ActivityBased Costing Essay Research Paper Brief Introduction free essay sample

Activity-Based Costing Essay, Research Paper Brief Introduction to ABC Activity-Based Costing ( ABC ) started as a methodological analysis that recognises the demand to understand how costs really relate to single merchandises and services ( Cooper A ; Kaplan, 1989 ) that subsequently resulted in a more refined system of apportioning operating expenses to merchandises and services, harmonizing to the demand of each activity. Homemade Pty Ltd # 8211 ; Food ( Dikolli A ; Smith, 1996:47-55 ) was a pilot undertaking where it took portion in an ABC feasibleness survey during the mid 90s. This company has been chosen for this survey because it has met some of the premier standards of ABC. The standards are diverse merchandise or service lines, high operating expense, big distribution costs, ( Downes, 1996:49 ) to call a few. Homemade manufactures 170 types of finished stock and is a market leader. It relied to a great extent on labor and incurring high operating expenses in treating nutrient in footings of machinery, sales representatives # 8217 ; wage and tenancy of mill floor. We will write a custom essay sample on ActivityBased Costing Essay Research Paper Brief Introduction or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Three other companies are selected to detect ABC deductions in their systems to see if there is difference or similarity as compared to Homemade. These companies are NASA # 8217 ; s Lewis Research Centre ( LeRC ) # 8211 ; Government, Tampa Electric # 8211 ; Public Utility and Mobil # 8211 ; Oil A ; Gas ( see as attached at Appendix ) . They have fulfilled the undermentioned premier standards and have already gone through the stage of existent occurrences when they adopted ABC into their costing systems. 1. Product / Service Diversity A ; Customers Companies with more diverseness in merchandises, the harder it is for them to follow the beginning of profitableness, particularly when they are providing to assorted consumers. For illustration, LeRC conducts research and development in both aerospace and astronauticss, specializing in micro-gravity scientific discipline, aero-propulsion and infinite systems. Its internal clients include authorities bureaus, defense mechanism affiliates and the Congress itself. Without ABC, the beginnings and utilizations of financess are barely seeable, ( Walters et al. , 2000 ) because it is hard to mensurate its employees # 8217 ; clip spent on a given activity. Similarly, Mobil supplies more than 30,000 lubricators to retail clients and their costing system could non turn to cost to bring forth each merchandise separately. ( Kang, 2000 ) 2. High Overheads A ; Large Distribution / Marketing Costss Large companies normally incur high operating expenses than of direct costs because they spend more in distribution and selling costs. Indirect costs, such as publicity costs, mercantile establishment director # 8217 ; s rewards and depreciation of machinery are non accounted into the cost per unit of merchandise or service. For case, Mobil produces and supplies more than 30,000 lubricators, and operates lubricant affiliates in more than 60 states with 40 fabrication locations. Its broad coverage is to market its lubricators to the consumers. Therefore, it will be incurring high operating expenses. However, the cost per unit lubricator will non include the wages of salesmen selling it. Without ABC, these excess costs will non be accounted for and cost per unit will non be accurate. Similarly, Tampa Electric uses six bring forthing workss to provide to 550,000 clients: commercial, residential and industrial including the extent of urban and rural. The operating expense and distributi on costs incurred during the transit of electricity to these topographic points are non accounted in the cost per unit of electricity because in traditional costing, these costs are represented by resource drivers. After the execution of ABC, it is obvious to see that some of the determinations made in those companies have been changed. These alterations are made to better reflect merchandise costs, identify unneeded costs that cut down profitableness and uncluttering any excess work contributed from unstructured bing system. Common determination points can besides be categorised under several groups. 