasing the staffing cost to hospitals while decreasing reimbursements, thus, disturbing the balance within the organization as a result of decreasing quality of service (Fodeman, 2016). b) Availability of resources. Quality of services and profits are highly dependent on the availability of healthcare resources. Due to higher demand for advanced diagnostic equipments and effective medicines, the resources are becoming limited. Therefore, the problem of allocation of resources and funds arise, leading to insufficient infrastructure, limited access to new effective drugs and hence low quality service and patient dissatisfaction. As a consequence, it can cause poor patient reviews further leading to shutting down of the organization (Mosadeghrad, 2013). Internal factors. a) Job dissatisfaction. Changes in the regulations have led to an increase in job dissatisfaction among the physicians and nurses. Some of the factors crucial in job satisfaction are pay, management, policies in the organization, job security, promotions etc. With changes in laws, most of the healthcare providers are getting paid less in comparison to the amount of work and time they devote to patients. To maintain previous income they are forced to treat more number of patients. This, on the more is responsible for increased employee turnover in the organization. Thereby the organization to get its finance has to increase the number of beds with limited attention to the patients. Thus, the burden of this is faced by the patients, with decrease in face-time with doctors, compromised care, and quick discharges. The regressive environment of the hospital ultimately hinders the quality of care. Moreover, the promotion rules, being majorly based on the number of articles published, years in service and exams passed rather than quality of service provided and patients treated, have added to the dissatisfaction among the doctors (Scheppersa et.al., 2006). b) Physician competence and skills. Keeping all the other factors aside, for a hospital to have excellent quality of service, it is necessary to have competent physicians. Technically sound workforce, with knowledge, experience and capability is a key to success. No matter how adverse the other situations are, if a hospitals staffs and physicians are superior, patients will believe in its service. Additionally, being acquainted with recent therapies, treatments and discoveries in their field, the employees should also be well informed of the organizations culture and regulations. This necessitates the modification in the recruitment and management procedures of our organization, wherein attitude, knowledge, skills, expertise etc. of a physician should be kept forth (Mosadeghrad, 2014). Competitive strategy development. For the care and services to prosper in the organization, it is essential to develop a strategic planning that recognizes and deals with the changes in external and internal threats. But targeting these factors with a single competitive strategy is a challenge for the management. Changes in government laws, job satisfaction and resource limitation are somewhere linked to each other. However, for efficient workforce development, approaches such as training programs and stringent recruitment procedures are required. These identified factors weaken the hospitals position in the external competitive environment, questioning its managerial system. With changing government laws, it is complex to balance between the finance/funds and services of the hospital, including payment to the staffs and physicians, which leads the employees to switch their job. As a result, the organization runs short of good healthcare providers and treatments. This will further hamper the strategy building process , as lack of good and satisfied staffing will make the strategy implementation even more difficult. Additionally, the factors identified make it complex for the management to decide whether to allocate funds on physicians salary, recruitment of excellent physicians and staffs or on advanced treatment procedures and resources for achieving quality care. Therefore, an efficient strategy needs to be built for minimizing the negative impacts of these factors (Rivers and Glover, 2008). Addressing threats with strategic planning. In the recent scenario, with all the new discoveries being made in the healthcare sector and introduction of new techniques, the competition has increased. This has further strengthened the impact of the above factors. Hence, for maintaining the momentum of strategic plan and becoming resilient to changes in the healthcare sector, the organizations goals should first be made clear with focus on limited number of services. Supplementary to this, a deep study of all the threats, their possible causes and consequences along with their relational perspectives must be done. To address the currently persisting major issues the management should utilize the factory approach i.e. focusing on specific diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. This will minimize the resource allocation problem and increase efficiency of patient treatment and quality of care. It further solves the problems of job dissatisfaction among the physicians due to low pay, as the limited number of