1. Cost Allocation A ; Pricing Non-value added costs are identified, hence been reduced. Gross saless are no longer to aim volume, but for the intent of profitableness. ABC allocated overhead costs harmonizing to their activity drivers alternatively of volume drivers. Specific activities that are lending to non-value added costs could be separated. For illustration, Tampa Electric discovered that proving of metres in house versus the field would salvage about $ 50,000 and replacing residential metres is well less expensive than mending them. For pricing intents, the monetary value per unit can be maintained the same while cut downing costs to bring forth significant net incomes. Mobil will be able to bring forth 1000s of merchandise and bundle combinations without increasing the costs that affect the profitableness degree. Homemade prepared cross-functional outgo analysis to observe any # 8216 ; hidden # 8217 ; points in the general leger and a five-stage determination procedure has been developed to specify act ivities harmonizing to their nature, either for activity-based direction ( the procedure dimension ) or activity-based costing ( the cost dimension ) intents. ( Dikolli A ; Smith, 1996:52 ) 2. Add / Drop Product / Service Lines Unprofitable merchandise lines can be dropped and new lines added. By taking these lines, it can extinguish really much of the cost subsidies such as electricity, natural stuffs and direct labor that have been incurred during the devising of merchandise or service. Mobil has closed multiple fabrication installations with exce US Secret Service capacity because ABC has identified the importance of profitableness instead than volume growing. â€Å"Profit focal point and concern simpleness are the subjects and the concern consequences are their touchable manifestations.† ( Tom Kang, 2000 ) Similarly, Homemade has eliminated one merchandise household from the merchandise scope after it is found out that there were alterations in surplus of 100 % for the two low-volume non-standard merchandises. ( Dikolli Smith, 1996:54 ) In order to ease the successful execution of ABC, there has been identified that certain cardinal # 8216 ; organizational # 8217 ; variables are indispensable for companies that took the ABC # 8217 ; s way. However, these variables can and hold increase the likeliness of successful execution ( Hilton, 2000:224 ) in all selected companies. 1. Top Management Support and Commitment The engagement of top direction in the ABC execution is important to do certain that all phases of transportation are completed. In Tampa Electric, the direction ensured that its people spent the clip needed to garner information, be available for interviews, train and larn how to utilize the ABC theoretical account, and pull off the consequences. In Mobil, the direction incorporate ABC into mundane concern decision-making procedures and guarantee its sustainability by driving ABC initiatives the top-down. The Management of LeRC recruited AMS ( American Management System ) to assist their squad use activity-based costing as a tool to implement the Internal Economy Concept. ( Walters et al. , 2000 ) 2. Organizational Culture A successful execution of ABC involves full engagement from employees concerned, including their shared beliefs, ends and values. ( Hilton, 2000:224 ) The employees are to be cohesive in doing the full transportation of bing system be completed. All runing countries of Tampa Electric were working together to accomplish the end # 8211 ; expected nest eggs mark by utilizing ABC. Mobil has besides successfully used this property to prolong ABC in its systems because its employees are determined to construct the best ABC theoretical account with the informations available from bing information system and efficaciously pass on the consequences. 3. Performance / Incentive Programme This variable will assist those employees who have or non able to accept the new alterations, therefore still pull off costs with the traditional manner. Most of the clip, wage is used as the alteration agent. In Tampa Electric, any service countries that have helped to place efficiency and best pattern will be awarded. By giving inducements, opposition to alter will be greatly reduced because employees have been compensated from any loss. In Mobil, ABC is tied to a public presentation measuring system ( Kang, 2000 ) where employees can acquire excess wage if they can integrate ABC into their work. 4. Education / Ongoing Training Employees are to be offered a continual chance to retrain and accommodate their accomplishments to the altering environment when ABC is implemented. By giving ongoing preparation to them, they will be more committed in back uping the execution of ABC into new concern units. As in Mobil, the employees are given guidelines to come on to latter phases of ABC, train users and portion their experience with other units. ( Kang, 2000 ) Similarly, participants in LeRC are educated of relationship matrices used to incorporate sections of the ABC theoretical account and that understanding the true costs is critical to last in an internal market economic system. ( Walters et al. , 2000 ) To reason, ABC mapped companies # 8217 ; disbursals from functional classs to procedures. ABC systems estimate the costs of resources used to execute activities for assorted end products. A company will necessitate ABC when its cost system exhibits job finding a merchandise # 8217 ; s net income border and with great alleviation when a physical stock list does non ensue in stock list accommodations. ( Eiler et al. , 1982:134 ) ABC can besides assist directors happen the topographic points in their organisations where betterment is likely to hold the greatest fiscal final payment. ( Cooper A ; Kaplan, 1991:132 ) However, the company must fulfill several premier standards before it is qualified to take up ABC as its costing system. Bibliography Mentions 1. Cooper, R. , Kaplan, R. S. , ( 1991 ) Net income Precedences from Activity-Based Costing, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1991: 130-135 2. Cooper, R. , ( 1989 ) You Need a New Cost System When # 8230 ; , Harvard Business Review, January-February, 1989: 77-82. 3. Dikolli, S. , Smith, M. , ( 1996 ) Implementing ABC: An Australian Feasibility Study, Australian Accounting Review, 6 ( 2 ) : 45-55 4. Downes, F. , ( 1996 ) Geting the Most Mileage from Your Cost System, Controller Magazine # 8211 ; June 1996: 46 5. Eiler, R. G. , Goletz, W. K. , Keegan, D. P. , ( 1992 ) Is Your Cost Accounting Up to Date, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1982: 133-139 6. Hilton, R. W. , ( 2000 ) Instructor # 8217 ; s Edition # 8211 ; Managerial Accounting, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill International Editions 7. Kang, T. , ABC Gathers Speed at Mobil, [ Online ] , Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bettermanagement.com, [ 2000, August 30 ] 8. Tampa Electric Generates Results with ABC/M, [ Online ] , Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bettermanagement.com, [ 2000, August 30 ] 9. Bruno walters, J. , Rattan, P. , Smith, S. , Webster, D. , ABC at NASA # 8217 ; s Lewis Research Center, [ Online ] , Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bettermanagement.com, [ 2000, August 30 ]

Treatment of Japanese Americans and Italian American in WWII essays

Treatment of Japanese Americans and Italian American in WWII essays Two centuries ago, the framers of the Constitution wrestled with the fundamental problem of government: how to balance the rights of individual citizens and minority groups against the need for order and defense of the society itself. One of the most obvious failures of this democratic system to proved equal rights for all of its citizens is evidence by the internment of Japanese-Americans and Italian Americans in detention camps during the period of WWII. Despite good intentions brought about by war fear, this imprisonment cannot be justified due to its impact on our American ideal of racial equality, the guarantee of civil rights to all citizens and the governments requirement to apply federal tax money only in beneficial ways. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed executive order 9066, which forced all Japanese-American and many Italian-Americans, regardless of loyalty or citizenship, to evacuate the West Coast. No comparable order applied to Hawaii, one third of whose population was Japanese-American. The Roosevelt administration was pressured to remove persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast by farmers seeking to eliminate Japanese competition (National). Italian-Americans were forced to leave Pittsburgh after being branded a security risk. The fruitlessness of this method of selection is evidence even today. We have discovered that racial profiling has almost no effect on preventing crime or undesirable actions. Many of the detainees were forced to sell their property at an extremely low cost, or simply have it taken away. Italian immigrants had personal items such as radio, firearms, cameras, and flashlights seized (Rollins). Thousands of fishermen were forced to give up their boats. All of these are glaring examples of violation of civil rights of people who were predominately American citizens. How can a country that clams to be a democracy justify destroying...