specialists for specific diseases can be paid higher. Additionally, narrowing down the scope paves way for patient-centered treatment approach that facilitates more attention to the patients rather than less face-time. This patient-centered approach, educating the patients about their health, and providing full freedom to participate in the decision making process, will make them more comfortable and satisfied (Kim et. al., 2015). Patients satisfaction increases their loyalty for an organization and helps in improving its reputation and profitability, because when it comes to health people opt for quality rather than paying less. Conclusion Although in the current scenario, with changes in external environment the internal hospital momentum is getting disturbed. However, with the application of several analytical models, these negatively impacting forces can be analyzed. The organization must not divert from the original goal, which is patients welfare, other requirements including profitability, employee satisfaction and resources will follow that ultimately. References Fodeman, J. The new health law: bad for doctors, awful for patients. The institute for healthcare consumerism. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from https://www.theihcc.com/en/communities/policy_legislation/the-new-health-law-bad-for-doctors-awful-for-patie_gn17y01k.html Kim, H.S., Kim, Y. H., Woo, J.S., and Hyun, S. J. (2015). An analysis of organizational performance based on hospital specialization level and strategy type. PLoS One, 10(7), e0132257. Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Factors affecting medical service quality. Iranian journal of public health, 43(2), 210220. Mosadeghrad, A.M., Ferdosi, M., Afshar, H., Hosseini, N.M. (2013) The impact of top management turnover on quality management implementation.Medical archives, 67, 13440. Rivers, P.A., and Glover, S. H. (2008). Health care competition, strategic mission, and patient satisfaction: research model and propositions. Journal of health organization and management, 22(6), 627641. Scheppersa, E., Dongenb, E. V., Dekkerc, J., Geertzend, J., and Dekkere, J. (2006). Potential barriers to the use of health services among ethnic minorities: a review. Family practice,23(3), 325-348. Templeton, A.R., Young, L., Bish, A., Gnich, W., Cassie, H., Treweek, S., Bonetti, D., Stirling, D., Macpherson, L., McCann, S., Clarkson, J., Ramsay, C. (2016). Patient-, organization-, and system-level barriers and facilitators to preventive oral health care: a convergent mixed-methods study in primary dental care. Implementation Science, 1(1),5.

The curious case of corporate tax avoidance- Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: 1. From your firms financial statement, list each item of equity and write your understanding of each item. Discuss any changes in each item of equity for your firm over the past year articulating the reasons for the change. 2. What is your firms tax expense in its latest financial statements? 3. Is this figure the same as the company tax rate times your firms accounting income? Explain why this is, or is not, the case for your firm. 4. Comment on deferred tax assets/liabilities that is reported in the balance sheet articulating the possible reasons why they have been recorded. 5. Is there any current tax assets or income tax payable recorded by your company? Why is the income tax payable not the same as income tax expense? 6. Is the income tax expense shown in the income statement same as the income tax paid shown in the cash flow statement? If not why is the difference? 7. What do you find interesting, confusing, surprising or difficult to understand about the treatment of tax in your firms financial statements? What new insights, if any, have you gained about how companies account for income tax as a result of examining your firms tax expense in its accounts? Answer: Answer 1 Financial statements provide the snapshot of the financial position of the companies, especially the balance sheet. Assets, Liabilities and Owners Equity are considered as three major items of balance sheet. The latest annual report of Boral Limited shows the presence of three major items under the head Equity; they are Issued Capital, Reserves and Retained Earnings (Cohen-Cole Martinez-Garcia, 2013). The 2017 annual report of Boral Limited shows a massive increase in the amount of issued capital; that is $ 4,256.1 million in 2017 and $ 2,246.2 million in 2016 (Boral.com, 2017). The main purpose of the issue of equity shares is to fulfill the capital requirement. The way to calculate issued capital is to multiply the total number of shares outstanding by the total number of shares. In Boral Limited, the number of issued shares in 2017 and 2016 are 1,172,331,924 and 743,599,437 respectively. In 2017, Boral Limited undertook an equity rising of $ 2,018.9 million with a net transaction cost of $ 38.9 million. Boral Limited issued the shares under three heads; they are 93,750,000 ordinary shares under Institutional Placement; 233,648,069 ordinary shares under Institutional Entitlement Offer; and 101,334,418 ordinary shares under Retail Entitlement Offer (Boral.com, 2017). The next equity item is reserve. Reserve in equity is considered as the extra