Computer sciences and Information technology Article

Computer sciences and Information technology - Article Example 11, 1994). Large companies have so many systems in use within their organizations that range from employee time recording systems, accounting systems, claims systems, manufacturing systems, and sales planning systems just to name a few. If you lay on top of these systems an ERP system such as Oracle or SAP then you have to develop numerous interfaces so that the systems can pass information back and forth. The one point I do not agree with the author is with the statement about generic applications, â€Å"When companies buy a generic application, they buy a generic process as well. Both the cost savings and the interoperability benefits make the sacrifice of distinctiveness unavoidable† (Carr, p.44, 2003). Industry specific software is not a one size fits all. I have been involved with ERP implementations and the software out of the book has never given the company exactly what they need. Referring back to the Software’s Chronic Crisis article once again, the author wri tes â€Å"The biggest challenge is to find ways of cutting the ties that inherently bind programs to specific computers and to other programs†¦a common language that could be used to describe software parts, programs that reshape components to match any environment, and components that have lots of optional features a user can turn on or off† (Gibbs, p. 11, 1994). By creating software components that have optional features that can be turned on and off depending on the business’ processes, IT can then create customized systems to match the needs of the business better. My Response 1 I would disagree with the assertion that the comments made that software and hardware has become inexpensive, software and hardware are still expensive; however, I agree that most firms, small business have access to both hardware and software as are multinationals. I would also disagree that information technology does not provide economic advantage as was in the past; this is incorre ct since firms with efficient IT systems achieve efficiency in their operations, reducing operating costs and overheads and would thus have economic advantage on firms with inefficient IT systems or lack of IT systems. With respect to the comment above, I would agree with its author that Carr’s (44) assertion that purchasing of a generic application by a company means the purchase of a generic process, as well. Specific software for specific industries does not necessarily serve different firms in the industry the same way, entirely, and efficiently-it’s not a one size fit all. Over the count/shelf software, as several studies have shown, does not meet the exact needs of the company. Question 1 – Classmate Comment 3 I would say that, based on the article â€Å"IT Doesn’t Matter,† the author makes the point very clearly that IT, in fact, does matter quite a bit. He explains how good IT is now an absolutely crucial part of being competitive in busine ss (Carr 46). His point of course is that it has become so ubiquitous that just having good IT no longer automatically produces a business advantage over competitors. IT is now simply one of many â€Å"costs of doing business.† It has become a commodity like electricity, transportation or Internet connectivity. Much like Internet connectivity, it is difficult to imagine how a business could be successful these days without robust IT integrated

Was decolonisation beneficial for the development of the former Essay

Was decolonisation beneficial for the development of the former colonies - Essay Example Freedom came at a heavy price and it did not deliver economic prosperity or improved the socio-economic conditions of the former colonies. â€Å"If colonialism distorted economies, freedom did not always deliver prosperity... The rights of nations to sovereignty begged the question of defining a nation. Most successor states were ethnically diverse, bounded by arbitrary frontiers. ...New education and training institutions could not immediately cope with the aspirations of burgeoning population. Few ex-colonies responded as planned, to strategies of agricultural intensification and economic diversification.†(Kuper 2005, p.136) Decolonization was not all about attaining sovereignty as a nation; as it posed new and bigger challenges in order to survive in post-colonial era. Colonialism had lasted for centuries and the traditional models of government and social life had been transformed greatly. Everything was under the influence of the colonial empires and decolonization could not reverse this fact. Everything needed to evolve naturally and to adjust to the changing world scenario. Where decolonization brought waves of joy for the peoples who had fought for it, it also brought inadequate political, social and economical infrastructures that were formerly being looked after by the colonialists. Although the new governments tried to motivate their peoples to work for their national interests, yet inadequate financial and technical resources kept the progress at a slow level. The public offices were formerly kept by the colonialists and with their departure, the responsibility fell into the hands of nascent bureaucracy and political administration. Thus, coping with the issues and demands of an aspirant society became overwhelming. Nonetheless, few colonies were in a better position to evolve naturally out of decolonization into independent and sovereign states that had adequate infrastructure to shift from colonization to decolonization in a smooth and plan ned manner. The newly formed governments had to tackle numerous issues at the same time. While they had gained freedom with their national spirit; yet it became difficult for them to define the term ‘nation’. The power game involved leaders from diverse ethnic groups and inner conflicts always tended to destabilize their political structures. â€Å"The Caribbean, southeast Asia, and the Middle East join Africa as regions marked by places of despair and desperation, of those ecologies where shattered dreams are found in cracked foundations and high hopes cannot be seen behind the huge piles of garbage. In such places, the sounds of strife and disorder have frequently been heard. Civil war, overthrow of governments, and ethnic conflicts has been common eruptions in much of Africa and Southeast Asia since the time that the regions were politically reconfigured into nation states.† (Betts 2004, p.103) This is a widespread opinion of critics that have witnessed decade s of turmoil in former colonies. Failure to adjust to the new world order plunged them further into darkness. Their progress and development was impeded by the continual communal violence and insurgencies. Their national spirit could not unite them as a nation and in such cases decolonization was not at all beneficial for them. As a colony, at least they were enjoying some sort of peace, progress and economic development. Upon decolonization, their economic conditions worsened without any hope. The

Should the Government Intervent Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Should the Government Intervent Tax - Essay Example Hence the government, in my view, should intervene through tax rates to keep the economy and society controlled. Government intervention through tax rates is of paramount importance when negative externalities are to be dealt with. The market consists of two types of goods, public and private. Private goods are associated to the concept of excludability, referring to the exclusion of people from the benefits of a product or service that do not pay for it. On the other hand, public good is non-excludable and benefits the entire population regardless of their non-payment. Free-riding issue arises in this situation leading to chaos and dissatisfaction toward those counterparts of the society who are not contributing enough to the society compared to the benefits they are receiving (for instance healthcare and security/defense facilities for tax-evaders or undocumented immigrants in some cases). Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has contributed to the knowledge by revealing that undocumented immigrants can be a major source of tax earnings if they are permitted legally to work in th e US and would end up increasing the tax contribution by about $2 billion per year (ITEP, 2015). Government must intervene by changing tax rates to control consumer demands. By increasing tax rates, the government may reduce the disposable income and hence reduce the consumer demand. Similarly, if it wants to increase consumer demand, generally or specifically for certain goods and services, subsidies can be provided and/or tax on that particular product/service can be reduced. Hence, tax rates on specific products, services or industries as well as taxes on individuals and specific population groups can both help governments to keep harmony in the economy. The government calls funds from the local economy by taxing general public and businesses. These funds are then

Prevalence Of Musculoskeletal Disorder Health And Social Care Essay

Prevalence Of Musculoskeletal Disorder Health And Social Care Essay Musculoskeletal disorders, also called repetitive motion disorder, are injuries of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, nerves, and spinal discs. It could lead to occupation injury because of repetitive movement, forceful exertion, poor posture, and other factors. Back pain is one of musculoskeletal disorders most commonly experienced radiographers or x-ray technicians. This is attributed to poor posture and wrong movements that radiographers used to do during their long working hours (1) One common wrong movement practiced by radiographers is carrying cassettes on the hip, which puts load on one side of body and imparts torsional strain on the spinal muscles. Other wrong movements include; lifting patient by one radiographer with arms and legs in straight position, and bending from their waist with straight legs to retrieve an object from the floor (1-3). To avoid back pain among the radiographers, there must be safety rules and principles to follow during working hours. Literature Review: Several studies aimed to investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and occupational therapy among radiographers. All showed similar result indicating that the most common pain among radiographers was low back pain (4-9). Back pain among radiographers: An initial study of back pain was done by D. Wright and P. Witt (1993) to indicate any incidence of back pain, obtain demographic data, and discover preferences for performing radiography tasks. Randomly, 226 radiographers were chosen but only 18 male and 92 female radiographers accept to actively participate. Most of them worked in general diagnostic areas and were divided into two group. The first group consisted of participants with back pain from both genders. The male