amount paid by shareholders apart from the basic price of the shares. Massive decrease in the equity reserve of Boral Limited can be seen in 2017 as the amount decreased to $ 19.3 million in 2017 from $ 162.0 million in 2016. Four kinds of reserves can be seen in Boral Limited; they are Foreign Currency Translation Reserve (FCTR), hedging reserve, share-based payment reserves and other reserves (Boral.com, 2017). It can be observed that there is not any reserve under the head of other reserve in 2017. The last item under equity of Boral Limited is Retained Earning. Retained earnings refer to the total profit and loss of the companies from the formation time. Positive retrained earning shows the presence of more profit in companies than losses. There is an increase in the retained earnings of Boral Limited in 2017; that is $ 1,156.1 million in 2017 from $ 1,098.1 million (Boral.com, 2017). Answer 2 At the time of carrying on the business operations, companies have to incur different types of expenses like operating expenses, selling expenses, administrative expenses and others. Tax Expenses is considered as one of them. Tax expenses of the companies can be derived by multiplying the business tax by income before taxes after doing all the tax reconciliation (Burman Phaup, 2012). It is also mandatory for Boral Limited to make their tax calculation correctly and pay them on yearly basis. In this context, it is required to be mentioned that companies are required to pay tax expenses to the federal government and state government of the companies. The Australian Taxation Law has imposed a tax rate of 30% for the Australian companies. The latest income statement of Boral Limited shows the rise in the income tax expenses of the company. The income tax expenses in 2017 and 2016 are $ 51.4 million and $ 35.6 million (Boral.com, 2017). The main reasons for the rise in income tax expense s can be either the increase in tax rate or profit before income tax or both. The annual report of Boral Limited shows that there has not been any change in tax rate from 2016 to 2017. Thus, the main reason behind the increase in tax expenses in Boral Limited is the increase in profit before income tax; that is $ 301.0 million in 2017 and $ 281.1 million. In the statement of cash flow of Boral Limited, the amounts of tax expenses are $ 41.8 million and $ 69.4 million (Boral.com, 2017). Answer 3 The latest annual report of Boral Limited shows the companys profit before tax in 2017 and 2016 are $ 301.0 million and $ 281.1 million respectively and the company has an income tax rate of 30% in both the year 2017 and 2016. In this way, the tax expenses of Boral Limited should be $ 90.3 million ($ 301.0 million*30%) in 2017 and $ 84.33 million ($ 281.1 million*30%) in 2016. However, in the companys income statement, the reported amount of tax expenses is $ 51.4 million and $ 35.6 million (Boral.com, 2017). Thus, it shows a clear difference in the tax expenses for Boral Limited. The reconciliation of income tax expenses shows that several factors contribute to this difference in income tax expenses. The first factor is the difference between Australian and overseas tax rate (Marron, 2012). The tax expenses among the parent company and its subsidiaries in other countries due to difference in tax rates and $ 3.4 million has been deducted from the tax expenses. The next factor is non- deductable depreciation and amortization. In 2017, Boral Limited has deducted depreciation and amortization from tax expenses and thus, $ 0.4 million has been added with the tax expenses (Boral.com, 2017). In the tax treatment of Boral Limited, one deductible item is the realization of the losses of capital and income tax. For this reason, $ 20.4 million is deducted from the tax expenses. The next item is non-deductable asset impairment and write-downs. In-spite of non-deductable nature, the company may have deducted them and as compensation, $ 6.1 million has been added with the tax expenses. The next item is shares of associates net profits that should be deducted from the income tax expenses. For this reason, $ 28.5 million has been deducted from the tax expenses (Boral.com, 2017). The next item is tax benefits from the vest of share acquisition right. This is a deductable item from the profit of the companies. For this reason, $ 11.5 million has been deducted from the income tax expenses of the company. The next item is finalization of different tax matters that does not have any effect on the tax expenses of Boral Limited in 2017. There are some other non-deductable significant other items can be seen that are not required to be deducted from the tax expenses. For this reason, $ 3.7 million has been added to the tax expenses of the company (Boral.com, 2017). Answer 4 Deferred tax assets and liabilities are two important parts in the tax treatment of the firms. In some situations, companies use to pay extra amount of tax in the current year that is considered as asset in the coming years and it is called deferred tax assets (Harrington, Smith Trippeer, 2012). In some situations, there are differences in profit and tax-carrying value of the firms and it is called deferred tax liabilities (Gallemore et al., 2012). The latest annual report of Boral Limited