mean age was 40.08, mean height 68.3 inches, average of weight 181 pounds, and average of back pain intensity 2.4 on 10 point scales. The female mean age36.79, mean height 64.5 inches, average of weight 146 pounds and average of back pain intensity 3.5 on 10 point scales. Both males and females with back pain reported 6.85 of work related stress. The second group was without back pain. The male mean age was 43, mean height 69.8 inches, and average of weight 171 pounds. The female mean age37.56, mean height 64.8 inc hes, and average of weight 142 pounds. Their mean age was 43 for males and 37.56 for females. Instrument of the study was through the use of a survey with eight written pages and demographic information related to age, height, weight, area of specialization, work related stress, intensity and anatomical distribution of back pain. It was distributed to the volunteer to collect descriptive frequency data on back pain and their methods to perform 10 tasks. Some of these tasks were: moving over head tube, carrying multiple cassettes and transferring horizontal patient. It was found that there was no significant age, height, weight related links for back pain. It was also found that the methods to perform the tasks was not related to back pain. The study suggested that repeated poor posture, back strain, and faulty body mechanics may lead to back pain. However due to small sample size and self selected survey the study had limitations (4). Risk factors and musculoskeletal complaints in X-ray technologists: Another study was done by E. Bos, et al (2007) to determine prevalence rates of musculoskeletal complaints of neck, shoulder and low back and perceived exposure to risk factors. Non-specialized nurses, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses, operation room nurses, and x-ray technologists (n= 3169), worked in 8 different hospitals, were included in the study. A Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, which is a standardized questionnaire, partly derived from the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, was given to the subjects to collect personal information and demographic information such as height, weight, function, having managerial task, working hours, and work in past and lifestyle. Moreover, musculoskeletal complaints, musculoskeletal workload, health, task, and psychosocial working conditions items were included. The final results clearly showed that x-ray technologists and nurses reported low back complaints (5). Musculoskeletal complaints among x-ray technologists: A cross-sectional study was done by A. Lorusso, S. Bruno, and N. Là ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢abbate (2007) included two hundred and fourteen x-ray technologists working in 13 different hospital in Italy. The volunteers were given a self administered questionnaire to collect information on individual characteristics and compliance of musculoskeletal pain. They were asked if they had lifted patients, transferred lead apron wearing, and handled cassettes. A Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used in order to evaluate musculoskeletal complaints in neck, shoulder, low back, hand/wrist, and legs during the past 12 months. The mean age was 48.5 years for men and 42.8 years for women. Fifty six of them were smokers, and 119 had a regular exercise program. The result reported low back pain as the most commonly symptom followed by shoulder and neck pain (6). Musculoskeletal complaints among x-ray technology students: Lorusso, L, et al (2010) aimed in their study to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among a group of x-ray technology students. The subjects consisted of 60 male students and 49 female students (n=109). Their mean age was 21.1 years and of their body mass index (BMI) was twenty three. The students were given a questionnaire that had been used in a musculoskeletal survey among X-ray technologists. It collected information on individual characteristics such as gender, age, height/weight, smoking status, and leisure time physical activities. Information about physical exposure during training and complaint about the presence of musculoskeletal pain were also collected. The participants were also asked if they had lifted patients, transferred or positioned portable equipment handling, lead apron wearing and cassettes. A Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used to evaluate musculoskeletal complaints in specific body regions such as neck, shoulder, low back, hand and wrist and legs. The result showed that low back pain (LBP) was the most reported symptoms followed by neck and shoulder pain (7). Musculoskeletal disorders among radiographers in Kuwait: Sheikha Al-Kindari, el al (2008) investigated musculoskeletal disorder among radiographers in Kuwait. Data were collected by questionnaire from 147 radiographers who were working in different governmental hospitals. The questionnaire included 6 different parts, including demographic data, education and the current job, physical risk factor related with the regular work, psychological risk factor related with the regular work, general health status, and exist of any musculoskeletal problem in body. Musculoskeletal disorder on neck and lower back regions was the highest percentage because of standing for a long time, moving different equipments, lifting, caring, pushing and pulling loads (8). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among radiographers: Finally, Kao, et al (2009) checked the relationship between musculoskeletal disorder and work related risk factor in radiography department. The subjects were 107 from radiography department. The majority worked at the department less than 5 years and were divided in different sections such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), X-ray, Ultrasound (US), and other. A questionnaire, which contained questions on work characteristics, work description, posture during long period, and body pain, was completed by the subjects. A modified body map also was used to indicate areas of experienced pain. It was categorized to upper back pain, upper limb pain, lower back pain, and lower limb pain. The participants were asked if their pain was related to their work, and were included to the study if there had answered with partially or fully related. Ninety seven subjects continued in the study while 7 refused and 3 pregnant women were excluded. The result of this study was a high percentage on low back pain and upper limb pain. The association between low back pain and working in CT was also significant because of heavy workload such as heavy lifting, twisting, and bending. The study limitations included small subject size, self reporting for measurement of outcomes limited, and estimations were some of limitations of this study (9). Biomechanical principles According to previous studies (3-4), musculoskeletal complaints among radiographers is caused by wrong movements such as repeated back strain, poor posture, and faulty body mechanics. To avoid the musculoskeletal pain, biomechanical principles must be followed. These principles include: Keeping a load à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cassettes and tubeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  close to center of gravity (COG) Carrying the cassette vertically against chest rather than carrying it on the hip to avoid the load on one side of the body and imparts torsional strain on the spinal muscles. Lowering the tube to waist height before moving it horizontally to avoid back strain. Using legs muscles rather than paraspinal muscles Pushing mobile unit rather than pulling it. Transferring horizontal patient with assistance from 2 people with apart feet and straight legs. Bending knee, slightly bending back forward to pick up objects form floor. Avoiding twisting the back while loading paraspinal muscles when moving Bucky tray, moving supplies, moving equipment through doorways, working with wheelchair patients, and placing a cassette behind a bed redden patient. Using both hand to move the Bucky tray. Conclusion Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, nerves, and spinal discs. Back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder among radiographers due to poor posture and wrong movements such as carrying cassettes on hip, lifting patient by one radiographer, and bending from their waist to retrieve an object from the floor. Several studies were done aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among the x-ray technologists. The results confirmed that 72% and 77% prevalence of low back pain respectively among male and female radiographers, respectively (10-11). Biomechanical principles such as keeping a load close to center of gravity, using legs muscles, avoiding twisting back, and using both hand to move the Bucky tray, are recommended in order to avoid musculoskeletal pain in radiographers.

Cougar or Coyote Essay

The trickster is an important archetype in any religion or myth because it provides an outlet for all of the chaotic and destructive emotions and tendencies of a people that are controlled by a larger social construct. It is through a trickster figure that people of a religion or society are able to explore the more untamed side of their nature while additionally presenting them with the consequences of those desires. The trickster is a figure that at once both mocks social morals and at the same time also reinforces those morals by showing the pandemonium and trouble that arises if the people do not follow the rules that are in place. The trickster also allows the people of a religion to express ideas and desires that might not ordinarily be acceptable in their society. In this way the trickster plays a very important and cathartic role in a religion or myth. Penelope, from Homers The Odyssey, is a woman of grit and spirit. Ellen Shull declares in her essay â€Å"Valuing Multiple Critical Approaches: Penelope, Again†¦ and Again† that Penelope is â€Å"the paragon of resilient womanhood† (32). However, a trickster god, like Monkey from Wu Ch’eng-en’s novel Monkey, and a mortal woman like Penelope appear to have nothing in common. Their roles are so different and their apparent purposes are even more so. On the surface it may seem as though Penelope from The Odyssey shares very little resemblance with a trickster god. However, when one takes a closer look the similarities become more obvious. Penelope is at once a powerful figure that adheres to the social norms of her patriarchal society while still rebelliously challenging the acknowledged rules of how a woman should behave. This can be seen as how a trickster like Monkey is used in myth to subvert a society’s own beliefs. Penelope is the other side of the coin of what it means to be a trickster. She is the female version as it were. Penelope may not be male, amoral, animal, or supernatural but she is cunning, childish, inventive, and she also a subversive figure within her patriarchal society. The most obvious source of incompatibility of Penelope being a trickster is that she is female while the trickster is usually a male like Monkey. Now, unless Penelope was even more deceitful than anyone had ever imagined then it is safe to say that she is not a trickster god based on that one quality alone. Leeming states that the trickster is â€Å"always male† (163). Obviously, Penelope is not male which means that she is, according to Leeming, not a trickster god, no exceptions. But if Leeming were to make an exception then Penelope would be one. Penelope is a woman who must work against all the restrictions and suffocating bounds that her society uses to leash women in order to trick the people surrounding her and she does. â€Å"She deceives the suitors and even her own husband† (Mueller, 337). Penelope even has long lasting deceptions that fool people for years. The sexual organs Penelope was born with seem to be of little importance when compared to the massive opposing powers and influences that she if forced to undermine and battle against. The next point of disparity between Penelope and a trickster figure like Monkey is that the trickster is seen as a philandering, unprincipled, hooligan. The trickster is considered to be an ethically neutral figure with a propensity for getting into humorous predicaments. Leeming calls the trickster â€Å"amoral†¦outrageous†¦ [and is] untamed by the larger social conscience†). Monkey is a perfect example of this side of a trickster. Monkey is not exactly immoral he just has his own sense of what the right thing to do is and he is overwhelmingly selfish. Every action and quest he takes at the beginning of his story is motivated by his desire to be immortal and to gain power. Even when Monkey protects his other monkey subjects he does so because he wants to maintain his kingship more than out of a fear for their safety and wellbeing. One could even posit that the monkeys would be better off without him because he brings the wrath of heaven down upon them. Monkey has all these qualities that Leeming states a trickster is comprised of. Penelope, on the other hand, is none of these things. In fact, she is usually remembered for her faithfulness to her husband even though he was gone for twenty years. Penelope â€Å"waits in Ithaca for Odysseus. She looks after his home, his son and his estate. She weeps lonely tears but nothing induces her to betray her husband and to neglect her duties, not even under pressure from the suitors does she contemplate infidelity† (Smit, 393-394). Her unwavering loyalty to her husband and her devotion to the gods are not the sort of characteristics seen in the trickster who typically represents lower or baser instincts and functions. Penelope is a classy lady but again she also has that side to her that rebels at the rules of her culture. Some might even call her a vain tease for keeping her suitors around for so long while never picking one or giving in to their masculine power. Penelope, also, does not fit in the trickster category because she is only human while a trickster is usually an animal. Leeming states that a trickster â€Å"takes animal form† (163). Monkey obviously fits into this category. Not only is he a monkey but he has mystical origins. He was born from a stone. In fact Monkey’s animal form is a point of ire for him because he in Monkey he tries become more and more human-like. He starts wearing clothes and stands upright in an attempt to appear more human. This fight between animal and human characteristics is vital in a trickster figure because that animal quality is in part what allows them to get away with their mischief. Penelope is no dog. Or any animal for that matter. She is in fact a very desirable woman with scores of suitors fighting for her hand in marriage. This does not help her in the trickster category but it does, however, show how her beauty and desirability are in part what allow her to get away with her schemes. Her beauty can even be seen as her animal side because it basically serves the same function that the animal form serves the trickster. An animal form, or in the case of Penelope, her beauty, is a metaphor of who they are and it allows them to be more completely that character and it allows them to do things that would not ordinarily be acceptable within that society. Penelope’s beauty is what allows her to subvert her patriarchal culture because her beauty gives her power over her suitors. She is a woman but she uses that to her advantage. It could also been seen that being a woman in the time of The Odyssey was akin to being an animal because it was such a male dominant culture where woman were little more than chattel or bargaining pieces. Maybe Penelope has more trickster qualities than are first apparent. The last way that Penelope does not fit into the trickster category is that she has no supernatural powers. Leeming â€Å"† (). She has no magical powers which show even further how she is not like a trickster. The trickster is almost always a supernatural figure. This category obviously denotes that a trickster has otherworldly abilities with which to influence outcomes. Penelope works entirely in the realm of her intelligence to bring about the results and tricks that she has concocted. This can make Penelope seem as being more skilled than a god who needs magic to bring about the outcome that he so desires. When compared to Penelope supernatural powers might be viewed as cheating.