shows the reporting of differed tax assets in the balance sheet; they are $ 128.4 million in 2017 and $ 237.4 million in 2016 (Boral.com, 2017). Thus, decrease in the deferred tax assets can be seen in 2017 as compared to 2016. The financial notes of deferred tax and assets show the presence of differed tax assets and liabilities in both 2017 and 2016. In Boral Limited, the deferred tax assets are receivables, inventories, PPE (property, plant and equipment) and intangible assets. Boral Limited ha s recognized all these substances as their deferred tax assets it is probable that future taxable profits will be available from all these assets. The situation is opposite in case of deferred tax liabilities. Boral Limited has recognized all these substances as their deferred tax liabilities as it is probable that there will be future outflow of cash or losses due from these items. There can be a major reason for Boral Limited for the reduction of deferred tax assets in 2017 from 2016 that is the overpayment of tax in 2016. Boral Limited had to pay less amount of tax in 2017 as they already paid overtax in 2016. Answer 5 In the process of tax treatment, current tax assets, current tax liabilities or income tax payable are seen as important factors. In 2017, Boral Limited has not mention any thing about the current tax assets of the company. However, the company has reported about current tax liabilities in their balance sheet; that is $ 64.1 million in 2017 and $ 36.6 million in 2016 (Boral.com, 2017). It can be observed that the amount of current tax liabilities has increased in 2017 from2016. From the annual report of Boral Limited, it can be observed that there is difference between the amount of income tax expenses and income tax payable of the company. According to the description provided by Boral Limited, current tax liabilities are the income tax payable for the year and it is payable in respect of the previous year (Laux, 2013). However, the situation is completely different in case of income tax expenses. Income tax expense is considered as the major liability of Boral Limited as it is calc ulated on the current years income of the company. Thus, it can be seen that, there are major differences in the concept of income tax payable and income tax expenses. It needs to be mentioned that Boral Limited calculate the amount of income tax payable on the income of previous year where the calculation of income tax expenses is done based on the income of current year (Dhaliwal et al., 2013). For all these reasons, the amount of income tax payable is not same as the income tax expenses of Boral Limited. Answer 6 Companies use to mention about their income tax expenses in the income statement as well as in the statement of cash flows. The same aspect can also be seen in Boral Limited. According to the income statement of Boral Limited, the company reported $ 51.4 million in 2017 and $ 35.6 million in 2016 as income tax expenses (Boral.com, 2017). As per the statement of cash flow of Boral Limited, the company reported $ 41.8 million in 2017 and $ 69.4 in 2016 as income tax paid (Boral.com, 2017). Thus, it can be clearly observed that Boral Limited has reported two different amounts of tax expenses in income statement and cash flow statement. Some specific reasons are responsible for this disparity. Cash flow from operating activities shows the amount of cash inflow and outflow from the increase or decrease in current assets or liabilities (Saad, 2014). Income tax payable or current liabilities come under current liabilities of Boral Limited. For this reason, Boral Limited reported only the pa yment of income tax payable in the statement of cash flows. This is one of the reasons. In addition, there are different kinds of deductable or non-deductable items that cannot be included in the statement of cash flows as their reconciliation is done later. For this specific reason, the amount of income tax paid in the statement of cash flows shows either more or less as compared to the income tax expenses reported in the income statement (Dowling, 2014). Thus, the above discussed two reasons are responsible for creating differences among the income tax reported in cash flow statement and income statement. Answer 7 The above analysis on Boral Limited shows that there is not any confusing factor in the companys tax treatment as Boral Limited has mentioned all the rules of tax treatment along with proper justification. It can be mentioned that Boral Limited has done their tax treatment in an interesting way. In the note of tax reconciliation, Boral Limited has clearly mentioned about all the factors creating differences in the tax expenses. The company has also shown the amounts of tax reconciliation. All these aspects of tax treatment by Boral Limited is interesting as these help in increasing knowledge in taxation. In addition, one can gain deep insight about the innovative tax treatment of Boral Limited by observing the reasons of differences between the income tax expenses reported in income statement and statement of cash flows. Apart from this, one can gain insight about the fact that tax rate of different countries affect the tax treatment (Atkinson, 2013). 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